210°

Does the Wii U’s ‘horrible, slow’ CPU mean that it is a weak system?

NE:

"...My understanding of it is that every single gaming system is unique and must be understood for itself. You can’t point to one single aspect of a system and expect it define the entire capabilities of the system. The Wii U may have a more limited CPU, but then again, it has more powerful GPU. In order for developers to really utilize the Wii U they will have to work with it, understand it’s distinct flavor, and then create an engine that will take full advantage of what it has to offer. I think that once we see developers fully taking advantage of the Wii U with games built ground up for the system by a team who has already had experience with the system, the graphics will be better than what we currently see on the Xbox 360 and PS3. But, for quick ports of games originally made for other system’s hardware, it probably is merely adequate. It has the latest features in the industry and there won’t be any major obstacles to porting a game unless the specific engine was designed in a way that conflicts with the Wii U’s tech."

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nintendoenthusiast.com
DeadPixel4169d ago

A really good article, but prepare yourself for the backlash of the Nintendo bashing brigade, as i'm pretty sure they will already be preparing their next onslaught...

Blastoise4169d ago

Lol, slightly irrelevant but these pictures of Reggie always make me laugh

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fr0sty4169d ago

Considering the CPU is responsible for things like Physics, audio processing, input/output, etc... It does make it a weak system. Like the guys at DICE saying that they won't be able to get as many players on Wii U versions of future COD titles due to it having a weaker CPU. When you are having to cut things from a game due to the limitations of a hardware component, it does indeed mean that the system is not up to par as far as power goes. Everyone expected Wii U to be the weakest of the 3, but when you look at games like Black Ops 2, and the Wii U version not having things the PS3 version had in it such as HDR bloom, some shadow effects, and normal mapping, that does not bode well for a system that is supposed to compete in the next generation.

When 360 first launched, there were some games that came out for it that didn't look any better than their original Xbox version, but you never saw a game come out on Xbox or PS2 that looked better than the 360 version. And you didn't have developers saying it's CPU sucked the day it launched either.

With Wii, nintendo got away with the motion control fad, so they were able to release a console that didn't even compete with the previous gen (some xbox games, like chronicles of riddick, look better than anything I've seen on Wii). This time, they're releasing a system who's gimmick is available, at least in some form, on both of the competing PREVIOUS gen consoles, and will likely make it's way into some or all of the next gen consoles as well if that style of dual screen gameplay starts to take off for nintendo.

As such, this time around, Nintendo is in nowhere near as good of a position as they were last gen. The weaker system that uses a gimmick to sell itself approach is not going to work the same for them this time.

Klonopin4169d ago

lol! Gotta love that picture of Reggie. For some reason I always picture a caption that says "I fucked up".

metroid324169d ago

Ill say it again the individual who said such rubbish was basing his opinion on the wiiu when it first got announced ?? Very first dev kits Hmmmmmmm its ignorant at best.

killatia4169d ago

@ fr0sty you do know that DICE make the Battlefield Games and not COD right?

SilentNegotiator4168d ago (Edited 4168d ago )

The most important component is weak according to DICE, 4A, and the Warriors developer.....but NOOOOOOOO, of course that doesn't mean the Wii U is a weak system!

Now commence telling us how teh cell is magic....I mean, gpgpu!

kupomogli4168d ago

@killatia. I'm sure he/she is aware of that, but he's using CoD as an example because he/she starts talking about Black Ops 2 comparisons. Battlefield 3 isn't on the Wii U so it's not like they can compare the two. It's rumored it's been cancelled.

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WPX4169d ago

Nintendo Bashing Brigade, ROFL
almost spat my coffee into the monitor from the laughter.
+bubbles for you sir.

N4g_null4169d ago

To understand the whole CPU is slow thing do some reading on directcompute and opencl cards like amds APus which are rumored to be in the next ps4.

This is a different core design. More will be addressed come gdc time. Two next gen consoles will have these radical new chips.

This is going to be a fun ride! Major development on this front will finally start.

dedicatedtogamers4169d ago

I think this guy is being a bit of a wishful thinker.

Yes. Agreed. The articles about the WiiU being "crippled right out the gate" are exaggerating. The WiiU will be able to play some nice-looking games.

However...

Hardware is hardware. Videogames are made using code and mathematics and hardware, and hardware limitations are still going to be limitations, regardless of what sort of "magic" the developer does.

The author wants the WiiU to have some sort of hidden power. I doubt that will be the case. Instead, what will happen is we will get games like Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Galaxy (in the sense that we'll nod and say "Yeah, that DOES look really good....for a Wii game"). But any hopes of the WiiU being some sort of off-the-charts next-gen super-powered system should be left to die. It ain't happening. The WiiU is "current gen" right out the door.

N4g_null4169d ago

Who has all the gpgpu experience? Understand they don't make games. The CPU does compression for free! Because it is a gpgpu with edram. Now if you ignore that then it would seem like magic.

Plus these are people that have not played with final kits in most cases. This is brand new tech that even the tech people havnt grasped yet. This tech will also be in another console, and have the same issues.

Legend_Killer4169d ago

do you think they're fools at Nintendo? they're developers as well. Will they make a console less powerful than current gen and then claim it'll fend off next gen? What you've seen WiiU do so far is it's worst, believe me.

You know what? hold on to your "WiiU is current gen" for me and let's monitor future games.

Bronxs154169d ago

@dedicatedtogamers
That is a very rational view to take.

@scissor_runner
what's so "radical" about these "new" chips?

