Differences between Wii U and next-gen Xbox 720, PS4 won't be 'as drastic' as current generation

It's easy to look at the Nintendo Wii and see the graphical inferiority it has to other current gen consoles like the Xbox 360 or PS3. Gameplay experience aside, the Wii wasn't able to keep up with either consoles' graphical capabilities causing the Wii to be excluded from many multiplatform software that released for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

[MariaHelFutura]

I always think these articals are written by crazy Nintendo fanboys. Technology has grown a lot, the difference will be substantial and that all good... Nintendo did fine this gen being far behind technologically.

[PopRocks359]

I get what you're saying, but what exactly does that have to do with this article in particular?

[victorGma21]

Looking at the rumours (if true), WiiU has a modern architeture and GPU, which will make it have decent ports/remakes (it won't be like the Wii situation again). WiiU obviously won't be on par with x720/PS4, but it won't look bad graphically.

I don't think developers will spend a lot of money with games so don't expect multiplatforms to look very different, but exclusive games like God of War, Uncharted, Gears of War, etc will probably show a huge difference.

Microsoft is really obsessed with the new Kinect and Sony lost something around 5~6 billions, and they are also expecting to have a big loss this year. I don't believe they will have a high end hardware, but probably more powerful than the WiiU (just not a huge leap).

[PoSTedUP]

the difference this gen was ridiculous (a ps2 compared to a ps3).

even if next gen is not as much as a difference as this gen, IT STILL COULD BE A BIG DIFFERENCE.

nintendo has to realize they were a full step behind last gen. the wii U looks as if it's going to be a PS3 and 1/3rd imo

[joab777]

Wait until the unreal engine 4 or the luminous engine are used on new console and are then ported to the wiiU. It will be drastic. And Nintendo has already mentioned That's it's online will never catch up so Imagine the gap there.

[BitbyDeath]

I agree with Maria, it shouldn't matter if Nintendo find themselves with the same disadvantages technology wise. Nintendo make unique games that you cannot find anywhere else, this alone lets them stand out from the pack.

Nintendo fanboys are their own worst enemy.

[nukeitall]

It makes sense, the gap won't matter as much anymore primarily because we are quickly hitting a ceiling where increase in technology, does not translate to increase in "new" experiences. Before there were games you couldn't make, because the console was too slow, but now a days even on an Xbox360/PS3 there are practically very few games you can't make.

A downgraded port to Wii U won't be a problem!

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

Seriously though. Even if wiiU is like an xbox 360 do you expect Sony and Microsoft to not make a system that can't compete with wiiU's price? As obsessed as Microsoft is with the casual success that wii had I don't expect them to make something that can't compete with wiiU's price.

This is not about harcore gaming this is about business.
Unless Microsoft and sony are willing to take a huge loss again(and I especially don't see Sony doing it right now) Don't expect a huge leap.

"Wii U is more like Xbox 360" - Microsoft
http://www.examiner.com/art...

If Microsoft really believes this then they might feel less inclined to make something super high end.

imo...

[Soldierone]

They also have developers sitting there saying they will not use consoles if they don't update them. No matter what they also have gamers sitting there asking "why should I "upgrade""

The price point won't be set by Nintendo, it will be set by MS or Sony. That being said it wont be outrageous either. Sony isn't developing a new disc format, blu-ray will keep costs down, and the newest graphics cards are not too expensive to make.

MS MIGHT go cheap, but I doubt Sony will be happy with it. Look at the Vita.

[DaPrintz]

Before E3, many nintendo fans on this site claimed that WiiU would be 6 to 7 times as powerful as 360/ps3. When that didn't appear to be the case, comments on this site changed. MS/Sony apparently won't have much of an upgrade next gen. Reasons like price compared to WiiU, price to develop for, so and so losing money etc. I personally don't believe any of that. Nextbox/ps4 are not launching this year. Why are people talking about the next consoles from MS/Sony as if they're being manufactured as we speak with today's top of the line shit under the hood. The ps3/360 with a price drop will dominate this holiday. Who's to say they even need to release next holiday? I believe they will launch when they can outclass the WiiU at a $400 to $500 launch price. Everything will depend on the success of the WiiU. If it can hold its own against the 360/ps3, we may see those new consoles sooner rather then later. I don't think that either will have anything but a real next gen leap though. Besides Gamecube to Wii, it has never happened.

