Gaming Nintendo Confirms Wii U Has Flopped, Slashes Sales Forecast By ~70%

[Foxi4]

Denial is probably the reason. There's a clear and obvious difference, it's something you can't ignore. Whether you think the difference matters or not is another thing altogether. Personally, I don't care too much about graphics. I am often in awe of them, but then I get very absorbed in the game, to the point where I almost forget I'm playing one.

That's exactly my point. Not caring for ultra-realistic graphics or fancy effects is one thing, but not seeing a visual increase in quality is another. Even if you don't care for "advanced" graphics and focus on the aesthetics, next generation systems still bring more processing power and more memory to the table, and that means more complex logic and bigger environments with less loading times. Let's face it - both the PS3 and the 360 were showing severe signs of aging, it was high time for a new generation to roll in.

 

[McHaggis]

That's exactly my point. Not caring for ultra-realistic graphics or fancy effects is one thing, but not seeing a visual increase in quality is another. Even if you don't care for "advanced" graphics and focus on the aesthetics, next generation systems still bring more processing power and more memory to the table, and that means more complex logic and bigger environments with less loading times. Let's face it - both the PS3 and the 360 were showing severe signs of aging, it was high time for a new generation to roll in.

Sure, I agree with that to a certain extent, but I think it was needed more for developers than consumers. Of course, you'll always get the technophiles that really want the next big thing, but I don't think I ever heard any gamer say that the PS3 and Xbox 360 needed to go the way of Old Yeller. But this is technology we're talking about. It's always advancing and we can always improve it as more time goes by. As a developer myself, I always find my job much more interesting when I'm pushing the boundaries. I'm always anticipating the evolution of the platforms I work with due to upcoming standards, but I don't think my users are particularly bothered as long as I can impress with the tools I have right now. I don't think anyone can argue that the PS3 and Xbox 360 had some very impressive games released just months before the launch of their successors.

Developing for new technology keeps things fresh, it makes your job easier at first and then harder as you continue to push the envelope. I have a love-hate relationship with the way Nintendo has ignored new technology in its consoles lately. I know that if I were a games developer I would much rather develop for the PS4 and XBox One, cringing at the thought of porting my work to the Wii U. In the web development world, we love those cutting edge standards that make their way into new browsers, but it's such a chore when we have to work with legacy environments.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

I just can't understand how people don't see a difference between this:

Spoiler: Tom Clancy's The Division @ 1080p

And this:

Spoiler: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter @ 720p

Or this:

Spoiler: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier @ 720p

It's not even an overexaggeration on my part, the difference is night and day. If you don't see it, you need glasses, son.

Again, not a huge improvement.To be frank, it's the kind of improvement I would expect from setting all the graphics options to high in a PC game not the improvement I would expect from buying a new console.

 

[Skelletonike]

Listen Reporter Nintendo company gonna be like SEGA,not because the Console because the games just tell me do I look like monkey to play Donkey Country HELL NOW HHEEELLLLL NNOOWW badly they only depend on Pokemon and Digimon and mario what a world's going on maybe I need real Psychiatric
And i hope Nintendo shut down their doors as soon as possible

I believe you do need psichiatric treatment. =O
From what I've read in all your posts, you have a lot of anger and hate towards Nintendo, is it something regarding your family? Did your parents neglect you because they were busy playing with their Gameboys back in the day? Or maybe once upon a time you wished for a Mario game for christmas, but got a barbie game instead? Is that the root of all the anger and hate inside you? D=
How I pity you. ='(






Anyway... A game store near my place had a Nintendo Wii U Zelda LE on sale for 200€... If I had the cash I'd have gotten it since it was a pretty sweet deal. D=

 

[blaisedinsd]

I never said nor do I think anyone said there is no difference so I don't really see what you guys are going on about.

I am saying that console generations in the past were bigger leaps. Those leaps were the main reason to upgrade initially and then current games eventually became the other reason.

I predict if the games don't come that are exclusive and significantly improved there is a mass market that won't be convinced they need to upgrade. I think in the launch window we are still in that have ps4 selling well is not the market that will drive the console to heights greater than ps3 or 360. The ps4 is going to need games and prettier ones to continue its momentum past the launch window. If all we get are slightly prettier versions of games that are still coming out for ps3 and 360 than these new consoles will have relative struggles compared to last gen. The price to upgrade is becoming a harder sell since the graphics jump is less significant.

There are no games that simply look so much more amazing than last gen that the general public, people who bought around 10 games or so for their console lifetime, is going to feel they have to rush out and buy because there current console seems so outdated. I think ps3 and 360 could still have some life for a few more years.

 

[Qtis]

Nintendo has always been good with portables. The home console business hasn't been as successful during its history, but the PSP was the first real competitor in the mobile space before smartphones came to the market with another type of mobile gaming platform.

As for the WiiU, we'll see how this goes forward. The PS4 seems to have picked up steam with its sales passing the so far reported WiiU sales

 

[Foxi4]

Sure, there's no urgent need to upgrade and people can't see significant improvements over last gen systems, which is why the sales of the PS4 and XBox One are record-breaking.

I heard literally the same old croak 8 years ago when the PS3 and the XBox 360 entered the market.

