DAREALGUMMY
Member
I don't get how a video of Uncharted 3 has anything to do with the Wii U.
Especially since Uncharted 3 cost around 100 Million to produce right?
Video is nothing but troll bait.
I don't get how a video of Uncharted 3 has anything to do with the Wii U.
Wii U is going to be manufactured and have RAM soldered onto the guts; the price of RAM for Nintendo is NOT simply a wholesale price, it is the cost of the specific RAM + being soldered + being soldered in a specific place that can all contribute to a higher cost, among other things, than what a typical stick of RAM may be
We might get some teasers for 2013 games, but I think we will get a system blowout. This conference is 6 hours and I expect it will be filled with good info that we want. I think they will get detailed info on MiiVerse, how the NFC applications could be handled, and a basic framework of their online strategy for DD and gaming.
And I'm sure to be let down by Nintendo once again.
I mean, at this point I care less about the games and more about hoping Nintendo blows the roof off the place because Spieler Eins' gimmick has gotten boring.
I thought it had one, such that - you know - you can play your Wii games on TV. I don't remember them ever mentioning that you can play Wii games on the uPad itself.
The Wii U comes with a separate sensor bar to put on top the TV (Like Wii) as well as a sensor bar on the GamePad. Why wouldn't you be able to play Wii games using the GamePad as the TV?
Playing Wii games on a 6.2 inch screen just doesn't really seem to be a very good option.
Maybe someone could clear this whole '6 hour event' up for me.
There is no way they are going to have a presentation for 6 hours right ?, i think it will be a 'Wii U Experience' of sorts for the press, with updated builds of the games we already know about and maybe a few new games that have never been playable or known about yet like Blops 2, Fifa 13, Madden 13 ect.
The fact that there is no stream indicates that there may be a 30 min - 1 hour presentation at either the start or end from Reggie in which he goes over what he said at E3 and then reveals the launch dates for the console and software aswell as revealing the price of the system.
People expecting live streams, game announcements, OS / Player profile / Achievement / Online play / Eshop info and above all some sort of and 'before i go' video with a trailer of something as huge as Zelda or Metroid are going to be left very disappointed indeed.
Nintendo made it clear at E3 that all they want to talk about in 2012 is the consoles launch and launch / launch window games.
New game announcements will come at Nintendo Directs (Starfox, Mario Kart, F Zero, Donkey Kong ect) and the really big game announcements (EAD Mario, Zelda, Smash, Metroid) will be saved for E3 as per usual.
Well when Wii games look as bad as they do on HDTV's, they might actually look crisp and clear on the little WiiPad screen.
I haven't heard anything about live streams yet - but I believe there probably will be one for the "presentation" piece. It's going to be re-broadcast later that day in GameStops across the country - so hopefully it'll be live-streamed somewhere as well.
I know this is an older post, but I just wanted to mention that the conceptions of wholesale RAM being cheap equating to the same RAM Nintendo is putting in the Wii U, even if both are DDR3, is not the exact same
When RAM is at wholesale, it usually refers to single sticks
Wii U is going to be manufactured and have RAM soldered onto the guts; the price of RAM for Nintendo is NOT simply a wholesale price, it is the cost of the specific RAM + being soldered + being soldered in a specific place that can all contribute to a higher cost, among other things, than what a typical stick of RAM may be
One thing I have noticed, on gaming threads in general, is this idea that simple computer parts at wholesale value or newegg prices are what goes into consoles; this isn't true.
I know other posters addressed this, and many have done multiple times in the past in various threads, but its something everyone should consider *before* any emotionally fuelled conclusions are drawn
console ram =/= "typical" ram, even if the console ram is the same
I think Wii U will be plenty fine for the next 6 years worth of Nintendo games, and I have always kept my expectations of the Wii U tech in check. Its not as weak as this post is making it out to be, even if it isn't as strong as you (and I, and others) would personally have liked to see it
Playing Wii games on a 6.2 inch screen just doesn't really seem to be a very good option.
Well when Wii games look as bad as they do on HDTV's, they might actually look crisp and clear on the little WiiPad screen.
You missed option 3: using a RAM type that is less frequently used in consumer tech (see: GameCube, 3DS, the as-of-then underutilized Rambus RAM in N64)I'm extremely late to this party (hi everybody!) but I am also surprised that they would stick at a number like 1.5 gigs. There's also bus complexity to think about when assessing cost, and that's not something which can really be cost reduced over time either.
