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[wakajawaka]

interesting stuff

Thanks a lot for the answer, seems pretty reasonable.

 

[Dorfdad]

so compared to xbox360, ps3 how is the wii u?

COD Black Ops 2 is a port and it looks and plays better on Wii-U than 360 as I have both versions and stopped playing 360 version as it was not as sharp looking and more lag.

Thats honest as well man some willl disagree cause it's nintendo but it really is better.

most of these games are ports.... Give Nintendo time to make a real Wii U game even Mario was started on Wii and they adpated for Wii-U. Still to this day some of Nintendo's Wii games look better than PS3 and 360 games so imagine the level of detail and quaility Wii U games will have in 4-5 months...

It's all about developers. Also looks like the Wii U will become the Indie platform of choice which will steer alot of people.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

It's actually very possible if MS opts for a large pool of DDR3.

The rumor was "Large pool of GDDR3" which would probably end up being just as fast as whats in the 360 now, or depending on config could be slower or (likely) faster.

If the stacked GPU/Fast RAM rumor of the PS3 holds water, MS would be smart to have some decent bandwidth going on in their system too.

 

[Metalmurphy]

COD Black Ops 2 is a port and it looks and plays better on Wii-U than 360 as I have both versions and stopped playing 360 version as it was not as sharp looking and more lag.

Thats honest as well man some willl disagree cause it's nintendo but it really is better.

most of these games are ports.... Give Nintendo time to make a real Wii U game even Mario was started on Wii and they adpated for Wii-U. Still to this day some of Nintendo's Wii games look better than PS3 and 360 games so imagine the level of detail and quaility Wii U games will have in 4-5 months...

It's all about developers. Also looks like the Wii U will become the Indie platform of choice which will steer alot of people.

Why are you lying? BO2 has terrible framerate problems and doesn't look as good as the 360 version. Maybe the PS3, but it still has worst framerate then that.

 

[cyberheater]

so compared to xbox360, ps3 how is the wii u?

At the moment. If you want to play multi platform games then stick to PS360. Most of the WiiU ports have issues.

Hopefully, that will change in the future.

 

[v1oz]

if its 32MB of edram, the bandwidth would be significantly higher than 360 or PS3 main memory and allow the GPU to really do some decent work. But it will require optimisation.

Nintendo first parties will do that, the big question is how easy is it to do for third parties

I am big supporter of EDRAM and other fast memory techniques. But the 1GB is still a burden as evidenced by launch titles. Free roaming games with very random memory access patterns, that need to take in bigger chunks of game world in memory at once will struggle.

Also Arkam confirmed the GPU wasn't too impressive just has more modern features. In a couple of years the WiiU will running the iPad versions of major multi plat games - it will a be a lot closer to that than PS4/xbox720.

 

[ozfunghi]

Why are you lying? BO2 has terrible framerate problems and doesn't look as good as the 360 version. Maybe the PS3, but it still has worst framerate then that.

So you've played both version i assume?

I did see the screenshot where the dynamic shadows in MP didn't look too hot. And the cushions were missing (which seems rather trivial).

 

[lostinblue]

The rumor was "Large pool of GDDR3" which would probably end up being just as fast as whats in the 360 now, or depending on config could be slower or (likely) faster.

If the stacked GPU/Fast RAM rumor of the PS3 holds water, MS would be smart to have some decent bandwidth going on in their system too.

X360 and PS3 had specs above what they should have had in 2005, GPU's were really high range for instance, RAM was also over the top (specially in capacity; 512 was really good, but proibitive).

Now I've never dreamed of Nintendo going so low on this one (I expected them to match those buses at least), but it has to be taken like a grain of salt because said platforms were riddled with bottlenecks; the real problem in the past wasn't so much bandwidth as it was latency and the way system operated (the amount of cycles one had to wait). On top of it all I'm sure we're dealing with data compression being at place in pretty much everything being transfered. Gamecube ten years ago had it (data didn't need to be decompressed between GPU and CPU) and they surely worked hard on that seeing they went with something like this.

