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Wii U Speculation Thread 2: Can't take anymore of this!!!
- Thread starter ClovingWestbrook
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Fourth Storm
Member
Let's look at what we know. Darkisiders and Aliens:CM are testified as having been easily ported. Then there was the original leak from "that French site," likely from a loose-lipped Ubisoft employee. 3+Ghz CPU (OoOE is a given at this point) and 500 Mhz AMD r700 GPU. If the GPU was underclocked due to heat issues (i.e. below 500 Mhz, it is a 55nm chip in a confined case), it's surely because Nintendo are waiting on a die shrink (32nm imo). I suspect it is clocked a bit higher in the supposed "final dev kits" that recently went out. In any case, I can't see the shader count being below 640. I don't think IGN's specs were completely invalid, even if their "build a Wii U project" was. Another rumor claimed Nintendo were targeting a 1TFLOP GPU. Perhaps they were, but couldn't quite achieve it. The chip would still likely be in the same ball park.
Then there's the info on the L2 cache and GPU edram (and the whole SoC w/ an updated "Starlet"), from other sources in the other thread, which I have no reason to doubt. That's a good 3x 360 right there in both cases.
If anything, I could see them using RAM which is a bit too slow (GDDR3, DDR3!?), and overestimate the impact of the eDRAM. lherre said that the dev kits he had back then had over 1GB of RAM. Whether he was counting eDRAM or just main RAM, I don't know. I'd think the latter, since he seemed to be implying a good surprise not a mere 32 mb. So I'd guess 1.5 GB and perhaps if he does work for a bigger developer and Arkham a smaller developer (if he admittedly isn't pushing the hardware) , the timing in when dev kits arrive may vary widely. But I think this is the most open point of contention at the moment. What type of RAM is in the Wii U, how fast and what are the bandwidths, does the CPU have access to eDRAM and if so what is the bandwidth for that?
Then there's the info on the L2 cache and GPU edram (and the whole SoC w/ an updated "Starlet"), from other sources in the other thread, which I have no reason to doubt. That's a good 3x 360 right there in both cases.
If anything, I could see them using RAM which is a bit too slow (GDDR3, DDR3!?), and overestimate the impact of the eDRAM. lherre said that the dev kits he had back then had over 1GB of RAM. Whether he was counting eDRAM or just main RAM, I don't know. I'd think the latter, since he seemed to be implying a good surprise not a mere 32 mb. So I'd guess 1.5 GB and perhaps if he does work for a bigger developer and Arkham a smaller developer (if he admittedly isn't pushing the hardware) , the timing in when dev kits arrive may vary widely. But I think this is the most open point of contention at the moment. What type of RAM is in the Wii U, how fast and what are the bandwidths, does the CPU have access to eDRAM and if so what is the bandwidth for that?
Like I said earlier he may even just have seen something as simple as the clock rate for the GPU and RAM and made some uneducated assumptions. "The GPU is clocked at 450Mhz, that's slower than 360's GPU". Meanwhile the GPU could have 640 SPU's vs 240 equivalent for Xenos, making it a much faster graphics chip. He won't say anything close to being specific and talks as if he has little idea about hardware so this kind of thing can't be ruled out.
NinjaTehFish
Banned
Id call taking themselves back out of the power game to the point they are just on or over par to "current gen" and therefore a gen behind compared to PS4/720 the same trick.
That being said id be fine with at least 70% as powerful as the others, I want them in the ballpark not the parking lot
Thunder Monkey
Banned
So, Arkham City is a great game, but what about the poster Arkam?
In all seriousness it's interesting he checks out but I still feel like there's a piece of the puzzle we're missing somewhere with the information.StreetsAhead
Member
Considering the amount of time it took him to get verified and the 'hit and run' nature of his posts, most people were rightly suspicious since his info directly contradicts other developer's comments, especially giving his typical troll-like qualities.
Now that he has been verified as working for a company with a dev kit, people are still suspicious because he seems to be contradicting his previous statements and making vague statements that make it seem like he's got very little actual knowledge.
