I guess this is the appropriate place for this stuff, total rumor, and can't source it, but feel free to discuss:
Heard some chatter from industry friends about "nintendo's ipod touch/ipad" today. Something about being able to play the system anywhere on anybody's TV.
So pretty much what we've already been theorizing. It's going to be a rough week long wait!
I think Nintendo is probably taking a more balanced approach this time: hardware tech specs, controller and games. (Hopefully ONLINE too). We'll see in a week, minus a few hours.
I just had an interesting thought - what if Cafe's controllers were full 3DS's? And every Cafe came with one? (The theory is that if you wanted to play 2-player games, your friend would bring his 3DS, so no you wouldn't have to buy 4 3DS's yourself).
I guess this is the appropriate place for this stuff, total rumor, and can't source it, but feel free to discuss:
Heard some chatter from industry friends about "nintendo's ipod touch/ipad" today. Something about being able to play the system anywhere on anybody's TV.
So pretty much what we've already been theorizing. It's going to be a rough week long wait!
As discussed previously, I think it's more likely that the controller has a screen and is mobile, not that the controller IS the system, as that would not line up with rumors of power comparable to competing platforms. The 3DS serves that purpose, albeit without as much horsepower. If Nintendo were not in the handheld market, I could see some logic to this, but as it is, it makes no business sense.
As discussed previously, I think it's more likely that the controller has a screen and is mobile, not that the controller IS the system, as that would not line up with rumors of power comparable to competing platforms. The 3DS serves that purpose, albeit without as much horsepower. If Nintendo were not in the handheld market, I could see some logic to this, but as it is, it makes no business sense.
You have the console at your own home, but you're able to stream from it to any TV where you have the controller. Basically like Nintendo's own OnLive sort of thing. You just have to have the internet connection and the controller.
I think we're mixing terms a bit here. When I talk of 100% BC I'm referring to clock-per-clock equality, not just same ISAs. That is, if op A took X clocks to dispatch, had a latency of Y clocks, and was subject to Z stalls on CPU1, there would exist an op B on CPU2, to the exact same effect, with the exact same clock characteristics. Basically, CPU2 would be a super-set of CPU1. And by playing with the clock of CPU2, one can get a clock-perfect replica of CPU1.
Now, why is that important, you may ask. Because of synchronization between CPU and the various other devices in the system. A console, by its virtue of being a set-in-stone, close platform, offers the luxury to its software to threat the system resources, CPU included, as very deterministic entities. It's perfectly fine for console software to make decisions based on, say, the knowledge of precisely how much CPU work fits into a single vsync period. Or that it can spin-loop 2000 times till the DVD interface settles between commands.
The moment you introduce slight variations in the instructions' timings, that software could overshoot its frame budget by one tick and miss an entire vsync, or interrupt a DVD read command before it had actually completed. Now, these are a bit extreme examples, but I'm trying to show the principle. Basically, you're breaking the 'set-in-stone' property of the platform, and the software is unaware of that. Most of the software might be ok, but some code somewhere will break. And its authors may not even expect that. So it's the entire QA cycle all over again, BC white lists, and all that jazz (scenario A)
That's not how things run on the PC. There, by virtue of the platform being an ever-changing beast, software does not have the luxury of being clock-punctual, and so, it does not try to be. It just cares that the same instructions were present on each new CPU (ergo, the venerable x86 ISA). If something is too slow - people upgrade their rig. If something is too fast, it's usually too fast for the human in front on the monitor - and that 'device' is easy to please time-wise - you introduce arbitrary delays until the person can play the game again - humans are not too time-sensitive in comparison to silicon circuits : )
BTW, Nintendo in this case just pay for the music. It's IBM that will deliver the wafers, and they do that pretty much as the customer says. It's not like PPC750 is some old-forgotten tech that only nintendo could use these days.
I recall a program I used to run old DOS games with that would "slow down" my intel CPU to a predetermined amount (say, 66mhz to mimic a 486) to properly play the ancient game I was trying to play. I wonder if something like that would be feasible with a Power5/7 CPU. From what I recall, doesn't the Wii CPU clock down and the Wii OS shuts off everything that wasn't in the GC before loading a GC disc?
Not only that the Broadway clocks down in GC mode, but it's also clock-by-clock perfect replica of the Gekko in that mode. Just because Broadway is a higher-clocked Gekko. Ergo the spotless BC between Wii and cube. Well, at least CPU-wise.
The good old trick with crudely slowing down PCs works only with 'human' synchronization. It would break to peaces if you tried to do it among silicon devices.
We're all pretty sure that they've gone to an IBM CPU, and Nintendo in its past few generations loves hardware BC, so I'm trying to figure out how they'll do it. Your method B (a PPC750 bolted on) or a Power5/7-based CPU would be my best guess. As long as they don't strip down the Power5 architecture of many of its features as Sony/MS did this gen.