Anywho, chances are, if it hasn't been pointed out before (like CPU has), it's not a problem compared to current gen consoles (could even perform better actually). Real issue, is how it's gonna compare to the new platforms coming up; not on paper, but in real time scenarios. One good anecdote to tell is how devs only realized Dreamcast was a texturing beast when they had to work with PS2. Nothing on paper indicated worse performance, but it just was.

How Wii U gets perceived in the end will depend on the other 2 new consoles coming up. Going so low though might admittedly put Nintendo in a tight place, hence I think they should have aimed a little higher.

If anything, developers also look at specs, and if something seems too low they'll be bound to expect bad performance as well. That's bad.

 

[Mastperf]

So you've played both version i assume?

I did see the screenshot where the dynamic shadows in MP didn't look too hot. And the cushions were missing (which seems rather trivial).

Reliable posters (darkX) have played them and have said the WiiU version is worse than 360 so far.

 

[Maxrunner]

So you've played both version i assume?

I did see the screenshot where the dynamic shadows in MP didn't look too hot. And the cushions were missing (which seems rather trivial).

The cushions is a bug, they appeared later for some reason, and now the only thing worse seems to be the single player campaign.

 

[codhand]

of all the games with shite framerates Chasing Aurora hurts the most.

 

[Maxrunner]

of all the games with shite framerates Chasing Aurora hurts the most.

what? i saw giant bomb podcast, there was nothing like that.

 

[mrklaw]

I am big supporter of EDRAM and other fast memory techniques. But the 1GB is still a burden as evidenced by launch titles. Free roaming games with very random memory access patterns, that need to take in bigger chunks of game world in memory at once will struggle.

Also Arkam confirmed the GPU wasn't too impressive just has more modern features. In a couple of years the WiiU will running the iPad versions of major multi plat games - it will a be a lot closer to that than PS4/xbox720.

free roaming games don't have random access patterns, you just need to cover what you can see as much as possible in edram, and stream in from main ram as you move around the map

something like GTA should have less problems with this setup than eg Tekken Tag which ideally would spunk the entire 1GB on glorious models and textures every frame, but will be choked.

 

[Tallshortman]

COD Black Ops 2 is a port and it looks and plays better on Wii-U than 360 as I have both versions and stopped playing 360 version as it was not as sharp looking and more lag.

Thats honest as well man some willl disagree cause it's nintendo but it really is better.

So you assume anyone who disagrees is doing so just because it's nintendo even if they actually own the system? Great logic from an unbiased person I see.

 

[grimshawish]

Why are you lying? BO2 has terrible framerate problems and doesn't look as good as the 360 version. Maybe the PS3, but it still has worst framerate then that.

Woaha what? Multiplayer is suppose to be 60 I thought?
Single player just took at hit in mission one?

Haven't heard much more impressions but I thought it was suppose to be pretty sound?

So you've played both version i assume?

I did see the screenshot where the dynamic shadows in MP didn't look too hot. And the cushions were missing (which seems rather trivial).

From the BLOPS2 WiiU thread:

I picked up the Wii U version last night after picking up the 360 version and I have to say I find that Wii U version pic a little misleading. First of all, the shot at the top looks far more sparse because the pillows have been shot away. They're interactive elements in the environment and can be moved. I tested it myself in a multiplayer match. It gives the impression of there being "less" detail in the Wii U screenshot even though both have equal amounts of content.

The Wii U shot shows shadows in the game at their worst. They definitely aren't as good as they are on the 360 (the 360 isn't that great mind you) but I went into that same area and moved around and found that the shadows were noticeably better at the right angles.

Also, there seems to be a design in the lower right hand corner on the Wii U shot that is missing from the 360 shot. I didn't look for that particular in either game last night.

Honestly, both screenshots here are hit or miss but I do think the Wii U shot is misleading due to the lack of pillows giving it a "less" detailed look overall.

The real issue right now is getting that player count up. I also wish I could adjust button usage slightly.

The cusions are there it appears. Whilst the shadows aren't great; its a picky picture.

The issue is simple; the framerate is NOT stable in single player. It drops below 60 fps almost constantly with only empty areas delivering a consistent framerate. Now, most of the time it hovers around the 50 fps mark, I'd say, but there are some instances where it drops much lower. Does it ruin the game? No, but it does detract from the presentation.

