New Nintendo Console "Confirmed" for E3
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Which curve are they ahead of, again?gigastar said:
It's not the graphics curve, that's for damn sure.
It's not the online system curve. No siree.
It's not the new story-driven IP curve, considering they haven't released a new character-based franchise in the past 10 years (unless you count Professor Layton).
It's not the casual curve anymore, either. Apple has Nintendo nailed to the wall on that front, proving that casual gamers will buy tons of games if they're easily accessible, unlike Nintendo's floundering WiiWare service which they don't even advertise.
The only curve Nintendo has a jump on right now is the fat housewife curve in selling the Wii as an exercise device, and the bad news on that is that Kinect is murdering that curve with titles like "Dance Central". It may very well be that DC is the only reason to own Kinect but it's a damn good one, especially in the eyes of fat housewives.
So no, Nintendo is not ahead of any curve. They've fallen behind the curve by stubbornly clinging to notions like "No one wants online play!" and "Graphics don't matter!"
The Wii is the "Macarena" of the console world: for a period of time, everyone though it was awesome, but when we all look back, we can only ask ourselves "Why did we like that?".
Well, if they're aiming for 'better' than current gen competitors, I'd imagine DirectX 11 hardware derivatives would be pretty likely.ph0b0s123 said:
Nintendo has no investment in 'DirectX' equivalent hardware at all, currently. The 360 has graphics hardware that essentially forms the prototype for the PC DirectX 10 stuff (not to mention it shares the actual DirectX apis)
The PS3 doesn't use anything to do with DirectX directly, but it's graphics hardware is derived from Nvidia 7800 PC hardware... Which... Was designed to meet DirectX 9 specifications.
The Wii, meanwhile, has hardware built around a completely different model. Where directX style hardware involves pixel shaders, vertex shaders, etc...
The Wii, like the gamecube before it, uses a TEV model, which, while more limited than shaders are, is also fundamentally using an entirely different concept as it's foundation.
It seems highly unlikely that this TEV model will be extended much (though for Wii & gamecube backwards compatability to be possible, it must at the very least be possible to emulate it.)
Since the company that originally designed this specific, and rather unique graphics hardware was later bought out by ATI (hence the logo found on the side of the Wii), this seems a logical starting point for the kind of hardware this new console will contain.
It Will either be a custom extension to the Wii's hardware design, or more likely, a specialised modification of ATI/AMD's most recent PC hardwre.
(Eg, a modified design originally created with DirectX 11 or 12 in mind.)
Well said.Xanthious said:
And you know the worst part? Nintendo could OWN the entire market if they just got off their asses and provided decent 3rd party support for a change.
I've dealt with Nintendo's dev tools and Microsoft's dev tools. Nintendo's tools are the goddamn stone age by comparison. Likewise, the weaker hardware with the Wii ensured that devs didn't want to develop for it, nor would it receive all of the AAA title ports like Assassin's Creed and Bioshock.
If Nintendo just started giving a rat's ass about 3rd parties (like MS and Sony do), they could drive MS and Sony out of business. All Nintendo would need to do is:
-Develop a proper, easy to use online system
-Release a console with competitive graphics
-Develop better developer tools for 3rd parties
And BAM! If every PS360 title was also released on Wii this gen, with comparable graphics and online support, there would be very few reasons to own a PS360, barring a few exclusive titles here and there.
I wouldn't see the purpose in it because I don't think they can capture the crowd that is willing to shell out the money for the new system. So basically i'm agreeing with you, Mario or RPG fans want a game that looks good but the ps2 was the oldest of last generation and could make the shiny more cartoon stuff look incredible.Wicky_42 said:Hey it wouldn't be hard - tech's advanced plenty since the other two were first made. The only question is if there's ANY IP that Nintendo has that would take advantage of even more power. Can't think of many WII games that really taxed the system in the way that, say, Halo 2 did of the original Xbox, or many that would really look better with HD graphics :/dmase said:"significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360"
Mario's nose is growing...
I'll believe it when I see it.
Also bluray, they are choosing to forgo it and I think thats gonna be bad. The videogame industry and movie industry has barely scratched the surface of what blu ray is capable of and it gets cheaper and cheaper to make for each passing year.
