Within a few weeks of the Wii U's release and the Internet crowd is still debating whether or not the system should receive the next-gen designation. Well, should it? Hoping for a definitive answer to the argument, Gamers-Association.com editor Luke Frazier attempts to put this oh-so-important issue to rest.
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Like most people I haven't played one yet
WHY IS THIS posted every week since wii-u first announce last E3??????
is there some kind of ROTATION of weekly article garbage?? this site really begining to become boring,sad and lame. they'll write articles about anything for hits.
people end up saying :no it is this generation console. and others will say PS4-720 is the begining of next GEN. same SHEE-IT every week, every month, every year til E3.........
Wii-U is the here and now console and next step in the NEW generation of gaming!!!!!
It's like everyone is so surprised that Nintendo didn't go with cutting-edge hardware. They never do, people. Having said that, I believe Nintendo did at least go with decent hardware this time and not low tech like the original Wii was.
The thing is, once the Xbox 720 and PS4 (Orbis) come out, the Wii U will look more like PS3/360 level tech and not really like full-blown next generation hardware.
The one thing the Wii U has going for it is the tablet controller. Kids will be able to play their Mario even when mom and dad are watching TV. That's a pretty cool feature.
It doesn't matter, though, because the Wii U will still sell like crazy. Probably at least 3 million by Christmas time.
Thus none of them will be next gen.
So it's easy to guess when what is needed to achieve next gen doesn't exist, and won't for years even on the PC side, where when it first appears it'll be in the form of a dual gpu that at today's prices costs $1000 just for the GPU.
But again I state, it doesn't matter, all three will be great systems, relatively close in performance, be able to play the same games using the same engines, and have great experiences for those that purchase them.
Next gen is well beyond base level Unreal 4 engine tech. It's something that can do a more modified Unreal 4 engine (or a different engine all together) and do it well enough with FPS to spare.
Then be able to put it in a console because the heat is lower and cost of the GPU isn't $1000 just by itself.
Ideally we'd wait even longer so we could have true beyond 1080p, like 4k (3840x2160) at above 60 fps, so like 120 fps as the norm. If not and it remains at 1080p for one last generation, it simply has to perform a more modified Unreal 4 engine and do it with ease.
None of that is capable as the GTX 6 series basically barely can run decently the stock Unreal 4 engine, and probably can't if it was an actual game, just run the pre-made demo. Not 32 people or more running around on a server destroying stuff like in a Battlefield game.
Hell since the Unreal 4 engine isn't out yet they are still modifying it before they release it to make it better, but once it's officially release, the modifications on it will last for a decade, making the requirements to run it harder and harder on tech. Just like the Unreal 3 engine did.
So you just can't have something that barely meets the Unreal 4 label and call it 'next gen', because it isn't even next gen.
Also you need something beyond the DX11 and 11.1 we currently have, like DX12 and all the features that it will need horsepower to do.
So no, NONE of the consoles coming out can do these things, as no PC can do these things. Or is anywhere close to doing these things, as they don't yet exist. Plus the power to run which doesn't exist isn't quite there yet either. Again what can be done expensively in a PC isn't the same as what can be done cheaper and with less cooling solutions in a small console.
¯¯
It's really simple:
http://i49.tinypic.com/2yv6...
It's only "next-gen" from a chronological perspective. It's the Wii's successor.
But the tech won't be.
It's comparable to current-gen systems and it does current-gen quality games. Not even native 1080p.
It'll be a good system BUT you're not going to experience next-gen with ONLY a Wii U. The same way you couldn't experience current-gen with the original Wii.
You'll need a PlayStation or Xbox system for that.
No, he is saying that the ps3 and 360 "couldn't" run games like Assassins creed 3 or Mass Effect 3 *At Launch*.
What part did you disagree with? Just curious. "Cause it's Saturday, I ain't got no job, and I ain't got $#!^ to do." LoL (Friday reference)
The Wii U appears to be a bit better than current consoles, but with a twist: the tablet controller, which will appeal to kids and parents alike. It will solve the ages old "I want to watch TV, but my kids want to play games" problem.
By definition, next gen refers to the newest generation hardware available. So yes, Wii U is the next generation of Nintendo products. When we are in the swing of things with PS4, 720, and Wii U, it will all be "Current gen" with Wii U likely being at the lower end of the spectrum.
By your own words, you aren't going to experience next gen with only a Wii-U. But you also wont experience next gen with only PS4 and 720. The PC will have more powerful technology that demonstrates superior hardware that can make the HD twins feel like last gen too. So, if you truly want to make an argument about PS4 and 720 being relatively more powerful, you are bound to extend that to PC hardware as well.
