Hardware Gamecube 1.5?

[GeekyGuy]

Not too long ago, N'Gai Croal of Newsweek reported Microsoft exec Robbie Bach as saying, "[The Wii doesn't] have the graphics horsepower that even Xbox 1 had."

Hmm...that would be very disappointing if true. In a later post on Croal's blog he reported that folks from the website Beyond3D did some investigating of their own and summed up the Wii by saying, "...the Wii has the processing power of one-and-a-half GameCubes with no noteworthy increases in functionality."

Beyond3D goes on to question the importance and relevance of the Wii remote in gaming, and implores gamers to ask questions about the true value of the system in this new generation of consoles. They make some valid points, but they also seem to be taking a round-about approach in accusing Nintendo of not really doing anything to bring their product into the next gen; Beyond3D doesn't really seem to be asking the question so much as insinuating that such is the case.

I don't know one way or the other whether any of this is true. That's one group of folks who've done some research, and they're pretty much reporting to laymen like myself. I'd love to see other folks take a better peek under the Wii's hood (or even hear Nintendo's response to such claims), but until then...what do YOU think about all this?

N'Gai Croal's blog about the Wii's processing capabilities.

 

[bluebright]

who cares. If I wanted the best graphics I'd just play my PC.

 

[GeekyGuy]

who cares. If I wanted the best graphics I'd just play my PC.

Wow, what an incredibly well though-out reply. Thanks.

 

[sekhu]

nothing so far has provided any real evidence that the wii is nothing more than a modestly souped up gamecube. if you compare it to the xbox to 360 and ps2 to ps3 leap, it's not very significant. You can't question the impact a controller like the wiimote has had, it's brought in new demographics that wouldn@t typically play games, and now sony and microsoft are trying to gain some of that crowd for their own systems.

but the wii has been a novelty for me, rather than a serious games console. it's underpowered, it's gimmicky and the vast majority of the games are shovelware, even their flagship titles have been underwhelming.

i probably won't sell my wii, since i've had it modded by a friend, had it not had the modchip I would have sold it already for profit. the xbox360 is the only console I would be willing to pay games for, and if the ps3 has a good year in 2008 (which I think it will) then I would also pay for ps3 games. The wii being such a novelty, it wears off quick, and you're left questioning whether you made the right purchase as the novelty wears off.

i'm willing to pay for quality, but right now the wii has none imo, and you know what they say about opinions...

 

[Dingler]

who cares. If I wanted the best graphics I'd just play my PC.


Wow, what an incredibly well though-out reply. Thanks.

Srysly who cares about graphics? I sure as hell didn't buy my Wii for a good gfx experience. I got my PC for that. Now if this Robbie Bach can't see past that, it's his problem.

 

[gambit420]

i'm getting sick of all this negativ wii talk, i mean i have mine for around one year and got zelda, metroid, mario galaxy, and around 15 really good enjoyable titles + all the vc stuff. Remember back in the n64 days, there was mario, pilotwings, starwars shadows of the empire and blastcorps in the first year. Gamecube 1.5? man did you saw mariogalaxy graphics?
So you don't like your wiis, send em over to the uk, and buy yourself an superhightech ultimatepower, little overpriced blueray-player that can eaven play games.

 

[berlinka]

i'm getting sick of all this negativ wii talk, i mean i have mine for around one year and got zelda, metroid, mario galaxy, and around 15 really good enjoyable titles + all the vc stuff. Remember back in the n64 days, there was mario, pilotwings, starwars shadows of the empire and blastcorps in the first year. Gamecube 1.5? man did you saw mariogalaxy graphics?
So you don't like your wiis, send em over to the uk, and buy yourself an superhightech ultimatepower, little overpriced blueray-player that can eaven play games.

amen

 

[GameDragon]

It's sad to see how many people dislike Wii just because it is underpowered. The DS is also a very underpowered handheld in comparison to PSP, but I never hear anyone complaining about that. The first couple of games for DS also weren't all that impressive, but after a while, the games started to get alot better. I expect the same to happen with Wii overtime. I do admit most of the games on Wii aren't that good, but like I said, I think that will change in time.

