38 replies to this topic

[Guy Fieri]

I see where I messed up XD. I forgot to read that before posting, plus I don't really look into console tech specs that much. So it's not a thing I'd know from memory.

[Desert Punk]

The sad thing many people are expecting the wii u to be significantly more powerful than ps3 and 360 and will probably keep believing despite evidence to the contrary.

We haven't been given the specification and lets face it Nintendo won't officially release it.

If you read the news reports about the wii u and developer leaks and information regarding wii u performance and try to process it in a realistic way and not create bias either way the wii u looks to be;

2x memory capacity. This is an easy one its been confirmed. Wii u has 1GB of memory for games and 32MEG of very fast video memory. This puts it at 2x capacity without question. However Nintendo have claimed that 1GB for the operating system but I think many of us are hopeful that some of this memory can be utilised by wii u games as a cache perhaps for caching the optical drive.

Graphics performance is unknown but feature wise it looks to be a much more upto date architecture with regard features. This is highly likely to be superior to current gen models in every area but we don't know for sure. My guess is something like 1.5-2x performance here in raw numbers. I'm not convinced it will go far ahead current gen.

CPU. This looks likely to be below current gen but may have support from the gpu for physics etc. Not all games fully utilise the cpu anyway. I estimate something between 0.7-1.0x performance overall. There have been rumours that it runs as low as 1.6ghz and may only be based on the original broadway cpu. Its not Power 7 that has already been confirmed.

http://hothardware.c...PU-Not-Power-7/

The sonic kart game that is being developed concurrently with wii u as well as 360 and PS3 has had some issues running smoothly on wii u. This isn't the only report about the wii u cpu being weak. There have been lots of other stories related to a weak cpu. Missing cpu intensive features, less characters on screen etc. Despite many protests its almost definitely going to be the case that the wii u cpu is a bit weak but again not all games require a fast cpu.

My overall expected verdict is about 2x performance based on more generous memory and superior gpu but a weaker cpu. I'm more than happy with that myself.

[xile6]

Imo simply put. We wont know till the the end of its life.
Take any game system or hardware for that matter. The first stage is always a lil slow. Now by the time the life of that system is up. Your see just how stronge it is.
Launch day games on the ps3 dont look the same as games now. The dev get there coding better, learn to work the system better, etc...
We will see how much more powerful the wii u is to the systems now, when game devs learn to work the wii better.

[The Lonely Koopa]

The sad thing many people are expecting the wii u to be significantly more powerful than ps3 and 360 and will probably keep believing despite evidence to the contrary.

We haven't been given the specification and lets face it Nintendo won't officially release it.

If you read the news reports about the wii u and developer leaks and information regarding wii u performance and try to process it in a realistic way and not create bias either way the wii u looks to be;

2x memory capacity. This is an easy one its been confirmed. Wii u has 1GB of memory for games and 32MEG of very fast video memory. This puts it at 2x capacity without question. However Nintendo have claimed that 1GB for the operating system but I think many of us are hopeful that some of this memory can be utilised by wii u games as a cache perhaps for caching the optical drive.

Graphics performance is unknown but feature wise it looks to be a much more upto date architecture with regard features. This is highly likely to be superior to current gen models in every area but we don't know for sure. My guess is something like 1.5-2x performance here in raw numbers. I'm not convinced it will go far ahead current gen.

CPU. This looks likely to be below current gen but may have support from the gpu for physics etc. Not all games fully utilise the cpu anyway. I estimate something between 0.7-1.0x performance overall. There have been rumours that it runs as low as 1.6ghz and may only be based on the original broadway cpu. Its not Power 7 that has already been confirmed.

http://hothardware.c...PU-Not-Power-7/

The sonic kart game that is being developed concurrently with wii u as well as 360 and PS3 has had some issues running smoothly on wii u. This isn't the only report about the wii u cpu being weak. There have been lots of other stories related to a weak cpu. Missing cpu intensive features, less characters on screen etc. Despite many protests its almost definitely going to be the case that the wii u cpu is a bit weak but again not all games require a fast cpu.

