Developer: Wii U is 'quite a beast of a machine'

Game developer VooFoo said recently that they believe the Wii U is a very powerful console and giving glowing remarks in terms of the console's horsepower.

[AKR]

For an indie game (and an indie game about chess of all things) - It looks rather impressive. The visuals are really eye-catching.

It's nice to hear one dev compliment the hardware.

[chente0025]

time will show that this "next-gen" of consoles has been extremely overhyped for consumerism and that wii u will perform as good as the competition!

[user7402931]

can wii u play planetside 2? like ps4 ? overhyped naah.

[andrewer]

@DirtyPimp Nintendo have games that can't be simply compared like that. I play planetside 2 on PC yeah, but Nintendo consoles have Nintendo games, and THAT'S something totally worth it.

[chente0025]

@dirtypimp
can ps4 play "X"? like wii u? overhyped definitely!

[thezeldadoth]

^Planetside 2 sucks, and can also play it on PC for free.

[dantesparda]

You cant reason with these Nintendo fanboys, they are the most deluded fanboys of them all. To them, the WiiU is technically on par with the PS4/X1 when in reality the system is more on par with current gen

[EliteGameKnight]

@Dantesparda

disillusionment is a harsh term. Though fans of Nintendo may at time overspeak for the Wii U, I see the same with Microsoft and Sony fans. In fact I see much more damage controlling from the latter two actually.

Its all the same really. fans are fans, and the pointless chauvinism that occasionally affects some of us is equal on all sides. I've seen extremely reasonable and horribly biased fans all around, it doesn't matter the system they play, just the person who plays it.

[dantesparda]

16 disagrees prove my point

and p.s. maybe i shouldnt have said "deluded" but all fanboys are a little, well you's know

[RFornillos4]

@dantesparda

"deluded", really? fact of the matter is, most people who defend Nintendo in some way are really multiplatform owners who recognize the advantage of one console over the other. most are just enjoying the games.

most do not believe that the Wii U is as powerful as the PS4/XBone, on the contrary, most recognize that PS4 and XBone are more powerful.

while there are some "wayward" fanboys who defend Nintendo with their lives, this is no different from Sony/MS fanboys who do the same. with regards to "overhype" -- what is overhyped is the idea of "console wars". the next generation will show a minimal gap among consoles. gamers who would just stick to enjoying games regardless of consoles are the true winners, and not the few individuals who believe that their preferred console is better than the other.

@dantesparda, that's what those disagrees mean.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

@chente0025
"can ps4 play "X"? like wii u? overhyped definitely!
"

actually yes in theory it would probably run better on ps4.

he was talking about performance and not what game belongs to which platform.

I don't see BF4 running on wiiU it's already 720p on ps4.

ps4 will shine in the end it's secret time bomb..
http://www.amd.com/us/produ...

512mb gddr5 > 1gb ddr3 performance by 20% - amd.

X? lol
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Now that is next gen and cdpr is amazing devs btw.

least u have 1 "next gen" rpg but will miss out on 90% of them if u only play on wiiU and most games for that matter.

Nintendo is good with handheld but consoles are better from sony and MS.

in the end only pc is beast. wiiU? lol is it even dx11? I think not.

let the disagrees begin since I said nothing true.

[deafdani]

"I don't see BF4 running on wiiU it's already 720p on ps4."

Battlefield 4? You mean that a game that's coming out for PS3 and Xbox 360, can't run on Wii U?

Try again. ;)

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

@deafdani

"Battlefield 4? You mean that a game that's coming out for PS3 and Xbox 360, can't run on Wii U?

Try again. ;)"

so the next gen version and current gen version are the same.

So wiiU is a beast cuz it could run the ps3 version?

u made no point... The article is about next gen.

But u will get agrees for defending nintendo..
With a last gen example.

Try harder..

Speaking of ps3 I still see AAA exclusives coming even after ps4? lol how is ur wii again???

[ibroman]

Actually yes it can run dx11 as candle runs on it graphics whore.

[AbortMission]

You get disagrees for stating the facts Lol. I'm sorry but hardware says everything in a console (plus dev/engine magic).

