Wii U (game console)

[Danny]

Due out end of this year, and approx twice the power of a XBox 360?! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2315561/ only twice as powerful as 7 years old technology? and thats lauded? hurm.

[Neil]

only twice as powerful as 7 years old technology? and thats lauded? hurm. Well, who knows what other bells and whistles it may have. A car with twice the power can go a lot faster if the rest of it is designed well I suspect graphically it will blow the XBox out of the water, but it's what else it offer that interests me. Most importantly the control system etc. I'm AM concerned it seems to be a single player unit from early comments, which seems madness considering how well the existing Wii has done being a family/multiplayer orientated unit.

[Rancid Carcass]

I still think they should have called it the Wii Sixty...

[AcesandEights]

give me a steampunk zelda set in a industrial revolution hyrule or something Hell, that's a good idea and I don't even really like Zelda games.

[Rottedfreak]

You can't trust rumours one minute their saying it's twice as powerful as 360, the next their saying the 360's successor is six times as powerful as the 360 and Wii U is '20% less powerful' then that making it five times as powerful. If it's powerful enough to do Resident Evil 6 in true 1080p with a bit of polish to what was shown in the recent trailer I'll be happy enough with it.

[Neil]

^^ Agreed!

[Rottedfreak]

So whats going on with Wii U? My hopes are for actual game reveals at E3 rather then a bunch of tech demoes and third party games using 360/PS3 footage. Nintendo are known for Mario, Metroid and Zelda and while they would be wise to launch their HD console with a Zelda or Mario Galaxy game but I think a new Pikmin would be a good showcase to. It might sound daft since it is a strategy game but Pikmin is one of the most accessible games going and perfect for all ages. I really don't think they should have Killer Freaks from Outer Space as any sort of Banner title, out of good taste. I'm not saying Nintendo's kiddy just that Killer Freaks at it's core looks like a mundane FPS with all this adult humour slapped on. Resident Evil 6 would be a better choice or even Transformers Fall of Cybertron unless High Moon blow it.

[Rottedfreak]

So E3 came and went and Wii U was sort of underwhelming for a few reasons: 1) Pikmin 3 is sort of niche, same too for Nintendoland, Project P-100 and ZombiU, I thought Nintendo would have had something else up their sleeves but there was nothing. 2) None of the games looked next gen, while Watch Dogs and Star Wars 1313 shown hints of next gen gameplay, New Super Mario Bros U and Pikmin 3 look like they could be done on a Gamecube. Visually it's like the current gen consoles and developers are poised to build bigger worlds with more sophisticated AI through new engines such as Luminous Philosophy Engine and Epics Unreal Engine 4. Nintendo really should have had a showcase game for the system. 3) Too many late ports, Mass Effect 3, Batman Arkham City, Ninja Gaiden 3, granted they're coming with new features like a new mission for ME3 and gameplay enhancements for NG3 but it's not enough. 4) Years ago Nintendo revealed the 3DS and then after E3's reaction slapped a high price on it, I have a feeling they will do so again here, the problem is the platform offers less then the current gen PS3 and 360 which anyone can get for between £100 - 200.

[Neil]

^^ But a Wii has never been about top end graphics, it's been about control and playability and style of games. I didn't buy a Wii for top notch visuals. I bought it for the type of games on it and the best controller(s) around.

[Danny]

I STILL havent bought a 3DS due to lack of good games, but even that had more new, original games announced 2 years ago at its announcement e3 than this did. Right now it looks like the 3rd nintendo hardware release in a row im utterly not interested in.

[capncnut]

The little one is talking about nothing else. I'm not so crazy about it but she's head over heels in love with an Italian plumber...

[Rottedfreak]

^^ But a Wii has never been about top end graphics, it's been about control and playability and style of games. I didn't buy a Wii for top notch visuals. I bought it for the type of games on it and the best controller(s) around. One of their goals is to get more third party support on the system and I think games like Watch Dogs and many more could make some good use of that touch screen pad for immersion. For example they could keep the map and inventory off the TV screen and confined to the touchscreen and have the phone/headphone instructions and espionage come from the speakers to draw the player in. Games like that aren't coming if Wii U is not up to spec. I would have gave an arm and a leg to have the Wiimote's IR sensor for Resident Evil 5 and 6 or some Wii Remote/Motion Plus melee play in Dead Rising 2. We never even got a lightsaber game all through the hardware not being up to spec.

[Rottedfreak]

I wish we knew more about Wii U's processing power but Nintendo seems to dodge questions and worse yet some NOA manager told a interviewer people would just take one apart anyway to find out in a interview. But I am optimistic as it's getting ports of games they optimised on PS3 and Xbox 360 in it's launch window suggesting it is more powerful then both and some argue they began work on early dev kits before the Wii U specs were finalised. We might not see what Wii U can really do for a while yet. Anyway my Wii U wishlist: 1) Zelda Twilight Princess - the Gamecube/Wii game in 1080p widescreen with a visual polish in some spots. 2) Dead Rising with motion plus melee and pointer shooting. 3) Command and conquer where the base building takes place on the tablet and the TV screen follows units. 4) That Motion Plus Lightsaber game already. It's loooooooooong overdue.

[Neil]

Wii U's GPGPU Squashes Xbox 360, PS3; Capable Of DirectX 11 Equivalent Graphics http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Wii...ics-47126.html

[Rottedfreak]

I do know there's been improvements to Batman and Black Ops 2 on Wii U, the developers of the latter said the Wii U version has the most advanced textures, lightening and shadowing seen on a console yet and it runs the game in 60FPS in 1080p. I think I'll hold off Resident Evil 6 and Metal Gear Solid games juuuuuuuust in case.....