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Wii Specs!!!

Last I checked, I'm a professional developer. And I have it on impeccable authority that the Wii is just a Gamecube (in terms of graphic features and pipeline) with an upclocked CPU and GPU on smaller, low-power die. Nintendo spent their dough with ATi to bring power consumption, heat, and manufacturing costs waaaaay down.

As fanboys often note, Nintendo is about profit first and foremost.
 
Drinky Crow said:
Last I checked, I'm a professional developer. And I have it on impeccable authority that the Wii is just a Gamecube (in terms of graphic features and pipeline) with an upclocked CPU and GPU on smaller, low-power die.
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then why don't you spill specs instead of ranting left and right, MR drinky cow:lol
 
IGN already posted the correct specs. They aren't gonna change. Well, they might bump the RAM at the last minute, but 1T-SRAM ain't cheap.
 
Drinky Crow said:
Last I checked, I'm a professional developer. And I have it on impeccable authority that the Wii is just a Gamecube (in terms of graphic features and pipeline) with an upclocked CPU and GPU on smaller, low-power die.
Click to expand...

My post wasn't really directed at you. But -- professional or not -- your opinion on anything Nintendo means shit. I'm sure you can see why.
 
I ain't the one being obtuse. Last I checked, I liked Nintendo, even as much as I despise the company's insistence that gaming is somehow in a rut.

Now Nintendo FANBOYS -- well, they're eminently worthy of contempt, since they have absolutely no critical faculties when it comes to this hobby, steeped as they are in juvenile nostalgia. But try as I might, I can't draw the line between my sneering attitude toward the Ninthing set and my analysis of the Wii hardware performance. Help!
 
Drinky Crow said:
I ain't the one being obtuse. Last I checked, I liked Nintendo, even as much as I despise the company's insistence that gaming is somehow in a rut.

Now Nintendo FANBOYS -- well, they're eminently worthy of contempt, since they have absolutely no critical faculties when it comes to this hobby, steeped as they are in juvenile nostalgia. But try as I might, I can't draw the line between my sneering attitude toward the Ninthing set and my analysis of the Wii hardware performance. Help!
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:O
 
How can you genuinely say the Wii is between the GC and the 360? The 360's robust feature set and graphics technology make it more than just "Wii + 50%," it's in another ballpark.

Okay, fine. The PSone is between the first Pong machine and a Cray Supercomputer.

I don't understand this. For months and months and months it was, "graphics don't matter," and now it's, "Graphics don't matter, but in the meantime, the graphics are great." They look fine but they aren't great and they really aren't "mid-gen" quality. None of the next-gen graphical techniques are in use here...maybe bloom lighting if you consider the Xbox next gen.

Now people are discussing whether or not the Wii processor is a G5 derivative...geeze. Everyone attacked Shog when he said the Wii would be what it was a year ago. Just let the wii graphics argument fade. It is what it is. I'm getting two consoles with PowerPC derivatives already in them, I am getting the wii cause it's awesome for other reasons.
 
Drinky Crow said:
Last I checked, I'm a professional developer. And I have it on impeccable authority that the Wii is just a Gamecube (in terms of graphic features and pipeline) with an upclocked CPU and GPU on smaller, low-power die. Nintendo spent their dough with ATi to bring power consumption, heat, and manufacturing costs waaaaay down.

As fanboys often note, Nintendo is about profit first and foremost.
Click to expand...
How much will the GPU cost then?
 
Drinky Crow said:
I ain't the one being obtuse. Last I checked, I liked Nintendo, even as much as I despise the company's insistence that gaming is somehow in a rut.

Now Nintendo FANBOYS -- well, they're eminently worthy of contempt, since they have absolutely no critical faculties when it comes to this hobby, steeped as they are in juvenile nostalgia. But try as I might, I can't draw the line between my sneering attitude toward the Ninthing set and my analysis of the Wii hardware performance. Help!
Click to expand...

You are being obtuse. To the majority, you're just a talking head on a message board. Your motives are your own. You may know where that line is drawn -- where the "Ninthing" trolling ends and where honest analysis begins, but your audience can't trust you. That's why your opinion means shit, becase -- honest or otherwise -- it's colored by your reputation.

