Nintendo WiiU Hardware Less Powerful Than Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3: Developers

[dj-electric]

How can a GPU similar to 4850 (RV770) is less powerful than Reality Synthesizer and Xenos ?

That is exactly what im asking. How the hell can a hardware that is about 4 times more powerful be less powerful?

Just... how?!
I'm sorry, not buying it.
So lets guess it will have the graphics power similar to a card like lets say HD4670
Still, almost twice the GPU horse-power of XBOX360\PS3

 

[MRCL]

I'd rather have good gameplay and fresh ideas than shiny graphics.

Or why do people still play minecraft?

 

[xenocide]

The tablet most definitely won't be 1080p... Heck, I don't even think it'll be 720p, but likely 480p.

Anyways, I find these sooo hard to believe.

Anonymous developers come spouting this, while others (ie. Ubisoft, gearbox, etc..) have claimed the complete opposite. But I love how this rumor is in the front page of just about every tech site. Lovely. Can't wait 'til E3.

It's apparently 854x480 according to Wikipedia. With their initial announcement I remember them saying they were pushing for both the console and controller to be able to do 1080p so you could stream games to the controller when you wanted, similar to what the Vita and PS3 do. I think it's going to operate with some kind of "cloud computing" setup so it has to simultaneously process what is going to the Tablet, and what is going to your TV. That could explain a noticable performance hit even though it has better hardware than current generation consoles.

There's also always the huge question of RAM\VRAM, which is proving to be the current bottleneck in consoles.

I'd rather have good gameplay and fresh ideas than shiny graphics.

Or why do people still play minecraft?

The problem I have, is that Nintendo is doing neither. Motion controls only get you so far, and when you have basically the worst imaginable hardware to work with, and an entire costumer base that ignores your product despite having one, it's hard to get developers interested in developing for it. Having better hardware means more 3rd Party games, which for the Wii are non-existant. You have more companies porting their games to your console and spending money on dev kits to do just that, as well as more interest from companies that do want to make high quality highly detailed games.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Ubisoft made a killing on the Wii with Rayman Raving Rabbids and, to a lesser extent, Red Steel. EA, I think, is also doing well with the MySim titles (if they weren't then why would there be half a dozen titles?).

 

[Lionheart]

I smell garbage --__--

 

[Jonap_1st]

I'd rather have good gameplay and fresh ideas than shiny graphics.

Or why do people still play minecraft?

or angry birds and call of (old engine) duty..

 

[hardcore_gamer]

I'd rather have good gameplay and fresh ideas than shiny graphics.

Or why do people still play minecraft?

Why not have both ?

Like HL2 when it came out.

 

[Frick]

Why not have both ?

Like HL2 when it came out.

That was one game, we're talking and entire console here. You can't expect everything to be like Valve.

 

[TC-man]

Eh... Assassin's Creed III, DarkSiders 2, Ninja Gaiden 3 are all announced for the Wii U, and if the Wii U is significantly less powerful than the already much older PS3 and Xbox 360, then these titles aren't even possible on the Wii U, especially if (some of) these games and others are pushing the limits of the PS3 and Xbox 360. What about all those demos in-real-time from E3 of last year? They are all lies and can't be done with the final product? I guess Nintendo is smarter than that.

And rumors are still rumors, the sources are anonymous. Hypothetically, the GamesIndustry.biz article could just as good as fabricated just for the sake of creating gaming news in a slow news-week, since no-one can ever verify the sources simply because there are none.

 

[xenocide]

That was one game, we're talking and entire console here. You can't expect everything to be like Valve.

There are always very fun good looking games coming out for the PC, and even on Consoles. Nintendo just decided that focusing on one of the categories while leaving the other to literally rot was apparently in their best interest. But it can only last so long, nobody wants to pay full price for games that look like absolute garbage and are only decently fun in this day and age.

 

[Frick]

There are always very fun good looking games coming out for the PC, and even on Consoles. Nintendo just decided that focusing on one of the categories while leaving the other to literally rot was apparently in their best interest. But it can only last so long, nobody wants to pay full price for games that look like absolute garbage and are only decently fun in this day and age.

Well that is true but if they looked like garbage and was very good it would be another thing. But it probably will not.

 

[ZoneDymo]

People seriously need to get their brain checked.
Good games are the games that have great gameplay not games that just look good.

Nintendo games have always looked fine (nothing wrong with how Mario Kart, Galaxy etc looked not to mention Metroid Prime was amazing looking on the cube) but the thing that makes these games so great is the gameplay.

Gameplay will always go MILES before graphics, hell just look at WoW, Minecraft or CoD.

Even if the WiiU will not be as good (or bad depending on how you look at it) as the PS3 or 360 it does not matter, as long as most 3rd party titles (Darksiders 2 has already been announced) make it to the WiiU then they did for the Wii then Nintendo is in good water and will have a killer console.

PS
Seriously who the fuck buys a console anyway when he/she is that obsessed with good graphics?

 

[HillBeast]

Your SGS2 only looks so good because it's displaying your games at 480p through a fancy Super AMOLED+ 4.3" screen.

If you were to attach a GameCube to your SGS2, I can assure you the GCN games will look and be several times better than your Angry Birds Space.

And let's not ignore the fact that your SGS2 (and most top of the line smartphones for that matter) are over $500 unsubsidized.

You miss the point. I never said that my SGS2 has better graphics than a PS3 or something, I said that it looks impressive. You cannot say that something that thin being able to produce graphics that reasonable at framerates that smooth isn't impressive. That is what I am getting at: the fact that smartphones actually DO push boundaries of what is technically and physically possible.

