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Wii U Secrecy Frustrates Developers

Vigil Games’ Haydn Dalton wishes that Nintendo would just come out and share more information regarding their forthcoming console so developers can openly talk about their Wii U plans. Dalton says it’s awkward when he has to avoid answering questions that are related to Wii U’s technology and power. According to Dalton, developers can’t be completely open with their Wii U products until Nintendo gives them the OK by revealing all of the Wii U’s capabilities.

Do you wish Nintendo would just come out and say?

Haydn Dalton: “Oh, of course. Yeah. It’s awkward because when people ask questions about [Wii U] we’ve got to skirt around the answer. We obviously want them to come out with it because then we can just talk openly about the game. I’d rather just be open with people than spinning the answer back at somebody. As soon as they just come out and everything’s revealed it would take a little bit of weight off us as developers so we can be a little bit more open about the product.”

161 thoughts on “Wii U Secrecy Frustrates Developers”

      1. Looks like the apple iPads smart cover which I think would be pretty neat if it did have something like this.

      1. Funny. Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I don’t believe that has been reported as an actually news post yet.

        1. This was posted as a news article already, I don’t remember when but I believe back before E3 these were announced.

  1. Nintendo does that because of the Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V from Sony and M$… There is at least 4 months for Wii U launch, let’s wait that good things might be shared at right time.

    1. Everybody understands why Nintendo does’t share much info about it, but developers should have more knowledge of the system in order to make the best games. It was Nintendo’s own decision to start of early with the next gen, therefor they are being pure pussyjuice for worrying about Sony and Xbox copying them, and just tell more about it already.

      That is all.

      1. its not that the developers dont have knowledge, it’s that nintendo isnt letting them share the knowledge.

        1. If the lack of this is rfustrating developers then it clearly isn’t enough information. Simple as ABC123.

          1. omfg, do you even read these articles or just read the title? the article clearly says that they’re frustrated because they cant talk about it.

          2. you are a huge piece of shit and i hope you die a depressing and slow death of which is very painful and disgusting. this death should also disfigure you beyond any recognition so that there is in no way possible of you having and open casket funeral.

    2. If Nintendo didn’t want to be copied and have a metric fuck-ton of impatient people around, they should not have shown us WiiU almost 2 YEARS BEFORE LAUNCH.

      Nintendo -1 for strategy.
      They build amazing shit
      They develop amazing games
      They have shit launch strategies.

      1. Disagree. Everybody know how Nintendo works. It’s not like if you know less you wouldn’t buy their hardware. Hype, that’s what Nintendo is doing, giving you will to buy their hardware, but, if Nintendo tells everything now, at the launched of Wii U we won’t have any surprises for us, so as Sony and M$. There is a lot of things envolving Nintendo, like the price (M$ and Sony droping the price of their hardware at Wii U launch), ideas for games (M$ could steal for smartglass), agenda of launch (M$ and Sony could hold good games until Wii U appear to bring attention and your money to them),,,

        1. Agree with hype building.
          Disagree with building hype so long that your competitors have time to copy your stuff, your fans are getting tired waiting and even your developers are getting weary of secrecy.

          1. First, there isn’t 2 years, the first appearence of Wii U was on E3’s 2011 and I don’t see that way. When Nintendo showed Wii U for the first time, we saw the tech demo and panorama view, Nintendo don’t showed something to Sony and M$ to copy. Like I said, right now there is many things in game like the price, ideas for games, agenda of launch…

          2. relax. guys, nothing unusual is being done here. ps3 was announced about two years before its launch. the difference with ps3’s launch and wii u’s launch is that sony’s hype for the console and games really didn’t shake much. xbox 360 was doing everything already 7 years ago.

    3. That doesn’t make any sense though, console development takes place years before an actual announcement (I can guarantee you the WiiU began development – not research or planning, but actual development – within a year after the Wii was released). It’d be way too late for them to copy Nintendo at this stage.

      1. M$ and Sony already show NextBOX and PS4? No? So… they can’t change anything of an hardware that they even don’t showed? Like Nintendo and the boost on specs with new dev kits? There’s more in game like steal of ideas for smartglass, new features that we don’t know yet, release date (against which games Wii U will compete in their launch? Which price will be PS360 when Wii U come out?), if you stop to thinking, make much sense for Nintendo.