A) Supposes a considerable effort in re-QAing the BC lineup, producing white lists, etc.
B) Works out of the box, auto-magically, and is what most people would consider '100% BC' (well, CPU-wise).
Now, we don't know what nintendo mean by 'Cafe will be BC with the Wii (cube?)' - whether it'd be under scenario A or B. After all, xb360 was also advertised as being 'BC with the xbox1', IIRC, and that one was through emulation (i.e. an extreme case of scenario A).
I guess this is the appropriate place for this stuff, total rumor, and can't source it, but feel free to discuss:
Heard some chatter from industry friends about "nintendo's ipod touch/ipad" today. Something about being able to play the system anywhere on anybody's TV.
So pretty much what we've already been theorizing. It's going to be a rough week long wait!
I guess this is the appropriate place for this stuff, total rumor, and can't source it, but feel free to discuss:
Heard some chatter from industry friends about "nintendo's ipod touch/ipad" today. Something about being able to play the system anywhere on anybody's TV.
So pretty much what we've already been theorizing. It's going to be a rough week long wait!
Hmmm. If this is true, I wonder if the idea I had of the SD card slot being in the controller might be a reality. Obviously, there would need to be a console in the house, but if Nintendo are going for this sort of seamless gaming experience (and not including an HDD), then it would make good sense. You could bring your controller/SD card over a friend's house and have all your settings and saves with you.
Nintendo hinted at this with the Wii Remote storage, but the idea has much more potential (I know, it's really just the old memory card way of things, but it needs to be brought back in a modern way).
You have the console at your own home, but you're able to stream from it to any TV where you have the controller. Basically like Nintendo's own OnLive sort of thing. You just have to have the internet connection and the controller.
I think internet streaming isnt their bag, but local remote play, output to a TV set is plausible. But it would be redundant with the 6" touch screen already on it.... unless games require 2 screens a la DS.
You have the console at your own home, but you're able to stream from it to any TV where you have the controller. Basically like Nintendo's own OnLive sort of thing. You just have to have the internet connection and the controller.
You have the console at your own home, but you're able to stream from it to any TV where you have the controller. Basically like Nintendo's own OnLive sort of thing. You just have to have the internet connection and the controller.
lol OCD refreshing is overkill. It's been hundreds of pages of people clamoring over fake leaks that have been posted multiple times before. With only one week left before E3 your best bet is to stay away from here, returning on June 7th .
Not (necessarily) true. Going by past experiences, we will either get some official information from Nintendo or a significant leak before June 7th. Sometime between Friday (June 3rd) and Monday night (June 6th) is your best bet. For example, Retro working on Donkey Kong was leaked 3 days before the 2010 conference, NSMB Wii was leaked through Booth pics two days before 2009 conference, Wii Motion Plus was announced by Nintendo the day before the 2008 Conference, and the night before E3 2004, Matt C leaked that a realistic Zelda was going to be shown.
My guess is that Nintendo will officially release some type of megaton-ish information during Monday to deflate whatever Sony and Microsoft show at their press conferences that day.
Not only that the Broadway clocks down in GC mode, but it's also clock-by-clock perfect replica of the Gekko in that mode. Just because Broadway is a higher-clocked Gekko. Ergo the spotless BC between Wii and cube. Well, at least CPU-wise.
Not (necessarily) true. Going by past experiences, we will either get some official information from Nintendo or a significant leak before June 7th. Sometime between Friday (June 3rd) and Monday night (June 6th) is your best bet. For example, Retro working on Donkey Kong was leaked 3 days before the 2010 conference, NSMB Wii was leaked through Booth pics two days before 2009 conference, Wii Motion Plus was announced by Nintendo the day before the 2008 Conference, and the night before E3 2004, Matt C leaked that a realistic Zelda was going to be shown.
My guess is that Nintendo will officially release some type of megaton-ish information during Monday to deflate whatever Sony and Microsoft show at their press conferences that day.
My guess is they'll release a press release with the official Cafe name and some controller details (no software announcements until the actual conference).
Ergh, actually, I might have misread that because Keighley was posting about the stuff they going to have on GTTV on Thursday right before this tweet, my bad. Then again, it could still be shown there, kind of vague what it's referring to, I don't think Spike has TV coverage of e3 other than Microsoft's press conference, so I don't know.
Hollywood is a relatively strict superset + bugfixes of Flipper. There are a few things that work differently across the two GPUs, but they're so minor, and so rarely used, that any resulting issues could be swept under the carpet without much fuss.
Hollywood is a relatively strict superset + bugfixes of Flipper. There are a few things that work differently across the two GPUs, but they're so minor, and so rarely used, that any resulting issues could be swept under the carpet without much fuss.
