Wii U graphics power finally revealed - "we can now finally rule out any next-gen pretensions for the Wii U"

[Solid-Stark]

Mazty said:

Flanneryaug said:

Mazty said:
And I got banned for saying the Wii U wasn't next gen....

It was obvious from it's load power consumption that it was not next gen aka on par with the next-box and PS4. Nice to have it verified from a different source though.

It is next gen. It is more powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3. Was the PS2 not in the 6th generation, because it wasn't on par with the GameCube or Xbox? Generations are about what time they are released, not power.

1) How much more powerful than the 360 and PS3 is it?
1ii) Is there any game that shows this power difference?

2)If generation is to do with what time they are released then why is the PS3 super slim not next gen

3) How can a console be next-gen if it can't play next-gen games, as the OP states?

1) Until a report is conslusive, and irrefutable by any doubt, then it's safe to assume the WiiU is up to and no more than 2x more powerful compared to the PS3 and X360. It's important to acknowledge that 2x more power isn't much, however, the GPU and hardware does have capabilities that the PS3/X360 cannot do; such as DX11-like capabilities and more than 2x the available RAM for game development.

ii) As far as any game showing this difference, we have to wait for the defining exclusives that are bound to drop in the next 2 years. Mario Kart U, Super Mario 3D U, and Bayonneta 2 are a few examples. Also, we could see the next Call of Duty or perhaps another IP that would launch PS3/X360/WiiU and perform better on the WiiU due to developers now having more time n the console.

2) Generations are defined by the launch of a next-gen platform. Of course they are aligned with other relevant manufacturer platforms.

i.e. PS2 to PS3 is a generational jump. PS2 to PS2 slim is not  a generational jump because PS2 and PS2 slim are the same platform. Competing platforms in the given time frame are the competition (i.e. Gamecube and Xbox)

Therefore, WiiU comes after the Wii, and therefore a Generation 8 console. 

3) There is no real line to draw through whats a "next-gen game". If we are to accept your premise, then the PS4/Xbox720 are also not next gen because Epic says their Samaritan demo requires a 2.5TF GPU (Rumors: PS4-1.8 , 720-1.2) (Epic saying Samaritan is the new standard of next-gen) Also, it would further blur the lines over what is considered this-gen-type-game as most games are far behind PC and don't even render natively at 1280x720p (what would be considered HD and onwards)