  2. It frustrates us all D:

    Nintendo should just spill it so I can reserve the darn thing already. I understand the hush hush and all but it’s about time they shared everything there is to know about the system I mean each day that passes gets us closer to November and there still isn’t much of any news out. The developers are giddy to share their projects but Nintendo seems like they have them at gunpoint.

    Other than that i love the picture ;)

    1. Lmao i think they do have them at gun point. Because the devs are not saying anything like their scared or something. Nintendo is doing something and its working hahahaha.

  3. glad i got here before the daily flame war…. that way i can have a window of time before aelous gets here… any way i think that if they come out and say it there rivals and the press will bash it like they always do…. so it wouldn’t really matter cause at the end of the day its coming out and the media will bash it (patcher) and not to mention ,sony and microsoft fanboys would bring up consoles that havent been announced yet…. and say “the Wii U is shit and the PS4/XBoX720 is more powerful than pc, and even god”…. huh nintendo stop pushing back what sure fire media related hell your about to go through.

    1. yeah they always do…. but other people ridicule and mock nintendo for giving a shit about games…. the one of the only dedicated gaming companies out there that still makes systems….I gaurantee you that you will find sony and microsofts name on so much non-game related shit from phones to laptops….they under powered the wii for a reason…. because they already tried competing with sony and M$ on the high specs and mature marker and got they ass stomped by ps2 and XBoX

      1. They failed with the GC because it used mini DVDs which made 3rd party companies pissed off. RE4 on the GC (a masterpiece btw), came with 2 cds.

      2. And the PS2 wasn’t really a strong console, in fact, it was around 45% more powerful than the Dreamcast, which was like 30% more powerful than the n64. Plus, the PS2 was lacking some kind of filtering, that even the Dreamcast had. Sony proved with the PS2 that you don’t need rocking specs to be succesful.

        1. If youre talking about Bits then it wasnt, but gaming tech changed round about the time the psone was around. The psone was a 32-bit console. But it wasnt about the bits anymore. Now its about shaders and pixels, its more complicated.

  4. I think Nintendo doesn’t want to revea; wiiU’s specs because if they do then microsoft and phony will copy them all…i think

          1. Sony and Microsoft haven’t even announced the consoles yet ether way they have the development time advantage. Sony has allrady said the next Playstation will be as powerful be as it can and be made when technology allows it were as according to the “leaked” 720 (I hate the name) Documents the New Xbox will have more focus on being a media hub with Kenict 2.
            All in all It doesn’t matter when the specs are announced Sony will “beat” them
            I’m not saying specs matter just restating info I have heard
            P.s don’t judge my spelling of keinect it’s a made up product name I have no interest in learning how to spell it when I can all ready spell counterrevolutionaries

            1. lol! “as powerfull as it can be”?
              i’ve heard that sony said that:”dont expect too much graphics power”

    1. Iwata said this himself. He said not all info and capabilities of the Wii U have been announced to avoid being copied by others. He even referred to Smart Glass being made because of e3 2011.

        1. He did say SmartGlass was flattering, which was technically like saying, “oh, you copied us again, well doje for only making it a year to do it this time”

      1. That’s entirely untrue, he never said that he was worried about others copying, and seriously the smartglass is in no way similar or a copy of the wii U gamepad, they both do their own individual unique things, the wii U gamepad is to bring the unique possibilities of touch screens to games like the DS did, and the smartglass is a tablet, with features that allow you to stay connected with your xbox live friends and apps, not to change gameplay, fanboys need to understand this and quit crying that it is a copy, because that’s like saying the wii U gamepad is a copy of the ipad, which it most certainly is not.

    2. This is nothing to do with specs, its ge about its online features and gameplay, theres alot we dont know about, but in that sense, they arent going to come out and say, “so our cersion isnt that much different in terms of graphics”

  5. Im on nintendos side here. They know microsoft and sony will copy them if they reveal too much too quickly.

  6. Nintendo will also release games to combat the next systems. Why would they reveal them now. It would make no sense what so ever.

    1. revealing it now will give sony in M$… the real head start plus the benefit of having 4 months to bash the thing until it’s nothing more than a box under your tv…. if you think M$ and sony are GONNA copy nintendo your dead wrong…. they already have…. PS move, PS all stars, analog sticks (game cube had them first even though they are essential to gaming), smart glass, remote play ( although it was first they added features to it just to compare to the Wii u psp couldnt work as a remote but when vita was launched months after the wii u’s announce and E3 showing you gotta wonder you know) because Sony and M$ are attention whores who try hard to bring other companies down… ( side note: i love my wii,Ps3,XBoX360 but i dislike Sony an M$

      1. “analog sticks game cube had them first even though they are essential to gaming)”

        Actually, the PSOne was the first console to have dual analog sticks. Prior to that, the Master System and Atari 7800 had a joystick on their respective controllers first.

