Why the Wii U is Probably More Capable Than You Think It Is

Iran White of HDWarriors writes:

Manfred Linzner of Shin’en had been kind enough to supply us with quite a bit of insight into the Wii U’s capability, and has done so once again.

[iplay1up2]

Good to see some explanation on what sets Wii U apart from past gen.

[abzdine]

the question is not if it's capable, the question is WHERE ARE THE GAMES?

[TruthbeTold]

The Wii U did have some dry times, but if you still think it has no games, then you really aren't paying enough attention. The flood gate is being opened.

[iplay1up2]

Dude, that statement held up 6 months ago, but not now.
Splinter Cell, and Rayman I am playing on Wii U, because the Wii U has the "definitive" Versions

Monster Hunter Ultimate
Pikmin 3
Wonerful 101
Wind Waker HD
Trine Directors cut (again "definitive" version)
NSMB U
Zombi U
NBA2K13
Nano Assault
BOPS 2 (Wii U version with gamepad is AMAZING)
All of these score 8.5 or higher and are out now. Of coarse There are a TON more out now and At least 6 more AAA titles coming before Christmas. So if you can't find any Wii U games to play your not looking very hard.

Also there are some really GREAT Wii games you can play in Wii U and the Wii U does upscale to 1080p thanks to its backwards compatibility.

[WiiUsauce]

We're getting a major first party game release every month all the way into next year.

[starchild]

The Wii U is definitely more powerful than the PS3 or 360. It's up to the developers to use that power. The Wii U is improving in that area though.

[chente0025]

if this would have been an article saying the wii u is weak there would have been over 500 hundred comments already.
where is Lol_WUT,abortmission or madmen? Lol

[badz149]

it's been almost a year and I think this "more capable" kinda of explanation is way past its time already! the damn thing is already on the market, so if its games can't speak volume, tech talks mean shit!

[AKR]

Compare PS3 launch titles like: NBA 2K7, Need for Speed: Carbon, Tony Hawk's Project 8, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Call of Duty 3 to recent titles like: Uncharted 3, The Last of Us, Gran Turismo 6, GTA: V, and Battlefield 4.

Judging a system's tech within the first year of it's lifecycle is stupid. It takes time for developers to get the full concept of what they're working with and even longer to properly use it. But nonetheless - we're already seeing titles which show that they ARE getting used to it and are starting to use it. Games like: Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Sonic Lost World, Wind Waker HD, X, Bayonetta 2, Trine 2, Rayman Legends, Nano Assault NEO and Need for Speed: Most Wanted U - come to mind.

[Chrischi1988]

Ehhh no?

You fanboys are all the same. Complaining about the hardware the whole time. Nintendo itself said a long time ago that it is very capable hardware. Now a dev states that, too. Now it is too late for that^^

Always complaining. Not owning one, but complaining the shit out of it. At least one good thing, you let Nintendo consume your life with the hate you put into this.

[slivery]

Sorry Shin'en make some bigger games then you can talk about power. About the only good looking games you made was Nano Assault and that definitely it not a game to be bragging about.

Not saying the Wii U isn't capable just saying coming from Shin'en it doesn't mean much.

I am all for developers giving some insight but when you are a developer who barely even has games to push a system anyway it is kind of pointless.

More so some of the games Shin'en have made were really crappy.

http://www.shinen.com/games...

[Neonridr]

Shin'en even went on to state that Nano Assault Neo was using 1 of the Wii U's 3 cores. Barely even making the system sweat, and look at how good the game looked visually. Imagine if they put the system through its paces.

Don't be ignorant now, I'd love you to do better.

[browngamer41]

Apparently you have not seen their previous efforts on Wiiware like Jet Rocket, Art of balance, and Fast league racing all of which look better than 90 percent of Wii retail titles and all done within a barbaric 40 mb limit..I think these guys know their sh*t..

[jjdoyle]

Jett Rocket looked greats for Wiiware.

[XisThatKid]

LOL these articles are so cute. look at Ninty.

[emu-key]

Translation: Can't say anything smart or counter argue, must insult.

[XisThatKid]

Every comment doesn't have to be this earth shattering revelation. It's just the comment section dude. Less than a quarter of this community is ever going to see this article.

