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[Jorok Goldblade]

To clarify on what was said, it was more along the lines of Nintendo tweaked the Wii U to make sure it can run UE4.

which would explain the recent bump in specs... and apparently Nintendo is still tweaking the hardware. So it could get even better.

WE DOUBLED THE RAM IN THE XBOX 360.

WE BOOSTED THE POWER OF THE WII U.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

 

[lwilliams3]

As i said in my previous post concerning the memory, i was surprised by X, because i was expecting roughly 1GB, and i've heard that Nintendo warned third-parties that they aim for more. Not TONS more, and it's an aim, it could change.

And i was surprised by the Y, as i explained in these recent posts.

Ok, thanks for clarifying. That was what I thought you meant. Who knew that I would be doing some Algebra in this thread

 

[invaderzim69]

Sooooo Wii U not $299??

 

[AceBandage]

Sooooo Wii U not $299??

If they keep bumping the power up, it's looking less and less like it'll be a $300 system.
D:

 

[Nibel]

Sooooo Wii U not $299??

Nope.

Spoiler

How the fuck should we know that months before launch :lol

 

[AzaK]

ALL ABOAAAAARD

I'm in the caboose.

I'm still walkin'

I don't know if you'll be able to have two different type of content (a game + an app) at the same time, handled by the Wii U.

BUT, it's nearly 100% sure, and a bit of fresh info: in the actual dev kits, a large chunk of the hardware memory is reserved by Nintendo for the OS, for multi-tasking, for the possibility to put your game on hold and go to the OS, run an application, etc. The game is "stored", and you can go back to it instantly. There are applications running in backward also (the internet ones i guess, etc.). Because of this, third-parties have a known memory pool of X GB in dev kit, but Y GB of it is not available for their games (and i don't talk about debugging here).

So in the end i think there are chances that if the game allows it (read: it doesn't need a dual screen setup, so think of a VC Gamecube title), you can play it on one screen, and the other is running a not-ressources-intensive app. At the very least, the hardware is capable of that.

Yeah, but obviously more advanced, with both screens being bigger & better and of course the capabilities of the Wii U.

But the important part in my previous message
I was again a bit surprised by the "Y" amount. Developers can't tap, can't draw, from a surprising quantity of memory in v4 dev kits..

Hmm, dunno if I like the sound of this unless they've added tonnes of RAM.

 

[Claude]

Sooooo Wii U not $299??

$449.99 confirmed

Spoiler

lol

 

[cyberheater]

WE DOUBLED THE RAM IN THE XBOX 360.

WE BOOSTED THE POWER OF THE WII U.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

I really doubt WiiU will run UE4.

 

[AceBandage]

I really doubt WiiU will run UE4.

Why's that?

 

[BY2K]

IdeaMan was banned on Wii U launch for forever due to the following official reason:

“He lied and Wii U is half as weak as current gen.”

IdeaMan's comments about this ban:

“picklefishlips”

wat?

 

[AceBandage]

wat?

That site is bunk.
It can be changed by anyone.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Running UE4 is not the brass ring everyone assumes it is.

UE4 is likely pretty scaleable specifically because Epic wants to sell engine licenses and being able to accommodate a UE3.5 on the Wii U would be beneficial to them.

Wii U will probably have games using UE4 tools but I'd be willing to bet that means basically nothing in terms of power comparisons to the XBox 3 and PS4.

 

[cyberheater]

Why's that?

UE3 is scalable and I think we'll see a lot of ports of games running that on WiiU.

UE4 is designed for true next gen systems. I don't think WiiU will have the power or memory to run it.

 

[Rösti]

Oh, Nintendo. I earlier this week sent Nintendo of America a message regarding Reggie Fils-Aime's comments (in interviews with CNN and Gametrailers in conjunction with CES 2012) about them releasing more Wii U information before E3. Now, I didn't expect any radical answers, but I wasn't even supplied a simple "Yes" or "No" in reply to if there will actually come new details before E3. I'm starting to think Reggie just pulled a fast one to appease the masses, or that something has gone really haywire. We know of those trademark issues Nintendo is having, but that shouldn't hinder them from releasing new information, should it?