After all, this definition only takes into account what is relatively being done with other hardware. Whether or not Wii U is up to par with its competitor is a different story, but the semantics of whether the platform is a new generation product or not really doesn't make sense
Especially with all three competitors seemingly doing something different, it's unfair to pigeon-hole all products the same way-- Nintendo's emphasis on tablet gaming is going to be different from the way their competitors approach their hardware, it's the actual interface that is being touted as a next gen gaming experience.
Ah yes, Ronin gets it.
Next gen in hardware: No
The Wii U is everything Nintendo needed, and a step up from the current-gen CONSOLES. However looking at what current-gen mid range PC's are doing and it's clear the Wii U is still behind the "Next-gen" hardware curve.
The Wii-U doesn't have to be as powerful as the PS4 and Nextbox, because most of the games made by Nintendo rely on art style and simple, but entertaining gameplay mechanics more than pushing graphics or advanced physics, and in that regard the Wii-U is all they need. No one would say the PS360 are weak consoles after seeing games like Uncharted 3, Rage, Crysis 2, Halo 4, God of War, Heavy Rain, The Last of Us, Beyond, and more running on those systems. And the Wii-U is more powerful than those consoles, so while it's not cutting edge it's good enough.
answer me this if ur system is so powerfull why is the CPU outdated and less powerfull then the ps3 cpu
THe 3ds and VITA are already next gen as thay are also from the 8th generation.
WiiU is 8th generation even if it is as powerful as the n64, it is nintendo's predecessor to the wii. The generation doesnt cut off when a fanboy wants it to and has nothing to do with power of the console.
I guess amature blog sites still dont know what a console generation is after we are in the 8th.
if your definition is graphics, or raw power basically it is not next Gen .. etc.
I didn't make any comparison there that is what I am saying, it is all up on how you define Next gen and what is current Gen.
I haven't played one so to me ts only matching what current gen systems have delivered since 2005-2006. Once it's out and in few years we I'll be able to tell how it will compare with ps4 and xbox720. Nintendo is taking a loos in each system sold and they don't do that so it will be very intersteting to see how bth casuals and core fan base reacts to it
GRaphics? Yes PS3 and XBOX360 have similar capabilities whilst PC is far far ahead
Gameplay? Dual screen can be done with certain PSP/PS3 game combos and PS-VITA/PS3 combos.
Hardware? Might be newer in the console world but yet again PC is far far ahead.
Nintendo's next gen does not mean it is next gen of gaming.
INFACT, gaming is not accelerating as fast as other technologies. For example Googles glasses are practically sci-fi whilst coming out with 1-2 years
IM NOT SAYING NINTENDO IS BAD, im just saying that Nintendo's next gen does not= Gaming next gen.
Im sure if google where to construct a gaming console it would be out of this world (or Apple or Microsoft) But usually consoles loose money and games gain it back so it is a BIG risk.
Nintendo most likely WONT fail with the WII-U buuuuuut.... I'm sure of 2 things
1) It won't sell as much as the WII
2) It will be a minor disappointing to some
+Nintendo still isn't receiving great 3rd party support
I find it funny that you guys argue about a systems specs and capabilties, but if I mention the specs or capabilities of my PC im a 'pc elitist'
In Nintendo's case the Wii U is next-gen because it is their next generation of console. People who think differently just because it's not as graphically powerful as some PC's that are around really don't understand the term at all.
I'll reserve judgement until I get a 3d game in my hands, I'm happy with what I see so far.
It feels like what the Wii should have been.
Then no, it's not next-gen.
Its the same argument on if the 3ds is a next generation handheld because the psv has more power. Yes it is the next generation handheld.
Think of it this way: If Microsoft had waited to release Kinect in 2011, but along with a "new" console, rather than as an add-on for the 360...would you consider it "next-gen"?
NO. But that's essentially what Nintendo did in 2006 with the Wii, by re-releasing the GC, but with a new control scheme...that wasn't even the ONLY control scheme for a lot of games. This means the hardware in the Wii will be 12 years old, by the time the WiiU is launched. So, in essence, Nintendo skipped a CONSOLE generation, choosing to ride out the last 6 years with a new controller. But just like Kinect, they COULD have just released the sensor bar and wand as an add-on for the GC.
It's complicated...especially when you consider the GC was dead at that point last gen, and Nintendo really needed a 2nd chance, with minimal financial risk...which paid off for them in a HUUUUUGE way. But that doesn't change the facts: the Wii WAS NOT a "next-gen console" THIS generation, ergo the Wii U is really a very late entry into THIS "console generation".
