Socalmuscle

Keep in mind the people telling this info are taking these things apart, so they might know something.

That should be the way it is. But unfortunately it's not.

Idk about anyone else but anand is embarrassing himself with the way they arrive at their conclusions, get it wrong, try again, etc.

They offer pure speculation in the CPU and gpu. Pure speculation on the edram. And then, while matching part numbers and begin to ALMOST start to make sense, then revert to the original Wii specs, which this console shares nothing with, and begin to dog the ram based on the wii.

Smart? Knowledgable? Sure. If we were talking about the original wii. But even then, they don't understand the wii ram layout.

But...

We aren't talking about the old wii.

They were stupid for even bringing it up.

In fact, the only reason they did is so that they could falsely report the ram specs while at the same time connecting the wii u to the wii in the readers mind so that they could conclude (which they do in very obvious terms) that the wii u is in the same generation as the ps/360.

Why do they make that connection? Is it because they factually reported ram performance? Nope. It's still a huge guess, and part of their hypothesis is the upgraded GameCube known as the wii...

Is it bause they know the exact nature of the CPU or gpu? Nope. And they're still guessing on both.

Then there is the power draw, which instead of lauding as a power 7 derived power management miracle and praise Nintendo further for integrating things to make better power at higher efficiency, they try to play it off like the machine isn't using power because it has none.

It would be funny if it weren't so sad to see an agenda at work. I've liked an ads work at times over the years. But this is pretty pathetic.

Take the Anand "article" with a ton of salt.

Way too many assumptions made regarding speed, gpu, cpu, etc.

The only facts to take from the article are size measurements and power useage.

And then to cement their stance on wii u (nothing's changed with these guys over the last decade), they call it current gen.

The whole assumption based nature of the article is an embarassment to themselves.

Already they've posted a correction. and that will be corrected again if they care about real testing and honesty.

And the fact that the wii u is only using so much power to even do Netflix is a testament to its efficiency. Not lack of power.

The 360 for example helps no one electric bill just running Netflix.

Wait for a real tear down from folks who don't make quick and erroneous assumptions.

If it were a OC, they'd be trusted. It's not.

End of story.

I mentioned a while back that the console would be sold at a loss if it was priced under $400.

It was.

The price in Japan was around $400 converted from yen at the time of pricing announcement.

The gamepad doesn't even cost $100 to manufacture. It's an item that Nintendo will profit handsomely from at retail when people are buying a second. Most console owners will want a second eventually. So the initial loss being eaten by nintendo now will be mitigated by peripheral sales and games. And in a year or so, it won't be a loss anymore.

The CPU and gpu are taking up the lions share of the money.

It's a really great system and a true next gen machine. It's not "overpowered," but it's a bruiser.

Nintendo knew they had to do 3 things.

1) offer true next gen hardware.

2) offer this hardware at an impossible, mass market price.

3) avoid the 3DS pricing disaster.

Theyve accomplished all 3 with great deals, planning, and timing.

Nintendo traditionally makes a profit from the hardware at the outset. But in some cases, it's just not possible. So they amortize their hardware costs over multiple years, projecting the pricing decrease. By a year or so, they'll begin to profit off the hardware in addition to the ridiculous amounts of money from games and peripheral sales. By the end of the generation, they'll be making money hand over fist on hardware alone.

Yes, it's being sold at a loss - right now. But that won't last long. And it was a smart move.

You can make a decent PC for 400. Optimize that for games and you have a high end console. This makes me happy because the ps720 will most likely sell at a loss as well. Just means there will be more power under the hood.

The 360 cost $470 to manufacture and was released at 300-400 just for comparison.

A $400 PC won't even come close to a consoles capabilities. And that $400 is inflated for gaming purposes since so much of the hardware has to be generalized. It's not purpose designed for games outside of the gpu.

With a console. There has been work done to create a custom, purpose built, lean, mean CPU. Then the gpu is also enhanced. In the case of the wii u, the two are almost integrated further increasing performance.

There is no $400 pc you can cobble together to compete with this. The tech doesn't exist. Not even if you had an expensive powermac and apple still used IBM processors.

Look at it like a car.

A $400 pc is a 4,500 lb 1970s Oldsmobile with a 400 horsepower big block v8.

A new $400 console is a 2013 mustang boss 302 with a 444 horsepower small block v8.

You have a purpose built machine that striPs away the excess bulk, the nonsense, the generic features, and your left with an integrated package that puts it all together to perform. In the case of the boss 302, to dominate the track. In the case of the console, to dominate games.

No $400 PC is going to compare to next gen consoles (wii u, ps4, Xbox) for a good while.

