PlayStation 4 could capitalize on Wii U's incompetence

PlayStation 4 will most likely be debuting this coming year, and for Nintendo, that could be a bad thing given its limitability.

According to a report from GamesIndustry on Wednesday, Ben There's Dan Marshall said the tech within the Nintendo Wii U is not very good.

"I don't think the tech behind it is good enough either. But I will say that the original Wii controller wasn't great technically, either.

"Everyone was expecting it to be 1:1 and it wasn't. Know everyone is expecting the GamePad to be like an iPad, and it's not," Marshall said.

[Neonridr]

lol, I was never expecting the gamepad to be an ipad. That's what my Ipad is for. I expected the gamepad to be a touchscreen with new control methods for playing games, and that's exactly what it offers.

Sure I can browse the internet on the gamepad, and it's actually quite responsive and intuitive. But I didn't buy a Wii U so I can update my facebook status or twitter. The fact that I can do them is a bonus, but I'll leave the mindless internet browsing to the ipad or desktop computer.

[Abash]

Anyone else notice that when Examiner's Steve Ruygrok writes an article about people talking about next gen, he specifically makes it all about the PS4? Its the most bizarre thing I have ever seen when 99% of the time the article is actually about BOTH upcoming consoles from Sony and MS.

This is just one example, read the article and he could have easily interchanged the title with PS4 or Xbox 720, nowhere does this solely say anything about the PS4

I bet it's a cheap tactic for hits

[VegaShinra]

He puts Xbox 720/PS4 in every headline he gets a chance to. Cheap hit baiting. Hopefully people will learn to avoid this guy in time.

[iamnsuperman]

"lol, I was never expecting the gamepad to be an ipad. That's what my Ipad is for. I expected the gamepad to be a touchscreen with new control methods for playing games, and that's exactly what it offers. "

Which for me is a miss opportunity for Nintendo. They really needed to make the controller extremely portable. Of course this would make things really expensive which makes me think screen in controllers in gaming is not ready yet. The fact you can play Wii U games on the controller is cool but completely unnecessary. Despite economic down turn more families have more than one TV since TVs are extremely cheap. Families do not sit in one room and watch TV anymore. What the Wii U could have done is play Wii U games on the go.

Combine that with extremely cheap, social, games then the Wii U will be flying off the shelves and into the masses hands. I think a big problem is it looks like the Wii U is competing with Ipads and children these days would rather have an Ipad because they can play their angry birds, sims style games anywhere while browsing the internet. The Wii U is limited to the home

It is interesting to have different input methods in games but that is a half step and Nintendo should have taken the full step forward. Also it is up to developers to really use the feature but if the other two console makers do not have screen controllers developers (except first party) are not going to spend extra time using it. It will be relegated to just menus.

[Neonridr]

I agree with some of your points, but saying that playing the game on the controller is unnecessary is completely untrue in my opinion. Yes I have a TV on every floor in the house, but the TV that is set up in my loft is the primary media TV. It's the 55" 3DTV, and that's where we watch our TV shows and movies because it has all the equipment hooked up to it. So being able to allow my wife to watch her reality TV shows or whatever while I can continue to play Black Ops 2 or Trine 2 on the gamepad is huge in my mind.

Obviously the off play feature isn't for everyone, but having the ability to play the game while I lie down in bed, or just to allow the Mrs. to hog the TV is a godsend for me. I wouldn't be playing the system half the time otherwise.

While the gamepad will undoubtedly be judged against things like the iPad just like the 3DS and Vita have to face competition from smartphones as they increase in power and capabilities, I still think they provide different experiences. A console gamer is expecting a little more depth than the latest angry bird or words with friends. The fact that the gamepad can browse the internet, or update your facebook should be considered bonuses, not requirements.

And with your last point, yes it is definitely up to the developers to utilize the gamepad screen effectively. Ubisoft did a great job using it for ZombiU and here's hoping other studios can offer great experiences with it too. Only time will tell of course.

