Years Old Xbox 360 and PS3 Ahead of Wii U in Terms of Speed

topnews.us: It was recently reported that IBM Power PC central processing unit of the Nintendo Wii U has three cores which run at 1.24GHz per core, while that in the PS3's cell processor and Xbox 360's, Xenon run at 3GHz per core.
However, graphics chip in the product is reported to be a little faster or matching to those Xbox 360 and PS3. The graphics processing unit (GPU) of Wii U is made up of Advanced Micro Devices which runs at 549 MHz.

[OneAboveAll]

More of these articles. When will it stop? It's actually slightly more powerful than the 360 and PS3.

Clock speed means nothing. I'v had computers with slower clock speeds that out perform some with higher clock speeds. It's down to how well the hardware is optimized.

Second of all, the Wii U GPGPU is much better than that in the 360 and PS3. It supports DirectX 11 and pixel shader 5.0.

[sway_z]

IMO it doesn't matter how powerful the specs of a console, it's down to the developers to play to its strengths.

360 launched 1 year prior to the arguably more powerful PS3, but because of the 360 attach rate at the time (5 million +) the 3rd party developers coded to the 360 spec, meaning PS3 was not pushed at all, instead receiving shoddy ports just like Wii U receives in 2012.

Interestingly, I don't see the same for Nintendo. The 3rd party developers are unlikely to utilize Wii U as the main platform when they don't have to until the next gen from MS/Sony arrive within the next year or so.

Wii U would have been better launched late 2009 or early 2010 to really trouble the current gen.

My fears for Nintendo are they will have great success with 1st party, but 3rd party development will progress on a new Xbox/PS in the very near future.

[dragunrising]

I agree mostly. I think the strength of the console is mostly untapped considering the strengths and weaknesses found by that wii hacker dude. The architecture is different- the ports that have come out, haven't been optimized experiences. In a year or two we should see some much better looking games. The Wii U won't be the most powerful next gen experience in a year however its controller will hopefully give fans an experience that matches or surpasses the competition. I will more than likely buy third party franchise games on other systems, however I greatly anticipate more third party games like Zombie U and Nintendo staples (Zelda, please please and thank you).

[lilbroRx]

The technology to make a console that strong at that size and power consumption didn't exist then.

[sway_z]

'@sway Your generalizations and generally false information are just as bad as this article. Its embarrassing to know people can be this stupid'

@Monduchestatcenen

Don't be so rude and pig ignorant!!

...and What makes you so superior? Get over ya'self!

[metroidfusion2]

If I was a spec person I would wait for a full spec sheet but I'm sure I would already know this does not determine anything etc and I take that info with a grain of salt and the gamds will speak for themselves and all the dumbass people can shut up

[SnakeCQC]

all of nintendo wiiu youtube vids have had their comments section closed; that should tell you something.
Slower components do matter why should anyone pay for obsolete tech.

[vallencer]

So Closing the comments section of YouTube videos now means something important?? I just thought it meant people didn't want to read all the rude and whiny entitled comments.

And people pay for "obsolete tech" because those people just enjoy video games and like to have fun. Not everyone cares about graphics beleive it or not.

[lilbroRx]

I always thought they closed it because of all of the perverse 360/PS3 fanboys who would come there leaving derogatory statements where children could see them and doing nothing but bashing and trash talking which is something they've been doing or years.

[MasterCratosKong66]

are you saying you have never bought anything that would be considered obsolete?

[josephayal]

maybe r fasta but What about mario in 1080p?

[wiiulee]

lol haters are coming out of everywhere with the same news..they are still not over the wii winning last generation...point is wiiu does better graphics and because of the gamepad its gameplays are years ahead of the competition

[lilbroRx]

You gotta love it when journalists use peoples words as facts, while ignoring calls that they being taken out of context by those same people.

We already have games that are demonstrating better graphics than the PS3/360 and one that is even demonstrating better physics.

Regardless of what clock speeds say, the hardware has shown itself to be stronger even though most devs have had less than 6 months to work with and dev kits are still being optimized.

Sadly, unless someone finds a way to penalize media outlets for posting false or misleading information, this will continue to occur.

[BenRage3]

People will believe what they want regardless of the facts. A couple of developers say Wii U is old, slow tech and that's all a person who wants it to be true needs.

Even if a more prestigious developers says different, like, "Wii U Aliens: Colonial Marine is best looking version because of consoles more modern tech" <--- direct quote from Borderlands 2 developer 2K. Or when a developer of a game like Trine 2 says, "PS3, 360 can't cope with Trine 2 Wii U graphics." Again this is ignored because some people don't want it to be true. Sources:

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

http://www.geek.com/article...

[SwiftArsonist]

to be honest im not impressed with the Wii U yet. im sure a developer will take advantage of all the stuff the system got but for now all the games out for the system (except the nintendo games) look exactly the same as the xbox/ps3 versions. but for now, wii u owners, enjoy your system and dont let anyone tell you diferent

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

weakU. I will get one though maybe half way of ps4 cycle.

