In another thread we were discussing the wii being able to have 720p and it seems its very easy to do. So thats not all. I found out the original xbox could support 1080i in some games. This means that the wii a much more powerful and efficient console may be able to produce the same resolutions as the existing hd consoles. That means if games start supporting these resolutions there is no need to buy ps3 and 360 for hd gaming. That makes the only thing left the hds have that the wii doesn't are their exclusives and better graphics.

I wouldn't go that far and say that...

The 360 and PS3 are both power houses and could have a much better atmosphere with HD then Wii ever could...

It can happen, and probably will, but never like what we see with PS3 and 360.

But you are right... For HD and can stick with just my Wii. (If they do bring out decent games n it that is).

I honestly don't care if they do make games with 720i/p or 1080i/p for Wii. Indeed, I'd prefer they not go HD. Higher quality graphics always come at the expense of other parts of the budget, such as gameplay development. As graphics are just there to enhance the experience the gameplay provides, if the graphics are the main selling point, what does that say about the gameplay?

 I agree but that would stop people from complaing abouthow the graphics suck on the wii. It would also show developers that the wii is more than a gamecube 2.0 and deserves graphics better than ps2. It would be a little nice to have hd too. Just the extra detail making it look nicer.

The XBOX has a shared memory architecture - meaning more memory could be allocated to the frame buffer - which is needed for 720p / 1080i resolutions.

The Wii doesn't have this. The lack of VRAM is the biggest reason why the Wii will struggle to do 720p.

720 --> 1280 x 720 pixels = 920,000 pixels (approx).

If the Wii *is* limited to only 3MB of frame buffer memory (unless there is some trick), that's just not enough memory.

Usually (at a minimum) you want 16bit colour + 8bit zbuffer (can be skipped sometimes) - and at least TWO buffer. Otherwise its drawing from the buffer as you are changing things. (maybe you can setup a buffer not in VRAM - but this may not work on the Wii very well - I don't have the exact docs, so not sure).

This also leaves NO memory for textures.

...

From a memory point-of-view - its possible - but very hard technically. It may also seriously cripple whatever you are doing quality-wise.

For everybody who wants to know the thread where this was discussed. http://vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=17578&start=50#end

@ shams That problem also came up in the other thread but Fazz said this "The 3MB embedded RAM figure is an assumption, not a fact. That's what the GC had, and now the design of the GPU is different, because in the Flipper (GC), it WAS all on a single chip (embedded RAM, sound, I/O and GPU). With the Hollywood (Wii) it has been split into TWO chips. And you are not remembering correctly, because, while the Xbox lacked a dedicated frame/texture buffer, the PS2 used embedded RAM too. The Xbox 360 uses embedded RAM too for frames/textures (and in the 360 it is physically part of the GPU) and it can access the main system RAM for GPU usage as well." Could somebody tell me how to quote from one thread to another

I don't think it matters. No-one bought the Wii to get HD graphics. We wanted a console which concerns more about gameplay.

That's like me saying I can bench 300 lbs. I might be able to struggle my way through one rep, but I would nearly kill myself in the process and my back wouldn't be right for days.

The Wii is perfect the way it is. Stop with all the peer pressure. You'll give it a complex.

 Well there are original xbox games with 1080i.  All consoles could improve and graphics and 3rd party support are the only things the wii could improve in.  

Everybody knows the gameplay is what the wii is about but that doesn't mean we could ignore graphics. I bought my wii for gameplay but I would also like to see nice games. This is especially true if the wii has the option of hd graphics it should take it. Thats like saying I look ok but I have the option to look better. Would I say oh I'll just stick with looking ok. No I would like to be the best I could. The wii should be pushed to its limits on everyfront including graphics. Even though the graphics are the least important thing doesn't mean we should blow them off.