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[Vinci]

That's a good point and I do hope your right. I just believe that Nintendo gamers will continue to be the most picky when it comes to choosing third-party games.

Given how they've been treated this generation, is that surprising?

 

[antonz]

That's a good point and I do hope your right. I just believe that Nintendo gamers will continue to be the most picky when it comes to choosing third-party games.

You mean its a bad thing Nintendo Gamers want to be treated as equal? What a terrible concept. Im not gonna buy a game just because it has a big franchise name if its horseshit game with little effort

 

[ShockingAlberto]

THQ's Vigil Games isn't attempting to spruce up the visuals for Darksiders II on Wii U, but does believe the console is more powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Oh.

Guess I'm waiting for the PC version again!

 

[Hiltz]

Can gamers on Wii U be more supportive of third-party games? Sure. Despite how Nintendo gamers buy more Nintendo games than third-party titles, Wii U will have some advantages that the Wii didn't have. AAA multiplatform current-gen (and probably next-gen too), mature titles, and better online play (Wii U's online certainly can't be any worse than Wii's). If Wii U can get a decent amount of Sony and Microsoft gamers over to its side, then that will help strengthen the Wii U's userbase in ways the Wii 's was not able to. (without having issues like lack of powerful graphics and weak online).

 

[MDX]

You mean its a bad thing Nintendo Gamers want to be treated as equal? What a terrible concept. Im not gonna buy a game just because it has a big franchise name if its horseshit game with little effort

Right. I think regardless what console a person owns, the average gamer knows a good game when they see it. Though Darksiders II may not be graphically better on the WiiU, the fact that a Nintendo console is getting a game like Darksiders II is a win for Nintendo fans. Its the kind of production value that fans had been waiting for.

And I would not underestimate how many Wii owners will ditch their Wiis like last month's meatloaf to buy WiiU when the it comes out. Nintendo was smart to announce WiiU before they lost too many Wii owners jumping ship to a PS3 or 360.

 

[walking fiend]

Oh.

Guess I'm waiting for the PC version again!

actually

Whether or not we can go one step further, that might be driven by what's available on the PC and whether or not that is easy to translate to the Wii U hardware

Can gamers on Wii U be more supportive of third-party games? Sure. Despite how Nintendo gamers buy more Nintendo games than third-party titles, Wii U will have some advantages that the Wii didn't have. AAA multiplatform current-gen (and probably next-gen too), mature titles, and better online play (Wii U's online certainly can't be any worse than Wii's). If Wii U can get a decent amount of Sony and Microsoft gamers over to its side, then that will help strengthen the Wii U's userbase in ways the Wii 's was not able to. (without having issues like lack of powerful graphics and weak online).

I don't know really, on Wii I sure play lots of Nintendo games, but on DS, it is practically ALL 3rd party titles, the only Nintendo game on the system I have really liked are Zelda ones and Picross. Definitely don't like either NSMB or MK. And I haven't got more than 6 Nintendo games totally, while own like 30 games on the system.

 

[HeySeuss]

What worries me somewhat is that he implies that once they got the port running the way they wanted, instead of being excited by gauging how much power was left for improvements, he said they are waiting to figure out tricks and shortcuts to improve the performance. That's not exactly what I was hoping to hear because even if its only 2x times as powerful as the PS360, there should be plenty of power and to work with to make it better without using hardware tricks.

 

[[Nintex]]

What I mostly find strange is that all these developer comments seem to indicate that they don't know the full specs of this thing. So either it isn't set in stone yet and Nintendo is still toying with the mhz's, there's a massive NDA so devs have to walk around the issue or Nintendo is so secret that they decided not to hand out full specs to anyone.

 

[Mr_Brit]

What I mostly find strange is that all these developer comments seem to indicate that they don't know the full specs of this thing. So either it isn't set in stone yet and Nintendo is still toying with the mhz's, there's a massive NDA so devs have to walk around the issue or Nintendo is so secret that they decided not to hand out full specs to anyone.

There's an NDA, there's no way the devs don't know the exact specs of the dev kits.

 

[Hiltz]

I'm not putting the entire blame on third-parties struggling for success because of picky Nintendo gamers. Third-parties have been guilty of poor marketing, delayed releases, stealth launches , and watered-down ports. Then there are cases like with MadWorld where unique design decisions with the style of graphics proved to be an instant turn-off to many gamers. Nintendo's obviously to blame for making the Wii an inconvenient platform to port to and the weak online service has also contributed to this.

