Wii U

[ROFLCOCKTOR]

looks like



has this stuff

Launches: 2012
Size: Approximately 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide and 10.5 inches long.
New Controller: The new controller incorporates a 6.2-inch, 16:9 touch screen and traditional button controls, including two analog Circle Pads. This combination removes the traditional barriers between games, players and the TV by creating a second window into the video game world. The rechargeable controller includes a Power button, Home button, +Control Pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons. It includes a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, a microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor strip and a stylus.
Other Controls: Up to four Wii Remote? (or Wii Remote Plus) controllers can be connected at once. The new console supports all Wii? controllers and input devices, including the Nunchuk? controller, Classic Controller?, Classic Controller Pro? and Wii Balance Board?.
Media: A single self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density optical discs for the new console, as well as 12-centimeter Wii optical discs.
Video Output: Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. Compatible cables include HDMI, component, S-video and composite.
Audio Output: Uses AV Multi Out connector. Six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI.
Storage: The console will have internal flash memory, as well as the option to expand its memory using either an SD memory card or an external USB hard disk drive.
CPU: IBM Power?-based multi-core microprocessor.
Other: Four USB 2.0 connector slots are included. The new console is backward compatible with Wii games and Wii accessories.
(Taken from the Nintendo E3 2011 Press Release)
Games announced: Smash Brothers, Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, Assassin's Creed, Ghost Recon Online, Darksiders II, Dirt, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Metro: Last Light, Tekken, Ninja Gaiden 3, FIFA 12, Madden 12, Driver, Lego City Stories
Other facts: (GTTV interview with Reggie, thanks to hiero and others)
The price point of the system will be competitive to the current prices of the PS3, 360 in terms of value
The games shown for Wii U at the show were actually PS3 and 360 versions but the Wii U will look the same or better
No BluRay Support
Controller's screen is single-touch
Backwards compatible with the Wii's Games, but no upscaling is done
Nintendo Online system to be announced by the end of the week
Pictures:
Console + controller: [1] http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/files/2011/06/new-nintendo-wii-e3.png
http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/files/2011/06/new-nintendo-wii-e3.png
Console: [2]
Controller: [3]  [4]
Video:
E3 Tech Demo: [5] ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF4rInTqOLI (Stream quality)
Controller trailer: [6]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e3qaPg_keg

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/htwfy/new_nintendo_console_wii_u_fact_sheet/

XBOX/PS3/WIIU COMPARISON

CPU

PS3 uses a "Cell" CPU that's incredibly fast for some things and almost useless for others, and therefore it's difficult to make a direct speed comparison.

360 uses a triple-core 3.2 ghz IBM PowerPC CPU.

WiiU uses a quad-core 3.5 ghz IBM PowerPC CPU. It's also manufactured with a more advanced process (32nm vs 90nm/65nm/45nm depending on 360 generation).

Realistically there won't be much difference performance-wise between the 360's CPU and the WiiU's, maybe ~20-50% in typical scenarios. This sounds like a lot more than it is; historically the difference in CPU speed between console generations was measured in hundreds or thousands of percentage points. For example, the original Xbox used only a single, low-end 733 mhz CPU, meaning the jump to the 360 was at least a 1300% theoretical increase in performance, probably more in reality due to also using a better architecture (x86 Celeron vs PowerPC).

MEMORY

PS3 has 256 MB of [2] XDR RAM.

360 is listed as using 512 MB of [3] GDDR3 RAM, which is... confusing, since GDDR3 isn't supposed to be usable for main system memory. Regardless, it's pretty similar in performance to conventional [4] DDR2 RAM clock-for-clock. Unfortunately, this 512 MB is shared between being the main system RAM and the graphics VRAM, so the usable amount is significantly less than 512 MB.

WiiU has 512 MB of [5] XDR2 main system RAM, which AFAIK is similar in performance or faster than DDR3 RAM, clock-for-clock.

I'm a little disappointed in there only being 512 MB to be honest since a typical mid-range computer has more like 4 GB, but the bright side is that the video subsystem has a full dedicated gigabyte of GDDR5 RAM which is extremely fast, the fastest video ram in existence and used on all high-end graphics cards. Also, 512 MB of XDR2 RAM may in some scenarios be better in terms of performance than a greater amount of DDR2/3 RAM.

VIDEO (GPU)

PS3 used a video system similar to the [6] Geforce 7800 GTX.

