Nintendo confirms a few Wii U specs: memory, game disc size, more

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed a few new Wii U specs during a Japanese presentation today.

[LX-General-Kaos]

It seems that the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system will be properly kicking off the next generation of Elite gaming. Sporting powerful next generation specs to deliver a seamless experience online and off to the Nintendo Elite supporter this holiday season. Everything seems to be going well just as I and many other positive supporters had imagined.

Delivering futuristic high end specs that look to be leaps and bounds ahead of what is currently available on the home console market today. Just as beautiful as a new born baby. The Nintendo Wii U entertainment system looks to be a wonderful, and very capable piece of next generation hardware. This holiday season can not come soon enough.

Have a blessed day and happy gaming

Rated E For Everyone

[CaptainPunch]

Nice PR talk

[Army_of_Darkness]

"Delivering futuristic high end specs that look to be leaps and bounds ahead of what is currently available"

LMFAO!! I just luv that line, classic! Like what normal gamer talks like that?! really?!

[Gazondaily]

Lol yeah, that was a bit odd.

1GB for OS seems crazy! It must be for some crazy multi-tasking and streaming content to the screen on the controllers. 1GB for gaming does seem very little for next-gen consoles though.

Still, it should be enough for Ninty to produce some great games and hopefully enough for third party developers to not be haemorrhaged by limitations.

Rated R For Retarded

[KingOptimusOrigin111]

I really wish LX-General-Kaos would quit doing this PR talk on every Nintendo article.

[Hisiru]

@Septic
They will probably test the OS for stability and then they will release more ram for devs later. They won't use 1GB for OS forever. 500MB at max

[gaffyh]

Pleasantly surprised so far, couldn't imagine 1GB for OS ever. Suggests that they are leaving a lot of room for new features if needed, and I guess later on in the lifecycle they can update the firmware to give part of this back to developers.

"Game discs are 25GB, discs run at 22.5 MB/s."

So this is an unlicensed Blu-ray disc, that runs at 5X speed? Seems weird. PS3 runs at 2X which is 9 MB/s, should help a lot. I'd expect that Sony would go for 8X at least when they announce PS4, and I'd expect the same from MS too.

Now I just want to know processor/GPU speeds.

[DeadlyFire]

@gaffyh
Power 7 is confirmed.

GPGPU is now confirmed. E6760 likely candidate, but there are stronger candidates out there that many are unaware of floating around. Basically any Mobile series AMD GPU could qualify. So its not out of the question that WiiU has some might behind it.

Honestly GPGPU confuses me, but I just look at it as AMD Llano type performance with 576 Gflops from E6760

[Bigpappy]

It looks strong enough to run some good 1080p games. If developers take full advantage and the online has full voice chat and easy of use, Nintendo could create some serious inroads by the time Sony and M$ get their systems to market.

It all depends now on how impressive the games look when people walk into the Gamestops and Bestbuys the holiday season.

[raytraceme]

Btw to the people who know their tech. The wii u has a tdp of 75 watts. This is going to be a weak system. I guesstimate gpu to be on par with an amd 7470 which has a tdp of 27 watts. The Wii u is about 2-3 times more powerful than the Xbox/ps3.

[N4g_null]

@raytraceme
They could ramp up the ghz but that would lead to systems that burnout. Nintendo does make those type of systems. Mid ghz mixed with crazy bandwidth and a balanced approach works better. Go check out what amd just released in the professional gpu computing space and you will see balance and full core usage is how they are getting higher performance from their high end chips not ghz. You want to do more percycle not just have more cycles.

This also means amd can actually make the chip which is why another system may get delayed.

Look up system on a chip designs, the power7, what amd is trying to do with apus and why lower power makes more sense. Nintendo was smart to go with the power7 for the CPU.

What I like the most is the disk read speed!

[guitarded77]

I think LX-General-Kaos is Reggie's n4g account.

I'll be getting the Deluxe Wii U... seems like it's worth the extra $50.

Rated M For Mature.

[darthv72]

Japan pricing of $338 basis and $405 premium could translate into $299 US basic and $349 US premium.

Premuim also includes 2yr membership to nintendo network so it looks like they are going the xb live route.

Launch in the US Nov 18 and JP Dec 8th. Now that is a twist. Usually they launch in JP first or try to coincide all launches to be within a few days of each other.

Oh and JP Dec 8th...? No disrespect but, who came up with that date? LOL

[Razmossis]

These specs only make me excited to see what Sony and MS are going to have to feature in the PS4 and Xbox 720. I doubt they would allow themselves to be bested by Nintendo hardware, for ego's sake!

[ProjectVulcan]

A few times more powerful than 360 and PS3 at best case scenario.

75w max TDP does indeed confirm this as well as only DX10.1 level render hardware, meaning...dated. Radeon HD 4 series. R700.

The 75w TDP is a hard solid fact, this confirms it to anyone that will still deny Wii U is just a slightly heated up Xbox 360. 4 times the performance, tops.

If the entire system can only pull down 75 watts then best case scenario is maybe 55 watts for the GPU, at most. Probably less in reality, more like 45w, but I am being generous at the top end of the scale.

On the latest and greatest process of 28nm this means something like a 7750, AT BEST.

In terms of the Radeon HD4 series, thats more realistically like a 4770 core roughly because of inferior power management. Maybe it'll have more shaders enabled than a 4770 but it'll probably run at a slower clockspeed and be slower than a 4870, I guarantee that, you can take that to the bank.

[No Way]

Iduno ... he's not much different than DarkSniper for the Sony side. :P

[darthv72]

from destroid via engadget:

If the increase in internal Wii U memory had you considering the more expensive Deluxe set, then you'll be happy to note that the system will allow you to increase its storage capacity yourself -- without the need for any weird workarounds.

"You can plug in a full-on three terabyte hard drive if you want," explained Nintendo of America CEO and president Reggie Fils-Aime in an investor Q&A. "I'll love you as a digital consumer."

Continuing, he says: "The reason we did it that way is that the cost of that type of storage memory is plummeting. What we didn't want to do is tie a profit model to something that's gonna rapidly decline over time. We'll let the consumer buy as much as they want, as cheaply as they want."

Engadget also reports that the hardware necessary for TiVO and DVR functionality is not built into the Wii U, so in order to make use of such features, you'll need existing hardware

[sikbeta]

@LX-General-Kaos

Whatever you say, when PS4 and XBX3 come out, WII-U will not be anything you wish, doesn't matter though, as the games will be there as usual, but to proclaim it something that it's not, doesn't work

As usual, Nintendo Console for Nintendo Games, anything else on PS4/XBX3 or both to get the most out of the gaming world...

[Sarcasm]

Are you guys really basing the performance of the system on how many watts it can pull? I understand that you can somehow base it on certain components like gpu and cpu, but we don't really know the real efficiency of either.

It's like a 63W ivy bridge processor which blows the doors off a 125W AMD processor. (not starting a cpu brand war here, just an example.)

