Please read, you can understand! To settle this once and for all!!
Ps4 and Xbox One run on an x86 while a Wii U runs on PowerPC.
x86 architechture runs on what is called CISC. Complex Instruction Set Computing. This allows for developers to have a lot of resources available at the beginning, but very little room to grow. Power-based architecture runs on what is called RISC. Reduced Instruction Set Computing. The memory footprint is much smaller and much faster than that of a CISC-based x86 CPU which are the type used in the XB1 and PS4.
Loosely translated, it takes massive amounts of RAM and computational power do to the same thing that a Power-based CPU does with far less memory and computational power.
The Wii U does not need 4GB of RAM to do the same level of performance as the PS4 and XB1 as was explained in detail in a link I will provide if you want. The reason Microsoft and Sony chose x86 over PowerPC this time around was to lessen the loss on hardware, and to entice more 3rd parties to develop for their console because of the relative ease of working with x86 which for all intents and purposes is like developing for a PC. However what you gain with ease of development, you lose out on longevity.
The Wii U has 3 CPUs. A Tri-Core PowerPC750, a Dual Core ARM Processor, and a sound processor. The bandwidth of the eDRAM in the Wii U can be clocked as high as 1TB per second which smokes the XB1 eDRAM, eSRAM, and the PS4 GDDR5 RAM. It was a machine built on elegance, speed, and efficiency.
Developers are already hitting walls with XB1 and PS4 dev kits. Resogun on the PS4 uses 50% of the PS4 CPU. Nano Assault NEO (made by Shin’en Multimedia who actually know what they are doing with the Wii U hardware) looks just as good if not better than that and only runs on one core.
Whether the 50% means 50% of the entire PS4 CPU which is 8 cores or 50% of the allotted CPU for gaming use which would be 2 out of 4 cores, that still is a very bad sign that a downloadable launch-title uses that much CPU power. We already know that Killzone: Shadow Fall uses 3GB of RAM which is more than 80% of the allotted RAM on the PS4 (4-5GB.) Again, a launch title. These systems are going to have to last for at least 10 years for Microsoft and Sony.
The bottom line is that PowerPC architecture is superior to that of x86, but it’s not for lightweights. If you are lazy or lacking in development experience then you are going to struggle. Those who are very talented and well-versed in game developmental language of all kinds will have an easier time unlocking the power of the Wii U.
The longer developers play around with it the more they discover how powerful it really is. If you have followed the comments from Slighty Mad Studios, guys who are working on Project CARS, you can tell that they keep discovering new things about the Wii U and are constantly surprised on how far they can push things without the console even breaking a sweat.
Not to mention that the power consumption on the Wii U is superior to that of the PS4 and XB1. Only uses 33 watts of power. Not even 50% of what it is capable of handling.
If the Wii U had an 8-core PowerPC CPU and 8GB of RAM along with the 32MB of eDRAM it has it would absolutely rip the PS4 and XB1 to shreds.