360 used a somewhat slower cross between a [7] Radeon X1900 and a [8] Radeon 2900.

WiiU's GPU is based on the [9] Radeon 4870 ("R770").

The 4870 is two generations newer than the PS3 or 360's GPU, and more than twice as fast. See a chart [10] here. The original Radeon 4870 was capable of approximately 1200 gflops while the one in the WiiU is capable of almost 1400, so it's definitely closest-related to the high-end 4870, not a cut-down version. It could easily be an exactly copy of the PC-based 4870 but with a more modern manufacturing process (32nm vs 55nm). Unfortunately, the 4870 is not exactly cutting-edge by today's standards, more modern chips such as the Radeon 6900 series or even 5800 series are much faster.

STORAGE

PS3 has an internal hard drive of up to 320 MB. It originally launched with a drive of only 20 GB.

360 has a 250 GB internal hard drive. Like the PS3, it originally launched with a hard drive of only 20GB.

WiiU's internal storage is uncertain. There's conflicting information about what sort of internal storage will be available, with the slide saying a 250 GB hard drive and other sources saying flash memory.

An SSD is out of the question at any reasonable price, so maybe the 250/320 GB hard drives are the external ones that will be available for purchase? In any case, the size of the internal flash memory hasn't been reported on, and it's verified that you can use external hard drives or SD cards to expand the storage if want.

MEDIA

PS3 uses discs of up to 50 GB.

360 uses discs of up to 9 GB.

WiiU uses discs of up to 50 GB.

The WiiU almost certainly uses a Blu-ray drive, but won't be capable of playing movies for the sake of avoiding license fees.

VIDEO OUPUT

PS3, 360, and WiiU are all capable of output at up to 1080p (1920x1080).

While the 360 and PS3 are capable of 1080p output, games are seldom actually rendered at this resolution, especially more recent games that are pushing the hardware to the limit. 720p is the most commonly-used rendering resolution, but many games don't even go that high. Halo 3 for example used a resolution not much better than the Wii's 480p. Of interest is that a game simply ported to the WiiU would, if nothing else, be able to run at a higher resolution.

OTHER STUFF

Can multiple WiiU controllers be used at once? In none of the demos that I remember do they show more than one running at a time. If not, there's one bright side: the controller will be a pack-in so the cost isn't something you have to worry about.
If you thought the demos they displayed during the E3 presentation didn't look as good as videos you've seen of 360 and PS3 versions, surprise, they WERE videos of 360 and PS3 versions. The console hasn't been finalized yet.

Nintendo is pushing the idea of simple patch and DLC deployment as a strong point of WiiU. I forget where I read this, but it was a reputable source.

Supports all existing Wii accessories.

A Nintendo rep said that original Wii games "will not be upscaled". This isn't a very precise statement but could potentially mean that original Wii games will not be rendered at a higher resolution or anti-aliased. This sucks huge ass, since even emulators do this - and the games look GREAT.

Porting a game from 360 to WiiU have the same CPU and GPU vendors, so porting games from one to the other should be almost trivial compared to porting from 360 to PS3 and vice versa.

Since the stuff above isn't 100% verified with Nintendo, so if you just want what's known for sure:
The CPU will be faster than the 360's.

Taking into consideration current RAM prices, it would be inexcusably moronic of Nintendo to merely match the 360 or PS3 in this department.
The video subsystem will be greater in performance than the 360 or PS3, as it is based on the Radeon 4870 ("R770"). However, they DO say "based on" the 4870, so it's possible it's a cut-down version. It could be as much as 50% slower than the standard 4870 and still be faster than the 360 or PS3 by a comfortable margin.

Storage specifications are not known for sure. There will certainly be some amount of flash memory, but there could also be a hard drive. External storage expansion via hard drive and/or SD card will be available.

Optical media has been confirmed as being "up to 50 GB" in capacity. It will not be capable of playing movies.

Video output has been confirmed as being up to 1080p.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/hub9c/technical_comparison_360_vs_ps3_vs_wiiu/



Looks really promising, 88% chance of purchase


Also e3 infos

[nocomply]

i want

[Donkey Lips]

The Xbox is all I can handle at this point.

[Stoop Kid]

Will be buying. Nintendo is my favorite and has never let me down. HD zelda, mario, donkey kong, and smash bros! How can you beat that? Simple answer, You cant.