Still, the 1GB of RAM is going to help this system a lot. It might just be Xbox360/PS3 graphics but with more RAM so it will probably be able to do more real 1080p games.

[ProjectVulcan]

"Are you guys really basing the performance of the system on how many watts it can pull?"

YES.

This is a pretty good metric of GPU performance in particular. CPU TDP comparisons are not relevant. When we KNOW the maximum efficiency of current GPUs on the best process available. We have a known quantity, having the base architecture now as R700.

We KNOW roughly the fastest and most efficient GPUs on 28nm that pull down 50 watts or so.

There is no avoidance of this, there is no magic bullet that can make any GPU design on 28nm in Wii U significantly faster than what is commercially available. You don't get even 7850 performance or whatever on less than 60 watts, it is totally impossible on the best available GPU node around.

It is obvious to anyone that understands the GPU industry.

It simply isn't possible to build a significantly faster chip on 28nm than the ones I outlined. If you want maximal efficiency just look at laptop chips, because these are specifically designed and cherry picked for low TDP and maximum efficiency. Only the best samples make it. Wii U won't even have the luxury of this cherry picking of dies (as it is expensive)

GTX 660M and Radeon 7870M are as efficient as it gets for the sort of TDP Wii U has and we are talking 1 Gflop max. That is as good as it could possibly be, best case but reality is it'll be slower for cost reasons.

I don't know why people disagree unless they are clueless about GPU hardware. Remember where you read this because you'll realise I am right about it, for sure.

[Computersaysno]

Its a simple matter of looking at the limits of current technology.

You can squeeze no more than about 1 gigaflop from a circa 50 watt graphics processor that is state of the art. Just like you cant travel across the galaxy in a few minutes in a human spaceship right now.

1 Gigaflop is 4 times Xenos in xbox 360. This is as humanly fast as AMD can make the graphics in this machine without some alien technology or a time machine to go into the future :)

[knowyourstuff]

lol if by leaps and bounds you mean barely scratching what Killzone 3 and Uncharted series can do, then ok sure, not that we've seen anything that has beaten those games in the graphics department as of yet, will probably be several years before the Wii U comes out with something that blows Uncharted and Killzone out of the water. Only High end PC's come out with stuff that's on par with slightly higher resolution textures and slightly better technical pieces here and there, you're not going to see anything from the Wii U in terms of graphics, they're going to seriously need to innovate and do something amazing, and learn why they were successful early on with the Wii if the Wii U isn't going to be a flop.

[Hoje0308]

Hardly futuristic when it has half the ram of current mobile devices.

[FarCryLover182]

Mobile devices have 2gb RAM?? I didn't know this one.

[FinalomegaS]

@FarCryLover182

only cell that has 2Gigs that I know , the Samsung Galaxy S3 North American model with Dual Core. International is Quad core 1Gig Ram.

[Hoje0308]

The Galaxy Note 2 also has two gigs of ram as does the quad-core Korean GS3. By the time the Wii U comes out, this should be the standard in the mobile world.

[N4g_null]

Yeah an arm CPU against a power7, really man? Put the cool aid down the next Xbox and apu playstation don't have a chance! This is why specs don't matter any more. No one understands them.

[Tsar4ever01]

I agree, 2GB would be pretty good for THIS GENERATION, which is the 7th Gen, but Wii U is spear-heading the next generation/8th Gen.

RAM is so CHEAP nowadays. Com'on nintendo, 2gb is the BEST you could offer your console? The bare minimum for next-gen should been at least 4GB, and even worst than that, it's divided between OS, and gaming graphics. This is as bad as the pathetic memory cap of the ps3's divided 256mb of ram. The X360 uses the much BETTER UNIFIED MEMORY ARCHETECTURE with an extra 10mb of EDRAM dedicated for anti-aliasing shaders.

The Wii U's graphics capabilities will be ALL USED UP by the end of the second quarter of it's lifespan. Everything else on the spec sheet seems OK, but that WEAK MEMORY CAP, just NUKED IT for me, REALLY DISSAPOINTING. Change it to 4GB nintendo, and maybe you'll be able to hang a little longer competing against the Orbis & Durango

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

LX-general-kaos, i logged in just to give you a disagree.

shut up.

[Muffins1223]

My gtx680 is around 4x the power of the weak thing....the wiiu i wouldn't even call it next gen

[andibandit]

Looks like it will almost be as powerful as the PS3.

[jeseth]

"leaps and bounds ahead of what is available"

LoL. Drinkin' the Kool Aid much? Honestly General, that was the most shameless Nintendo _____ stroking I've ever scene on N4G.

As for the Seamless Experience .... its so seamless you can go from playing Batman AC and Mass Effect 3 seamlessly from this gen to next (Or is Nintendo just 7 years late to the current gen?)! LoL!

I hope you get paid for your Nintendo propaganda!

On Topic : Interested in ZombieU, the trailer at E3 looked great.

[Allsystemgamer]

I'm buying a u BUT those specs are disappointing to be honest. Not even CLOSE to futuristic.

[Jamzluminati]

ROFLMFAO!!!

TGSI

[ALLWRONG]

Nintendo

Starts the ball rollin

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

WiiU beats current consoles. 2x more powerful. But when ps4 comes you know it's over.

[ziggurcat]

"Delivering futuristic high end specs that look to be leaps and bounds ahead of what is currently available on the home console market today"

you're delusional. those specs are barely better than what's on the market today. in fact, so far the other two systems are producing better graphics with at least half of the RAM that's available on the wii U.

[Awesome_Gamer]

Seems too weak, i'm sorry

[Urbz7870]

Lol that's a lot of disagrees.

[l3Display]

WOW,this is how you start off next gen.

[HiddenMission]

@LX
with them chops of yours come work with me to promote my site because me like silver tongued devils lol

[ATi_Elite]

"It seems that the Nintendo Wii U entertainment system will be properly kicking off the next generation of Elite gaming."

Blah ha ha hah ha hah ha

I have an Enthusiast Level PC!

Wiiu and Elite gaming OMG how funny!

[Chris558]

Again this nintard

[showtimefolks]

i am excited for wii-u but will wait maybe 6 months just to see what's happening. But one thing is for sure its not as next gen as nintendo fan-girls try to make it out to be(xbox360 and ps3 have fanboys Nintendo for kids and families so its fan-girls)

why so low hard drive space? can we upgrade it?

you know one thing now i can't wait for is next E3 or in sony's case maybe next GDC. Because ps4 and xbox720 will have much better specs and that's what has been really excited.

but i am super excited to play Nintendo exclusives in HD so don't have appreciate.

if wii-u is suppose to start next gen than be it let's not hate it for that. but IMO the price point is a bit higher and why didn't nintendo include the regular controller? that's another extra $50-60

[Neo-Axl]

.. Are.. Are you a Nintendo Employee? or do you have a creepy obsession with Nintendo? o_O

[Lord_Sloth]

I think you're a robot.

