Wii U Discussion

[Malacite]

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Didn't really think it needed it's own thread, but OK.

Besides, it's semi-relevant as ppl here are playing Wii-U (I imagine) and that video pretty much seals the deal for why I'm NOT gonna be playing it.

I am however, looking at Planetside 2 now.

[Kailea]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Didn't really think it needed it's own thread, but OK.

Besides, it's semi-relevant as ppl here are playing Wii-U (I imagine) and that video pretty much seals the deal for why I'm NOT gonna be playing it.

I am however, looking at Planetside 2 now.

I do not listen to anyone who has not even tried out the system.......

I played all the way through Zombi U and never had a problem, the game ran fine.

I was reading this artical, and I liked this part, because it is very true.
How Powerful is the Wii U Really? • Articles • Eurogamer.net

Why specs don't matter

There's another school of thought: for so many developers actively working on Wii U, its technical specifications aren't important. The Wii U is what it is. It's better than the current gen in some areas, worse in others. It won't compete with the next gen, but this is Nintendo. That's not the point.

"It's very easy for people to get hung up on hardware specs and technical specs," Nash said. "It's great to have a massive processor that's got a graphics pipeline that uses DX11, but what people need to focus on particularly for games going forward, is, what kind of experience can you build in the space of possibility afforded by the hardware in terms of features? Not in clock cycles. Does it connect out to the internet well? Does it connect to mobile well? How does it connect to your other friends and involve them in that experience? That's where games are moving forwards.

"Nintendo's approach is to say, we're going to package that other screen with the console straight out of the box so there's nothing to worry about and the developers have a stable platform, whereas maybe the other platform holders are saying, maybe we're going to involve other devices. That will bring another set of problems. Sony and Microsoft will go toe to toe again as they have done on this rev. They will do the same on the next one. Nintendo are doing something different.

Best quote from the article....

"There's going to be some geek out there who will screwdriver that processor out from the machine, run it through all the tests and compare it to Pentium 3 upwards and tell everybody how rubbish it is. Of course they will. That's great and I applaud people for doing such things. However, as a game designer that means absolutely nothing to me."

[Malacite]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Having multiple developers call your system's CPU "Monstrously Slow", and being parsed at running below 30 FPS is not a good sign.

[Raydeus]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

However, as a game designer that means absolutely nothing to me."

That's the biggest pile of BS.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: What games are you currently playing?

Having multiple developers call your system's CPU "Monstrously Slow", and being parsed at running below 30 FPS is not a good sign.

Its not my connection/rushed port it's your bad net code/slow CPU.

Good ol' projection.

Those devs need to explain why TTT2 runs just fine and their own games run like crap.

[Icemage]

Wii U Discussion

Moved these posts out of the What Are You Playing thread because people apparently can't figure out how not to pollute other threads with it.

EDIT:

Didn't really think it needed it's own thread, but OK.

Do you see why now?


Icemage

[Aeni]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Why you can’t read too much into the Wii U’s “slow” clock speed | Ars Technica

It's not about the technical aspects but I figured I might as well add this here into the discussion.

Then again, Martin also points to a lack of hardware threading and "weak SIMD" on the Wii U that hurt that relative clock-to-clock performance.

SIMD architectures | Ars Technica

[Malacite]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Well, as mentioned in the video, Black Ops 2 barely held at 30 FPS, and even dipped under at several points.

That does not bode well when a major seller like that can't perform on your console. The Wii-U graphically is about up to par with the PS3/360, but still under performs overall. So basically all that money is into the stupid Tablet controller. Now, most people (including myself) I imagine get Nintendo systems for their 1st party stuff. But at this point, for $300+, no dice. I don't care how epic the new Zelda is, no f'ing way. Maybe when it's $150 or less, but if I'm gonna drop that kind of cash, I'd rather have the new Xbox or PS (assuming Sony doesn't go bankrupt...)

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Well, as mentioned in the video, Black Ops 2 barely held at 30 FPS, and even dipped under at several points.

Some hick yammering in a video over shit he heard while playing Battlefield 3 does not count as investigative journalism.

The Wii-U graphically is about up to par with the PS3/360, but still under performs overall.