PS3 has 256mb of sytem RAM then an EXTRA 256mb of video ram
a : a body of living beings constituting a single step in the line of descent from an ancestor
b : a group of individuals born and living contemporaneously
c : a group of individuals having contemporaneously a status (as that of students in a school) which each one holds only for a limited period
d : a type or class of objects usually developed from an earlier type <first of the … new generation of powerful supersonic fighters —Kenneth Koyen>
a : the action or process of producing offspring : PROCREATION
b : the process of coming or bringing into being <generation of income>
c : origination by a generating process : PRODUCTION; especially : formation of a geometric figure by motion of another
: the average span of time between the birth of parents and that of their offspring
— gen·er·a·tion&# 183;al adjective — gen·er·a·tion&# 183;al·ly adverb
See generation defined for English-language learners » See generation defined for kids"
You can't claim something isn't next gen simply because you don't think something isn't as capable as you "hope" the thing you support is. Wii U is nintendo's next console leading the new wave of consoles
Although, when a new product comes out with higher specs than a current model people say that the previous model is obsolete, not exactly true but it's the way of tech these days. Does that mean if Wii U is 'next-gen' will it be obsolete in the eyes of most if Sony/MS release much more powerful hardware?
Nintendo may want people to see it as the best of THIS gen after the PS4/XB720 hit shelves, rather than the weakest of next gen, just saying.
Technically the WiiU is a next gen console compared to the Wii, only that the Wii itself is a last gen console (basically the same architecture as the GC). It seems that Nintendo's new approach is releasing a very powerful console each cycle, but only towards the end of the cycle (or after the next one already started, in the case of the original Wii).
Now with the Wii-U, HD seems like news lmao
The Wii-U IS a next-gen console. The only problem is that will be completely obsolet in 2 years time.
The RAM is a good step above the current consoles, but I'm pretty sure I heard that a good chunk of that 2 GB was reserved for the system, unusable to games.
The Wii U will have 2gb split ram! 1gb devoted to the os, and 1gb devoted to gaming! Plain and simple.
If you want to prove that your IQ is above 7, then you have to agree.
In other words, in terms of labels and logic, yes it is next generation.
But as I stated, it doesn't really matter. The whole rationale behind 'next gen' doesn't really matter.
It won't be, other than name. But all THREE consoles and PC still won't be.
This tired argument that ANY consoles being a generation behind as defined by their specs and overall power is ludicrous. Was the Dreamcast in the same generation as the Nintendo 64 and PS1? No, it belonged to the generation after despite being weaker.
Good thing i like nintendos 1st party games cuz wanting it for anything else is pointless imo..
So if PC has to wait 3-4 years to get there, then consoles made to be 'next gen' won't be there for 5-8 years. Unless they want it to cost over a grand and sell it for a loss that dwarfs what Sony took on the PS3 the first couple of years. (and that's to do it in 3-4 years and under the assumption that we don't have hyperinflation, or even stagflation)
But none of this matters, all three consoles WILL be 'this generation done right', and all three will be pretty similar.
The Wii U will just be a PC options tick lower. So think very high settings versus ultra. Hardly a massive selling point on its own to pay more for a system.
I'll be getting all three, but I'm not going to be fooled that any of them will be vastly superior than the others, nor think any of them will be 'next gen' other than in name only.
All the consoles will put out great experiences. All will have hardcore games. All will serve what they want. Except some people grown accustomed to cutting edge will either hate that it's not cutting edge or will lie to themselves that it is.
3 Days we get this crap? Unbelievable.
by Tuesday it'll be re-worded.
It's funny because its true.
However, it's practically all outdated tech with a new controller. It's "next gen" until something else comes out. C'mon.... PS4!
Going in the logical sense.
A lot of people are forgetting that this is Nintendo we're talking about. The developers of the highest rated games on metacritic (Super Mario Galaxy 1/2) of this current generation, using hardware that the other competitors trample over.
No one ignored PS1/2 sales and facts during Sony's dominated periods, so why are they now with Nintendo and their Wii console?
@Smashbro29 The people who say it is not next gen say it because of the launch title graphics, They never bring up all those stuff you mention if they did that means it would be next gen because the Wii U has better tech then the 360 and ps3.
And again, the Wii U is hardware wise many times more potent than the PS360, it's not hard since they are built on 7 year old tech, which are ancient in computer terms. Stop with this mindless fanboyism, it's stupid and uneducated! (I own no console just to get that out of the way)
back and forth...over and over again. same topic: gargle, rinse,repeat...
As far as I can see it's hard to convince people that have made up their minds.
the technical side of the games, FPS/screen tears/ native resolution etc, these will show that even a port running more smooth with little time the system is capable. So lensoftruth will surely doing some overtime soon.
until we see the full specs and what the console is capable of then simply no one knows but if it offers the same shit we have now then no it isn't, if it's better then yes it is. finished.
there's the answer to your "astronomically" hard question.
now stop recycling the same waste of time.