Company president Satoru Iwata reveals tablet controller nearly scrapped due to projection of high cost, takes shot at Microsoft's SmartGlass app.
One of the Wii U's most unique features--the tablet-like GamePad--was nearly scrapped. Speaking to The Telegraph, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that the Tokyo game giant harbored concerns over the cost associated with such a controller.
"Sometime during that final discussion we almost gave up on the idea of the additional screen," Iwata said. "This was due to our concern over the expected high cost. It may not have been feasible to create this and sell it at a reasonable price point for the consumers."
Elsewhere in the interview, Iwata explained why he feels the Wii U is an optimal experience when compared to competing offerings, like Microsoft's SmartGlass companion application.
"Just imagine that you are playing with the traditional game controller and they are saying that you need an additional screen as well," he said. "Most of us just have two arms, so how are we meant to hold this additional device?"
Lastly, Iwata was critical of Nintendo's 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo media briefing last week. He said the company fell short of communicating the uniqueness of the Wii U experience during its presentation.
"I knew there was a lot of skepticism after our presentation asking if the uniqueness would be appreciated by the consumer," he said. "But what happened was that more people came to our show booth every day and started to appreciate the unique approach of the Wii. Even so, that excitement wasn't fully communicated."
The Wii U is due for a worldwide release this holiday season. No price for the system has been announced, but one analyst recently suggested the console must sell for under $300 at launch.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
Wii U without the GamePad... That just wouldn't seem very Nintendo at all... They always need to take some "abstract" approach to consoles in order to make them unique. It's sad that 3rd parties were scared away (looking at you Wii), but hopefully Nintendo lands it on the mark this time
2 Like The thing that worries me about the Wii U is not the hardware or the first-party games. It's the third-party games. I'm not convinced that developers will make the effort to provide unique and rewarding gaming experiences. Nintendo needs to go out of their way to assist and attract developers with unique and interesting ideas.
1 Like @rarson You're exactly right. Developers are just so stuck in their ways and most of them flat out refuse to take a risk on a new system no matter how good it might be. I mean, that was the major problem with the Wii; developers were just too conservative and it seems most of them would rather just create hyper violent FPS than fun, social gaming experiences now.
1 Like Reaaly can people not see what this is really its a giant ds
aka TV = top screen on the ds
aka wii pad = bottom touch screen on the ds
so people what were looking at is a high performance home ds console
Except that the two screens are no longer fixed, which adds a whole new dimension to the gameplay.
@kinghorn316 Its kind like that, the good thing is the part u can use the tv for other things when you can play in the tablet.
1 Like Smart glass is really a gimmick and a stupid one since you doesnt need for anything since is just third controller with a screen and NONE buttons.
1 Like I would prefer the 4:3 3DS LL to match the VITa (I have both), to come out than Wii U, the E3 was horrible, total deception.
The excitement wasn't communicated, Iwata, because it wasn't there! It's not like the people were holding back tears of joy over your Wii 1.5.
When they say they almost tossed the idea, that's probably talking early in the development process. I'm guessing a lot of the cost is in the touch screen, but they observed that touch screens are becoming much cheaper and will continue to (especially non-multitouch).
1 Like "I dont know Goku, I got a bad feeling about all this" (Krillin voice)
But I still want WiiU
I thought the same thing everone has been posting. Then i got to thinking about a ps vita demo with the ps3. they were doing the the same thing with games as the wii u gamepad. but the one thing that sticks in my mind is that if i was to get one, that i could play more games. for of us gamers that dont still live at at mommy and/or daddy's, we generally have kids or or a girlfriend that ties up the tv. for all all real world, secert teen , and reallity bulls--t i have to live with. maybe that screen and support for 2nd gamepad maybe me and my children have a chance to play some mario, zombie u, zelda in hd with some headphones and save us some from the girlfriends tv show misery. and the fact sony wanting to copy it. It might just rock. you dont buy nintendo for parties. its all their ip's you buy the for. So i just waiting to dog it for now. but its nintendo so in my house, its still a buy.
1 Like ..."and so we dropped multi touch capabilities to bring you a cheaped out screen at a decent price."
1 Like
1. A decent price is an absolute necessity. Nintendo has obviously been selling game systems long enough to realize this. Especially since they're facing the task of getting current Wii owners, who may be less likely to buy a new, expensive game console, to upgrade.
2. Multi-touch probably wouldn't add much. What the heck would you need multi-touch for? Pinch gestures? You can't hold the thing AND use two hands on the touch screen at the same time.
As it is, the controller has all the buttons, all the gyro and accelerometer information, the microphone, AND the touchscreen for input. How much more do you need? If it had 2-finger multi-touch, you'd probably complain that it didn't have 3.