If we judged consoles on their launch line-ups alone, PS2 would have never been a successful console for games. As I pointed out before games like Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Rayman Legends, Super Mario Bros. U and a number of others do not seem to share these problem. When you get a new console or handheld on the market, rushed ports tend to happen. Ubi Soft tends to be the king on rushed ports. How you fuck up old games like Spinter Cell Chaos Theory or Rayman 2 on 3DS is beyond me, but they did.

TES IV Oblivion launched close to the 360 launch. It looks like a last gen game standing next to Skyrim. For that matter, so does Dragon Age Origins compared to Mass Effect 3. Do Wiis launch games even touch the technical brilliance of Mario Galaxy 2, Xenoblade or Skyward Sword? No. Consoles libraries have to start somewhere, the fact just is the bar is set higher for Nintendo than anyone else for whatever reason and when MS or Sony have a few turds in their launch lineup no one bats an eye.

As for the controller. Its comfortable. If you can't fathom a use for touch screens after eight years of DS and five years of smartphones and about four years of tablets, you're beyond help.

[Icemage]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Well, as mentioned in the video, Black Ops 2 barely held at 30 FPS, and even dipped under at several points.

That does not bode well when a major seller like that can't perform on your console. The Wii-U graphically is about up to par with the PS3/360, but still under performs overall. So basically all that money is into the stupid Tablet controller. Now, most people (including myself) I imagine get Nintendo systems for their 1st party stuff. But at this point, for $300+, no dice. I don't care how epic the new Zelda is, no f'ing way. Maybe when it's $150 or less, but if I'm gonna drop that kind of cash, I'd rather have the new Xbox or PS (assuming Sony doesn't go bankrupt...)

I think it's too early to tell. These are launch titles, and almost every launch title for every console is a poorly-optimized mess. Early 360 games had similar problems. So did a lot of early PS3 games.

You could certainly point to the performance issues as being anecdotal evidence that the Wii U's internal hardware is only somewhat more powerful than the 360 or PS3, and you'd probably be right. But it really depends on what sort of games we see moving forward. From what I'm hearing, as well as what evidence I'm seeing online, the Wii U's CPU does have some design challenges associated with it.

I suspect some game types will have bigger problems than others with the Wii U. Sandbox games like GTA V, open-world games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and games with intense physics like Far Cry 3 will probably suffer to some extent on the Wii U if the next PlayStation and Xbox end up as powerful as rumors suggest.

Smaller games that don't run full 3D environments and/or massive amounts of moving objects will probably be feature-identical on the Wii U, however.

We'll know more by this time next year, when presumably we'll have the rest of the new consoles on the market.


- - - Updated - - -

Some hick yammering in a video over shit he heard while playing Battlefield 3 does not count as investigative journalism.

This, on the other hand, is just blatant fanboyism.

Digital Foundry on Wii U Black Ops 2

Digital Foundry finds that the Wii U even significantly underperforms the PS3 version at times, let alone the 360 version of CoD Blops 2.


Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: Wii U Discussion

I've been following TheRedDragon for a while now, he's no hick. You're just a blind Nintendo fanboy & we all know it.


I don't see how it being a launch title is relevant; what IS relevant, is various devs are complaining about the Wii U being difficult to work with (though to be fair, the same was said of PS3) and the system can barely handle one of the biggest selling franchises in the industry. That's a problem, whether you like CoD or not.

Quite frankly, if it can't handle CoD, I have to question the reasoning for putting a game like Bayonetta 2 on it. Again, Red pointed out that there are some advantages to how the system runs and so I'm willing to bet let's say a year or so from now we'll start seeing devs really using the system to its fullest.


But for now, between these damning stories and the lack of games that grab my interest, Nintendo can keep their snake oil. I'd rather nab up a 3DS XL if one goes on sale dirt cheap for Boxing Week, though even that I'm not so sure of; MML3 got cancelled, and I refuse to buy anything from Capcom until they start producing stuff I actually like again. Really the only major purchase on the horizon for me currently is SC2: HotS in March, and I may get that as an early B-Day gift

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Wii U Discussion

Digital Foundry finds that the Wii U even significantly underperforms the PS3 version, let alone the 360 version of CoD Blops 2.

I watched the video, read the article. The BF3 guyis still spinning it under his mutliplayer lens. Its kind of his mistake for playing these games on consoles - if his concern is being able to play with more people PC has always been the answer for that.

