Within the year we'll have a new piece of Nintendo hardware. That fact alone is enough to have us foaming at the mouth with excitement but get this: it'll also be the most powerful console on the market.
We love the Wii to its jaggy old bones, but there's something about the idea of an all-conquering HD Nintendo machine that makes us squee ourselves silly. So will it be the ground-breaking wonder-machine we're all hoping for? Does Pikmin 3 actually exist? And do Ubisoft have the usual smattering of rubbish ports ready for day one? All of those questions and more will be answered in the next few pages, as we bring you the inside skinny on the world's most exciting piece of future tech...
When will it be out?
Everything so far points to a launch between June and December 2012. Ninty boss Satoru Iwata had already confirmed that the console would miss the end of the fiscal year (ie, April 2012), but after stating "we would like to show the final format of the Wii U at the E3 show next year" at Nintendo's most recent financial results briefing, he made it clear it's not going to arrive until well after June.
While it's crucial for Nintendo to get a head-start, Iwata's equally keen to get things right from day one: "As we learned a bitter lesson with the launch
of the Nintendo 3DS, we are trying to take every possible measure so that the Wii U will have a successful launch." With both release date and price set to be announced "when we are able to explain the specific proposals", it looks like we'll have to hang on until June before we find out more.
When will anyone go hands on with it?
Nintendo aren't set to reveal the console's final form until E3, so it seems the industry's annual willy-waving contest - sorry, enormously important trade show - will be the first time the world's press get their hands on the real thing. The upside of this delay? It gives developers plenty of time to get their games looking shipshape before revealing them to the world.
What are the hardware specs so far?
Nintendo have again partnered with IBM for the console's CPU, which is - warning: techy stuff - a multi-core 45nm microprocessor based on the architecture found in the human-trouncing Watson supercomputer. Its GPU is a custom-designed AMD Radeon HD chip, akin to the three-year-old R770. In layman's terms, that means it's not quite cutting-edge tech, but more than competent, and certainly enough to make Wii look pretty rusty already.
So how powerful is it really?
Curiously, all comparisons so far have been with Xbox 360 rather than PlayStation 3, though with what we know about the system's architecture, that's because it has more in common with Microsoft rather than Sony hardware. Darksiders II developers Vigil Games claim it's more powerful than either, "but there's still a question mark about how much you can squeeze out of it. You know how it is: a new system, tricks get learned as the lifespan goes along, so this is where we're starting, and it looks good."
Final hardware details are subject to change, but reports have it pegged as anywhere from 15% to "a lot" more powerful than current-gen hardware. It may not last for long, but when Wii U is released, Nintendo will have the most technologically capable console on the market. When was the last time you could say that, eh?
How will it work with 3DS?
Nintendo have been bigging up connectivity since the GameCube years, but few games have really made use of it - outside Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring Of Fates, how many titles really encouraged players to connect their DS and Wii? Exactly. Sure, we'll see a few titles where 3DS can be used as an optional controller, but with a likely disparity in power terms (not to mention the interface differences) it won't be much more than that.
How much is it likely to cost?
It'll be more expensive than the Wii was at launch, that's for sure. "We haven't announced pricing for Wii U, but you can definitely expect that pricing is going to be different," boomed human skyscraper (and president of Nintendo Of America) Reggie Fils-Aime. Industry 'expert' Michael Pachter claims the console's "sweet spot" would be $249, but a lot depends on just how powerful the machine is and how cheaply Nintendo can manufacture those touch-screen controllers. We'd put money on a UK price somewhere between £249 and £299, assuming the global economy doesn't implode before that.
What's Miyamoto working on?
Well, there's Measure Up, the E3 curio based on Shigsy's decidedly odd habit of carrying a tape measure around and testing himself to guess the size of everyday objects. The game was demoed at E3 2011 to zero fanfare, but it's sure to form part of a casual-friendly title at launch, if not a downloadable offering. Otherwise he'll be overseeing the next Mario game, though that could take a while to appear. Oh, and Pikmin 3, natch.
Will Pikmin 3 be a launch title?