[Jadedz]

Considering Wii U sales, every bit of negative press stings a bit more.

[LOL_WUT]

Well, if you're going to make a gamepad then at least do it right from the get go. Multitouch anyone? This is where Sony/Microsoft end up 1 upping Nintendo. ;)

[yabhero]

Yes, that's brilliant because the WiiUpad is already expensive and a multitouch screen would easily add 50-75 dollars right there

[Tei777]

"50-75 dollars"...... No

[DarkHeroZX]

Lol the vita screen cost about $50 but not because it's multi-touch but because its OLED. The Wii U uses an LCD screen and that's dirt cheap, atleast $10-15 bucks. Cheaper bought in bulk

[EddieNX]

Why would you need multitouch idiot ? To pinch and zoom like a girl on her glittery iphone ?

Don't be stupid. The wiiu had dual analogue sticks , it's easier and less gimmiky to zoom in by moving the analog stick forward.

Capacative screens have no use what so ever in real gaming. Most smartphones don't have buttons , so you need to be able to pinch and zoom.

The 3DS and Wiiu are both better off without capacative screens. They are button based consoles with secondary touch screens after all.

[herbs]

Sony just patented Blu-ray Discs with RF chips in them meaning if you buy a game it will only work on your console once you play it... Now that's innovation!
Hey bro can I borrow your game, oh wait :[
I'm not so sure I enjoy this game I gonna trade it in, oh wait :[
If Sony follows through with this there finished, wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft does the same. All hail Steambox lol ;)

[Muerte2494]

don't think for yourself do you? You let the internet do it for you. There has been so much speculation on this simply because it's been the only real news since quarterly reports. The ps3 was suppose to block used games. Did that end up happening, no. They should do what they're doing now with online passes. Lock content, and force the person to pay to unlock them. $10-$15 is reasonable and you're left with two choices, either buy it new, or Gamestop is going to have to drop the prices of they're used games to compete. Either way developers and you win. You get cheaper used games and your favorite studio wont have to shut their door forever.

[BitbyDeath]

'Well, if you're going to make a gamepad then at least do it right from the get go.'

Better yet, how bout no screen at all?

[Neonridr]

multi-touch is useless when the gamepad has all the buttons.

Name one game for the ipad that uses multi-touch other than for zooming in and out.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

People keep saying "multitouch multitouch multitouch" as if multitouch is good for gaming. Haven't you used a multitouch keyboard before? You never noticed how inaccurate poking things with your finger is? It's why we write with pens and pencils and not finger paint.

[Belking]

Maybe, maybe not. I don't think Nintendo is worried about Sony or MS. They have their audience too.

[MsmackyM]

Microsoft and I hate to say it Sony, could potentially lose big next generation. The situation in Europe is a foreshadow of what's coming to the US. With Europe dealing with it's economic crisis there's not much money families have to spend on non essentials such as gaming. Yeah Nintendo didn't go hogwild with it's specs, but I feel that was a move to remain somewhat still affordable in case the economy doesn't improve. And with having at least a year ahead of Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo has that time to continue to make it's case to gamers and families.

If Sony and Microsoft want to make powerful consoles they could potentially price themselves out of the market depending on the state of the economy. Personally I'm looking forward to what Sony has to offer and more than likely pick it up, but I can't say the same for families trying to cut back.

[iamnsuperman]

"The situation in Europe is a foreshadow of what's coming to the US. With Europe dealing with it's economic crisis there's not much money families have to spend on non essentials such as gaming"

The economic situation in Europe is because a few countries are failing (Spain, Italy and mainly Greece) and if they fail it will devalue the Euro which is why there is a lot of money trying to bail these countries out. Apart form those countries who (of course who's people cannot afford luxury items) the rest of Europe is just suffering similar economic problems the world has been suffering since 2007 and that hasn't stopped people buying in Europe £500 Ipads and phones. You will be surprised how people (despite a recession) buy luxury goods. It is usually holidays and things of that nature that suffer

[1upgamer99]