Yes, your posts definitely seem to be driven (drivel) by an AI.

[Shok]

2 GB total, 1 for games 1 for OS.

If they're reserving 1 GIG for just the OS than it must be a multi-tasking beast.

Kinda disappointed that only 1 Gig is available for games, but with updates they can shave off the OS memory usage like Sony and Microsoft have done with their consoles, so more RAM should be available for games later on.

A GPGPU is very good news.

I also saw that there was a 32 GB model shown, good, cause 8 wasn't gonna cut it.

[jetlian]

lol dont spin it now playa its only 512 more than current gen ps3/360. ps4 and 720 will be atleast 4gb. MS and sony also have better OS than nintendo.

man this is wii all over again. guess they going 250-350 for us prices which is why japan has to get it first.

Edit: why the disagrees? hmmmm lol pcs even use 2gb minimum for most games

Not really the sliming is within the first few years if it was over the course of ps3 full life they would be able to add party chat. But they will slim it down.

Even if they cut it in half which isnt likely still its not much more than current gen and still will be half of 720/ps4.

All that nintendo will be near ps4/720 you been doing past few months now exposed

[AWBrawler]

reaching really reaching aren't you?

you talk as if u know Sony and MS specs

[Shok]

Spin? The truth is the truth son lol. Facts are facts.

Sony shaved off the OS RAM usage in the PSP to open up more RAM for developers. Microsoft did the same with the 360. As time goes by the companies OPTIMIZE the OS so it leaves a smaller "footprint."

Also, this RAM is most likely GDDR5 RAM, and not DDR3 RAM like in the 360 or PS3, so it's using much more efficient RAM.

Research.

[FlairSomewhere]

you clearly don't understand how computers and consoles work differently when it comes to running games.

the wii has 2 gb of what i will wildly assume is crazy fast ram.
wild guess.
i know.

the 360/ps3 have 512 mb of memory.
TOTAL.
360 shared it between its cpu and gpu.
ps3 split it 50/50.
and pc's have more memory because windows is (generally) a memory hog.

so the wii now gets... 1 gb for gaming, strictly.
and 1 gb for the operating system, strictly.

Whereas the 360/ps3 had to have operating system and gaming shared amongst ~256 mb of ram on the cpu.

Yeah...that's why people disagree with you.

[Dasteru]

@shok GDDR5 stands for graphics double data rate v5, it is proprietary GPU memory. it is not used in Ram. Current Ram is DDR3, even PC's don't currently use better. DDR4 exists but hasn't been brought to market yet.

[jetlian]

to flairsomewhere http://www.psuni.com/ps3-os...

And thats 2010 ps3 was down to 50 mb for os and MS was at 32mb. So ps3 has 462 left for gaming and 360 has 490 including 10mb edram. Nowhere near 1GB like wiiu

Hell they arent even using 1/10 the total. wiiu is 50 percent total now sony was at 120 at the start. My point was to show its way to close to current gen, Its clearly more though.

[SegataShanshiro]

sony's OS sucks....it hasnt changed since that failed bastard of a child called PSX in 2003

[neogeo]

No. PS3 and 360 have 512 ram SHARED on the whole system! Thats running the OS and gameing all shaing that little 512. With Wiiu you get a 100% whole 1gig for games and another 1 gig just for the OS. Big difference there,

[pecorre]

@everyone saying that PS3 and 360 ''only'' have 512mb of ram

Keep in mind that we're talking about 6 and 7 year old systems.

1Gb for gaming is not much today. The Wii U is simply not a future proof system. It is good today, but in 1-2 year it will already start to show it's age. When the PS4 and Next Xbox launch, the Wii U will be in the same position as the Wii was this gen.

[N4g_null]

Nothing is future proof but the wiiu has what it needs to make great games for the next 3 years though. It is fixing a lot of problem with the current gen also.

What is important is it is a true hd console and it is affordable. Those two points are big. Future proof is pr hype and not possible on consoles since computer tech always advances. If you want that then get a pc.

The wiiu has one job and that is to play console hd games with new ideas along with tech we have mastered. It is not made to be a hype balloon that never reaches its potiential.

[ChickeyCantor]

"ol dont spin it now playa its only 512 more than current gen ps3/360."

512 for games and os.

1 gig is fully available for games. There is a difference. Especially in RAM type.

[ClimateKaren]

@scissor_runner

"Nothing is future proof but the wiiu has what it needs to make great games for the next 3 years though. It is fixing a lot of problem with the current gen also."

Nothing is future proof, but the other consoles this gen were future resistant. Proof? The Wii died very young and quietly, and Nintendo were forced to be the first into the next console gen. Better hardware means the system can remain relevant for longer. Do you really not understand that? Also how does this do anything to fix their current-gen issues?

"What is important is it is a true hd console and it is affordable. Those two points are big. Future proof is pr hype and not possible on consoles since computer tech always advances. If you want that then get a pc."

That's not what's important. The fact that (no matter how much you like to pretend that underwhelming hardware doesn't matter on a console) it might be overshadowed by the competition in a year or two is pretty damned important also. And the fact that they're still trying to wow me with the same titles that they've been using for 30 years. And the fact that no matter what they say about catering to the hardcore, they still had to have their arms twisted before they acknowledged the necessity for a more traditional controller. They still don't seem to have their fingers on the pulse of the hardcore community. Luckily for them though, there are plenty of people willing to pay $300 just to play Zelda, who will be apologists and PR reps for Nintendo to the bitter end.

"The wiiu has one job and that is to play console hd games with new ideas along with tech we have mastered. It is not made to be a hype balloon that never reaches its potiential."

Yeah, that was the Wii's job.

[mrbojingles]

Can't wait!

[TotalSynthesisX]

25GB discs? Holy crap.

And when the hell are they going to announce the release date (if they haven't already)?

[FlairSomewhere]

I've heard that said discs are CAPABLE of being triple-layer.

Granted most PS3 games don't fully utilize its (blu-ray's) potential, nor did Wii developers capitalize on dual layer pseudo-dvd discs.

[mi_titan27]

Release date will be announced 9/13/12 at a live NY press conference

[akaakaaka]

sounds ok!? just what we kind of knew...

so 31,000y means the WIIU will cost $400 to $450? i am lost...

i may get it if the PS4 does not comes out next year... and devs. actually make superiors "multiplataform" and exclusive games on it.. since i can sale it back to my native country and not lose money once the next gen hits ;)

@LuridShadowX i belive they already say Dec. 8 in Jap.

[Dasteru]

30,000y = $386USD currently.

The premium model will most likely be $359. Electronics typically end up slightly cheaper in the US compared to what the direct conversion shows.

[cee773]

that was before the yen obliterated the us dollar so we dont dont know how much usd it will be

[Dasteru]

Nintendo has just confirmed, $299 for the basic model, $349 for the premium.

http://sync.sympatico.ca/ne...