        The Move was in development from I believe it was 2001 and was originally going to come out for the PS2 (there are documented records of it).

        Tablets integrated with gaming have been around long ahead of the Wii U’s announcement.

        Remote play? *Sigh*

        “side note: i love my wii,Ps3,XBoX360 but i dislike Sony an M$”

        Oh, RLY?

        1. was’t the n64 the first console to get analog sticks. I remember that there were 2 ps1 controllers, one with no analogs and one with 2 analogs.

          1. No, the N64 was not the first console to have a stick, although it was the most popular one. As I noted before, the first consoles to have them were ones like the Atari 7800 and the Master System from Sega.

            And yes, you’re right to a degree about the PS1. It actually had three official game controllers:

            Regular gamepad with no analog, the dual analog controller, and then the dualshock controller.

        2. #1: wtf dude was it really nessecary to reply…. i was gonna rant and rave about how i don’t need a history lesson but ive read some of your other post and you seem a tad bit intellectual (no offense)….. but you point out peoples wrong not knowing IDGAF! my gaming history went way different the yours cause im not that old (16) but man WTF seriously Homer and aerostotle (dont know if i spelled it right) we dont come on a gaming to talk about fucking history i game dude and instead of missing out on titles because i only have one system and dont like the company is ridiculous…. oh yeah and to your WHOLE post

          OH RLY?

    1. yeah sony knows that if they repeat the ps3 launch again…. THEY WILL BE IN DEEP SHIT!!!! the rocky start they had on that thing man ill have better luck selling fresh bags of shit on the streets… i believe that there trying to make it powerful enough to live up to there most recent bluffs and leaks before there expected realease and announcement ( i know that majority of the cost where from blue- ray but still cant imagine what they would put in it a TV a suv, fighter jet, miyamoto etc…)

      1. I once bought a fresh bag of shit it was from zebras at the zoo.
        More on topic i once heard about violet-blue ray discs
        “Researchers at Sony together with those at Japan’s Tohoku University said they have developed a blue-violet laser that can create 1TB Blu-ray discs. The ultrafast pulsed semiconductor laser has a laser wavelength of 405 nanometers and can generate optical pulses just the picoseconds in duration. Moreover, the new laser doesn’t require a large light source and a specialist technician to operate, as required in the past with similar technology.

        Sony says it has tested the new storage, and will continue to develop it to create next-generation disk storage devices. Currently, Blu-ray drives hold 25GB of data, with dual-layer versions capable of storing 50GB. Sharp and TDK recently put out new 100GB BDXL discs, though these simply use four regular layers rather than higher density on existing layers.

        There is no indication of when the new discs and writers will be commercially available, or what they will initially cost. [via Examiner]”

        Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/07/23/sony.university.create.tech.for.1tb.blu.rays/#ixzz220Go0HH8
        they might hold back the Next Playstaion for this but that would make the price similar to the PS3

        1. that sounds expensive if it is then sony sure haven’t learned there lesson… but yeah so basically the lens can read the shit out of qaud layer disc …. but im still curious that if they put it in the ps4 to quick ( before development cost go down(if its expensive in the first place)(whoa parenthesis inside parenthesis) Parenteception) ) :) then it will run them a shit ton of money … wich will make the ps4 make an ipad look like a bargain

  7. From the sound of things, it looks like the devs in question are just CRAVING to get tons of neat little details out in the open so that they can brag.
    It’s fun to see them so happy over something they’re making.^_^

    1. they wanna find out if they can develop for i if they dont they will go with either the most powerful or the easiest to develop for…. but half of the dev teams are gonna swear up and down and all around that its weak…. while the other side will be like *little Bitch voice* ” it’s innovating, brand new, revolutionary, change the face of gaming forever it’s fantastic, i give it a 10, id sell my house car and wife to buy one” Give it to us straight nintendo

  8. Patience is a virtue my friend. We’re all frustrated and dying for more Wii U news, but Nintendo is making the right move by keeping that info secret for as long as possible. Their competitors are waiting to copy them and their deteractors are looking for any reason to tear them apart in the media. It will come in due time. Leave luck to heaven.

