R.I.P. Wii (2006-2009)

[JoeTan]

I'm sure that after they waste $100M on this technology they'll resort to just dumping a high end video card into their system and call it a day....as they wait for the graphics to load.

 

[hexagram]

I don't see anything in Natal that would stop you from holding a wand, or a gun, or a controller, or anything else. If the tech works as well as Microsoft claims, it should be able to track whatever you're holding, and whatever you're holding should be able to send button, joystick and wheel events like any other controller.

You can use peripherals with Natal and the camera can also act as a scanner, so you can scan your devices into the game.

The technology is there and it's more accurate and functional than the Wii's IR bar and those PlayStation magic wands that were announced.

It all depends on the game developers at this point.

 

[JoeTan]

I think the POINT is that Sony and Microsoft are ALL TALK. They claim to be one generation ahead when they are really one behind but in HD to mask this.

If they were really one step ahead then they would have ELIMINATED the load times of their games. It just keeps getting longer and longer.

Nintendo is "insignificant" is what they were saying and now they are rushing to copy "insignificant". Why copy what they have been bashing?

Actually this is more of a copy of the POWER GLOVE from 20years ago and will probably be just as popular.

 

[hexagram]

If they were really one step ahead then they would have ELIMINATED the load times of their games. It just keeps getting longer and longer.

As for WII having bad graphics, I just picked up No More Heroes for $12 and it's better than anything I've played on XBOX on the simple idea that I can get a whole playing session in by the time the XBOX has done loading.

You're greatly exaggerating the load times. How would I know? Because I actually own both consoles.

You say the Xbox 360 console takes a lot longer to start up than it takes to load "No More Heroes"? That's a joke. I even timed it for you (and I even gave the Wii the advantage of using USB to load the game [as opposed to the 6x DVD drive that's in the console]):

Xbox 360 from power on to dashboard: 25-26 sec

Wii from power on to system menu: 9-10 sec

Wii from already powered state (USB Loader) to 'playability' ["Bedroom Screen"] (No More Heroes using USB): 51 sec

Xbox 360 from already powered state (Dashboard) to 'playability' ["Xbox Live Matchmaking"] (Halo 3 using DVD): 23 sec

Oh, and you always have the option to install a game to HDD on Xbox 360 which would reduce load times (should they bother you so much).

The only valid argument that could be made is that the Wii boots up a lot faster than the Xbox 360, but I'm not going to complain about an extra 15 seconds (the Xbox 360 has to load up more things than the Wii [the Wii only needs to load it's three boot processes (boot0 to boot2) and the System Menu]).

 

[JoeTan]

No. I'm talking I have 25min to get my game on before work. NINTENDO has games that I can get my fill in this time. Xbox and Playstation do not have these. If they do, I'm not interested in investing anymore money to find out.

As for owning both I own (or owned) every game system. From Atari 2600 and on. Yep, I still have my Turbographx. The only systems that seem to last are Nintendo branded systems (and the Dreamcast). Playstation 1/2....dead or dying from very little use. Xbox is never used. Controllers suck, loading sucks.

Don't care about on line games as I work all day. The only multi player game I was into was GOLDEN EYE for N64...oh yeah Mario Kart too...AND WRESTLE-MANIA 2000! THE BEST WRESTLING GAME EVER.

Still waiting for a better one on these "superior" disk based garbage. Take 40min just to get one match going.

What fun.

Hell I'd buy Super Mario (2D not that new crap) over and over again if they keep releasing them.

Mindless entertainment.

(challennnnnnnnnnnnnnge)

 

[hexagram]

No. I'm talking I have 25min to get my game on before work. NINTENDO has games that I can get my fill in this time. Xbox and Playstation do not have these. If they do, I'm not interested in investing anymore money to find out.

They do. It's called Xbox Live Arcade, and you don't have to pay to try them out either. All of the games have a free demo version that gives you a good taste of the game, and if you like it; then you can buy it. Prices are $5-10 per game and most of them have online play as well as local.