 

[plagiarize]

Reliable posters (darkX) have played them and have said the WiiU version is the worst of the bunch.

Dark has, to my knowledge only really talked about framerates. we haven't had IQ comparisons yet to know where it falls, and what if any other differences there may be, beyond shadow detail not kicking in at the same distances in the Wii U version compared to the 360.

MP is 60 fps locked, near enough, according to Dark. SP framerate gets very choppy in places (mission 1, end of missions 2... not sure if he's played much further than that yet), according to him also.

make of that what you will... he certainly didn't say it was worst of the bunch overall. he did say SP has lower framerates than the others though.

 

[Mastperf]

Dark has, to my knowledge only really talked about framerates. we haven't had IQ comparisons yet to know where it falls, and what if any other differences there may be, beyond shadow detail not kicking in at the same distances in the Wii U version compared to the 360.

MP is 60 fps locked, near enough, according to Dark. SP framerate gets very choppy in places (mission 1, end of missions 2... not sure if he's played much further than that yet), according to him also.

make of that what you will... he certainly didn't say it was worst of the bunch overall. he did say SP has lower framerates than the others though.

Thanks for the correction.

 

[majortom1981]

I am big supporter of EDRAM and other fast memory techniques. But the 1GB is still a burden as evidenced by launch titles. Free roaming games with very random memory access patterns, that need to take in bigger chunks of game world in memory at once will struggle.

Also Arkam confirmed the GPU wasn't too impressive just has more modern features. In a couple of years the WiiU will running the iPad versions of major multi plat games - it will a be a lot closer to that than PS4/xbox720.

IF tablets and ipads keep going up and console sales keep going down ipad ports might actually be a good thing for nintendos business.

 

[onQ123]

Hey i like bologna
Well, not a rosy "akin to PS4/Xbox720" level of power, clearly.
But rosy as a "more distinguishable step over current gen, visually, than what we're witnessing now", yes.

There are released launch day games on Wii U, exclusives, that could be compared to the good-looking xbox360 titles, with in addition 720p resolution, steady 30fps, and intricate use of the gamepad on certain sequence (so another 480p to render). And the teams behind managed to greatly increase what they could do just from a v4 dev kit context to a v5 one, a few months ago. Moreover, they clearly indicated that the learning curve (like any other platform you could say) and potential is here, so what they achieved for their first projects will be noticeably surpassed by their second.

Now, for the ports, it's another matter, undoubtedly disappointing, i expected more.



No problem

can you tell us anything about the Embedded Ram? I'm still wondering if it will be used like the the Embedded Ram in the PS2 as the Vram.

 

[IdeaMan]

can you tell us anything about the Embedded Ram? I'm still wondering if it will be used like the the Embedded Ram in the PS2 as the Vram.

I don't know the details but like i said, i never once heard problems concerning the supposedly slow DDR3 ram, on the contrary, a lot of compliments on the memory layout, so i guess the eDram plays a huge role in that.

 

[cyberheater]

Yeah... fortunately that goes both ways ofcourse. This post was just as much about you as it was about BGassassin. Whichever side of the fence you're on.

Nothing I've said about my 'speculation' on the system has been wrong. Unlike some folk.

And yes, I'm not a dev but we are allowed to discuss the merits or not of the system on this 'discussion' board.

The funny thing is that I think that our overall assessment of WiiU's performance is not that far from each others. I'm just more prepared to state my utter disappointment then you are.

 

[cyberheater]

I don't know the details but like i said, i never once heard problems concerning the supposedly slow DDR3 ram, on the contrary, a lot of compliments on the memory layout, so i guess the eDram plays a huge role in that.

Are you less positive about the overall performance potential of WiiU since launch? Has you're opinion changed?

 

[Van Owen]

I don't know the details but like i said, i never once heard problems concerning the supposedly slow DDR3 ram, on the contrary, a lot of compliments on the memory layout, so i guess the eDram plays a huge role in that.

There's no "supposedly" slow about it.

 

[shinobi602]

Can we just simplify all this stuff for us commoners please? Between the next Xbox, PS4, and Wii U...

What's all this in DBZ power levels?

