Is the Wii U the next TurboGrafx-16?

[matpower]

I bet you weren't expecting that, huh?
I was thinking about the Wii U's situation today and after reading the "Wii U Rant - Is the name to blame?" thread here and "The Crew won't get a release on the Wii U because of technical differences" on Nintendo Life and suddenly I made this connection, I will give 3 similarities between them and I will let you decide if the Wii U is the next TG16.

1st - The Wii U and TG16's hardware are weaker than their rivals:

Spoiler: Console Specs

The TurboGrafx-16 has an 8-bit CPU and a dual 16-bit GPU; and is capable of displaying 482 colors simultaneously, out of 512.

The Wii U uses a custom multi-chip module (MCM), the MCM combines an "Espresso" central processing unit (CPU) and a "Latte" graphics chip (GPU), as well as an SEEPROM memory chip. The Espresso CPU, consists of a PowerPC 750-based tri-core processor with 3 MB of shared L2 cache memory and clocked at approximately 1.24 GHz. Despite belonging to the PowerPC family, the Espresso also shares some architectural concepts with the POWER7 architecture such as the use of eDRAM cache and being manufactured at a 45 nm node. The Latte graphics chip contains both a "GX2" GPGPU, which runs Wii U applications, and a "GX" GPU, which enables backwards-compatibility with previous generation Wii games. The GX2 is based on the Radeon R600/R700 architecture and is clocked at approximately 550 MHz. It is manufactured at a 40 nm node and contains 32 MB of eDRAM cache memory, which can also act as L3 cache for the CPU. The GX, contains a 1 MB and a 2 MB banks of eSRAM cache memory. The Latte chip also includes a secondary custom ARM9 processor with 96 KB of SRAM memory that handles system tasks seamlessly in the background during gameplay or while the system is in sleep mode, and dedicated hardware audio DSP module.
The console contains 2 GB of DDR3 system memory consisting of four 512 MB (4 Gb) DRAM chips with a maximum bandwidth of 12.8 GB/s. This is 20 times the amount found in the original Wii. However, 1 GB is reserved for the operating system and unavailable to games. The memory architecture allows the CPU and GPU to access both the main DDR3 memory pool and the eDRAM cache memory pool on the GPU, removing the need for separate, dedicated memory pools. The console includes either an 8 GB (Basic) or 32 GB (Premium (WW) / Deluxe (NA)) internal eMMC flash memory, expandable via SD memory cards up to 32 GB and USB external hard disk drives up to 2 TB.
The Wii U features 802.11 b/g /n wireless network connectivity and Fast Ethernet (although it requires an accessory), Bluetooth 4.0, four USB 2.0 ports (two in the rear and two in the front of the console) and an SD/SDHC memory card slot. An additional power port is also included to power the Wii Sensor Bar, an auxiliary infrared emitter which communicates with the Wii Remote first introduced on the Wii. Video output options include 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 576i, 480p and 480i, through HDMI 1.4 and component video (YPBPR and D-Terminal) or 576i, 480i anamorphic widescreen through composite video (S-Video, RGB SCART and D-Terminal). Audio output options include six-channel 5.1 linear PCM surround sound or analog stereo. The console also supports stereoscopic (3D) images and video.

Both the Wii U and the TG16 were the first on the "nextgen" market and both got a weaker hardware than the competition. The TG16 started the 16-bits era with a 8-bits CPU and 2 16-bits GPU, he was released to beat the NES/Famicom on Japan as the PC-Engine, but later on, its main rivals became the SNES and the Genesis/Mega Drive, both with a full 16-bits CPU and better specs. The situation is similar on the Wii U's side, he started the 8th generation of video games with better specs than the Xbox 360 and PS3, but after the release of the PS4 and the Xbox One, most people started calling it a "non-newgen" console and most developers won't make games for it because of its specs difference.

2nd - They tried to innovate the VG market:

And we got another similarity, the TG16 had/was the first CD addon/console with the TurboGrafx-CD, which later started the CD addon/console wave with the Sega CD, CDi, 3DO, Neo Geo CD and the Atari Jaguar CD, it was also the first console with a handheld (TurboExpress) that could play the same games as its home counterpart. The Wii U got its gamepad with a touchscreen, it allows you to stream your games to its screen and play them without a TV, later on, the PS4 got the Remote Play with a PSVita, it also allows you to stream games and play them without a TV.

3rd - They stayed in the 3rd place on the sales and got a cult following:

It is a bit early right to say that about the Wii U, however, the TG16 stayed in the 3rd place(2nd place on Japan, but a bit distant from the Super Famicom) in the console wars, with most good games being Japan only. They also got a strong cult following because of their games, the TurboGrafx-16 is the console of choice for shooters and some arcade conversions, also it was the only console to receive Street Fighter I(As Fighting Street) back in the day. The Wii U got the classic Nintendo franchises like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon and good exclusives like Bayonetta 2, Sonic Lost World and a few others.

Alright, so what do you think about this crazy idea? Do you think it is valid? I hope I can get some feedback on this idea!

 

[chavosaur]

I think no matter how you spin it, the Wii U's fucked, everyone knows it, and we don't need 15thousand threads telling us it's boned

 

[Clarky]

I do see the similarities, nice article Mat

 

[darkseekerliu]

Nice article.

