New Nintendo Console Won't Get A HDD

[Guest]

The new Wii may go HD, but there won't be an HDD.

New Nintendo Console Won't Get A HDD : Read more

 

[ballinjoey2332]

why is tom so far behind in technology. I heard this from G4 like 2 days ago.

 

[NuclearShadow]

[citation][nom]ballinjoey2332[/nom]why is tom so far behind in technology. I heard this from G4 like 2 days ago.[/citation]

Because console news isn't worth reporting on time.

 

[Ragnar-Kon]

[citation][nom]ballinjoey2332[/nom]why is tom so far behind in technology. I heard this from G4 like 2 days ago.[/citation]
First time I've heard of it. Then again I don't have cable TV so...

After reading the title I was afraid I would open up the article and read "because the data will be stored on the cloud!"

And I don't understand/believe the controller either. Normally I buy 3-4 spare controllers on top of the one that ships with the system. But I'll tell you right now it sounds like these controllers are going to cost $150+. Ummm..... no.

 

[bustapr]

downloadable content and patching is a BIG part of todays games, as well as multiplayer. Dont see how this would work out, Nintendo needs to catch up, or else they wont be able to fight back against the next Sony and MS consoles. People now know to expect alot from consoles, people already know that Wii sucked. Many people arent going to fall for motion controls again. They want fun great games, and many more people want multiplayer, which is something nintendo hasnt been good at, and doesnt look like its gonna get any better without an HDD.

 

[silverblue]

[citation][nom]NuclearShadow[/nom]Because console news isn't worth reporting on time.[/citation]
Then why comment?

 

[pozaks]

Meh, a 32GB sdhc is $50 now. 128GB sdxc are under $200, and that price will halve every few months. Probably by the time the new console is out they'll be down to less than $100.

Hard drives aren't necessary anymore.

 

[captainnemojr]

[citation][nom]bustapr[/nom]downloadable content and patching is a BIG part of todays games, as well as multiplayer. Dont see how this would work out, Nintendo needs to catch up, or else they wont be able to fight back against the next Sony and MS consoles. People now know to expect alot from consoles, people already know that Wii sucked. Many people arent going to fall for motion controls again. They want fun great games, and many more people want multiplayer, which is something nintendo hasnt been good at, and doesnt look like its gonna get any better without an HDD.[/citation]

I don't understand the logic of your comment. Most of the games today are half-ass 2-hour campaign games that make you pay more money just to get another 2-hour DLC or more multiplayer maps. I don't think people expected much from the Wii other than playability and that it was fun to play and the games were good. Nintendo concentrates on solid games that are made right the first time and don't require DLC or patching. And if they don't fall for motion controllers, then why did Microsoft and Sony spend all that money developing Kinect and Move?

 

[kinggraves]

Seriously guys, go buy a ruler. A 6 inch screen? Include the normal buttons and you're practically holding a keyboard in your hands. The lack of internal memory doesn't surprise me though. Nintendo's strategy isn't to be a media console, so they don't need space for movies/music or other d/l content like that. As stated, the memory could be increased with SD cards, and it's likely to have an SD slot considering SD is part of the current DS plan. I am a bit disappointed if this is true, consoles need to catch up with PCs and adopt downloading games. If Nintendo doesn't do it, someone will.

A lot of people seem to be focusing on things like the controller and ignoring the oddest rumor of all, the projector. It seems pointless to put a projector in to display the image on a wall...but what if it's not going to be used to project the screen? It seems more like Nintendo to use a projector to project a game area onto the floor. Add in the tracking camera and you could interactively move on the game area. Seems a bit dumb to me, but then again, so did dual screens and motion controls.

 

[adamboy64]

Yeah, all this is still a rumor.
But, if it does turn out there's only 8Gb of storage, you can beat there won't be much of a downloadable service, or an online service for that matter.

 

[Thunderfox]

8 gigs is enough to download more N64 games, or maybe add gamecube titles to the virtual console. That's all they care about. This is for them, not developers.

