The State of Wii U, Nintendo's Next-Gen

The Wii U isn't in great shape. Nintendo's in a better position then it was last year, but It's still clear the Wii U's isn't exactly on track to repeat the unprecedented financial success of it's predecessor. So what's Nintendo going to do about it?

During a recent briefing with investors, Nintendo's Satoru Iwata claimed the entire industry has been in a lull due to the lack of fresh games worth full price. He said the entire industry, including Nintendo, needs new experiences and fresh ideas.  

Many felt this was hypocritical of Nintendo, due to the never ending appearance of ancient franchises, but a lot of that comes from the mistaken assumption that only new IPs can deliver fresh ideas. Sure, Nintendo milks their iconic IPs, stuffing them into every cameo and spin off imaginable, but they also innovate on entire genres with nearly every iteration of the core games that originated those IPs.

But In reality, this has little to do with the problems facing the Wii U. It's suffering from 2 very different problems. The first is simple, Nintendo has yet to release the majority of their first party titles on the Wii U. The second, is much more complex. For better or worse, Nintendo didn't understand the success of the Wii.

At first, the Wii sailed through massive financial success through the mass appeal of the novel and far less intimidating input devices - the Wiimote and Wiipad - but a huge portion of that install base simply wasn't interested in spending money beyond WiiFit and WiiSports. Many devs hopped on board to reap the benefits of the huge install base, but the games just didn't sell. They didn't understand the majority of Wii's install base. 

The Wii U has to face those problems as well as new ones. Lack of sales have lead to trouble with 3rd party support (as usual), the gamepad is arguably more complex then a traditional controller, and the mainstream appeal of motion controls has faded. The landscape has changed. Call of Duty and mobile games carry the torch for the mainstream. Nintendo was unable to capitalize on the financial success of the Wii. They've instead chosen to chalk it all up to the consumer hunger for new hardware. 

So a huge portion of the Wii's massive install base will never move on to the Wii U and Nintendo's core fanbase will become the majority of the entire install base once again. Unlike the Wii, the Wii U will have to rely almost exclusively on incredible 1st party games, just to survive. While that may seem to paint a bleak financial future going into the next generation, the truth is, It's familiar territory for Nintendo, and they won't skip a beat. They will continue to innovate and inspire, because that's just what they do.

TMNT: Out of the Shadows... and into our hearts

30 Years ago, a pizza-loving mutant reptile wasn't a thing. Hard to believe I know, it was a dark time for us all. Luckily, the late 80's happened, and with it, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now cemented in pop culture history, the Turtles have since graced nearly every form of media imaginable. First through a series of comics, then moving into TV and film, the Turtles quickly endeared themselves to legions of tiny ninjas everywhere.

Growing in popularity shortly after the "rebirth" of the games industry, it was only a matter of time before the Turtles began invading arcades and living rooms with games of their own, some surprisingly good. At first it seemed it was a perfect fit, but that didn't last long. Today, most agree Konami's "Turtles in Time" (1992) marked the last respectable outing for our shell-kicking friends.

Cue Red Fly Studio, a relatively unknown developer aiming to breathe new life into the iconic franchise with TMNT: Out of the Shadows - a downloadable title coming to PSN, XBLA, and PC this summer. If the recently released Pre-Alpha footage is any indication, they're on the right track.

A quick gander and it's obvious Red Fly has licensed Unreal Engine 3 to help with the heavy lifting, but that's a good thing. Even in its early state, the visuals are confident - hot on the heels of the finer UE3 offerings. Environments, while a bit empty, are otherwise realistically detailed with excellent lighting effects and convincing texture work. OoS manages to convey a gritty modern-day New York, showcased by 2 locations so far; the first, a dirty, sun baked alley complete with uneven footing and the obligatory dumpster;  the second, a dank industrial facility of some sort, sporting an assortment of crumbling brick walls and slippery catwalks suspended over a concrete battleground.

This setting reportedly takes place in the same world inhabited by the excellent Nickelodeon TV show, but interestingly, it doesn't carry over the same aesthetic. Instead Red Fly has taken complete creative liberty with the overall look, creating what they call a “hyper realistic 3D style”. This is immediately apparent in their depiction of New York, but on the Turtles? Not so much. They more closely resemble an odd combination of 2007’s TMNT with the rumored look of Michael Bay's upcoming live action reboot. Not a huge fan, personally, but awkward Turtles not withstanding, OoS is still quite the looker.