If you'd like me to give you the benefit of the doubt, I expect the same in return. As a "Ninthing," as you so eloquently put it, I can choose to be offended by your rhetoric, or simply recognzie it as weightless.
 
rayman-raving-rabbids-20060518022218183.jpg


Rayman images shows Wii's polygon performance.
 
By the way, why thhe fuck would Nintendo care about "low power consumption"?? Its a console... battery life isn't a factor.
 
Drinky Crow said:
Last I checked, I'm a professional developer. And I have it on impeccable authority that the Wii is just a Gamecube (in terms of graphic features and pipeline) with an upclocked CPU and GPU on smaller, low-power die. Nintendo spent their dough with ATi to bring power consumption, heat, and manufacturing costs waaaaay down.

As fanboys often note, Nintendo is about profit first and foremost.
Click to expand...

You're a developer? Since when?:lol :lol :lol :lol So do you have kits from Nintendo Drinky?
 
Gahiggidy said:
By the way, why thhe fuck would Nintendo care about "low power consumption"?? Its a console... battery life isn't a factor.
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Space and heat concerns, probably.

The case is obviously much, much smaller than the PS3 and probably much quieter than the Xbox 360. If Sony is to be believed, the PS3 is quiet too, but that's probably because of its...eh, massive design.
 
Wii isn't that small of a case, actually. Probably more room inside there than was in the GameCube.
 
Neo Child said:
I'm not too sure if that was an insult or not really, hard to tell nowdays.
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It's not the best example. Each of those bunnies could be made of only a thousand polygons with really advanced texturing techniques. There are only a few rows of bunnies, too, before other development techniques come into play. The Wii does have double the GC's memory, which would allow for better texturing.

The Wii isn't gonna be a polygon-pushing monster, but it should produce visuals on par with...maybe PC era games circa 2003-4? I was thinking Half Life 2 might be what it can achieve in the end....Red Steel discourages me from saying that though.
 
F#A#Oo said:
What?

When asked..."How does this compare to Nintendo's last console?"

He tried to dodge it...then said "There is going to be on-par or greater graphics performance"
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He tried to dodge the question and then he dodge it. We get no information from that answer. He probably knows the answer but he decided to not say anything, because its obvious that it wont be worst than the GC, so its the same or better, we already knew that.
 
Gahiggidy said:
By the way, why thhe fuck would Nintendo care about "low power consumption"?? Its a console... battery life isn't a factor.
Click to expand...

Low power consumption means low heat output, which means less cooling needed, which means a smaller form factor, which looks snazzy.

That, and Nintendo are tree-huggin' hippies.
 
Neo Child said:
I'm not too sure if that was an insult or not really, hard to tell nowdays.
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Look at the muber of rabbits on screen, then notice the volume metric fog. Also many haven't commented ton he draw distance in Excite Truck, which is impressive compared towhat has been shown during the life of the GC . Believe me it wasn't an insult.
 
Thraktor said:
Low power consumption means low heat output, which means less cooling needed, which means a smaller form factor, which looks snazzy.

That, and Nintendo are tree-huggin' hippies.
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The PS3 runs on oil.
 
Gahiggidy said:
By the way, why thhe fuck would Nintendo care about "low power consumption"?? Its a console... battery life isn't a factor.
Click to expand...

It's all about heat generated.

Low power means, it runs cool, can be stuck in a form factor of 3DVDs high, and it's quiet, since it doesn't need an industrial sized fan to keep the machine running.
 
Also, the Wii has a fan on the back vent.
 
jacomar said:
He tried to dodge the question and then he dodge it. We get no information from that answer. He probably knows the answer but he decided to not say anything, because its obvious that it wont be worst than the GC, so its the same or better, we already knew that.
Click to expand...

He didn't really dodged it. He gave him an answer. Same or Greater graphics basically means --> very slight upgrade in power vs Gc.

At least thats what i get from it. But i don't understand what the fuss is all about, Wii is not in the next gen graphics "Race", we can see that....its focusing on a New way to play games and Price. Wich is perfect for me :D

Don't understand why some are expecting anything...."unexpected" in terms of graphics from the Wii.
I hope they get some online stuff ready for launch, can't wait to play wii sports online :D
 
OG_Original Gamer said:
Look at the muber of rabbits on screen, then notice the volume metric fog. Also many haven't commented ton he draw distance in Excite Truck, which is impressive compared towhat has been shown during the life of the GC . Believe me it wasn't an insult.
Click to expand...