We'd bet Edge magazine's lunch money on it. After all, it was originally in production for Wii, but now development has shifted over to Wii U. And with a 'proper' Mario and Zelda likely some way off, we need a first-party biggie at launch alongside the game that Retro Studios are developing. Which brings us neatly to our next point...
Comments
51 comments so far...
03b2wgm on 21 Jan '12 said:
I'm getting one, day one.
justforkicks101 on 21 Jan '12 said:
FixBeatGames on 21 Jan '12 said:
they look rather good. i will still give it at least 6 months before considering buying one. what's bothered me about nintendo with wii and the DS and even the 3DS, is that there's about 100 totally crap games for every decent one. i can count on 2 hands the games i've enjoyed on the wii, in 5 years that's a p**s take, even with the wii's cheap price. so i wont be spending lots on a nintendo console until i've seen the goods (ie, the games).
in the article, you say about vita/ps3 connectivity that it needs 2 consoles and therefore is too expensive? well if you reckon as you said in the article that the wiiu remotes are probably going to be around £100, then that's only just over £100 more for a vita isn't it? so it's not RIDICULOUSLY expensive, plus with the vita you can play it on the bus etc.
anyway, looks good!
Richyrich316 on 21 Jan '12 said:
Well I bought a Wii from Currys the other year & took an extra warranty on it so come WiiU release I will take that back as they said I can at any time during its warranty period & get anything to its value so I will take that back & add the difference & get my WiiU that way.
rbt2 on 21 Jan '12 said:
Day numero uno purchase for this Nintendo fanboy (please don't refer to them as 'Ninty', I hate that!).
Can't cannot wait.
Is that a double negative?
I shirley fink it bleedin' is!
djreplay on 21 Jan '12 said:
Why are the analogs right at the top, in the way of the face buttons.
KesMonkey on 21 Jan '12 said:
You say that as if it was decades ago. It was in fact the generation previous to the current one. The GameCube was easily more powerful than the PS2 and the Dreamcast. Of course, it didn't last long, as the Xbox was launched one month later.
Additionally, the N64 was more powerful than the PS1, the Sega Saturn, the Atari Jaguar and the 3DO. The SNES was also more powerful than the Mega Drive and the PC Engine.
In short, the current generation is the first in many that Nintendo haven't had the most powerful console (at least at launch).
Izo on 21 Jan '12 said:
The screen controllers actually might not cost that much at all, how the Wii U works is that the console itself renders everything then sends it to the controller hence why using two of them is and issue as HD assets will have to be rendered twice while maintaining 1080p. The controllers are confirmed to not have a CPU, GPU, memory unit etc... it's in fact no different to your dualshock 3 or 360 controller only it has a screen and a camera. Will probably pick this up at launch as a Nintendo console with third party support is really a difficult platform to pass up.
XBOXer_lt on 21 Jan '12 said:
Day one pick up indeed here. Might have to preorder just to be safe. I doubt Wii U will be far behind next xbox/ps4 in terms of power... If you look at best looking 360/ps3 games (Rage, Uncharted, Killzone3, Gears 3...) so far they dont look far behind PC graphics. Only some of aspects can be notably seen looking better on PC. Wii U is going to out power current gen consoles, so it's power should be between latest PC and those 360/ Ps3. Sounds very good to me. I cant complain much about 360 graphics at all. Games look more than good enough to enjoy.. Why bother with more than that?
razors edge on 21 Jan '12 said:
damoxuk on 21 Jan '12 said:
Probably won't bother initially as it will be mainly games which i'd have already played on PS3/360.
Besides it's not a proper next gen console more just Nintendo playing catch up.
By the time Wii-U is released at least Microsoft or Sony will have announced something what immediately makes Wii-u redundant
charliecheswick on 21 Jan '12 said:
Hope you've got a tin hat! Nice article,anyway.
FixBeatGames on 21 Jan '12 said:
i do kinda agree that it's not "proper next gen". it's not. but then, even £1000+ PCs with top end gear inside aren't THAT special over even ps3/360. look at battlefield 3 for the current best example of the fairly minimal differences! then go and look at the differences between ps1 and ps2, then ps2 and ps3. there's nowhere near the difference that warrants new hardware like there was between those formats.
however, i doubt sony or microsoft will announce anything this year, maybe not even til later next year. they're still quite desperately trying to promote their motion controllers move and kinect for starters, sony has just forked out s**t-loads on the vita, etc etc. there's too many reasons why nothing will be announced anytime soon!