The Wii U is a great system and far from incompetent. I have been thinking about how great the Dreamcast was, and how I had PS1 and N64 but did not pick up a Dreamcast till late in its cycle. My PS1 and N64 were far less competent than Dreamcast, yet Dreamcast failed selling only 10 million total. What a great system, and far more advanced than anything else on the market at that time. I remember the first time I played it, and was like WOW. It was the biggest leap in graphics I have ever seen from one Gen to the next. This next gen is not going to be that great of a leap COMPARATIVELY. If you look at games like, The Last Of US, Can it be improved if it were Next Gen sure....But not as greatly as N64/Dreamcast levels. I am thinking AI and physics will be the greater leap next gen. We have yet to see what Wii U can really do.

[cee773]

the dreamcast failed because of:

1.lack of 3rd party(even though it birthed the best nba and nfl games of all time).

2.GD-ROM easily pirated to CD-R(and DVD was the the new thing to have)

3.The controller Lacking many of the inputs sony made standard since ps1 like dual analog and 10 buttons including R2 and R3 meaning sacrifices would have to be made to games that take advantage of the many inputs ps1 made standard

ImO dreamcast was the birth of xbox down to the controller sega showed microsoft the blueprint when microsft put windows CE in the console they learned alot from sega

@wiiulee

Just like nintendo copied psp and Vita with single and dual analog on a handheld right sony dont need a pad with a screen thats what vita is for vita and ps4 will be superior than wii U in everyway when it comes to gaming on 2 screens at once and oh yeah taking your game anywhere.

nintendo lacked foresight making 3DS with no vita/ps3/ps4 like functionality It lacked a second analog until vita released

[doogiebear]

I can't understand the lack of 3rd party love though. Kinda sad.Where did Dreamcast go wrong there?

[MasterCratosKong66]

nintendo didn't lack the foresight, 3ds compatability has been in the plan the whole time. not to mention they have been doing it since gcb/gba

[cee773]

so why not make dual analog standard? or as well as missing additional buttons you can assign each dualshock button to the vita has all the inputs of a standard console controller

[1upgamer99]

LMAO, Nintendo had the handheld market before Sony even thought of getting into the Video game market...also BEFORE Sony, Nintendo had the analog and C-stick....so No Nintendo did not do it first on a handheld, but who copied who????? Really.....Also Dreamcast had more games than you have ever even thought of playing...No you are wrong..I had one and I know...You are more than likely less than 30 years old...

[cee773]

@1up

No nintendo did not have analog control or the c stick until the gamecube the n64 stick was digital do your research and I had a dreamcast as well, while it had a lot of gems im not knocking the games one bit it simply lacked key 3rd party
EA games(sports etc.)wanted to be the only sports game on DC when sega declined they stepped away, GTA III, squaresoft games(FF etc.) and key konami games like MGS etc.

NOT TO MENTION CONTROLLER INPUTS THAT SONY MADE STANDARD SINCE PS1 4 FACE BUTTONS,4 SHOULDER(DC has 2) AND 2 ANALOG STICKS(DC has 1) AS WELL AS L3 and R3(DC has None)

[EddieNX]

The dreamcast was a 6th generation console. The first one. a 128Bit console like PS2.

The Sega Saturn was the 5th generation console with the N64 and ps1.

The dreamcast was doing not to bad , Sega just buckled. There were about 10M sold after a year and a half - 2 years. Not too shabby.

But yeh , the dreamcast was the first 6th gen console with the ps2 , GC and Xbox following. By the time the xbox came out though , Sega had buckled.

[RGB]

Dude the Dreamcast completely tanked. It was released 16 months before the PS2 and by the end of 2000 the PS2 had nearly doubled the Dreamcast's total.

Anyway on topic, the Wii U to me is just a 1080p PS3 with more RAM. The CPU is weak, the RAM is budget RAM and the only saviour in the system is the GPU but by sometime this year or next, when the PS4 and the 3rd Xbox drops, the Wii U will be really poor technically.

