80°

Wii U Ditching Friend Codes For Unified Gamertag, Friends List

John Riccitiello seemed to confirm the depletion of the original Wii's online friend system, the friend codes. Riccitiello explains that the Wii U will have friend lists and a single online identity.

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multiplayerblog.mtv.com
interrergator4744d ago

good riddance friend code sucked

jwk944744d ago

Finally, that's one point to the Wii U, now let's see some actual games.

D2K4744d ago

I said the same thing when Sony and Microsoft added motion controls to their systems last year.

"Welcome to 2005 Sony and Microsoft." :)

Shadow Flare4744d ago

Why, is 2005 when Sony released the eyetoy?

D2K4744d ago

@Shadowflare: If you want to go the semantics route, I could bring up the Power Glove and U-Force for the NES long before Sony was IN the video games business. You know I was referring to the Kinect and Move so don't go there.

Active Reload4744d ago

"@Shadowflare: If you want to go the semantics route, I could bring up the Power Glove and U-Force for the NES long before Sony was IN the video games business. You know I was referring to the Kinect and Move so don't go there."

QFT

Shadow Flare4744d ago (Edited 4744d ago )

I know nintendo did things like the power glove way long ago but the way you worded your comment suggested this was Sony and microsofts first foray into motion gaming and it was just because of Wii. And I just wanted to remind you Sony put out eyetoy long before Wii. I know they weren't first but welcome to 2005 D2K, eyetoy is out and Wii isn't. Sony also released a ps3 version of eyetoy before move came out. Ps3 has had motion gaming throughout it's whole life with PSeye, sixaxis controllers and Move, so your comment makes no sense

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BeaArthur4744d ago

Better a decade late than never I guess.

JsonHenry4744d ago

It is funny they talk about innovating. But so far all they have done is play catch up to 2005.

D2K4744d ago

Yeah. Since it took Microsoft and Sony 5 years to catch up to motion-controls, no stones need to be thrown at Nintendo for this. They tried something different, and it didn't work. Big deal. It's not like they couldn't have done this 6 years ago. They just chose not to and it was a mistake. All three companies have made their fair share. At least Nintendo is correcting theirs, and even Sony. What's Microsoft doing?

*crickets*

BeaArthur4744d ago

D2K...they could have tried something different like motion controls and still had a functional online service. The PSN isn't anything special but at least it provides basic functionality.

sporteous1212124744d ago

@D2K

The difference is that motion controlled gaming is still only one type/genre of gaming whereas online functionality has become a staple for most major titles on all platforms and is integrated into most games period.

Nintendo is making a good move by adding gamertags because I believe a major part of attracting core gamers is to have good online functionality.

Shok4744d ago

Nintendo has been innovating where it matters the most - HOW we play the games.

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150°

Forget Elder Scrolls 6, Skyrim Can Easily Be Made Into A Next-Gen Game

ScreenRant's Stephen Tang writes, "The Elder Scrolls 6 won't be releasing for a while, and in the meantime, the modding community has been making Skyrim into a next-gen game."

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screenrant.com
GhostScholar1d 1h ago

That’s just laughable to me. I think they’ve squeezed all they can out of an 12 year old game

mastershredder20h ago

"Easily" because they see mods, says the gamer. To heck with licensing, terms agreements conditions, etc. all you need to do is belive in mods. Yeah, so real superficial BS yo.

CrimsonWing6910h ago

Do people not want to play a new game? Like, I’d rather see 6 than just a prettier version of a game we’ve been playing since the 360/PS3 gen…

Popsicle3h ago(Edited 3h ago)

Yes please. Did pretty much everything there was to do in this game. Took a very long time and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Skyrim is one of my all-time favorites, but I would prefer a new experience.

anast7h ago

They might as well. So far, it looks like ES6 will be mostly developed by AI.

Smellsforfree3h ago

I don't want a next-gen version of a game I've already played to death. Skyrim was a great game, but I'm over it.

