Those well-maintained hands could be yours, using the Wii U controller as an e-reader, if a recent rumor is to be trusted. Website Forget The Box tells of a software developer friend who was approached by Nintendo to port iOS software to the system.
Reportedly, Nintendo is looking into providing access to digital books, magazines, comics, and the like on both the Wii U and 3DS. That sounds reasonable enough, but this isn't a company known for its predictability. The rumor also details support for instruction manuals, strategy guides, and Nintendo Power.
This news, and resident "back in my day"-er Jonathan Holmes, reminded me that I never ditched my Nintendo e-Reader. Picture the hellish alternate universe where playing cards are the primary method of transferring data.
Nintendo Set To Enter Realm of e-Readers [Forget The Box via Game Informer -- Thanks, Casey]
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Contest:
10:30 PM on 01.02.2012 | 
i guess they could give us strategy guides on tablet then on screen gameplay time :P
That would be Nintendo being smart, but when it comes to digital... We know where they will most likely head.
Into a giant pile of money?
Don't see the point of putting it on the 3DS though, when it's screens are simply too small.
Their games are like their own genre though, nothing quite like it.
My eyes still haven't forgiven me for that,though.
Oh wait, that was sarcasm. What would make me buy a Wii-U would be Mario, Zelda, and Metroid at native 1080p resolution with PC-quality graphics. But they don't even have a decent system-seller launch title like that. Why would anyone even buy it?
you realize you just said they have no decent launch titles when we've still got at least 6 months until release right? We don't typically learn of launch titles until a couple months before the launch.
i guess what I'm saying is that comment was kinda dumb
It'll burn your eyes out AND your wallet
Everyone that wants an e-reader has about a hundred better options than this tablet. Plus, using a backlit e-reader sucks hard and will do nothing but wear out your ONLY GAME CONTROLLER'S battery faster than fast.
Also, this isn't going to be a powerful device here. It's going to be a media-streamer with a controller strapped to it. If the Kindle Fire is under-powered at $200, you can bet this thing is going to be HALF that power since they need to include an entire GAMING SYSTEM as well at a still hopefully reasonable price.
The only options I see for the WiiU are as follows:
1) The system is ridiculously under-powered, limiting the controller in scope and function (most likely)
or...
2) The thing is of reasonable power but prohibitively expensive.
Okay first of all, if reading an entire novel is doable on a person's iPhone or iPod Touch, it's more than doable on the 3DS or better yet the Wii-U tablet.
Underpowered? Please; we still know very little of the system's overall specs. Rumor has it that Nintendo has sent out new dev kits numerous times with the latest model having an entire GB of RAM. In other words, underpowered my ass.
Technology has expanded quite a bit. Sure the thing will be expensive, particularly the controller. But I doubt they will sell the set for more than the Xbox 360 was at launch. Somewhere on or below a cool $400 if you wanted the "good" model.
this makes me chuckle.
@DinnertimeNinja
What? I mean, what??? I can assure you that having the ability to open text will not cost anything extra to manufacture, or will require the usage of a large portion of the system resources. Nearly any computer system can be used as an e-reader, even an original Gameboy. The high cost of modern e-readers is not due to the cost of manufacturing, but rather due to the fact that people will pay top dollar for one for no real reason.
it looks like someone hasn't been privy to on-disc "dlc." it doesn't matter if it costs THEM any more or less, but by god do they have the "right" to make you subject to each and every meta purchase they can find and create.
basically, they want to make money and they will do it in whichever way possible, whether that be by making good business decisions/practices or leeching off of you shit that most modders do for free.
inb4 whatever wakatashi's retarded argument is.
What REWQ fails to realize is that the real cost to Nintendo is not whether or not it can simply "add text capabilities to the Wii-U tablet". It's the R&D required to develop the online store, develop logos/marketability, actually market it, server upkeep, etc. This is provided that Nintendo goes proprietary, which they most likely will (given their innate need to make all of the money on a transaction).
Whether or not people buy into it is yet to be seen. The real barrier to entry here is yet another ecosystem. Millions of people already have a Kindle because they bought it on Amazon - a company people consider synonymous with "online shopping" for over a decade. Millions of people buy books on Barnes and Noble's Nook marketplace because they see it at their brick and mortar stores, and have been buying from there for years. Millions of people buy iBooks because they have an iPad or iPhone already, and it was just kind of there.
A Nintendo storefront is just another ecosystem in a sea of eDevices. Knowing Nintendo, they could come into this and half-ass it, then people would ignore it and continue to buy books on their respective products. Or, they could strike gold. Considering we now nothing of the distribution method, we should wait and see. Something wacky could happen like Nintendo striking a multi-million dollar deal with Barnes and Noble, in an attempt to catapult B&N above Amazon's marketshare.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but my bid is on "try for 6 months to a year then give up on it" - it's very Nintendo.
I'm betting 2-3 years down the line Sony and MS will be doing something similar, but they'll be praised for theirs because pop audiences absolutely adore immitaters.
"but they'll be praised for theirs because pop audiences absolutely adore immitaters."
Investors have been telling Nintendo to copy Apple for years - this is Nintendo copying Apple.
This is kinda 50/50, it's a tablet-like controller yet it also brings similar benefits that DS and 3DS enjoy. Apple seems firmly against a simple D pad and buttons, though.
I will not pass judgement until I have it opened and I am playing on it
And if you think nintendo ( or any game company) actually cares what 2 bit analysts think you got another thing coming
suckers.
They're not copying the "tablet". This topic isn't really about "the tablet" (hint - it will never succeed as an actual viable tablet) - it's about the storefront, which, indeed, is copying iTunes (which was the first real digital/app storefront).
I was referring towards Wii's motion controls and how they were criticized then immitated. Also, Apple wasnt the first company to put applications on a virtual market and they didnt create the first e-reader either.
Its more like investors have been asking Nintendo do expand on a virtual market like any company has after the successful immitation of Click-N-Run.
There were rumors saying they were speaking with valve about online, and that ea wanted them to do origin exclusively instead.
I enjoyed your comment good sir.