Wii U graphics said to be no better than current consoles
No notch up for Ninty?
Nintendo's next-gen console, the Wii U, will present visuals to match, not exceed, current-generation rivals. The new machine's display resolutions and textures will be no better than those supported by the Xbox 360 or PS3, it has been claimed.
“So far, the hardware has been on par with what we have with the current generations,” said Darksiders 2 director Marvin Donald, discussing his team's use of the Wii U dev kits in an interview with Swedish-language site Game Reactor.
“Based on what I understand - the resolution and textures and polycounts and all that stuff - we’re not going to being doing anything to up-res the game, but we’ll take advantage of the controller for sure,” Donald said.
Of course, the fact that Donald's studio, Vigil Games, hasn't upped the technicals, doesn't mean it can't be done. And with other sources insisting the Wii U performs about twice as fast as its rivals, we'll keep our fingers crossed that Ninty can pull some Miyamoto magic out the bag.
A final build of the Wii U will be on show at E3 2012 this June. It'll shuffle its way onto shelves before the year is up. ®
COMMENTS
Numbers
The Wii U will be an upgrade from the Wii, which didn't need to match the 360 and PS3 to appeal to a market segment large enough for Nintendo to sell 95 million units. That's about 50% more units than either the 360 or PS3.
By producing a lower spec machine, Nintendo were able to make a profit on each Wii sold. Presumably if they next release a machine of comparable power to the 360 and PS3 they wll be able to do the same with that. The only real question is whether Wii users will be so interested in upgrading as traditional gamers. (I know many Wii users are also traditional gamers, but large number of them are new gamers that Nintendo lured into the market with the Wii.)
Re: Nintendo fail
You're right, this is the same path they took with the Wii - previous gen spec, sold cheaper than current-gen as an affordable console that actually makes some profit on the console itself.
If the Wii-U 'fails' like the Wii did, Nintendo will be very happy.
Innovation
Its the Nintendo way, they prefer to innovate with new control methods etc rather than going for pure power and its a strategy that works for them.
But maybe the games will be fun? enjoyment is supposedly part of the fun. For instance, no amount of graphic realism will make driving a racing car on a console like the real thing, there's no wind, dust, g-force or sense of imminent death if you get things wrong.
Re: Innovation
How many Decades ago was the Nintendo Power Glove? The Wii-Mote is just a hand held version of the power glove, in a lot of ways. Sony would most likely not be in the Video Game business if Nintendo hadn't asked the help on a CD add-on for they console.
A little history might help also....
Power Glove - 1989
Wii - 2006
PS Move - 2010
Unless Sony spent decades at thinking how to do it, I think Nintendo is the Innovator in this...