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us with your feedback regarding the information that's been released regarding the upcoming Wii U. I can certainly understand your thoughts on this matter and want you to know how much we appreciate you sending them in. While I'm not able to provide additional details at this time, I want to assure you that your comments will be added to our records and made available for other departments at the company to use as they see fit.

Sincerely,

Nintendo of America Inc.
Shane O'Neil

The usual reply, though sometimes you are bestowed a certainly nice representative's answer. Nothing against Shane here, but some small detail or a simple heads up on if we'll be learning something new on the road to E3 would be heavily appreciated. You could almost get the feeling they are ashamed or scared of something.

 

[BY2K]

That site is bunk.
It can be changed by anyone.

picklefishlips is still funny as hell.

 

[invaderzim69]

Wow! I can't wait till E3 is here!!! It will be Nintendo's best E3 ever!!! Thank you.

 

[AceBandage]

Running UE4 is not the brass ring everyone assumes it is.

UE4 is likely pretty scaleable specifically because Epic wants to sell engine licenses and being able to accommodate a UE3.5 on the Wii U would be beneficial to them.

Wii U will probably have games using UE4 tools but I'd be willing to bet that means basically nothing in terms of power comparisons to the XBox 3 and PS4.

OMG YOU'RE BACK!

 

[IdeaMan]

I'm here don't worry lol (in answer to the ban thing )

 

[Shin Johnpv]

Hmm, dunno if I like the sound of this unless they've added tonnes of RAM.

Yeah I agree. I'd rather have less multi-tasking and more Ram devoted to the games. Hopefully this Y amount is only as big as it is, because the OS and such isn't finalized. Hopefully when that becomes finished we'll see it, and this stuff taking up a much lower footprint.

 

[cyberheater]

I'm here don't worry lol

Off the record. Do you think WiiU could run UE4?

 

[Nibel]

Running UE4 is not the brass ring everyone assumes it is.

UE4 is likely pretty scaleable specifically because Epic wants to sell engine licenses and being able to accommodate a UE3.5 on the Wii U would be beneficial to them.

Wii U will probably have games using UE4 tools but I'd be willing to bet that means basically nothing in terms of power comparisons to the XBox 3 and PS4.

Yeah, Alberto back in this b****!

 

[AceBandage]

Off the record. Do you think WiiU could run UE4?

He's an ex journalist, not a develop.

 

[IdeaMan]

Hmm, dunno if I like the sound of this unless they've added tonnes of RAM.

You forgot the more positive part

So i expect a lot of optimization on the way the OS is handled / all the Wii U background framework, to allow studios to have a greater access to memory. From what i've heard, it really seems that there is a lot of room for improvements, in hardware and software.

 

[cyberheater]

Wow! I can't wait till E3 is here!!! It will be Nintendo's best E3 ever!!! Thank you.

It will either be their best or worst. The hype is building quite nicely but Ninty have to deliver.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

Yeah, Alberto back in this b****!

Shockingly.

 

[AceBandage]

It will either be their best or worst. The hype is building quite nicely but Ninty have to deliver.

It's impossible to top the complete non-conference that was 2008.
They showed basically nothing there.

 

[cyberheater]

He's an ex journalist, not a develop.

He could still hazard a guess.

 

[BY2K]

It will either be their best or worst. The hype is building quite nicely but Ninty have to deliver.

It can't be worse than 08, nothing can.

It CAN be better than 10, though. Or 06, even.

 

[cyberheater]

It's impossible to top the complete non-conference that was 2008.
They showed basically nothing there.

Yeah. My brain had done me the service of deleting that one from my memory. Why did they even turn up?

 

[lwilliams3]

I'm still walkin'





Hmm, dunno if I like the sound of this unless they've added tonnes of RAM.

IdeaMan elaborated his statement

X: Amount of RAM accessible to developers
Y: Amount of RAM for applications.

Wii U's Total RAM = X + Y

IdeaMan was surprised by how much RAM was accessible to developers, but now he is saying that he was also surprised on how much more RAM was locked for just applications.

For comparison, I believe the 360 initially devoted 32MB of RAM for the OS (not sure about this), while the PS3 initially devoted a staggering 120MB out of 512MB for the OS. I believe the 3DS uses 32MB out of 128MB for multi-tasking and the OS.

