Wii U Is Dead? Not If Nintendo Buys Unity

Could Nintendo attract more developers with a game engine?

[CerealKiller]

Read the article and I still cannot comprehend how Nintendo and the Wii U would benefit from Nintendo buying the rights to a game engine.

[EcoSos3]

I don't get it either, but doesn't Nintendo make their own game engines anyway?

[jhoward585]

Nintendo are making their own game engines which is a smart move. Most engines are distinguishable no matter what game is rendered and I think Nintendo don't want that. That said, its appears to me Nintendo aren't interested in buying 3rd party game engine. It could be that the 3rd party game engine don't give them the full creative control they need to make their games.

[CobraKai]

Yeah that was always nice about Nintendo. The last thing I wanna see is Metroid or Zelda running on Unreal Engine.

[nunley33]

Unity is popular with the indies on WiiU and 3ds and some 3rd parties right now. I don't see it either, buying capcom would serve them better.

[jay2]

I do see why, so many Unity games out there that could just come over or offer licenses like they said I see exactly where they're coming from, BUT they need to get with the times....... The WII U is basically a PS3/360 with half the others hardware in it. What Nintendo need to do is actually make hardware that are with the times, if possible above PS4/xbox one, get some decent games exclusive to it and return from this mistake that's sold less than current (PS4/xbone) consoles.

[fatneal]

ps4 and xb1 arent much more powerful than wiiU. the difference isnt night and day its more like dawn and afternoon. also xb1 hasnt sold more than wiiU

[ShinMaster]

You mean the Wii U isn't that much more powerful than the PS3 and 360.

The difference between PS4/XB1 and Wii U is almost the same as the difference between PS4/XB1 and PS3/360 when looking at multiplatform cross-gen titles.

From a technical standpoint, Wii U is the not first of the 8th gen consoles, it's the last of the 7th gen consoles. So it's very much comparable to PS3 and 360, IMO.

[Chrischi1988]

Yeah, it has nothing to do with Wii U only getting Xbox 360 ports ;) *facepalm*

Nintendos first party look way better than Sony or MS first party on 7th gen, this should tell you enough. Look at AC4 for Wii U, it is closer to next gen than last gen, but believe what you want.

[jay2]

Of cause games are going to look better than ps3/360 because it has more powerful hw, it's gen 7.5 if anything.

[fatneal]

@shinmast @Chrischi1988 @jay2

WAKE UP SHEEP!!!!!

theres was hardly a graphical leap from last gen to this gen. between ps3/360/wiiU/ps4/xb1 theres hardly a difference period!....with that said theres an even smaller gap between wiiU and xb1/ps4 hence why they all are sub hd consoles...none of em are running 1080p 60 frames consistently so theres no difference from last gen idiots.

and its irrelevant anyway because a minor increase in power isnt helping the fact ps4 and xb1 have a shitty game library right...lets hope drive club lives up to the hype or ps4 might only be useful for nba2k15 until xmas 2015 lol

[ShinMaster]

@ fatneal

You're looking at cross-gen titles.

I can play a game from 2004 in 1080p at 60fps, but that doesn't make it any more next-gen than PS4/XB1 games. And you're calling us idiots?

[Chrischi1988]

Fatneal, I will let this go, because it seems like I am talking to a child here. This is what is wrong with the whole gaming communities, that the little children dont even try to be nice or something, they instantly insult others, cannot take other opinions and cant have a normal conversation. And you are obviously one of these guys, who actually believe in the whole 1080p 60fps crap, like there is not much more to graphics like that. You do know, that the required ressources for increased resolution grows exponentially, dont you? But whatever, no sense in trying to talk to you or anybody like you.

[fatneal]

@Chrischi1988 firs off im older than you so your whole child premise is null and void. secondly im sorry you took my worlds as me insulting you but this isnt a matter of opinion this is all fact. not once did i say 1080p 60 fps is all there is to graphics, i said the fact that ps4/xb1 are sub-hd consoles just like ps3/360 is very telling of how little the leap in power was/is from last gen to this gen. thats fact sir. thinking otherwise isnt a matter of differing opinions it just means yall are wrong.

