Wii U won't support Unreal Engine 4.

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Godmachine

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http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/wii-u-won-t-support-unreal-engine-4

Nintendo’s next generation console will not support the upcoming Unreal Engine 4, it has been revealed.

UE4 is the next-generation of Epic’s very popular development engine. Its incompatibility with Wii U effectively locks Nintendo’s machine out of a wealth of third party multiplatform content.

The confirmation came from SpikeTV host Geoff Keighley, who said on Twitter that Epic’s Mike Capps confirmed the news at GDC in March.
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Bad news. Considering how popular Unreal Engine 3 is for third party titles , this comes as a blow for the Wii-U to compete with Sony and Microsoft's next gen consoles which will very likely support Unreal Engine 4.

If your curious how many titles used Unreal Engine 3 (which the Wii-U supports as a side note) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unreal_Engine_games

Quite a lot..
 
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The Wii U only has a 1-2 year window where the hardcore crowd might care. After that, it's up to casuals to once again sustain Nintendo. I have my doubts.
 
I was talking with my mom this past weekend about how common the Unreal Engine is.

Nintendo not competing in the console war is a mistake. Part of the reason consoles are released with specs as "high" as they are is so they can still be relevant in 3-4 years. The Wii hasn't been relevant to anyone but the most basic of gamer for a very long time. I have a sneaking suspicion the Wii U is going to be much the same. It will experience a large boom in the first couple years, then interest will wane, and it will be largely forgotten.

I'm almost willing to bet that in a handful of years, Nintendo is going to release their "Dreamcast". A great console on its own, but too late to be of any real importance. Compounding that is the fact that after they havve had a few sub-par generations of consoles, the market for Nintendo consoles is going to shrink.

Nintendo is on a downward spiral to nowhere.
 
so we get another console from nintendo that will have graphics from last gen and be sold on a gimmick, lovely.
 
This isn't that surprising really but it is still disappointing. I wonder what the porting would be like from Unreal Engine 4 to 3. I wonder if there is going to be any chance that devs will be able to just port their UE4 games down to the Wii U at that point.
 
drako said:
The Wii U only has a 1-2 year window where the hardcore crowd might care. After that, it's up to casuals to once again sustain Nintendo. I have my doubts.
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+1

cthulhuiscool said:
so we get another console from nintendo that will have graphics from last gen and be sold on a gimmick, lovely.
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It's not even really much of a new gimmick either....I think the thing that WOULD have set the Wii U apart is if it was capable of doing the "4 player, everyone uses tablets" thing. The problem is, that's not the case. 1 player gets the tablet, the other 3 players get Wii motes. Apparently the system cannot support more than 1 tablet, or they're not implementing it at least. I think that's a very bad idea. The tablets won't be cheap, but the support should at least be there for the few % that want to buy an extra tablet or two.

As it stands, it's an HD Wii with 1 tablet. Maybe I'm missing some other touted feature, but I don't see how this thing's going to sell well after the initial year; even then, I have my doubts. Again, who are they catering to? The hardcore crowd will wait to see what Microsoft and Sony do, and even then all of the hardcore gamers I know really don't consider Nintendo to be a company worth supporting. The casual crowd will continue playing their Wii, if they haven't quit playing it already (and I'd be willing to bet that probably a good percentage of them have done just that). As I said in another post in another thread - Nintendo has singlehandedly fenced themselves off into their own niche. They were already in a niche to begin with, now they're even further into a niche. Who are they selling to?

Even if they put out hardware marginally better than a 360 and the software is easily ported....at that point, why does it matter?
They're going to get ports of games that are marginally better than consoles that people already have time and money invested into....and in the end, the other two consoles will launch and Nintendo will have the weakest hardware of the bunch. Again. Who really cares if Nintendo finally gets a decent Call of Duty when the game looks a great deal better, uses a standard controller, and has better network support/online play on the Microsoft and Sony consoles? Even with the Nintendo console finally having good graphics, it's still tied into a motion controlled scheme that most people either don't want to deal with, or are tired of. So again I ask, who are they selling/catering to?
 
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If UE4 is even ½ as popular (and utilitarian) as UE3, this is a pretty big deal. UE3 might be the single most used game engine of all time, and has been in everything from FPS games, to 2D action games, to racing games and RPG’s. While UE4 might not be anything like that, something tells me Epic will likely follow a similar path considering that success.

It seems like Nintendo is really making some odd decisions with the Wii U. Based upon what we know of it, it’s either going to crash and burn Virtual Boy style or it’ll be the second coming of the N64.
 
I think this are the reasons nintendo doesn't use latest gen hardware:

Power, nintendo tries to save on energy by using weaker hardware
Heat, nintendo systems is not loud like other devices
Money, nintendo systems are a lot cheaper most of the time
Wider audience, when price becomes higher less people can afford it.
 
It doesn't say why it doesn't support it.

