Nintendo Wii U

[nonny]

If the Digital Foundry review is accurate, the machine has 2GB of main RAM (compared with 256MB in the PS3, and 512MB in the 360 shared with the GPU). That by itself is a massive step up.

For now... but how is that going to compare to next gen consoles?

To be honest I'm not interested in the Wii-U right now but I think given the hardware spec Nintendo have timed it's release very well with a full 12 months at retail before any real competition comes into play. I know they dont play hardball with hardware but I am seriously concerned that in a year or so this is going to look like very old technology when it's competitors will be aiming for higher benchmarks?

I've read about all the launch woes affecting users at the moment and they seem to be hilarious in their range of inept mistakes around the online space but we all know what Nintendo do well is craft decent first party titles and experiences. I really think they're going to have to deliver to great franchise favourites in this first year out of the gate to bolster the platforms appeal this time next year.

New Super Mario Bros is a good start but I'm of course talking Metroid, Zelda, F-Zero etc... If they leave it all to stagnate PS Vita style and rely on slightly upgraded 3rd party titles I think they're going to find it hard.

[PaTaito]

It wasn't that much less, the non Arcade 20GB version was around the ?280 mark from what i remember , so not really all that different, and you get more in the box with the deluxe version of the WiiU that's for sure, an lets not even talk about the PS3.

Also we don't really know the true power of the WiiU, but its fair to say it will be more powerful than current gen consoles, as it would be practically impossible for it not to be.

You may be waiting a while for the price to drop, I really can't see it happening any time soon, and the only reason why it will is that if it dive bombs, in which case their won't be any games coming out on it anyway.

Also note that the basic WiiU package is ?250 so you are only really arguing over ?50, not exactly a huge amount of money in reality.

It was ?20 less...in 2005.

And it features a more capable cpu even now, and considering what it must have cost back then to produce, it makes nintendo look greedy in 2012 to say the least. I know microsoft bank rolled much of what made 360 what it was on release, but right now for me WiiUis an overpriced bet i'm not willing to take based on whats available in the initial months. Nintendo should be going all out to ram this 12 month period with quality first party titles, because in all honesty, the WiiU needs an amazing first year before the actual next gen hardware arrives.

A party game throw in doesnt make up for that difference for me.

I believe they should have priced it more in line with the ps3 as they both have a unique gimmick in bluray/WiiU pad. So ?150-?220.

Having said that i'd still be buying for the current inflated price, if metroid or zelda was a launch title, or a 3d mario.

[MisterBubbles]

But 2Gb of RAM next year will be nothing with both PS4 & 720, being rumoured to have at least 4GB and possibly 8GB.

[Guts]

LOL, people talking about a new Zelda game for launch when Skyward Sword was released just a year ago. Let's have little perspective here.

[MisterBubbles]

If i was Sony & M$, id leak the specs and maybe show a proto type. That would defiantly get people thinking twice about purchasing a WiiU.

[Shozuki]

was going to post this in the Sonic thread after asking about the Wii version - but it's more appropriate here:

3rd party issues courtesy of NeoGAF:

Wii U



360

Without question, it has a few issues. This version of ME3 seems a lot less visually stable than, say, the Xbox 360 version -- the frame rate is choppier, the animation seems rougher. The audio suffers, too; while the music and sound effects have come over fine, all the dialogue has a hollow, echoing quality to it. The GamePad's analog sticks aren't as comfortable as the 360's, and the placement of the face buttons relative to the right stick made me continually miss the melee and reload buttons. My headshot ratio has dropped precipitously. It's tragic.

Visually, Ninja Gaiden 3 is hardly going to make your PS3 and Xbox-owning friends envious. In fact, Razor’s Edge is arguably uglier than its cousins, with bland textures and a bad case of the “jaggies” combining to create a muddy look that would’ve been called out seven years ago during the Xbox 360’s launch. Still, the framerate stays (mostly) smooth, which is crucial for a game like this. Plus, at this stage it’s nice – if admittedly a novelty – to be playing a Nintendo game in high-definition.

Sonic Racing:

Turns out there is a bug on the Wii-U version, which they're looking to fix - but graphically it's on par with the PS3 one with the 360 version being best. Good enough for me!!