 

[Grüpsaar]

Being a Nintendo fanboy, I will side with everyone who say's NATAL may not work out. But it is up to game DEVELOPERS to make it work, as long as the tech is as good as they say. I don't own a xbox360, but I'd love to. Hopefuly in the coming months I can get one cheap. I owned a Xbox and loved it, it had the games I liked, but I love my Wii and loved my gamecube too. I can't play Zelda, mario, and other fun Nintendo exclusives anywhere else. And there's always some innovation going on with Nintendo. The DS is more my speed, as I've gotten older, I've actually become MORE of a Portable game system guy.

 

[hexagram]

'Wii hacker' part of Microsoft's Natal effort

Johnny Chung Lee, the former Carnegie Mellon researcher known for finding creative ways to adapt the Wiimote, has revealed himself as one of the minions behind Project Natal, Microsoft's effort to add motion-sensing capabilities into the Xbox 360.

Lee, who is now a researcher at Microsoft, said in a blog posting that he has been working on the motion-sensing project.

"Now, I should preface by saying I don't deserve credit for anything that you saw at E3," Lee said in the blog. "A large team of very smart, very hard-working people were involved in building the demos you saw on stage. The part I am working on has much more to do with making sure this can transition from the E3 stage to your living room - for which there is an even larger team of very smart, very hard-working people involved."

"The 3D sensor itself is a pretty incredible piece of equipment providing detailed 3D information about the environment similar to very expensive laser range finding systems but at a tiny fraction of the cost," Lee wrote. "Depth cameras provide you with a point cloud of the surface of objects that is fairly insensitive to various lighting conditions allowing you to do things that are simply impossible with a normal camera."

'Wii hacker' part of Microsoft's Natal effort | Beyond Binary - CNET News

 

[JoeTan]

Being a Nintendo fanboy, I will side with everyone who say's NATAL may not work out. But it is up to game DEVELOPERS to make it work, as long as the tech is as good as they say. I don't own a xbox360, but I'd love to. Hopefuly in the coming months I can get one cheap. I owned a Xbox and loved it, it had the games I liked, but I love my Wii and loved my gamecube too. I can't play Zelda, mario, and other fun Nintendo exclusives anywhere else. And there's always some innovation going on with Nintendo. The DS is more my speed, as I've gotten older, I've actually become MORE of a Portable game system guy.

agreed. Just played Contra 3 for the 20th time this week. Best 30min of my life. Beating it on HARD is just insane. Can get to the end but GOD DAM!

 

[magicjellybeans]

dump game

How about a game where you take a dump?

They already have that its called 5:00 PM traffic driving in New Jersey!

 

[leth]

YouTube - Project Natal - Milo stage demo - Virtual Human

The device features a "RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone, and custom processor running proprietary software," which provide full-body 3D motion capture, facial recognition, and voice recognition capabilities. The Project Natal sensor's microphone array enables the Xbox 360 to conduct acoustic source localization and ambient noise suppression, allowing for things such as headset-free party chat over Xbox Live.

The depth sensor consists of an infrared projector combined with a monochrome CMOS sensor, and allows the Project Natal sensor to see in 3D under any lighting conditions.

If you skip to 2:08 in that video, watch closely when she pushes her left hand into the water ... the water splashes before she even moves her hand .. this video is definately using pre-recorded video and she's just following the movements, not an actual live demonstration (maybe that's all it's supposed to be, but I was expecting they would do a live demo)

I have my doubts if they'll be able to make Natal as accurate as they depict in these videos .. implementing facial/movement recognition will have just as many difficulties as voice recognition .. if you're playing a game and you have to scratch your leg or head, or reach for a drink, how does it know that's not supposed to be a movement in the game? The software has to look for specific movements, or know to exclude certain movements, which really limits your interaction with the game

I'll be more interested to see an actual live demo

 

[JoeTan]

And that leads me to the reason this is all nonsense even if it works perfectly. WHO HAS ALL THIS ROOM TO PLAY VIDEOGAMES????

