| vanguardian1 said: When you switch to the gamecube mode, the wii's own hardware differences aren't accessible to the gamecube software. I don't know if it could be updated to, or perhaps it's a hardware incompatibility. |
Supposedly they did it to prevent that Gamecube hacking, of the Datel kind (Freeloader, Action Replay), would work on Wii-mode. I still have to say it sucks.
It sucks that I have to use a Gamecube controler when a Classic one would do (cause they're more money, cause they're ugly, cause they're wired, cause the ports are in a stupid place - I know about the Wavebird, still sucks), and it sucks that I have to buy another memory card (when an SD is so damn cheap). It definitly does suck bad that it was done cause of piracy. I'm all for preventing piracy, but not when restrictions cause significant hindrances. Not when it could have been done with a software hypervisor of some sort.
As of right now, it's great for someone who already has a Gamecube, and all its accessories, and that's great. But it does nothing to get me to buy Gamecube games. I'm actually hopping they make ports and best-of compilations, whether with or without motion sensing. There are great Gamecube games around, I missed them, they're cheap, I'm cheap - it'd be a perfect relationship. I also like the Wii design and think the Gamecube controlers don't fit.
Actually, for gamers that did not own the previous iterations, I think the PS3 and the 360 do much better in this department. And truth is, if the Wii sells upwards of 40 million units, it's a given that the majority of gamers that'll have bought it missed on the Gamecube.
| vanguardian1 said: The Wii uses a modified processor from the same family of processors as the gamecube uses, just the fastest model (with some other significant improvements) with a die shrink and clock speed increase as well. To change to a faster processor would require a change of proecessor architectures, creating a lot of hassles for backwards compatibility, as well as heat and power consumption as well. If you read the interviews, Iwata himself gave the Nintendo engineers a stack of 3 dvd-cases and told them that he didn't want the unit any bigger than that. I'd say they got pretty damned close. :) Just remember that every time you change something on the Wii's design, it's going to have a significantly negative effect on several other aspects of it's overall package in comparison to it's current hardware configuration. The Wii's appeal isn't just for show, it's rather an impressive combination of several design factors that the 360 and PS3 completely ignored, thus why many people are calling the Wii "the new ipod", it's not just looks that cause that. :) |
Well, the Brodway CPU is believed to be of the PowerPC 750CL line, an evolved version of the 750CXe line the Gekko belonged to. The 750CL like has speeds of up to 1Ghz, so it could definitely be faster. It could probably be multicore too, and that's the avenue they're likely to use in the future if they want to keep the same kind of backward compatibility. So, it wouldn't require a change at all to be quite a little bit better.
But it's all trade offs (heat, size...), and that's what engineering is all about... And it does look great, and that's part of why Gamecube controllers suck (specially white brand ones), just like crappy accessories look even uglier on an iPod. 