[triplev16]

"The Nintendo Wii U is available at a market price of $349 while Xbox 360 comes for $399 and PS3 is priced highly at $599."

From the article. LOL

[JonnyBigBoss]

This guy has no idea how computer hardware works. He should not be writing articles on the subject. What a joke.

[Mithan]

Garbage sensational article aimed at dumbasses that don't understand how CPU architecture works.

[Xof]

And decades old SNES games are ahead of the 360 and PS3 in terms of speed, too.

And in many other respects, too.

Funny how the quality of a game is completely independent from the quality of its hardware, huh?

[Cyb3r]

I had my doubts about the Wii U and I know that there arent any games that look much different than PS3 and 360 but overall I have to say Im very impressed it especially with all of the online features and BlackOps 2 and AC3 look great too. After buying one a few days ago I dont understand all the hate articles

[Grimhammer00]

I'm unsure of how WiiU users or Ninny fanboys can seriously argue that their spanking new console is competitively future forward. Its not just the CPU is slower...the ram is old DDR!
Ask yourselves....if the architecture is that easy to program for...why didn't any third party dev get their port to exceed ps360? Why do most of the ports actually perform worse than ps360?

And let's forget all that...how is the WiiU going to play 3rd party games that are also on ps360?! You truly think they are going to flip to wiiU as the starting console? Lol

Wiiu made that impossible by making their system have a unique pad controller.

[captain_slow82]

my phone has 2 gigs of ram and a 1.5ghz quad core (nexus 4) and this really next gen? i think not lol

[tweet75]

so i got more joy playing the marios and zeldas on wii than any thing on the much superior xbox and ps3 and that will continue with wii u

[mshope10]

whats funny is people keep bringing this up when it's taking xbox 360 and ps3 6 years to get games to look as good as they are now.

mean while some developers like ea had only six months to make games like madden look as good as the other two. and some games look better then those two when it also has to stream info to another screen.

so a system with slower cpu clocks speeds just comes out and has to run games on two screens at once.it's launch games are already on par,or better in the graphics department.and has slightly worse, on par, or better frame rates while outputting to two screens with ports of games using current game engines.

and people thinks it's weaker!think about stuff before jumping to conclusions.lets what till games use new next gen engines made for its stronger gpgpu and to yins slower cpu.

did nobody think man its weird wii u has such a slower cpu and ok gpu speeds and can run black ops two looking better then the other two.

how could it do that cause if we go by those speeds its a lot weaker right?how can it keep up.cause wasn't blacks op two be made for the higher cpu?how could it be that much slower and it looks and play so great on two screens at the same time?i guess its magic right?

and ive been playing call of duty everyday and it had like two minor frame rate drops that a regular person wouldn't know.and i had both screen going at once.

so i think wii u has a great future.and the truth is people are just pissed nintendo has great 3rd party support and there great first person line up on one system!

[captain_slow82]

i got more fun out of iphone games than i did on the wii and ur point is?
shitty gimmiks won the race for the wii and now phones do it better lol as much as i dont like to say it iphone will take the win over wii u

[Thepcz]

wish these so called journalists would learn about computer architecture before they get pen/keyboard happy and publish this garbage

[captain_slow82]

mshope10 ur happy the wii u can get close to 7 year old tech?
dude serious optimise my phones cpu an gpu im sure it would be on par with the wii u well more likely better lol

[deletingthis34675334]

Just like the SNES with a slower processor than the Genesis/Megadrive. Games still looked and played better on SNES. Blast Processing all over again...

[Kran]

This is all I have to say...

http://m.youtube.com/watch?...

[wiiulee]

haters have no clue...wiiu does better graphics then ps3, xbox and the wii and has better gameplay in the form of the gamepad....to be a next generation system the wiiu just had to be much better then the wii and it is....wiiu did not have to be much better then the ps3.thats sony's job to show the difference between ps3 and ps4...nintendo has to show the difference between wiiu and wii....but of course since it still competes with sony and microsoft....wiiu ended up with better graphics but moreso much better gameplay to show that nintendo consider a game fun base on interaction, not just pretty pictures..moreso interaction

[mrbojingles]

Isn't this the same story as the one posted a few days ago?

http://n4g.com/news/1129447...

It even sources Hector Martin but this article doesn't even LINK to his twitter account, just takes what he says without sourcing it.

[EverydayGuy]

https://www.youtube.com/wat... for those programmer savvy.

The Wii U is introducing a new architecture that hasn't been optimize yet. Because of the slow CPU I think the Wii U is equivalent to a PS 3.5. Once the Wii U pushes 1080p or achieve higher framerates, then we will have proof the Wii U is a powerful system.

[profgerbik]

You Nintendo fans say us other people who don't necessarily have faith in the system say we all say the same things over and over again.

Well oddly all I hear from you all is that hardware does not matter.

What I don't understand by that statement which is obviously a complete lie, if hardware doesn't matter to you, why did you even buy new hardware?