[RFornillos4]

@shutUpAndTakeMyMoney

look dude, the only reason BF4 is not coming to the Wii U is because EA says so. it's not because the machine can't handle it. the fact that the PS3/360 will get it shows that it can be ported to a lower spec'd machine.

the fact of the matter is DICE is dictated by their "mothership" to not port the game, nor even try making their so-called scalabale FrostBite engine work on the Wii U. heck even CryTek recognizes that Wii U is next gen, and that their next-gen engine will also work on the Wii U. the reality is that CryTek, if not for EA would love to port a game to Wii U (Crysis 3 almost made it, except EA barred it), and they even said they had it working fine and porting it was quite straightforward.

tech-wise, the Wii U is capable. but before anyone says that PS4/Xbone is more powerful, let me just state, that I agree that PS4/XBone is more powerful. what i disagree on is the implication that Wii U is not a capable machine.

[AJBACK2FRAG]

I love mine!

[mcstorm]

Agree and I can't get enough of pikmin 3 at the moment. Tried wonderful 101 demo and going to pick it up at some point as really enjoyed it but for me out of all the new consoles the Wiiu has the best line up the end and beginning of next year.

Im getting a Xbox one on day one for forza and ki then getting Pokemon x on 3ds but the Wiiu im getting Zelda hd, sonic, dk, Mario land 3d Mario kart and super smash bros between now and march next year.

I think the Wiiu is very under rated console and once the games are out and if Nintendo can market it right it will give the Xbox one and ps4 a run for its money.

[inStereo]

I hear you on Pikmin 3 - I've been playing the s**t out of it! Currently going for the platinum medals in challenge mode -- such a well-designed game.

[mcstorm]

I agree I have never played a Pikmin game before but I will do from now on its been a nice change from all the FPS games ive played for the last 7 or so years. Ide love to see a 3DS version too.

[falcon97]

Yep same here last time i looked 90% of ps4 games are on ps3 looking more a less the same ???

[JackOfAllBlades]

The Wii U is a more powerful console than current gen, PS3 and 360. So it is pretty beast, but just like last gen when the Wii was lacking in comparison to the PS3 and 360, the Wii U will be lacking in comparison to the PS4 and XBone.

[deafdani]

Agree, but maybe the gap isn't quite as big this time around. Only time will tell.

[awesomeabe1998]

Of course it is going to be less powerful than PS4 and XB1 but the real questions are: By How Much? Will it affect the Wii U?

In terms of Ram:

Wii U: 2GB of Ram for Gaming.
PS4: Around 4.5 GB of Ram for Gaming.
XB1: Around 4.5 GB of Ram.

Now some you are thinking: Wow more than 2x the RAM of the Wii U on PS4 and XB1!

Yes that is true, yet not all of the RAM is used.

If you know Nano Assault Neo then you would know that it just looks gorgeous on the Wii U, yet it only used 1 core out of 3 cores. Imagine if the developer used 2 cores or even 3 cores! Each core on the Wii U is more powerful than each core on the PS4/XB1.

Q: Will the gap of graphics between the Wii U and PS4/XB1 be as large as the gap between Wii and PS360?

A: Most probably not!

Q: Will it affect the Wii U?

A: With games like Mario Kart 8 and SSB4, X, Bayonneta 2, and Zelda U, HELL NO!!!!

[dantesparda]

man, I thought that Sony and MS fanboys were bad, but you Nintendo fanboys are something else, you's are on some seriously delusional sh!t. And its funny how you take away the ram used by the OS on the PS4/X1 but didnt take away the 1 gig used by the WiiU. The WiiU is running on a cpu that has technology from 1997 and runs at 1.24ghz and has only 3 cores, versus the PS4/X1 running on modern tech by comparison, have 8 cores and faster clock speeds. The gpu in the WiiU is only slightly better than the Xenos in the 360, whereas the gpu's in the next gen systems are many magnitude better than what's in the current gen. The WiiU has 12.8gb/s of bandwidth compared to 176gb/s PS4 and 68gb/s on X1 (and yes MS fanboys I know about the theoretical 204gb/s of the 32mb esram). Not to mention 8 gigs on the next gen systems vs 2 in WiiU. So yeah, there is a difference, and you Nintendo fanboys need to stop being so delusional about it. The WiiU is nothing more than a slightly enhanced current gen system in some regards and inferior to current gen in others

[AJBACK2FRAG]

Bing again! The Wii U is going to be home to many amazing video games and there's only one place your gonna get to play them, Wii U!

