Again the concern is that a 50% jump from the PS3 to the Wii U will represent the difference for the majority of games for the next 6 years on console.
That worries me that in 2017 we could potentially see the majority of games with that slim a difference on console.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SK13
I see your concern, but it's unwarranted. We have every reason to expect third parties are eagerly working on powerful hardware under Microsoft and Sony that equate to a far larger than 50% bump (the Wii U itself is likely well above that 50% number, given what has been confirmed in recent weeks). There's far greater concern that the Wii U will be shut out on some ports than them dictating the shape of ports.
Here's some more information that says the Wii U is probably More than 50% more powerful than the PS3:
Previously rumored to be roughly 50% more powerful than PS3. (Source: IGN) Recent reports of actual hardware however suggest it to be much greater, putting it around 20% less powerful than the next gen Xbox (which is rumored to be at least 6 times more powerful than current gen consoles). Again, all rumors however.
Storage
Internal flash memory: 8GB - $299 for Basic Set, 32GB - $349 Deluxe Set.
Expandable memory via external USB hard drive and SDHC memory cards.
CPU
IBM Power®-based multi-core microprocessor
IBM has also revealed it to be a 45nm chip, with embedded DRAM. Additionally, the CPU is based on the same chip that is used in the Watson supercomputer, implying it is a Power7 model. (Source: Kotaku)
Previously rumored to be roughly 50% more powerful than PS3. (Source: IGN) Recent reports of actual hardware however suggest it to be much greater, putting it around 20% less powerful than the next gen Xbox (which is rumored to be at least 6 times more powerful than current gen consoles). Again, all rumors however.
GPU
AMD Radeon-based High Definition GPU
Reports from 2011 suggest it is based on the RV770 architecture, unlike previous reports which merely pointed to the general R700 series and supports DirectX 10.1
This chip is used in ATi's Radeon HD 4800 series cards
"Eyefinity-like multi-display tech for up to four SD video streams"
According rumors about details leaked by a Ubisoft employee just before E3 2012, the console uses an AMD Radeon HD 6770 and supports DirectX 11
Note that none of this is official from Nintendo
Sources: Engadget, GameWatch[1]
RAM
The Wii U comes with 2GBs of RAM. 1GB is devoted to Gaming, the other 1GB is devoted to the Wii U's operating system.
Wii U Daily Rumors
In early December, Wii U Daily reported hardware information supposedly received from a Japanese developer. They consisted of:
Quad-core, 3 GHz PowerPC-based 45 nm CPU, very similar to the Xbox 360 chip.
768kb of DRAM “embedded” with the CPU, and shared between CPU and GPU
Unknown, 40 nm ATi-based GPU
While Wii U Daily suggested that this would put the Wii U on par with the Xbox 360 in terms of performance[2], PCMag.com clarified, that not only were some of the details inevitably misreported, but that just the processor specs would, " ' In terms of raw power, ... put the Wii U way ahead of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.' "
INPUT/OUTPUT
Four USB 2.0 connector slots, with support for Wii LAN adapters.
Dimensions
Height
1.8 inches
Width
6.8 inches
Length
10.5 inches
Weight
1.6kg (3.5 pounds)
Media, Video & Audio
Media
12-centimeter proprietary optical discs holding 25 Gigabytes, equivalent to a single layer Blu-Ray Disc (Source: Kotaku)
12-centimeter Wii optical discs
Supported Resolutions
1080p
1080i
720p
480p
480i
Supported Video Output Connections
HDMI 1.4
Component
S-video
Composite
Audio Output
AV Multi Out connector
six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI
So I was reading this thread on GAF and they mentioned some more details on the Nintendo Network Premium that comes with the deluxe. Apparently you get 10% back on digital purchases. That is totally worth getting the deluxe for. If you buy a $60 game on there, you'll get $6 back, which is basically a free smaller eShop or VC game.
pretty darn sweet specs. people may complain but this is more then enough power to run any game we see. can't wait
Agreed. If the Wii U is indeed only 20% less powerful than the Xbox 720 then it should be able to run all of the next generation games that the 720 & PS4 have. The PS3 is more than 20% more powerful than the Xbox 360 and the 360 can run everything that the PS3 has, even if sometimes the graphics aren't quite as good.
How much does the controller cost to make? I can see the Wii U being stronger than Ps3 xbox360 but not by leaps and bounds. They are probably going to make profit from every console sold.
On a side note it does look really interesting and I didn't buy a wii so I'll be able to play some wii games I missed out on.