Please people stop. As a fan of Nintendo, the Wii U should only be compared to the Wii not the PS3 or XBox360. It really makes people seem stupid. You are comparing a 2012 BMW to a 2005 BMW. So please stop it. Compare it to the Wii. The improvements and enhancements made over the Wii. After all it is the next generation console from Wii not the next generation console of Microsoft or Sony. End this now or when the Next Xbox or Playstation surface you will get trolled. Stop trying to pay back the Sony and Microsoft fans that treated you wrong. It is not necessary at all.

The problem with that kind of thinking is that you believe Nintendo is off in their own little world with their head in the sand, pretending the upcoming MS and Sony consoles arent' their true competition.  

The reality is that Nintendo knows they are.  they have created a machine that get the Wii U quickly entrenched by ensuring all the AAA games are ported now.  Then, in the future, the AAA games take some steps up due to the new next gen hardware.

A Power7 CPU, and enhanced e6760+ (with performance around 7770) with 2GB of RAM to work with make sure that a Wii comparison is just silly.  The new system runs circles around the current HD consoles and is ready to throw down with the new systems from MS and Sony.

There is no discussion of fan vs fan going on here.  There is only discussion of what the console can do.

You. Please.  Stop. Seriously. You may hope the Wii U isn't what it is.  But that's just a fantasy.

Nintendo got it right.  Many millions will benefit.

Unity is a "good" engine.

It's not Unreal 3-4 and it's not CryEngine 3, but it's very capable.

This isn't the kind of news where Nintendo fans would be excited in the same sense as the Fox engine or anything.

What makes it exciting OS that Nintendo is not only removing any and all barriers and excuses for developers that may have any trepidation about the console, but they are literally rolling out the red carpet for any and all developers to ensure the largest opportunity for game creators and game players to enjoy the wii u console.

This is a very hungry Nintendo.
Theyre after the championship here.

I'm a bit disappointed because it looks like 2k12. The other versions look better. Hopefully it will be better by launch.

360 versions:

Actually, from what was shown, the wii u game looks superior. It's just a straight port with a bit of gamepad mojo, but the color depth and resolution really show up on the wii u.

Those demos are good for being quickly put together and being on weaker hardware.

But they don't represent the full capabilities of the system at all.

The garden demo looked like an upscaled Japanese skyrim. That's a good thing.

Finally someone who realises. Look at the game Gun.. looks like a GC game.

All Xbox 360 launch titles looked like GCN games.

that's the point.

It wasn't for a year that a great dev (Epic) had enough time with the final console build and optimized Unreal 3 Engine that they could really show what the system could do.  Before that, the games looked like GCN or Xbox games.  The one game that showed a hint of potential was the King Kong game.  Even Halo 3 looked like Halo 2 on xbox.

the Wii U was finalized far later in the game than the 360 was, so the studios went with the lowest common denominator, which is the wise thing to do, otherwise you risk a surprise at the end, which could break your entire game, forcing a rushed downgrade or causing you to miss launch.  but the real story is the ports. there are a lot.  and they all are basically no different than the current gen games.  Port are quick ways to make money.  and even they look better than the current gen for which they were optimized.

There is literally NO game in the launch window that has been procedurally, specifically built from the ground up, ambitiously aiming to showcase the consoles hardware.  None.

That will change in one year.  And that is quite normal.  

If this were MS or Sony, people would say "Wow! Look at that! Power7! that's insane! They can take over the universe with that!  2 GB RAM! that's more than you will ever need for a game! It's so powerful, it can drive 3 screens at once - and one is even at 1080P!" etc.

But it's Nintendo, so people automatically think it can't be that great, even when the hardware is staring them in the face.

One year.  that's the difference between Kameo and Gears of War.  You'll see the same thing with Wii U.

You should give a source if you're going to claim something. It will make it much more believable.

And don't reply with something along the lines of "Use your search engine", as I have dealt with that many of times. All ended up being people who follow rumors.

dude is literally a broken record.

Every post follows the same theme:

1) Express a love for Nintendo and its products.

2) Pretend to "Keep it real" by not expecting anything truly good from Nintendo, while at the same time expecting greatness from anyone not named Nintendo.

3) Settle on the idea that it's OK to love Nintendo even thought there is really no good reason to do so (i.e: the whole "It's Zelda! Who cares if it looks like garbage!" Trojan Horse argument) - all the while trying to sound like the noble guy protecting people from getting their hopes up (despite confirmed Power7, 2GB RAM, etc.)

Rinse, lather, repeat.

The Wii U isn't an overpowered, super crazy console.  but it is noticeably more powerful than current in every way than the current gen.  It is a true next gen console that will compete well with new systems released by its competitors.  This will not be a wii vs 360 situation. Not even close.

