Wii U GamePad the target of the latest Iwata Asks

It’s time for part two of the ‘Iwata Asks’ feature that’s focusing on the Wii U. Up for discussion this time is the Wii U GamePad itself and the struggles, troubles and eventually the success they had developing the controller.

Joining Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is a huge ensemble of Nintendo R&D staff. From Nintendo Technology Development Inc. is Tat Iwamoto. That team is actually located in America, not Japan. The R&D team from Japan though interviewed this time is Masato Ibuki, Kenichi Mae, Kuniaki Ito and Toru Yamashita. It’s a filled little Nintendo board room this time around.

The majority of the article is about the complications Nintendo faced getting the GamePad to actually work and it goes into great detail. We all take the GamePad working the way it does for granted but this new installment has revealed just how much work was put into getting the system working great.

With the GamePad, there’s always the concern that there will be lag between what’s shown on the TV and the GamePad and also pressing buttons and having them register. Good news though Nintendo’s got all that aced with some very complicated wireless technology. However, Nintendo have now got another problem. The Wii U GamePad might actually be faster than some TV’s even though they’re connected by wires.

[quote]Yamashita: The Wii U GamePad displays so quickly, and because many of the newer televisions have latency due to their video processing components, that there are times when the Wii U GamePad will display images faster than the television that is actually connected by a cable. So if you play on the Wii U GamePad, whatever the game, there won’t be delay and you can operate it more comfortably.[/quote]

So a new controller has more than just possibly latency issues, what about the actual construction and build of a controller? The team at Nintendo has thought this one through and one of their main concerns was keeping the controller light and comfortable.

[quote]Iwata – We made it as light as possible without causing durability problems. There may be some that would think 500 grams is heavy for a controller, but the result of pecking away at it like that was something much lighter than at first.

Ibuki -Yes. Any suggestions for a change in the design had to come with how many grams it would increase the weight. It was like: “I want a design like this.” “How many grams will that increase the weight?” “Five grams.” “Request denied!!”[/quote]

So what about the range of the Wii GamePad, it’s not a portable but just how far away from the Wii U can you venture before it cuts out? It looks like Nintendo doesn’t know for sure,

[quote]Yamashita: Everyone will probably test to see how far the radio waves will reach in their house. (laughs)

Iwata: As Nintendo, we say that it will be fine using it within the same living room where the console is in, but a lot of people ask what about through a wall?

Yamashita: Yeah. The other day, someone in a different department asked if he could use it in his bathroom at his house! (laughs)

Iwata: Differences will arise depending on whether you live in a house made of wood or an apartment of reinforced concrete, and what materials the walls are made out of.

Yamashita: Yes. What we can say for certain is that it will be fine within the same space.

Iwamoto: However, if you place the Wii U console in something like a metal TV stand it may deflect the radio waves thus reducing its usable range. Radio waves weakens by the square of the distance, so even within the same space, too much distance could make them weaker, and having obstacles in between would be a disadvantage.

Iwata: Playing at Yamashita-san’s house worked with one wall in-between! (laughs) When asked “Can I use it in my bedroom?” we can say that it would work within the same space when there is nothing in the way, but basically it depends on how your house is constructed, so we have to ask that you test it in your own home.[/quote]

So in case you were wondering if you can play the Wii U in another room of you house, say the toilet – it all depends on how thick your walls in your house are.

The rest of the latest Iwata Asks can be found here, it’s a really good read.