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Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford Has a Crush on the Wii U GamePad
With the launch of Nintendo’s Wii U a little more than two weeks away, it’s impossible not to feel excited about the possibilities the new console will bring—for those of us who’ve preordered it, at least. But one of the people who’s really digging the Wii U’s touchscreen GamePad controller? Gearbox Software’s president and CEO, Randy Pitchford.
A few days ago, Joystiq posted an interview with Pitchford covering all the ways the GamePad will make Gearbox’s Wii U version of next year’s Aliens: Colonial Marines one of the most exciting and intriguing ports in some time.
Simply put, Pitchford loves the thing:
“This is the best controller Nintendo’s ever made for making an FPS. This is the best controller Nintendo has ever given us for playing hardcore games.”
Apparently, the GamePad will come in handy in terms of recreating the film franchise’s motion tracking device, as well as offering players the in-game map. As for whether or not the game will be able to match these functions in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions—utilizing the SmartGlass app and PS Vita crossplay functions, respectively—Pitchford is blunt in explaining that the Wii U is really the only system that’ll be able to pull off the immersive second-screen gameplay:
“With the Wii U they (Nintendo) committed themselves to this promise. So the link is direct, fast and immediate. Things like SmartGlass and Vita, they appreciate the value of the promise so they’re making the promise. But they’re not in with such commitment.
Conceivably there’s things you can do on all three without negative impact but because of Nintendo’s commitment to it there are something’s that could work there that just wouldn’t work as well with SmartGlass or with the crossplay between PS3 and Vita.”
While Aliens: Colonial Marines will come out for the Xbox and PlayStation platforms in February, the Wii U release date is a bit cloudy. It’s scheduled to come out during the Wii U’s “launch window,” which extends all the way to March—but as of now, there’s no vague date other than that. Even still, this one interview has me pumped. I’ve been wanting to get this game since I’ve seen the trailers that have come out this year, and now that I see how cool it’ll be for the Wii U, I think I’m really interested in waiting for that version. Although, I do admit that multiplayer will be a factor here. If the Wii U version can’t handle multiplayer in the ways that the other systems can, that may change my mind for me…but we’ll see, won’t we?
What do you think of Pitchford’s claims of the GamePad’s potential benefits for hardcore FPS gaming?
Via Joystiq
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I pose the question… You still have to divert your eyes to a different screen, so… How exactly does this help gameplay wise? Couldn’t I just, I dunno, hit the pause button? Are they saying the SmartGlass and Vita inputs won’t be able to do the same?
Apparently it has to do with the amount of delay between the first and second screens. I’ve read that the Wii U’s lag is about a fraction of a second, so small that it’s imperceptible. I think that the scanning thing will involve holding the controller up to the TV while you’re playing…we’ll see, man! I’m still excited. Nothing you can say will make that go away!
Take into consideration the Nintendo DS (or 3DS) if you will. Granted, the screens are quite close together, but you still have to glance downward at the lower screen to find or access the information you’re looking for. Nintendo has stated in the past their hopes to take advantage of this style of play.
I couldn’t agree more – the DS was an insanely good move for the mobile market and has yet to be matched in that sort of game-changing regard. Forgive me for use of the phrase “game changing”. Ugh.
As for what Brian said, it’s really imperceptible. I’ve seen it happen with Black Ops II on Wii U. The term you’re looking for escapes me at the moment, but the time it takes to switch video streams from one connected screen to another in near-instantaneous — save for the wireless latency delay caused by the gamepad residing on a wire-free connection.
I don’t think you’ll see anything quite as well-integrated on smartglass and Vita — those features exist for functions that could be replicated, but will likely act as sideshow bonus features like stat-tracking a’ la Call of Duty: Elite and Halo Waypoint. Browsing menus with a tablet could prove beneficial though.
The lag I understand, or rather, the lack of lag for the Wii U. I’m just having a hard time picturing a scenario where a second screen becomes important to gameplay. But maybe it’s too early for me to scrutinize the Wii U. The system isn’t even out yet… Though, that Zombie U game seems to be on the right tracks.
As for SmartGlass and the Vita… Implementing them will be “gimmicky,” but, as you guys said, will be good for things like CoD: Elit or Halo: Waypoint. I dunno. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the devs implement this tech. Crossing my fingers here…
Look to experiences on the 3DS — you’ll see a lot of that on the Wii U.
I might as well… It doesn’t seem like RE: Revelations will be ported anytime soon… Who knows. I liked the DS. I might like this one as well, duel sticks or not.