£310 for a premium Wii U just seems like a complete rip-off when it's barely a jump from PS3/360 and you get 32GB system store max. The primitive network and slow OS is just another kick in the teeth. Said it before and I'll say it again. A none gimmick Zelda HD or even Majora's Mask HD remake or sequel will make me consider a purchase but I'm waiting and probably for years to come. I've almost lost all faith in Nintendo now.

[wiiulee]

lol haha...so sony is getting ready copy wiiu and add something to gamepad and call it a six axis gamepad....they never learn , they cant innovate, at least i give microsoft credit for trying....the tech inside the wiiu is good enough tech....nintendo shows they are always the leaders...next generation ends like this wiiu greater then xbox next greater then ps3....sony will come in last again im afraid.

[Raoh]

Funny you said sixaxis. People laughed at it but smiled at the wiiu gameapad gyro functions? And i'm sure many devs wanted to do similar functions as patents have shown where you move your 360 controller and its recognized by kinect to work like sixaxis.

Eyetoy during ps2, and motion games with voice and face recognition were displayed by sony for ps3, but gamers and media said they didn't want it. Ms does it and its embraced.

MS didn't create the tech ms bough the company and patents. THat company was at a ces show before ms's announcement of natal, i posted it on forums from the pc side and no one cared, ms then bought the company and tech then showed the same exact tech running more than what kinect can do on a pc and every one raved, nothing that natal showed actually came true but people still loved ms for it.

People are taking crazy pills i tell you.

"You've never seen anything like it, the reason why, this is video gaming without any controls"

http://youtu.be/au3UJHItYgc

http://youtu.be/5TaUsSy-f0Y

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

http://youtu.be/GZMPrlJwt1U

If you really want to be amazed, here is an old video of g speak, truly minority report and blows anything microsoft or sony have to offer

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

The key input controller that no one is using, just like in minority report, is gloves for accuracy.

No but yall right, sony is copying ms. Which is funny, sony has been around the living room doing media since before some of you were born and the ps3 was slammed for being too much like a media device, but now everyone is praising ms for becoming more of a media device? Yeah, that's not fanboyish.

[Raoh]

Both sony and microsoft will.

Next gen will not play out the way anyone expects. Many many variables.

With reliable hardware from microsoft, people won't be rebuying their consoles over and over like they did this gen. Also while microsoft is losing ground to google and apple in mobile and enterprise, xbox is gaining ground as a popular family brand in homes. I expect more family/casual gamers from the playstation and nintendo fan base to migrate if they haven't already to microsoft. Lots of new casuals who are more halo/cod friendly than mario friendly.

Sony will have fixed their online network to rival xbox live. I expect sony to not only fight and remind people of its living room media device dominance but steal hardcore gamers from nintendo and microsoft. For example I grew up on nintendo and sega, I don't play nintendo games anymore as an adult, its either playstation or xbox/pc for my choice of more mature selections.

Both will try establish value. One through hardware features one through online and a little of both from both.

Kinect schminect, eyetoy, logitech camera blah blah blah, expect similar offerings from everyone, including stand along tv's soon without a console. SOny introduced all this already and people dismissed it but embraced ms, eventually everyone will just accept this to be standard tech from every company including any new competitors to enter the ring, including samsung, apple, valve etc.

nintendo, needs new exclusives. People are outgrowing mario/zelda. Yes it sells and has a hardcore following but let me use microsoft's halo as an example. Lets assume the 70 million xbox 360 console numbers are accurate. Lets just say every halo sells 5 million copies in two years per release. Its not the 5 million that are important. Its the 65 million other xbox 360 owners that did not buy halo that need something else other than the standard xbox 360 game. The same can be said for nintendo fans. This is where Sony has a nice edge if used properly. Not every sony game may sell like a halo but if your not an uncharted fan sony does offer lots of options from its first party compared to ms.

I bought a wii u for interest/curiosity in the tech and zombiu. I hate COD but bought it because there really isn't any other competitive shooter offered. I have no interest in mario.

