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Eurogamer: Chat with Wii U developer about the general performance of the system
- Thread starter Vic
- Start date
Yes, the clock speed is quite slow. However, my 2GHz i7 beats the shit out of the 3GHz Pentium 4 I had back in the day.
Just like it happened with Wii and PS360.
KojiKnight
Member
Two main benefits...
1. Heat destroys hardware. Lower wattage = lower wear and tear = longer lasting hardware and less Nintendo has to spend on repairs and technician work.
2. Smaller size hardware
To hardcore gamers those probably matter little, unless you got several RRODs on your X-box 360 over the last 7 years... but it is sound and reliable reasoning in general even if you don't agree with it.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Funny, the developer in the quotes seems pretty confused and says he can't yet get as much performance out of it as he thinks should be there.
walking fiend
Member
What I don't understand, is if full backward Wii compatibility will be even that important.
I mean, the console is 2x more expensive than Wii, and now you add the wiimote price, and it'll be almost 3 times more expensive than a Wii without a wiimote.
I just believe people who already have a Wii, will keep their Wiis because of the Wiimotes+nunchuck as the console alone worths almost nothing in used market, and those who wanted to buy a Wii are not going to pay $350-$400 for a Wii U.
shinra-bansho
Member
Something seems lost in translation, i.e. I wasn't aware my PS3 had multiple CPUs...
Enhanced Broadway vs Cell vs Xenon round 5000.
Enhanced Broadway vs Cell vs Xenon round 5000.
although the Wii went to sell pass both the 360 and PS3..it launched a year after the 360.
360 had dev kits out for much longer and had engines built suited for its system.
there is a chance that the WiiU will have an almost 2 year head start.
KojiKnight
Member
I don't like having many multiple boxes hooked up to my TV at once personally... I doubt backwards compatibility with the Wii was the only reason they chose the hardware they did. Nintendo has an extensive and long working relationship with both IBM and AMD going back over 10 years at this point. Going with familiar hardware not only gave them an easy route to BC, but it also gave them an easy route for Wii heavy developers to easily jump straight into Wii U development.
And yet the PS3 Slim is currently retailing for approximately the same price as the Wii U, without including a kitchen-sink touchscreen controller. Tech is much more expensive than you might realize; loss-leading in consoles and contract payments in phones have distorted the perception of cost. Based on Iwata's comments, I doubt Nintendo will be pulling any kind of wide profit margin at the proposed prices.
Haha, this
I think you are missing the point. Rumor is that the PS4\720 will be so more powerful than the WiiU that they will not be able to share games.
Apparently it means a lot to Japanese home electronics consumers. This was one of the Wii's main selling points in Japan as well.
walking fiend
Member
The head start will mostly matter only if Nextbox/PS4 launch at ridiculous prices.
If Nextbox launches at a price reasonably close to Wii U, it won't matter much if Wii U have had a 2 year head start, specially considering that both 360/PS3 are going to be fully supported for at least another year, probably even better than Wii U. The main barrier for this generation HD consoles was high price [and low reliability/functionality in case of 360].
Of course, this is an issue mostly because of the Gamepad price tax [which I believe consist at least 35% of the Wii U console price]. So it'll be eventually a value proposition between paying for Gamepad vs better performance; I believe most gamers will chose the latter.
MikeHaggar
Member
yeah, it's a really strange call on their part--especially when you consider that the MAX power draw of this thing is said to be 75w. if i recall correctly, that's MUCH lower than the 360 and ps3 at launch. why not just throw a stronger cpu in there even if it kicks max power draw up to 90w?
the other thing that's odd to me is to see nintendo putting a decent gpu in the box while cutting corners on the cpu. they've taken the whole "graphics don't matter" stance for so long now that i fully expected the gpu to be worse than what the rumors point to.
regardless, it will be neat playing nintendo games in hd. i've been having a ton of fun with my 3ds xl lately and feel like it provides a good indication of what nintendo games are going to look like in hd. i'm sure they will deliver some really great-looking stuff even if no one else does.
walking fiend
Member
Yes, but there are few Wii developers [beside Nintendo] that haven't worked extensively with at least one of the other consoles or PC.
I guess the main reason they did this, was to makes things easy for their own developers. But I wonder how long they thought they could keep doing this?
metalslimer
Member
Wii came out before the 360?
les papillons sexuels
Banned
the 360 has out of order cpu.
No it doesn't.
The lack of knowledge and willful distortion of facts on both sides of this "debate" is exhausting. I'll excuse myself.
lwilliams3
Member
The Wii U's CPU are most likely lacking things like the VMX units that are in Xbox 360's Xenon, so some adjustments has to be made to get PS3/360 games running efficiently on the system.
Good points. The Wii U seems to be the opposite of the PS3 with the balance of the CPU and GPU.
Good points. The Wii U seems to be the opposite of the PS3 with the balance of the CPU and GPU.
Devs seems to know that the power is there, but they are still figuring out on how to access it. Ideaman recently stated that at least one dev team as able to figure some things out and got their game(s) running 2x the framerate from what it was a few months ago, so hopefully others will make significant progress soon.
For the record... I don't have enough technical knowledge for any of my comments about the Wii U to have any meaning beyond wishful thinking. I defer to Durante on all things.
No it doesn't.
No it doesn't.
Zoramon089
Banned
No it doesn't. The Xbox did
Thunder Monkey
Banned
That depends on what kind of fanboy you are.
Realist fanboys know the system is pretty much PS3/360+, and realize if they want bleeding edge tech they'll be either compromising with Orbis/Durango or going uberPC for the big enchilada.
