Official Nintendo Fanboy Smugness & Gloating Thread

[Kemper_Boyd]

The angled LEDs would deal with the problem I outlined of distinguishing
between translation and rotation.

Guess what? The do laser optical mice and single chip CMOS cameras,
I've got a vague feeling that I've heard of them before as the suppliers
of the low-end sensors that go into OEM cameras. You know those sort
of too good to be true £50 jobs. So I guess Nintendo do not need anything
too clever just cheap and in bulk.

[Snakey]

Ahahha!

So all this time Nintendo have led everyone to believe they've spent a fortune on R&D on the controller, when all they've done is bought a pre-existing solution for next to nothing.

I have a feeling the "final secret" will be the price.

Silly cheap

[super charlie]

I have a feeling the "final secret" will be the price.

Silly cheap

I think your right, if Nintendo really want to sell their console to people who don't usually play games, then they're going to need to sell it at a price that won't put off people who don't really know much about what they're buying into. I reckon a sub £100 price tag would be sufficiently low enough that people would be willing to spend a few quid just to see what all the fuss is all about. £200+ is just directing sales at those who already know what gaming is, preaching to the converted.

Cheers
Charlie

[daniel thomas]

Developers have been talking about the price of Wii, expecting it to be very low. Considering that the hardware is only 2x-3x the power of GameCube, there's no reason why this new console couldn't sell for $150. Nintendo could easily sell Wii competitively, say, $200-250, and still make a profit on the hardware. It all depends on how aggressive they want to market it, and what the sales people think they can get away with.

I'll vote for $150 for the core unit, and $200 or $250 for a deluxe package with a second wiimote and/or game. I'll toss five bucks into the office pool.

[GeeZa]

Developers have been talking about the price of Wii, expecting it to be very low. Considering that the hardware is only 2x-3x the power of GameCube, there's no reason why this new console couldn't sell for $150. Nintendo could easily sell Wii competitively, say, $200-250, and still make a profit on the hardware. It all depends on how aggressive they want to market it, and what the sales people think they can get away with.

I'll vote for $150 for the core unit, and $200 or $250 for a deluxe package with a second wiimote and/or game. I'll toss five bucks into the office pool.

Good points. As I said in a previous post, the pricing was always going to be key for Ninty. They're applying some of their handheld principles to 'under-the-TV' consoles now because they've been forced out of the tech race. I expect something like $199/$249 and that I'm sure will still leave them plenty of scope to slide the price downwards as time moves ahead. We'll see. They probably don't want it too cheap on launch day but it'll be affordable from day one.

[Acronym]

They probably don't want it too cheap on launch day but it'll be affordable from day one.

Trust in Moore's law.

What did the Gamecube launch at? £130. It's not going to be more than that - a bare-bones launch at £99 in the UK and €/$160, say, feels plausible. Call it £129/€199 with four controllers and a game - and if the instore demoes are good enough it'll waltz out. Guitar Hero and Singstar have softened up the market perfectly

From the sound of things the Wiimote won't actually cost much more to make than a standard controller.

[Tanatoes]

Heh. I was just thinking. If rumors about the hardware cost are right, and if they were willing to take the same loss per system as Sony, then Ninty could offer the Wii for FREE!

That would be kind of weird.

[Darkflame]

So all this time Nintendo have led everyone to believe they've spent a fortune on R&D on the controller, when all they've done is bought a pre-existing solution for next to nothing.

a) They didnt lead us to believe anything.

b) Not nesscerly at all..
Just because the sensor is pre-existing, but that dosnt by any means the Wii remote was easy to do.
Nor does it mean they didnt spend a long time working out the right sensor to use, or indeed, if to use that type of sensor at all.

Sometimes it can take a lot of time and money to work out the cheapest solution that will work.

Incidently.
This seems to confirm that it can indeed detect absolute distance from the sensorbar. (at least, the mid point between the lights).

Distance + Angle = absolute position of controller in 3D space relative to the bar within a field of view. Basic trig would do it.

At least, I dont see why not.
The piezoelectric angle data wouldnt be too precise, but it could be backed up from the camera data too to try to keep it in check.
-----
If Nintendo were really smart I suppose the wii remote could have a really wide angle lens. (heck, fish-eye even).
Not sure of the practicalities of that though. (higher res needed, more calculations needed to undistorted the feed ect).