Another big factor is the economy and if microsoft plans to support the 360 like sony does ps2/ps3 when the next gen arrives. I still see in the holidays lower income families buy ps2 for their kids, they can't afford a new 360/ps3. Yes even now and with discounts. So I do expect, with ps2 now to be almost fully discontinued, that the 360 and ps3 will see a nice increase in the next two holidays after next gen releases and current gen price drops. Both have an amazing library. I wouldn't count out the original wii selling out the wii u next year either. Lots of great wii deals out there.

For many reasons, I'm sticking with playstation and pc.THe next gen new ips from ms will be interesting to see but if not too exciting, I don't expect much from console third parties that I won't get better and cheaper on pc.

[Belking]

Good points but you are really underestimating the role that apple may play in this too. Belive me, both sony and MS have some concerns about Ipad and what apple is up too. They may not have a console but those Ipad sales will continue to put a dent in console and handhelds. The gaming industry is changing and there are people who are opting to buy Ipad over consoles. The average gamer don't really care who a game is published or developed by. They just want fun games. Even kids a certain age are choosing Ipads over 3ds and vita. It's hard to believe but it's true. Especially here in my area. The hottest item this Christmas for kids and adults were ipads. Parent's are jumping all over them because of it's versatility and cheaper game prices. The core gamers will always choose the consoles but it's getting harder for them to win over any casuals.

o.k. Hicken now you can come and reply and say that i'm just hating on sony to make them look bad like you always do.

[Thepcz]

if it was so incompetent, sony wouldnt even capitalize on it, they would do something different. ie not copy it.

sony are the incompetent ones, since their answer to everything is raw power or try to tick every box (ie cd player, dvd player, bluray player, media device, add more buttons to the controller, toaster functionality, doorstop etc)

when it comes to actually coming with a product that is innovative, sony dont have a clue. thats why they simply look to nintendo for inspiration, or as the 'article' put it ''capitalize.' what that should really read is- plagiarize. since that is what sony always do

if the console market was an exam, and sony, microsoft and nintendo were all in the exam room, sony would be peeping at nindendos papers and copying all their ideas and answers. lame

sony needs to cut it out, or get out the business. aren't they happy trolling the ENTIRE electronics market with their over-priced products?

i guarantee you the ps4 will merely be the same as the ps3,2 and 1, in that it will have absolutely no innovation, just more processing power, bigger numbers on the spec sheet for graphic whores and spec sluts to go oooh and aaaah over.

there will be no improvements to the gaming experience, no innovation, simply higher res graphix and smother frame rates. ie ps1 games with shiny shoes on.

without nintendo, sony would be totally lost in the console business, so they should thank god, or whoever the god of plagiarism is, that they even have nintendos 'incompetence' to learn from. because even an incompetent nintendo is vastly more talented and creative than sony.

sonys rnd department is just a few people searching the net for the latest nintendo innovation. then they go about ways to completely rip it off and offer it at a premium price.

suckers

[Npugz7]

That won't be hard! The WiiU is a piece of crap!

[megamanX2]

so i guess you have been playing crap for 8 years with xbox/ps3.

[ShaunCameron]

It seems like so.

[donman1]

PS4/WiiU.... its a win win. Very few will just have one console next generation.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I am absolutely rocking that combo. Can't wait for PS4.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

Personally, I buy Nintendo Consoles for Fire Emblem/Samus (Metroid)/Link (Zelda)/Smash Bros/<(Monolith Soft RPGs> & then for whatever else graces the console- that catches my fancy.

The only reason I want a PS3 is for Quantic Dream.

-Until that changes Nintendo could go back to 8-bit for all I care. I 've been wanting a Retro Zelda for a while now.

I always thought that they should have made an 25th Anniversary game that included all of the Graphics styles of Zelda over the years.

[lfclee]

I buy Nintendo because I have always been a fan , though I'm no fanboy .

[ShaunCameron]

Or it could end up being yet another multibillion-dollar ****-up like the PlayStation 3 was.