 

[v1oz]

IF tablets and ipads keep going up and console sales keep going down ipad ports might actually be a good thing for nintendos business.

The Wii U should sell well based on the brand alone. Downloadable indie titles like World of Goo and Trine will do well on the platform.

But the main issue of contention are the big budget third party releases. Will games like Watch Dogs from Ubisoft run decent enough versions on the Wii U without ruining the experience.

 

[kinggroin]

COD Black Ops 2 is a port and it looks and plays better on Wii-U than 360 as I have both versions and stopped playing 360 version as it was not as sharp looking and more lag.

Thats honest as well man some willl disagree cause it's nintendo but it really is better.

most of these games are ports.... Give Nintendo time to make a real Wii U game even Mario was started on Wii and they adpated for Wii-U. Still to this day some of Nintendo's Wii games look better than PS3 and 360 games so imagine the level of detail and quaility Wii U games will have in 4-5 months...

It's all about developers. Also looks like the Wii U will become the Indie platform of choice which will steer alot of people.

I really need to change my avatar

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

Can we just simplify all this stuff for us commoners please? Between the next Xbox, PS4, and Wii U...

What's all this in DBZ power levels?

Xbox 720: Buu

PS4: Goku

Wii U: Mr Satan (beacuse he ultimatly wins)

 

[GhostTrick]

There's no "supposedly" slow about it.

Yes there is. Slow for what ? Slower than PS360 ram for sure. Does it mean it's slow for playing games ? I dunno.

 

[v1oz]

free roaming games don't have random access patterns, you just need to cover what you can see as much as possible in edram, and stream in from main ram as you move around the map

something like GTA should have less problems with this setup than eg Tekken Tag which ideally would spunk the entire 1GB on glorious models and textures every frame, but will be choked.

That depends on how much of your game world you can fit in 32MB. And how quick you can swap assets like huge textures from Mem2 to Mem1. Memory usage on fighting games is very predictable.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

In hiding after getting exposed? Margalis summed it up best:


Convenient he 'left' the forum right before launch, too.

Yes. Seeing guys like ideaman and lherre continue to be given credence on here is super annoying. I mean what the hell people.

 

[DyTonic]

How are they selling at a loss if it's specs aren't that crazy 0_o?

 

[yo_soy_el_topo]

I bet bayonetta will still look glorious.

 

[Van Owen]

Yes there is. Slow for what ? Slower than PS360 ram for sure. Does it mean it's slow for playing games ? I dunno.

No, it's objectively slow for an hd game console.

 

[Sinistral]

How are they selling at a loss if it's specs aren't that crazy 0_o?

Cause the WiiU console comes with a wireless touch screen capable controller? The entire package contents for $350. That's not a lot.

Especially when you have drones shelling out $500 plus for a new iPad every 8 months. It's amazing times these media consumption days... iPad mini costs just a $20 less than the black WiiU. Yes yes, I know they are technically different, but both are/can be media consumption devices. The nextBox and PSNext are supposed to come out, with specs to last 6+ years and retail for less than the new iPad.

 

[ozfunghi]

Nothing I've said about my 'speculation' on the system has been wrong. Unlike some folk.

And yes, I'm not a dev but we are allowed to discuss the merits or not of the system on this 'discussion' board.

The funny thing is that I think that our overall assessment of WiiU's performance is not that far from each others. I'm just more prepared to state my utter disappointment then you are.

Maybe. That might be because of my age, and the fact that i was a Wii-only gamer. I don't have the same time to play games like i had 10 years ago when i was in college. I have a family and have to share my tv. So the WiiU is both a huge leap for me as well as the solution to needing to give up the TV to play. Further more, i'm not "ok" with all the decisions Nintendo made. I can't wrap my head around needing 1GB for the OS, the fact that the OS is rushed and borderline broken. The fact that only a select range of HDD seems to be working and furthermore, the fact that they didn't go through greater lengths to ensure decent 3rd party ports.

Those things bother me a lot more than the hardware being only 20% "next gen" (performance wise). Initially i expected a bit more, but i'm not bothered that much by that.

PS: And i'm bothered by Reggies overall incompetence and arrogance. Check that box.