[Sam The Man]

EDIT: To provide some balance. Sony took an interesting strategy with the Vita. They basically gave every gamer the world over exactly what they asked for. Big, gorgeous screen, twin analog sticks, twice as many touch inputs as we were expecting, wifi, 3g if you want it and GPS. They just forgot to make sure there were enough games. I bought a Vita for its potential. So far it's mostly failed to deliver. If Nintendo deliver the games then all will be well I expect. The prospect of an HD Metroid Prime? I'm in as soon as that happens.

And they also priced the machine to highly and priced the games and memory cards to highly which has greatly contributed to it's poor sales.

[PaTaito]

LOL, people talking about a new Zelda game for launch when Skyward Sword was released just a year ago. Let's have little perspective here.

Not saying i expect there to be one so soon, rather that i'd buy the hardware if there was.

[PaTaito]

And they also priced the machine to highly and priced the games and memory cards to highly which has greatly contributed to it's poor sales.

widespread sub native res is slowly killing the appeal imo too, making it aesthetically appear more an equal to the 3ds rather than an all out powerhouse. Also atrocious loading times thanks to the most expensive last gen micro sd cards ever.

Wasted potential, if only sony and nintendo had never fallen out.

Can you imagine?

[originalbadboy]

was going to post this in the Sonic thread after asking about the Wii version - but it's more appropriate here:

3rd party issues courtesy of NeoGAF:

Sonic Racing:

Turns out there is a bug on the Wii-U version, which they're looking to fix - but graphically it's on par with the PS3 one with the 360 version being best. Good enough for me!!

See now to my eyes, looking at those screens the WiiU version looks better than the 360 version, there is a lot more shadow detail for starters.

I'm not going to play the 'the version looks better than that version' game. ME3 on the 360 has screen tearing as well, and the animations are not that great either. And as we all know and expect. launch tittles that are ports are going to have been put together quickly, that really doesn't surprise me. And for every game that might not look as good, there are still games that look just as good if not better on the WiiU, such as Batman for example.

[Neon Ignition]

There are some BO2 comparison vids on Youtube now, looks at least better than the PS3 version so at least not the worst version for what was probably a rush port

[Shozuki]

See now to my eyes, looking at those screens the WiiU version looks better than the 360 version, there is a lot more shadow detail for starters.

Good for you sir, sadly that's not the reality of the situation however...

I'm not going to play the 'the version looks better than that version' game.

Why bother posting then? I was merely spreading some information people maybe interested in...

ME3 on the 360 has screen tearing as well, and the animations are not that great either.

Blimey, just how bad is the WiiU version then?

And as we all know and expect. launch tittles that are ports are going to have been put together quickly, that really doesn't surprise me. And for every game that might not look as good, there are still games that look just as good if not better on the WiiU, such as Batman for example.

I urge you to watch this and see how bad the framerate it makes it pretty unbearable. As for 'what to expect' I was expecting: more powerful hardware that would cakewalk current gen games ensuring the best version is on WiiU... Perhaps I am in the minority? To be fair I hope the ports get better they surely couldn't be much worse...

Also slightly concerning is that whilst the machine has more vram it seems to run 43% slower... (sauce)

WiiU: 12.8GB/s
360: 22.4 GB/s + eDRAM for framebuffer
PS3: 25.6 GB/s main memory BW + 22.4 GB/s graphics memory BW, no eDRAM
GTX 680: 192.2 GB/s :P

Looks to me to be another Nintendo games only machine...

[Shozuki]

There are some BO2 comparison vids on Youtube now, looks at least better than the PS3 version so at least not the worst version for what was probably a rush port

Nice thats good, PS3 is my main version of the game - might pick it up with the WiiU then if the online components are decent!!

[charlesr]

Hah, I thought the Wii U version in those pics looks better too.

[Brad]

And they also priced the machine to highly and priced the games and memory cards to highly which has greatly contributed to it's poor sales.

All true sadly. WiiU is also overpriced though. It really is. There is no new tech in there at all. An old style touch screen, sensors that we've all seen before. All reports say it is built to a budget, with rattly buttons on the controller for example. Slow ram, no hard drive (you could compare having to buy Vita me cards to having to bring your own hard disk maybe).

For the techies the Vita might be expensive but it feels like a quality bit of kit in your hands. The lack of games is still an issue of course but Sony at least started off with good hardware. WiiU is underpowered even by last gen standards. Putting more RAM in isn't a magic wand, especially if that ram is slow as has been suggested.