[TotalSynthesisX]

Oh. Thanks. :P

[DaThreats]

Games for this console that are multi-platform should be the definite version and be 1080p
No excuses BIOWARE

[Qrphe]

That's not really fair to say specially when Rocksteady, Ubisoft nor Tecmo are probably not going to pull it off either.

[SonyNGP]

Don't look at Bioware. They aren't handling the port.

[grassyknoll]

Already confirmed for 720p!

[joeorc]

"Games for this console that are multi-platform should be the definite version and be 1080p
No excuses BIOWARE"

welcome to the world that is Microsoft and Sony when dealing with 3rd party. unless Nintendo pay's for it, the developer may not do it, not to say they would not, but i would not be shocked if they do not.

and with the spec's that the system has, it's more than capable of it. but what i think is only a slight problem, is the way Nintendo is pushing the WiiU as the main attraction is for the WiiU Game Pad. which the emphasis on that function over really Graphic's.

That may be a real problem for Nintendo to push for more dedicated HardCore games that Mainly end up on PC, and Systems from Sony and Microsoft. Though the good thing that Nintendo is releasing a very robust system this time with the WiiU. but i fear it may go to waste, unless A) nintendo pays for the extra development into their system from 3rd party publisher's. B) Nintendo does it them selves with their first party. Which i have no doubt that Nintendo will.

I have to hand it to Nintendo, they put out a very powerful inline system this time, but will the Nintendo base buy it, seeing it's more expensive than many times what Nintendo releases?

the 3DS for example is a great system, but the Hardware did not warrant the Price Nintendo is asking for it.

But with the WiiU they have a very good price for the Hardware that's in the machine, but I think many People that mainly buy Nintendo machines may wait on a price drop, which is sad because the hardware is really worth the cost Nintendo is asking for it.

[r21]

Ah finally confirmed specs :D The wii U can finally and undeniably be called a next gen system that is more powerful then the current gen systems.

[WiiUalpha]

Judging by the responses here it doesnt look that way. I've been looking for a site since Gamepro went under. Is there always hate for Nintendo on this site?

[xflo360]

This site is a ps3 fanboy site disguised as a multiplatform site. Just take a look at any anti sony comment and see the disagrees pile up even if the comment is fair!
Im not anti sony infact far from it i own both a ps3 and vita but lets face facts this site is a sony fanboy site!

[r21]

Yeah there is hate for Nintendo but theres also hate for Sony and MS. I usually ignore the hate comments and look to the positive ones. I do read the hate comments if theres a good point but if its blatant fanboy hate, not interested.

[for we are many]

most people here "worship" PS3, it's really pathetic and totally obvious.

[Jazz4108]

This site worships sony as a god and includes $ in ms. Enough said unless you want biased information with the front page usually covered daily in sony news. There is a very small community of ms fans still holding on but they are trounced on and reported on daily by sony fans who badmouth ms and nintendo and are bubbled up for it.

[AWBrawler]

so far so good

@phantom disagree
at least explain your reasoning

[NobodyImportant]

I didn't disagree with you, but I would've preferred more of that ram allocated to game assets as opposed to OS.
1Gb ram for games is only double the current gen machines.
I'm sure nintendo know what they are doing though and Zelda will look great when it ships.
We might get a decent looking Metroid too.

[FlairSomewhere]

but current gen machines had to split said ram between cpu and gpu...
and didn't have anything dedicated to their operating system.

[joeorc]

"but I would've preferred more of that ram allocated to game assets as opposed to OS."

i can understand why you would say that, but im sure it would not really be an issue, in the games console space with the system's like the xbox360 and the PS3 were able to do already, imagine what Nintendo and some 3rd party developer's and publisher's can do with the WiiU.

I think fearing about the system not having enough ram is pretty much moot at this point, you could alway's need a lil bit more, but that is the trap, pretty much every time you add on something many times other problems arise, from the added enhancement. Not to say those problems are not able to be fixed, there is always something..lol at a certain point too much ram can have an adverse effect on the system performance.

1 GB for system and 1 GB for game system Asset's is quite a bit for embedded systems, I think many times is many people think Add more ram to the system is always the answer.When that's not always the case.

this is quite a bit of ram to be able to put to good use in making games for a embedded SOC entertainment system. I would not worry too much about it.

[FinalomegaS]

@phantom disagree
at least explain your reasoning

New to this site or something? Naw dawg you should know that's how they roll on here lol

[RmanX1000]

Seems good. Cant wait to try it once more than another 2D Mario game comes out. I mean yeah theres Pikmin 3 and Nintendo Land but that aint quite enough.

[QuantumWake]

Wow. 1GB for the OS? That's a pretty big footprint. Nintendo must really be pushing for heavy multi-tasking. I'm going to assume maybe a fast & good web browser, HD Youtube videos, etc..

[NobodyImportant]

I imagine it has something to do with the second screen too. Handling inventory etc then swapping assets on the main screen across to the controller.
Then it can also browse the internet while in game. Then there's the twitter feed like connectivity to your friends.
It all sounds really good.
Although part of me wishes that 1.5G was for game assets and they were only using 500Mg for the OS.

The Wii U appears to be around twice as powerful as a current gen machine, much as the Wii was around twice as powerful as a last gen machine.
I preferred back in the good old days when Nintendos were beasts like the SNES and N64...
...but then I don't run a video game hardware business so what do I know.

[torchic]

good post

[WiiUalpha]

You will be able to video chat without leaving your game. Seems Wii U will be able to multi task in ways current gen consoles cant

[xflo360]

Some of that 1gig is prob for the new mii plaza.

[DiRtY]

At first I thought "meh specs" but then I realised how great Halo 4, Gears of War 3, Uncharted or Crysis 2 look and the Wii U has even more power than the consoles that run these games.

I still think the Wii U will be the weakest console next gen, but still powerfull enough to give gamers great looking and deep experiences.

LOL AT subscription based model. Pchter was right !

[ozstar]

There is no subscription model.

That was about buying the 32Gb bundle, and how as a bonus you will get 10% of all online purchases for 2 years. It was nothing to do with online subscription costs.

[DiRtY]

*edit*

To quote the article:

"The Black 32GB Premium Set will come with a two year subscription to Nintendo Network Premium, which gives you 10% back when you purchase content digitally, and controller stands."

Well sounds like a subscription to me.

[ozstar]

^ But not the type of subscription model that MS has been using for the 360.

Nintendo isn't charging monthly bills, or online gaming subscription fees.

[DarthJay]

What else would a "two year subscription to Nintendo Network Premium" be? What happens after the two years. You obviously renew, either monthly or yearly. That is EXACTLY what a subscription based model is.

[Gemmol]

what is a GPGPU

[Pandamobile]

General purpose graphics processing unit.

[Gemmol]

does that make it better or worse?

[Kennytaur]

Better, it means the GPU can do CPU stuff.

[joeorc]

"does that make it better or worse?"