[joab777]

ErIf Sony and Microsoft don't take a huge leap, there won't b consoles anymore. PC will dominate gaming. I can speak for myself and many of my friends. We r waiting for the price and specs. If they are minor, we r jumping ship. And developers won't wait around. If they don't get what they want, they will build for the pc. There must b a leap. If Xbox is looking at 4-6 cores, it will b significant.

[Persistantthug]

Just as the VITA is.

Also, this is exactly why I don't want a PS4 any earlier than holiday 2014. Because if we wait, then we can get good hardware that will be able to last and do well through 2022 or so.

I'm thinking something along the lines of an ATI 7950 or possibly a 7970. One of those GPUs would definitely be doable and possible come 2014 at mass production levels.

As the old saying goes:
"THE BEST THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT"

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

:)

[ABizzel1]

Actually the article is pretty much spot on. The PS3 and 360 left the Wii in their dust technology-wise.

While the Wii-U will be inferior, it won't be by as much as the previous gen.

The Wii was Gamecube 1.5. The Wii-U is rumored to be Xbox / PS3 1.5

If the rumored Xbox 8 specs. from the 54 page leaked document are true and the Xbox 8 is only 4 - 6x more powerful than the 360, then the difference between Wii-U and Xbox 8 won't be as drastic as many Xbox fans expect. Words can't explain it well, so here's some pis. to try to help.

Here are some pics. of Drake from Uncharted 1, 2, and 3. Imagine the Wii-U as Uncharted 1, well the difference in the Xbox 8 would be Uncharted 3. But while the Wii U runs Uncharted 1 graphics at 720p 30fps, the Xbox 8 will run Uncharted 3+ graphics at 1080p 60fps with bigger environments, more details and textures, and much better lighting. So there will be a visual difference, just not Wii vs Xbox 360 big of a difference.

http://cloud.mmgn.com.s3.am...

http://www.nxus.co/wp-conte...

http://fc06.deviantart.net/...

http://download.gamezone.co...

As for the PS4, Sony's consoles are generally 10x more powerful than the previous console, and if the rumored specs. just announced are anything to go by then the PS4 will be the most powerful console visually, and possibly 10x more powerful than the PS4, meaning the jump between Wii U and PS4 will be noticeable. But the jump between PS4 and Xbox 8 will be similar to Wii-U compared to Xbox 8.

If all this is true then 3rd party devs. are going to have their work cut out for them. They have to build a PC version possible DX12 capable Ultra settings, a PS4 version with 1080 High settings, a Xbox 8 version 1080p Medium settings, and a Wii-U version 720p / 1080p low settings. This kind of segregation will be interesting, and possibly destructive for the industry.

The rumored specs. for the PS4 are:

Steamroller APU
HD7000's series (most likely HD7950 $350, the others are 7970 $450, 7970Ghz $500, 7990 at least $700)
2GB - 4GB of RAM (I thought they'd use 8GB of RAM)

[smashcrashbash]

Why does everyone keep taking what he said to heart? Of course Iwata would say this. If the next PlayStation and Xbox are much more powerful then the Wii U then many people will ignore or drop it to buy them.What do you expect him to say? 'My competitors will have a more powerful then my current console but buy mine anyway until you might want to sell it'?

Technological advancement gets faster every year. What makes him think that the next jump isn't around the corner or that Sony and Microsoft don't have something cooking? I have seen a video with Sony working on technology that can create AR images that fill a whole room with a tropical jungle and make images of people sitting right next to you. How is Nintendo planning to top that if they have it ready for the next console? He is the competition. He will say anything if it gets him more sales. He doesn't know the specs of either system but is already certain they won't have much of a difference

[PopRocks359]

That's a fine and dandy theory. But that's really all it is in the end. A theory.

The fact is we can't know anything about the gap between the Wii U and its real competition until those consoles come out. Nintendo does not know their specs and they don't know the Wii U's either. Neither do you.

Now a handful of well-known developers have suggested that the Wii U has very modern hardware. We already know it has a CPU that eclipses what was in previous HD game consoles.

Its competitors can either go the max (which is what I expect Sony to do) and go with the graphical standard on PCs at the time of its release, or they can make a weaker console in the name of a gimmick (which is what I expect Microsoft to do). Microsoft, I think, will focus especially on Kinect and SmartGlass while Sony will focus on those things after cranking up the specs.

So I speculate (see that word speculate over there? Remember it) that Nintendo's in an either/or situation. It can go either way with its competitors. And to be frank, particularly with Microsoft's next console, the gap will not be that large, especially since it's only a year or two away, as oppose to the six or seven that the Wii U had against the predecessors of those consoles.