I've met people that swear by the Wii U version. Its not my thing, really, but they say the like the GamePad implementation, local play and the more relaxed online community. If that's all you wanted, more power to you.

Its kind of a mistake to think next gen is going to be won by raw horsepower and setpiece spectacles anyway - as it did not win this or any generation, for that matter. I don't really buy consoles for power, but convenience and MS makes that a little wonky while Sony goes out of their way to be inconvenient. PC used to be the least convenient thing, but now stuff like Steam almost does all the work for you on installation. I've yet to hear about Wii U being inconvenient (aside from that first patch and even that backgrounds, as i understand it).

People buy consoles for different reasons. Nothing Mal presented really concerns me or dissuades me. I know these are early games and some of them likely rushed ports not fully optimized for the console. This happens with any console. But it seems like TTT2, Mass Effect 3 and others perform just fine while some don't. I don't find it a point of concern yet.

If it keeps on happening to this point next year, then we have something to really worry about.

I don't see how it being a launch title is relevant; what IS relevant, is various devs are complaining about the Wii U being difficult to work with (though to be fair, the same was said of PS3) and the system can barely handle one of the biggest selling franchises in the industry. That's a problem, whether you like CoD or not.

Some developers say Wii U is hard to work with.
Some developers say Wii U is great to work with.
Some of those developers haven't released a Wii U game yet.

Some developers say PSN is great for indies.
Some developers say PSN is shit for indies.
Some developers say 360 is great for indies.
Some developers say 360 is shit to indies.
Most indies find more success on iOS and Steam.

I don't care what "some" people say. Its seems its rather mixed.

[Icemage]

Re: Wii U Discussion

I'm sure the Wii U will hold its own just fine on the market for the next year. It's definitely more powerful than the 360 and PS3 (if not by much), and that advantage should hold true until the rest of the next generation arrives in terms of computational power.

The big question marks are whether Nintendo can build an online multiplayer community in 12 months before the new consoles arrive to draw everyone into their already-existing network of Friends on XBL and PSN, and whether 3rd party developers will stay with Nintendo's machine if it can't run the next generation middleware (Unreal Engine 4, etc.).


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Wii U Discussion

I'm sure the Wii U will hold its own just fine on the market for the next year. It's definitely more powerful than the 360 and PS3 (if not by much), and that advantage should hold true until the rest of the next generation arrives in terms of computational power.

The big question marks are whether Nintendo can build an online multiplayer community in 12 months before the new consoles arrive to draw everyone into their already-existing network of Friends on XBL and PSN, and whether 3rd party developers will stay with Nintendo's machine if it can't run the next generation middleware (Unreal Engine 4, etc.).


Icemage

It really depends on a lot. If we've not heard anything about the next Xbox or Playstation by now, I can't be sure there will be new iterations this time next year. Additionally, a lot rides on their ability to carry over those networks, digital content, achievements and such into the new consoles and upgraded networks seamlessly. Sony is looking to fall on their swords again in regards to BC and MS might keep compatibility.

If digital games like this gen's get left behind I'm going to have some serious problems with that.

I also don't think Sony and MS will go head to head. They clearly wanted to see how Wii U hit the market this year, which is why I suppose they've not talked about their consoles yet. They probably won't launch against each other.

But really, i think next gen might be it for the home console. Sony and MS's big holy grail has been to become the all-in-one entertainment centers of the living room and the advent of Smart TVs kinda fucks with that real hard. Its not an aspiration Nintendo has been as aggressive in perusing.

Xbox Live can't stay the way it is if it hopes to survive against Smart TVs. Gating content like Netflix behind a subscription fee would just be suicide. Its suicide now. I'm sure Sony will keep pushing BD, even though it won one war to lose another. Nintendo and Sony are in a better position to compete with Smart TVs just due to their online approach, but the Wii U can remove itself from the TV equation and PS3's way around that is spotty and expensive (i.e. Vita remote play).

PC gaming seems safe, but MS seems to think they can shut down other services by not offering Windows 7 Direct X11. If MS wants to go to war with Steam and Origin, its their funeral. No one likes Windows 8 or Surface.

All in all, I think Nintendo was right to get the Wii U out now as the future looks really hazy for consoles.