It is better, in general usage terms this GPU will be able to offset CPU tasks that can tax the CPU or IE: central processing unit in it's tasks, so as to let the CPU do what it does best. there is a change in Chip designs that are really starting to show the increase in flexibility of using such designs, one of the added Benefits is the CPU's can offload some GPU tasks and while it does that the GPU can offload some of CPU extensive tasks. Its a Win win in gaming terms a more performance gain for gaming asset's running on the system.

Good thing's ahead. with the start of the WiiU

[Gemmol]

My favorite spec annouce is the how much the Wii U Cd can read which is 20 something MB a second compare to ps3 and xbox 360 low rate

[N4g_null]

Which means no installs needed. Pretty cool huh? You could stream a movie off this disk and play a game at the same time. The 8gig limits patches so devs better get it right on the first try. So yeah Skyrim better learn how to release unbuggy games. It supports USB external drives so you can get a terabyte drive for cheap.

[SegataShanshiro]

Yeah SKYRIM has to release unbuggy games... We are tired of SKYRIM being a crappy developer that always gets 10 in its game depite being buggy and coming up with the GOTY edition for half the price...gotta love SKYRIM for being a crap developer.
Here is a list of games that Skyrim has released in 2011: Skyrim.
See my point MORON? Did you mean B.E.T.H.E.S.D.A.?????????????? ?? idiot?????

[Getowned]

XD! @ Andree1991

that was hilarious!! lol

Yeah, scissor Skyrim didn't make its self, Bethesda made it, but I agree with you they really need to work on not releasing games with so many bugs I mean EVERY single damn game!!, when they stop pulling dick moves and actually try to fix bugs, even if they delay the game to fix bugs. I would be happy with them, if there next game is a buggy mess than I'll pass.

[N4g_null]

Sky realm or skyrim to the country folks, Wow Skyrim is touchy buisness. LoL I know who made Skyrim and I know who published them. They are called the skyrim now lol. The Skyrim guys, need to get their act together no one wants patch fests. You need to get off your high horse before you fall on a ps move after being an a hole. I thought Bethe da best we could be, made that game well actually their development team did. Be the da best only publishes crap now. Didn't they publish rage too? I've never liked their games plus how could Skyrim be made by folks who get 10s for their games? Skyrim did it man! You are an idiot for even coming at me like that. Are you a Skyrim fanguy? I didn't know Skyrim had fanboys? Why are you so angry lol? Are you done talking about Skyrim now? Oh yeah the wiiu is looking good so why are you mad again?

[YoungKingDoran]

Chill out Andree, he said Skyrim by accident instead of Bethesda. So what?
Go fuck yourself.
Now someone can tell me to chill out.

[DivineAssault]

Thats great.. What games use even close to that power again? The system being this expensive isnt very good.. who the hell wants 8 or 32 GB? are u kidding me? i have over 100GB on my 360 taken up & dont even use it much.. Wii ware, Virtual console, possibly game installs will eat that up the 1st day.. Not bundling in nintendo land wasnt very smart..

[AWBrawler]

buy a terabyte

[AO1JMM]

How much is an external hard drive these days? You should probably stop crying before you drown in your tears.

[DivineAssault]

not drowning pal.. far from it.. i was read that article in class on my phone & didnt get it all.. I think its a decent offering.. Not sold but if things continue the way they are (software) ill buy one.. Sell my 360 to help pay for it too

[TemplarDante]

1GB ram for "next gen" games? Nintendo, are you mad?
Their trying to limit the next gen ideology of Sony and Msft... This I hope wont be the lowest common denominator for next gen multi platform games like Fifa etc.
1GB of ram.... yeah, they must be smoking some crazy at Nintendo if they think that will be enough for the next 7-10 years.
Battlefield 4 on Wii U will be a port of the 360/PS3, while the PC, PS4 and Xbox 8 version will be real next gen.
Battlefield shuts fanboys up. Reveals the facts on capabilities.

[dennett316]

There's more to gaming than graphics or Battlefield. Minecraft has sold millions despite looking like crap...graphics aren't everything. I'd rather play Pac-man than some crappy movie tie-in like Thor or Battleship for example.

[ALLWRONG]

Do you like Battlefield?

[Cyb3r]

So in terms of performance what would the GPGPU graphics card compared to? How much powerful is it than PS3 and 360 gpus?

[TemplarDante]

Im sure the GPU is lightyears ahead of 7 year old hardware gpus in the PS360. But, why compare it to current gen tech? I doubt its as great as a HD6670 GPU.... ,so, in other words, Nintendo says this is next gen?
Go to Youtube. Type in "Battlefield 3 Caspian Border trailer"
What you see upon your pc monitor, friend, you will NEVER see on this machine.

[nepdyse]

You think the 6670 is great lol.

[zebramocha]

A gpgpu doesn't determine powerful all it means is the wiiu gpu can do CPU type work,which allows to run better and at higher quality in comparison to a CPU.

[Moncole]

1gb for games is pretty good, consoles dont need a lot of ram because they dont use as much stuff as a PC. A console doesnt need 8gb of ram.

[Getowned]

wouldn't hurt :P, Idk 2GB of ram just seems weak.

I really want to see some PS4 and the new Xbox specs now.

[Nutsack]

So only 1GB available for a game in its RAM.

So much for 'next gen'.

At the end of 2005, memory was expensive, so 512MB was about what they could do and keep the consoles price not going really sky high.

And anyone saying 'it got 2GB', well that 1GB reserved for the OS is nice and all, but this 1GB for the game won't hold up against the 360 and PS3 that'll get at least 2GB and maybe even 4GB for the gamepart next gen. Those saying '1GB is enough for consoles', thats nonsense. Its enough for this gen. Its not enough for next gen. Once they said 64MB was enough for consoles too (not that long ago, XBOX 1 and PS2) but then it was multiplied by 8 with the gen after. And thats how every gen pretty much goes. Count back from PS1 too. The memory gets multiplied by a factor 8 over 5 to 6 years. This time it might not be a factor 8, maybe a factor 4. Still means next gen gets 4GB's of RAM.

Furthermore, its funny how Nintendo gives these details but won't talk about the CPU and GPU. It must be weaker than everybody is expecting them so they're holding back.

Last but not least, an extra gamepad controller, converted from Yen into Euro, 135 Euro, really? LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOO

Can buy a Wii now for those monies! HAHAHAHAHA

[akaakaaka]

so why will next PS4 will only be 4x more ? by the logic that even you said it should be 8gb ram and i will not surprise if they go to 12gb rams since they have delay the next gen to make a bigger impact and rams has gone cheap this days.

I just hope the ps4 has min 8gb ram but 12gb ram will be ideal or even 32gb ram but 32gb may be ilogical if we go for what they have done in the past.

Multitasking like the wiiu should not be a problem for the next gen.

Over 100gb format blu-ray.

