I got a thread comparing the AMD GPUs inside WiiU and PS4, as a yardstick for relative performance, which probably nobody saw. It indeed documents that the WiiU GPU is easily better than X360 and PS3 but leagues behind the PS4.

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=173912&page=1

The difference being that when Sony makes that mistake, developers soldier through making games until they have the experience and the tools to bring polished games to the PS3.

When Nintendo makes that mistake, they shrug and move on.

Again I think it funny how the WiiU is treated to a clear double standard. The prior installment of "The Secret Developer" the developer discusses the challenges of moving from the prior gen to this one. He characterizes the prior gen as strong CPU and weak GPU. As many functions as possible were moved to the CPU to free up the GPU. This generation is characterized as small improvement in CPU and more improvement in GPU. The CPU of both Xbox One and PS4 are described as weak in comparison to the improvement in GPU.

So a game is ported to the WiiU from a console that has a weak GPU and strong CPU. The WiiU, like all consoles this gen has an improved CPU but a much, much stronger GPU. The problems of transitioning from one type of generation to the other is described as a problem only for the WiiU but it is a problem every developer will be having when going from 7th gen to 8th gen. The WiiU is not the exception. It is the rule.

As an example, this quote:

So why are studios rushing out games when they know that they could do better given more time?

When it comes to console choice, most gamers will purchase based on factors such as previous ownership, the opinions of the gaming press (to some extent), which consoles their friends buy to play multiplayer games, and in some cases, which exclusives are being released (Halo, Uncharted etc). This means that studios are under a lot of pressure to release games with new consoles, as they help drive hardware sales. Also, if a studio releases a game at launch, they are likely to sell more copies, as console purchasers require games in order to show off their shiny new consoles to their friends.

So, with limited time, limited resources and limited access to development hardware before the retail consoles arrive, studios have to make a decision. Do they want their game to look good, play well and maintain a solid frame-rate? If so, compromises have to be made and screen resolution is an easy change to make that has a dramatic effect on the frame-rate (900p, for example, is only 70 per cent of the number of pixels in a 1080p screen). This will likely be the main driving reason behind the resolution choice for the launch titles and won't be any indicator of console "power" - compare Project Gotham Racing 3's sub-native presentation with its sequel, for example.

The compromises are made to get the game out on time and grab those dollars. They don't indicate the console power. These ports made to WiiU that barely run at or below some other machines. They were quick ports that reflect limited time, resources and access. The ports reflect going from a strong CPU weak GPU scenario to the exact opposite. The quotes even from the disgruntled developer reflected the exact same variables as mentioned in this prior Secret Developer article and no ill will was assigned to Microsoft, Sony, the PS4 or Xbox One for having to go through the same process.

Very good read, and it does sound quite plausible. Someone mentioned the similarities between the Wii U and the early PS3 with regard to difficulty in programming with immature dev software. One thing to note is that PS3 sales were never as weak as the Wii U, not by a long shot. X360 did outsell it at the beginning (even once the PS3 launched) but PS3 was still doing 8-10 milllion a year. Wii U is doing half that, and hasn't shown much improvement despite the late '13 game releases.

The only other thing I noted is that there seems a contradiction in the arguments of some Ninty fans on here, in regard to porting X360/PS3 games to the Wii U and the cost of porting. When a dev either says a Wii U game wasn't profitable or a game won't be ported to Wii U, the common argument is that porting to the Wii U is cheap (~$1 mil is usually quoted, a very skewed interpretation of a Ubisoft quote) and therefore a game either not profiting or not coming to Wii U is some conspiracy of 3rd parties to screw Nintendo. But if a game comes out that either runs as well or worse than X360/PS3 equivalent, its a lazy port from a lazy developer. The contradiction lies in the fact that if a game can't be easily compiled to Wii U from a X360/PS3 codebase and run well, then its not going to be cheap to do that port as a significant amount of recoding and re-optimising will have to occur.

This article here mentions that code brought across from the X360/PS3 doesn't run well on the Wii U because of how weak the CPU is, and that a lot of re-programming is required to try and rebalance the code between the GPU and CPU due to the Wii U being opposite to the PS3/X360. If thats the case, then porting games from the main consoles to the Wii U won't be cheap, and therefore current sales are not sufficient to justify 3rd party developers continuing to develop for Wii U. With the state of the development kits and SDK's provided by Ninty (as documented in this article), it comes as no surprise that a game port that sells 200-300k isn't profitable, nor an exclusive that sells 500k.

Funny that all this 'developers' who trash wiiu always stand anonimous. Seems that industry still afraid of Nintendo Ninjas.

Is it just me who thinks what a load off bs? I mean come on anyone could have wrote that surely?

I don't know where to start where you are wrong with this but really, what are you trying to imply? That the difference is not that big as it seems? Really, it is, and it's such a wide gap that most underestimate it even.

Meh... Its not like the confirmed something I didn't know. And being anonymous doesn't persuade anyone.

I mean this pretty much explains everything. From the sounds of it the GPU is a 6570 with some cut down features. That should make it roughly twice as strong as the PS3...

The PS3 was hard to program for because it used a totally new processor and a totally new architecture. This is not true for Wii U - it uses a ppc and a more-or-less off-the-shelf GPU. The problem here is a horrible SDK with immature tools which is a totally different problem.