Ergh, actually, I might have misread that because Keighley was posting about the stuff they going to have on GTTV on Thursday right before this tweet, my bad. Then again, it could still be shown there, kind of vague what it's referring to, I don't think Spike has TV coverage of e3 other than Microsoft's press conference, so I don't know.
Hollywood is a relatively strict superset + bugfixes of Flipper. There are a few things that work differently across the two GPUs, but they're so minor, and so rarely used, that any resulting issues could be swept under the carpet without much fuss.
blu, you are the man, you should write an article about this stuff.
If they achieve backward compat using hardware, is it likely or even possible to get games to output in higher resolutions without problems galore? Is it more likely they'll output in 480p and upscale, or is HD output still on the table for GC/Wii software without too extraordinary of an R&D cost?
Definitely a leap over Wii/GameCube (let's be honest, TP doesn't look any better on Wii than on GameCube), but I have a hard time saying that the demo you showed screamed "way better than the 360/PS3." It looks like it's better in subtle ways, like the amount of detail in the foliage and the texturework/normal-mapping on the stepping stones, but in general, it doesn't look like anything that the 360/PS3 couldn't do a close replica of. That's what I'm afraid of.
Twilight Princess looks basicly the same on Wii as it does on GCN (minus widescreen on GCN) except that the Wii version runs at a locked 30fps. The GCN version has framerate dips in Hyrule Field.
The Unreal Engine 3 demo looks better than most 360/PS3 games, although not a hell of alot better. I think Cafe will eventually have better looking games than that demo. It's to difficult to say right now, not knowing what's inside Cafe.
blu, you are the man, you should write an article about this stuff.
If they achieve backward compat using hardware, is it likely or even possible to get games to output in higher resolutions without problems galore? Is it more likely they'll output in 480p and upscale, or is HD output still on the table for GC/Wii software without too extraordinary of an R&D cost?
Even without the technical expertise that blu has, I can tell you that software emulation (such as Dolphin) will lead to a lot of problems. If anything, you'll get upscaled not re-rendered. Especially if it's hardware BC of some kind.
If they achieve backward compat using hardware, is it likely or even possible to get games to output in higher resolutions without problems galore? Is it more likely they'll output in 480p and upscale, or is HD output still on the table for GC/Wii software without too extraordinary of an R&D cost?
Yeah, the more I read into that tweet the more it seems like they will actually be demoing Skyward Sword on the week of E3 show (June 9th) instead of the Pre-E3 show (June 2nd).
The context of that tweet made it very confusing considering he was naming titles left and right that will be in the June 2nd at the time of Zelda tweet.
Ergh, actually, I might have misread that because Keighley was posting about the stuff they going to have on GTTV on Thursday right before this tweet, my bad. Then again, it could still be shown there, kind of vague what it's referring to, I don't think Spike has TV coverage of e3 other than Microsoft's press conference, so I don't know.
If the system is going to be sending out wireless audio/video information to the controller, I can also see there being some type of HDMI dongle which allows you to play the system on any TV in the house with an HDMI input.
Also, a cheap/easy feature which Iwata has alluded to would be Universal remote functionality. Check for updates on the controller when the system is in standby and if you see ppl you know are playing or whatever, hit one button to turn on ur tv, wake up the console,and switch to the proper feed.
umm this was the most relevant topic on the front page, has anyone created Spoiler-Free E3 conference for 2011? annoyingly my best man duties happen right in the middel of the conference and i want to watch it spoiler free, and link straight to the video
So much great discussion going on here over the last 2 pages, I just can't keep up with it.
Yes, I'm excited about seeing Nintendo games in not only HD resolution, but also with vastly more detail, better lighting, with pixel shaders and all kinds of effects. Hopefully lots of post-processing effects. HD resolution is, of course, only one aspect of the visuals.
Please note I'm not arguing for the sake of arguing, but I still find this line of thinking baffling. Hear me out.
For Mario, what can you do with him? You could say Pixar quality, but is it that big of a difference in the eye of the average gamer? Second of all, we have examples of really high quality Mario through rendered art. I mean, come on, it doesn't get anymore high tech than pre-rendered.
Many of Nintendo's characters have been rendered in high quality CG so it doesn't surprise me unless they change the way the character look a la Wind Waker.
If the system is going to be sending out wireless audio/video information to the controller, I can also see there being some type of HDMI dongle which allows you to play the system on any TV in the house with an HDMI input.
Also, a cheap/easy feature which Iwata has alluded to would be Universal remote functionality. Check for updates on the controller when the system is in standby and if you see ppl you know are playing or whatever, hit one button to turn on ur tv, wake up the console,and switch to the proper feed.
The 3DS has a currently stagnant IR I/O port on the top. Who's to say the Cafe controller can't follow suit? Especially if the 3DS can serve as a Cafe controller....