1tb basic console memory (is what they the creator of the ps3 60gb where working on)

And a new exclusive video card that is like or better then any top of the line video card that will be sold that same year.

I am just been logical and going by what the past have prove...

I know and it's very clear that next gen engines will be shear by publishers like BF4 and Crysys 3/4 engine will be used by many others EA games. Fox engine will be used by most if not all Konami games (PES14 and i hope next gen SH and Castlevania)

We know Sony devs shear their teach and this next gen Sony devs will shear their teach more then ever and maybe even to 3rd party devs just like they did with some other devs this gen.

so the ones that will make a true difference are those dev who actually have talent and a great art style.

Sadly a lot of other devs may and will use the next gen of Unreal Engine more then ever and be limited by it, since it will be cheap and easy to use just like this gen but most of this devs do not have great talent anyways...

[Nutsack]

Well, I said, maybe this time it'll be 4 x the RAM of last gen, because last gen both MS and Sony sold their consoles at launch and for a long time at a loss.

Next gen might be different, as Sony is still making loss on their games section since the PS3 launched in 2006 for billions and billions. MS turned profit, but mainly because of the Xbox Live subscriptions.

They've watched Nintendo pull a Wii and earning on each unit sold even at launch already. Both Sony and Nintendo might hold in a bit on the hardware, to sell at least break even or even with a profit on each unit sold.

That might mean that the traditional jump of 8 x the last gens memory would be broken this time.

Besides that, I really think that 4GB can be about enough to run great games for a good amount of time. Like most PC's aren't above 8GB's these days and they need to reserve a lot of memory overhead for the OS and other stuff.

A console could do with 4GB RAM next gen, then again, I'd prefer 8GB. For sure they won't climb above that. Even though memory got a lot cheaper, that would be overkill and would drive up costs too much even though its cheap.

Oh and PS3 could do 100GB BluRay discs with a firmware update. Then again, 95% of all PS3's games are hardly above 10 to 20GB. And those using 40GB's are often PS3 exclusive games that copied the same data about 3 times on the BR disc to do some faster loading trick while playing because the PS3's BR drive isn't as fast as a DVD drive.

Probably 50GB can hold up for some time, but its good to know the PS3 already could make the jump to 100GB if needed.

But point at this article is that 1GB of RAM is not enough to really make a jump to next gen. Its just doing stuff a bit smoother/with less programming problems for this gen.

I bet more laughs will rise when the details on the CPU and GPU of the WiiUpgrade become clear! When real next gen releases in 2013 with PSOrbis and Xbox 8 the WiiUpgrade will be the Wii story all over again. Getting downgraded sad ports or won't even get them ports at all. And for now, it gets old ports too at a premium price. Like Mass Effect 3 or Batman, 60 bucks for WiiUpgrade sold as 'new', while at the time that will release the 360 and PS3 versions will be sold for 15 to 20 bucks in the bargain bins! lol!

[sourav93]

People who are complaining for the mere 1GB dedicated RAM for gaming and the GPGPU should look at it from another perspective. I will use the PS3 to represent current generation of consoles in this comment due to the fact that many people claim it to be the most powerful console this generation.

The PS3 has 256MB dedicated RAM for games and 256MB for the OS. This means that the WiiU console will have 4x the RAM for gaming AND for the OS.

The PS3 sports a Nvidia RSX GPU, which is basically a derivation of the Nvidia 7800 GT. The WiiU, which sports a GPGPU, which will likely be a E6760, is should have similar capabilities as a Radeon HD 4800, which is a more powerful GPU than the RSX.
Albeit, the PS3 seems to have a more powerful CPU i.e. the CellBE, its other components seem to be outmatched by the WiiU.

So, to conclude, although there is a high chance that the Wii U may not be as powerful as the upcoming next generation consoles from Sony and MS, it seems to be more powerful that the consoles from this current generation. This basically means that first party devs, who will push the hardware to its limits, will be creating some visually stunning games, making it a win for all gamers.

[shadow2797]

"The PS3 has 256MB dedicated RAM for games and 256MB for the OS."

Where in the world did you pull that from?

The PS3 has 512MB total across the system. 256MB for the CPU and 256MB for the GPU. The OS, which can pull from both, uses around 50MB last I heard. That's ~460MB for games.

Just wanted to clear that up. Personally, I don't think the WiiU needs more RAM than 1GB. If anything is going to bottleneck, it'll be the CPU (or GPU if it's doing a lot of CPU tasks). I don't see memory being an issue (devs have said the same), but if it's needed, I'm sure some of that OS memory can be borrowed to run a game in the future.

[TemplarDante]

1GB of ram for consoles are great? ... in 2012. This is suppose to last years. My cellphone has 1GB of ram, I bet when I upgrade it next year, my new phone would probably have double the ram and an extra cpu core to boot.

[Shok]

Your cellphone =/= console or PC RAM lol.

[FarCryLover182]

My PC has 8GB of ram and it runs like crap.

[sourav93]

Does your phone have 1GB dedicated RAM just for gaming? No? That's what I thought. No offence, but if you do not fully understand technology, please don't make ridiculous claims about it.

[jay2]

looooooooool not good at all :@

[chukamachine]

1gb is not enough, yes they can lower the footprint.

AA will be free though with the edram. No tiling needed.

It sounds like a decent system, but not seen anything launch wise that looks better then PS3/360.

Zombie u, looks poor tbh.

[Kennytaur]

But if the memory is split, then I don't think Nintendo is going to bother.

[Agent_hitman]

Fanboys of the other consoles....... Are here commenting, bashing!

[frankiebeans]

RIP Wii U and its 1gb of ram for games for the next gen SMH.

[optimus]

What i find funny is that when microsoft mentioned they would add a browser to the ( i can't say the name since i'm a beta tester, but it rhymes with) rexbox. I posted in their forums that i would like for it to integrate while in a game and the posters there said it was a dumb idea and now we have nintendo doing just that. :p...

Well these specs and features have certainly made me lean towards the wiiU a lot more since i was on the fence about it... All i need now is the announcement of some stellar games. I.e. Metroid, zelda at launch and i'll be sold for sure.

[MrBeatdown]

An in-game browser is a seriously awesome feature. Having a walkthrough or a Youtube video available at the touch of a button when achievement or trophy hunting would make things like finding collectibles so much easier.

Hopefully Sony and Microsoft are taking notes. I'd love to see this feature in all consoles.

[oNIXo]

hahaha, beta testing, that's funny.

[yewles1]

DAMN!!! Almost had it down. I was off on the OS RAM by half!

http://n4g.com/news/1029365...

[joeorc]

"DAMN!!! Almost had it down. I was off on the OS RAM by half! "

lol, I think everyone was, the rumor for month's was 512 MB for the OS, 1GB is pretty d@mn powerful , and it is indeed for Multi-tasking. I am very glad Nintendo is offering such a good , hardware inline system this time, so many Hard core 3rd party games that many Nintendo fans have been asking for, can also be on the Nintendo system this time, well atleast a very good chance. But what many may not like is that once Nintendo did this, they are going to be in the same boat as Microsoft and Sony. Many 3rd party publisher's will only give your system increased development asset's if you compensate them someway.

