GameCube controllers compatible with Super Smash Bros on Wii U

Don't worry Smash Bros. fans, those that were going to look for conversions to play the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. with a GameCube controller won't have to far.

Nintendo revealed on their Twitter account that there will be a converter box that will make GameCube controllers playable with the new Super Smash Bros. title on any Wii U system.

Get excited! The #WiiU version of #SmashBros. will be playable with GameCube controllers. pic.twitter.com/nmyj9QMsuU
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 29, 2014

A couple thoughts on this new contraption. First, there's a question of whether or not it will come with the game. It would be wise to bundle this with the game and add $20 to the price tag, there's going to be countless Smash Bros. fanatics that will pick something like this up anyway. We all know those people that refuse to move on to the Wiimote controls.

While this reeks of another one-and-done Nintendo add-on peripheral, it's a welcome addition for those that want to play old Wii games and use the GameCube controllers on the compatible games. I mean, Nintendo would let people do that right. Is the Wii U even backward compatible with the Wii? I honestly have no idea what this system is yet.

More interesting in the whole picture is the SSB logo on the GameCube controller. Is Nintendo going to re-release GameCube controllers with that on it? Considering that GameCube is now two generations old, you would think that the majority of people that have GameCube controllers would like some refreshed gamepads that aren't half-broken, littered with Cheeto crums, or have endless stains of Bud Light and Mountain Dew all over them.

Re-releasing the GCN pads would be a good move, as well as kicking out the market of 3rd party companies that are probably thriving on selling those gamepads.

Michael Pachter: PlayStation 4 will out-sell Xbox One by 8.7 million units by 2016

Game business analyst (or whatever cute name Jim Sterling loves to come up with) Michael Pachter believes that Sony's early success with the PlayStation 4 will continue on through 2016.



Pachter gives his figures for all three of the main consoles in a HardwarePal article.

This is how it goes: We expect Sony’s and Microsoft’s new consoles to thrive over the next three years, with cumulative worldwide sales of 37.7 million PS4 and 29 million Xbox One consoles by year-end 2016. We do not expect Nintendo’s Wii U to fare as well, with cumulative sales of under 20 million by 2016.

The analyst basically suggests that there isn't that much of a difference between the two consoles for most consumers to validate the extra $100 needed to purchase an XBO. For those that have done research, nearly all the games on PS4 run at a full 1080p resolution while XBO games are at 720p.

That difference is more notable on bigger televisions, mainly anything above 50 inches.

These numbers, of course, are if everything continues as is. They suggest that the PS4 will eventually drop to a $299.99 retail price by 2016, the XBO to drop to $349.99 by 2016, the new software retail price to stay where it's at, and that the Wii U continues to stay in development.

Currently, according to the latest numbers from VGChartz, the PS4 has exactly one million more units sold (3.4M-2.4M).

Predicting nearly a nine-million unit margin is pretty huge. We already expected Sony to get an early advantage with such a huge difference in opening retail price, but Pachter is expecting millions of Xbox 360 owners to cross-over to a company they may or may not trust.

Leaving a developed eco-system, especially for those that just play certain multiplayer games on their consoles, is incredibly hard unless Sony can show that it's easy to jump from the 360 and get things going on the PS4. That, and the bells and whistles of interactive television will be an interest to some.

Image credit: Flickr

Sony Computer executive Jack Tretton on the PlayStation 4 launch

Before Sony's PlayStation 4 launch event last week, Forbes caught up with Sony Computer Entertainment of America executive, Jack Tretton, on the buildup to the eventual successful launch of their next-generation system.

All three systems will be in battle this holiday season. Microsoft will try to win over gamers that use their consoles more for multimedia and Nintendo hopes that their classic mascot franchises of Mario and Zelda will get people to buy the Wii U.

Tretton gave his thoughts on the PS4 launch that turned out to be Sony's best in history for their PlayStation consoles and on the multimedia front of the system.

On the buildup to the PS4 launch:

We’ve never been in better shape. I mean, everything’s really lined up for us; the development community, the excitement from the gamers, the launch lineup that we have, the technology’s great, the manufacturing yields have been great.