N4g_null4168d ago (Edited 4168d ago )

The community is way cooler didn't know there where so many artist out there.

Oh if you want to be disappointed Go ahead I'm enjoying this hardware even though I have a high spec pc... I think all of the angst is from uk gamers. When you truly get to try this over someone's house you'll see the potiential.

What is so radical is this CPU is slower but can still produce hd console content with our being fully exploited.

I understand you guys are in full fanboy warrior mode so just go and read up on things like open cl and direct compute. I got games to rip into. I'm out of the studio and boy does this system display clear as fuck! Guess I'll get dark siders also, they need the funding!

The game developer conference should be very very good next year. We will have lots of talks on this gpgpu hybrid and why it matters. You won't have to listen to me about this stuff. I'll just let them sit back and prove it.

It's weird how it is ok to talk about other techs potiential but not Nintendo here. It's really too bad I don't have as much free time to post here. Oh well. Good luck on hating the wiiu the picture messaging is pretty fun.

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Computersaysno4169d ago (Edited 4169d ago )

Its not that good an article. Suggesting that developers are going to create loads of dedicated engines for Wii U to utilise it best is surely a pipedream.

The only way that will happen is if nintendo manage to keep huge third party dev support on board. Which they just cannot do, and they just wont when the other consoles arrive in a year or so.

So expect to be stuck with the same old generic multiplat engines like UE3, and engines that were originally created on 360/Ps3 just ported across even for use on newer games in the future. FIFA 15? Assassins creed 4? Mass effect 4? COD MW4? All on wii U?

Yeah, probably, but they will all still be on engines originating from the Xbox 360/Ps3 era.

Partly for the other reasons I said, and partly cos the machine itself is so close in performance to Ps3/360 then devs won't see the point when they have something that will about work anyway. On top of that you'll still have less than 30m Wii Us even selling like mad (talking original wii mad here) after 18 months. Ps3/360 will be 80m+ EACH.

Sooooooooo Wii U will never be a lead platform for anything other than its nintendo games and big budget third party exclusives.

Which as i have just said, will hardly exist in a couple years.

Keep on dreaming peeps.

This brutal truth brought to you by me, sponsored by reality check incorporated

Donnieboi4169d ago

The "U" in Wii U stands for "Underwhelming".

Theyellowflash304169d ago

Im guessing you don't have one, cause if you did Donnieboi you would not be saying that. Everybody that I know that has one or played one loves it.

Legend_Killer4169d ago ShowReplies(1)
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animegamingnerd4169d ago

i got the soda's can't wait to watch fanboy's waste their lives defending plastic

DeadPixel4169d ago

I think the same could be applied to the people bashing it, i'm not a fan of Nintendo at all but i think peoples reaction towards them is just sad and pathetic...

MegaLagann4169d ago

Same can be said for fanboys who waste their lives bashing plastic.

Legend_Killer4169d ago

Like it or not, debates have been part of what makes us gamers. we know it's just plastic, it's just as irrelevant as any other thing called "entertainment", but we still love it :D

megamanX24169d ago

yeah well not like these low life idiots have anything to devote to a real life anyway lol. Pc still will kick consoles asses for generations to come, so they are wasting their time really.

nerdkiller4169d ago

real gamers cant argue which girl is better in bed cuz there still virgins, so they argue which console is better

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Abdou234169d ago

I was on the fence right up to this moment.But i made my decision. I'm going to get me a delux one of these along with ME3, as i still yet to play it and i heard that the Addition of the second screen is making life easier.

StraightedgeSES4169d ago

No if we were going by this logic that would mean the PS3 is weaker then the xbox 360 because the GPU inside the ps3 is weaker then the GPU inside the XBOX 360.

fatstarr4168d ago

yes when you bring up actual factual logic you will get mass disagrees,

means its true man.

*claims wiiu has a horrible slow cpu*

*wiiu's cpu is faster than the 360...*
-_-

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180°

Wii U games that still haven't been ported to Switch

The Nintendo Switch is potentially nearing its lifespan, and several Wii U games haven't found their way over as ports yet.

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nintendoeverything.com
Vits2d ago

I think it's better to leave games like AC: Amiibo Festival and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash forgotten on the Wii U. Best case, they are mediocre games; worse case, they are very bad. It was a dark time for the Wii U, and the first only exists to sell Amiibo cards, whereas the second was put together in a couple of months with a shoestring budget, and it shows.

The rest of the list does have some really cool games, though. I would love to see a remake of Star Fox Zero with decent controls, and Xenoblade X doesn't require that much modification to work.

Z5011d 22h ago

How would XCX work without dual screens functionality?

Cacabunga1d 21h ago

Same as Paper Mario color splash. One of the best wiiu games and getting even better with dual screen. Same reason why i prefer Splatoon 1

Profchaos1d 22h ago

This article leaves out Nintendo's most controversial game to date devils Third.
I personally found the cover system really fun in that one compared to at the time most fps games completely lacking one.

Stevonidas1d 20h ago

Devil's Third is HIGHLY underrated.

repsahj1d 19h ago

They should remake Starfox to the switch 2. Very beautiful game during gamecube days.

Chocoburger1d 15h ago

Kirby is always ignored or forgotten by people, so good to see it mentioned here.
Play Kirby Canvas Curse on DS, and then play Rainbow Curse on Wii U, they're really fun and unique 'platformers' without any actual jumping.

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80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

60°

8 of the most useless amiibo figures ever released

A new list goes over eight of the the most useless amiibo, ranging from the Shadow Mewtwo card to the Qbby figure.

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nintendoeverything.com