I'm calling it now, in BLOPS2 WiiU when you use the predator missile styled weapon it will use the controller screen and it's built in motion controls.

Maybe I overreacted on the friend code thing since what Reggie said was rather vague ... it will be "easier" but we don't know if it will be as easy as PSN/Xbox. He did say that friend codes would return in some form though which has me concerned since the only next logical step with friend codes was to get rid of them entirely.

"Microsoft may require every game to have Achievements, but, Fils-Aime said, "That is not our philosophy."

This can be translated as "Wii U will not have a unified achievement system, and Wii U games will only have achievements on them if the developers feel like adding them ... even if they do add them there is no PSN card or gamertag that they will be gathered on (it is not clear how achievements will be presented on Mii Verse if they are represented there at all). Thus, the Wii U will not have achievements/trophies at least in a way that is comprable to Sony and Microsoft.

This is what I meant when I said there were no achievements on the Wii U. Modern achievements are universal across all games for a platform (or at least they became mandatory for PSN after a certain point), and they are organized into an easy to understand profile that shows the player their cumulative progress with examples being a gamerscore or a level.

They didn't force developers to use all features of the Wii, DS or 3DS so it's unlikely that they will force developers to use the Uscreen. Don't know exactly how the Upad works but having very basic stuff on it like maps or inventories shouldn't use a lot of processing power.

Hmmm, let's think on that one, other than the fact that is has been mandated on everything non-nintendo since Jan. 1st 2009.

Steam uses them.

PS3 uses them.

360 uses them.

iPhone uses them.

Nintendo doesn't...........

Now, look at the stats, leagues, not to mention replayability that they add. That tells you why it matters.

As I said before, adding it benefits Nintendo. Not having them brings zero benefits.

Then look and realize that only one group thinks they don't add anything, and unsurprisingly that group is the one who never had them.

Trophies/Achievements are a way to show what you have accomplished without needing to boot up a game, load up the "treasures/stamps" section on the main menu, while easily allowing you to share/compare with friends.

Who does that hurt? Nobody.

Who does that benefit? Everybody.

"Not having them brings zero benefits." Well then it's a good thing Wii U will have achievements. Just because Sony and Microsoft made them mandatory doesn't mean they should be. Achievements don't inherently add replay value. Making a good game adds replay value.

@ the bolded: I play games on Steam, so I have had achievements. And, again, certain Nintendo games have special independent achiement systems that work better than any achievement system I've ever seen. Making them mandatory only hurts developers by forcing them to do something that adds nothing to their games. A little tag popping up telling you what you just did is useless. Hidden unlockables, easter eggs, secrets, and rewards existed in video games LONG before unified "achievements," and they will continue to exist with or without achievements.

Reggie also said that if you find a user online and want to be friends, you can do that in the system. That means while you will have identifiable information to yourself, i.e. your miiverse/nintendo account (i.e. like a friend code), you won't have to trade some long boring number per game. Of course we have to wait for the network to be detailed, but looking at all the available information it only makes sense that you'll have some sort of normalized account that is similar to every other network out there. The differentiation will be in how you can use the network to socialize.

Personally, I could care less about achievements. I don't even try for them now. However, if a dev makes achievements for the other companies they ported their game to, there will be something in Wii U as well. It may not be like the others though and may instead be more of a miiverse bragging type of thing and that's fine with me. (i.e., no you may not be able to make some sort of internet card out of it to brag with, it may be only in miiverse profile/posts etc.)

First off, how does it hurt developers by having them add achievements? Considering it already common place for the last 3+ years I doubt it is out of the norm for them.

As for the bolded, you don't understand the real issue here. If it isn't mandatory then it isn't properly unified. Also, how many games have you replayed just to get all the treasures? How many times you replay Mario Kart to get gold in all the cups on all CCs? Is it bad that it also comes with something that is added to your profile, that way others online can see it? Nintendo wants a social online network, so why omit something like this?

I also constantly within this thread see talks about the achievements being for the benefit of 3rd parties, which to be honest is 100% BS. We already know the real reason why it isn't mandatory and it is within the article itself.

Nintendo's own developers don't want to be hassled to add it in. So right off the bat the company itself isn't not totally behind the idea.

What do you mean what is the point... this is about choice. Some games will require or allow the touchscreen to enhance gameplay, some won't. Are you saying if a few games doesn't require it that there is no point to the UPad? or that people should buy a UPro to play those games just because it doesn't have a touchscreen.

Because it's basically just a cock measuring contest online. The downside is that some "gamers" are going out of their way to get what are otherwise useless or easy achievements, for no gain other than an extra notch on a publicly displayed points system.

I don't mind things like high scores tables for the right type of game, but when you start getting achievements for visiting parts of a game you have to go through to complete it anyway, or else getting a new notch each time you add an extra digit to your kill count it becomes less than worthless.

Online games IMO would benefit from something like a stats table for certain things in games (ie number of kills/wins or accuracy in an FPS, percentage of wins/2nd/3rd places in a racing game, as well as lap times... some adventure games might only need a single stat: percent complete) that way you have the interesting data, in more detail than with achievements and without the useless ones... and it's not ridiculously tied to other games as if there is some numerical comparison of skill that translates across all games in all genres.

I am saying that going by graphical quality, from what we have seen so far anyways, if a game doesn't use the touch screen and only uses (2) sticks, 4 face buttons and 4 triggers, how does it differ at all from what is available on the cheaper PS3 and XBox360?

If you're not going for graphical quality and instead opt to make your home in the world of gameplay innovation, you need to utilize the only thing that makes the WiiU unique from the consoles that have been around since 2005.