Although I don't directly own a Xbox 360 or PS3 (But I do have access to them), I think overall I've had more fun with Wii and I expect that to continue. 360 is the best system though, don't get me wrong. But Wii's fun factor has been unrivaled thus far in my opinion.

 

[gov78]

so far the only games that show the wiis power is probably mario galaxy give it time and u probably get some better titles with better graphics ect im not saying its gunna be like the ps3 or anything but just give it time. right now only the first party games have been the best thing to look forward to but give it time and it will get better i mean look a any console the first are alway the worst until developers get used to the console look at the ps3 i hasnt got much going for i right now but next years theres quite abit why not give the patience u give to the ps3 to the wii aswell since u say "Oh Ps3 NEXT YEAR will be awsome" why not say the wii next year will be awsome

 

[Lumstar]

DS is what's far too underpowered. But not for the reason you might think. Even its new 256MB cards are still less than five times a disc for PSP holds.

Another problem is the screen. Too low of resolution relative to its physical size. That happens to be why just about all games for DS are slightly grainy.

 

[BigX]

Well first of all I swapped to consoles for gaming. Back in the old time I used to say "consoles? nah...I don't like them too few options". Nowadays you have to patch your system everytime you want to play something and have to keep up your systems specification. Thats costly and stressfull.
So I went to the Gamecube sometime (don't remember the reason...) I never liked it much to play let's say FPS with gamepads and really sucked at it. But with time I got better with the gamepad. But now with the Wii we have a pointing device on a console...best of both worlds! well um...except the grafx of course.

I agree on the article. Reading plain out the specification and the processing power, the Wii is little more than a GameCube. But what about the plattform?
Low Power usage (ok...not a killer argument but still a good thing to consider)
The are things I like and dislike about it. Like you have downloadable games on XBox360 and PS3. I'd love that for the Wii too...but it's not available. The XBox360 is best if you want to create some Multimedia experience afaik (tested XBox360 and PS3 at work) I like the photo channel on the Wii but it could be better somehow.

Be honest, who would not love to have even better grafx on his Wii? I'd love to have those HD Grafx with a pointing device to play some fps?
What about the online experience...the Wii is so far not the best. XBox360 and PS3 are still better.

So somehow it has to come down to the new controller...But if you tested MP3 you can see it has very good possibilities. If you regard the PAL version of COD3 you could think, it's crap. So again this comes down to the implementation and the user.
Some People are dissapointed in shooting games..."I tried to point at a certain spot on the TV but the aim was somewhere beside that point" Of course it is...the Wii by default has no big deal calibration of the pointing device. But anybody could easily see what's possible with the wiimote (there is somewhere a thread linking some guy implementing a presentation software with help of the Wiimote)

I'd love to play Shadowrun on XBox360 or watch my HD DVDs on it but without a cool pointing device like the Wiimote I hardly change.
Well and I wouldn't like to buy a sony product at all...so I'll stay with my Wii until Nintendos next generation console comes out.
(I'd also love a DS with more calculating power, or WPA2, or or or....)

 

[sidneyyoung]

Wii is an overclocked Gamecube, everyone has know that for ages.

Same aged IBM/Cyrix CPU and same aged ATI GPU. (bear in mind these were old hat when the Gamecube was launched)

Just because they are manufactured with a smaller micron process and given different 'code' names doesn't make them different.

GC->Wii is a similar jump in power as you would get from overclocking a Pentium75mhz to 100Mhz, where you probably could run 'Doom' in the next resolution up.

 

[BigX]

all right...because the wii is an overclocked GC:
- the fom factor is different
- less power consumption with more functionality

(I'd love to see this list filled up with more reasons I don't remember atm)

[EDIT]
interesting fact: mostly if someone states "everyone"/"people"/"smart people"... the are refering to themselves.

 

[arctic_flame]

If you take a look at the Specs, the Wii is very similar in capabilities to the Xbox.

However, I don't care. The DS is crippled hardware-wise, and it's still more fun to play than the PSP (and yes, I have both)

 

[GeekyGuy]

Well, I'm sorry to see so many folks miss the point of my question -- and just to be clear, I don't hate my Wii. The point of the question wasn't to bring up the age-old argument of whether or not graphics matter, or if you're satisfied with the graphics of the Wii...