1 Like Then Nintendo realized that idea was too smart.
Nintendo love to do sh!t ass backwards.
1 Like "Nintendo almost dropped Wii U GamePad". Don't worry, owners will probably drop it often enough to make up for it. Hope its shock-proof.
I have no interest in this.. but interested to see what kind of games they make for it.
I'm not insulting you, I'm questioning your maturity. I'm also now questioning your ability to reason based on the giant leap of logic it takes to derive fanboy status from my comment. The only Nintendo console I currently own is an SNES.
Given the maturity of your posts, I would guess that you are somewhere in the 8-12 range.
@rarson An age insult coming from a Nintendumb fanboy! Ahaha that's rich loser. Suprised you took time off of your Mario games and wii fit just to insult me.
I am glad they did not scrap. Sometimes it is good to take risk and modify your first plans. I would not give up so easily. Now if it were a problem, then I would not mind if they did scrap it. But I am glad they did not give up because I like it better than traditional controllers.
1 Like That gamepad is awfully complicated, and durability is a concern... maybe it's best if they just scrap the idea.
i dont understand the quote that he makes, because the screen is on the controller is it not? and its used for like a menu screen or an inventory screen, personally i dont understand the point, why not make an enhanced version or the original wii remote? or just take the stupid screen out and make it a classic controller with a wii motion sensor?, seriously i would have scrapped the extra screen idea
It can be used as an inventory screen, or a way to add extra buttons to the controller. Or it can be used as an additional screen, to show areas in the game relative to the player that aren't visible on the main screen. Or it can be used without the TV at all, allowing players to play games on the console without using the TV. I probably wouldn't be interested in the Wii U at all if they had scrapped the controller.
1 Like so how durable the gamepad is? i've dropped my psp several times (and my phone and everything possible :D) and its still working fine, so i can expect this can take some beating too? but i'd like to know how many %'s of the wii u's price goes to the controller?
Had they dropped the pad, or made the screen smaller, they would have been able to launch with a ridiculous price. I hope the risk pays off.
17 Like "Most of us just have two arms"
I dispute this. Iwata is being racist towards cyborgs and human centipedes.
I think the Wii U will be $350 - $400. If they released it at $299, they will be losing some serious dollars for the first 12-18 months. The tablet controller alone probably costs $100-$150 to manufacture by itself. Nintendo could sell it separately, but it's really one of the main reasons to own a Wii U, so I doubt they will do that.
I think his statement pretty much implies that they were targeting a $299 price point. I doubt the tablet controller will cost more than $100 to manufacture, considering you can get 7" tablets off Amazon for $75, and those actually have CPUs inside them. The hardware inside the Wii U, while perfectly capable of high-def gaming, isn't exactly top-shelf, so I doubt it'll cost a lot to manufacture. I think Nintendo will be able to sell it for $299 without taking a big loss.
1 Like Umm, maybe we could put the tablet on our laps and hold the other controller with our 2 hands. I don't, it could work! HAHA! Nintendo is just an epic fail waiting to happen.
1 Like @CrusaderForever Yes because that is how I want to game, with a pad on my lap. Or having to look elsewhere besides the controller or the tv screen. Maybe they cleaned him out just before they ate him. Think McFly, THINK!
@FoxExecutive The tablet will more than like be used for a map or to just click on Links boomerang. So having it sit on your lap or next to you on the couch wouldn't be a big deal. Also Nintendo should offer the tablet controller as an option not a must have. They could sell the WiiU a lot cheaper and those who want to be able to click on Links boomerange quickly can go out and purchase the tablet controller.
Developers won't support a peripheral that doesn't come in the box. If it doesn't come with the console, then it's not worth doing at all. That's the entire point of this article, the fact that Nintendo had to weigh whether or not to sell the Wii U with the controller or not sell the controller at all.
@CrusaderForeverGood, i have been waiting 30 years for an epic fail. Is it gonna happen soon? NO. you sir are an idiot.
@fig56 Just remember my post when you drop/throw your tablet controller because Kirby's Epic Yarn 2 is to hard for you! It will be so fun to go out and buy another tablet controller for $150.
@fig56 personally fig56 i love nintendo games, but this wii u gamepad is almost completely idiotic id say those controller pads are going to range from 90-130 bucks, whose gonna wanna pay that?, and if the console ends up being around 300 or more than people will be dishing out way more money then they should have to
2 Like @Rovelius Shortly after the Wii U was announced, they hinted that it might only support 1 controller, but they didn't have the specs finalized back then. They've more recently confirmed that it'll support 2 tablet controllers at once; a game's framerate will be cut in half if you do it, though.
@Rovelius how come they are setup as a controller then? that doesnt make any sense, its the controller and an extra screen so then how would it only be limited to 1 per console
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