 

[AceBandage]

Yeah. My brain had done me the service of deleting that one from my memory. Why did they even turn up?

At the time, Nintendo thought that they could use E3 to appeal to the casual audience.
They had forgotten that it was an enthusiasts event.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Yeah. My brain had done me the service of deleting that one from my memory. Why did they even turn up?

It was mostly to advertise the recently released Wii Fit.

Which went on to gain an install base larger than the PS3.

 

[cyberheater]

It was mostly to advertise the recently released Wii Fit.

Which went on to gain an install base larger than the PS3.

But it was stunningly boring from my point of view.

I guess this raises the question. What would Nintendo have to do to blow us away this year?

 

[AceBandage]

But it was stunningly boring from my point of view.

I guess this raises the question. What would Nintendo have to do to blow us away this year?

Lots of exclusives.

 

[tkscz]

UE3 is scalable and I think we'll see a lot of ports of games running that on WiiU.

UE4 is designed for true next gen systems. I don't think WiiU will have the power or memory to run it.

No, just no

 

[IdeaMan]

Off the record. Do you think WiiU could run UE4?

I talked about that today & yesterday already, try to dig a bit

If UE4 really requires "bleeding-edge & truly next-gen tech" like Epic stated lately, and the very scalable engine for the more modest setup will be all the UE3 iterations, we need to know what features are included and defines UE4, and if 1) The Wii U GPU manage them (and i don't have the details about it) 2) If it manage them, if it has enough power to run it at an "acceptable" level (720p, 25/30fps, light AA, and of course not such trimming of what is rendered that it will look bad compare to the other systems / not "really be UE4").

 

[cyberheater]

Lots of exclusives.

I'm not so sure. I still like to see some of the big multiplatform franchises being shown with a good spread of games using the big game engines so we know they are fully supported and working well.

 

[TwilightPrincess]

Lots of exclusives.

Plus Zelda Demo running on UE4

 

[HylianTom]

It can't be worse than 08, nothing can.

It CAN be better than 10, though. Or 06, even.

Better than.. 06?

*passes out*

 

[cyberheater]

I talked about that today & yesterday already, try to dig a bit

If UE4 really requires "bleeding-edge & truly next-gen tech" like Epic stated lately, and the very scalable engine for the more modest setup will be all the UE3 iterations, we need to know what features are included and defines UE4, and if 1) The Wii U GPU manage them (and i don't have the details about it) 2) If it manage them, if it has enough power to run it at an "acceptable" level (720p, 25/30fps, light AA, and of course not such trimming of what is rendered that it will look bad compare to the other systems / not "really be UE4").

So we won't know for a while if it's capable enough but reading between the lines, you don't sound confident that it would be a easy fit.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

To blow us away Nintendo would have to show us a firsty party game or two, an exclusive or 2, 3rd party support in terms of multi-plat games coming out in 2012/2013, and also reveal any new partnerships that will definitely bring future games to the console.

That's a realistic depiction of what people could possibly blow people away. That and have a good looking online system.

 

[Dr.Palutena]

But it was stunningly boring from my point of view.

I guess this raises the question. What would Nintendo have to do to blow us away this year?

For me they have to show me this new online they talked about head on without sidestepping on things we've been asking them/concerned about in the past. They need to show me Pikmin 3,thats pretty much it for me, actually anything else would be a bonus.Maybe -insert game they havent made in a while here- would also be nice. I doubt they'll announce a release date there , but hopefully they announce a price.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

UE3 is scalable and I think we'll see a lot of ports of games running that on WiiU.

UE4 is designed for true next gen systems. I don't think WiiU will have the power or memory to run it.

If that is the case then based on the most reliable rumored specs for the GPU in the next Xbox, it wouldn't have the power to run it either.

I have a feeling that's not going to be the case though and all 3 will likely be running it in some form, with highend PCs being the ones running it best.

I mean we've discussed how the ram in these system is likely to top out around 2 gigs, we know the Wii-U is some where between 1 - 2 gigs. I don't think a half a gig difference would mean running UE4 or not.

I could see the tesselator being an issue, but hopefully Nintendo and AMD replaced the RV7xx's tesselator with a more modern one. We'll have to wait till E3.

