The Ten Things I Would Like From Nintendo In 2013

2012 has been a strong year for Nintendo with the 3DS going from strength to strength and the newly launched WiiU proving very popular during the last month of the year. But what could Nintendo do over the next twelve months that would build on these strengths? Here are my ten suggestions for a cracking 2013!

 

Expand the Nintendo ID and WiiU firmware onto the 3DS and Wii

 

With both Nintendo’s current handheld and previous home console both able to have updatable firmware, getting the Nintendo ID onto both devices would be great, something that has been promised. This would mean you could access the Miiverse and all your records on the go and 3DS games could be rolled into the service retrospectively. On top of that if the Wii could be updated to include a, probably scaled down, version, then the community will expand quickly.

 Sharing IDs between devices mean all your records on the devices could be shared and make the community even more thriving.

Plus, with the 3DS sharing much of the technology in the GamePad and the Wii, with WiiSpeak included pretty much there, then WiiU chat could be possible on all three devices.

 Expand Miiverse into social networking

It has already been proposed by Nintendo that the Miiverse will come to smartphones eventually, which would be a great inclusion. The social networking side of Miiverse is great and adds to games, but having the ability to Tweet or Facebook achievements and screenshots would add to the appeal and promote the WiiU wider than the console itself, which feels at the moment to be a bit of a closed garden.

 Though I’m not sure about Instragram pictures of Mario everywhere...

 Photo Gallery and Music Player

 With the Wii you could put photos on an SD card and show them on the television. It would be great to have a new version of this for the WiiU alongside a player to be able to play music or video files from a connected hard drive, turning the WiiU into a more all-round entertainment hub.

 iPlayer app and other bits of catch-up TV

 Though you can get the iPlayer through the dedicated Wii app, it has yet to make an appearance on the WiiU. Hopefully, when the TVii service launches later this year iPlayer, alongside ITV Player, 4OD and Demand Five will be included and if these services could be viewed just on the GamePad even better, so whilst your parents or other half are watching Pointless on TV, you can enjoy re-runs of the Super Mario Supershow on the GamePad with headphones!

Better Integration between the Wii and WiiU

The ability to emulate the Wii on its successor is great but it needs to be incorporated within the main dashboard. I don’t want to have to constantly reboot the console to play old Wii games. Virtual console games should appear on the main panel and if the Wii could distinguish between Wii discs and Gamecube ones, surely the WiiU could tell which generation the game is? Plus, being able to play virtual console games on the GamePad would be useful.

Also, though GameCube emulation was removed from the WiiU due to the lack of controller ports, would there not be a way around it by using the ProController so we can still enjoy our smaller, but still enjoyable, GC discs?

GameCube downloads and more virtual console games

Speaking of GameCube games, isn’t it about time they appeared on the WiiU eStore? Plus, with a general quietness on the gaming love for the N64 and older consoles, can Nintendo speed up the uploading of classic games?

Finally, they need to sort out the cost of digital games. The idea of downloading ‘ZombiU’ or ‘New! Super Mario Bros U’ is a brilliant one to avoid changing discs, but I wouldn’t pay more than the shop price for the privilege!

Embrace the 3DS

As mentioned above, the 3DS is practically a smaller, two-screen GamePad. As shown by Microsoft and Sony’s ventures into the possibilities with ideas like ‘Smartglass’, could the 3DS be updated to become a GamePad so your friends can bring their consoles round to your house and get the same abilities, albeit on a smaller screen. Let’s not have to wait until the Super Smash Bros tie-in to get more handheld to home console integration.

Downloadable Content

Though gamers have a love / hate relationship with DLC it does have many positives. Whilst games like NSMBU are crammed with lots of challenges even more would be better and a steady stream of them would bring gamers back to the game. I for one would love to see more multiplayer maps or extra levels for ZombiU or extra attractions in NintendoLand, and would be happy to pay something for them.

Bring out some new sequels!

Though it’s great to get new games, there are some sequels crying out to be made. The Gamepad is crying out for a new ‘Mario Paint’ game to take advantage of the large touchscreen, picking up the baton from the Wii’s ‘UDraw’. Plus, the music creation software of that game could make a worthwhile Wii Music follow-up.

Away from the unique abilities of the GamePad, I for one would already like a sequel to the incredible ‘ZombiU’ but also follow-ups to ‘Donkey Kong Country Returns’ and ‘Super Mario Galaxy’.

 And finally, port over some more games!

 With the WiiU we are finally getting some big hitters coming to a Nintendo console but there are few others that have so far escaped the net. A WiiU version of ‘Minecraft’, I’m sure, would be greeted with applause but also seeing upcoming games like ‘Grand Theft Auto 5’ and the new ‘Tomb Raider’ on the console would be amazing.

 I would also like to see Nintendo expanding the virtual console out a bit more to bringing PC ports back from the dead. Who wouldn’t want to see old Bullfrog games like ‘Theme Hospital’ or LucasArts point-and-click classics like ‘Grim Fandango’ brought to the touch-screen of either the WiiU or 3DS?

Those are my ideas for Nintendo in 2013. What are yours?

10 Days With The WiiU: An Update

A week or so ago I wrote about my first experiences with the WiiU console (http://www.denofgeek.com/games/23685/our-first-48-hours-with-the-nintendos-wii-u) and having explored it for a further eight days I felt it would be a good time to update you on how it’s going.