Balladeer on 21 Jan '12 said:
You'd think I'd have learnt after the 3DS, but... nope. Day 1, probably even if it comes with naff-all in the way of software.
lordirongut on 21 Jan '12 said:
I'm very skeptical of the WiiU. As forward-thinking and innovative as Nintendo may be on the software front, their business practices are borderline prehistoric. As such, there are several key concerns I have.
The first of these is how restrictive Nintendo will be. If they've region-locked their handheld (their handheld, FFS), then how restrictive will the WiiU be? As Nintendo have demonstrated with the Wii, their localization policies are erratic at best and ridiculous at worst. How much begging did it take for The Last Story to get a localization? A game made by the creator of Final Fantasy, for heaven's sake? Even then, only us here in Europe are getting it - the US is still left hung out to dry. How about Fatal Frame 4? Soma Bringer? Quality games by quality studios that can't be played in English without resorting to hacking - because Nintendo say so. It's needlessly restrictive BS that should have died when the PS3 paved the way for region freedom. Sony let me play any game from anywhere in the world - if it's released in the US early or never released here, as Nintendo have done so many times, I can import it without hassle. If it's a Japan-only game, I still have the option of bringing it over here and playing it on my English PS3. Nintendo won't afford me the same luxury with a f**king portable device, let alone with a home console. It was barely tolerable on the PS2 and before, but at least freeloaders and modchips were easily available in the offline days. Nintendo will brick you if you try any of that.
My second concern is how much they'll f**k us over with the online functionality. Alarm bells began ringing when Nintendo announced that there would be no HDD - which means that my data is locked to their built-in flash memory. What if my console breaks? If my PS3 or Xbox break I can remove the HDD without a fuss and put it in a replacement console. Better than that, I can re-download everything for free - because my downloads are tied to my accounts and not my console. Changing console permissions is a quick and painless process on both PSN and Xbox Live, but with Nintendo, on 3DS or Wii, if my machine breaks, I have to buy everything again. And I've seen nothing to suggest that the WiiU will be any different in this regard. Even if it is, what about my Wii Virtual Console games? Will they all have to be re-purchased? Probably so. My PSP games will all be instantly useable on Vita when that's released, and so will my PS1 games eventually. I have no doubt they'll work on the eventual PS4, as well. With Nintendo it's a wholly different story.
My third concern is the long-term third party support of the machine. Hearken back to E3 2010, when Nintendo practically overwhelmed us with a presentation of third party 3DS games. How many of those have been actually realised? It's probably less than 20%, with some unheard of since that presentation. The Wii had similar pledges of third party support, but little of that was ever actually delivered and much of it that was ended up being disappointing - stuff like Red Steel and The Conduit. I bought more games last year for the PS3 and Xbox than I have for the Wii in it's lifetime. The Wii has had some great games, but they are too few and too far apart. Xenoblade deserves its status as one of the best RPGs in the last 10 years, but more of that and less Wii Play or Wii Music would have been pretty nice. Nintendo have made these empty promises of third party support since the N64, but they have yet to deliver on any of them. Their own content is brilliant, but Nintendo EAD Tokyo and Retro Studios alone can't keep a console afloat. And that's without even mentioning a potential PS4 and next Xbox.