Its just the way of the industry, Nintendo's 1st party though i think will really shine in the graphic's department. If Nintendo invest's into development time toward the WiiU's system, but increased Art and Enhanced physic's are time consuming so it will slow releases, down which is standard anyway.

good times ahead in my opinion for this Nintendo Machine and I think this benefits the gamer quite well, Nintendo is offering a very powerful robust system out the gate.

@cedaridge

"I'm looking forward to next gen consoles like everyone here. But think of it this way! what happen when xb360 jumped out the gate before the ps3? xbox 360 is LABEL Today as the "Developement Friendly Console of Preference" among multiplat games. All Nintendo have to do is gain that 1 year head start over xb720 and ps4 and if the Wii U is "DF"? then both xb720 and ps4 will be playing catch up to Nintendo. just my 2 cents!!!"

that happens with everything, it does not matter really when you release pretty much anymore because it's not the release from the start that defines your product, it's the support that you can service for the entire length of time the system is on the market.

example the iPhone5 is one of the most talked about system releases in the mobile space, that does not take away from the fact other systems in the mobile space will also be releasing, just because one product has the main Buzz, off the bat does not mean the other systems are not just as viable and can carve out their own market share.

Even if the market share is only 1 or 2 % of the market it's still Million's! and Million's of consumer's that will be buying your product. you publish a work's such as a book , and it sell's a million copy's, that is good sales. anytime you have over a million people that use a single product on a day to day basis is not something to frown at.

Im sure selling over a million systems is not something any company would be unhappy with esp. when these systems run upwards past $300.00+ or higher. even selling a single 1 million systems a year is pretty d@mn good. that's a freaking 1 million people!

that are playing games, at anyone time during the day!

[cedaridge]

I'm looking forward to next gen consoles like everyone here. But think of it this way! what happen when xb360 jumped out the gate before the ps3? xbox 360 is LABEL Today as the "Developement Friendly Console of Preference" among multiplat games. All Nintendo have to do is gain that 1 year head start over xb720 and ps4 and if the Wii U is "DF"? then both xb720 and ps4 will be playing catch up to Nintendo. just my 2 cents!!!

[DarkZane]

A little too late. The PS4 and new xbox will be out before the devs can learn how to properly use the hardware to make games looks as good as the games looks currently on ps3 and 360. Not only that, but the launch games on PS4 and that new xbox will probably look better than any good looking games the WiiU will be getting at the end of his lifespan.

Sorry, but I will be waiting for the real next-gen here, not getting fooled by this again. PS4 is the way to go for me.

[cedaridge]

So when did YOU say the ps4/xb720 is coming again? Take next gen out the picture a minute. I am talking about Friendly Developement, if Nintendo is allowed to have that head start and the system is not a head scratcher? why can't they do the same as Microsoft/xbox 360 THIS GEN? Nintendo is coming this Holiday Season! No word on xb720 or ps4. Instead ALL WE KNOW is xb720 and ps4 is COMING but when? And all we know is xb360 and ps3 still have games coming to there RESPECTED system! I will not debate which system will be TRUE NEXT GEN but what system will Developers think is Friendly to them. And Wii U will be the 1st out the gate BUT will it be to HARD to develop by the time xb720 and ps4 launch? my 2 cents!!!

[neogeo]

The old Wii has 86 megs of shared ram with a truly ancient GPU that your grampappy would lol at. Yet they still made Mario galaxy look beautiful. So I'm excited for the upgrade!

[jacksheen0000]

Guys,
the 360 are equipped with a 12x DVD drive, capable of a maximum read rate of 15.85 MB/s. The Wii U are equipped with a drive, capable of a maximum speed of 22.5 MB/s, that's fast.

So I can see why Nintendo went with 1gigs for Main memory.

[neogeo]

You forgot that dual layer DVDs only read at 9.2 MBs and almost all 360 games are on a dual layer. So the WiiU will seem much faster.

[WiiUalpha]

Now I am very interested in the Wii U.

It has way more RAM than PS3 did.I am curious though if the CPu/GPu will share that like PS3 did with its 512. 1 gig is more than the 256mb it had for the CPU. If they can do TLOU on 256MBCPU/ 256MB GPU imagine what they can do with 1 gig..

With 1 gig for OS it should offer a seemelss transition and should allow games to load much faster than they do now with the drive speed and dedicated memory.

[bobshi]

So those that commented on the leaks of the last week or so saying it has 1Gb ram and that thus it was fake will be retracting their statements, or?

[CalvinKlein]

well it has 2gb of ram so you fail.

[bobshi]

No, actually you fail. The previous articles stated 1Gb for games and that's exactly what it has.

[PirateThom]

It has 2GB, yes.

1GB for OS.
1GB for games.

That's one single gigabyte for developers.

[ThePsychoGamer]

"Reconfirmed: import Wii VC and WiiWare games"

Ah the most insulting thing, Nintendo acknowledges that gamers want region free gaming, but still refuses to give us it, under a misguided notion that region free gaming will lead to piracy (when actuality it is the opposite.). Nintendo has proven that they will continue to hold the gaming industry and deny gamers what we want in a console.

Break the locks.

[TBONEJF]

They didn't ANNOUNCE bout using the old Wii DISC if it's backwards capability. i hate using bubbles on this site

[Unztayble]

So what type of discs are they using? Will it be Blu-Ray?what other 25gb discs are there?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

unlicensed blu ray... will play games but wont play movies.

[Unztayble]

Thanks! I've never heard of unlicensed blu ray. Time to do a search.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

its the samething they did with the wii which uses unlicensed dvd format....hence why you cant watch a dvd movie on the wii even though it uses dvd discs.

[rawshack]

Disc size is 25 gb is that blu ray ?

[rawshack]

Sorry unztayble I didn't see your comment frist

[Unztayble]

All good. Hardly anybody is talking about this in the comments and I'm curious to know. Someone mentioned earlier something about an unlicensed Blu-Ray disc?

[Mighty Boom]

Off the Wii U specs alone, can any tech savvy gamers extrapolate what the 720 and PS4 specs will be?

[Mighty Boom]

Double post. Disagree me, now.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

the 1GB of system memory is interesting. I cant think of why they would need that much unless they ned a big memory buffor for the wiiu game pad. Maybe to get things to run smoothly from pad to screen and back they need it? Its the only thing I can think of.

[vallencer]

From what i've read they are using that much for multi tasking. They said you can bring the browser up mid game and watch videos and what not. Basically it seems like the U is a big entertainment hub.

[EditorAtGNG]

I am guessing Nintendo isn't really keen on the "next gen" transition. Oh well. They never really focused on graphics to entertain their fanbase so bring it on.