My overall expected verdict is about 2x performance based on more generous memory and superior gpu but a weaker cpu. I'm more than happy with that myself.

except that was already confirmed to only be because of a old build of the game and that it now Runs better than both 360 and ps3 .

[Keviin]

Exactly that's the point. When Iwata said the graphical differences between wii u and ps4 and next box wouldn't be that different. He wasn't kidding.

Hmm I still doubt it will be that small. I think the other companies know gamers want a powerhouse. But then again, we know nothing. Though if the Wii U were powerful, I think Nintendo would advertise its specs more, or at least REVEAL them.

[The Lonely Koopa]

Hmm I still doubt it will be that small. I think the other companies know gamers want a powerhouse. But then again, we know nothing. Though if the Wii U were powerful, I think Nintendo would advertise its specs more, or at least REVEAL them.

Nintendo have most always kept their specs a secret the only time they didn't was with the gamecube and that was mocked for how weak it was compared to the ps2 theoretical numbers.

Edited by The Lonely Koopa, 10 October 2012 - 12:11 PM.

[Keviin]

Nintendo have most always kept their specs a secret the only time they didn't was with the gamecube and the was mocked for how weak it was compared to the ps2 theoretical numbers.

Weak? It beat the crap out of the PS2 lol. But maybe that's the catch. They don't reveal specs because they see what it did with GC. (though now, even WITHOUT knowing specs people are bashing it for weak)

[Soul]

Nope did that once with GameCube...... How that turn out?

Well 2012 is a bit different than the Gamecube games.

[Socalmuscle]

The specs will be out soon just like they were with the Wii.

But Nintendo is not going to give Sony and MS a blueprint to beat them on.

Already they have shellshocked Ms on the online services front. you can bet MS is back at the drawing board right now. especially after their next gen plans leaked out showing a relatively weak (compared to what was expected) hybrid CPU array (possibly to guarantee perfect harmony with WP8 devices) and gimmicky services.

Nintendo will keep as many secrets as they can without spoiling sales for as long as they can. It's smart. and it's in some ways it's even free press. People are talking about it, curious about it. They want to bash it for being weak, but they don't know for sure, so it eats at them. Others praise it for the power that has been revealed, but then there is the curiosity that "it's Nintendo" so it's too good to be true, etc.

This is probably the most bullish and confident I have seen Nintendo during a console launch. They've got an "IT" product. A "must have." And they know it. Accordingly, they've been courting developers, game engine designers, marketing studios, been stingy with info, because every time they let something out, it's big. TVii was a gigantic, industrial sized bomb all by itself. And that's just a service.

On the hardware side, they wouldn't be talking about prospects for the future without an ace in their hands. Even what is publicly known about the system is more than encouraging.

In a recent iwata asks, Nintendo revealed the internals of the console, showing off their amazing design prowess. And yet, they still kept the mystery of actual specifications. They are quite obviously having fun with this.

Edited by Socalmuscle, 10 October 2012 - 11:35 PM.

[Soul]

Wasn't refering to games. It's a state of mind that Nintendo under this current management will never have again. Nintendo could have the most powerful console next gen and you will never hearthem say it or try and hype it. As a company they let the games speak for themselves..... Unlike sony

I ment days not games my bad.

[Alianjaro]

Yeah it's a typo. They obviously meant 90.

[Desert Punk]

I really don't think the Gamecube failed because Nintendo actively promoted the specification. My understanding was the Gamecube was perceived as childish due to its design and its opposition was the Playstation brand which at the time meant almost everything in gaming due to the huge success of the playstation 1 and then playstation 2. Sony have since eroded the playstation brand because people realised the ps2 was actually pretty naff and the ps3 was/is a bit of a disaster sadly. Nintendo also actively promoted the spec of the N64 as powerful and 64bit but again cartridges were expensive and ps1 games easily undercut N64 game prices.

The specs won't be out soon. The wii specs were leaked and never officially released by Nintendo and the wii u specs will likely follow the same pattern.

