| superchunk said: In the end, WiiU is closer to its competitors than Wii was by a pretty significant difference. |
But in practice it might be similar in this context: Wii delivered last generation Xbox 1/PS2 graphics. Wii U seems to barely surpass PS3/360, which means it will once again deliver last gen/slightly better PS3/360 graphics. It's not a true next generation console from tech point of view like SNES, N64 and Gamecube were.
What makes it "closer" is that the generational leap in graphics won't be the same as going from PS2 --> PS3 was due to the way graphics work; and consoles not meeting the 2.5 Tflops barrier required to reach that next true next gen graphics level. However, based on the hardware, Wii U is nowhere near a next generation console and thus it won't deliver next generation graphics. The question is then do people want next generation graphics or is having Nintendo games in 720P-1080P sufficient? Is the GamePad a truly revolutionary way to play games? Thus far, it appears the market is not attracted to the Wii U. Most people don't even know it's a next gen console.
After the Gamecube, both the Wii and Wii U are not 'true' next generation consoles. If we go by SNES, N64 and Gamecube consoles relative to their competitors, each was near the top in terms of technology in their generations. The sound chip in SNES blew the Genesis away and N64's graphics and RAM expansion pack allowed its best games to stump all over PS1's textures/resolution/jagged aliased mess. Wii and Wii U seem to both be lagging their competitors by a full generation. Really all Nintendo needed to do was make a $350-400 console with traditional controls and go back to its roots with SNES. This way the $175 they spent on the GamePad would be allocated towards way faster CPU+GPU components. If they went with x86 CPU and a modern mid-range AMD GPU, 3rd party developers would have been able to easily port PC games with minimal costs. Right now we'd be seeing Crysis 3 at 1080P on the Wii U, looking eerily similar to the PC version. If PS3/360 owners saw Wii U deliver that level of graphics, they would have tripped over themselves to buy it for $350:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a3eilZRlyk
With Nintendo's 1st party titles, class competitive graphics, x86 / modern AMD GPU would have been easy to code for, bringing strong 3rd party support = the perfect console. Having off-the-shelf parts would have allowed Nintendo to ship dev kits way earlier than mid of 2012, allowing developers to become more familiar with the Wii U's hardware, instead of being left on their own!! That Wii U could have legitimately smashed Xbox 720 / PS4, at least the Xbox since its 1st party line-up is particularly weak.
What Nintendo did instead is a casino style gamble on the next Wiimote --- the GamePad. This is one of the most collosal strategic risks taken by any gaming company ever! Basically, Nintendo ignored the signs that the casual market that was attracted to the Wii has dried up and moved on to tablet/smartphone gaming, and because they were burnt out by Wii, they aren't interested in another "Wii HD." In the end, Nintendo ends up failing to cater to hardcore/older gamers who want a next gen console and at the same time the GamePad is not a selling feature to casuals since it's too complicated, cumbersome and is undermined by its 5 hour battery life. I used to love Nintendo but they are burying the company into the ground with these moves. :(
Most of us old-school Nintendo fans just wanted a high-end Nintendo console like PS4 with traditional controls. If that happened, I wouldn't even think about considering the PS4 (I don't really care for Xbox since I have a PC which makes Xbox redundant to me, unless they have something more than Forza, GOW and Halo to offer). I am sure a lot of NES, SNES, N64 gamers feel exactly the same way as I do. Honestly if Nintendo released a $500 Wii U without all the gimmicks and mind-blowing graphics/sound quality, I would have bought it on day 1. With the Wii U, even if it cost $249 right now I still wouldn't buy it. What happened to Nintendo is they failed at maintainting continuity with young gamers who grew up with their consoles in the early 80s and 90s. Now those people grew up and they don't want a Nintendo console that primarily targets kids. So where to those gamers go? PC, Xbox 720, PS4, etc.