[awesomeabe1998]

@dantesparda

No the Wii U isnt an enhanced current gen system. Unless if that system can run 1080p at 60FPS. What I said was true and what you said was true. You said the same exact thing but elaborated more. Oh and the Wii U does not use technology from 1997. technology from 1997 was used for the earlier systems like the Nintendo 64.

Did I say the Wii U was as powerful as PS$/XB1?

No.

Did I say there was not a difference?

No.

There is actually a video explaining Wii U's bandwith by a Sony CEO or something. IDK what he is though: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

As I said each core on the Wii U runs faster than each on PS4/XB1!!!

I just said the gap will not be like WII VS PS360!!

On scale of 1-10

Wii: 3
Ps3: 8
XB360: 8

Wii U: 7
XB1: 8
PS4: 9

[RFornillos4]

@dantesparda

"The WiiU is running on a cpu that has technology from 1997 and runs at 1.24ghz and has only 3 cores, versus the PS4/X1 running on modern tech by comparison, have 8 cores and faster clock speeds."

if your believe that a 1.24GHz CPU from 1997 is the same as a 1.24GHz CPU that was made recently, then who's to say you're not being delusional.

Mark Cerny himself (the designer of the PS4) proved that the technology inside the Wii U (though he did not mention "Wii U") is as modern as that of the PS4, only Nintendo took a different route as opposed to what they did with PS4. yes, PS4 will have 8 cores, bigger RAM, etc. but the generational gap between Wii U vs. PS4/Xbone is not as big as the gen-gap between Wii vs. PS3/360.

[PrimeGrime]

Who is agreeing with this. It is a proven fact that the Wii U uses 1GB of RAM for games and 1GB for its OS.

See I own a Wii U but many people have made a great point. Ever since the Wii U has gotten HD graphics you guys have become extremely delusional.

Not only that.

You said the PS4 and Xbox One use 4.5GB or RAM.

There is literally no proof of that, those are complete rumors based off of nothing but speculation.

Nintendo has confirmed the Wii U only used 1GB for games adn 1GB for the system OS. Iwata confirmed this a while back along as many other places.

http://nintendoeverything.c...

http://www.extremetech.com/...

http://www.vg247.com/2012/0...

See that is a huge problem look how many people are agreeing with you when you are completely wrong. Those are actualy confimations from Nintendo saying that the system uses 1GB for the OS and 1GB for games.

The only thing you were right about is that the Wii U has 2GB of RAM total.

Considering no system to date uses no RAM to runs it OS. Why would the Wii U have all its RAM free for games when even the PS4 and Xbox One won't either?

The only difference is that the Wii U's usages have been confirmed several times over now.

A lot of you really do over hype the device way too much and I realize it is always delusional Nintendo fans who really know the least about their own hardware.

Which is expected. No one cared about talking about Nintendo's hardware until it got HD graphics.. Plain and simple, before that everyone just said game play is all that matters.

Now look at you guys.. You aren't any better than delusional Sony and Microsoft fans defending the systems for their life with all the false information they can muster.

I own a Wii U but I am not delusional over the thing. I respect what it can do given what it has and I really don't care about the power differences. As you buy a system to play its games and the Wii U has plenty of enough in terms of power for some great Nintendo titles.

Seriously everyone knows there has been absolutely no confirmation from either Sony or Microsoft about how much system RAM their new systems use.

So there is no way you know when you are even wrong about the system you were even trying to talk about in the first place.

So you can't just make comparisons like that are completely illegitimate. Nothing you said was true about the hardware of any of these system beside part about Nano Assault..

Again I am not trying to be mean.. I support the Wii U obviously but seriously how big of a game is Nano Assault anyway?