 

[TheCasketMan]

I think you could also compeared the Wii U to the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast was weaker than the PS2, GC, and Xbox, it tried to innovate the the VMU, web browser, and online multiplayer, and it stayed last place but its cult following is over 9000!

 

[Foxi4]

I think you could also compeared the Wii U to the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast was weaker than the PS2, GC, and Xbox, it tried to innovate the the VMU, web browser, and online multiplayer, and it stayed last place but its cult following is over 9000!

Except the Dreamcast didn't sell poorly until the PS2 came around - it had a very successful launch wheras the Wii U's reception has been lukewarm from the get-go.

 

[SLiV3R]

perhaps. TurboGrafx-16 sold 10 millions..

Wii U has sold 6.8 so far.. I love my Wii U. But the console will never be mainstream like the NES, SNES, DS & Wii..

 

[Oxybelis]

Wii U is GameCube 2 (even hardware wise), but even worse selling.

 

[Saitara]

I looked again to the figures of sold consoles and what I saw there the Xbox one is the third behind PS4 and Wii U. So the last argument is not the true.
And now my opinion: why we need so many silly compare threads? We all know that the Wii U is not the best, but to compare to absolutely different things don't make the hole thing better.

 

[the_randomizer]

Wii U is GameCube 2 (even hardware wise), but even worse selling.

*Cough* Bullshit *cough*

 

[matpower]

I looked again to the figures of sold consoles and what I saw there the Xbox one is the third behind PS4 and Wii U. So the last argument is not the true.
And now my opinion: why we need so many silly compare threads? We all know that the Wii U is not the best, but to compare to absolutely different things don't make the hole thing better.

It was a thought that I was discussing in the shoutbox and someone said "You should make a thread about it".
Anyway, I haven't seen any data on Wii U sales, but I have only checked Wikipedia.
And FYI I think the Wii U got a chance and I see potential on it, I am sure if Nintendo gets some people on their marketing and some devs on the board the Wii U will start to kick ass.

 

[Oxybelis]

*Cough* Bullshit *cough*

CPU is more or less 3 GC cores slapped together.

 

[the_randomizer]

CPU more or less is 3 GC cores slapped together.

Because CPU power is all about the GHz, right? Clearly I should seek your knowledge about hardware more often. More GHz != more power. Come back to me when you learn more about IBM PPC vs Intel x86-64 architecture.

 

[Oxybelis]

Because CPU power is all about the GHz, right? Clearly I should seek your knowledge about hardware more often. More GHz != more power.

Where did I mention GHz?

 

[matpower]

CPU is more or less 3 GC cores slapped together.

I recommend you to read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megahertz_myth

 

[the_randomizer]

Where did I mention GHz?

By stating it was three GCN CPUs together, when that's utterly false and pure bullshit, it was implied, so do your research about CPU architectures and that CPUs aren't powerful from clock speed alone. Come back to me when you learn that wording that it's 3 CPUs slapped together is spurious and sophomoric, maybe then I'll give a damn.

 

[Oxybelis]

I recommend you to read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megahertz_myth

By stating it was three GCN CPUs together, when that's utterly false and pure bullshit, it was implied, so do your research about CPU architectures and that CPUs aren't powerful from clock speed alone.

Where did I mention clock speed?
Wii U CPU core IS a GC core.

Do you not believe fail0verflow? "The Wii U isn’t a particularly interesting device. It has the same old Wii CPU, times three." https://fail0verflow.com/blog/2013/espresso.html

 

[matpower]

Where did I mention GHz?

Well, the GC's CPU is an IBM PowerPC Gekko running at 485MHz, multiplying that by 3 equals 1.4GHz-ish, which is nearly the same as the Wii U clock speed, which is a Tri-Core IBM PowerPC "Espresso" at 1.24GHz.
Also you are ignoring the extra cores, bro.

 

[the_randomizer]

Where did I mention clock speed?
Wii U CPU core IS a GC core.

Do you not believe fail0verflow? "The Wii U isn’t a particularly interesting device. It has the same old Wii CPU, times three." https://fail0verflow.com/blog/2013/espresso.html

But that doesn't mean it's a bad CPU or bad architecture, people just use it as a bullshit excuse to bash the console. Those who focus more on the hardware of a console than the games shouldn't be getting up in arms about it. That's not the only thing the Wii U has, GPGPU for instance. Marcan is also one to over-dramatize.

 

[LegendAssassinF]

Yes the Wii U is doing bad but Nintendo has plenty of money to suffer a lost after the huge success of the Wii. They don't plan on dropping support like Sega did with its consoles either (That is what ultimately killed them even though the Dreamcast was amazing). Nintendo has plenty of games coming out for it and sadly the Xbox One is in the same boat right now. The sales are terrible for it as well and people just gloss over it. Nintendo is the only company people are willing to bash even when another is doing poorly. I really don't think the X1 is going to pass the Wii U anytime soon even with exclusive games. Nintendo has plenty of ways to make people buy a Wii U but might need another small price drop now that Mario Kart 8 is out. Hyrule Warriors will push sales in Japan mainly but Smash 4 is going to do it worldwide again. Big mistake was releasing Smash 3DS before the Wii U version.