Spending more time with Nintendo’s new console has allowed me to appreciate its elements much more. The Miiverse – the WiiU’s social plaza – has become much more apparent, mostly thanks to its neat integration within ‘New! Super Mario Bros U’ where comments from other game players appear scattered around the world map. It really does feel like the console is part of a bigger picture and though it does feel like the other players are on the end of a long road and not really accessible, it’s a neat feature.

I’ve also experienced much more of my three games. ZombiU – as seen through my other review at http://www.denofgeek.com/games/23777/zombiu-wii-u-review – is a delight, even if a scary one. NintendoLand is a great multiplayer game with lots of depth but feels lacking if you don’t have lots of friends round: it feels like a one-player game or a many-player game, not suited for two or three players. The Mario game is as nostalgic and as familiar as every other recent game in the series but the controls are slick, the platforming surprising tricky, the graphics a treat for the eyes and the world map and alternative pathways a delight.

It’s not all been plain sailing though. The console has hung up three times so far, requiring a switch off at the wall, and the console has had trouble reading a disc once, and just a few days after the first mammoth one hour update the console got another one, this time coming in at under fifty-minutes. Nintendo have been a little cagey on what it did other than fixed some stability issues, but reported faster loading menu times are not particularly apparent as the moving between them still takes an age, and the only evidence of a change is in YouTube asking to be updated. I hope these regular large updates aren't going to be a regular occurence.

The GamePad is still winning me over as a great tool to use and I have no regrets in buying the console. I’m still ploughing through the three games and taking in all they have to offer and looking forward to Nintendo TVii and games like Rayman and Scribblenauts Unlimited on the horizon.

Phil's Adventures With the WiiU

Having ordered the console way back in September today (Friday 30th November) my WiiU finally turned up, just after 12noon.

Getting it home I unwrapped it and was impressed by how neat the package was even if inside there is plenty of stuff. I bought the premium pack and inside you get the WiiU console and game pad, power cables for both, a stand, a power cradle for the game pad, a copy of Nintendo Land and a new sensor bar, all neatly wrapped and a pleasure to open.

With all that set-up it was time to get installing and it was mostly a painless set-up. It all begins by switching on the Game Pad and then the WiiU console and tethering them together following the simple instructions on the small screen. This set-up included connecting it to your television to use it as a TV remote, setting up your Mii (with a handy transfer option from a 3DS which I used, even if I had to alter the settings of my Mii as it had copying disabled), other bits like the aspect ratio and such and setting up an internet connection, which is the only time it was frustrating as it wouldn’t connection to my Virgin Media box even though all the settings were correct.

Thankfully a quick Google search took me to http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/19/wii-u-wont-connect-to-internet/ which clearly explained the settings and then it connected all fine for the, reportedly massive update, which kicked off once it had the connection.

My thoughts on the controller so far is that it’s light and easy to hold and the screen is crisp and clear and the menu intuitive and simple to operate, but I think the flicking between two screens could take some getting used to. I don’t, so far, agree with the reports of the pad feeling cheap though it is gathering fingerprints on its shiny surface.

So now I’m ten minutes into the download and waiting for it to finish, nervous about reports of a failed update ‘bricking’ the console. I’ve had one heart-pounding moment where the controller, now sitting in its charging cradle, switched to power saving mode and dimmed, but otherwise all is going well, even if I have to listen to the repetitive music that bumbles on as the download, well, downloads. Thank God for the volume control.

With the download having taken, on my Virgin Media L package, a scarily precise sixty minutes, I was ready to use the console!

With a few more ticks of menus you can now log-in as your user on the WiiU and then I jumped into one of the options to use, YouTube. Sadly, now seeming to be a regular thing, it waited while another update was installed with a time remaining value that was as libellous as anything Microsoft Windows throws up; either that or seconds are twenty times longer in Japan. And, irritatingly, once I’d done this it said I couldn’t do it as I needed a Nintendo Network ID so had to head to another menu to do this!

Oh, and then I started playing the new Super Mario game and there was another wait while it updated. And then another prompt for setting up the Miiverse which I couldn’t do in game.

On the plus side Super Mario U looks gorgeous in HD even if it does play like every other Mario game recently (and I keep trying to collect coins like I’m playing on my 3DS) and my bedroom is within range to play it in bed. Result!

Opinion so far? Great console, graphically impressive but the set-up is long and irritating.

Transferring from the Wii to WiiU

On Saturday morning, after briefly playing more of the new Mario game – which, after my lukewarm reaction of yesterday, is starting to show its brilliance with its fun to play levels and impressive map but it’s the challenges menu I discovered which is really brilliant.

I also tackled the Wii to WiiU transfer and it was surprisingly easy and straightforward even if the amount of text thrown at you from the menus is ridiculous. You basically put an SD card in the WiiU which has some software installed and then you transfer it to the Wii where all your save files are moved across with most channels – in the same ratio they did with the DS > 3DS. You then return the card to the WiiU and they’re moved over. It’s long and tedious – though you do get a fun Pikmin movie – and not perfect: some games have to be reinstalled from the e-store, including those you had on your SD card which, mostly, won’t work so you have to delete them and reinstall them. I gave up re-downloading them as it takes ages but will reinstall them as they go.

Lots of people have complained about the Wii element being an emulator. It’s not much of a problem really for me with all the saved games moved over, though it would be nice for all digital content to be included on the WiiU dashboard and I hope this comes into place soon. Also, it would be useful for Wii Miis to move over to the Wii U Mii area…

Now onto ZombieU…