Use X as an example at least, using small scale games like to talk about power... Games that can easily push good graphics is just so moot. I am sorry. I own Nano Assault also, its a great game but the scale and size of what it does is nothing special in all seriousness.

I really wouldn't expect it to look like anything else graphically or expect a game like that to need to use more than 3 cores anyway..

[N4g_null]

Dantesparda wow gpgpus where out in 1997? Really wow you must be from the past? Did you get here yesterday? Also why where these gpgpus not in the 360 and ps3?

true the ps4 and xone more so may have an edge but it is going to be smaller.... compression is the art of using less but getting more does the ps4 even use any compression?

kanck is similar to w101 yet why does w101 have hundreds of character s on screen? Im not seeing the same on the ps4, why can I play 5 players in w101? Why is the action faster paced? Why does the wiiu have more enemies on screen? The enemies even team up!

[dantesparda]

@awesome

WiiU a 7 while the X1 a 8 and the PS4 a 9!?
Wow! just wow! that's all i gotta say to that. And thanks for further proving my point. And the Wiiu is not really a "enhanced" current gem system, its a little bit better in some areas while bieng worst in others. Just look at all the comparisons. Splinter Cell may run all a higher res, but with lower texture resolutions and lower framerate and that's just one example, its the case with almost every wiiu game except for like one or two when compared to current gen.

@RFornillos4

While its true that the jaguar cores in the PS4/X1 arent the most powerful cores the cpus in the next gen consoles are certainly more powerful than the wiiu's and yes the cpu tecn in the wiiu is from 1997, deal with it, its a fact, saying that its as mdern as the cpus in the PS4/X1 is whats delusional

@scissor_runner

Dude, seriously go back and reread what i wrote, cuz you are so off its emabarassing and shows your level of comprehension. And your comparisons ridiculous

[JackOfAllBlades]

Why all these disagrees? The Wii U is a great console? I didn't say it wasn't??

[deafdani]

Some people have serious reading comprehension. Don't worry too much about these disagrees, keep posting your opinion. :)

Also, some people may be merely disagreeing with your statement about the Wii U being in as much disadvantage compared to its competition as the original Wii was.

Remember: a disagree is exactly that, someone not agreeing with something you said. It isn't a downvote. Relax. :)

[chente0025]

wii u received a bunch of lazy current gen ports at launch and fanboys said "oh,wii u is weak underpowered and it's doomed".
but ps4 struggles out the gate and fanboys say "oh,will see better result in 2 or 3 years when devs get the hang of it".Really?

http://n4g.com/news/1341344...
Hypocrites!!!!!!!!!

[Summons75]

True true. Most of the ps4/xbone launch list are indies or current gen ports but will people says that's a dev copout for those? Nope!

[AJBACK2FRAG]

Gumpei Yokoi, super genius and mentor to staff artist turned super genius Shigeru Miyamoto. He had a theory called lateral thinking with withered technology. He believed utilizing older technology with new, innovative ideas could create radical new gameplay ie; Wii and Wii U. He also believed utiling new and evtremely powerful technology could hinder game development! Kind of ironic 'eh?

[RFornillos4]

i agree. there was one indie dev interview i read recently (forgot his name). their opinion regarding why they chose the Wii U over PS4/XBone, is that they believe that when you're given a set of limitations, you tend to be more creative in terms of gameplay.

and this is true for some next-gen games for the PS4/XBone, they focus more on the visual flair, explosions, realism, etc. that the games just tend to be expensive to make, overhyped, with little substance. yet these games tend to be categorized as AAA games, mainly because their dev cost was already comparable to making a movie. but content-wise, mediocre.

development-wise, if you are making a game for a machine with high specs, they also tend to be lazy, and do less optimization, coz the machine can take it.

[Tontus]

lol, Wii U is a beast for sure... compared to the Wii, PS2, Gamecube & Xbox. It's roughly as beastly as the PS3 & Xbox 360. It's a baby mouse compared to the true next gen beasts, PS4 & Xbox One.

[Benjaminkno]

Yeah, but Nintendo doesn't need to focus on graphics.

Their competitors have to, or there would be no reason to buy them because they're already obsolete.

Too bad PC and Nintendo are really the only gaming machines to own.