[LostDjinn]

Well, this is encouraging. I realize this is as close to a spec's list as we're likely to get from Nintendo, and while it's not the greatest it's more then I was expecting.

Kudos Nintendo.

[BrianC6234]

Seems kind of underpowered. Only 2GB of RAM? I hope Sony and Microsoft both have at least 4GB. I think you need at least that much to have 1080p graphics for future games. The 2GB seems like a lot compared to the PS3 and 360 but it just won't be in a couple years. RAM is the main thing that held the PS3 back.

[CShadow]

Only thing I don't like is the name of the system. Oh wellz.

[Neko_Mega]

Hope they come out with a new Zelda and Mario Kart game soon for it, because the new Mario won't be able to keep me around for ever.

So far only the Nintendo only games look good, the remakes or added content games I don't care about.

[Blacklash93]

Looks like the Wii of this generation. A bit better than the systems of the current (or maybe previous) console gen, but not out of the ballpark.

I imagine a significant portion of that OS RAM is going toward the controller. Still what's left should be plenty for seamless multitasking between the different features. Otherwise the one GB left for gaming will be a big asset for the system.

Though the HDD memory is definitely disappointing even if you're not install-crazy. This system won't be very DLC-friendly to start.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Very nice. I like the fact you can use the browser in game that's pretty cool. Yeah, that 1g of storage will make for some impressive upgrades.

Dare I say, even more than Xbox.

[rataranian]

So heres what happens: N launches this thing and scoops up its fanboys and toddlers and people who want the newest thing from them just because. Yay. They reap in cash just as they always do. Ok, yahoo.
Then MS and SONY drop their next gen systems in a few years and bury this thing. Then everyone prepares for the next round. Rinse, repeat, forever.

[vandal GAB]

Battlefield 3 PC uses around 1.5GB of video ram @ 1080P ultra settings.

[josephayal]

NO WAY MEH!

[cj1pate101]

1 gig of dedicated memory lulz, The whole Nintendo community some how thinks this is a lot. Trying running 8 gigs windows 64 bit nubs. We been adding ddr5 1600 mhz and up for years kiddies. You need more then 1 gig to film fulll high res video btw. It also takes some flickering around to get setting right with fraps. So no Nintendo wont make a screen capture program that records at 1080p.

[XabiDaChosenOne]

Seems okay, nothing amazing but it will do until the 720 and the PS4 comes out.

[SovereignSnaKe]

-Well, Bayonetta II confirms I"m getting one, the WHEN is the question, Launch.. i dunno... However, I have Last Story to play and I also brought back a copy of Pandoras Tower from Germany, -Now I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I wonder how long it will take to hack it with homebrew, I don't have that on my Wii but now that I have Pandora's Tower I am heavily considering it... ^_^

[FunkMacNasty]

..I'm not sure what these specs really mean.. Can someone tell me roughly how the Wii U will compare to the current gen systems? I may upgrade from my 360/ps3 if this will be more powerful.

[MrDead]

Its not the next-gen jump I was hoping for and I cant watch my Blu-rays on it.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

I'll admit Im more of a Sony/Xbox gamer but the Nintendo consoles always get the GF and I to play together...

If this console is priced good enough and the games/tech can deliver what I hope they do... this console could end up being in our apartment!

[PooEgg]

Although I am not currently planning on buying one, I am interested in seeing how Wii U will do. I highly doubt it will mirror the demand that the original Wii received, but it will be fun to see how well it does.

[Sevir]

sure its process and shaders are newer and better by design but this is in essence a PS3.5 or Xbox360.5 Nothing revolutionary and nothing to even turn the block of your eye.

To be quite honest i feel underwhelmed by this much the same way i was underwhelmed by Apple's iPhone 5 announcement. nothing "revolutionary" and "innovative".

I'll continue playing The games my PS3 has to offer. I cant get excited at this at all.

Ninty fans welcome to current gen HD gaming! You're 7 years late, but better late than never i say!

[MattyG]

It seems to be as powerful, if not more than current gen systems. Color me interested.

[PirateThom]

I like their RAM allocation. The OS will never impact a game and has its own RAM to work from. However, the amounts are another story. 1GB for the OS is fine, but 3 would have been much better from a development point of view. I think 1GB is too low for a "next gen device", even with the 1GB for the OS... phones will have more than this. Seems, again, Nintendo focused too much on their console's gimmick, rather than actual development.

[-Gespenst-]

I hope the Wii U does well, Nintendo are awesome, but honestly I'm just gonna wait for the Ps4.

[ShaunCameron]

It's coming out one week after my 33rd birthday. Nice birthday present. And Bayonetta 2 on the way.

[FFXI101]

Pre-order mine today. I'm pretty excited!

[byeldell34]

i did to i pre ordered the 32g

[FFXI101]

Yeah, me too. I figure is only about $50 difference might as well go with the 32g.

[Hazmat13]

so whats the price for the basic model?

[byeldell34]

199.99

[AO1JMM]

The N4G Nintendo Haters came out in force today.

I'm getting a premium edition day 1 for sure.

[AlucardFury]

I really wish they talked about their online structure if any. I want a dedicated account instead of dealing with friend codes. This whole friends codes are necessary to avoid pedophiles to mess with little kids is dumb. Never heard of anybody getting raped for playing online with older people. I'm cool with everything else with the WiiU though.

[spektical]

certainly not that much better than ps3 or 360 spec wise.. the way nintendo fanboys and some bias journalism made it seem like the second coming of jesus. very similar to the iphone4-5 reveals.

[J86blum]

Deluxe bundle pre-order. Now show me some tasty NEW BlueBomber (wouldnt that be a insane secret.), Metroid, and Starfox.

[s45gr32]

Well is as powerful as a smartphone. Meaning most smartphones use between 1gigabyte to 2 gygabites of ram. So the technical specs do not seem impressive. Hopefully Nintendo sticks to what it does best the games. 25gbs of data for next gen titles dissapointing to say the least since the PS3 utilizes 50gbs of data on say blu-ray discs which hopefully the games don´t get crippled like they did this generation. In all honesty the whole rag doll physics, bloom-lighting, 60 frames per second and all the technical wizardry was enjoyed by PC gamers and PC gamers alone none of it came to consoles except some PS3 exclusives. I played Gears of War 2 (my brotherś friend brought his xbox 360 to the house) and it had bloody pea soup fog all over my HDTV screen what the hell. While it has the technical specs of a tablet or smartphone has a tablet as a controller go figure and yet wants the gamers to utilize a black or white box that its only function is to power up the tablet. Hell the tablet controller can have this technical specs and ditch the box entirely this is further proof the console itself is useless.

[wiz7191]

Everybody is talking about but forgot who we are talking about , NINTENDO .. They never been focused on specs or graphics for that matter , they are more focused on how the game plays. Getting enjoyment out of these consoles in ways other cannot. Im buying the WiiU not because of the specs but because of the potential it has. Thats what I thought games was made for (entertainment) not graphics.