Agreed. If the Wii U is indeed only 20% less powerful than the Xbox 720 then it should be able to run all of the next generation games that the 720 & PS4 have. The PS3 is more than 20% more powerful than the Xbox 360 and the 360 can run everything that the PS3 has, even if sometimes the graphics aren't quite as good.
The 360 was a bit of a special case, as it had superior sales and architecture than the PS3. Which is to say, it had superior sales. What machine games get built on first is going to be a pure fact of sales. Architecture could matter, especially if Sony or Nintendo scares off PC devs, essentially handing Microsoft a bunch of second party exclusives (imagine the 360's sales without Gears, Mass Effect, BioShock). But I think Nintendo is smarter than that (WiiU uses some relatively established hardware), and Sony I would hope is smarter than that. If the WiiU sells gangbusters and is comparable in power to the other machines, Nintendo can become a player in the software part.
There was that rumor about how EA was going to be 'working closely' with Nintendo about how to construct their online, but then there was something of a falling out. I can guess it was EA wanted more empowerment for third parties like itself and Nintendo balking (Nintendo likes to be in charge of anything with its name on it). I know third parties are pissed with how Microsoft is handling the distro end of Live, they charge far too much and then leave the games to die on the vine; this would be where Nintendo or Sony could make a cunning deal and pull the rug from under them.
They confirmed regular wiimotes will work with the Wii U btw, to answer my own question from before, but Nintendoland needs wiimotion plus.
I heard from Giant Bomb that all WiiU games that feature Wiimotes will require Motion+, but you'll still be able to play normal Wii games with the normal Wii remote.
I heard from Giant Bomb that all WiiU games that feature Wiimotes will require Motion+, but you'll still be able to play normal Wii games with the normal Wii remote.
Yeah I figured that, which is disappointing, especially considering all the wiimotes that are out there, but I understand why they did it. The wiimotion plus ones aren't reliant on the sensor bar.
My least favorite news so far is that everything from the Wii will work in "Wii Mode", which I think disables extra Wii U features. Meaning VC games aren't playable on the Wii U controller. I'm not sure if they can add that option into future VC games, or if they'll be able to put it in older ones at some point, but it seems really short-sighted.
Nintendo has reportedly offered huge incentives to people willing to put games on their eShop though, so it's one step forward, one step back.
Nah, I don't think you'll be booting up the Wii Mode to get to Virtual Console. WiiU will have its own VC that you'll boot your games from. It's got to, making people boot up a Wii emulator to get to the VC would be about the stupidest thing they've done since friend codes.
Nah, I don't think you'll be booting up the Wii Mode to get to Virtual Console. WiiU will have its own VC that you'll boot your games from. It's got to, making people boot up a Wii emulator to get to the VC would be about the stupidest thing they've done since friend codes.
Well I think they mentioned that VC games won't be playable on the new controller.
Well I think they mentioned that VC games won't be playable on the new controller.
Do you mean like 'in' the controller? On the screen? I think they'll be playable 'with' the new controller, but I wouldn't expect to be able to walk around my house with it going.
Do you mean like 'in' the controller? On the screen? I think they'll be playable 'with' the new controller, but I wouldn't expect to be able to walk around my house with it going.
Yeah that's what I meant. Still not sure you could play with the controller at all, wouldn't that have to be coded into the game?
Yeah that's what I meant. Still not sure you could play with the controller at all, wouldn't that have to be coded into the game?
No, because VC doesn't touch the games at all. Those are pure ROMs and CD data running, Nintendo doesn't touch them up at all. What the machine does is run a software emulator that spoofs the consoles in question; as far as the game knows, you're playing it plugged into a SNES or a Genesis or whatever. The emulation software is reading your controller and emulating your presses into the button data for those machines. Like I said, there's no good reason why VC would need a Wiimote to work.
Do you mean like 'in' the controller? On the screen? I think they'll be playable 'with' the new controller, but I wouldn't expect to be able to walk around my house with it going.
I don't see why not in this case. Like you said the virtual console games run through emulation (I can actually speak this word here!) on the console, and the tablet controller receives a signal from the Wii-U to display what's supposed to be on the TV. Unless it's something that's just not ready on launch but will be patched through an update I don't see any reason why the two separate bits of software shouldn't be able to work together.
And in some cases it could actually be the preferable option to play your VC games directly on the tablet. There were no massive wide screen TV's back in the SNES days, these games were originally played on much smaller displays so a big screen TV doesn't really add to the experience. Could be more comfortable just lying back on the couch and playing them on the tablet.