Baby mouse... are you like 12?

[DarkHeroZX]

well for me its a PS4/PC. Graphics aren't the only thing X1/PS4 is selling. Like Nintendo they are bringing the games I and many other gamers want to play.

[ReesesPuffs]

The jump from SD to HD was a pretty big jump. The jump from HD to HD really isn't as significant as last gen. The Wii is an SD console while the PS360 are HD consoles. Third party multiplatform games suffered but just because the Wii was in SD didn't prevent it from getting some pretty good looking games last gen. There is going to be a gap this gen but it will be much much smaller than it was last gen and the Nintendo exclusives will shine. Just look at Pikman 3 and that's only at the very beginning of this new generation. I wouldn't be so quick to judge the Wii U if I was you.

[FlyingFoxy]

I'm not sure what visuals Wii U is capable of altogether, but i'm a PC gamer and Mario Kart 8 looks great with the art style it has.. no complaints here, plus 60fps.

[310dodo]

I feel Nintendos made mistakes since the Wii arrived. But I still Nintendo for bringing me into gaming when I was 4.

I am sick of all the Nintendo bashing from "gamers".
If you really love games why are you drooling over the "doom of Nintendo"?

Glad to see a positive story about Nintendo, I hope they bounce back with the Wii U soon.

[Benjaminkno]

Because Sony isn't doing that well and the Xbox brand is in trouble.

They're scared, and they probably should be.
Nintendo is too family friendly for them, and the WiiU is in direct competition with their preference.

Don't you see??...

THIS IS WAR!!!

[windblowsagain]

Wii u is built for Nintendo games, that is where Ninty make their money and that's what brings people back to them.

Mario Kart 8 is one of the best examples of what Wii u - is capable of within it's limits.

[Activemessiah]

Who the hell buys a Nintendo to play third party games anyway...

[Samus HD]

I do, but that is not the main reason of course

[BOWZER35]

I'm sure when the PS4 comes out, all the hype about it will go down with all the Wii U bashing. It will come down to games in the end, and Wii U will have some of the best games ever.

[josephayal]

You can't tell the difference between PS4/X1 and Wii-U games

[chente0025]

Exactly! Everything i have seen from ps4/Xone is nothing that will make me say "WOW" wii u can't do that. it's just different styles of games but nothing that can't be done on wii u!

[LOL_WUT]

Frostbite 3 says hello and Phantom Pain ;)

[meganick]

The thing about the PS4 and X1 is that you have to look more closely to see the leap in graphics than any generational leap in the past. Last time around we went from SD to HD, a huge, noticeable difference. This time we're going from HD to better HD. So the PS4 and X1 will most certainly do things the Wii U can never do, you just have to look closely at all the little details to see the difference. That being said, we'll still see great looking games on Wii U. In fact, Pikmin 3 in particular has impressed me, and that's pretty much a first-wave game, so games will only look better from here on out.

[awesomeabe1998]

@LOL_WUT

Frostbite 3 can run on Wii U.

[Neonridr]

No doubt the PS4 and XB1 are going to shine, and there will be some games that just may not be possible to release on the Wii U. However, I think we will see a lot more 3rd party games release on the Wii U this time around, since the Wii U can at least be scaled to use some of these newer engines. Crytek fully supports the system, so there's no reason why Frostbite and Unreal Engine 4 can't be utilized on the Wii U.

Once the heavy hitters come out this fall and next year, we will start to see the hardware really move. Developers will be absolutely ignorant and idiotic if they ignore the install base the Wii U will present to them by the end of next year.

But looking forward to seeing what Sony and MS bring to the table. I need to see more from each so I can decide which other next gen console I will be getting to compliment my Wii U. Right now I am leaning towards Sony, but I want to see more before I make up my mind.

[D_RoyJenkins]

There are lot of Nintendrones here. Thought there were only a few Left on N4G

[310dodo]

making fun of Nintendo fans on a gaming site?

without Nintendo...Sega,PS1, etc and yes the PS4 X1 wouldnt even exist.

N4G wouldnt exist without the passion for gaming that Nintendo started.