[Chrischi1988]

He is an Indie, what do you expect for games, this is about money and time. A lot of Indies where from real good studios before and left for their own vision of gaming, doesnt make their knowledge any worse. At least it is a dev who is not completely biased towards nintendo. For real now, who does even believe a word, what EA says about the hardware? I mean, why would EA want origin, console wide on the Wii U, if Wii U is that bad? EA is just a small kid who didnt get his lolly from nintendo and that is why EA us an ass to nintendo right now, not because of crappy hardware, like they always want it to be.

[ape007]

i saw some bayonetta 2 footage recently, it lookes STUNNING

so the gfx issues in the wiiu is greatly over exaggerate, yes it's not as powerful as nextgen systems but it will pump out great gfx, no where near as outdated as wii compared to 360/ps3/pc

bring on DK B!TCH

[thomasmiller]

it's about time! with bayonetta 2 and monolith x, no matter what the trolls say, wii u is next gen, but what ever helps the babies sleep at night!

[tehpees3]

You just have to see Need for Speed to see there is a difference. It might not truly show it now but it will in time. Take a look back at PS3 games that came out in the early days and you'll see there is a very big difference compared to games back then.

Compare the Last of us to many games back then and you'll see just how much PS3 started to shine in the later years.

[Neonridr]

Pikmin 3 looks gorgeous and that was Nintendo's first attempt at HD graphics (not counting NSMBU since that was stylized like the Wii version). Imagine what Zelda will look like, or Metroid..

[falcon97]

WiiU going off this article with its 40MB of edram that we know of is extreme powerful if you take into account you need a little more than 16MB to get a sweet 1080p native.....wow the edram does make wiiu have the edge i think,he also said with the standard feature set and a console that allows you to code anything you can dream up sounds as powerful as ps4 easy....

[chente0025]

@falcon
my bad bro,I hit disagree by mistake.totally agree with your arguments!

[jcnba28]

Pikmin 3 was also meant to release on the original Wii then got delayed and pushed to Wii U so we still haven't seen a game yet from Nintendo that has been built from the ground up for Wii U.

[ThaBlackBaron]

Why are people still talking about this when E3 aready put those asinine 'Wiiu is is weak claims to bed!???

[falcon97]

E3 did prove wiiu was equal to ps4....

[stuna1]

I don't care what any of you think! It's a known fact that the WII U is not even in the same ballpark as the Xbox1, let along the PS4!!! Delusion is a disease, seek help!

The Technology involved is more advanced on so many levels that it's almost shameful. Online is more fleshed out in what Sony and Microsoft have to offer is like like Nintendo is still using a rotary dial phone in comparison! It's good Nintendo has finally stepped into the HD era, but to compare them to Sony and Microsoft who've been doing HD for the better part of a decade......Yes you guessed it delusional!

Those saying that the WII U is showing nice improvements over this gens consoles, that's to be expected! But in that same sentence know that the PS4 and Xbox1 will also show marked improvements over the WII U, and understand that as the generation progresses there will be things that WII U simply will not be able to do that the others will be able too, and that disparity will only get bigger due to the technological differences.

[PopRocks359]

"Those saying that the WII U is showing nice improvements over this gens consoles, that's to be expected!"

Evidently it wasn't considering how many people tried and will continue to try to convince others the Wii U is weaker than a 360. Don't pull that crap when it's the critics who have it wrong in the first place.

[LOL_WUT]

It may not be weaker than the 360 but it's clearly shown that's its on par with it. No frostbite3 games running on it etc prove it's not all that powerful. Besides we've been over this countless of times ;)

[stuna1]

Exactly LOL_WUT

Just because people don't want to face fact, that's on them! Critics, developer what have you show this to be true by the support! Why no GTA V, Why no Destiny, Why no Division!? The majority of the 3rd party games coming to the WII U are tried and tested games that have been, are, or will be on this generation consoles! No mention of any games being ported to other consoles!? Yet other consoles have games ported to the WII U.

How people could even fathom 2gb of ram is going to magically compete with I'll even say 5gb of ram is like I said in the comment above "DELUSIONAL"!
3 cores against 18 cpu's! No matter how you slice it, Sonys machine is violating the WII U! And it's only going to get worse. Nintendo is doing everything they can to stay relevant in this coming storm, and sure their more well known IP's will sell, but at the end of the day, after all the tallies have been counted up the WII U will have been delegated as the complementary or secondary console to have! I know it, You know it, but most importantly Nintendo knows it!