 

[IdeaMan]

Are you less positive about the overall performance potential of WiiU since launch? Has you're opinion changed?

Read the comments i made today on this matter My opinion hasn't changed on the overall performance potential. But it may have changed on the accessibility/easiness of the dev kits/sdk/whatever for small teams with low to moderate resources to tailor/adapt code thought for current gen HD.

Put it differently: i'm confident when i see ZombiU, some NintendoLand themes, combined with what i know and could partially revealed on the development (hence learning curve and potential for the future), but at the same time disappointed by ports.

How could i describe this even simpler ?

1 >>>>>>2>>>>>>>>>>3 - My stance before release

1 >>>2>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 - Now

1= Current gen HD performances
2= What i thought lazy/small/with low-to-moderate resources teams could achieve on the system without too much efforts, thanks to the additional power (2x memory, etc)
3= Overall performance potential, that some games will reach later in the lifespan of the system, and which represent roughly a technical 2/2,5x leap from Xbox 360 (1x in the main screen + 0,5x in the gamepad + 0,5 to 1x of bonus thanks to the more modern architecture + memory/cache etc, so effects lacking on current gen hd games + better textures, IQ, etc).

 

[Chiggs]

COD Black Ops 2 is a port and it looks and plays better on Wii-U than 360 as I have both versions and stopped playing 360 version as it was not as sharp looking and more lag.

Thats honest as well man some willl disagree cause it's nintendo but it really is better.

Blatant lie.

 

[Tears For Fears]

Dorfderp lying as usual I see. How someone can have such blinding loyalty for a company is beyond me. Maybe he's 13 years old, he communicates like one.

 

[cyberheater]

Maybe. That might be because of my age, and the fact that i was a Wii-only gamer. I don't have the same time to play games like i had 10 years ago when i was in college. I have a family and have to share my tv. So the WiiU is both a huge leap for me as well as the solution to needing to give up the TV to play. Further more, i'm not "ok" with all the decisions Nintendo made. I can't wrap my head around needing 1GB for the OS, the fact that the OS is rushed and borderline broken. The fact that only a select range of HDD seems to be working and furthermore, the fact that they didn't go through greater lengths to ensure decent 3rd party ports.

Those things bother me a lot more than the hardware being only 20% "next gen" (performance wise). Initially i expected a bit more, but i'm not bothered that much by that.

PS: And i'm bothered by Reggies overall incompetence and arrogance. Check that box.

I too have a family with 2 kids. I've also got a Wii, Xbox360, PS3 and a gaming PC. But am looking forward to having a WiiU just because I can game on the gamepad and not hog the family TV.

I was hoping that Nintendo would bite the bullet and push the hardware a fair bit further but it appears that they did the bare minimal in terms of crossing the HD line. I'm fairly pissed off because of that.
But at least I'll be able to play future versions of Mariokart and Metroid using the gamepad and I'll use my other machines for 3rd party titles.

I've a strong feeling once more devs are prepared to speak out on WiiU that it's going to be a clusterfuck of epic proportions. Such a shame.

 

[cyberheater]

Read the comments i made today on this matter My opinion hasn't changed on the overall performance potential. But it may have changed on the accessibility/easiness of the dev kits/sdk/whatever for small teams with low to moderate resources to tailor/adapt code thought for current gen HD.

Put it differently: i'm confident when i see ZombiU, some NintendoLand themes, combined with what i know and could partially revealed on the development (hence learning curve and potential for the future), but at the same time disappointed by ports.

It appears that all the Nintendo talk about building a machine that would allow easy ports from current next gen machines was just that. Talk.
I'm also hacked off by all the interviews by the devs saying it's so easy to port games over etc... and then we see the final results. Total bullshit PR speak from them.

I'm sure in the right hands, with enough time and resources, WiiU is capable of some amazing results but I fear that Nintendo doesn't really care about putting in the time and cash to achieve those results.
Nothing they have shown at launch would lead me to think they are willing to really push the hardware.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

How are they selling at a loss if it's specs aren't that crazy 0_o?

Every chip is customized with miniturization in mind. The Wii U is actually quite the capable little beast, drawing 1/3rd of the power of the Xbox 360/PS3.