My final concern, and I don't care what anyone says, is still that controller. It's not about weight for me and it never has been - my problems with it are the button layout, the quality of the touchscreen and the fact that it uses those horrific analogue sliders from the 3DS. Why the hell are the analogue sliders above the buttons? Won't that just lead to me accidentally hitting the face buttons all the time, or having to place my thumb in a really awkward position to press anything? There's a reason that analogues through the course of time have been below the face buttons, whether that's with a symmetrical design like the DualShock or an asymmetrical one like on the 360 or Gamecube, and that is precisely as stated above. Then there's the sticks themselves - which aren't even sticks. I loathe the slider on the 3DS. It's imprecise and too slippy to accomplish anything beyond the most basic of movement. Again, we've used sticks for so long for a reason - they're just better. People have shat on Sony for years for using a slider on the PSP and for good reason - it was awful. So why are people so passive about Nintendo using them? They're uncomfortable and nowhere even close to being as good as a pair of proper analogue sticks. I'm dreading to think how FPS games will work with them. However, neither of those have anything on the biggest concern I have - the WiiU's selling feature, the touchscreen. Once again, alarm bells rang as soon as I saw a stylus in one of the photographs, which suggests to me that they'll use a resistive touchscreen circa 2003 rather than a modern, capacitive touchscreen like on a modern tablet or smartphone. They did on the 3DS and it's a technology so outmoded my this point in time it defies any kind of logic. I'm no fan of Apple, but even I'll happily admit that they're touchscreens are absolutely perfect. A resistive screen will be unresponsive to anything but styli (and even then it'll still be unresponsive), won't support proper multitouch and will restrict what can be done with the device immensely. That was fine in 2005, but times have moved on and more than anything else it just reeks of cost-cutting. I hate the poor touchscreen on the 3DS, and I'm sure I'll hate it just as much on the WiiU.
All that is why I won't be buying a WiiU until a proper killer app comes along. Nintendo are welcome to prove me wrong on any of that, and I really hope they do, but I'm certainly not counting on it and, combined with the massive amount of trust I lost for them when they cut the 3DS price so quickly, I'm willing to wait. The sad thing is, Nintendo will get away with all of that simply because they're Nintendo. If Sony or Microsoft were to do that, there'd be no end of hate, but Nintendo, simply due to their image, can get away with any bulls**t they want to pull. I absolutely hate that because of Zelda and Metroid I'll still buy one eventually.
rbt2 on 21 Jan '12 said:
Learnt what, Balla?
The 3DS has turned out to be one of the best portable gaming devices ever.
And this fing will be supoib too.
Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Pikmin.........they may all be rehashes but what ain't?
We've been given rehashes since gaming began.......well the generation after that anyways but you get me point, shurleeeeeeee?
If we're gonna have rehashes (Love that word), then it may as well be Nintendo rehashes ( love that word).
vitorfernandes83 on 21 Jan '12 said:
I love nntendo games, specially Zelda, marios, pikmin, but why is anyone excited about this? It will have hardware far out of date already, any console launched from now on with less than a 1G graphics and 4g Ram, will be out of date, don't compare it to the 360, it will be a 7 year old console by the time the wii U comes. Will buy one as I love their games, but not for more than 250 pounds. Remember that 95% of games on the wii didn't even push the console, I will wait and see a few months after launch before I buy. I expect 95% of the games will have just the same graphics of 360 current games, and marios and zeldas will be on par with Uncharted 3 at the very best, I really wish I was wrong. I really wish nintendo would release a true next generation console, or at least something in between. Same thing next generation as the last, just wait for the next ps or xbox and you'll see.
Balladeer on 21 Jan '12 said:
Answered your own question there, albeit without any regard for spelling.
Don't get me wrong, rbt you slack-jawed t***pot, I love my 3DS now, but even with the ambassador package (and that was a good package) the machine wasn't worth buying until just before Christmas due to lack of new software (that appealed to me anyway). And unless we get a killer app. of SM3DL proportions with the machine this will be the same.
On the other hand, they may just release it with WiiU Sports, which'd be enough of a reason for me to buy it!
rbt2 on 21 Jan '12 said:
Slack jawed t*** pot????
I am shocked, stunned and not a little appalled!
If, however, those stars revealed me to be a toss pot then all is forgiven.
If, as I suspect, tnose stars revealed me to be a t**tpot then I'd fully understand.
As an aside, Balla, let's all just hope the first game doesn't end up to be Wii-U on holiday.
Imagine how boring that would be?
For one of us.
Anyway.
The_seagull on 21 Jan '12 said:
Cannot wait for this!