And really, I highly doubt a Gamecube came would look better than my SGS2, considering the hardware advantage my phone has over a GC. It has a dual-core CPU @ 1.2GHz, and a 267MHz (I think) GPU with 4 cores, all of which are much more advanced and more capable than a crappy old Gamecube.

And as for price, yeah sure it make have costed $1000NZD brand new, but didn't the PS3, and the PS3 was a lot bigger...

 

[xenocide]

Great gameplay is key, but Nintendo is really offering neither excellent gameplay, nor cutting edge graphics (within the confines of Consoles). They have a consoles that runs on pure gimmicks out now, using decade old hardware, that almost entirely lacks quality 3rd party support. Mario Kart and Mario Galaxy will sell regardless of how they look, that's why Nintendo milks the shit out of Mario. Their first party development is--and always has been--exceptional.

I don't understand why people always insist WoW looks like crap. If you crank WoW up it looks really clean, and pretty damn good. The only thing I can think of is because of the non-realistic feel the game is purposely going for. The game looks sleek, plays well on a variety of hardware, has very detailed environments, and excellent textures. What more can you really ask for? It might not look like TERA, but that's exactly where the gameplay makes up for it. As for Minecraft, it is and always will be a niche title, it's not something that can be marketed to the masses, and will always remain the kind of nerdy Indie Game PC Gamers love.

I don't think anyone is outright saying "GRAFX IZ ALL DAT MATTAS!?!", all people are saying is that they are sick of playing games that have decent gameplay and look like vomit. There are just not a lot of quality games on the Wii. It basically boils down to Zelda, Mario, Monster Hunter, and soon Xenoblade. The quality games on the Wii are primarily Nintendo-developed, and are so few and far between, most people have just given up on the system.

 

[Mega-Japan]

You miss the point. I never said that my SGS2 has better graphics than a PS3 or something, I said that it looks impressive. You cannot say that something that thin being able to produce graphics that reasonable at framerates that smooth isn't impressive. That is what I am getting at: the fact that smartphones actually DO push boundaries of what is technically and physically possible.

And really, I highly doubt a Gamecube came would look better than my SGS2, considering the hardware advantage my phone has over a GC. It has a dual-core CPU @ 1.2GHz, and a 267MHz (I think) GPU with 4 cores, all of which are much more advanced and more capable than a crappy old Gamecube.

And as for price, yeah sure it make have costed $1000NZD brand new, but didn't the PS3, and the PS3 was a lot bigger...

Sounds like you missed my point as well... If a GameCube can be somehow connected to the SGS2 and project the game THROUGH the SGS2, I almost guarantee that it'll look better than any game the android market has to offer. Why? Because at 480p 4.3 inches, you won't see all the "bad" details and pixelation you would on a 20"+ screen. And we're comparing a 2001 console to a 2012 super phone.

Smartphones aren't the only ones "pushing" boundaries or whatever is it that you're trying to say. We're getting new models of CPU's and GPU's every single year. Consoles are only upgraded about once a lustrum. Back in 2006 when the Wii was released, most people could hardly play pac-man on their Motorola RAZR. So how about we actually wait for this next gen of consoles to get started before starting to compare phones to consoles?

 

[Mistral]

Less powerful than the 360 and the PS3?!?

If true, how is that even technically possible?

 

[Mindweaver]

Did any of you that believe this is true, not see the demos? If those are less then give me more! This is just to slow the WiiU hype down..

EDIT: I'm not a console gamer, but I would buy one of those for my daughter and play it with her any day.. And get some of those graphics on the PC. Just think the PC makes the already current PS3 and XBOX 360 games look better.. I can't wait for my PC to make those better!

 

[KainXS]

its possible

even the wii U having a 4870 equiv gpu was a rumor

But if say it has something on the order of a 6450 which uses oodles less power that would make more sense and those pictures don't mean much when talking of consoles, you can't tell anything by them.

this also isn't the first time developers have come out and said this either, If I remember correctly the darksiders developers said it also(maybe this is it) and some others also.

 

[brandonwh64]

If the WiiU comes with great GFX and more zelda action then YES I will be all over this console.

 

[HillBeast]

Sounds like you missed my point as well... If a GameCube can be somehow connected to the SGS2 and project the game THROUGH the SGS2, I almost guarantee that it'll look better than any game the android market has to offer. Why? Because at 480p 4.3 inches, you won't see all the "bad" details and pixelation you would on a 20"+ screen. And we're comparing a 2001 console to a 2012 super phone.

Smartphones aren't the only ones "pushing" boundaries or whatever is it that you're trying to say. We're getting new models of CPU's and GPU's every single year. Consoles are only upgraded about once a lustrum. Back in 2006 when the Wii was released, most people could hardly play pac-man on their Motorola RAZR. So how about we actually wait for this next gen of consoles to get started before starting to compare phones to consoles?

I'm not referring to what technology can do, I'm meaning hardware manufacturers, as in console makes, computer builders, and phones.

 

[dj-electric]

If the WiiU comes with great GFX and more zelda action then YES I will be all over this console.

Can't tell if true Nintendo fan or just kidding...

 

[Kaleid]

The only good thing about this is there is no need to shell out tons of cash to upgrade the computer.

Consoles are advancing way too slow.

 

[brandonwh64]

Can't tell if true Nintendo fan or just kidding...

I am a zelda fan..... NINTENDO.... thats still a debate.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

On the other hand, Nintendo never really emphasised on the graphics hardware (perhaps the GC was an exception), so this can turn out to be true after all. (... but I doubt it)

I think the N64 rocked for the time, and even more so for a cartridge based system when soon after the Ps1 was released.

People don't play the wii for it's graphics anyway so even if this is true as long as they have a half decent collection of games with good immersive gameplay then it will most likely sell like hot cakes as long as it's not priced a lot higher than the original wii

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

Oh good more outdated underpowered console garbage.