@ChickeyCantor

How is that faulty thinking!? Of course you would say PS4 has no games, but were you saying that when the WII U released!? Even now you really can't say it has any games! Most of it's main titles are just starting to drop. The Frostbite comment goes a long way in proving a point as far as support goes because Battlefield 4 uses that engine, so unless I missed something, is Battlefield 4 coming to the WII U!?

[ChickeyCantor]

"No frostbite3 games running on it etc prove it's not all that powerful. "

No Zelda on PS4 etc prove it's has no games at all.

See how that faulty thinking works?
http://wiiudaily.com/2013/0...

[PopRocks359]

Even though Crytek's latest PS4/Xbox One engine runs on Wii U. You people are so ill informed, it feels stupid to even respond.

Also Nano Assault Neo and Need For Speed Wii U, what with their graphics incapable of running on the 360 or PS3, say hi.

[Stroke666]

@stuna1...people may not be as delusional as you. devs of killer instinct said they had to cut things out completely and optimize others to get the game running at a smooth 720p 60fps. I'm not thinking we are going to see huge differences this gen despite the numbers on paper. there was also the same kind of talk about bf4 running on a ps4. these systems out the gate seem to be topping out already. but then again can't believe every interview you read right... fun as hell waiting to see what happens next though

[Chrischi1988]

Stuna1...

man, you use the word delusional a lot, but actually its meaning fits perfectly to you. Frostbite did not prove anything, because EA themselves never said it cannot run on the Wii U, it just has no priority. Cryengine 3 run perfectly on it. Unreal Engine is said to work too, not like you haters believe. Frotbyte would run too, but as metioned about a zillion times, EA and Nintendo are not the best friends right now. Because of the tablet you would get the best online experience of all the consoles, yeah PS4 has the vita, but since it is not bundles with the console it is nothing more than a gimmick.

But you know what, it like with rappers, the more hate they get, the more successful they become. So thanks, Nintendo is proud to have somebody like you, who takes half of its lifetime to bash its console, because that way nintendo knows, you are always thinking about it. Thats life ;)

[hollabox]

I know MS and Sony went balls out on the X360 and PS3 with state of the art Chipsets. Both consoles may have been over developed with games like Beyond 2 Souls, The last of Us, and GTA 5 going toe to toe with next gen consoles. But this is kinda silly seeing articles comparing the Wii U (fall 2012) to a system that came out in 2005. That would be like MS comparing the X360 to Sega's Dreamcast and bragging about how 10 MBs of EDRAM is 2 MBs more than the Dreamcast total video memory. Or Sony bragging about how the PS1 has 16 more bits than the Sega Genesis.

[ChickeyCantor]

"That would be like MS comparing the X360 to Sega's Dreamcast and bragging about how 10 MBs of EDRAM is 2 MBs more than the Dreamcast total video memory."

What?
eDRAM is not the same as normal ram. It's specifically designed to work fast alongside the CPU/GPU so that faster operations can be performed.

They make the comparison because 360 did fine with just 10. WiiU has almost 4 times that amount. Point in case WiiU can do a lot with that 38 edram and still offload everything else to one gig.

[LetoAtreides82]

You forget the Wii U cpu is crap which will limit the system.

[hollabox]

@ChickeyCantor
What to yourself

Incase you don't get it, I was making the point it was stupid to compare hardware 7 years apart. Case in point the X360 (2005) compared to the Dreamcast (98 Japan), if you played Dreamcast and X360 you will know there's an huge and obvious difference between the technologies. A difference 7 years should make, and it would be silly or lazy on Nintendo part if they released a system that is on par or slightly more powerful than 7, almost 8 year hardware.

The comparison should had be between Wii U, XB1, and the PS4. I know the Wii U came out first, so did the X360 and stood toe to toe for the most part with the PS3, and stands toe to toe with 1st gen software on next gen consoles.

[ChickeyCantor]

"Incase you don't get it, I was making the point it was stupid to compare hardware 7 years apart"

+

"A difference 7 years should make, and it would be silly or lazy on Nintendo part if they released a system that is on par or slightly more powerful than 7, almost 8 year hardware. "

Concepts don't change. Doesn't make it "old". Not sure why you keep hammering on this. Average gamer doesn't understand all the technobabble. They were simply putting it into perspective.