To put it bluntly, the Wii U could literally sit in the CPU socket of your laptop that you have right now at high load and draw less power than the CPU by itself. Unless you have a ULV processor, that is.

The Wii U could've literally fit most of its components if not all (outside of accessories like the BD drive obviously) inside of the Wii U tablet pad, slapped a decent battery, and literally been the portable console the Vita should've been.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

Read the comments i made today on this matter My opinion hasn't changed on the overall performance potential. But it may have changed on the accessibility/easiness of the dev kits/sdk/whatever for small teams with low to moderate resources to tailor/adapt code thought for current gen HD.

Put it differently: i'm confident when i see ZombiU, some NintendoLand themes, combined with what i know and could partially revealed on the development (hence learning curve and potential for the future), but at the same time disappointed by ports.

How could i describe this even simpler ?

1 >>>>>>2>>>>>>>>>>3 - My stance before release

1 >>>2>>>>>>>>>>>>>3 - Now

1= Current gen HD performances
2= What i thought lazy/small/with low-to-moderate resources teams could achieve on the system without too much efforts, thanks to the additional power (2x memory, etc)
3= Overall performance potential, that some games will reach later in the lifespan of the system, and which represent roughly a technical 2/2,5x leap from Xbox 360 (1x in the main screen + 0,5x in the gamepad + 0,5 to 1x of bonus thanks to the more modern architecture + memory/cache etc, so effects lacking on current gen hd games + better textures, IQ, etc).

I of course don't have any proof otherwise but this sounds like a bunch of bs to me. For example, he references 2x memory when mentioning additional power but ignores the dreadful speed/bandwidth of said memory. Whole post sounds bs-ish.

 

[AzaK]

free roaming games don't have random access patterns, you just need to cover what you can see as much as possible in edram, and stream in from main ram as you move around the map

something like GTA should have less problems with this setup than eg Tekken Tag which ideally would spunk the entire 1GB on glorious models and textures every frame, but will be choked.

Thing is, what does 32MB of EDRAM give you if you're using FSAA? Not a lot right? Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems tht if you are using a significant amount of RAM for textures (that might be displayed in a frame) then you're going to bottleneck the system with only 32MB of EDRAM. It can only go as fast as the slowest component if you're continually needing to retrieve from that slowest component.

 

[IdeaMan]

It appears that all the Nintendo talk about building a machine that would allow easy ports from current next gen machines was just that. Talk.
I'm also hacked off by all the interviews by the devs saying it's so easy to port games over etc... and then we see the final results. Total bullshit PR speak from them.

I'm sure in the right hands, with enough time and resources, WiiU is capable of some amazing results but I fear that Nintendo doesn't really care about putting in the time and cash to achieve those results.
Nothing they have shown at launch would lead me to think they are willing to really push the hardware.

I agree with the bold. And i wrote several messages today about how i think it's shortsighted, and a disappointment. Even if the system is built in a way that a lot of things like sound, that were handled by the main CPU on current gen HD consoles, must be managed by specific components like DSP to alleviate the main CPU, they should have planned in advanced than a lot of studios wouldn't bother to really tailor their projects on it, and then ensure either 1) that the platform can deliver satisfactory performances when used not optimally (by implementing a beefier CPU, faster RAM, etc.) 2) creating efficient SDK/documents/development tools that would constitute a "bridge" between the ways of developing of those studios on current gen HD and the specifics of the Wii U.

I really hope there will be a ton of improvements coming from the 2)

 

[IdeaMan]

I of course don't have any proof otherwise but this sounds like a bunch of bs to me. For example, he references 2x memory when mentioning additional power but ignores the dreadful speed/bandwidth of said memory. Whole post sounds bs-ish.

But why do you always have to express your opinion in such bitter and angry posts ? It's really a waste.

For the 2x memory, it's because the memory layout is built in such a way that even if the 1GO of ram for games could be slow, it's alleviated by other elements (like eDram).

And i don't understand why i would "bs" about all this Wii U story since February, with a track record of maybe 20 correct infos, some very precise, and without anything to gain. Hell, there are other data i revealed, real silent mini-bomb that will be confirmed someday.