If mechanics are suited toward the Upad and wiimote implementation I'd buy there, if the game needs higher fidelity visuals for a core mechanic I'd go for the upper end of realtime rendering hardware.
Not exactly a complicated thing.
metalslimer
Member
Isn't this because of the many enemies on the screen at once though? I imagine that sucks a lot of CPU resources and if developers can't easily port over their engines to Wii U's CPU that would probably cause a lot of problems
Oh please
StreetsAhead
Member
Especially since the earthquake last year, 'energy saving' is a huge buzz word. It's why 2/3 of the lifts in my building run in summer and all the men wear no tie and rolled up sleeves. There was even a program on TV a few weeks ago about living in an apartment on 45 .... what the household energy unit is here.
walking fiend
Member
Only if I had enough money to afford two next-gen consoles...
I personally believe Nintendo shot themselves in the foot with the Gamepad, a Wii HD could probably be considerably cheaper, and launch earlier too.
Maybe we should ask the game developers that. If the majority of developers can't take full advantage of PS3/Xbox 360's CPU yet, then why push it. Remember, this is a port of Warriors Orochi 3, not a game built from the ground up for this system. When it comes to Tecmo Koei, I'm more interested in seeing what the developers of Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 have to say about Wii U.
[edit] oh yeah, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, but that one looks to be an awesome port though!
timetokill
Banned
Yeah, I guess the energy saving is a huge deal to Japan because I always see Nintendo focus on it when talking specs. In fact, those seem to be just about the ONLY specs they will give out.
Meanwhile in America, it's like FUCK THE ENERGY GIVE IT MORE POWAH or something?
Meanwhile in America, it's like FUCK THE ENERGY GIVE IT MORE POWAH or something?
Thunder Monkey
Banned
True.
I have been a lot more conservative with my cash this past generation and I see that following into next.
I got a DS not long after launch. A Wii at launch, and a 360 three years into it's lifespan.
I got a lot of cheap games doing that.
Next gen I'm still waffling on getting a WiiU early in the gen. Still haven't bought either handheld. And won't know until I've seen some games if I have much interest in Orbis/Durango.
metalslimer
Member
A straight up Wii HD would completely bomb. Either they drop the Wii brand and controls and go for a new Gamecube type machine or they come up with another unique selling point.
Actually Nintendo has been more forthcoming with specs than any system since the Gamecube
walking fiend
Member
if it meant the console would be reasonably more powerful/cheap, I would be.
As I said, for current Wii owners like myself, keeping Wii around will be economically a wise decision, as it is worth only as much as the Wiimote+Nunchuck.
For new buyers, the price difference between Wii and Wii U is just too much (at least 200 for the basic model, 250 for deluxe model)
I wonder if Wii U may not bomb harder, the novelty of Wiimote vs Gamepad is just miles apart to expect the same effect in attracting casual gamers.
Phonomezer
Banned
That isn't going to happen. It'd be more likely that it's a repeat of this gen, just with prettier graphics.
specialguy
Banned
For Nintendo, the main benefit would be fitting it in that tiny case.
They apparently deem small casing as a necessity, and work the hardware around that.
Also it's a chicken and egg scenario. Nintendo probably isn't going to make powerful, expensive hardware regardless, so going with weaksauce stuff gives them the side benefit ow cheapness and being able to cram it into a small case.
metalslimer
Member
With western developers yes. For Japan, the shift to handheld and mobile devices will continue
Or appealing to an increasingly power conscious Japan
gamergirly
Member
The Wii U will get better 3rd party support. I don't expect it to be quite the level of Wii isolation.....
KojiKnight
Member
Of all people who knows this, Nintendo knows it best. Why do you think they bought their way into several hardcore franchises? It's to try and win back the hardcore crowd, at least enough to get them to buy the Wii U as a second console... Nintendo isn't expecting a repeat of the Wii, but they also are still (rightfully so) expecting to make a lot of money on it.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I get the impression that some think people are debating Wii U's hardware because they're desperately trying to believe that there is a magic secret which, once understood, will make it transform into Orbis/Durango.
Most of the debate over it is, I think, more centered around determining if it's powerful and capable enough for Nintendo's stated goals: "good enough" power that isn't entirely left behind next gen, with value focusing on the unique things the platform brings to the table.
The irony for me is that most of the people I know (not all, but most) who are, or are thinking of, buying a Wii U, have gaming PCs which outclass the current HD consoles by a mile and are playing "next gen" right now. They are interested in Wii U because it's Wii U, not because they're hoping it is something it isn't.
JordanN
Banned
The new One Piece Game has lots of enemies and it doesn't look this bad. Warriors series reeks of being low budget so I think it's generous to say it's because it's handling alot of enemies why it looks this way. The game doesn't appear to use much (or any) shaders either.
The WiiU hasn't even launched yet and it already has a better stable of third party titles than the Wii.
walking fiend
Member
I don't see why they couldn't do the same without introducing the Gamepad.
The thing is, I believe Gamepad will eventually end up being of little use in games and most games will be compatible with Pro Controller; but more importantly, I believe a focus on Wiimote could be more useful in a lot of more games, such as the first person genre.
well said. I cant understand graphic whores who count pixels and filtrate yet are not interested or do not count the undisputed king of bleeding edge videogame hardware, the PC.
metalslimer
Member
Wiimote again as a selling point would be a disaster. People will just ask why the games they are making aren't on the Wii they already have.
Zoramon089
Banned
You realize first person is ONE genre and having an entire console focus on a control scheme only really beneficial in ONE genre makes absolutely no sense