Nevermind having more than one person "playing" you'd need to clear out an entire studio appartment just to get your game on.

Nintendo has been working on the WII controls since the times of the NES. Nintendo wins, sony and microsoft are just showing off their "toys" that they love to dump stupid money into.

(now that crazy touch screen that Microsoft built is a different story....and $25K)

 

[hexagram]

I'll be more interested to see an actual live demo

Ricochet and Paint Party were live demos.

Milo & Kate is also a demo, but it was only playable 'behind the scenes'

Burnout Paradise is a proof-of-concept demo, and it was also playable 'behind the scenes'

Here are a couple of videos of attendees getting to try the demos (namely Ricochet and Burnout Paradise):

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL06VwEmgzI]YouTube - Xbox Project Natal Hands On at E3 (1 of 3)[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jHovMM2FV0]YouTube - Xbox Project Natal Hands On at E3 (3 of 3)[/ame]

Of course, none of this really matters until WE get to try it :icon_biggrin:

 

[JoeTan]

an ENTIRE ROOM dedicated to this thing so you can play bombardment.


FAIL.

 

[memebag]

And that leads me to the reason this is all nonsense even if it works perfectly. WHO HAS ALL THIS ROOM TO PLAY VIDEOGAMES????

Me. My consoles are in a long room that used to be a formal dining room and a formal living room. Previous owner knocked out the wall, so it's one giant room now. 57" TV at one end, surround sound all over, couch about 12' from the TV, and empty floor in front and behind the couch.

 

[TheScionicMan]

Even if it works exactly like they describe, it won't kill the Wii. It will complement some of their games but won't be a replacement for their standard controllers, IMO.

This isn't Highlander, there can be more than ONE...

 

[hexagram]

Even if it works exactly like they describe, it won't kill the Wii

Of course it won't, the thread title wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

It will complement some of their games but won't be a replacement for their standard controllers, IMO.

Thankfully not, because there are games where a standard controller is simply the best way of playing. But, it does add many new possibilities. The potential is there.

 

[Vargas]

Me. My consoles are in a long room that used to be a formal dining room and a formal living room. Previous owner knocked out the wall, so it's one giant room now. 57" TV at one end, surround sound all over, couch about 12' from the TV, and empty floor in front and behind the couch.

I'm jealous of having a sweet media room.

Once these kids are out of the house, the playroom will be turned into a home theater.

Oh, did I mention the youngest child is 10 months old? I've got a way's to go.

 

[memebag]

I'm jealous of having a sweet media room.

Once these kids are out of the house, the playroom will be turned into a home theater.

Oh, did I mention the youngest child is 10 months old? I've got a way's to go.

I've got an 8 year old. She needs a sweet media room as much as I do.

 

[TheScionicMan]

Nintendo CEO: Wii care about your heartbeat, but not your iPhone, the recession or free games VentureBeat

VentureBeat: What did you think of the dueling press conferences this week between Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft?

Satoru Iwata: The common topic at this year’s E3 has been that the motion-sensing controller has finally become the industry standard. Nintendo started this idea three years ago, and now the other platform owners are doing the same. It’s a good thing because we believed that we were doing the right and now others have validated that. The video game industry as a whole now has a chance to further expand.

VB: Do you feel you need to stay ahead of Sony and Microsoft on motion control? They clearly seem to be trying to leapfrog the Wii’s capability. With Microsoft’s Project Natal and Sony’s new motion-sensing wand, doesn’t that force you to do a more accurate form of motion control?

SI: I don’t share that feeling. We don’t have any information about when they would introduce these things and at what kind of price. Until we know exactly what they will do, it’s harder to understand what we would need to do. What Nintendo has to do is make software that takes advantage of the Wii MotionPlus and make efforts to make the public understand the benefits of the Wii MotionPlus controls. As the pioneer of motion-sensing technology, what Nintendo has to do is provide new surprises in the next year and two years from now.