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Rumor: Wii U final specs
- Thread starter EatChildren
- Start date
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MeisaMcCaffrey
It's an extremely fast memory capable of very high bandwidth upto 256 GB/s. Downside is that it's very expensive. 32MB eDRAM should allow 720p with some AA easily, and considering the Wii U has a good GPU, image quality won't be a problem.
Visualante2
Member
Yeah but in what world are people going to want to pay more for a game they can't sell, and also require external storage which in turn costs more and clutters up their AV setup? Nintendo's online store is not Noah's ark
ShineALight
Member
I wasn't arguing that they would be (though the pricing issue might be alleviated once third-party resellers like Amazon start selling download codes), just that we have reason to expect content with higher file sizes on the Wii U eShop.
Unless my first post was wrong. I could have misinterpreted something at some point regarding Nintendo's plans.
I don't think so if the PS4 has 4GB GDDR5 as speculated earlier.
IcyRhythms
Member
Not having DX11 could serve as a very big problem as the first couple of next gen years pass by. If the main part of your interest is the first party stuff like myself, DX anything should carry no weight on whether or not you purchase.
I can't remember the specs off the top of my head, but I'm almost certain USB2.0 read speeds are MUCH faster than bluray read speeds.
Something really isn't adding up. I'm not going to denounce any information on this part at all, but this CPU thing is really an anomaly in everyone's guessing.
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Where did you see the max is 32GB? I'm confident my 250GB USB HDD I was using for Wii homebrew will work officially this time.
Probably any larger drives also just as well.
Umm, how can you begin to ask that when we don't know shit about those systems? It's just probable, even if they're DX11 based that's still "just" a version away, when Wii was basically completely different and lacking loads of modern features the others had.
Some people like consoles and their exclusives.
If it finally arrives at $250, it could be massive. Again.
I have a feeling that the tablet controller will be the most expensive part of the WiiU set up perhaps even more so than the console itself given these specs.
Nintendo likely had a price point in mind from the very start and engineered the specs of the console to allow for the expensive of the tablet controller.
People were ok with the 360s power brick and the ps3 fats massive size... I'm sure another box roughly the size of a wii won't be a problem.
The one good thing about those specs is that the price is gonna be competitive with current gen consoles, that could work in their favor.
devildog820
Member
Specs don't matter as a direct system seller, as both Wii and iOS products have proven. What matters is how easy it is to develop for and is it powerful enough to do what developers want to do.
All those Android phones and tablets outspec the iPhone/iPad, but it doesn't matter because (and I speak from years of personal experience) the iOS devices are plenty powerful and incredibly easy to develop for. I can make our apps run smoothly despite needing to create and display dense graphics and textures. On Android, it's actually harder on most devices (newest Nexus and Galaxy excluded).
The problem with the Wii was that it was underpowered rather than "powerful enough". I remember a Call of Duty screenshot with a mannequin looking body on the floor. The WiiU could be powerful enough to play most games except something like a next-gen Elder Scrolls game.
If tons of high res objects need to be on the screen at the same time, there should be ways to make the WiiU push that. Of course, if it's really difficult and takes a lot of development time that could be better spent making the game bigger/longer, then you will see developer pushback and the WiiU would be in trouble.
Bottom line, specs only matter if they are too limiting, not if they aren't the best out there.
All those Android phones and tablets outspec the iPhone/iPad, but it doesn't matter because (and I speak from years of personal experience) the iOS devices are plenty powerful and incredibly easy to develop for. I can make our apps run smoothly despite needing to create and display dense graphics and textures. On Android, it's actually harder on most devices (newest Nexus and Galaxy excluded).
The problem with the Wii was that it was underpowered rather than "powerful enough". I remember a Call of Duty screenshot with a mannequin looking body on the floor. The WiiU could be powerful enough to play most games except something like a next-gen Elder Scrolls game.
If tons of high res objects need to be on the screen at the same time, there should be ways to make the WiiU push that. Of course, if it's really difficult and takes a lot of development time that could be better spent making the game bigger/longer, then you will see developer pushback and the WiiU would be in trouble.