On how different the launch is from PS3 to PS4:

There’s never gonna be a bigger spotlight on the gaming industry, so if somebody wants a PlayStation 4 and is willing to go and buy one, it kills me if you don’t have one to give to them. And we may run into that, but it won’t be for lack of effort.

On Microsoft's multimedia angle to move units:

We’re already the number-one streaming device for Netflix, so I think people expect and know that we have a lot of great entertainment apps on our platform. That story’s been told and I think it’s established. But the gamers really want to know why they should buy a PlayStation 4, and what the games are gonna look like, so that’s what we’ve been really spending all our time focused on.

On Nintendo's angle of relying on their franchise characters to move units:

We’ve got over 2,000 employees all over the world working to build great games for PlayStation, and games that are not only critically acclaimed, but do great volume. I mentioned The Last Of Us and games like GT6, and we have great games at launch like Knack, and we have games like Infamous: Second Son coming. So I think there are a lot of great franchises that we’ve introduced historically, but there’s new IP you know coming out all the time.

Click here for much more of the interview between Forbes and Tretton.

[Image credit: Flickr]

Editorial: Here's the problem with what Nintendo's CEO said about PlayStation 4, Xbox One release

Video games will be the highlight of this holiday shopping season with two brand new consoles being released by Sony and Microsoft. With Nintendo pushing out its console a year ago, it didn't create the same buzz that's been going on between the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases, but they expect that the Wii U will finally get noticed this holiday season and actually begin selling well.

Satoru Iwata, the CEO and president of Nintendo, gave his thoughts on how the upcoming next-generation console releases will give a jolt to the video game industry and actually help the company's year-old Wii U.

"...[T]he competition will heat up because new game consoles will come out and there will be a ‘war of the game consoles’ played out in media articles, we wonder if the target user will actually be the same."

Iwata goes on to list all the games released at the end of this calendar year, like Super Mario 3D World, another Mario and Sonic Olympics game, Wii Party U, Wii Fit U, and Wii Sports Club.

“Thus, in the sense that we attract consumers interested in this category of video games, I think the launch of other video game systems is also good for us because they energize the video game industry as a whole.”

That's an interesting angle to take, but something that's clearly misguided.

To put it in layman's terms, Iwata believes that the family audience, which is what all those new games for the Wii U are aimed for, will all look toward Nintendo's new console instead of trying to compare PS4 and XBO.

Clearly Nintendo has the edge with that audience, but how willing are they to upgrade compared to the gamers that are more "hardcore?" In other words, gamers that actually spend some if not all of their time with video games and people who actually follow video games and do it as a hobby.

Wii Sports is by far the highest-selling game for the Wii, which was bundled with the console at launch. Nearly 50 million units down is Mario Kart Wii, which was later bundled with the Wii in specially marked boxes and was one of the rare games that actually moved consoles.

But those sales show that families are already not buying additional software for the console and are clearly not upgrading. However, the "hardcore" gaming crowd is much more prone to upgrading, especially with emergence of PC gaming thanks to Steam and the annual releases of popular series like Madden, Call of Duty, and Assassin's Creed.

Despite both the PS4 and XBO driving more people to shop video games during the holiday, will they really look at Nintendo's new console and software and decide that it's worth upgrading? They already aren't attracted by Nintendo with their lack of third-party support. And Nintendo's target audience clearly shows that they don't know what the big difference is with just a letter added at the end of a console name that they already own.

Let's not forget that the Wii U released at just $50 less than a brand-new, retailed-price edition of a PS4. Despite a price cut to $299, there's no chance in hell until the Wii U gets under the Wii's retail price of $250 at launch.

Nintendo's stubborn approach to the Wii U won't let that happen anytime soon, and most families will continue to walk past the new console during the holiday season.

[Source: Gamnesia]
[Image credit: Flickr]

Nintendo President Not Worried About Competition with Sony, Microsoft Consoles

With buzz surrounding both Microsoft's and Sony's new consoles, it's looks like the Nintendo will be struggling with its Wii U to compete with in the next-generation system. Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo, doesn't see it that way.