 

[walking fiend]

What worries me somewhat is that he implies that once they got the port running the way they wanted, instead of being excited by gauging how much power was left for improvements, he said they are waiting to figure out tricks and shortcuts to improve the performance. That's not exactly what I was hoping to hear because even if its only 2x times as powerful as the PS360, there should be plenty of power and to work with to make it better without using hardware tricks.

where did they say that?

But, in all honesty, if the Wii U turns out to be this ridiculously powerful machine, we will probably make changes to our budget and scope to take advantage of that.

If I am not wrong, only 3 people were working on the game port, I think making a better looking game for them means considerable budget changes. I think what they meant is that, if Wii U and their target PC systems both hit a target, they may actually improve the whole game in addition to just increasing the resolution (on pc, or presumably Wii U)

There's an NDA, there's no way the devs don't know the exact specs of the dev kits.

at least the interview clearly indicated they don't know:

It's probably going to be the same graphically, regardless of any minor or major horsepower improvements on the Wii U

But, in all honesty, if the Wii U turns out to be this ridiculously powerful machine, we will probably make changes to our budget and scope to take advantage of that. But that's currently not the plan. It's going to be a direct port. That's what we're planning on. But that's based off of what we believe the hardware's going to be like."

There are some things we have to deal with. But it's to be expected because the hardware's been changing

and we don't have any specific data on Wii yet. Even Nintendo ninjas couldn't have stopped the data from spreading after all this time, unless there's really no data.

 

[fabricated backlash]

What I mostly find strange is that all these developer comments seem to indicate that they don't know the full specs of this thing. So either it isn't set in stone yet and Nintendo is still toying with the mhz's, there's a massive NDA so devs have to walk around the issue or Nintendo is so secret that they decided not to hand out full specs to anyone.

A mix of both most likely. The general gist is that the dev kits they've gotten, including the controllers are really really basic and nothing more than prototypes. Seems like an effort to get developers on board as early as possible, while being as secretive as possible. Oh and don't forget the Ninjas.

 

[DaSorcerer7]

why all the secrecy about the hardware specs though? is it really necessary to have NDAs for that at this point... just a question

 

[antonz]

Early on reports stated that not all developers had even been given the controller or an idea of what it would be which we see being backed up in recent news.

Spec wise we know Gen 1 devkits as Ill call them were underclocked.

Sega specifically mentioned that the Gen 2 Devkits that were coming in july were going to be yet again prototype kits which I assume would address issues reported with the Gen 1 kits and further advance hardware to some degree.

 

[walking fiend]

Early on reports stated that not all developers had even been given the controller or an idea of what it would be which we see being backed up in recent news.

Spec wise we know Gen 1 devkits as Ill call them were underclocked.

Sega specifically mentioned that the Gen 2 Devkits that were coming in july were going to be yet again prototype kits which I assume would address issues reported with the Gen 1 kits and further advance hardware to some degree.

Eurogamer in their article confirm that 2nd development kit has been received by developers (do doesn't mention which one, or all of them, and for how long). Nintendo NINJAs!

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Man, soooo much reading into a few cagey statements from one developer going on. It seems like a pretty flat statement to me. If I were to reword it more plainly, I think it would come out "We're planning on making the game a pretty straight port. Of course, if that would make the game look ridiculously worse than other games on the hardware we might have to do more."

 

[Hiltz]

I wonder if some of the games delayed this year (The Darkness 2 just got pushed back from October 2011 to February 2012) may end up getting a Wii U port. We already know that Vigil games already said that its Wii U port made an impact to cause the delay of the 360 and Ps3 versions from Q2 to Q3 2012.

 

[antonz]

I wonder if some of the games delayed this year (The Darkness 2 just got pushed back from October 2011 to February 2012) may end up getting a Wii U port. We alreayd know that Vigil games already said that its Wii U port made an impact to cause the delay of the 360 and Ps3 versions from Q2 to Q3 2012.

I think teams that are capable of fitting the extra work in would likely do so. If there are serious issues though with games leading to the delay they may not want to risk the extra work.

 

[Mr_Brit]

why all the secrecy about the hardware specs though? is it really necessary to have NDAs for that at this point... just a question

There are NDAs as Nintendo will never release the specs for Wii U.