Izo on 21 Jan '12 said:
You obviously don't understand technology in console, no console will have 4gb ram for a start PCs are only just starting to utilize that amount of ram and they have full on OS' it'll be a surprise if consoles even have more then 1.5gb considering 360 and PS3 have 512mb and run games that require 2gb on PC is a tell tech works differently in them. Wii U is also based on i7 tech which is the most recent tech anyone thinking it'll be 360 level is in for a shock down the line, for one Wii U is 1080p native which already puts it ahead of the 360.
Balladeer on 21 Jan '12 said:
Don't worry, there was an "oss" behind those asterisks. And WiiU on Holiday sounds great, so long as Mario doesn't spoil it by vomiting down Peach's throat.
MD1500 on 21 Jan '12 said:
Buying it day one.
If the worst happens and they drop the price, Nintendo will probably reward me for my stupidity with 10 Gamecube games
Bond James Bond on 21 Jan '12 said:
I'll buy the Wii U when you can pick one up, second-hand, with a top title for £70. Just like i did with the Wii.
It's not essential to buy Nintendo hardware on day one anymore...
Fr33Kye on 21 Jan '12 said:
Yep yep it wont have all that extra s**t. It's just a resistive screen, a microphone, camera, and some motion stuffs. It will be more expensive than the 360 controller but it shouldn't be that much more than a dual shock. Though they wont be sold separately anyway, so when it comes to the entire console it depends on the profit margin.
Fr33Kye on 21 Jan '12 said:
I'm always curious as to what there killer app will be. They are supposed to be working on new genres for the 3ds like brainage and nintendogs, and wii sports is really what made the wii what it is. So i'm very interested to see if they still have it in them. I dont exactly have that much faith in them making a killer app with the same impact as brainage or nintendogs, unless they are new brainage or nintendogs, because the biggest difference between the ds and 3ds(ignoring the power), is 3d. I dont have much faith in them taking 3d to new heights but i think they'll probably make an AR title at some point. Though they'll be competing with sony in that area. As for the wiiu it should be much easier to do because the wiiu's core concept is only slightly more complex than wii sports, which was pretty simple for everyone to wrap their heads around.
rbt2 on 21 Jan '12 said:
But beffore all the honking up, take solace from the fact that Peach got her money's worth for 3 days and 3 nights.
vitorfernandes83 on 22 Jan '12 said:
Answered your own question there, albeit without any regard for spelling.
People allways mention my spelling, I wonder how many of these people speak 3 languages fluently. English and American think there's only one language in the world.
vitorfernandes83 on 22 Jan '12 said:
You obviously don't understand technology in console, no console will have 4gb ram for a start PCs are only just starting to utilize that amount of ram and they have full on OS' it'll be a surprise if consoles even have more then 1.5gb considering 360 and PS3 have 512mb and run games that require 2gb on PC is a tell tech works differently in them. Wii U is also based on i7 tech which is the most recent tech anyone thinking it'll be 360 level is in for a shock down the line, for one Wii U is 1080p native which already puts it ahead of the 360.
Why do people want to be stucked to the past, 5 years from now all the pcs will be running 16G Ram, some already are, and the only reason Pcs dont use all that RAM for gaming is because the capabilities are not being used, nowadays a game is made for consoles with slightly better visuals on PC, you would start seeing games much better looking than battlefield 3, if the consoles were not dragging. I bought 8G Ram for my laptop, cost me 30pounds, it would be even cheaper for nintendo, even if not needed for now, it would make the console more future proof. Wouldnt you pay 20 pounds extra just for having double or triple RAM? PS3 and 360 dont have good visuals as people say, lots of jaggies, screen tearings, low resolution games, slowdowns, etc. I know, have them both.
1080p native? Just like all the ps3/360 games would be HD? Will wait and see, I really want them to make a good console, I paid 60pounds for my wii with extras and gave it away for free already, could not stand all the jaggies on the big screen. Just because I love the nintendo games doesnt mean I will put up with such a horrible image.
You say games dont use more than 2G Ram on the pc? You should test battlefield 3 on a 2G ram machine vs a 8G ram machine, check the difference, come back to me after.