Fils-Aime believes that's an "inaccurate narrative" in his interview with Kotaku. When looking at the actual data, the Wii U hasn't been that far behind in sales when compared to the original Wii back in 2006.

"If you look at it from a U.S. perspective, this point in time vs. where we were with the Wii life stage, there's a difference of about 1 to 1.5 million units. Over a potential lifespan over 40 million-plus units, that's not a lot."

The Wii U is currently suffering a software drought with dropped-off third-party support from launch. But as usual, Fils-Aime believes that Nintendo's upcoming first-party titles will push them in the right direction.

"You know, I think by the end of this holiday, after we've launched Wind Waker, after we've launched Donkey Kong Country, after we've launched Mario 3D World, I think we're going to be in a very good position."

This is the same Nintendo that we've known for years now, forcing sales through remakes, rehashes, and very unoriginal remakes of their IPs. Fans like myself even got tired of it, and even though I still supported the Wii in its dying years, there's much more support and excitement for what Sony will do with its upcoming console.

Microsoft may also be in a better position now after getting rid of its online restrictions and all the new IPs that are coming to the Xbox One.

[Source: Kotaku]
[Image credit: Flickr/Kriisi]

Opinion: How Nintendo Can Save Themselves After Wii U Crisis

Nintendo is in a bit of trouble, and it's time for a completely new model to save the company from becoming Sega 2.

The new console is heading down the same road all of the other Nintendo machines since the N64 -- a loss of third-party support and relying on the company mascots to bail them out in sales.

According to Games Radar, the company is just about ready to pull the basic version of Wii U from stores.

GameStop stores have reportedly been sent the following message from head office: “Nintendo Wii U Basic Recall - Two Week Preparation On Tuesday, 6/18, all stories will need to return all new/unopened Wii U Basic (020359). .. Stores that have 10 or more in stock will receive shipping cartons from the [distribution center]. .. All other stores will need to save shipping cartons for this recall." GameStop hasn’t returned a request for further information, while Nintendo said it wouldn’t comment on its business practices with retailers.

It's time for Nintendo to use a new strategy. First, they need to dissssociate themselves from the "Wii" brand. The name has only lost them money since the initial run and these days people just get bummed out remembering all the potential they thought the console had with its new motion controls.

Apparently Nintendo is trying to market to gullible families that own a Wii and want them to upgrade. That's setting sail to fail. No one is falling for the marketing gimmick of, "Oh hey that family is having so much fun with the Wii U, LET'S UPGRADE CHILDREN!"

What needs to happen is a complete relaunch of the system two years from now. Since people are digging relaunches, Nintendo needs to do a relaunch themselves and call the new system: NES.

The plan is so obvious, it's brilliant. I'm not saying re-release the 25+ year old catalog, but the design should be the old NES system with the same name.

Think about it. Insert the disc into mock NES cartridge. Before putting it in the system, that person has to blow on the cartridge before putting it in. Click the cartidge into place and press the power button. Auto-load the game, and you'll have a selling point compared to newer consoles that have to install the games first.

Make the console as powerful as the Nextbox and PS4. Copy the dual shock controller (they basically did with the Classic Controller Pro anyway) and let games install while people play them to eliminate as many loading times as possible to emulate playing a game on cartridge.

The design of the controller needs to resemble the old NES rectangle while adding on the additional buttons to play next-gen games while retaining the comfort to play old games.

Tack on a one-terabyte hard drive, include greatest hits from the entire Nintendo archive, and give access to the entire Nintendo backlog for downloading to make up for screwing the pooch with overpriced, way too spread out Virtual Console releases.

Stamp a $450 price tag on it and throw it into stores. Afraid no one will buy it? Give a payment plan and offer a free year of Internet service.

Alas, this pipe dream will never come to fruition. It's really not possible, but it's a direction that Nintendo needs to look at. Even if Nintendo had a flop on their hands, nothing was worse than the Virtual Boy and they're still alive and kicking.

But the times of rehashing the same bullshit over and over on different consoles is tedious. If they want to give the players nostalgia, they should go all-in with the console as well.

[Source: Games Radar]

[Photo credit: Flickr/Geoff Parsons]