[Donkey Lips]

I had Zelda for Wii for a week. Then my crabby girlfriend borrowed it and I never saw it again. It was fun.

The coolest part (I thought) about the WiiU controller was putting it on the floor and golfing over it. If it's as reactive as a the video shows, this thing will be huge for a lot of people.

[Bubblegum Tate]

Sick!! I want one

[max power]

touch screen controller looks weird and uncomfortable. i'll be sticking with my 360 until microsoft releases another console.

[ROFLCOCKTOR]

touch screen controller looks weird and uncomfortable. i'll be sticking with my 360 until microsoft releases another console.

i have this crazy notion, where i try stuff before i make up my mind about it. I know its nuts, but it really works! Maybe when this console comes out, next year, you can try it, and see if its fun! Then if it is fun and you got some cash, you can buy it or if not fun, you can wait for a new xbox!

[max power]

nintendo's franchises's don't have the draw they used to for me and i can't see that changing anytime soon. the controller just isn't appealing to me and the fact you can only use one per system doesn't help.

[ROFLCOCKTOR]

Ya, i used to feel that way, but then i played Mario Galaxy and realized that Nintendo still can make excellent games.

 Its just unfortunate that really the only good wii games were made by Nintendo. the only non-Nintendo games i have is okami (amazing) and house of the dead overkill (amazing). Hopefully Nintendo takes a few risks with the new console, maybe brings back some franchises that died out oh so long ago. I would love a new starfox and PIKMIN game. Not to mention Earthbound and the fire emblem series.

Also id like to see what developers can actually do with the new controller beyond the obvious 'THE MENU IS IN YOU HANDS!.'

[ice nine]

Odama is a wonderful nontendo game 2oo

[Donkey Lips]

Immediately when a new console is released I always pick on it, then grow to see the cool parts of it, then end up owning it. This is cool because it's not a full/complete overhaul, but it's not a a glorified subtle tweak to a system. I hated the original Xbox, but for some reason I love the 360. I can't wait to see what Microsoft puts out for a next console.

Nintendo might not always be what I want, but they do whatever the fuck they want which is cool. When Gamecube came out they went mini-disc format and said that it would be exclusively for gaming to keep the price down. Wii was mind blowing on release. Even the older shit like the VirtualBoy - it sucked but it was something nobody else was doing.

[TwisT]

nintendo knows how to make fun shit. They're controllers have been making people say "wtf" since the 64.

hopefully with the power the wii U has, some real programers will pick up the wii. Most of the good wii games are nintendo. all the third party games suck.

[nocomply]

nintendo's franchises's don't have the draw they used to for me and i can't see that changing anytime soon. the controller just isn't appealing to me and the fact you can only use one per system doesn't help.

I'm pretty sure that is a rumor at this point isn't it? Nintendo has not confirmed or denied it.

[ROFLCOCKTOR]

Expand Quote

nintendo's franchises's don't have the draw they used to for me and i can't see that changing anytime soon. the controller just isn't appealing to me and the fact you can only use one per system doesn't help.

[close]

I'm pretty sure that is a rumor at this point isn't it? Nintendo has not confirmed or denied it.

Miyamoto said that right now you can only use one, but they are trying to allow more controllers. they specifically mentioned a situation in which a friend came over and brought his controller, they would like that too work.

[frisco]

they were tossing around the idea of using 3DS as a controller, expensive solution

the thing looks cool but with no multiplayer its gonna be a big fail

[bonerjams03]

they were tossing around the idea of using 3DS as a controller, expensive solution

the thing looks cool but with no multiplayer its gonna be a big fail

judging by the video the console should be backwards compatible with all the regular wii controllers.

[ROFLCOCKTOR]

they were tossing around the idea of using 3DS as a controller, expensive solution

the thing looks cool but with no multiplayer its gonna be a big fail

Probably not, Wii has little multiplayer. still a success, this will be a better console that still plays all wii games.

Also your assumption that it has 'no multiplayer' is wrong, it will have a network in the same line as live or psn. no more friendcodes, everyone rejoice.

[Toivo]

gay homosexual

[landCow]

at this point i'm not interested. the wii was fun for a couple of weeks but i soon found myself not caring. yeah there will be new mario and zelda games and they will probably be good but i still find myself not caring. "oh another zelda game I guess I'll save the princess again and another mario game i guess the fucking princess is still in another castle". i think i'm jaded