Izo on 22 Jan '12 said:
The minimum requirements on most PC games is 2gb the fact that in order to run a game to the level that a console runs it you need the recommended specs shows that consoles are running tech much more efficiently, I build my own PCs and buy most of my games on PC (currently have a 6gb quad which I plan to upgrade to
but I don't share the PC elitist view that consoles hold them back as that's garbage. If you don't like the games built for consoles stick to the PC specific ones then, I don't even see games fully utilizing super high specs.
Cell Fish on 22 Jan '12 said:
I probably get one. But as usual I'll wait until a price drop, unless there are launch titles (like a new Zelda or new Metroid) I really, really want to play.
Balladeer on 22 Jan '12 said:
Fair enough, but "Nintendo" isn't even an English word. And you missed the main point of my post.
Kinslowdian on 22 Jan '12 said:
You generally buy a Nintendo console to play Nintendo games not COD. Nintendo made the most of the wii controls with their published games. Will be interesting seeing how they create games for this. Hope Killer7 is available to buy to download its ridiculous price on eBay for the GameCube.
PevMaster on 22 Jan '12 said:
I will definitely NOT be getting a Wii U. Call me crazy, but I don't like Nintendo very much. The Wii could have been so much more, but at the end of the day it was just a console relying mostly on poor quality party games and games for the casual audience. Because of this, and the console's low price, millions of families bought it.
I, for one, was interested to see if people were still using their Wiis and conducted a survey in early January at my secondary school. Out of 200 people (1 person per family), 44% of families used their Wiis for a few months after they bought it before generally not using it again, 27% claimed that they used it very occasionally, 13% said that they no longer played it but an older/younger relative still did, and 6% said that they still actively play their Wii.
To be honest, those figures aren't very surprising. When I had my Wii I used to play Guitar Hero 5 on it all the time, I loved it. But then when I got my Xbox 360 I realised I had received a better console in every way. The software on the Wii is truly apalling, save a few Mario titles and other games.
If Nintendo thinks that they'll be able to pitch their Wii U to a hardcore audience, they're out of their minds. It's white, the name itself sounds really kiddy and the console itself looks similar to the Wii.
kimoak on 22 Jan '12 said:
Of course I'll be getting one! Day one too. It would be a waste of time for me to get the next Playstation or Microsoft console when they are finally released.
V4.SKUNK on 22 Jan '12 said:
WiiU with its RV770 base GPU and Power7 CPU already blows the PS3 and X360 out of the water. WiiU with these specs easily has 4x the performance of PS3 and X360.
Also lets not forget the FACT that the next Xbox is going to use an AMD APU LOL
alan666 on 22 Jan '12 said:
i was going to get a Wii U on day one but decided not to after the debacle of the 3DS release, so i will leave it a while before i get one, i have had most of the other Nintendo consoles but as others have said Nintendo are just playing catch up & there will be some noises of what the PS4 & X720 specs will be soon after the Wii U release.
the Wii was a great console when it came out but the good games soon became few & far between, i don't know what happened to the third party support for the console, but it's just like all Nintendo consoles, maybe the developers & publishers just didn't 'get' the Wii & the same thing can even now be said for the 3DS all the good games are first party ones & the third party ones apart from a few like the upcoming Resi game are pretty poor.
as much as a i love Mario & Zelda i want something new, just being in HD isn't enough to warrant spending £250+ then £30+ on games, i feel that how well the Wii U does will be the make or break of Nintendo, if it fails it could force them out of making hardware like what happened with Sega but if it is a success more so than the Wii because as many have said the drop off was huge on the Wii & there were only a handful of great games compared to the amount released for it, it has to deliver year after year like the PS2 & X360 have.
vitorfernandes83 on 22 Jan '12 said:
To whowever said the consoles and pc are almost at the same level should have their eyes checked. It's like comparing 2 different generations of consoles, 4 generations if you compare it to the wii.
To whoever said the consoles don't need as much RAM because they don't have a full OS, really? Next gen consoles will be more like PCs, if not, they should, tech moves forward, things improve.