Why aren't you still sitting on an atari and just being happy with that? Or your Gamecube or Wii? Why because even though you try to hard to lie to yourself as if you don't care about hardware, you do, otherwise you wouldn't be buying new hardware.

I mean that is literally common sense. I understand when a person says hardware doesn't matter that much to them fine but to say it doesn't matter at all is bull shit.

Like I said if you were still stuck on a Atari and were talking about how hardware doesn't matter then I could actually believe you more.

[profgerbik]

http://www.tomshardware.com...

Funny how I just talking about how if hardware doesn't matter to you why aren't you still playing an Atari?

Even the guy who made the Atari sees that smart phones and tablets have taken over, the gaming industry isn't working like it used to and developers can't afford to make the games they want anymore because simply not enough are buying them other than hardcore gamers. People don't care about quality games anymore they only care about cheap games that smart phones and tablets offer in a wide array, thing is developers love this even more because these games take far less effort to make and yet they profit more sadly than AAA titles on consoles.

He is so right it's not even funny but as always no one can accept that times are changing. I have been saying this smart phone and tablet crap for ages now good to see people are finally realizing yes it does suck and it actually is happening. Even I know the future isn't looking bright unless these consoles seriously can blow everything out of the water.

When the PS4 and 720 do come out they will really have to define themselves because by that time, smart phones and tablets will probably have close to 12 core processors in them..

It's just stupid whoever did not patent against this smart phone bull shit, now it's hitting them hard smart phones and tablets seriously should not be as powerful as they are, it's actually even ridiculous to me having a smart phone that just about as fast as my computer which I have spent thousands of dollars on.

I am a hardware whore also and even I don't like the fact smart phones and tablets are becoming too powerful way too fast. It's beyond ridiculous and not a single person on this planet ever needs a phone that powerful..

Another thing is more poeple care about texting and sitting on their phones than people do care about real gaming. This has always existed even before phones became like they are now, so it's no surprise now that they offer more people care less and less about anything else electronic device wise.

I mean for christ sakes we have refrigerators and ovens with screens and WiFi.. It's just getting out of hand and it's actually hurting everyone.

I don't want to live in a future where everything reminds me of a smart phone or tablet, when smart phones and tablets are nothing more than a imitation of PC's but smaller.

[ChrisBoogie17]

People just need to accept the fact that nintendo developed a console that caters to their needs. Who buys a nintendo console for third party titles anyway. People should be more upset with the fact that the wii u is not an innovation, but just a super powered DS. It's the truth.

[wiiulee]

lol what u said makes no sense...is nintendo suppose to make third party games too? and what does that have to do with so call hardcore gamers? wiiu has good thirdparty support now they have to get use to the wiiu hardware

[PopRocks359]

More of this? Really? Wasn't the original article posted like two damn weeks ago? Who are the trolls who keep submitting this crap?

[McLuvn]

Does not matter. New console means other games.
Wii wasn't any better than ps2. who cares. more games
means more possibilities. stow the negativity.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Flashback to 2006: "Years old PS2 and Xbox ahead of Nintendo Wii in terms of speed."

...And the general public doesn't care.

People who buy into stories like this are out of touch with the reality of the current gaming market. And most of them are just looking for something to fuel their fanboy agendas.

Arguing about power in consoles is pointless. If someone really cared about graphics they should be playing all their games on PC.

[ShaunCameron]

Exactly. Do the "hardcore" gamers know how insignificant they really are in the grand scheme of things? LOL @ them thinking they ever could uphold an industry with their small numbers, limited funds and narrow tastes. They're just a vocal minority.

@ medman

And why should they? Their most successful consoles were the most"accessible" ones. The NES, Super NES, the Wii and every handheld they made.

[PopRocks359]

Someone recently called me foolish for suggesting that core gamers who take specs into consideration are "the minority" in video game consumers. I found this sort of lack of awareness to be really surprising.

[ShaunCameron]

@ PopRocks359

It just goes to show how delusional and out of touch with the real world they are. People don't buy consoles for hardware specs. People buy consoles for the games they deem worth buying them for. Nintendo fanboys are right when they say "graphics don't matter."

[Schawk]

Wii u can have 2 people playing Black Ops 2 online at one time with a screen each using 1 tv and using one copy of the game.

can the other 2 do that?

let me think slow processor, slower ram BUT still it can do this?
all i can say is WOW
Troll that Trolls

[medman]

I've been gaming since the days of my youth with Calecovision and Atari. I loved the original NES and Super NES. Nintendo, in my humble opinion, focuses primarily on games for kids and families and don't really give a damn about the "hardcore" gamer. I've outgrown Nintendo. They make billions without the "hardcore". So when Nintendo brings out a console 6 years after the 360 and PS3 debuts that is not a graphical powerhouse and it's base model has just 8gb available storage, is that really a surprise? They can't win the technical battle, they don't even try. They just now, in 2012, began offering online gaming (and it's not very good, from what I've heard). Nintendo doesn't care. The "hardcore" aren't buying this console, I'm not buying this console. But I was never going to, and Nintendo knows this. They know their niche and they stick to it.