[Hicken]

It's ALL theory, until these systems come out.

I don't think there'll be as big a gap as there was this generation, but it's entirely possible for the latecomers to be superior to the first system on the market, even if only by a little.

[victorGma21]

@smashcrashbash
Unfortunately that's not how it works in practice because you have things like:
-Higher production costs (Take Two lost at least 25M with Max Payne 3, and it's a big dev, can you imagine some small/medium devs?)
-Higher hardware price
-Higher software price
-Lower profit
-Big losses (sony already lost a lot of money with the PS3 and they are expecting to lose even more money this year)

Etc etc.

Maybe people is playing too much PC games and they forgot how the console market works.

@Hicken
You are completely right but the original xbox1 was 3~4x more powerful than the PS2 and it had a much more modern GPU.

[kikizoo]

3X4X ? not on screen...(on screen it was : ps3>>>>>>wii , xbox>ps2 for comparison)

by the way, wiiu is just on par with ps3/360 multiplatforms graphics(inferior to ps3 exclusives), so it's not hard to understand that sony and even microsoft will have much more powerfull consoles than wiiuu next gen (probably the same gap than wii vs ps3)

***stop spreading stupid things with ps3 profits, they are winning ton of cash with it now (hardware and games : more than competition + psn games + don't forget blurays),

[victorGma21]

@kikizoo
WHAT THE HELL?????????????? I was talking about the original xbox1 against the original PS2! I said nothing about the PS3, are you crazy? Are you on drugs or drunk?

Here is a comparison:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

And yes, xbox1 was at least 3~4x more powerful than the PS2 but it was nothing really important because PS2 had much more support and decent graphics.

[--Onilink--]

i dont see whats so hard to understand about his comments...

1st he said this in comparison to the diference between Wii and 360/PC, which was so big, 3rd party developers couldnt just downgrade the game graphically, they had to use completely diferent engines. Nintendo might not be using a GTX690 for the WiiU, but its still using a powerful card and a powerful CPU, the fact that current WiiU games in development, launch games in fact, look as good as games so late in the 360/PS3 cycle, while also displaying something else in the 480p display, should be proof enough of that. And if not, why not just take comments from developers who have already said its powerful.

Basically the point is simple, Sony and MS might come out with more powerful machines, but the diference wont be as big as before, most 3rd party devs will be able to launch "downgraded" versions (graphically) in the WiiU, just as you can have diferent graphics in a PC game.

He is not saying this to compare specs with machines that are not even out, he is just saying the WiiU is powerful enough, to not lose 3rd party support like what happened with the Wii

[iNFAMOUZ1]

i honestly believe wii u will fail, you know why? the name. People will think its just an add on

[yabhero]

Just like people thought 3DS was just a new DS system /sarcasm

[WeskerChildReborned]

Wow, yea you do got a point but those people probably wouldn't even care enough to get a Wii U if they thought it was an add on. I'm personally excited for it.

[--Onilink--]

its all about marketing, just because you keep the brand name, means people will get confused. They just need to deliver a clear message.

Im sure people were pretty sure that the iphone 3, 3G and 3GS were not the same thing. Why apple knows how to show their products and let people see the diferences

[jay2]

Of cause the bloody top man will make those kind of claims.

[yabhero]

If Nintendo uses a e6760 then the best ms and Sony could do with an 7970 would be 2.5 times the performance.

[C0MPUT3R]

or you know, a gpu that doesn't exist yet.
8xxx series
or
9xxx series
.
And then factor in the CPU, and it isn't even close.
.
If Iwata was so sure then why doesn't he reveal the specs?
.
Wii U games didn't look better than PS3 games at any time.
.
Early software isn't an excuse. Early PS3 software looked better than late PS2 software.
.
And guess what? Early PS4 software will look better than late PS3 software.

[jacen100]

Maby someone can correct me here because i never purchased the playstation 3 until it was in its 3rd year of life but did some early ps3 games look no better than polished ps2 ports ?
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
and you cannot compare ports, wiiU runs ports with Ease, zombi u looks kick ass and it was developed from the ground up in no time lets wait till the console comes out and see what it can do before you talk jibbery

[JBSleek]

Since when did console games become graphical whores?

