Nintendo 64: 19 watts
GameCube: 39 watts

Both are low yes, okay, humm

I still think it could be an interesting proposition to make the Wii U into a "WiiDS" though.  Rememder the circle pads it originally had?  If you went back to those and had a clam-shell second screen like the DS models it could work.  Maybe I didn't really think this through while plummeting towards the earth, idk, it would be cool though.

I'm not suggesting they make this for next christmas, but maybe 2-3 years down the line.

"GanonCrotch said:

edit - I see you said to remove the drive... but.. downloading all full wiiu games? and rebuying them like happened with the pspgo? no I don't think anyone would go for this idea."

Removing the drive is an option, I know the PSPgo didn't (go that is) but...

1- the digital market is growing quickly and people are warming up to it.  Nintendo could also set up a program where they take back old copies in return for digital versions.  Nintendo would then effectivey be combating the used market while aquiring used games they could resell to original Wii U owners.  This legaly would only work with 1st party games though.

2- Another option would be to "kiss your disks goodbye" before leaving the house.  Let me explain.  You have your original Wii U at home with your game disks.  To get a digital version on your WiiDS you would put the game in the Wii U, connect (somehow) to the WiiDS to prove you own the disk (i think this is what the 360 does for full game installs), then leave the house.  The Game would then be authorized to run on the WiiDS for a short time, maybe 3-6 days before you need to reconnect it to the Wii U to show you still own the game disk.

3- Another option would be for Nintendo to start putting NFC chips in the disks to make the process of "kissing your disks goodbye" faster and easier.

Except you're wrong OP, most laptops don't consume 2-3 times as many watts per hour.

You're looking at it the wrong way anyway, the reason it uses so little power is because it's not using cutting edge CPU/GPU so the power demands are much lower.

There's not a hope in hell something even using this "low" amount of power could be made into a portable for at least another 5 years, the Wii-U is already built off what 28nm processes? Certainly around that figure, die shrinks have really started to slow down it's going to be literally years before it could be put into a smaller shell with a lower TDP.

Also, you have to take into account that doing such a thing would be pointless in terms of profits for nintendo, it would be a massive long term project with very little interest...oh look a Wii-U in 5 years time inside a DS case...in 5 years, that won't be cool.

Talking in "now" terms, 39 watts an hour is a lot of power in terms of putting into a portable, that would be 2 hours on a standard laptop battery weighing just under 1KG.

Would you consider that portable and that is excluding a screen!!!?

Also, the technology in terms of power use used in the Wii-U is already cutting edge, that's the benefit of not using cutting edge in terms of actual performance, some very efficient designs can be churned out, which again counts against pushing things forward in die shrinks - as we're already at "the best".

Crap, I just re-read that chart I referenced and I missread it the first time.  Most laptops use 2/3 the power of a Wii U, but some do use more then twice as much power as a wII U so I was wrong but still half right. We can continue.

I'm not saying to do this now or even next year, I'm saying to introduce this when we get deep into next generation, 2, 3, probably closer to 4 years down the road.  A slim line Wii U without a disk drive could cut the power consumption even further.  They made the Wii more efficient after launch, and it was already highly efficient to start with.  The weight of a battery would be a bummer, but people carry laptops all the time.

That's why it's called MAD SPECULATION bros!

Yeah I'd say an average laptop would use about 2/3 the power requirment of a Wii-U. You have to also think though that this is when the laptop is at peak load, the Wii-U is always at peak load when playing a game, so a laptop will last a lot longer. As you say though it varies greatly, there are some laptops that come with batteries that last twice as long but are much heavier, some devices are much lighter and so forth.

I suppose you have those ultrabooks that can go 8-10 hours, but they have the GPU built into the CPU so don't need anywhere near as much powe, but they are quite weak (Intel HD4000 graphics for example)...

Anyways....surely in years to come we'll see something similar after thinking about it...

After all, isn't the DS = n64, 3DS = Wii, PSP = PS2 ;)

(exaggerated the portable power but in similarish area).

@ Fillet Yah, I'm not saying to slap a battery and two screens on it as is, but in the future when the 3DS gets old in the tooth the Wii U could be segwayed into being the new portable that still does what a home console can do.

I never said I thought this whole thing through, I was skydiving remember. :D

The N64 was basically turned into a portable (the iQue for the Chinese market), the chipset was able be shrunk so small it fit into an N64 controller.

If they can do with the Wii U tablet ... well there's your screen.

Still you're probably talking 3+ years out when they can shrink the CPU + GPU and manufature it on a 20nm process (or smaller).

They would need to get power consumption with a 6-7 inch screen to be in the 15-16 watt range or less. Dropping the disc drive obviously helps, and shrinking the chip does too, but I believe the eDRAM on the Wii U GPU may be the biggest hurdle in shrinking the chip.

Not Sure... but 3DS been 3D will never been back compatible with anything else nintendo wants to do unless WiiU is 3D.

Wouldn't it make more sense - looking at the sales - to make a home-version of the 3DS? Well, that would rock. Hmm, I could think an upgrade of the WiiU, making a 3DS cartridge-slot into the gamepad and playing 3DS-games on your WiiU. Two screens are there. The lower is a touchscreen. It could work, we would only lose the 3D (except for 3D-televisions).

EDIT: important addition: This idea struck me while reading a thread on VGC.

Heavens... maybe!