Could Nintendo's next home console entice the early adopters/graphic whores?

[WanganRunner]

Only 512MB of RAM? And more video memory than main ram?

I don't buy this.

We'll find out in a few days.

[Zap!]

This is gonna be the longest 6 days of my life.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Only 512MB of RAM? And more video memory than main ram?

It's a console, not a PC. 512MB of XDR2 is very impressive, if true.

[WCP]

It's a console, not a PC. 512MB of XDR2 is very impressive, if true.

I don't know what XDR2 ram is, but didn't the head guy of Crytek just say that the next-gen consoles should have 8 gigs of ram? 512mb, no matter how fast just seems a bit weak. I was thinking 2 GB minimum.

[buzz_n64]

I say just chill until e3, then we'll have most of the answers.

[Rob2600]

didn't the head guy of Crytek just say that the next-gen consoles should have 8 gigs of ram? 512mb, no matter how fast just seems a bit weak.

Most computers today don't even come with 8 GB of RAM, so why would a $250 game console?

[Icarus Moonsight]

512MB XDR2 is performance equal to or better than DDR5 2GB, if you take Rambus at their word. It's multi-thread RAM. Cool shit. That's plenty of system RAM for a next gen console, especially the first one, really. In theory, 8x more RAM throughput than PS3.

[Kyle15]

Project Cafe's final specs or fake? I think fake. I doubt Nintendo will pay royalties for the use of Bluray. They've always liked to manufacture all games developed for their systems so they can make as much as possible off developers. Not only that, but DVD movie playback wasn't even an option on the Wii, yet they're going to have three different types of disc formats? So yeah. Fake.

GC and Wii discs are essentially proprietary DVDs. If Cafe has any form of Blu, it'll definitely be custom as well.

[NostalgiaHunter]

I'm really looking forward Nintendos presentation at E3. I'm pretty sure the internet will shut down in due time.

What I would love to see from Nintendo is a high end console with:

A IMPROVED MARIO KART (Mario Kart Wii was a joke. No more bullets, please).
Final Fantasy
Some Exclusive RPGs

They will win with the above.

[NayusDante]

RAM is cheap today, so I'd expect 4gb minimum on a console.

I suppose 512Mb could be sufficient, if there's no OS overhead to deal with. Dedicated VRAM for textures and meshes means that there's really not that much else that you need in RAM. If you're dealing with thousands of entities with lots of parameters (Minecraft block worlds, maybe?), then yeah, you need RAM. Mario Galaxy 3, however, I think could make do with 512.

I still think it's possible that the real thing is nothing like what these rumors are claiming. It might be really low-end, maybe just a Wii with HDMI and digital audio, and possibly even an online platform overhaul. Maybe they're bringing OnLive-like functionality to the Wii...

[Icarus Moonsight]

Bank size is not important, what is important is bandwidth. Raw size numbers don't give that.

[NayusDante]

Well, it really depends on the content. With more RAM, you can have a lot more information at once, reducing the need to read from the disc, and it's more of a design constraint. Bandwidth is going to impact performance.

[Zap!]

Here's what it actually looks like, well for now anyway.



http://gamethingdaily.com/

[j_factor]

So any substantial word on how this thing compares in power to 360 and PS3?

[WCP]

So any substantial word on how this thing compares in power to 360 and PS3?

Well, basically, here is how it is going to work in terms of power. This console should be on a bit higher level than the PS3 and 360, but not so much as to be obvious. Really, only people with really large 1080p displays are going to notice the difference.

Initially, the Wii U multiplatform games will mostly be on par with the 360/PS3 versions. Reason being, developers have had YEARS with the 360/PS3, and they will start to use all kinds of creative tricks to get more juice out of these aging systems. While, Wii U developers are going to have to start back from scatch, learing how to program on a new console. Supposedly the CPU is very similar to the IBM Power PC cpu that is in the 360. Maybe running a bit faster, but not much. The GPU is supposedly on par with a Radeon HD 4830, which seems really weak compared to the most up-to-date GPU's, but it's actually pretty far beyond the 360 and PS3's GPU's which are quite a bit older.

The boost in Ram is going to be the big thing. Also, it's really going to boil down to how long Microsoft and Sony is willing to allow Nintendo to have this higher-end category to themselves. Some believe it will be November 2014 before we see anything from Microsoft or Sony, which would give the Wii U a full 2 year head start. In 2015, Developers should have a better grasp of what they could get out of the Wii U, compared to just starting their first games on the PS4 and Xbox whatever.

It will be a slow go in the beginning, but you know all the Nintendo games are going to look so good running in anything beyond 480p. Also, maybe some real discrete digital surround sound from Nintendo for the first time ever...

(by the way, everything above is totally conjecture on my part, so take with a giant grain of salt)

[Icarus Moonsight]

So any substantial word on how this thing compares in power to 360 and PS3?

I did a Google search this morning for such info and found squat. Maybe we'll get more from TGS in Sept.

Found this nugget just now:

We know the Wii U will support full HD 1080p gaming, and now we also know it will be facilitated by a custom Radeon HD graphics processor from AMD. In addition, IBM will be supplying Nintendo with a 45nm multi-core processor with embedded DRAM for the console.

Sauce Quote begins 1st paragraph; 4th sentence.

So far, the only obvious contradiction from the NeoGaf spec sheet is the 32nm CPU is stated here as 45nm. Specifics are light. eDRAM on CPU die confirmed, but not the bank size... Etc.