 

[Vinci]

I'm not putting the entire blame on third-parties struggling for success because of picky Nintendo gamers. Third-parties have been guilty of poor marketing, delayed releases, stealth launches , and watered-down ports. Then there are cases like with MadWorld where unique design decisions with the style of graphics proved to be an instant turn-off to many gamers. Nintendo's obviously to blame for making the Wii an inconvenient platform to port to and the weak online service has also contributed to this.

I'm more than open to admitting that the Wii was obviously not built in a way that appealed to 3rd parties' sensibilities and overall direction. What annoys the hell out of me, however, is this moaning about 'Nintendo gamers not buying 3rd party games'... If the PS3 or 360 had been treated the way the Wii had been, do you think owners of those systems would have bought many 3rd party games? No. And would they have been pissed at 3rd parties for throwing shit at them and pretending they're doing those gamers a favor? Yes.

Frankly, I never cared if the Wii got the same games as the PS3 or 360. That wasn't what the Wii was about for me personally. But I still demand some degree of quality if I'm going to put down money on something. I mean, some... Was that really too much to ask? Is that deserving of scorn from bastards who like to make generalizations about 'Wii gamers this' or 'Nintendo gamers that'?

I'm not saying it was entirely 3rd parties' fault, but how they treated Wii owners was grotesque.

 

[DefectiveReject]

This thread needs to be locked and put in a time capsule to be opened three months before wii U launch

Fucking BurntPork needs to be locked up in a time capsule and let out .....never.

 

[bgassassin]

Man, soooo much reading into a few cagey statements from one developer going on. It seems like a pretty flat statement to me. If I were to reword it more plainly, I think it would come out "We're planning on making the game a pretty straight port. Of course, if that would make the game look ridiculously worse than other games on the hardware we might have to do more."

LOL. That's one thing that's been consistent since E3.

 

[Mithos]

And a 3rd party developer can not make one single good game and put it on a Nintendo platform and think it will sell hot-cakes instantly, maybe after 4-5 games players will see that wow they are here to stay and start to buy lots of third-party games.

 

[walking fiend]

Fucking BurntPork needs to be locked up in a time capsule and let out .....never.

poor Burnt Pork, he hasn't posted for a while here, cool down dude!

I'm more than open to admitting that the Wii was obviously not built in a way that appealed to 3rd parties' sensibilities and overall direction. What annoys the hell out of me, however, is this moaning about 'Nintendo gamers not buying 3rd party games'... If the PS3 or 360 had been treated the way the Wii had been, do you think owners of those systems would have bought many 3rd party games? No. And would they have been pissed at 3rd parties for throwing shit at them and pretending they're doing those gamers a favor? Yes.

Frankly, I never cared if the Wii got the same games as the PS3 or 360. That wasn't what the Wii was about for me personally. But I still demand some degree of quality if I'm going to put down money on something. I mean, some... Was that really too much to ask? Is that deserving of scorn from bastards who like to make generalizations about 'Wii gamers this' or 'Nintendo gamers that'?

I'm not saying it was entirely 3rd parties' fault, but how they treated Wii owners was grotesque.

Actually some managed to get my money.

- CoDs and 007 were really good (well, compared to the rest of fps craze going on)
- PES on Wii is the best soccer I have ever played, and so is Tigerwoods
- My Fitness Coach is a great top tier software, Michael Jackson is worth it if just for the choreography and songs.
- Red Steel 2 was boring, but had really high production values, so was Madworld

well, there's a lot, its the list of Wii games I've stored on my PC, minus Nintendo ones, which I planned to buy since like a year ago but instead I am just playing through my backlog:

NMH II
Muramasa
MH Tri
Formula 1
Okami
Silent Hill: Shaterred Memories
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
-- - Black Ops
A Boy and His Blob
Tetsunoko Vs. Capcom
Little Kings's Story
Trauma Team
Another Code
Fragile Dreams
NBA JAM
Just Dance 2
Excerbeats
Zack & Wiki


Most of them are really good games by my standards, and there's still some to add to, and I already own like 50 Wii games, I just don't get how many games do people buy? 360 attach rate is 9, so people can't find 9 good games on Wii?

I'd say the problem is not with number of good games; it's with the graphics, online, achievements, controller, things like that. And most importantly, with the genre and ratings of the games, there aren't enough realistic and M rated games on the wii, whether it is shooter or sports or action-adventure.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

ratings of the games, there aren't enough realistic and M rated games on the wii, whether it is shooter or sports or action-adventure.