And just like the 360 didn't show its chops for about a year, the same thing is to be expected with Wii U - and for the same reasons.

Just wanted to point out that the GC was NOT a failure.. not in the slightest.

--x--x--x--

I hope the Wii U gains more support than the gamecube.. and with a better reputation (Why is the GC rep so tarnished!?)

To clarify, the gcn was a gigantic success as far as the hardware goes. Big power at low cost. Put ps2 to Shame and rivaled Xbox.

But as far as sales and the ability to encourage third parties, it was a dismal failure.

Yamauchi was in charge and wanted his "star cube" (remember that naming possibility? To smack up the competition. They spent the R&D money to get it right and they produced a beast.

But then they made it purple. With a handle.

And they marketed it to kids.

And surprise! kids bought it. And hardly anyone else.

That sales failure was what led Nintendo to create the wii and sell cube as cheap as dirt. They had too much inventory. Nintendo viewed it as a disaster. So they created the wii extremely cheap, making money hand over fist, not just on the games, but the actual console! They had to underpower the wii because it was a huge gamble. They couldn't be sure it would sell. ESP after a great formula with the gcn failed.

The wii was Nintendo in "safe mode" as far as hardware deals (basically revamped GameCube innards) and expenses. They couldn't spend the money to compete on power so they needed a differentiator - motion controls. And they nailed it.

The wii could have been much more if the gcn succeeded in sales. But it failed there. In terms of power, the cube was a resounding success. Just not in sales.

Now we have Nintendo after huge success with the wii. They have the R&D capital. They could afford the investment and risk. So they invested wisely, thinking of the user experience and then the hardware that enables and enhances that experience.

No one in the world thought Nintendo would actually use Power7 (a single component that by itself commands respect). Or include 2 GB of RAM. Or actually have a really great GPU. It was "too good to be true"
But they did. Because they could. Because the wii, while a hardware letdown, was a crazy sales success.

So the wii u will probably be a GameCube 2 as far as hardware is concerned. But it looks poised to enjoy the sales success of the wii and possibly the third party support of the SNES.

There is nothing wrong with a 476, especially a custom one.

One of the few things that we know about the Wii U hardware is that it consumes 45watts. Take away 10 watts for ram/mobo/disk drive and that leaves 35watts for the CPU/GPU. This will probably leave at most 10 watts for the CPU, or 3.33watts per core. Now an 8 core Power 7 chip uses 200-250watts, or 28watts per core. A 476 uses 1.6watts at 1.6Ghz. So either IBM scaled the 476 to be a bit more powerful, or scaled the the Power7 chip down massively(and probably made it more similar to 476 than a tradional Power7 chip).
So in the end we are probably going to see chip that is a mixture of both a 470 design and a Power7.

Nothing wrong with PPC 4xx.

But it's not Power7.

However, Power7 has the entire PPC instruction set included.

Power7 is 45nm, SOI.  It's humorous and tragic at the same time that anyone sees a manufacturing process similarity and equates two different products.

This is not the stock Power7 chip.

If it was PPC4xx, IBM would have said so.  There is a difference.

The foundation of the chip is Power7.  That is the architecture.  That Power7 architecture specific has been customized to suit the Wii U console.

the fact that IBM is stating Power7 time and again is VERY telling.  They know the difference.  They are stating that because IT IS A POWER7.

Period.

/thread.

Even when the wii U is torn apart by ifixit and everyone knows how much it eats, sleeps and poops, there will be some finding 3 "Broadways" taped together somewhere.

How many more threads like this do we need?

We will stop needing threads like this when people stop questioning what the manufacturer of the Wii Us CPU tells them what's in the system.

The almost funny (but really sad) thing is, people are actually saying things like "well it can't be Power 7 because that's a really nice CPU."

What.  the.  heck.

just be glad it has a P7 and be done with it.

Yeah but if it was a power 7 based CPU than it would be a strong coupled with its Apparently Great GPU and 1 gigs of ram for games that would make it clearly better than 360 which if going by peoples thoughts and Rumors that it will be equal with some parts weaker .

Fact:
The Wii U uses a custom Power7 CPU.

Fact:
The Wii U has 2 GB of RAM

Fact:
People have been hilariously inaccurate when predicted the Wii U performance and specs.  "People's thoughts" are different than fact much of the time.


People simply expected the Wii U to be the Wii 2.  It's not.

It's a powerful machine with the Power7 architecture at its heart.  Nintendo isn't playing around here.

I meant to say that we didn't need that gif.

Agreed.

These forums are a refreshing change from most out there.
The lack of vulgarity and personal attacks on this forum set the tone for great discussion and respectful banter.

Let's keep it this way.