If i'm not mistaken, you can get banned for posting false info as fact, no? So all you need is an e-mail address of a developer and there are no more questions asked? Even if other members who checked out as working for a developer with a devkit, have given more concrete info that leads us to believe the opposite?
How does that work exactly?
Sure, but there are certain consequences that comes from posting, which is why a lot of industry guys avoid it. Avoiding that altogether is just a suggestion. If he wants to continue the current direction, then that's his choice, but it's just not helping this thread at all. Especially since he can't (or wont) go into more detail. Anyone who's posted on this (or really any forum) should know what's gonna happen if they post some relatively vague information about something people are passionate about.
What? Seriously that confused me, what do you mean there?
There's no witch hunt. There's loads of people desperate for info and one guy making occasional vague posts about "power" while refusing to back any of it up with anything resembling real info. I'm not surprised that most people don't believe him. Can you give anyone here a reason to take him seriously?
AceBandage
Banned
Pfft, no it won't.
This is Nintendo.
We won't know everything even a month after the system launches.
Father_Brain
Banned
This. The current line of discussion isn't going anywhere, clearly.
ShockingAlberto
Member
You guys are being assholes.
It's fine if you don't believe him, but be polite about it.
It's fine if you don't believe him, but be polite about it.
Fourth Storm
Member
Be a damn shame if the thread were closed...
Can we possibly get word on if Arham's dev kits are the supposed "final dev kits" which went out fairly recently?
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
How am I supposed to verify the CPU and GPU clock of the Wii U, if he were to tell me, given the information isn't public? This is no different to lherre, bg, Shocking Alberto, or anybody giving off hand commentary on the Wii U hardware/software situation. Arkham stated his info quite early on;
And I have verified he works for the developer he says he does, and that the developer is in possession of Wii U devkits.
Does this mean he is 100% factually correct? No. It could be second hand information. It could be an old devkit. It could be any number or combination of reasons his info isn't entirely accurate.
But I don't know that, and it's impossible for me to verify his information nor the accuracy of his technical claims. If I knew the Wii U's specs myself, I'd tell you. But I don't, and I cannot.
So, I can do the next best thing, and state that what Arkham says is what he believes to be true based on the information he possesses. If he is wrong, he is wrong, but I have no reason to believe he thinks he is wrong and is simply posting to trolololol.
StreetsAhead
Member
Huh, so High Voltage Software still has the Wii U logo up on their site. I thought the 'ninjas' would have brought it down by now.
AceBandage
Banned
I dunno.
There are plenty of industry people that love to troll the internet.
See:
Ono
Valve
Sony
Reggie
They've only announced support, which is fine.
They can't announce any specific software, though.
There are plenty of industry people that love to troll the internet.
See:
Ono
Valve
Sony
Reggie
They've only announced support, which is fine.
They can't announce any specific software, though.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
There is where I out Arkham as Reggie.
AceBandage
Banned
I believe he said he hasn't gotten any recent updates.
All in all, I agree though that we should cool it until we got some real news. It'd be one thing if he actually engaged in discussion, but seeing as how he posts and runs, discussing what little he has to say is just aggravating. C'moooon GDC
okay so i've found out eatchildren's home address and workplace. i also have a jar of honey, rope, and a bag of fire ants. jay, your role will be to tie up the fire ants. when eatchildren goes to rescue them, give him the jar of honey and tell him to give it to arkam. while he's distracted, i'll take his wallet and run away.
Plus if anything, people should just read what Arkam said, take it with a grain of salt and move on. As a few noticed, there were a few contradictions in the context of what he said (less powerful, not as good to port, 1x more powerful than a 360); plus others noticed that it seems he doesn't work directly with the kits...on top of the contradictions to what other developers has been saying.
But, some are like "Aaargh!! I want bloood!! Kill him!!!!".
Calm down.
In the worst case scenario, it would be something like the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe post, thread will be bumped in a few months, everyone will laugh...and move on.
XD
But, some are like "Aaargh!! I want bloood!! Kill him!!!!".
Calm down.
In the worst case scenario, it would be something like the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe post, thread will be bumped in a few months, everyone will laugh...and move on.