Wait, wait, how well did M rated games sell on the Wii? Oh wait, I know. Pretty shit. I don't think one M rated title passed 1 million sales, possibly not even 65k. Why would devs release more M rated titles on a system that isn't classified as "hardcore", and when previous titles have barely made a profit (if at all)? It just doesn't make any sense, from a business' point of view.

 

[fabricated backlash]

Wait, wait, how well did M rated games sell on the Wii? Oh wait, I know. Pretty shit. I don't think one M rated title passed 1 million sales, possibly not even 65k. Why would devs release more M rated titles on a system that isn't classified as "hardcore", and when previous titles have barely made a profit (if at all)? It just doesn't make any sense, from a business' point of view.

Call of Duty.

 

[walking fiend]

Wait, wait, how well did M rated games sell on the Wii? Oh wait, I know. Pretty shit. I don't think one M rated title passed 1 million sales, possibly not even 65k. Why would devs release more M rated titles on a system that isn't classified as "hardcore", and when previous titles have barely made a profit (if at all)? It just doesn't make any sense, by a business' point of view.

by business point of view, NMH is the best selling Suda game ever, by the same criteria, NMH2 sold more than Shadows of the Damn in just 5 days, even if by 5%. RE4, having its 3rd release on Wii, sold over 1.6 million. Red Steel having a metacritic of 63%, sold over 1 million.

and budget of these games have a word or two to tell you.

---
second person added to my ignore list, today.

 

[Antagon]

Wait, wait, how well did M rated games sell on the Wii? Oh wait, I know. Pretty shit. I don't think one M rated title passed 1 million sales, possibly not even 65k. Why would devs release more M rated titles on a system that isn't classified as "hardcore", and when previous titles have barely made a profit (if at all)? It just doesn't make any sense, from a business' point of view.

Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Call of Duty: World at War all sold over 1 million.

 

[DaSorcerer7]

Wait, wait, how well did M rated games sell on the Wii? Oh wait, I know. Pretty shit. I don't think one M rated title passed 1 million sales, possibly not even 65k. Why would devs release more M rated titles on a system that isn't classified as "hardcore", and when previous titles have barely made a profit (if at all)? It just doesn't make any sense, from a business' point of view.

Fight ignorance, do some research.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Call of Duty: World at War all sold over 1 million.

I was just thinking of titles like MadWorld, House of the Dead: Overkill, Silent Hill and No More Heroes. I forgot that there were Resident Evil games on the Wii. Call of Duty basically sells itself on any console its released on.

Fight ignorance, do some research.

Deeply sorry, next time I will.

 

[BurntPork]

second person added to my ignore list, today.

I am a tortured soul, even when I'm not here.

Also, if a thread were made about Vigil's comments, most people would have come to the same conclusion as Mr._Brit and I.

 

[DaSorcerer7]

I am a tortured soul, even when I'm not here.

Also, if a thread were made about Vigil's comments, most people would have come to the same conclusion as Mr._Brit and I.

As long as Wii U is in the title, GAF would come to that conclusion regardless of what was said.

 

[bgassassin]

I am a tortured soul, even when I'm not here.

Also, if a thread were made about Vigil's comments, most people would have come to the same conclusion as Mr._Brit and I.

I don't think you want to use that as justification. Also Brit has been consistently down on Wii U's power and has used every little thing he could to back up the claim even when the proof provided nothing at times (like now).

For me you remind of a poster on the Grizzlies board that would always go 0 to 100mph. There was never much in the middle for him and you do the same a lot. I would only suggest just having some balance to your thoughts. Have a little more "grey area" as opposed to being strictly black or white.

 

[herzogzwei1989]

There's an NDA, there's no way the devs don't know the exact specs of the dev kits.

No doubt that's true. I just hope we hear something soon about the newest-gen kits.

 

[snesfreak]

As long as Wii U is in the title, GAF would come to that conclusion regardless of what was said.

Pretty much.

 

[BurntPork]

No doubt that's true. I just hope we hear something soon about the newest-gen kits.

I wouldn't count on hearing anything new about specs until after launch.

 

[Alrus]

I was just thinking of titles like MadWorld, House of the Dead: Overkill, Silent Hill and No More Heroes. I forgot that there were Resident Evil games on the Wii. Call of Duty basically sells itself on any console its released on.

No More Heroes is the best selling Suda 51 game ever(Shadow of the Damned bombed badly in comparison) and it sold enough to warrant a sequel and ports to HD consoles.

HoTD sold decently, I have no idea what the numbers are but I believe Sega said they were satisfied with it.