Heh. I was just thinking. If rumors about the hardware cost are right, and if they were willing to take the same loss per system as Sony, then Ninty could offer the Wii for FREE!

Please.
Lets not start another unlikely Nintendo rumour eh?

It seems theres just been stupid rumour after stupid rumour as far as Nintendo goes. I mean really, I seen forums seriously discusing the possibility that theres a secret projector under the Wii's front flap that lets it display holographic images.

No mater how unlikely, someone somewhere will find "evidence" for it, and retro-fit everything nintendo has said in the last 5 years to support it.

So, be carefull what you say

It will be cheap, but even if all the componants were free, theres still manufactoring costs, shipping, ect.
Beyond a certain point, there isnt much advantage in using lesser hardware. I wouldnt be supprised if a few minor componants get upgraded before release in fact.
(more flash memory maybe, that sort of stuff...)

[Snakey]

Man, you're really starting to bore me.

a) They didnt lead us to believe anything.

Yes. They. Fucking. Did.

Were you at the last GDC? Clearly not. Because they fucking SAID so right there.

Do not try to tell me you didn't believe Nintendo had designed this thing themselves. But the simple fact is, they didn't. But they wanted people to think this until AFTER E3, because Sony OR MS could have just gone to the same company and bought the same tech.

...and this is in no way a BAD thing. It makes perfect sense for them to go to a company who already has working tech. It's the best thing they could have done, for them, and for their customers.

You would do well not to try to argue with people who may actually know more about this

b) Not nesscerly at all..

Duh. Maybe you have difficulty reading?

Now, behave. This is a GOOD thing. Just be happy and stop trolling. And stop trying to pretend that everything I say is negative. Because none of it is.

[thalamus]

Snakey, you're starting to bore me. PLEASE stop backing up what you say with facts. Facts are dangerous and will get you nowhere on teh internets. Wild speculation and baseless banter is the only way to go.

[Snakey]

Oh yeah. Sorry. Forgot about that

Thing is, I couldn't give a toss how it works. Who cares? As long as it does.

But while we're on the subject, Nintendo have already stated that you can remove both sensors and stick them anywhere you like, so it's not triangulating shit. The thing knows which way up it is. That's all it needs.

[thalamus]

Thing is, I couldn't give a toss how it works. Who cares? As long as it does.

Precisely; the trolling has rolled across me like water off-of a duck's back, and for once E3 hasn't depressed the fuck out of me - in fact, it's the first time in years (probably since the SNES) I've actually been genuinely excited about a new console.

Exaggerated arm movement, tired arms, cartridges lost in shagpile carpets, yadda yadda yadda. All I know is, as soon as Shiggers came out conducting the orchestra, life got better.

[Jamesac]

Not that I'm too worried about how the sensor works, but I don't quite get how a camera thingy would make it go. All sorts of games have you hold the remote in all sorts of ways, including hands cupped on either side of the ends like a steering wheel. Obviously something's transmitted between remote and sensor bar (wouldn't be much of a sensor otherwise) but the camera thing doesn't seem to fit. Every part of the remote is covered by the hands at some point, depending on the game. Multiple transmitters throughout the wand, maybe? A transmitter strong enough to go through a hand but not a whole body? (Standing in the way blocks the signal.) I don't think we'll really know until either Nintendo confesses sometime between now and launch or someone cracks it open the second they buy it.

James

[Marius]

I'm still trying to come up with a plausible reason to buy the PS3, I never found one regarding the PS2...Wii had me convinced after watching Mario in action

[ThetaReactor]

All the pointer-style games give the sensor an unobstructed view. The games that use the horizontal grip or exagerrated movements are geared for pure tilt sensor interaction, not precise motion tracking.

On that [sorta] note, Sonic Wild Fire could well be the first 3D Sonic game that I want to play for more than half an hour. It looks to have the same sort of rhythm to it as DK Jungle Beat. The kind of game that makes you want to learn the levels, so you can smoothly run through, collecting everything and looking like a total badass along the way...