snowdog said:
We're unlikely to see Quantum3 on the Wii U due to another architecture difference - this time GPU architecture. Flipper and Hollywood, the GPUs in the GameCube and Wii respectively, have a nonstandard rendering pipeline thanks to the TEV Unit using fixed functions instead of traditional programmable shaders. That's why Wii SKUs of multiplatform games were developed independently from the PS3 and 360 SKUs. High Voltage signed an unprecedented lifetime licence for the Infernal engine so if they are working on a Wii U title it's more likely to be Infernal engine-driven. It's not a bad piece of kit as it goes. And no, I don't get out much lol |
The Wii U is compatible with Wii games - they're not emulated, they're actually run natively. So the TEV system is still within the GPU. Indeed, some speculate that the TEV still being present is why the Wii U is performing so well relative to the apparent number of shaders in the system. And while I'm sure High Voltage has a lifetime licence for the Infernal engine, they have Quantum3 as an internal engine that was tweaked to optimise for Wii-type architecture, which means that tweaking for Wii U shouldn't be too hard.