One could argue that this next console would finally be bringing Nintendo to THIS generation of home consoles, and I don't just mean graphics-wise. Nintendo has even said that their primary reason for releasing the Wii was because they initially wanted to release motion controls on the GC but wisely decided that the whole thing needed a rebranding. Thus, they even admit that it was last-gen hardware.gigastar said:
Furthermore, Nintendo has bullshitted us about graphical capability in the past. Let's wait and see if they actually deliver on any of these promises (and finally develop a decent online system, though I'm far from holding my breath on that one).
Nintendo claiming to be done with gimmicky bullshit and releasing a hardware giant?
Did Peter Molyneux take over the company when i wasn't looking?
Did Peter Molyneux take over the company when i wasn't looking?
I'm quite skeptical. Nintendo have repeatedly said that their next console HAS to be more than just a graphical upgrade. Plus I don't see them announcing it since the 3DS is still young and they gave the DS two years to itself before the Wii rolled around.
Wow, so Microsoft and Sony are going to imitate Nintendo and go after a market they have no sway over and whose every potential buyer already owns a Wii?The Random One said:
Prediction: You probably made a comment like this when the Sony and Microsoft announced motion controls.
Seriously, don't underestimate the Big N. They know what they're doing most of the time.
How about the motion gaming curve? How about being the only console maker actually interested in making games for kids? How about the handheld curve?AncientYoungSon said:
Nintendo is further ahead than you give them credit for. While I don't like the Wii, I consider myself a strong supporter/critic of the big N. Nintendo is the only reason Sony and Microsoft are trying to do something different. Right now, Microsoft and Sony are following a trend set by Nintendo several years ago. So the "Macarena" may be disappearing but we won't look back and ask ourselves "Why did we like that?" We will be saying "That's where it all started."
In short, Nintendo has more curves than a fat housewife.
The Xbox 360 and PS3 weren't even top-of-the line hardware when they were launched. The 360 arcade models ($200) are currently being sold at a profit. A $300 dollar console that is noticably more powerful would be easy to make.NinjaTigerXIII said:
Also, backwards compatibility is only difficult if you radically change your system architecture. They could easily produce a more powerful version of their current processor that runs Wii/Gamecube code natively.
well i called it. I said it on the g4 website as soon as i heard about the price drop. i said that if the price drop wasn't leading to a new console i might consider buying a wii. Well f@#$ Me colored, i called it and now with them making a new console i might as well wait around because by the time i can gather the funds for the NGP the new prototypes from sony and microsoft will be out. I must say damn you to hell nintendo! I'm going to steam because it's just not worth it as a financially challenged college student! It's just not worth it! Good day to you sir!
Why are so many sites talking like it'll be a big deal if it's about the same power as the 360/ps3? If it is, it's a massive and i mean MASSIVE fail on nintendo's part. It should be much faster.
Going up to AMD and asking for the crappest thing they have in stock to put in a wii2 would still result in something 2 times more powerful than a 360. It'd also probably only cost about $200 tops.
Reality? The wii will likely be about 3-4 times more powerful than a 360 for around $300-350 and half the power of the average gaming PC.
Going up to AMD and asking for the crappest thing they have in stock to put in a wii2 would still result in something 2 times more powerful than a 360. It'd also probably only cost about $200 tops.
Reality? The wii will likely be about 3-4 times more powerful than a 360 for around $300-350 and half the power of the average gaming PC.
Nobody's really been taking advantage of PC hardware. Crysis is still the best looking game out there, and from what I've heard it wasn't even that well of an optimized engine. Everything is still being designed around DX9 video cards and 512mb combined system and video memory, so people who just look at the occasional screenshot don't realize just how far ahead PC hardware is right now.TheComfyChair said:
Also, crysis is still 4 years oldBloodSquirrel said:
PC's are scarily ahead, with a graphics card (on it's own, remember CPU's have some input on the PC) from the last generation having 10 times the raw compute power of the ps3's CELL. Now considering that the CELL can't really lever most of it's power towards gaming that's a pretty huge difference.Consoles are so old in terms of tech it's unbelievable and the fact that people can even consider a new console could be LESS powerful than the (effectively compared to current tech) ancient junk in the ps3 and xbox is beyond me.