It might not be a hardware problem, and thats the only real problem I would see.

I have hopes for the WiiU. I'm a Nintendo fan from back in the day and I'll buy one just to play first party titles, and I'm sure I'll get my money worth.
 
TheBuzzer said:
I think this are the reasons nintendo doesn't use latest gen hardware:
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It's just money. Cheaper to manufacture, cheaper to sell. More subject to manufacturing refinements (die shrinks), even further reducing manufacturing costs. = More profit.

I don't think Nintendo cares about green gaming, energy conservation, or cooler running systems. If they did, the 3DS would use solar panels. :)
 
Domingo said:
It seems like Nintendo is really making some odd decisions with the Wii U. Based upon what we know of it, it’s either going to crash and burn Virtual Boy style or it’ll be the second coming of the N64.
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N64 is an odd choice for a "Jesus" system. It had fewer units sold and worse third party support than it's predecessors the SNES and NES.
 
Nintendo is about Nintendo and Nintendo games. I don't think they give a crap about third party.

It shall just be more rehashes of Mario/Zelda/whatever with a U on the end.
 
DeathPrincess said:
Nintendo is about Nintendo and Nintendo games. I don't think they give a crap about third party.

It shall just be more rehashes of Mario/Zelda/whatever with a U on the end.
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Agree. 90% of the time, it's the Nintendo brand games that sell the system. The Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc. that bring in the majority of sales. Sure, the other games are good, but people don't buy the console for Conker or whatever. There are some exceptions: Goldeneye, Street Fighter 2, etc..

Nintendo has fallen from the top. They aren't the biggest and the best anymore, they are becoming like Atari. Once on top, now they are just maintaining the status quo. They need to do something to gain an advantage, otherwise it's just another mediocre console with underpowered specs...
 
DeathPrincess said:
Nintendo is about Nintendo and Nintendo games. I don't think they give a crap about third party.
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I would argue you could also include "they don't give a crap about hardcore gamers either". I just don't see it.

They don't need my money; I'd never pretend they do. There's dozens of people hand over foot willing to take my copy of Mario Brothers or Zelda. Go right ahead. At this point, I've had more than my fill of Mario. Zelda and Metroid, not really....I can still play Zelda and Metroid and play fairly happily. But that's it. That's what they have to offer me. That's also why I'm not interested in the Wii U.

At least with MS or Sony, I get more than just the shit they come up with. That's about all Nintendo's consoles are good for, and you either love it or hate it. At this point - I hate it and I'm not buying. I love Zelda and Metroid, but not enough to justify buying a Nintendo console just for those franchises. Anyone else - feel free to take my copies. :)
 
Mozex said:
N64 is an odd choice for a "Jesus" system. It had fewer units sold and worse third party support than it's predecessors the SNES and NES.
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That's when Nintendo actually reacted to the competition for the first time. I don't think it's possible for anyone to ever go back to the NES or even the SNES days. The NES was essentially competing with almost all first-party Sega Master System and the SNES/Genesis days remind me a bit of of the 360/PS3 situation we have now.
The N64 strikes me as the first time Nintendo really had to differentiate themselves, and they did a pretty decent job. It's not their pinnacle or even close to it, but it was a system that was beloved by both serious gamers and non-gamers. IMO it's a realistic goal for us to hope for as the NES and SNES days just aren't possible anymore.
 
Domingo said:
That's when Nintendo actually reacted to the competition for the first time. I don't think it's possible for anyone to ever go back to the NES or even the SNES days. The NES was essentially competing with almost all first-party Sega Master System and the SNES/Genesis days remind me a bit of of the 360/PS3 situation we have now.
The N64 strikes me as the first time Nintendo really had to differentiate themselves, and they did a pretty decent job. It's not their pinnacle or even close to it, but it was a system that was beloved by both serious gamers and non-gamers. IMO it's a realistic goal for us to hope for as the NES and SNES days just aren't possible anymore.
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Very true. It had something for the hardcore and the casual. While Nintendo always have built their consoles around the controller, much like the snes the N64 had some mean hardware to back it up. If only it came with a cd drive... Just feels like they took a step backwards with the last two consoles, in particular the wii.
 
I think the Gamecube was a great console with arguably better 3D than the Ps2 or Xbox (RE4 is a clear example of this especially since you can compare the GC and Ps2 versions). RE4 was definitely worth owning a GC for....along with Wind Waker. Can't really say I remember too much else on the console, other than SSBM, spending way too much time playing Animal Crossing and maybe the water effects in Wave Race: Blue Storm.

I think the Wii problem is that the system is stale. There were a few really neat ideas behind the motion controls, but it's stagnated. Everything is replicating something that's been done before now. It's like they all just ran out of ideas so they're rolling with the same stuff. I have a stack of Wii games to play through, and honestly.....I just don't really care enough to do so anymore. I'll finish up Other M for sure, but that'll probably be it. The 3rd party support on anything but waggle is just not there anymore. Same thing that happened not too long after RE4 came out on the Gamecube; 3rd party support absolutely flat out DIED.