 

[IdeaMan]

IdeaMan elaborated his statement

X: Amount of RAM accessible to developers
Y: Amount of RAM for applications.

Wii U's Total RAM = X + Y

IdeaMan was surprised by how much RAM was accessible to developers, but now he is saying that he was also surprised on how much more RAM was locked for just applications.

For comparison, I believe the 360 initially devoted 32MB of RAM for the OS (not sure about this), while the PS3 initially devoted a staggering 120MB out of 512MB for the OS. I believe the 3DS uses 32MB out of 128MB for multi-tasking and the OS.

No for the bolded equation

I said:

Because of this, third-parties have a known memory pool of X GB in dev kit, but Y GB of it is not available for their games (and i don't talk about debugging here).

So Wii U total ram = X
X = Y + Z

Y = amount of memory from which developers can't tap and is apparently reserved for os/multi-tasking/background
Z = amount of memory available to developers for their games

I was surprised by the amount of Y, i said to myself "it seems too much".
So here come my expectations that all is still heavily in flux, that there is a lot of room for improvements, and that Nintendo will optimize Y, in return it will increase Z, and will have an effect on games development.

 

[ozfunghi]

I was surprised by the amount of Y, i said to myself "it seems too much".
So here come my expectations that all is still heavily in flux, that there is a lot of room for improvements, and that Nintendo will optimize Y, in return it will increase Z, and will have an effect on games development.

So... 1.5GB + 512MB. Got it

 

[AceBandage]

So... 1.5GB + 512MB. Got it

512MB for the OS would be pure insanity.
Anything over 100MB for that matter.

 

[comedy bomb]

From what i've heard, it really seems that there is a lot of room for improvements, in hardware and software.

oh no wii u is fail

 

[Nibel]

So here come my expectations that all is still heavily in flux, that there is a lot of room for improvements, and that Nintendo will optimize Y, in return it will increase Z, and will have an effect on games development.

That seems reasonable. Just to make sure: a part of Y could go to Z actually?

 

[tkscz]

UE3 is scalable and I think we'll see a lot of ports of games running that on WiiU.

UE4 is designed for true next gen systems. I don't think WiiU will have the power or memory to run it.

Alright, let me explain my issue with this, sense I didn't do it last time. A problem with saying true next gen is that it's extremely vague and means little. The 360's GPU is based on a 1900 series ATI GPU, but was custom made to be closer to a 2000 series. Even if the WiiU was running on a R7XX GPU chipset, that would still be next gen in comparison.

Let's also remember that Samaritan, was running on UE3, and it took 3 GTX580 or 1 kepler to run that. What I'm getting from your statement here is that the next Xbox and PS4 will run on something equal to that, which I HIGHLY doubt.

But then again we are comparing consoles to PC's, which is a huge no no for several reasons. Main reason is the hole custom parts business. Again, a card from the 1900 series, wouldn't be able to run games that look as good as they do on the 360, in a PC. Look at the 360 version of Crysis, couldn't do that with a 1900. Optimization plays a huge part when it comes to consoles. So UE4 could easily be optimized to run on the WiiU, killing this hole stop-gap and true next gen thing.

 

[IdeaMan]

So we won't know for a while if it's capable enough but reading between the lines, you don't sound confident that it would be a easy fit.

From what i know, it will not be an easy fit, for the "real" UE4, promoted as Epic did lately (read: not the hypothetic "light UE4" that could exist with trimming here and there, if their UE3.X plan for more modest platforms is not followed).

But i didn't say it's impossible, i don't know, let's hope the today rumor is true. And i have faith in the dynamic & variable & stretching of the Wii U capabilities, thanks to the padlet and other things. The hardware is designed with at least one 480p screen to handle in addition to at least a 720p main one. Avoid any intensive use of the padlet, and you have noticeable resources available for what is rendered on the TV. That + all the talks about the room for optimization in the hardware & software department.

The only point i fear and i don't have informations about that, is the lack or not of a graphical feature, a function, like a modern tesselator, in the Wii U GPU, that could prevent the use of some engines as they have been envisioned.

We need some techies to tell us "from what i know/see/guess, the UE4 use this type of lightning, this way to create polygons, these kind of textures, these effects, and it's so cutting-edge that there's a risk the Wii U GPU can't handle them".