According to a rumor coming out of French news site 01net, development of the Wii U isn’t going as smoothly as Nintendo might have hoped. It seems that in the company’s haste to push something that’s both innovative and cost effective, their new console is off to a rocky start.
Apparently the Wii U’s chipset isn’t performing properly and sometimes isn’t working at all. Furthermore, the console is still missing some of the core functionality that was originally promised, such as wireless connectivity with the tablet controller. Nintendo is allegedly now on the third prototype of the Wii U, with the fourth expected to make its way to select studios by the end of the month.
Nintendo will need help from third-party developers to get the console off the ground, but studios are obviously finding it difficult to work with an incomplete product. Dev kits currently come equipped with a tethering cable, necessary for communication between the controller and the console. Unfortunately, even with this hard connection, word is getting around that the communication can be unstable. Oh, and if a studio does manage to get something programmed and working, they have to hope it isn’t broken by the barrage of almost daily software updates.
As to be expected, the Wii U is now behind schedule and Nintendo is being backed into a corner. If the product is pushed too early, it could suffer from an overall lack of proper functionality, which could spell disaster for the new console. On the other hand, if Nintendo can’t get their act together soon, the Wii U could lose titles to the new Microsoft console, which is already being discussed as a possible big reveal at the next E3.
Initially rumored for a June 2012 release, the new word on the street suggests that Nintendo is considering a September 2012 launch for the Wii U. Would a delay help or hurt the console? Let us know what you think in the comments.
You wouldn’t release a incomplete product to your consumers. So i delay if a month or so wouldn’t hurt the console. I wouldn’t want a wired controller in this generation of technology.
“A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”
-Shigeru Miyamoto
The last thing I’d want is for Nintendo to have a Sega Saturn situation. I mean, the 3DS is already kinda shaky. Give it a little more time to get the console ready for market, and then let it take off.