    1. agreed im gonna have to wait on the wii U ,because brawl craped out my laser lens a month ago. I havent been able to enjoy a wii game since and im at the middle of xenoblade chronicles!!! XENOBLADE CHRONICLES!!!! do you know how long it takes to do that and with no sd card to transfer when the Wii U comes out…. but on topic nintendo have never been one to stir up flame wars. the only way i can describe them is there “nintendo”. there not even trying to fight off sony or M$…. in fact now they think there only competition is smart phones, and of course tablets…. so they wont reveal because it builds controversy and leave the wii u in the back of peoples mind instead of…. Oh heres the specs even though they haven’t been announced PS4/XBoX720 destroys wii U ,well time to get on my broken PSpwn and XBoSSlive,Sony Pwns Nintendont etc… bull shit asside they shouldnt give them the satisfaction of proveing them wrong while making them right.

      1. *Edit* i hate when Sony and M$ fans say nintendo is scared…. because i doubt miyamoto or iwata go to sleep thinking jack trenton or bill gates is under there beds. ( unrelated topic seen someone say this on one of yesterdays post and youtube)

        1. Scared of what? Nintendo’s already proven they can supass those 2 companies with weaker hardware. Sony/MS like to push the graphics route and Nintendo keeps reminding them that it’s all about the gameplay. Not saying there aren’t any good games on those platforms, there definitely are, but Nintendo’s effort far outclass them, imo.

          1. Yep. Sony it’s a pretty good competition for Nintendo. They make Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, Sly Cooper and awesome series. They make games for both kids and more mature games.

              1. -___- you being serious? As someone who played that game to death as a child, teen and adult, ive appriecated its humour in different way, in fact theres alot of joke i never understood, that are very raunchy, until now

      2. Sucks about your Wii crapping out in the middle of Xenoblade. Nintendo should keep doing exactly what they’re doing. The “hardcore” gamers are just looking for a reason to tear down the Wii U before it even hits the market. We can already see from the footage provided and the developer interviews that thet Wii U is powerful. Nintendo will release info only when they feel the time is right. Graphic and spec whores be damned.

        1. lmao, graphic whhores. But yeah, I WANT to see more wii u news,, but if they arent ready then its for a reason. For example, they SHOULDNT have announced a new smash bros that ahead of time, and they knew at E3 that the Wii U wasnt going to come out near E3 2012 so they WAITED for a reason

        2. Yep. I simply hope that the Wii is the first and last Nintendo console that didn’t get third party games because the power.

          1. I think it will be. Nintendo learned with the Gamecube that power isn’t everything. The Wii was basically an experiment that paid off big time. They made the console underpowered to make it more affordable to everyone and changed the way we played. There’s no looking back. The Wii Remote was step forward in terms of controllers. Now they have ways to reach the casual and hardcore gamer all in one console with all the different control options available on Wii U.

            1. I simply hope the Final Fantasy will come back for Nintendo consoles. FF was one of the most important things back in the NES and SNES era, until Square Enix went to Sony ….

            2. Exactly right the gamepad is as good as dual analog is going to get hopefully you can use motion for all fps games thats my favorite dual and gpad are basically the same

  9. Pingback: Developers Want Nintendo To Be More Open About Wii U Specs | Game Overviews

  10. Humans need more patience, I don’t care when they will reveal things but I will buy one no matter what.

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  12. The picture looks cool, like a cover for the screen, kinda like a cover for the wii remotes. And yeah, it does suck for developers as they want to tell gamers so much but they cant. That sucks

  13. So basically we should wait this long?

    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

    (1 dot= i day)

  14. What bothers me the most about most humans is that they are impatient and when they finally get what they wanted it’s like, ” ok this was fun, now what else? ”

    Stupid apes…

  15. Nintendo is playing it smart. Why would I give you 4 months to prepare for me. They’ll price it so it won’t take a loss and thdn you have people guessing and getting mad because they don’t know specs or anything. That’s smart because at least people are interested one way or another. Analyst are mad because nintendo won’t. Throw them a bone that’s smart on nintendos behalf.

    1. I wish people would shut up about the specs -.-
      Its looks good, its better than current, itll improve massively every year of its life time, just like the 360/ps3 did.