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430°

PS6 Graphics – Can it Approach Photorealism?

If the PS5 Pro leaks are accurate, the eventual PS6 is slated to be one powerful console. But if modern GPUs still lag behind true photorealism, can the PS6 get there?

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gamingbolt.com
Hugodastrevas15d ago

I hate to be "that guy", but we have go ask ourselves do the industry need photorealistic graphics at this point or actually good games, good content, less anti-consumer practices?
This graphical obsession has brought nothing but years upon years of waiting for a game to launch with huge detailed empty worlds, bad stories and predictable gameplay and (micro)transactions everywhere. Sorry for the rant.

MrGameAndWatch15d ago

Same. I really don't want to be in an interactive film and, to me photorealism is not needed for immersion.

RaidenBlack15d ago

Why always target photorealism?
Why not use the extra horsepower for better, complex & diverse AI?
Why not target more interactable world? Why not use the new performance headroom for more physics effects?
Player choices that drastically affect and changes the game world?

Cacabunga15d ago (Edited 15d ago )

Let’s first see what PS5 graphics look like.. we’ve seen nothing yet

RaidenBlack14d ago

@Cacabunga
For that, first Naughty Dog's PS5 single-player exclusive, then Guerilla's PS5 single-player exclusive

OtterX15d ago (Edited 15d ago )

If anything, the massive layoffs in the industry right now are showing that investors are pulling out and not wanting to invest as much as they are right now into AAAs. Much less push for even higher detail, unless many parts of it are automated by AI for a cheaper price. Not saying I support people's jobs being replaced by AI, just stating a reality of what the money people want.

DarXyde15d ago (Edited 15d ago )

Photorealism should be reserved for games like Gran Turismo. It costs far too much to incorporate that level of detail.

Even then, if it comes at the cost of physics calculations or frame rate given the shared resources of consoles, I'd scale it back in favor of a smoother experience.

Nintendo was quite smart to never pigeonhole themselves into that. Great foresight on their part, I'd say.

8bitAssassin15d ago

But they've gotten very lazy on their games. I still like their approach don't just make game play your biggest innovation.

DarXyde15d ago (Edited 15d ago )

8bitAssassin,

I assume you're talking about Nintendo.

I think it works for them. I'm honestly glad that it's nothing like PlayStation or Xbox. It's a great reason to own one.

8bitAssassin14d ago

Yup!! I am. Yes it works for them and I love it. I want them to have better than average old tech so the scope of some of their games can drop jaws. I'm not talking about counting pixels either.

anast15d ago

I think we need both. Why lower the standard? A photorealistic Bloodborne or Elden Ring game would be insane.

isarai15d ago

Nah im with you on that, like visually games look fine, maybe up the resolution on average but i would much rather resources be spent on things that actually make the game FEEL good to play at this point.

shinoff218315d ago

Don't forget about the budgets.

ROCKY2815d ago

agreed - stop with the expensive photo realism and just create amazing games that are less expensive that are not a risk to create an original game within 2-3 years and not 7 years of development - like the OG PS2/Xbox era !

WolfSeed15d ago

There are individual goals for individual parameters. Graphics, gameplay, scale, geometry, AI Sophistication, etc.

This article touches one of them. No need to cancel the conversation because you care more about other things.

Amplitude15d ago (Edited 15d ago )

Some photorealism is much cheaper to produce than what devs are currently forced to do.
If all games could have path tracing, there would be no need for developers to manually map ambient occlusion, shadowmaps, reflection probes, etc. It's a huge undertaking that's making games cost way more to produce on account of the rather pathetic-for-2024 RT and general performance of the current gen consoles.

As much as i hate to say it, we need new consoles as soon as feasibly possible. These consoles launched at the absolute worst possible time, right before RT/DLSS2.0/3.0 were able to quickly skyrocket games in quality on the PC side of things, leaving a ridiculously large gap between PC and console almost immediately after launch and preventing things like CyberPunk Pathtracing Mode in other games. They're holding everything back and making games take longer to produce.