Ah okay, and I think I'm the only one that notices the awesome draw distance in Excite Truck sometimes.

I think Excite Truck looks at worst - Gamecube, at best - past XBOX. I was impressed by the draw distance, the sense of speed, and the reflection on the back of the trucks (acts as a rear mirror - PSP rear mirror am cry).
 
If it comes out at $200, the Wii will cost a full $100 less than the cheapest "next-gen" alternative, the core 360. So it doesn't have to outperform the 360 to be worth the price of admission. But that's really beside the point.

The real question for me: Does the Wii stand on its own? Is it pretty enough and fun enough to justify buying one at the asking price. That's really the only burden it needs to meet. The 360 and PS3 may have nicer graphics, but that doesn't really devalue the Wii. The Wii is what it is, and it's either worth it or its not, regardless of what the compeition can do.
 
People care about power consumption, because it leads to noise, heat, bulk and other aspects of user-unfriendliness that certainly won't increase the likelihood that the current non-consumer of the games industry decides to introduce its living room to the Wii.

You know how you can leave your tv "on", in sleep mode, and it doesn't make any noise, heat the room, or consume any significant power? The goal is probably to get somewhere near that.
 
ghostlyjoe said:
If it comes out at $200, the Wii will cost a full $100 less than the cheapest "next-gen" alternative, the core 360. So it doesn't have to outperform the 360 to be worth the price of admission. But that's really beside the point.

The real question for me: Does the Wii stand on its own? Is it pretty enough and fun enough to justify buying one at the asking price. That's really the only burden it needs to meet. The 360 and PS3 may have nicer graphics, but that doesn't really devalue the Wii. The Wii is what it is, and it's either worth it or its not, regardless of what the compeition can do.
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That's what I want to know. Assuming they spent around $150 on the CPU+GPU combo... I see no reason the Wii can't output next-gen graphics at standard-definition.
 
Nintendo cares about power consumption, dorks, because more power consumption means more moving parts means more points of failure means more returns means more money spent by Nintendo fixing the damn things. On top of that, if "WiiConnect24" means it's on and has operational network functionality 24/7, sustaining a low power draw is important.
 
Gahiggidy said:
That's what I want to know. Assuming they spent around $150 on the CPU+GPU combo... I see no reason the Wii can't output next-gen graphics at standard-definition.
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Why does it matter? If you dont' think its a good gaming value, then don't bother with it, man. There are other options.
 
Money doesn't necessarily buy graphics performance. Again, Nintendo has said time and time again that they don't feel graphics performance should be part of their hardware roadmap. Low power consumption, reliability, and a small form factor -- the stuff Nintendo assumes "families" (hence: Wii) care about. That's what their R&D dollars bought. With the Wii, Nintendo has indicated that they aren't about hardcore gamer priorities.
 
Drinky Crow said:
Nintendo cares about power consumption, dorks, because more power consumption means more moving parts means more points of failure means more returns means more money spent by Nintendo fixing the damn things. On top of that, if "WiiConnect24" means it's on and has operational network functionality 24/7, sustaining a low power draw is important.
Click to expand...

Listen to this man, Gahiggidy.
 
Drinky Crow said:
Money doesn't necessarily buy graphics performance. Again, Nintendo has said time and time again that they don't feel graphics performance should be part of their hardware roadmap. Low power consumption, reliability, and a small form factor -- the stuff Nintendo assumes "families" (hence: Wii) care about. That's what their R&D dollars bought. With the Wii, Nintendo has indicated that they aren't about hardcore gamer priorities.
Click to expand...


When did you actually start saying things of substance Drinky Crow? :)

You are correct. Hardcore gamer priorities are not a high priority of Nintendo, but that doesn't mean they are completely shunning them either.
 
Aryuken said:
He didn't really dodged it. He gave him an answer. Same or Greater graphics basically means --> very slight upgrade in power vs Gc.
Click to expand...