Please stop this weird vendetta against me, we could be friends and share cookies

 

[Van Owen]

IdeaMan, I'm not saying you don't have some inside info, but as far as development and Wii U's capabilities go, I don't think you have any idea what the fuck you're talking about.

No offense or anything though.

 

[Mindlog]

It appears that all the Nintendo talk about building a machine that would allow easy ports from current next gen machines was just that. Talk.
I'm also hacked off by all the interviews by the devs saying it's so easy to port games over etc... and then we see the final results. Total bullshit PR speak from them.

I'm sure in the right hands, with enough time and resources, WiiU is capable of some amazing results but I fear that Nintendo doesn't really care about putting in the time and cash to achieve those results.
Nothing they have shown at launch would lead me to think they are willing to really push the hardware.

I'm not trying to draw any conclusions, but it's still an amusing note. While the WiiU was rumored to be architecturally similar the the 360 much of the early conversation sounds eerily reminiscent of the rhetoric surrounding PS3. 'It's still early. Developers need to stop being lazy. Games need to be built from the ground-up.' I'm wondering how long it will be until we finally reach WiiU/360/PS3 games need to be built with WiiU as lead platform.

 

[snowdog1971]

I don't think anybody is saying this is the ceiling for Wii U but it does not have the brute force to make ports look better without much work .
Do you think that PS4\720 is going to have trouble with last gen ports , chances are that is not going to happen .
Wii U games should look better in time but the question is how much and if it going to matter along with other things .

It doesn't come down to brute force mate. Launch day ports on any new platform are a pain in the arse to work on - even Deep Thought would struggle with day one ports due to a completely new architecture and time needed to bring said port to the new platform amid constant SDK and hardware revisions.

You'll see patches during this next week or two fixing performance issues as per usual. This isn't anything new, although I guess this is the first time patches have been implemented on a Nintendo home console.

You'll find both the PS4 and 720 having the same problems with ports that the U is having now, no matter how much more powerful they are. It always happens with new hardware, has always happened in the past with new hardware and will always happen in the future with new hardware.

I'm not too worried about the RAM, the CPU and the GPU tbh, there's obviously a lot more going on under the hood that even the most vigourous teardown isn't going to reveal. Nintendo have always released balanced systems.

Someone at Shin'en recently praised the Wii U for having bugger all latency and Ancel has previously stated that the U has almost unlimited RAM, the latter of which combined with the huge amount of on-board flash reserved for that first system update leads me to believe I'm close to being correct about developers having swapspace available to play with for memory access.

If anyone else has any theories about why 4.2GB (?) of RAM is set aside after that update I'd love to hear them. 4.2GB is waaaaay too big for an OS footprint.

 

[IdeaMan]

IdeaMan, I'm not saying you don't have some inside info, but as far as development and Wii U's capabilities go, I don't think you have any idea what the fuck you're talking about.

No offense or anything though.

But what i said since my very first message in February has been confirmed though, from the performance range of the system compare to current gen (you just have to follow the kind of measurement i'm using to compare platforms, as i include the management of the gamepad), the ram situation (i said a whole semester before any confirmation that the system has 2GO with 1GO for games 1GO for the "OS" in front of 90% doubters with 4 pages of bashing at the time, there are a lot of witnesses still writing now ), the expected resolution of most games, etc, etc, etc.

For more technical & intricate matters, like the role of eDram, i never claimed to have very precise knowledge, you can read the many messages where i simply say "i don't know" and advise people to ask to developers like blu or Alstrong. I just have an enough understanding for a "game journalist" to comprehend roughly what his sources are talking about.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

But why do you always have to express your opinion in such bitter and angry posts ? It's really a waste.

For the 2x memory, it's because the memory layout is built in such a way that even if the 1GO of ram for games could be slow, it's alleviated by other elements (like eDram).

And i don't understand why i would "bs" about all this Wii U story since February, with a track record of maybe 20 correct infos, some very precise, and without anything to gain. Hell, there are other data i revealed, real silent mini-bomb that will be confirmed someday.

Please stop this weird vendetta against me, we could be friends and share cookies

How did you manage to find anger and bitterness out of that post? There was none of either. "BS" is a casual term, not furious rage.