I think Microsoft may be smart if they end up adopting a model where multiple companies (including NVidia) can release multiple spec variant "PC" boxes with the XBox OS. One console every decade doesn't cut it with how quick technology moves in this new era we're in.

smolinsk15d ago

I would love the Next step in graphic to be massive but it always turns out that it takes a long time so the ps6 graphics are gonna be like the best we have now Just with 60fps in every game. World love to se the big ass large worlds with fantastic graphics and depth. Gta 6 are gonna bring that for sure.

just_looken14d ago

@hugo

100% agree but it also made the use of upscale tech the norm which made games worse and the fact console now are just tablets we need a console with a real gpu real cpu real ram setup.

It would be so amazing to see a game like you said made like the ps2/ps3 era using today's pc parts pushing the hardware.

There are titles out there that make my pc run like its still on the desktop

Barlos14d ago

Agreed. For me at least, games are escapism. I don't want them mimicking real life. Graphics don't have to be photorealistic to be impressive. As with you, I'm more about the story, and I would prefer innovation in other ways. The PS5 did it with the DualSense. This it more important to me than just shinier graphics.

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Zenzuu15d ago

Personally for me, graphics have already gotten to the point where I don't really feel the need to see having it to make anymore realistic or better.

At this point, I rather game developers focus on quality/engaging stories, gameplay, & contents. Also not every every single game needs to opened world just for the sake of it.

anast15d ago

I'd rather they focus on both. It's a trillion dollar industry. They should be able to do both.

neutralgamer199215d ago

Zenzuu

Believe it or not when it comes to consoles and games graphics are still the biggest factor. Why do you think we still see CHI trailers or in engine footage. The first impression is very important. Not for us core gamers but for millions of casuals who are quite easily impressed with wow factor graphics

TiredGamer15d ago

"More, more, more!!! I don't care what it takes - I deserve more! And I won't PAY a dollar more!"

That's the mindset of some people out there.

JEECE14d ago

I mean, can we still say that's the case even when casuals flock to mediocre looking battle royales? PUBG became huge among casuals, and it looks like a PS3 era shooter with textures that didn't load properly. And casuals have embraced the cartoon aesthetic (Fortnite is the easy example here, but there are others). What is the recent graphics focused game casuals have flocked to? Are you counting COD for that?

anast14d ago

@1992 Candy Crush and Monopoly Go

@Tired Like I said. It's a trillion dollar industry. They could definitely do more. Customers are paying a ton of money.

WolfSeed15d ago

There are individual goals for individual parameters. Graphics, gameplay, scale, geometry, AI Sophistication, etc. No need to cancel the conversation because you care more about other things.

smolinsk15d ago

Graphics are the biggest selling point and will always be.

neutralgamer199214d ago

Agreed especially for those who aren’t hardcore gamers. We core gamers look at everything through core gamers POV. But there is a much bigger casual market who likes looking at pretty things

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andy8515d ago

Honestly with UC4 I thought we were close but things don't really seem to have improved much in 8 years. Hellblade 2 seems to have raised the bar a bit though

MrBaskerville15d ago

I don't think publishers have the money to make that happen. They can barely sustain the current level of fidelity.

Sciurus_vulgaris15d ago

The goal post for what photorealistic graphics are has always been moving. I remember some 360/PS3 sports games being called photorealistic way back in the mid 2000s.

bRuud8315d ago

Simply, no! Graphics wise there is barely any difference between the PS4 and PS5 just a little more particle effects and very minimal use of ray tracing. I expect even less diffence between PS5 and PS6. Just better implementation of Ray Tracing.

purple10115d ago

you are correct, but there ram has doubled, and now we have ssd not a spinning disk drive, I think we have not yet scratched the surface of next gen personally,

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90°

10 of the best Kirby games ever made

NE: "Kirby's been on more than a handful of adventures, and we've gathered a list of 10 of the best Kirby games here."

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nintendoeverything.com