Same or Greater graphics basically means --> anything you want

He answered in such an open way that he basicly said nothing. Same or greater could also means 9182912 times better. Or that is 2 times better. Its like saying the wii will cost 1 dollar o more dollars. Maybe im being too logical but to me X>=5 equals [5,inf)

Basicly i dont care either, i like what i saw so far. I stopped being a graphicwhore around the gforce2 :D
 
ghostlyjoe said:
Why does it matter? If you dont' think its a good gaming value, then don't bother with it, man. There are other options.
Click to expand...
Not for me there isn't.
 
jacomar said:
Same or Greater graphics basically means --> anything you want

He answered in such an open way that he basicly said nothing. Same or greater could also means 9182912 times better. Or that is 2 times better. Its like saying the wii will cost 1 dollar o more dollars. Maybe im being too logical but to me X>=5 equals [5,inf)

Basicly i dont care either, i like what i saw so far. I stopped being a graphicwhore around the gforce2 :D
Click to expand...

You are being very naive.
 
Drinky Crow said:
Money doesn't necessarily buy graphics performance. Again, Nintendo has said time and time again that they don't feel graphics performance should be part of their hardware roadmap. Low power consumption, reliability, and a small form factor -- the stuff Nintendo assumes "families" (hence: Wii) care about. That's what their R&D dollars bought. With the Wii, Nintendo has indicated that they aren't about hardcore gamer priorities.
Click to expand...
QFT
360_psu.jpg
 
Drinky Crow said:
Nintendo cares about power consumption, dorks, because more power consumption means more moving parts means more points of failure means more returns means more money spent by Nintendo fixing the damn things. On top of that, if "WiiConnect24" means it's on and has operational network functionality 24/7, sustaining a low power draw is important.
Click to expand...
How big is the mo/bo?
 
Drinky Crow said:
Money doesn't necessarily buy graphics performance. Again, Nintendo has said time and time again that they don't feel graphics performance should be part of their hardware roadmap. Low power consumption, reliability, and a small form factor -- the stuff Nintendo assumes "families" (hence: Wii) care about. That's what their R&D dollars bought. With the Wii, Nintendo has indicated that they aren't about hardcore gamer priorities.
Click to expand...

True that. I take back all that shit I said. :lol
 
Low form factor has generally equaled poor air flow leading to overheating (just ask Dell). Then again Nintendo doesn't put standard PC sized components in low form factor machines so I don't think they'll have that problem. Still, air flow has to be an issue. Even a slow processor would burn up in seconds without acting cooling. I doubt anyone knows or not but what kind of cooling is the Wii expected to have?
 
Aryuken said:
You are being very naive.
Click to expand...

Dont get me wrong, i dont think the Wii will be the 360 or anything similar. I know it wont be a graphics monster. But i have been around many PR people that could talk for hours without saying anything and ive heard that sentence before and it means nothing, so i would never draw conclusions from what that ati guy said.
 
Mashing said:
Low form factor has generally equaled poor air flow leading to overheating (just ask Dell). Then again Nintendo doesn't put standard PC sized components in low form factor machines so I don't think they'll have that problem. Still, air flow has to be an issue. Even a slow processor would burn up in seconds without acting cooling. I doubt anyone knows or not but what kind of cooling is the Wii expected to have?
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There's a fan in the back there:

wii04.jpg



Also, an intake vent at the bottom-back. I'm guessing that the CPU/GPU are located in the back courner, with a heat vent leading to that fan-exhaust.
 
TheKingsCrown said:
When did you actually start saying things of substance Drinky Crow? :)

You are correct. Hardcore gamer priorities are not a high priority of Nintendo, but that doesn't mean they are completely shunning them either.
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Seeing as how hardcore gamers usually tend to skew to less graphics intensive genres (shooters, shmups, rpgs, srpgs), I fail to see how that's a priority of the hardcore mindset.
 
Matlock said:
Seeing as how hardcore gamers usually tend to skew to less graphics intensive genres (shooters, shmups, rpgs, srpgs), I fail to see how that's a priority of the hardcore mindset.
Click to expand...


But at the same time the "new" hardcore gamer is the person who has every device imaginable, and PC graphics cards that could reproduce Peter Moore's various expressions in-game. I don't know, I guess it depends on the definition of "hardcore".
 
Matlock said:
Seeing as how hardcore gamers usually tend to skew to less graphics intensive genres (shooters, shmups, rpgs, srpgs), I fail to see how that's a priority of the hardcore mindset.
Click to expand...

Wha?!? Aren't shooters the most graphically intesive genre? RPGs are certainly up there as well. All those jaw-dropping games at E3 were mostly shooters. And Square RPGs are shocases for CGI artistry.
 
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