ive been very vocal online and during water cooler talk about how the modern gamer annoys me with there obsession with resolution and fps...im a nintendo guy obviously and yes i understand nintendo hasnt released a powerful console since gamecube but that hasnt stopped me from enjoying their system of MS or sonys. ive never owned a MS console but ive owned/own every sony console except vita...i dont see the difference...i even game on my mac and again with the settings maxed out i dont see whats so amazing about minor upgrades...the only thing ive seen that impresed me was the watch dog mods and gta mods both of which i havent experience because im not into the whole mod thing but it looks amazing...but thats not what xb1/ps4 offers tho. they offer a slight upgrade from last gen to now...they didnt double in power, the power was increased 10%...big difference

[mydyingparadiselost]

I would agree with your plan for their hardware but it's already been done, it's what they did with the GameCube. The GC was more powerful than its competition and had those third party exclusives, but sold less than the others. Maybe it would be different now but honestly, I'm not too sure it would be. I just can't see anyone from the Sony/MS camp deciding to get a Nintendo console instead of the competitors, no matter the circumstance.

[herbs]

Nintendo has been slowly developing improving their same 3D game engines since the GameCube this is the reason they still use similar hardware as well. The Wii Us CPU is basically 3 overclocked GameCube CPUs with some modern features. This enables them to carry over all their existing engines to further improve upon instead of having to do a complete overhaul (Example the new Zelda U game is using an enhanced Windwaker engine) People always bring up specs but specs don't tell the whole story Nintendo's game engines and hardware are all about efficiency and working around limitations this is part of their creative process and one of the main reasons their games are so great they are often able to achieve more with less...

[N4g_null]

Everyone wishes the wiiu was a Xbox 360 or ps3. The problem is every one is using fixed function shaders on a system that is designed for free form graphics. This system is closer to what the gpu makers are making. Plus they didn't ditch the power pc design, they only made it so a better power pc chip can be used.

They really did a good job on this. Sony and ms have wrappers that emulate the old stuff.

This is what unity3d does.

You can pretty much make any effect you want now and the power of this means when nintendo upgrades you will not need a port it will simply run better.

This is the best thing to happen to gaming because this console is ready to go portable now. It is also ready for iterations in the platform much like most mobile tech.

Then comes the unification of home console and handheld so that you can fully use the power of some thing like unity3d.

Once nintendo adopts a power race like samsung sony may not be able to keep up. Heck even ms has already started falling behind.

Also sony is notorious for fluffing numbers. They have been doing this since day one. The ps1 and ps2 had some insane bus speeds, the cell cpu could process an insane amount of information. ... Yet all of those specs proved to be useless in game design. The ps2 is now admitted weaker than the ngc. Yet flash back to the ps2 and fanboys and execs where trumpeting a different tune.

Now they just let a desperate fanbase spread the lies. Sure ram is great and so is the teraflop rate yet it is barely 2 and the wiiu is barely 1. Yet here is the problem the low end is about to be 3 in smart phones and tablets with in the next year.

3 is needed for the gpgpu effects designers want. The high end is reaching for 4 and 6 teraflops.

If you can't afford these chips then understand one thing no one can, which is why all systems will start having account systems to subsidize that price.

An account system will need backward compatible hardware and software. A chips that scale. Nintendo is just going for a different purpose with their systems. They are not trying to be junior pcs they are making consoles and handheld consoles.

[Dudebro90]

Nintendo has billions in the bank. They are fine even if the Wii U doesnt sell another unit.

[JEECE]

The thing is, you don't make all that money so you can turn around and lose it. Don't get me wrong, cash reserves are good when a business makes a bad move, but Nintendo won't just sit and burn through their cash, as their shareholders wouldn't go for it. Fortunately they have the 3DS, but even that isn't selling as well as the DS did, because unfortunately where our generation was raised on Nintendo handhelds, kids today are often just handed an iphone to play bad touch games. That of course will eventually hurt all the players in the video games market, but that is a whole other conversation.

[wannabe gamer]

this is whats called washed up. if they dont do anything successful then their brand suffers and the name is worthless someday.

like a famous actor that does very well then does nothing forever and all the money they have means nothing eventually when they have no selling power.

[KaladinStormblessed]

When was the WiiU dead again?

[Metallox]

When we knew that Retro was making a side-scroller, or at least for me.

[ShinMaster]

Wasn't that Tropical Freeze?

[Gravity_DoGG]

so Metroid side crolling? sounds neat.

BUT NOT IF IT'S IN THE WAY OF A 3D

[Concertoine]

What's up man? Usually you post some pretty decent comments.