I really want to play Zelda in high def on my 4oinch with no jaggies, but what if they launch the console with 1.5G Ram and the next ps/xbox would be 4? Developers would start to change gaming, more details, good antialiasing, no slowdowns, bigger worlds, much better AI and physics, and so on. It would mean the wii U would be just acceptable 5 years from now. You would star wondering if you should spend your money on Zelda HD or Fable 4. I for one love Zelda but think both Fable 2 and 3 beat it both in Graphics, stuff you could do and the huge amazing world you were given. Skip a couple years and you get Skyrim. This will be the same in the future, the wii U having games that can't compare to the competition. I love Nintendo but I am realistic, I don't go talking fanboyism rubbish, Nintendo is my favourite gaming company since the NES, but both the gamecube and Wii disappointed me so much that I will actually demand quality if they really want my money. Bear in mind that the ps3 was a disappointment as well, I fell for all the lies about HD graphics, was never told that I would have jaggies, slowdowns, screen tearing, bugs and so on, that doesn't sound HD to me. Not for the 425 pounds the ps3 was selling for.
Think of it all like you were in the previous generation, with Nintendo offering a console with slightly better graphics than the ps2. And the other companies actually offering next gen. I really am very fair with Nintendo and the Wii, check my review on the amazon.uk, you will see that the wii has many advantages over the competition, such as better design, lighter, smaller, lower powered (yes I pay electricity bills) and quieter.
With all that said, I still have to add, I wish Apple would enter the console gaming, it would be my choice, I would be guaranteed good design, a console without RROD or YLOD and high end materials, I would be willing to pay 200 pounds more just for this, with the same specs as the next ps/xbox. Unfortunally people just want to buy crappy and cheap stuff nowadays.
Agent75 on 22 Jan '12 said:
It'll set you back £299, then £49 for a game (and you usually need 2 or 3 to keep you going...). The controller bumps the price up. I think it should launch with a remote like with a Wii, if you want the controller, you buy it seperate. I couldn't care less about the controller, as we all know it's all about the games. But like with the Wii, there seems to be more interest in the controller. Look at the range of quality games on the Wii......
crackkat on 22 Jan '12 said:
day one purchase!!!
vitorfernandes83 on 22 Jan '12 said:
I think I can speak for many people, 300 pounds would be a very acceptable price if they would deliver. Someone mention the Wii U would have 3 or 4x the power of the 360. If that happens, count me in, I would go as far as 400 pounds. Definitly not a day one or month one purchase, unless they'd have really good games for it. Funny thing is, off topic, I play emulated N64 on the laptop and it looks almost as good as the 360, at least no jaggies, and 1080p resolution, no loadings, no screen tearing. So I can only imagine what they could do with real power on the console, I have wished Mario Galaxy in full HD and a lot of antialiasing for so long, it would have been the best game ever made in the history of video games.
Here's an idea, Nintendo take notes, make the wii U backward compatible, upscaling he old games and adding AA, that would make me purchase on day one, regardless of price. You have my word
notaMONGBRAIN on 23 Jan '12 said:
FIRST GPU ON EARTH TO DIRECTLY ACCESS IBM EDRAM NOT CUTTING EDGE OK CVG
and fully costom to nintendos requirments NOT CUTTING EDGE
such a gpu SOC system on chip NOT CUTTING EDGE
and for the last time CONSOLES DONT HAVE GRAPHICS CARDS LOL@ MR HARDCORE AND NEOGAFFERS
graphics processor unit YES graphics cards DER NO!!!!!
ricflair on 23 Jan '12 said:
I'm keeping an open mind regarding the power of the console, as nobody really knows apart from a few rumours. Not that Nintendo release specs, but I don't think RAM, processor, graphics card etc have been confirmed by anybody with enough details to get a good idea of it's power. I wouldn't hold Nintendo to anything they said around E3 as they've had plenty of time to gauge opinion and see the responses (I hope they're paying attention). I'm hoping for quite a noticeable step up from the 360/PS3. Even if just in terms of frame rate, anti aliasing etc.