 

[shoelessinsight]

[citation][nom]bustapr[/nom]downloadable content and patching is a BIG part of todays games, as well as multiplayer. Dont see how this would work out, Nintendo needs to catch up, or else they wont be able to fight back against the next Sony and MS consoles. People now know to expect alot from consoles, people already know that Wii sucked. Many people arent going to fall for motion controls again. They want fun great games, and many more people want multiplayer, which is something nintendo hasnt been good at, and doesnt look like its gonna get any better without an HDD.[/citation]
I think it makes sense for Nintendo to not include a hard drive when you consider their current market. Hard drives are great and they enable all sorts of cool features, but taking advantage of those features also introduces some negative factors as well.

Downloads, patches, installs, progress bars... if someone isn't tech savvy, these things can be confusing or frustrating. When they play a game, they don't want to push X twice to confirm they want to download the latest patch, and they don't want to have to agree to yet another EULA, and they don't want to stare a progress bar that tells them that they still can't play their game.

With a Wii console, a person can pick up and hold, see, and feel a game. It has a physical presence in their world (as opposed to some vague concept somewhere on their hard drive). They can then put that game into the console and say, "I want to play this game!" And then, just like that, they get to actually play it!

Of course, they'll never know the joys of downloading a game or demo from the comfort of their living room, or fixing frustrating bugs and/or game balance through patching. They also won't get the convenience of not having to dig a disc out every time they want to play a game. But they don't care about all that, because their console is one they can actually understand.

I'm not saying these people are stupid (many of them are smarter than you or I), but they just don't have experience with technology in the same way that regular readers of Tom's Hardware do. And prior to game consoles like the Wii, they were also not gamers. Nintendo has tapped into a large and unexplored new market that their competitors can only dream about, and it would be a mistake for Nintendo to alienate these new customers by immediately jumping on board with the latest cutting edge technology.

Besides, gaming consoles are a lot cheaper without the hard drive, which is another appeal to that casual gamer base that they've built for themselves.

 

[adamboy64]

[citation][nom]Thunderfox[/nom]8 gigs is enough to download more N64 games, or maybe add gamecube titles to the virtual console. That's all they care about. This is for them, not developers.[/citation]

Unfortunately gamecube games are anywhere between a 1Gb to 1.5Gb.. so I don't think that'd be able to offer those with 8Gb of storage.

Though I have heard it may keep GC compatibility.. not sure what I think about that, to be honest.

But yes, as you say - this will probably keep developers away.. again.

 

[Thunderfox]

If it's keeping Wii compatibility, there's nothing to stop them from keeping GC compatibility. The Wii is mostly an overclocked gamecube, hence the simplicity of its backwards compatibility.

 

[adamboy64]

[citation][nom]Thunderfox[/nom]If it's keeping Wii compatibility, there's nothing to stop them from keeping GC compatibility. The Wii is mostly an overclocked gamecube, hence the simplicity of its backwards compatibility.[/citation]

Yes, indeed. It'll be interesting to see how their disc tray/slot works. It'll be taking 3 types of discs now.

 

[eklipz330]

just name it the super wii and ill buy it with my eyes closed

 

[thegreathuntingdolphin]

I do not put much stock in these rumors. The controller sounds gimmicky and crazy huge. A lack of a hard drive sounds a bit bizarre as well. I would think there might be a flash hard drive and regular hard drive.

Too many of the rumors paint the system as some weaker version of the current systems which doesn't make any sense.

Nintendo would not make a system that will cost more than Xbox or PS3 and has less features. I think the new Nintendo will have substantially better graphics, BD, N wireless, someone motion type graphics, possibly touchscreen, streaming capabilities, downloadable games, etc - basically a Wii/Xbox/PS3 hybrid that is more technologically advanced all around.

 

[alidan]

EVERYONE STFU AND READ IF IT HASNT BEEN SAID BEFORE

a hdd ensures that games will get content upgrades.

example, currently the wii version of rock band 3 is unplayable because it cant be patched. this is one example, but we have all played a game that could use, or needed a patch.

no harddrive could mean not software patches, something that is undoable now, especially with bigger games.

 

[eddieroolz]

So in essence, a continuation of the Wii but with updated specs (that mirror consoles from 5 years ago).

Nintendo is making a huge gamble with this one, then. Would the people that own a Wii go out in droves to buy an updated console, when Nintendo proved that people didn't need the newest tech? Who knows.

 

[nebun]

[citation][nom]ballinjoey2332[/nom]why is tom so far behind in technology. I heard this from G4 like 2 days ago.[/citation]
if you don't like the way tom's does business, then stop visiting the website...problem solver, moron