| HappySqurriel said: I'm not going to claim that it is impossible under the current hardware configuration, but it is pretty unlikely that the Wii could support 720p ... One thing I have seen suggested which is unrealistic but possible is that Nintendo may be able to overclock the CPU and GPU with a firmware update, and they may have a larger framebuffer built onto the Hollywood processor which currently hidden by the firmware of the system. This wouldn't be the first time a system could be overclocked with a patch, and many hardware manufacturers have released chips with disabled components on them (typically because those components were built in for redundancy); unless Nintendo was expecting to have to make the jump to HD, I couldn't see them building a system that was unnecessarily expensive on the off chance that they needed to use the extra components. |
It really doesn't need to be overclocked as you said to achieve an actual HD picture, what it would need would be to scale back on real time processing. That's not too difficult a task and in fact pre-rendered backgrounds could be effective on the Wii given it cannot produce the amazing power that the 360 or PS3 can. Think about PS1 pre-rendered graphics then think what the PS2 or Gamecube could achieve having pre-rendered items and apply it to a slightly greater effect on the Wii. I think overall it might be seen as a step back in the way things are done but it might be able to come out as effective for the Wii. They may have built in some things for redundancy as you said but if at all I doubt it'd be much it's probably a slight boost at best to give it that extra kick for future games as developers unlock the wii's potential and push it to it's limits. Do I think it's possible for Wii to produce 720p and 1080i even, sure but I don't think it's practical especially I believe nintendo locked out any resolution greater than 480p(though simple update could unlock them) I think it'd be a good idea for Nintendo to allow 720p as developers become smarter in using the Wii. If they push it you'll get a clunky shuddering mess that has frame rate dips to no end, they have to be smart about producing the game if they want 720p and the best option again is, pre-rendering their backgrounds.
