The upcoming release of the Wii U

The Wii U was developed, obviously, by Nintendo and Manufactured by Foxconn and will be the first 8th generation console.

It is said to be released on November 30th of this year. To pre-order from Amazon it will cost you around £249.00 for the basic white pack and a substantial amount more for the premium black pack at around £329.00 with a 32GB memory.

The Wii U is an upcoming video game console from Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. The system was unveiled during Nintendo's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 on June 7, 2011, and is scheduled for released on November 18, 2012 in North America, November 30, 2012 in Europe and Australia, and December 8, 2012 in Japan. It will be the first entry in the eighth generation of video game consoles.

Nintendo stated that the Wii U supports 1080p graphics and has 2 GB of memory; 1 GB as system memory and the same for game memory. This is more than 20 times the memory of the Wii. The console will be released in two versions; a basic white version with 8 GB of internal storage, and a premium black version with 32 GB of internal storage, which includes stand and docks. An HDMI cable will be included with both versions. The Wii U features a new controller, called the Wii U GamePad, with an embedded touchscreen. The controller allows a player to continue playing games by displaying the game even when the television is off.

The system will be backward compatible with Wii, and Wii U games can support compatibility with Wii peripherals, such as the Wii Remote Plus and the Nunchuk. It will not be backward compatible with Nintendo GameCube discs or peripherals, although games will become available for purchase and downloaded from Nintendo's Virtual Console service.

The console was first conceived in 2008, after Nintendo recognized several limitations and challenges with the Wii, such as the general public perception that the system catered primarily for a "casual" audience. With Wii U, Nintendo explicitly wishes to lure "core" gamers back. Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto admitted that the lack of HD and limited network infrastructure for the Wii also contributed to the system being regarded in a separate class to its competitors' systems, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Nintendo is working with Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, and YouTube to bring streaming digital movie and television content to the Wii U. Nintendo has demonstrated that simple gestures can be used on the Wii U GamePad to transfer video content from the GamePad to the television screen. Users will also have the ability to switch from the television screen to the Wii U GamePad when watching videos.

The Wii U GamePad can also be used as a universal television remote with a built in guide, even when the Wii U is off. Nintendo also announced a free television based service called Nintendo TVii. Nintendo TVii will allow users to find programs on Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and on their cable network; users will then be able select the source of the program they wish to watch and watch that program on their television or on the Wii U Gamepad. Users can also use the Gamepad screen to get information on the show they are watching, this information is recevied from Wikipedia, IMDb, as well as individual source services. The information provided on the Gamepad for each show can range from reviews, screenshots, player positions updated in realtime (in sports broadcasts), cast lists, trailers, and general information about the show. Users can then interact with the information as well as share and comment on the information on social networks such as Miiverse, Facebook, and Twitter through the Gamepad while they watch their show on the TV screen.

Games like ZombiU, a first-person shooter survival horror video game from Ubisoft Montpellier, are to be released exclusively for the new Nintendo's Wii U console. In ZombiU the player can assume the roles of various survivors during the game. The game is a reboot of Ubisoft's first commercial game, Zombi. This seems to imply that Nintendo are aiming for a new audience - an older audience that Nintendo has failed to attract so far. The Wii is associated with a younger audience, with more family orientated games. However, after the reconsideration of the challenges of the first Wii console, Nintendo have decided to try to win over older gamers that would be more used to playing platforms like Xbox and PlayStation.

Up to this point the games available on launch/release of the Wii U are as follows;

Nintendo assures greater support for third-party games on the Wii U; during E3 2011 a handful of third-party titles were confirmed to be in development for the Wii U. During E3 2012, third-party titles were shown such as Darksiders II, Assassin's Creed III, Mass Effect 3, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, Just Dance 4, Madden NFL 13, as well as exclusives such ZombiU, Rayman Legends, Rabbids Land, Lego City Undercover, Scribblenauts Unlimited, and Bayonetta 2.
Some first-party games Nintendo has announced for the system include New Super Mario Bros. U, Pikmin 3, Nintendo Land, Wii Fit U, and Game & Wario.  

Digital Distribution – Will everything become digital in the future and who wants this?

Digital distribution is the process of delivering video game content as digital information, either fully or partially, as appose to on physical media such as hard disks for example that can be bought in retail stores. There is no doubt that in the past decade the video game industry has made many developments and advancements in technology, with digital distribution being one of the most potent among others such as upgraded graphics and coding, new consoles and game engines etc. There are hundreds of examples of fully digitally distributed games to be mentioned but some of the most obvious examples would be the likes of Minecraft (for Xbox 360 live arcade and PC, published by Mojang) and the recently released Walking Dead game for PlayStation Network (psn) and Xbox live arcade. These of which I both own myself, (and love) and which have no physical copy of the game available for purchase. However online retail service sites such as Game.com or Amazon allow the gamer to purchase the game via the internet but the consumer still receives a physical copy of the game (partial digital distribution). As advancements in the video game industry progress, more developers are trying to reach a wider audience range by creating expansion packs or add-ons for example and becoming nearly completely DLC. There is huge speculation on whether digital distribution will become the future for video gamers and the industry with many behind the idea and many opposing it for many different reasons.