WiiU will do fine, no one is even claiming it will be PS4/X1 level. Stop with the crying already.

[TruthbeTold]

The comparison was made to show provide reference as to what 10 MB of eDRAM can accomplish, then consider the ramifications of nearly 4 times that amount embedded onto an MCM like the Wii U configuration.

If you want to write it all off as though the article is about comparing Wii U to Xbox 360, that's your own little personal problem.

[falcon97]

He was comparing WiiU to ps4 ect just using 360 as an example because it had 10MB of edram ??? try listening properly...

[hollabox]

More like reading, on my work PC no audio popped up for me or video, just read the article that mentioned the 360 and PS3. Again 7/8 year hardware shouldn't be compared to hardware less than a year old. I couldn't imagine comparing my old Gefore 6800 GT to my 670 GTX video card, nothing to compare, newer tech that completely outclasses the old one, it's silly.

[Stroke666]

the thing is, a lot of people refuse to recognize the wii u as next gen. they continue to compare it to last gen consoles. so some who developed on it not Nintendo themselves is, clearing the air about that not bragging. and not to point your hypocrisy but you just compared ps4 and xbox1 to there predecessors then went on to down the idea of comparing to prior gen. I mean its kinda silly seeing you write that two games that came out on 8yro systems go toe to toe with games and consoles that have yet to come out

[herbs]

The pinnacle of engineering is being able to do more with less and Nintendo was able to pull this off with the Wii U. It is a clever combination and layout of components, like a well designed automobile it's more than just a high horsepower engine with wheels you have to take into account suspension and balance.

[andrewer]

Nintendo games are the reason Wii U is capable for me haha

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

You are a wise person!

"
Well Said" vote up to you.

To the "Fan-boy" (in a bad way) lablers.
If Quantum Dream was a console maker and they made the same amount of games per year as Nintendo-

I would say the same thing.

[Wintersun616]

I hope that Wii U won't be overlooked by 3rd parties as much as Wii was. It may not be as powerful as PS4 or Xbone, but the gap is nowhere near as big as with the soon to be past gen. It shouldn't be too much work to downgrade the graphics when necessary. At least I hope so.

[TruthbeTold]

I think that with Activision and Ubisoft support, they are doing rather well compared to last time so far. Games like Watch Dogs, Call of Duty Ghosts, and Assassins Creed IV will need to sell well though if people expect the support to continue.

[PlayStation_4]

Really? We still don't know how capable the Wii U is?

[PopRocks359]

Considering 1) no one has utilized the thing to its full potential (including Nintendo) and 2) no one can accurately describe all the specifications without leaving parts out, no.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

So true.

Nintendo needs to lead the way on pushing the Hardware.

At the start of every new gen they should release a game that blows away what was previously possible on their last system.

And if they want the "cORE" they should do it with photo-realism.

I think even if they had relesaed the E3 Zelda Demo for pesonal download- that would have made people happy or notice.

[Kingnichendrix]

Really, well we have yet to see anything mind blowing. Im sure they will with Zelda.

[TruthbeTold]

I hope so. Not sure what 'Mind blowing' Zelda would entail exactly in HD as far as art style combined with modern features goes, but I like the sound of it.

[Hicken]

I don't doubt the Wii U is capable. But I think it was certainly a mistake that Nintendo didn't aim higher with its specs. Especially given the disparity between the Wii U and XB1/PS4, it's possible that, as the generation wears on, the Wii U will see a lack of third party support, or completely different versions of games, like it's predecessor did.

That won't stop it from having excellent games, but I DO think it'll hinder the system some.

[Infamous298]

The problem with nintendo that they are too greedy. I mean they launched the wii u way to early with few to no games, the best idea was to wait while the first party developers finish their games and launch it whenever the games are finished, nintendo released their console first was just to get more sales.

[robray1997]

No, Nintendo launched their system exactly as they always have. All the way back to the 8 bit NES. Nintendo has always had a 5 to 6yr console release schedule. The Wii U was no different. If Nintendo was all about greed then the Wii U would not have been the 1st console sold, at launch, as a loss. Actually, the Wii U launch line up was better than it's been given credit for. http://playeressence.com/th...