Silent Hill I have no idea but I guess it bombed... Madworld bombed hard but the game wouldn't have sold much better on the HD twins, it's a pretty mediocre brawler and the art style works against it. (I think it looks great but it's not an easy sell).

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Wait, wait, how well did M rated games sell on the Wii? Oh wait, I know. Pretty shit. I don't think one M rated title passed 1 million sales, possibly not even 65k. Why would devs release more M rated titles on a system that isn't classified as "hardcore", and when previous titles have barely made a profit (if at all)? It just doesn't make any sense, from a business' point of view.

If you couch it as ignorance, people won't think you're lying!

It's kind of brilliant in a way.

 

[herzogzwei1989]

I wouldn't count on hearing anything new about specs until after launch.

Perhaps a hint at least. We'll see I guess.

 

[Hiltz]

I'm more than open to admitting that the Wii was obviously not built in a way that appealed to 3rd parties' sensibilities and overall direction. What annoys the hell out of me, however, is this moaning about 'Nintendo gamers not buying 3rd party games'... If the PS3 or 360 had been treated the way the Wii had been, do you think owners of those systems would have bought many 3rd party games? No. And would they have been pissed at 3rd parties for throwing shit at them and pretending they're doing those gamers a favor? Yes.

Frankly, I never cared if the Wii got the same games as the PS3 or 360. That wasn't what the Wii was about for me personally. But I still demand some degree of quality if I'm going to put down money on something. I mean, some... Was that really too much to ask? Is that deserving of scorn from bastards who like to make generalizations about 'Wii gamers this' or 'Nintendo gamers that'?

I'm not saying it was entirely 3rd parties' fault, but how they treated Wii owners was grotesque.

The thing is that third-party core games have generally struggled on Nintendo systems before the Wii. There was no issue with the quality of graphics and horsepower back on the GameCube. Third-parties also struggled on the N64.

When you look at the top software charts, how many third-party core games from Nintendo platforms appear on it? Very few.


Let's take a looking at the best selling games on the Wii:

Just Dance
Mario & Sonic Olympics
Michael Jackson: The Experience
Guitar Hero 3
Carnival Games
Game Party
Deca Sports

The above games have sold as high as 7 and 5 million and as low as 2 million copies.

The 3 best selling third-party core games are: Monster Hunter Tri at 1.9 milion, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, and Epic Mickey at 1.3 million. Below that, there's a few others like RE: Umbrella Chronicles and Sonic and the Secret Rings tied at 1.2 million. I'm not sure about Call of Duty: MW and Black-Ops, but the Wii's port of World at War reportedly sold over a million copies.

Wii does have a lot of other good but niche games that naturally sold less copies like Little King's Story, A Boy & His Blob and Muramasa. In some cases, these games are can do well enough to be considered success and even warrant a sequel.


Go compare GameCube and N64 third-party success to that of the Xbox, Ps2, Xbox 360 and Ps3's Third-parties are the majority.

 

[Alrus]

Epic Mickey can't be at 1.3 million, it sold that much in it's first month in the US.

 

[SolarPowered]

I've been popping in and out just to see what is going on and I have no idea how you guys come in here and do it. I'm not happy at all about he lack of info, but I'm just gonna sit back once again.

bleh

Epic Mickey can't be at 1.3 million, it sold that much in it's first month in the US.

Yep, that game has to be at 2 million by now unless sales dropped off like a boulder.

 

[MDX]

Nintendo is bringing out a new platform that brings together some of what we’re learning from new media and new platforms like the iPad and then integrating that with a console. It’s the perfect time for that in the industry.

I think there’s going to be an interesting debate when you get to processing power beyond what you can push up with a 1080p or a 720p [system]. Most people squint between 1080p and 720p, because what’s the difference, seriously?

I would argue that there’s more to be provided in terms of value for the consumer in micro-transactions and social experiences and driving those better in cross-platform gameplay between a console and a PC and a handheld device and a social network than there is supercharging graphics. So I think that the pattern against which Nintendo is no longer resonating is over anyway. The idea that we’re going to see the need for step function growth in graphic performance as the pace setting aspect of the sector is no longer the most important thing. But I think it’s important.