No. And that’s the thing. We’ve hit the wall. We’ve hit the point of diminishing returns. With Unreal Engine 4, Epic themselves stated that the engine will be highly and fully scalable to all devices, including mobile devices. If mobile devices can run Unreal 4, then the Wii U can too, although it probably can’t support the full feature set. What this means is, third parties can basically put their games as they are on the Wii U, disable the high end physics and graphics setting that the Wii U probably cannot handle, and just sell it on the Wii U for minimal cost, with a minimal amount of copies sold required to even break even. Yes, the Xbox 3 and PS4 versions will most probably be superior… but the Gamecube and Xbox versions of multiplat games were always superior to PS2 versions, and that never mattered. As long as the Wii U is getting all the games, it’s in the race, even if it lacks some of the high end finesse said games will have on the other systems.
While it's looking at a great start I had some concerns for Nintendo's continued success in the long term if Sony and Microsoft's new consoles would be powerful enough to push Nintendo out of the AAA multi-platform genre again, but it looks like that isn't going to be the case.
That said, looks like the predictions I was making 5 years ago are going to come true. People have been complaining about the direction Nintendo took with the Wii for a long time, believing that Nintendo 'abandoned' the core gamers for casuals in making the Wii and that what they really should have done is make a Gamecube 2 that would be on par with the PS3 and 360.
While it would have made a few people happy overall I've always said that this would have been a disaster. The N64 lost to the Playstation. The Gamecube lost to the PS2 and Xbox. A Gamecube 2 would have been more of the same, probably more so even if you consider the loss Sony and Microsoft were selling their consoles for at the start. Nintendo's just a game company, it doesn't have a mega corporation backing it up that can afford to lose billions before they start making a profit. All they would have accomplished was another 3rd place finish and a further decline into obscurity, coming closer and closer to following Sega's fate.
No, I've been saying from the early going of the Wii that what Nintendo really needed to do was differentiate themselves from Sony and MS and make lots of money. They were just going to lose again if they tried to play the same game as the Playstation and Xbox, so they had to change the game. Some long time fans would be lost in the process, but as long as they're making lots of money off of a new fanbase (casuals) they could re-invest these profits into their next console to win them back.
What Nintendo needed was to build up a war chest, and the Wii accomplished that. You think Nintendo would be able to invest in better OS services, a modern console multiplayer system, a fancy tablet controller, exclusive software deals, and to sell the console at what must be a lower profit margin allowing for a stronger system, if they didn't make so much money from the Wii?
While it's looking at a great start I had some concerns for Nintendo's continued success in the long term if Sony and Microsoft's new consoles would be powerful enough to push Nintendo out of the AAA multi-platform genre again, but it looks like that isn't going to be the case.
That said, looks like the predictions I was making 5 years ago are going to come true. People have been complaining about the direction Nintendo took with the Wii for a long time, believing that Nintendo 'abandoned' the core gamers for casuals in making the Wii and that what they really should have done is make a Gamecube 2 that would be on par with the PS3 and 360.
While it would have made a few people happy overall I've always said that this would have been a disaster. The N64 lost to the Playstation. The Gamecube lost to the PS2 and Xbox. A Gamecube 2 would have been more of the same, probably more so even if you consider the loss Sony and Microsoft were selling their consoles for at the start. Nintendo's just a game company, it doesn't have a mega corporation backing it up that can afford to lose billions before they start making a profit. All they would have accomplished was another 3rd place finish and a further decline into obscurity, coming closer and closer to following Sega's fate.
No, I've been saying from the early going of the Wii that what Nintendo really needed to do was differentiate themselves from Sony and MS and make lots of money. They were just going to lose again if they tried to play the same game as the Playstation and Xbox, so they had to change the game. Some long time fans would be lost in the process, but as long as they're making lots of money off of a new fanbase (casuals) they could re-invest these profits into their next console to win them back.
What Nintendo needed was to build up a war chest, and the Wii accomplished that. You think Nintendo would be able to invest in better OS services, a modern console multiplayer system, a fancy tablet controller, exclusive software deals, and to sell the console at what must be a lower profit margin allowing for a stronger system, if they didn't make so much money from the Wii?
Yeah I would agree that is the key point. As long as the Wii U is getting good versions of all the big games that's what really matters. The PS2 thrived even though the Xbox & Gamecube versions of games were better.
"I think we didn't start really until sometime early in the year still, but the fact was that we had a lot of things going on. Then when we got over the old things, we started with the Wii U and then in two days we had it running," he explained. "We had it running really fast. So it was more about knowing your own tech and then having that 'eureka!' moment of making it work on this new hardware."
I'm not sure how long this things usually take but that's pretty amazing. It's really shaping up for Nintendo to get a whole lot of 3rd party support this time around.