[StraightedgeSES]

@ Nitex no back then gamers cared about how the game played this gen all gamers care about is how the game looks

[stuna1]

That's all good and all! But with all these articles it makes it look and seem like Nintendo themselves are not so sure that they can compete with what the next generation might have to offer! Which in itself is OK, because nintendo has never been about having the highest specs, it's been more so about the fun factor.

If you look at the bigger picture, nintendo has a bigger goal to achieve than the other competitors have! They have to convince the hardcore that they want to make amends for how this gen turned out. The truth of the matter, a lot of the heavy supporters of nintendo have felt slighted and forgotten about, because of the casual nature of this gen, the same way a lot of supporters of microsoft are starting to feel.

One way that nintendo can show the core gamer that they are serious about staying relevant next gen, is by putting some power under the hood.

[AO1JMM]

Not one of you actually know what you are talking about. All you can do at this point is guess.

[PopRocks359]

That's what I've been trying to say lol. I don't think the gap will be as big as everyone thinks, but I've never pretended to be 100% certain. Fanboys are too sure it will be that big though.

[TheDivine]

Really doesnt matter as il get all 3 consoles if they have good exclusives i want. Il be happy with nintendo ip's in hd plus the new things the controller does. Also nintendo consoles get alot of japanese games that wouldnt make it over otherwise (look at p-100 already) so im hoping for some good 3rd party games and hopefully a bunch of jrpgs. I dont want just multiplats because i have a 360/ps3 for those and will have a nextbox/ps4 down the road so if its not able to run the new engines we will get alot of great games from dev's who cant afford new engines and development costs or want to make niche (aka not shooters) and they will still be hd so its a win/win either way.

The wii had as many good games as the hd twins the only problem was they werent in hd. They were still fun and now that they are hd im happy, not a big difference in 720 and 1080 (the wii-u might do 1080 easy we dont know yet).

[Qrphe]

The reason why the Wii didn't get much proper multiplat support wasn't because the system was way behind the other two, it was mostly because multiplats games didn't sell very well on it relatively speaking (or the developers that tried at least).

Even if the Wii U doesn't keep up graphically with the other two to come (which it will not), if it has good multiplat sales it WILL have multiplat support.

[ninjahunter]

Principle of diminishing return. The more of something you have the less of a difference it makes. I remember not too long ago it was anounced that high end PC gaming had reached 24x the power of a xbox 360 or ps3. Now if you take the most demanding game available, crank everything up and make sure you have all the bells and whistles turned up its not going to look 24x better. were talking MABY 2-3 times better off of that much horsepower. Just a little perspective piece for you guys to munch your brains on.

[jacen100]

Forget it buddy the Fnboy Trolls like corrus below aint got a clue. but you are 100% correct

[corrus]

HAHAHAHA the graphic of WII U is not even close to PS3/360's graphic

[DivineAssault]

maybe not "AS" drastic but there will be a significant difference.. Wii U has HD now so it wont look like total garbage but it really doesnt matter.. If theres not enough 3rd party support for wii u, it will just be far worse than before.. I dont think casuals will go after nintendo this time..

[jacen100]

I love how fanboys dream of the ps4,, finsh your conrflakes and get to school kiddies lol
what are they expecting the damn TV to open up and them step inside and actually be part of the game,haha
wii U modern internals are allot more powerfull than current gen it plays ports mearly ticking over.

Lets see what the games look like when the console releases and then you will see that a massive leap is not even possible from what the wiiU can do. unless you want to spend $700 on a console there is no way microsoft and sony will not go down that road with the current financial collapse the last few years

[cedaridge]

Actually Yes I want the TV to open up and me step inside and be part of the game. I payed $599.99 for ps3 and $399.99 for xb360 when they 1st came out. I was sold on STELLAR Graphic's and I bought HDTV and HDMI cords to view all this HD glory. so i guess that's makes me a whore. I GIVE MICROSOFT & SONY MY $ SO GIVE ME CLOSE TO REAL LIFE GRAPHICS!!! lol psn: cedaridge / xbl: cedar4Thunder

[nerdkiller]

this might b true cuz sony and msoft might think like we dont need to spend money to make money look at the wii. it sux cuz i want more power dont get me worng i like my wii i just wish it was as powerful as my ps3

[shackdaddy]

Lmao. So many people on this website are gonna be sooo disappointed when Xbox8/PS4 will either be below all of these outlandishly over-exaggerated expectations or consoles will cost $600+

Go play PC for a while kiddies. The difference is NOT that much unless you have high-end, expensive hardware in your machine.