So two scenarios for RAM really:
a)They've gone w/ DDR3, and accepted a main memory bandwidth of around or even below PS360. This would cripple performance in games even with the eDRAM (that's gonna get tied up doing other things), but they'd be able to eventually, if not immediately, only use 3 chips in the process (4 gigabit (512 megabyte) DDR3 chips have just started appearing recently).
b)They stuck with 1.5 gigs because they've invested in the more pricey GDDR5 RAM, which would keep them at 6 RAM chips, but safely put memory bandwidth beyond 1.5x PS360. This would definitely be the less stingy option and shouldn't be completely out of the question given Nintendo's history of less but better RAM. Personally speaking, tripling RAM capacity but maintaining or reducing bandwidth just seems extremely counterintuitive and wasteful.
This is so wrong it's not funny.
Nintendo would pay almost nothing for RAM chips in comparison to standard wholesale and retail prices. They would be paying a hell of a lot less.
For starters, Nintendo would be buying their ram in bulk and directly from the manufacturer. They would be sourcing their memory chips from the likes of Samsung directly, not through wholesalers or distribution chains. Also given Nintendo would be purchasing literally millions if not tens of mililons of memory chips per year, this raw volume gives them tremendous buynig power.
Also your claim of increased production costs due to soldering is just as wrong. It's an automated production line, intergrating the memory modules takes a robot seconds to do. Also last i checked computer RAM came on a PCB, so it too requires soldering and processing. It would cost Nintendo and Foxconn (who i assume are going to be the PCB assembler) next to nothing, ie less then a few cents, to intergrate RAM modules onto the motherboard PCB. Intergratating components onto a PCB is often cheaper too, as you reduce size, weight, shipping, and raw materials. If anything Nintendo are likely saving money going down the intergration route.
In short, you're crazy and wrong.
Well when Wii games look as bad as they do on HDTV's, they might actually look crisp and clear on the little WiiPad screen.
1GB RAM, I wanna be surprised... pleasantly.
I used to love ps3 but it seems Wii has all the rpgs and other fun games this generation so might pick this up since its bc with wii if i am not mistaken
1GB RAM, I wanna be surprised... pleasantly.
If Nintendo sold a Super (3)DS for Wii U, would you buy it?
It's interesting to see all the reading comprehension fails over the Capcom comments in their annual report. Apparently almost nobody knows what 'begins in earnest' means.
there are tech sites reporting wii u is supporting directx. so no surprise here.
Does PS3 / 360 use GDDR3 or GDDR5 Ram ?.
If Wii U uses 1.5GB's of GDDR5 Ram and PS360 used 512MB's of GDDR 3 Ram then it would be much more powerful from a Ram view rather than just the generic '3 times as much', no ?.
If Nintendo sold a Super (3)DS for Wii U, would you buy it?
huh?
there are tech sites reporting wii u is supporting directx. so no surprise here.
PS3 and 360 use GDDR3 if I'm not mistaken.
But you bring up a good point, I'm interested in knowing the answer to this as well.
Exactly how much more efficient is GDDR5 RAM over GDDR3? Would 1.5 of GDDR5 match the efficiency of 2 Gigs of GDDR3, for instance?
If Nintendo sold a Super (3)DS for Wii U, would you buy it?
Uhhh.
It's speed (bandwidth here), not "efficiency".
The Wii U is almost certainly using DDR3. Which is comparable in speed to the GDDR3 in 360/PS3. Which makes sense, as everything else about the system is more and more appearing comparable to the PS360.
GDDR5 is the "good stuff" used in the highest end PC cards of today. Nintendo probably felt they didn't need it, because the Wii U isn't that powerful. Of course, GDDR5 is much more expensive than DDR3.
Nintendo is also rumored to use 32MB of EDRAM, which is kind of like a cache and can help with bandwidth a lot, so DDR3+EDRAM>just DDR3.
@ bgassasin:
or something like this?
mayhaps
Are we guessing Nintendo's reveals on the 13th?
I would go with:
11/11 Release Date
Two Models $249 or $299
249 has Wii U, WiiPad, and Nintendoland
299 Adds remote, nunchuk, and maybe something minor
Majora's Mask 3DS revealed
Retro reveals their game and it is Star Fox. They won't get the keys to Zelda or Mario. They have done Metroid. Thinking Star Fox, a really awesome Star Fox. That will be out this year.
@ bgassasin:
or something like this?
mayhaps
I don't know if the transfer rate would be high enough, but I'd like to see it as an adapter that would plug into one of the SD slots. Something to keep it small.
Uhhh.
It's speed (bandwidth here), not "efficiency".
The Wii U is almost certainly using DDR3. Which is comparable in speed to the GDDR3 in 360/PS3. Which makes sense, as everything else about the system is more and more appearing comparable to the PS360.
GDDR5 is the "good stuff" used in the highest end PC cards of today. Nintendo probably felt they didn't need it, because the Wii U isn't that powerful. Of course, GDDR5 is much more expensive than DDR3.
Nintendo is also rumored to use 32MB of EDRAM, which is kind of like a cache and can help with bandwidth a lot, so DDR3+EDRAM>just DDR3.
Through the USB3 ports, obviously!