Lets face it if Nintendo had launched the wii by saying we have repackaged the gamecube with a new controller, added a bit more memory and speeded it up the wii would probably have been the biggest flop ever. They promoted it as a an easy to pick up and play console that any family member could enjoy and they gave it an apple style marketing campaign. It was brilliantly effective but the legacy effect is many have come to realise the wii was underpowered and disappointing with regard the games released for it. Yes there are brilliant games but if anything the less successful gamecube and N64 delivered much more in their eras.

Going back to Sonic All Star Racing Transformed. While it indeed seems to have had the frame rate issue cured. The fact there were frame rate issues in the first place is signficant. Again the game has a physics engine not featured in the earlier game. Physics engines are cpu intensive and the code had frame rate issues on wii u that had to be worked around. If your making the case the wii u is significantly more powerful than current gen and then find out its difficult to get current gen titles working on it easily it begs the question why significantly more powerful hardware has this issue. If current gen conversions can be tricky or difficult how much more difficult will it be trying to convert ps4 or xbox 720 titles to run on it.

[Socalmuscle]

I really don't think the Gamecube failed because Nintendo actively promoted the specification. My understanding was the Gamecube was perceived as childish due to its design and its opposition was the Playstation brand which at the time meant almost everything in gaming due to the huge success of the playstation 1 and then playstation 2. Sony have since eroded the playstation brand because people realised the ps2 was actually pretty naff and the ps3 was/is a bit of a disaster sadly. Nintendo also actively promoted the spec of the N64 as powerful and 64bit but again cartridges were expensive and ps1 games easily undercut N64 game prices.

The specs won't be out soon. The wii specs were leaked and never officially released by Nintendo and the wii u specs will likely follow the same pattern.

Lets face it if Nintendo had launched the wii by saying we have repackaged the gamecube with a new controller, added a bit more memory and speeded it up the wii would probably have been the biggest flop ever. They promoted it as a an easy to pick up and play console that any family member could enjoy and they gave it an apple style marketing campaign. It was brilliantly effective but the legacy effect is many have come to realise the wii was underpowered and disappointing with regard the games released for it. Yes there are brilliant games but if anything the less successful gamecube and N64 delivered much more in their eras.

Good points.

[Auzzie Wingman]

HEY YOU AGREED ON SOMETHING!

Group hug, mah bros!

[Socalmuscle]

Going back to Sonic All Star Racing Transformed. While it indeed seems to have had the frame rate issue cured. The fact there were frame rate issues in the first place is signficant. Again the game has a physics engine not featured in the earlier game. Physics engines are cpu intensive and the code had frame rate issues on wii u that had to be worked around. If your making the case the wii u is significantly more powerful than current gen and then find out its difficult to get current gen titles working on it easily it begs the question why significantly more powerful hardware has this issue. If current gen conversions can be tricky or difficult how much more difficult will it be trying to convert ps4 or xbox 720 titles to run on it.

... But then again, a fail here.

Especially since the Sonic developer already had the euro gamer blog retract their falsehoods, but also that they simply dumped their ps3 shaders into the wii u and everything just worked. Has nothing to do with CPU intensive code. Has everything to do with code not meant for a new architecture. So little tweaks and boom. It's even better than the original - according to this actually making it. No major rewrite to accomplish. Just tuning the code for a particular CPU / GPU.

HEY YOU AGREED ON SOMETHING!

Group hug, mah bros!

Just calling it the way it is.

Where there's truth, logic and good thinking, it's to be commended. Where there is help needed, that gets attention too.

Edited by Socalmuscle, 11 October 2012 - 09:18 PM.

[Auzzie Wingman]

And when there's food that needs to be eaten, it won't be for much longer.

THAT IS MY DUTY TO THE WORLD, FOR I AM AUZZIE WINGMAN, DEVOURER OF DELECTABLE GOODS!

... no durians.

[Keviin]

Nope did that once with GameCube...... How that turn out?

Well, they released arguably their best console ever.