XD
StreetsAhead
Member
Fair enough - I thought it was weird for a moment that they could have the logo but Project C.A.R.S. couldn't, but I suppose it makes sense.
still waiting for Conduit 3DS news ...
AceBandage
Banned
I dunno if Conduit 3DS will ever be a real game.
As far as I know, the demo was just a proof of concept.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
He already covered that in one of his first posts. It isn't.
I think EatChildren posted it above me.
Personally I welcome him, and all dissenters. Even when they irritate me *tickles specialguys chin*.
I can admit that I wrote Arkam off at the outset. What he was posting is pretty much counter to the common knowledge. I still am at odds with him on where the WiiU stands (Fusion rumors don't exactly instill much confidence either) but I'm more than willing to actually talk with the guy now.
It could be fun you little assholes!
Not really, but I did have a rollicking good time imagining the aneurysms had by various industry media/developer douchebags if the Wii U ended-up being six Wiis duct-taped together and #1 in marketshare again.
..
And my other personal impression:
he might not technically be a troll, but damn if the posting timing and lack of responsiveness (to a crowd that he knows is info-hungry) isn't at least a bit douchey. So I'm not going to jump down people's throats for being frustrated with the whole thing.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
StreetsAhead
Member
Man, that was a bit of a thread meltdown! There's any number of explanations relating to what Arkam said that doesn't mean the Wii U will only be as good as a PS60 when pushed.
Any good news we hear is met with joyous optimism but potentially bad news is like someone's family was burned to death on their birthday.
Any good news we hear is met with joyous optimism but potentially bad news is like someone's family was burned to death on their birthday.
TheExplodingHead
Banned
Would it really be that bad or surprising that the Wii U ended up slightly less or equally powerful to a 360? I could see all kinds of great looking games and great experiences there, plus a $250 launch price wouldn't hurt either.
Realistically, going from recent company history I'd would be surprised to see it outclass the 360/PS3 by wide margins anyway.
Realistically, going from recent company history I'd would be surprised to see it outclass the 360/PS3 by wide margins anyway.
bgassassin
Member
It's not nice to generalize like that.
It's not nice to generalize like that.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
Unless you're me, in which case it's adorable.
AceBandage
Banned
Again, though. It isn't that it was good or bad news. It was how it was presented and the fact that it conflicted with everything else.
It would be disastrous for the Wii U to be as power as the 360, and down right suicidal for it to be weaker than...
They also make licensed titles
DragonSworne
Banned
I'm a developer in the BPM realm and have access to a number of comany emails from working project to project at different companies(IBM, Charles Schwab, etc). It's customary to give contractors internal emails to ease communication within projects
But I'm not going to use my more gaming centric emails to lie and troll an Internet forum. All I can say is I believe Arkam is full of crap.
But I'm not going to use my more gaming centric emails to lie and troll an Internet forum. All I can say is I believe Arkam is full of crap.
Eh, be fair. Arkam may be an insider source but he hasn't been dispensing information in a very thoughtful way, mainly because he's refused to engage in any kind of discussion from the very beginning. lherre told us time and time again to temper our expectations and we didn't get all up in arms about that.
bgassassin
Member
It's not nice to generalize like that.
Ahh.. but he's probably enjoying this, even if he won't admit it.
Most likely.
I'll be just fine if it was just the current Wii, but outputs at 1080p...or 720p at least.
Of course, third-party/developer support would be...non-existent. XD
TheGreatMightyPoo
Banned
What if Arkham works for Nibris????
StreetsAhead
Member
I know, I know.
I just want to hope. Let me hope!
(Not that I'll have the money for many more games than I'm planning to this year)
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Yes. Yes it would.
It would be directly competing with the 360, a system with a gigantic game library and similar graphics. That would be a terrible, terrible move. The system would be doomed to fail right from the start.
It's why I have a tendency to believe IGN's rumors over this one. It doesn't make any business sense whatsoever.
Damn, everyone is generalizing....
pieatorium
Member
Can somone update me on what he said I went back a few pages but all I saw was weak/same level as 360 GPU but with more ram. Did he mention CPU at all?
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