      I want to know about the online and miiverse D: its shrouded in tons of mystery, i get the feeling im going to be pleasantly surprised

          1. Eh. What about Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, Watch Dogs, Dead or Alive 5, Resident Evil 6, Hitman Absolution, BioShock Infinite, etc..?

              1. Well, Borderlands 2, DoA5, RE6 and Hitman Absolution can be out for launch. They all come this year.

                1. It takes a goodmonth to port over a game forthe WiiU, and thatswithout having any new features other than basictouch screen, then they have to produce the disks,forwiiu and boxes. Releasing a game in a long and presice business, you needto keepin the setperiod

            1. Those games are too far in development, or finished, it would push back the release date and they dont wana do that. Although we may see those games coming to the WiiU soon after theyre released, but not yet

                1. Well Gearbox said theyd love to see Borderlands 2 onthe WiiU, Hitman is upto Square,, Ubisoft are positive about the WiiU, so we’ll probably see Far Cry, and RE6 looks like shit

                  1. Yeah. RE6 may look worse than RE5, but it’s one of the biggest 3rd party games of 2012 and that would help the Wii U a lot.

        1. Oh me too, but its not a basic online like on the xbox/ps3, its more involving and social, im curious about what you can do, and how the achievement systen will work, and what you unlock for getting them

          1. Yeah. I hope demos and DLC will be on the Miiverse/Nintendo Network. AT least Youtube and stuff like that are confirmed. I will also hope I can play online multiplayer!

            1. Yeah, all the standard stuff for online is on the WiiU. But the achievement system is different, its not just the 1000G/38-40 trophies, the developers dont have to make them for the game, and if they do, they have more free reign over how they work, they can make them unlocked extra content in game, and out of the game, like avatar pictures ect. Sort of how the UPlay system works for Ubisofts games

              1. Wow. That is pretty great. The Wii U has potential. A LOT of potential. I hope Nintendo doesn’t waste that potential and kinda convince 3rd party companies to put their games for the system.

              2. Now, talking about 1st party games.. I’d like to see Star Fox, F-Zero, Wave Race, Eternal Darkness ,Excitebike, Fatal Frame and a good RPG like Xenoblade on the Wii U.

          2. I think that the achievement process will be very similar to that of the step counter on the 3ds, every time you reach a number of points you will be awarded a playcoin (they will probably change the name for both systems after miiverse is revealed) and then you can use these playcoins (or whatever they’ll be called lol) to purchase extra content in games like concept art, weapons, and even new game+ features or cheats. What I really think they should do is also make it possible to use these playcoins instead of the coins in club nintendo. Because I believe Miiverse and club nintendo will be tied together, so there will be a ocon on your tv screen or gamepad in the logo of club nintendo that will flash or jump when new points are added from a game when you return to the home menu, then you can launch this and it will instantly pull up an option for a game review for extra points. And when you have enough to buy WiiUWare (or whatever it will be called) you can just click on it hit accept and download and will instantly download straight to your console without the need for codes.

  16. To be honest, I dont hate one console or company. I prefer nintendo though. I dont get why we still need to bring up sony/microsoft. They do what they will and nintendo will do there thing. I dont believe that gaming is about how “one console is better than the other”, I believe that if a console can bring fun to the people who baught it, then its a great console in itself. If your so interested in competition, go play sports. Theres plenty of room there.

    1. It’s not about that. It’s about developers being able to showcase their games and get people interested in buying them. Some people already are, but many non-die hard fans aren’t.

    2. This exactly, there are too many nintendo fanboys on this site, there’s barely any respectable nintendo gamers here. The fanboys are crying about how ms and sony copy, and how they have no games, and how graphics are a bad thing. Real gamers respect every console, you don’t have to like every console, you just need to show respect and quit the pointless bashing

  17. Nintendo is probably just holding back information because it leaves them a chance to change something if they wanted or had to, not because they’re afraid Sony and Microsoft will copy them.

  18. I’m going to said this one more time:

    Developers, gamers, critics, everyone in the gaming industry: Hold your pants. Be patient. The boomerang may have been thrown away but it will be back when you less expected it.

  19. Pingback: El secretismo con respecto a Wii U entorpece a los desarrolladores

  20. This sounds idiotic. If you want to talk about your product, then talk about your product. What the heck do hardware specs have anything to do with your software product or why anybody should care about it?
    Our game uses 43% of the hardware. Please buy it. Stupid gamers… baaah… I am going to wait for game that uses at least 70% of hardware. Who cares Vigil?

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