You’ve seen the Battlefield demos. Look how much better they have to look. Look at Need for Speed. There was a point in time where we were talking about the uncanny valley - we’re on the other side of realism now. And after a certain point it’s like - I do not need to see my LA news announcer’s oversized pores when I‘m watching the news. There‘s a point where it just gets to be [too much]. I always liked the power, but I don’t know if it’s the story anymore." - EA CEO John Riccitiello

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/ea-ceo-consoles-now-only-40-of-games-industry/

What you see here is the advantage of Nintendo coming out first. As several have predicted, if Nintendo is allowed a year or two head start, it will become the PS2 of the next generation. With the cost of development increasing, if WiiU that can provide fantastic visuals even at 720p, it will be sitting pretty as the base platform.

Secondly, Nintendo can get exclusive content to its platform by leveraging deals with publishers by way of its flexible online system. The key is allowing publishers to monetize their games. I would not be surprised if its flexibility means opening the doors to online games like WoW.

 

[Hiltz]

Epic Mickey can't be at 1.3 million, it sold that much in it's first month in the US.

Well that was its last reported sales information. Either way, its still one of the top selling third-party core games.

 

[walking fiend]

I am a tortured soul, even when I'm not here.

Also, if a thread were made about Vigil's comments, most people would have come to the same conclusion as Mr._Brit and I.

lol, it was not you of course, you are uber pessimist sure, but it takes a lot more for me to ignore someone. it was someone who was blabbing about DS holding Japan market back, which was blabbing about PC graphics <<<< console graphics a while ago.

Mr_Brit isn't the most optimist of all, either. But YOUUUU!

As long as Nintendo is related to the title, GAF would come to that conclusion regardless of what was said.

fixed it. Considering how 3DS is not selling and games getting canceled and delayed 'right and left', and Wii U's lack of specific detail and Nextbox doing Avatar, and Xenoblade and TLS and TP not getting localized while 360 moving more software than Wii, it is understandable that people get pessimistic about anything Nintendo related. Not to say that it hasn't been the pinnacle of lovability for some time in general.

Fight ignorance, do some research.

it has a very nice sound to it, feels poetic.

 

[Jokeropia]

Let's take a looking at the best selling games on the Wii:

Just Dance
Mario & Sonic Olympics
Michael Jackson: The Experience
Guitar Hero 3
Carnival Games
Game Party
Deca Sports.

These games are not among the Wii's best sellers.

 

[walking fiend]

http://www.industrygamers.com/news/ea-ceo-consoles-now-only-40-of-games-industry/

What you see here is the advantage of Nintendo coming out first. As several have predicted, if Nintendo is allowed a year or two head start, it will become the PS2 of the next generation. With the cost of development increasing, if WiiU that can provide fantastic visuals even at 720p, it will be sitting pretty as the base platform.

Secondly, Nintendo can get exclusive content to its platform by leveraging deals with publishers by way of its flexible online system. The key is allowing publishers to monetize their games. I would not be surprised if its flexibility means opening the doors to online games like WoW.

I am begining to like this Riccitiello guy, he sounds more far sighted than Bobby, even if he can't make that much money.

 

[Hiltz]

These games are not among the Wii's best sellers.

My mistake since some of those were just shipment numbers while Michael Jackson title includes sales from the multiplaform versions. As far as Carnival Game goes, the publisher stated that it was the third best selling third-party Wii game behind Guitar Hero and Mario & Sonic Olympics back in April 2010.

 

[AceBandage]

Developers know the specs of the dev kits they have (at least, they know the clock speeds and memory).
They don't know the final specs for retail systems and they don't know just exactly all they can do with it yet.
Which is a good sign that the GPU is probably heavily customized.

Also, it's nice to hear Vigil so up on Wii U while being so down on PS3. Not that I don't love my PS3, but this is going to be the first Nintendo system that's basically going to be designed for ease of third party development, which is awesome.

 

[herzogzwei1989]

Sorry if old

Wii U development has been tricky, says Vigil
Tuesday, July 19 2011, 5:28pm EDT
By Scott Nichols, Gaming Reporter

Early Wii U development has been "a little tricky", Vigil has revealed.

Speaking with CVG, Darksiders 2's director Marvin Donald expressed the difficulty of working on unfinished hardware.

"[Wii U] will be at least as powerful [as PS3], if not more, but honestly we don't really know because the hardware has been changing a lot," Donald said.

"We just got the generation two dev kits and there's no release date for the Wii U, so we don't know how long the hardware development process is going to go on for, when they're going to stop and what they're ultimately going to be happy with. So it has provided some instability when working on it."

http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a330677/wii-u-development-has-been-tricky-says-vigil.html