I was interested in reading opinions about and discussing what the Wii can actually do in terms of graphics and processing in relation to the Gamecube and XBox 1, and if you feel that Beyond3D's findings merit any weight. Opinions about whether or not you think the Wii's graphics are "good enough" are probably best met in another thread.

Thanks

 

[lastdual]

It doesn't much matter if developers don't take advantage of it. Mario Galaxy and Prime 3 look great, but do they look better than God of War 2? Maybe, but I can see people debating it.

The general rule is that most developers are too lazy to squeeze out all the power of a system if it takes a lot of effort. In order for extra horsepower to make a real difference, it needs to be enough that developers can make new games look better than previous games with minimal effort, and the Wii doesn't exactly fit that description.

Personally, given the success of the Wii and the fact that the cost of technology constantly drops, it wouldn't be hard to imagine a Wii 2 in a few years with components similar to the 360/PS3.

 

[Slipurson]

I didnt buy my Wii for the graphics and i am pretty tired of the "media" comparing the Wii to 360 and Ps3 and saying that nintendo havnt made it a nextgen console, cuz the gfx is worse, for me next generation isnt just better graphics, it is everything surrounding a new console, for example controllers.
When beyond3D goes and sez "well the only thing new with the Wii is the controllers" they are sort of correct but the controllers are a HUGE step beyond the last generation of consoles such as Xbox and Ps2, where they have just taken the same controllers and made them look better/use BT.

And i didnt see Nintendo go out and say "hey look at our new console, it has this and this type of CPU power and this and this type of GPU power.. ooh and yeah, almost forgot, it has motionsensing".

The only way for MS and Sony to try and justify their own bad/declining sales is to slag of the Wii saying its worse then their consoles in power and that the controllers are just fun for a while.. making it sound as if they cared more about their users then they do about the money they are trying to make

But do i think that graphics matters/will matter in the future, yes to alot of players the graphics is the most important part of a console, sadly.

 

[dsbomb]

NEWS FLASH!! Peanuts fail to taste like ice cream! I have done some highly pseudo-scientific research into the greatest myths thrust upon us by the big peanut corporations. Ice cream comes in various flavors, from vanilla to chocolate and strawberry. Peanuts only taste like peanuts. When I'm itching for a cool, sweet snack, and am too lazy to go all the way to the freezer, I grab some peanuts. After putting them in my mouth, I discovered they tasted nothing like ice cream. WTF is up with that??

At this point in time, there is no excuse for anything to not taste like ice cream. Ice cream has been around for the last 35,000 years. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to know how to make anything taste like ice cream. I will not go into the specifics, but trust me, everything should be tasting like ice cream right now.

So, in conclusion, do not buy peanuts until the corporations get their act together and make them taste like ice cream! Only then can we be a truly free society.

... and if you think you like peanuts the way they are, get a life you lame-o

. There's only one way to think in this world, and that is my way.

 

[GeekyGuy]

...Personally, given the success of the Wii and the fact that the cost of technology constantly drops, it wouldn't be hard to imagine a Wii 2 in a few years with components similar to the 360/PS3.

That's actually another topic Croal was speculating on recently, and if a Wii 2 comes out within two / three-year's time of the original system's launch and I'm unable to benefit from future Wii games because of that, I'm gonna be very sour. But it seems like a real probability.

 

[Kingwad]

Nintendo has given MS and Sony their Graphical advantages. Anyone willing to shell out $600 for a PS3 gets incredible looking games, played on a PlayStation controller just like they've had since the PlayStation. Great graphics, familiar controller. Nintendo is after, and has attained (check the local store's stock of current-gen consoles if you doubt me) an entirely new market - people who demand more than just bigger and better. People who want different. People who never liked playing video games on the Xbox and PS. People who have never played video games. People who are tired of seeing how realistic blood can gush. People who read Oprah Magazine (my mother in law actually saw the Wii advertised there believe it or not) Processing power is only as good as the interface, and Nintendo has given gamers a new interface. AND they've given it to people who can't afford the latest and greatest hardware power. Yes it is something less than a processing powerhouse. But if it wasn't GOOD, then Sony, Microsoft, and their fanboys wouldn't have to sling so much mud. It would just die.