The many people discouraging the future for one hundred per cent digital distribution do so for very valid reasons. A prime reason is that for people with fast Internet, downloading your games is great. However, what if you live in a part of the world where broadband is not available? According to the International Telecommunication Union, only seven per cent of the world has broadband Internet. The United States has around 26%, the UK has 31% and France has 33%. These are worrying numbers if the world of downloading video games that can easily exceed 10GB is to become a reality. Is almost 75% of the United States going to be shut out from playing the latest video games? That seems like a serious issue to overcome. Also digital distribution could easily become a personal security issue to gamers, as to download a game through the games console digitally; credit card details would be required. And with millions more people being directed to full DLC it could be an even larger worldwide problem if a network became under attack, and details leaked. Sony alone has over 70 million online accounts registered, which would hugely increase if everything was one hundred per cent digital distribution, and so hacks would do more damage than ever stated. Less concerning problems include the fact that at this moment in time internet speeds are just not up maximum potential to hold the capacity and support a complete sudden switch to digital distribution, becoming a potential threat to internet providers. If games are all digitally distributed, will we need specialty video game stores anymore? The sale of consoles is very low, so how can they stay in business without physical copies of games to sell? Big box retailers like Best Buy will be fine; they sell plenty of other products. GameStop has well over 6,000 locations. That is an awful lot of people left jobless. The last few problems are really only personal concerns for the gamer themselves. Firstly, if console games are sold digitally, right from the console, that leaves all the pricing decisions in the hands of the platform holder. In theory, they could raise the prices of games, and it would be out of our control. If a particular retailer decides to charge too much for a game, we just buy it somewhere else. If there is no retailer, either we pay the price or we do not buy the game. Finally, I know from experience the lack of excitement and anticipation from digitally purchasing a game rather than waiting and having the complete full, enjoyable experience of a physical copy. A lot of gamers live for premieres of new games and view queuing outside of Game for example for hours as the whole experience and hype that makes new physical form games something to talk about and remember, which could easily be lost by it just becoming as easy as the push of a button.

Despite the mass of people against the turning to full digital distribution, it could hugely benefit not only the gamers but the companies involved in developing, publishing and distributing the games. The people involved in these stages of production are the most likely to benefit in terms of money from the games and add-ons etc. This is because money would still be generating from the games sales, add-ons and expansion packs, but also actually saving money from not dishing it out on transporting the games worldwide, packaging and actually manufacturing the physical disc copies. Also a non- controllable benefit for the companies is that digital distribution causes many consumers to “impulse buy” games that they can get for social gaming or IOS games with a click of a button. This creates massive sums of money as digital distribution encourages impulse buys on many different platforms such as IOS using the App Store for IPhones, PC or general consoles’ online services to many generations of people. However consumers also want to see the progress of digital distribution. One reason for this could be just for the simple fact that they prefer a sleek/slick, clutter free area surrounding their consoles without stacked games cases on show, especially as they get older to prevent stereotypical associations with gaming perhaps. Another could be the convenience factor. Many people find it easier and more convenient to buy games with just a click of a button from their console and be playing the game within minutes, compared to travelling to the nearest retail store, waiting in line and buying in cash that would take much longer, whereas digital downloads could be installed in minutes to a hard drive which is much less hassle and a cleaner way of storing the games. They’re just a few examples of, but the statistics show just how far spread digital distribution has become already. There has been a 17% increase in sales on a digital format with $1.47 billion generated from digital downloads, as oppose to just £1 billion from physical format this year.

I believe that the full switch over to digital distribution is highly unlikely, especially I the near future as masses amount of pre-production needs to take place first such as dramatically updating ad increasing hard drive space and internet speed for anything to even progress any further or for it to be possible which just isn’t going to be anytime soon. Although producers will make more money, they would not chance downgrading their consumers experience with games just because the system s could not hold the capacity of the highest quality downloads and possibly losing some of their audience. In my opinion I believe that the video game distribution system will continue at the current state of fully and partial distribution combined with the continuation of physical format sales to satisfy many audiences and generations of gamers.    

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV was released in 2008 published by Rockstar Games, and developed by UK game developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system. Overall, Grand Theft Auto IV took over 1000 people and more than three and a half years to complete, with a total cost estimated at approximately $100 million, making it one of the most expensive games ever developed. GTA IV was distributed on both digital and physical formats.

Minecraft

Minecraft is a sandbox-building independent video game created by Swedish programmer Markus  Persson and now developed by his company, Mojang. In 2011, Jens Bergensten, took full creative control over Minecraft. It was released as an alpha on May 17, 2009, with a beta version on December  20, 2010. Official versions for iOS and Android have been released and the full version of the PC game was released on November 18, 2011 at MineCon 2011. The Android release was temporarily exclusive to the Xperia play but is now available to the rest of the Android market. On May 9, 2012, Minecraft was released on Xbox 360 as an Xbox Live Arcade game, co-developed by 4J studios . All editions of the  game can be bought as a one-time purchase (not monthly).  As of May 25, 2012, the game has sold over six million copies on PC,and over nine million copies across all platforms. Minecraft was published by Mojang and co-publishers Microsoft studios and proceeds total $763,000. It can be purchased digitally on PC and/or from retail game stores at a price around £16.95.

Video Games

Hi, my name is Ashleigh Foy and I have loved games for a long time and grew up with Playstation. I have owned all 3 Playstations, gameboy colour and advance and Nintendo DS in the past and now also own a Wii and play games on my laptop and IPhone. When I was younger I loved all the NES games like Mario 64 and played games such as sonic generations, spyro, crash bandicoot and Lara croft. I would say I have played and still do a range of different video game genres and enjoy all of them for different reasons. I don't play games every day anymore but when I do, I tend to play games like minecraft for example. I still love playing the classic games which I have on Playstation 3 but wish I had more time to play them!! I would say though that my favourite game series would definitely be the Zelda games I have played every single one released including the most recent, Skyward Sword, although the classic and new Super Mario games are another nearly joint favourite having completed every Mario game aswell.