[D_RoyJenkins]

Yes you're right. Nintendo invented gaming.../s

[LOL_WUT]

Oh you'd be surprised by how many there are here they are the worst. ;)

[BosSSyndrome]

@D_Roy
No, not invented. But console gaming would be a thing of the past if not for them and that's a fact.

[Realplaya]

After reading the comments I find most of them make me laugh.

Lets be honest Nintendo typically sets the bar for others to copy. Who says that a photo realistic game is the best game and gives the best experience?
At the end of the day it's about what games sale on a console and how much money companies can make. Lets look at the top 5 selling games on the last generations consoles.

PS3
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 12.83 million
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 12.01 million
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops II 10.06 million
4. Gran Turismo 5 10.52 million
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 10.19 million

360
1. Kinect Adventures! 20.33 million
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 15.00 million
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops 14.00 million
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 13.07 million
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops II 12.66 million

Wii
1. Wii Sports 80.47 million
2. Mario Kart Wii 33.90 million
3. Wii Sports Resort 31.84 million
4. Wii Play 28.74 million
5. New Super Mario Bros. Wii 27.07 million
6. Wii Fit 22.75 million

Now looking at the numbers the only games that sold well on the 360 and ps3 were FPS games while Nintendo sold more non FPS and that's where their strength is. Also people brag about their PS3 and 360 which sold over 70 million units globally Didn't push software out the door. Nintendo 6th game which wasn't cheap because of the accessory sold more games than the top game which cost less.

If I was Nintendo and I had to quote something to the people who think they are out of touch it would be.

"I be laughing to the bank, all you do is giggle"

[meganick]

My god, I had no idea Kinect Adventures sold that much. That's crazy.
Anyway, I wouldn't count the original Wii Sports seeing as how it was packed in with the Wii. In fact, any game packed in with a system should not count as a sale of that game as far as I'm concerned. I know the industry sees differently, but that's just my opinion.

[Benjaminkno]

People forget that profitability is what counts.

That's why Nintendo is in the best shape right now. They know how to make games for everyone.

CoD got old 5 years ago.

KillZone is so much more fun...

[unknownbystander]

I don't understand why people downplay the Wii U when it's a capable system when used right. If you like graphics so much them why not get a gaming PC. No money? So you settle on Ps4/XboxOne and their graphics couldn't even come close to a modern gaming PC. Whoever gets the console versions of a game whether it'd Wii U/Ps4/Xbox One/Ps3/Xbox 360, it will be inferior to the PC from graphics all the way to AI.

Lesson is, don't downplay on other people's decisions because that very same thing is happening to you, and you might not know it, which is worse.

On a side note. PS4/Xbox One will be fun, but in my honest opinion, you can experience their shine elsewhere whether it would be PC,PSP,PS3,Xbox 360,even Vita. In Nintendo's platforms, you couldn't find their unique experience elsewhere.

[HalfNerdHalfAmazing]

All gonna say is ever since I bought my Wii U my Xbox 360 been collecting dust.

[kwandar]

As has my PS3

[Benjaminkno]

I still like to play FallOut3 though...

What games are you guys playing on WiiU besides Pikmin?

[RicardJulianti]

Yeah...I haven't turned on my 360 since early May....and before that it was mid February. I don't even have an HDMI cable hooked up to it anymore, not exactly sure why I still have it honestly.

After I finished The Last of Us and a new playthrough of Far Cry 3 on my PS3, I have been back on Monster Hunter.

Now that more games are coming out, very little interests me on my other systems. I might get Beyond: Two Souls, but I might wait until it's cheap. I liked Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain...but something about Beyond isn't grabbing me as much.

Oh....almost forgot GTAV. Definitely picking that up later in September after I've at least beaten W101.

[Africa-Garvey]

N4G.COM...... You are bais on Wii U articles.
How could you rate this articles at 190 degrees when about 64 people had commented on it, not to mention the numerous people that has read through without comment in just 10hrs of post.

N4g.com, you are fond of doing that on Nintendo articles. Pls deduce a math. Principle for your articles's weight not just mere assumption.

As for this topic, Wii U is really great.
7:8:9 as awesomeabe1998 earlier stated