Bottom line, specs only matter if they are too limiting, not if they aren't the best out there.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
So the CPU is just as powerful as a 2005 CPU? Awesome.
This shouldn't cost more than 200.
This shouldn't cost more than 200.
high speed ram, it allows for 720p 4xAA or 1080p no AA in one pass (aka "free" AA, rather than usual cost of 4xAA on the performance)
AndyMoogle
Member
An external 2.5" HDD is nowhere near the size of a Wii.
Does it come with the HDD though? It's a necessary separate 50/100$ purchase while that money would be better spent on actual games.
Frankly, it's simply embarrassing to use a 12-13 years old CPU, no surprise Nintendo don't want to share the specs. No matter how many cores or the clock speed, is an architecture of 12-13 years ago, it´s limited by default. It redefines the word "cheap".
That's from a hard tech viewpoint. I have no doubt that Nintendo could have huge success selling toasters and I don't need to point the excellence of their development teams that will surely do wonders with this. But there is a line between being conservative and being cheap and Nintendo is crossing it.
That's from a hard tech viewpoint. I have no doubt that Nintendo could have huge success selling toasters and I don't need to point the excellence of their development teams that will surely do wonders with this. But there is a line between being conservative and being cheap and Nintendo is crossing it.
Ah nevermind I didn't notice the part where it says external HDD...hmmm that is not as bad I thought then, although I think most users of it will not end up adding storage (and it is not a good sign of Nintendo expanding Wii U eShop to be something more like PSN or XBLA), I actually want more places for people to put "middle tier" games, 1GB, 2GB, not retail, not small indie. A 1.5GB or 2GB game takes quite a lot of 8GB space...
How do you know this?
looks to be the right specs.. no need to put too much power into it, if the Tablet Controller Thingy can´t display the same kind of Power.. would be annoying looking at a gorgeus game on my Televison and then looking down at my tablet and see the same stuff not looking as good..
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
If this thing is under $250 it could be a huge seller this holiday.
Over that, I'm not so sure.
opticalmace
Member
Yeah that could be a big problem for the wiiu after the ps4/nextbox launch because i think unreal engine 4(not the mobile one) and luminous are based on DX11 tech?not that i think the wiiu will have good third party support but still.
Hydrargyrus
Member
OMG
This shouldn't cost more than 200-250
Nintendo doing it again
This shouldn't cost more than 200-250
Nintendo doing it again
I was being sarcastic, 8gb is ridiculous. It will be ok for casuals though. I'm guessing that when the ps4/720 come out they'll release a version with more storage like a WiiU elite or something. I'll just wait for that.
I personally think that to believe everything with Nintendo's strategy is hunky-dory because "it worked for the Wii" is equally naive, and disregards the ways the market has changed in the last 7 years.
By this point in the lead-up to Wii's launch the hype for it was contagious. Everyone was talking about it and wowed by the never-before-seen controller concept. It's a little crazy to think that the Wii U has so far gotten anything comparable to that kind of hype and, without it, my fear is that, with specs this low, there's little-to-no incentive for developers to push quality Wii U software over the alternative: continuing to make games for the two HD consoles already on the market with 60+ million install bases and specs good enough that any benefit from the added power of the Wii U won't be immediately visible to the layman.
But we'll see soon enough...:-/
Karsticles
Member
The quote you responded to:
I don't think you answered it. Nintendo is, after all, all about exclusives.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Xenos is a 2005 CPU. And 90% of rumors say is equivalent to a Xenos CPU. Including this. So....
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
If anybody hits any of these first four stages over a video game console, they've got MUCH greater problems to deal with.
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Source? They don't say much other than the basic architecture here, even if it's true.
Acceptance.
Because most Nintendo fans really don't care about bleeding specs.
[EDIT: Darn you, Plinko!]
Zoramon089
Banned
I still remain skeptical...if the "enhanced" Broadway is for BC, why do they need it on all 3 cores? Why not just 1 core?
HawthorneKitty
Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
I've been at stage 5 since the beginning of Wii U since it has games I want to play.
Well, some people did hit those stages over a single video game, so a console wouldn't be surprising.
Karsticles
Member
I still think $250 with a Nintendo Land pack-in is the perfect price point.