Also, had that tug in my gut that the Japanese Bird and Koi demo might be pre-rendered trickery ala PS1/2 Sony. Found these and it looks better for it:

Graphic Demo as Shown at Presser

You can see how the possibility of FMV trickery would be possible...

Then:

Graphic Demo as Shown on the Floor

Camera movement, control of when the demo proceeds... It's purdy, and it looks legit.

[Zap!]

Maybe I missed something, but I still have a few questions that I don't think were answered officially (not rumors):

1) What are at least some of the hardware specs? I know Nintendo doesn't doesn't talk much specs, but anything? PS360 killer or no?

2) Hard drive? I'd imagine yes, but size?

3) What media does it take? Blu-ray? Custom? How many gigs?

[WCP]

Maybe I missed something, but I still have a few questions that I don't think were answered officially (not rumors):

1) What are at least some of the hardware specs? I know Nintendo doesn't doesn't talk much specs, but anything? PS360 killer or no?

2) Hard drive? I'd imagine yes, but size?

3) What media does it take? Blu-ray? Custom? How many gigs?

Finalized official specs have not been released yet. In fact, I'm not sure that Nintendo internally has completely finalized the specs either. They have a very good idea of what the finalized specs are, but it's not 100 percent set in stone, at least that seems to be the case.


Still, some information has been revealed. Here is the best guess as to the answers to your questions:

1. PS360 Killer? No. The GPU is supposedly based off AMD's RV770 chipset. The most advanced GPU that used that chipset was basically a Radeon HD 4830. While a 4830 is definitely more powerful than a Radeon HD 2200 (Xbox 360 rough equivalent) and a Nvidia 7800 (PS3 rough equivalent), it's not dramatically better. Not by a long shot.

Nintendo probably went to AMD and said what is the best GPU you can deliver to us for X dollars per unit. AMD came back and said, we can do something based off our RV770 chipset for that price, somewhat equivalent to a HD 4830, but maybe just slightly better. The GPU in the 360 and PS3 is quite old, so yes, the 4830 is better, but it's not any kind of night and day difference.

Put it this way... nobody in their right mind, building a PC today would choose a 4830 as their GPU. Nintendo is going with it because of cost. They are trying to keep their costs as low as possible, and this GPU makes the most sense for them.

2. I've heard conflicting reports on the hard drive situation. One report says that it will have a hard drive standard, in the 260/300-ish gigs range. Another report says that it isn't going to have any hard drive, instead about 8 gigs internal flash, with the ability to expand that via SD card, and add maybe a large external USB hard drive.

3. Custom optical media that can hold about 25 gigs. Not blu ray. This has been confirmed by Reggie in an interview with Geoff Keighley.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Nintendo's own site states that storage is going to be internal flash (non-specified allotment), SD flash slot expansion and support for USB external HDD. I'd rather have off-the-shelf HDDs myself.

[duffmanth]

Think about how long it's been since the last home gaming console was released. This November, it will be a full 5 years since any home console has launched. Think about that fact for a moment. In the history of video games, when is the last time there has been a 5 year period with ZERO new console introductions? The longest drought between console releases that I'm aware of, is just under 4 years. Between the arrival of the GameCube on November 18th, 2001, to the launch of the Xbox 360 on November 16th, 2005. Just a couple days short of a full 4 years.


It's highly likely that Nintendo will launch the next home console. Most predict a November 2012 launch. Some think Nintendo could shock the gaming world with a e3 2011 announcement and a worldwide launch THIS November (doubtful) Still, whether it's coming in 2012 or this November, Nintendo will be first out the gate.

Certainly, Nintendo hasn't been interested in high-end hardware technology since the days of "Project Reality" with Silicon Graphics. Still, by default, the followup to the Wii should naturally benefit from the advances in CPU's and GPU's since 2004/2005, the years in which the 360 and PS3 designs were locked into place. The Wii HD (for lack of a better name), should easily have 4 times as much ram as the 360/PS3, and the GPU should be well beyond the GPU's in the 360 and PS3. For the first time since 1996, Nintendo will be the technological leader for a brief window of time. If it's a 2012 launch, Nintendo should have a 1 year advantage. If Nintendo could somehow shock the world, and get it out this November, they would have a 2 year advantage.

By default, the next Nintendo system is going to be the highest end home console platform. Surely, Nintendo will have a Mario game, or a Donkey Kong game, or something special to launch along with the system. Also, Nintendo will be well aware of the fact that the last go round, they didn't have the best developers in the world working on their system, mostly for technological reasons. Now, development teams like Rockstar North, Bioware, Epic, Dice, Insomniac, etc, etc, will be developing games for Nintendo's next console. I think the early adopters/console graphic whores, would love to jump on Nintendo's bandwagon if they could take them to a better visual level.

For me it's not so much about the pretty visuals (which is always a bonus) as much as it's about the selection of games. The last 3 Nintendo consoles have offered next to nothing for games that even remotely interests me. I stopped playing Mario and Zelda games 20 years ago and those seem to the games that Nintendo insists on rehashing over and over again. They're still great games, but they need to stop relying so much on the same first party games to sell their consoles.

If Nintendo wants to peak my interest and other mature gamers with their next console, they have to come out with some first party original and mature titles and get the other game studios on board to do the same.