Regardless, the real highlight is the combat. Relatively realistic martial arts aided by stylized flourishes give it a slick, yet grounded feel. Holding down modifiers can apply additional variations to the standard attacks, while special attacks are performed with the right stick.  Attacks are unlocked through experience, presumably earned through combat. These stellar animations flow smoothly, effortlessly moving from enemy to enemy and seamlessly alternating between solo and team attacks. The combat does a great job of effectively depicting the trademark Turtle shenanigans.

The brothers can swap out mid-combo, but the charm really springs to life when the Turtles combine their assaults into team attacks, like the signature shell crunch. These attacks do a great job of imparting the characteristically playful combat, a necessity given the core mechanic of team interaction. There is co-op (2 player local, 4 player online), but even when playing alone, the Turtles fight as team, controlled by AI or easily accessible via the d-pad.

Wishbone Crunch on 2.. Hut Hut!

That's not to say the Turtles can't hold their own. Each Turtle has a distinct fighting style with a unique set a moves. Raph, for example, plays like a close range brawler, executing grapples and overpowering enemies, in contrast to Donnie, who approaches battles from a distance, relying on his bo to keep enemies at range. Each fights with a unique pacing fundamentally different from the next, impressively fusing the combat with their individual personalities.

This well thought out combat combines with modern visuals and slick animations to contribute to what is shaping up to be the best Turtle game in decades. It's easy to be skeptical though, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, and the Turtles aren't exactly known for quality games. But In the meantime, I say...

Sources: Joystiq, IGN, Gamesbeat

Tomb Raider gets new patch, beta drivers.

Crystal Dynamics released another patch for Tomb Raider today, promising fixes for several performance and stability issues, mostly occurring on Nvidia hardware. Nvidia has also pitched in with their own fixes, releasing new 314.21 beta drivers.

The drivers and patch attempt to address a variety of Nvidia problems, most notably the poor performance of TressFX on high-end GPUs. TressFX being the new hair simulation tech partly developed by AMD, Nvidia's primary competitor. Hmm...

Initially snubbed, Nvidia has since announced they've been working closely with Crystal Dynamics to resolve any ongoing issues as quickly as possible. Crystal Dynamics, unsurprisingly, vowed continued support for Tomb Raider.

The 8th Generation: No Rules

It's here. The 8th generation has arrived and will be in full force before 2013 comes to a close. This time though, it's a much bigger battlefield. Instead of a handful of platforms, we're wading around an ocean of disruptive tech. This tech, along with new business models, have shaken things up forever. So much so, even industry heavyweights like Cliffy B. and David Jaffe have even begun to weigh in on the "massive state of turmoil". 


Oo Shiny! Which one plays games?

The biggest culprits are the money printing mobile juggernauts known as Google and Apple. While new to games, the mobile space quickly became a medium to channel the unprecedented explosion of social media, taping into massive install bases all over the world. After that, it just a matter of content. With their widely adopted "ecosystems", they introduced new, lucrative business models like F2P and microtransactions, which now extend into other platforms as well. 

As if that wasn't enough, new living room contenders like Shield, Piston, Ouya, and Gamestick are jumping into the fray, targeting the entire spectrum of price points and hardware, and burrowing from existing open ecosystems.

All of these forces have begun to dramatically change the industry and it's only the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of other phenomena, like digital distribution, input devices, and crowd funding, to name a few. New markets and hardware are cropping up everywhere, but of course they alone won't innovate or evolve anything. Content is king, and it's all about the games.

Luckily, open platforms and digital distribution also gave birth to a flood of independently developed games, some of which becoming showcases for their own brand of innovative design. They're also proof that technical prowess doesn't need to be a priority, with a handful of modest indie games easily outpacing state-of-the-art big budget titles in the context of game design innovation, with a fraction of the budget no less. To me, this speaks volumes. Now, there is no excuse. 

Wait, no lens flares? Pfftt, who's going to buy this with no lens flares?

In spite of the ongoing market share warfare, the 8th generation seems poised to solidify what the current generation has only just begun to cultivate: A massive shift in the paradigm, a shift away from designing around technical limitations via established video game tropes, a shift towards pure art direction and game design innovation across many different platforms.

Pie!

So anyone and everyone can grab a piece of the pie because games are now entering a space where, like all entertainment, there exist entire subcultures devoted to niches. Everything ranging from F2P and casual - to AAA competitive online shooters - to innovative, independently developed games.

It all points to a bigger market, to more players, and to more competition. For some, it will be a time to discover new ways of monetizing new consumers with new business models and broader appeal, but for others, it may be a time to rethink what's possible and to really stop playing it safe. Either way, it's a new beginning, and there are no rules.