Similar to how PC developers make games.  They start working on them even though by the time they are done with a game a whole new generation of graphics cards have been announced and relased.

The CPU itself seems ot have been locked down in terms of architecture so they can at least work with that in mind.  Clock rate may still change.  But the GPU can change several things almost all the way until a few months before launch so long as certain shader operations and other parameters are understood.

Thanks again!

It is kind of open to interpretation ... it really depends on what is meant by "running"

In software development 5 weeks is really not that long of a time, and it is unlikely that their developers would have had the time to do any amount of optimization for the underlying hardware; and most of the time would be spent compiling, testing and debugging the tools and engine. If at the end of this time the game is running at release-ready performance (say 1080p @ 60fps) then it would be a very good indicator that the Wii U was a very powerful, easy to work with system.

Thanks for answering. So if it works on WiiU with only 5 weeks means that it has the power to run it with very poor optimisation (although this is not a very graphics demanding game).

Oh, and we can mostly agree that the game is nowhere near "release-ready performance" otherwise they'd have shown it.

 They do, wii, ds and psp looks like that... and so Uncharted 3 does bad, amazing for the console yes, current pc standards? No...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_faXOY_rk&feature=related

that's definitely an indicator. And of course the faux-intellectual trolls are already stinking up the thread

Do you have no sense of context?

For those of you talking about power Nintendo is still working on the console via IBM etc...etc... Nintendo hasn't given developers final kits. Its like with Wii up untill E3 2006 developers were still using modified GameCube kits. Nintendo gave out early kits and likely the final kits will come for next E3. Maybe a tad earlier but Nintendo themselves probably don't even have nearly finished kits as IBM and such are still working on the hardware.

I think Nintendo held back on showing software ported to WiiU at the moment simply because the hardware is incomplete and the software might look better once the hardware is their. So Nintendo might expect DarkSiders to recieve a visual upgrade. Alot of the games shown running on PS3 will probably look better on WiiU. I think Nintendo wants to hide the true graphical power of WiiU until E3 2012.

A major reason Nintendo might be hiding the WiiU's power is its competitors. Microsoft and Sony are hard at work on their next platforms. Nintendo knows that as soon as their hardware gets unvieled Sony and MS will best it. So why give Microsoft and Sony a true indication of the platforms power over a year early?

It is in Nintendo's best interest to hide the graphical power of the console as long as possible. Hopefully Sony and Microsoft's next consoles will not blow WiiU out of the water too bad if they are released in 2013 as many are suggesting!

sorry, it didnt make any sense, I guess...

"And it looks just as bad on Wii U as it does on PS3 and Xbox 360." I never said that quote.