I'm sure (hope?) Nintendo realise they need to get the third parties on board. If the Wii had the power of a 360, I'm sure it would have had the same third party support as the 360/PS3 and I would've only needed one console again. I'll 100% get one at some point, and if it releases with some really special stuff, I'd find it hard to resist getting it on release. A really strong launch line up and I'd be happy to trade my 360 and PS3 in for it. I'm sure Nintendo realise that touch screens aren't new tech to the vast majority of people, unlike motion control was, so they need to get gamers of all types on board.
Seeing as, Zelda apart, Nintendo haven't produced much for the Wii for quite some time, I'm expecting to see a pretty strong first party line up at or around launch. Maybe some enhanced ports of 360/PS3 stuff (running a bit smoother, the controller implemented, even if only for maps, inventories etc.)
And there's no way they'll release it without the controller.
Izo on 23 Jan '12 said:
Rick
AMD and IBM have commented on their work with the console, what is known is the processor is i7 based which is the most recent tech available for consoles and makes sense as i7 is used for heavy streaming off servers which suits U as it'll will be constantly streaming to the controller. AMD have hinted at a RV770 and possibly higher like someone mentioned earlier, and given that the console is 1080p native these 3 bits of information let us know that the console is around 3 to 4 times the performance of the current gens, despite what some believe it's not Nintendo playing catch up but overtaking to move into the next gen.
Sony and MS are going to be using similar tech in their next gen as it's the only tech that is viable in cost unless they plan to loss even larger amounts of money then they did this gen or wait a good few years for higher tech to become viable, the difference in power won't be much different next gen and more like the PS2 era then this gen so the's no real need to worry. Yeah third party support is really down to providing a platform for third parties, with Wii they had to rework games to port how ever U they won't have to so they'll be fine there.
Next gen from what I can see seems more like it'll be a battle of first party games due to an even playing field.
Mastermue on 23 Jan '12 said:
*waggles finger* NO! Naughty CVG! No 'Squee'ing' and the shiny toy. You're too old for 'Squee'ing' at things. *tuts and shakes head*
On the good side, Ninty won't be able to use an HDMI lead of their own and sell it for silly money. There are much tougher rules regarding what companies can and cannot do with it. It has to be a standard lead or both MS and Sony would've made their own too. (Thank Giant Bombs Bombcast for that bit of info)
ricflair on 24 Jan '12 said:
Izo, that's what I mean - those details provide such a breadth of potential power, who knows how powerful it will actually be?!?
I'm a bit confused how it can be i7 based, yet have nothing to do with Intel. Or is that just an equivalent?
CVGamer.01 on 26 Jan '12 said:
Until Nintendo wakes up and realizes that any console that does not have the
ability to at least play a dvd let alone a blu-ray they are going to remain at the back of the pack.
I grew up playing the original Nintendo and have owned every model since but I refuse to by the latest
Wii model for my son. He has the Wii and a DSi but considering he cannot watch a movie on it I wont bother supporting
Nintendo anymore considering the competition will provide consumers with the hardware people actually want.
Nintendo. Instead of developing new gimmicks and controllers, start with the basic hardware shortcomings your systems have and provide customers hardware that is relevant to today's customer base.
Balladeer on 26 Jan '12 said:
Do you not have other means of playing DVDs? I can see why it would be more convenient to have it play DVDs, but to reject a games console on those grounds is just... stupid. Sorry.
I've heard rumours that the WiiU will play Blu-Ray, but then I've heard rumours saying everything from "the WiiU runs on plutonium" to "the WiiU will s**t on your carpet and rape your cat".
EDIT: And while I'm on the subject...
Yes, the Wii truly did remain at the back of the pack. Yes, they did. Mm-hm.
Izo on 26 Jan '12 said:
How did he survive growing up with Nintendo when the consoles had no Built in VCR I wonder.
diodimer on 6 Mar '12 said:
Great, comprehensive article that really sums up just about all of the news out there on the Wii U. But here's something I've been wondering that I haven't heard anything on. Will there be cross platform gaming between the Wii U and the Wii? In other words, if person A has a Wii U and person B has a Wii, can they play Mario Kart Wii with each other online?
diodimer on 7 Mar '12 said:
Also, here's an interesting Wii U tidbit...
http://n4g.com/news/782465/3ds-could-ac ... r-miyamoto