 

[Bladexdsl]

and their STILL years behind the PC

 

[Foxi4]

and their STILL years behind the PC

That's debatable. The tech used in both the XBox One and the PS4 hasn't even properly entered the PC space. There's a number of advantages their build has over PC that you don't get to hear about, like unified memory, dedicated scalers and streaming chips, the PS4's HSA ALU which suggests a proprietary hUMA implementation, the CPU and GPU one die to impove GPGPU efficiency and more.

People, even credible sources, often incorrectly state that they're just outdated PC's, but that claim is false - they're consoles and they're standardized which allows developers to work closer to the bare metal and squeeze out performance comarable to a mid-to-high-end rig at inferior hardware sold at a fraction of the price. On a console, you can work directly on hardware registers if you so deem fit, on PC you can't due to compatibility concerns. Developers can still use microcode as they always have, the only change here is that it's microcode they are familiar with.

So are they underpowered? In comparison, yes. Outdated? No, not really.

 

[edwardbirkholz05]

On a console, you can work directly on hardware registers if you so deem fit, on PC you can't due to compatibility concerns. Developers can still use microcode as they always have, the only change here is that it's microcode they are familiar with.

With the exception of the wii, that's not true for any of the current or last generation consoles. Only the OS kernel has direct hardware access (just like a PC) for security reasons - if you have access to hardware that can perform DMA you can work around any memory protection being applied to the CPU.

 

[Pleng]

I heard literally the same old croak 8 years ago when the PS3 and the XBox 360 entered the market.

I remember seeing Sega Rally with my brother when I was young and we both agreed "graphics can't really get much better than that"

 

[Foxi4]

With the exception of the wii, that's not true for any of the current or last generation consoles. Only the OS kernel has direct hardware access (just like a PC) for security reasons - if you have access to hardware that can perform DMA you can work around any memory protection being applied to the CPU.

I meant GPU registers, not necessarily memory which is more than likely protected for the reason above.

 

[osirisjem]

I think it's fair to say that the difference between generations is less obvious this time around, but to say there's nothing at all screams of sour grapes.

Spoiler

I googled: screaming sour grapes. And I saw the Fox. Felt I must post. Sorry.

I liked this one too:

Spoiler

 

[Foxi4]

10/10 top lel content.

 

[edwardbirkholz05]

I meant GPU registers, not necessarily memory which is more than likely protected for the reason above.

Same thing; they're only accessible by sending commands to the OS graphics driver, the registers are not directly accessible. GPU access is bi-directional so it needs to be just as secure as any other hardware.

 

[Bladexdsl]

That's debatable. .

no it isn't pc can do 2 AND 4k

 

[Foxi4]

Same thing; they're only accessible by sending commands to the OS graphics driver, the registers are not directly accessible. GPU access is bi-directional so it needs to be just as secure as any other ardware.

Fair enough, I'm not familiar with the setup to the point of asserting how it's actually taking place. What I can say though is that even though there's the OS in-between, the hardware is still standardized and the OS is still lightweigh in comparison, so the losses are minimal in comparison to PC where the OS is considerably more bulky and the hardware is diverse.

It's a general rule of thumb that you can squeeze out more performance when you're sure that each and every system is essentially the same wheras on PC we often see separate binary files for AMD and Intel architectures or different binaries for OpenGL and DirectX, or even sub-options like DirectX 11 or DirectX 9 support (see: Deus Ex: Human Revolution).

On a console you make one build and that build covers all your bases, hence you can focus on optimizing and minimize the time lost on troubleshooting with different configurations, not to mention that you can afford to experiment with customized functionality that may be available on one chip but missing on another - on PC that's not always an option.

no it isn't pc can do 2 AND 4k

Sure it can, but good luck building a rig that can efficiently do 4K at the +/- $499 price point. The whole point of consoles is to squeeze more performance at a lower cost, obviously a Large Pixel Collider will have better performance than a PS4 or an XBox One, it also costs considerably more. PC's will always have the upper hand due to their customizability, you can always build a better rig than a console, the question is whether you can afford one or not. A console is supposed to be a cheaper alternative, not the go-to place for the best performance possible.

 

[blaisedinsd]

Sure, there's no urgent need to upgrade and people can't see significant improvements over last gen systems, which is why the sales of the PS4 and XBox One are record-breaking.

I heard literally the same old croak 8 years ago when the PS3 and the XBox 360 entered the market.

I think there was some penned up demand because of the unusual length of the last console generation.

I think it is still way too early to declare the industry is going to thrive this console gen comparatively.

I also work at a large company with a large classifieds list and saw many many people selling PS4 that they had bought and changed their minds about. I certainly don't see why someone would get a PS4 and then put all there PS3 stuff in storage or sell it off.

 

[Foxi4]

I think there was some penned up demand because of the unusual length of the last console generation.

I think it is still way too early to declare the industry is going to thrive this console gen comparatively.

I also work at a large company with a large classifieds list and saw many many people selling PS4 that they had bought and changed their minds about. I certainly don't see why someone would get a PS4 and then put all there PS3 stuff in storage or sell it off.

Anectodal and circumstancial evidence. I might as well say that I know people who didn't and my word will have equal value here.

 

[blaisedinsd]

Anectodal and circumstancial evidence. I might as well say that I know people who didn't and my word will have equal value here.

Are you predicting ps4 is not going to have a period where it's sales slump?