With the general attitude of Gamers toward the Nintendo Wii, it's not surprising that when a company makes claims such as High Voltage Software has regarding its upcoming game: The Conduit, that many see it as nonsense.Some even get riled up. All rather than feel the desire to support a game whose developers have the drive and attitude that this industry needs most right now, as pertains to meeting the needs of "Hardcore Gamers". (As opposed to looking for the quick casual buck.)
Let's take a look at what these claims are exactly so that people can cool off. Eric Nofsinger of HVS has stated: "We want the game to look as close as possible to the 360 and PS3. It’ll look as pretty as it can look within the resolution." There was never a claim by HVS that The Conduit will look equal to Gears of War, or Killzone 2. Relax. Stop feeling threatened, and realize that HVS and The Conduit are your friends. Friends of all "Core Gamers", regardless of any preferred system.
Still, if one "hates the Wii" and believes negative and untrue things about the console, then how could they ever believe that this game actually is what it claims to be? How could they ever get out of their own way and do what's right for the industry and "Core Gamers" as a whole by supporting this game? It's time for Gamers to finally see the Wii for exactly what it is. We've all heard the misnomers and misstatements. Perhaps some of you have even used them. Game Cube 1.5, Overclocked Game Cube, "It's weaker than the original Xbox. It's barely stronger than a PS2." etc. While it's true that in terms of raw power, the Wii is far outclassed by the HD consoles, it is far better than it has been given credit for.
When people look at the hardware specs on a superficial level, it appears that the Wii and the original Xbox are roughly equal. The Xbox stands in with a processor of 733 Mhz, and the Wii with 729 Mhz. Many an ignorant and snide remark has been made at the Wii's expense due to this superficial outlook.
What people fail to realize is the respective bottom-line truths of the aforementioned processors. The Xbox appears to be even 4Mhz more powerful than the Wii, and with the lack of work put into most games so far on the console, the myth has been well fed. But the original Xbox CPU was an Intel Pentium 3, while the "Broadway" CPU of the Wii is a furthering of the already supremely efficient PowerPC series, and of the specialized chip used in the Game Cube. Look into it yourself if you don't believe it, but study after study has shown that PowerPC processors, Megahertz for Megahertz were at least THREE times more powerful than Intel's Pentium 3 series was.
The truth of the matter is that even the Game Cube was more powerful than the Xbox. However it's GPU and especially its RAM limitations created a situation where games had to be tailored through the Game Cube's special quirks in order for that power to come of use, which meant that it rarely did. I'm sure that most people agree that very few, if any last gen games at all, looked better than Resident Evil 4 - Game Cube, or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. (RE: 4, which was originally a GC exclusive, and Twilight Princess Nintendo's own product.)
With the Wii, it appears that Nintendo learned a bit from the original Xbox, while simultaneously building greatly upon the stronger elements of the Game Cube technology. The Wii's RAM speed is 5 times that of the Game Cube's, and it's GPU has seen a jump equal to it's CPU's. That CPU, the "Broadway" is PowerPC based, and it, as well as the GPU, were designed especially for Nintendo in order to maximize the Wii's efficiency.
The PowerPC processor's structure makes it specialized in "cheat multitasking", accepting and performing multiple instructions per clock cycle efficiently. Basically, the chips allow more tasks to be performed at the same time for a smaller cost in resources. Consider the power and efficiency of the Wii's "Broadway" processor, and the fact that the console is capable of running 4 times as many Polygons per second as the original Xbox could, (over 7 times as many as the PS2), and the misnomers and misstatements are shamefully exposed for what they are. Truthfully speaking, "Two duct taped together" original Xbox's doing a Dragon Ball Z style Fusion with "two duct taped together PS2's" wouldn't be as powerful as the Wii. Let alone a GameCube and a half.
Microsoft also seems to have learned from Nintendo, since in this generation, the Xbox 360 makes use of PowerPC technology. The over 3Ghz in PowerPC format of the Xbox 360, and the new Cell technology of Sony are truly beastly, and necessary obviously for HD gaming.
And yet, the Wii is a system that was built purposely to potentially max out the 480p gaming experience. This is part of what makes HVS' claims about The Conduit possible. This game cannot look as good as a well put together HD game. It just can't. But HVS can and has been using many of the same types of graphics techniques found in PS3 and Xbox 360 games because of what the power of the Wii means in the 480p limited world.
The Conduit uses normal mapping, dynamic lighting, and projected lighting. Not to mention an unparalleled control scheme, which to some, (myself included) is the most important attribute of all. Surface features cut back on the amount of polygons needed for the desired look, saving console power for more on screen action, advanced physics, and frame rate efficiency. HVS, through their Quantum 3 engine, are pushing the Wii like never before. Reactions from Gaming journalists at E3 and since then speak volumes, since so many have indeed mistaken The Conduit for an Xbox 360 game.
We live in a world now where our beloved Nintendo Wii console and gaming in general has also become the home of Millions who don't care anywhere near as much about games as we do. Yet they buy in enough numbers that the entire Gaming industry has been forced to reconsider how much money they are spending on game development.
It is developers like High Voltage Software, who put themselves on the line for us that need the support of this opposite side of the gaming coin. And by that I mean all Gamers who would consider themselves Hardcore, regardless of what their preferred console is. Any gamer who can afford to buy this game should do so. Not only to enjoy an incredible game, but to send a message to Nintendo, and the Gaming industry. That message being: "Don't make any drastic changes in your dealings with us. Make the games properly, and we will buy them."
There is indeed a major war going on in the gaming industry. It is not a console war so much as it is a war for balancing out resources between Casual and Core type games. In this war, the Core gamer does not seek the eradication of the casual. The Casual gamer is needed. However, catering to the casual has endangered the fulfillment of the Core gamer. So, the Wii gamer, the Xbox 360 gamer, the PS3 gamer must all band together and fight the good fight with our wallets. Considering the truth of the Wii's power, what High Voltage Software is able to do with it, and what all would likely come after it in the gaming world should it be a success, how can we not?
Source
My opinion: I think this hits the nail on the head. Ignoring the pieces about the Conduit, I think this article points out the faults in the "Wii = PS2" argument many people still use.
EDIT: I don't necessarily agree with the "2 Xbox + 2 PS2 = Wii" formula. I think it's closer to 2-3 GameCubes, or 2-2,5 Xbox's, but that's not the point of this article.