That's why I have no desire to buy a Wii U. If I get a Wii U, it's going to be probably after the successor console launches and the Wii U is bargain basement priced and I can say there's a fairly decent stack of games to play through. If there's not, no harm done. But there's no way in hell I'm buying a Wii U without seeing what 3rd parties do (or don't do) on it first, and that's not going to become apparent until at least year 2 or 3. I also want to see something impressive done with their online capabilities; at least on par with the PSN if not XBL. I doubt that's going to happen though.
 
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DeathPrincess said:
Nintendo is about Nintendo and Nintendo games. I don't think they give a crap about third party.

It shall just be more rehashes of Mario/Zelda/whatever with a U on the end.
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Nintendo focuses so much on their own titles because the 3rd party abandoned Nintendo 10 years ago. They love 3rd party and would embrace it if 3rd party developers cared about Nintendo. Look at the DS, the majority of games on that system were 3rd party and that's why it was one of the best systems to date that appealed to everyone, not only the casual/kids/Nintendofan crowd.

The N64 and the Gamecube set the trend where Nintendo tried in vain to get 3rd party devs onboard and finally with the Wii, they decided to give up trying to compete and find a new market for themselves, eventually luring the 3rd party back with how many system sold. Unfortunately, it turned out most people just played Wii Sports and then stuffed the system into the closet and the 3rd party realized that sales to the casual crowd didn't justify their support so again they jumped ship on Nintendo.

Nintendo only has themselves to blame. Their philosophy is that they don't lose money on their systems. Every system has always made a profit whereas Sony and Microsoft have always lost money on their console sales and relied on Attach Rate to be profitable. This has been a good strategy for Nintendo in some instances, but the consequence is that they lose out by not having the most powerful technology so their systems are always unable to play simple ports of cross-platform titles, hence, developers don't bother with Nintendo. Business-wise it makes sense in certain aspects. Sony is still hemorrhaging money from the PS3. It still wasn't profitable for Sony 4 years after release and still may not be today.
 
Wii U only supports DirectX 10.1, which shows you how far behind the tech curve that Nintendo is starting.

Nintendo is smart not trying to compete with the Sony and MS. Nintendo sells consoles based on titles and a lower price, not on raw power.
 
Say what you will, but Nintendo made a killing. The hardcore gamer is no longer Nintendo's target audience. The Wii was a great secondary console for a serious gamer who owned a PC and/or a Microsoft or Sony console... the Wii U could fall into the same category.

Nintendo's exclusives alone will help push many units. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Super Mario Galaxy and been tempted to run to the store and grab a Wii.

The Wii U is going to launch with what's relevant today, and ride that for a few years. The other next-gen consoles will be built with the future in mind. Of course within 12-18 months the consoles will fall behind the PC in terms of power and never recover.
 
This sony conference is horrible. Nintendo can't help but do better than MS and Sony both.
 
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I don't hold out most hope for nintendo much longer. they are trying to catch lighting in a bottle again, anytimes a company starts relying on that, it's usually the begining of the end.
 
Spare-Flair said:
Nintendo focuses so much on their own titles because the 3rd party abandoned Nintendo 10 years ago. They love 3rd party and would embrace it if 3rd party developers cared about Nintendo. Look at the DS, the majority of games on that system were 3rd party and that's why it was one of the best systems to date that appealed to everyone, not only the casual/kids/Nintendofan crowd.

The N64 and the Gamecube set the trend where Nintendo tried in vain to get 3rd party devs onboard and finally with the Wii, they decided to give up trying to compete and find a new market for themselves, eventually luring the 3rd party back with how many system sold. Unfortunately, it turned out most people just played Wii Sports and then stuffed the system into the closet and the 3rd party realized that sales to the casual crowd didn't justify their support so again they jumped ship on Nintendo.

Nintendo only has themselves to blame. Their philosophy is that they don't lose money on their systems. Every system has always made a profit whereas Sony and Microsoft have always lost money on their console sales and relied on Attach Rate to be profitable. This has been a good strategy for Nintendo in some instances, but the consequence is that they lose out by not having the most powerful technology so their systems are always unable to play simple ports of cross-platform titles, hence, developers don't bother with Nintendo. Business-wise it makes sense in certain aspects. Sony is still hemorrhaging money from the PS3. It still wasn't profitable for Sony 4 years after release and still may not be today.
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Part of the reason 3rd parties abandoned nintendo was: 1) they were very brash in nes/snes, either demanding exclusive to that system, or having something unique in that game for that system that it didn't have in competing systems. 2) some of the weird hardware choices: expensive cartridges in N64, small disc and format in GC and sorta a weird architecture but still was decently powerful in gamecube.

Though i hear, with the wii Nintendo did try hard to get them come back.
 
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