You've been on the Wii U news way after Tropical Freeze was announced and were praising the system (when necessary of course) and now you're saying its been dead to you since June 2013?

[ShinMaster]

^^Third-person/side scrolling Metroid would be awesome.

[Qrphe]

Youve got to be a fanboy to spew out stuff like this. I know people get huge empowerement when their favorite corporations buys something eith a name but buying Unity is illogical no matter how you look at it.

[WeAreLegion]

The Wii U is doing fine. Super Smash will ensure a great holiday season for the system, as well. The 3DS will be just fine with Smash and Pokemon, too. So, Nintendo isn't exactly hurting for money. ;)

[Man_Marmalade]

Smash Bros

[Kevlar009]

Nintendo already gives a lot of help to those trying to make games for WiiU. A lot of Indie Devs talked about how smooth the process was for them, how Nintendo was just a phone call away from getting tech support. The WiiU fully supports Unity , buying it wouldn't do much, especially since Nintendo has some of the best game engines already in abundance through their many Dev teams.

[Einhert]

Wii U is dead?

lol what? say that when Smash Bros and the new Zelda game release.

[HappyWithOneBubble]

Wii U have a 2m lead over XB1 and the past months have sold more weekly but yet we still getting Wii U is dead articles. Where is the XB1 is dead articles?

[Mega24]

um, WiiU has been out for about 2 years, Both PS4/XBO only have 10½ months out, One steamed rolled it, the other one is getting closer to it.

[marloc_x]

Psst..Wii U has well surpassed 36 million pieces of software..

[plmkoh]

And Xbox One has well surpassed 16 million pieces of software even with only a handful of exclusives in 10 months. What's your point?

[wannabe gamer]

you mean unity is dead if bought by Nintendo

[HentaiMasterRace]

Ugh, another dead article....no device in this gen is dead!! Some just have a rough start.

[DoggyBiscuit]

This article is just stupid talking bout buying Unity would give Nintendo a better 3rd party support, the Wii U is not getting no 3rd party support simply because Wii U owners don't buy 3rd party games Nintendo buying Unity will not change that

[Theyellowflash30]

Wii U is not getting no 3rd party support simply because Wii U owners don't buy 3rd party games

- The Wii U's major third party support is filled with Crappy Xbox 360 ports.

Indie developers games are selling much better on the Wii U like Shovel Knight because they don't suck.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

The reason third parties aren't getting their multiplats to sell on the Wii U is because the majority of them suck ass compared to the other versions of said multiplats on other systems, and third parties intentionally made them that way to cut costs, thinking that we'd be sheepish enough to buy into it.
It didn't work, they're not selling, indies are beating the pants off of them on the system.
They'll get better sales when they've earned back the trust they've lost.

[aerisbueller]

So.... Buying an engine most famous for its ease in cross-platform development, and which can already make Wii u games will benefit them how again?

[irishyort]

Noooooooooooooo!

Don't buy Unity, I am learning to use it.

I don't want my time wasted on exclusivity if it heads down that path. Multi plat was my angle not Ninty only.

[mrdxpr2]

I hope not making the engine Nintendo only will just make it go back to when it started pountles the reason unity is popular is it's easy development process and the ammount of tutorials it has for wtvr it is u wanna make for the price. Compare udk and cry engine they are more pricey and requires more work and time but better engines of course

[LazyGoron]

I love my Wii U

But I have the tragic flaw of completionism (yes it exists). I hate that there's no online/completion tracking system for the Wii U games /eShop games. Just give me challenges or rewards or awards or trophies :)

I love my Wii U

[N4g_null]

If anything nintendo should author their own port of unity3d. The team over at unity3d are only a few steps behind the others. Also the thing still only uses one core in the trip core.

We are waiting on unity3d 5 to bring along every thing needed to like multi core debugging and better resource management. The api is coming along fine though.

I would advise learning c++ then you won't have to worry about an engine being bought. Also you can already use Javascript and play games thur the wiius Web browser.

The system is becoming a complete package. Yet this happens with every dev kit.

I'd rather for the next metroid to support modding thur a retro studio tool on pc directly. Much like how epic did it with unreal.

[CertifiedGamer]

This would just cause more developers to abandon Unity as Nintendo will likely force developers to use it exclusively on Nintendo consoles then some other company will make an engine similar to unity but better which will become the new unity engine.