the wii is more powerful than i thought....

The Wii IS weak, it's nowhere near the "other makers" (please don't bring up other names)

The thing going for it is that it uses a method of very low resource hogging programs making everything work. I've discussed this subject many times over. The Wii is not powerful but it doesn't need to be if it's programmed for correctly. Maybe this will help

Car A has 1000 horsepower but it's also moving 1000 pounds

Car B has 200 horsepower but its only moving 50 pounds

While car B is vastly underpowered compared to car A it's able to perform well because it's not carrying as much.

Nintendo didn't hold anything back and there's not one final "secret" waiting to be let out from it's power. It's got the same power that we all thought it had. It's stronger then anything last gen by far and it wont approach anything else this gen. What it will do is need devs who have their own studios that can dedicate themselves to simply writing better and better code to show off what the Wii can do.

Just like every single system known to man, the longer it's around the better it's going to look.

Two things about the Wii's power:

a) Developers on all consoles can be lazy, the issue with the Wii is that the same laziness gets you lower quality graphics, by comparison. In other words, if it were more powerful, the same level of laziness/effort would get you better visuals.

b) While games will look better over time, I wouldn't expect as much of an increase as we've seen with other consoles in the past. The reason? Games tend up ramp up over time because developers become more familiar with the ins and outs of the hardware. Most of the time they're starting from scratch with a new system, and there's a learning curve.

However, with the Wii there's less of that learning curve, because most devs are familiar with the hardware, to an extent: it's an architecture that they've used before (albeit a more powerful version of that architecture). The learning curve is less steep, and they've started off with a decent baseline of knowledge.

What will result in potential increases, I think, isn't devs learning the hardware, but the phase-out of the PS2 and (potentially) the PSP. Those systems are providing the baseline for Wii development right now, in a lot of cases, and lead to lazier economies of scale development.

Yes even tho its not as Powerful as our PS3 and 360, its still Very powerful and publishers definately haven't taken advantage of most of its power yetGalen20K

That blog that was posted in the previous thread page makes a huge point. The Wii is a Custom closed console. Nintendo is certainly not stupid. The wii is cheap and nintendo wanted to make something next gen that your averaged family and even those who have low incomes can afford. The wii may not be as powerful with the 360 or the ps3 and everyone knows that but the gamecube surprised alot of gamers last gen. I think history might just repeat itself and couple of times again this round.

No one's saying the Wii is capable of equalling the 360 or PS3, but I think people have underestimated the Wii.

Wii doesn't even have basic shadier support which the last gene Xbox had end of topic.

Wii doesn't even have basic shadier support which the last gene Xbox had end of topic.

zaku101

You don't have the correct information, topic may continue

hey wait did Nintendo ever revealed the hardware's specs because I remember they kept the in secret.Eternal_Phoenix

They didn't release it publicly, nor will they- there's no reason. They did- and had to- provide full documentation on all the details of the hardware to developers, obviously. And several news organizations have their own copy of that documentation.

relating to something that was discussed before the Wii was released, Nintendo Wii may have hardware disadvantages, however some developers have SDK advantages allowing developers to develope a much more graphical interface within a game using new usable software technques. For example, Nintendo is definetly using displacement mapping, which is how they add actually bumpy looking textures without using major hardware to render it. The XBox used just regular bump mapping, which is similar to displacement mapping but not even close. Nintendo is staying on top of the ball when it comes to what they can do graphically with the Wii, and it's only a matter of time before Nintendo finds new SDK tricks to make the Wii graphics even look better using simple hardware.Regginator14520

Agreed

Just wait and see. As time continues to progress, the Wii's graphical capabilities as far as we know it will improve. Who knows, Prime may not be the best looking Wii game when it all comes down to it!slgnbenchwarmr

[QUOTE="slgnbenchwarmr"]Just wait and see. As time continues to progress, the Wii's graphical capabilities as far as we know it will improve. Who knows, Prime may not be the best looking Wii game when it all comes down to it!PeterPerson

It isn't gonna "magically evolve". It just hasn't reached its full potential yet.

Metroid really does look good, its impressive. I'm sure they'll squeeze out some beautiful games for the system. Metroid's art style isamazing.

[QUOTE="Eternal_Phoenix"]hey wait did Nintendo ever revealed the hardware's specs because I remember they kept the in secret.Spelunker

They didn't release it publicly, nor will they- there's no reason. They did- and had to- provide full documentation on all the details of the hardware to developers, obviously. And several news organizations have their own copy of that documentation.

relating to something that was discussed before the Wii was released, Nintendo Wii may have hardware disadvantages, however some developers have SDK advantages allowing developers to develope a much more graphical interface within a game using new usable software technques. For example, Nintendo is definetly using displacement mapping, which is how they add actually bumpy looking textures without using major hardware to render it. The XBox used just regular bump mapping, which is similar to displacement mapping but not even close. Nintendo is staying on top of the ball when it comes to what they can do graphically with the Wii, and it's only a matter of time before Nintendo finds new SDK tricks to make the Wii graphics even look better using simple hardware.Regginator14520

[QUOTE="slgnbenchwarmr"]Just wait and see. As time continues to progress, the Wii's graphical capabilities as far as we know it will improve. Who knows, Prime may not be the best looking Wii game when it all comes down to it!PeterPerson

Ok, first read that. Second, Nintendo isn't holding back anything. Look at SuperMario Galaxy and rent Pokemon Battle rewvolution, even though that game isn't that great without DS' and diamond or pearl, the graphics are sweet. Third parties are the ones that are holding the graphics, most of them are lazy and want to make quick cash and port PS2 games. vnc20100

Someone said that 3rd party developers aren't trying because anything they put out Nintendo will make something better, but if third parties tried as hard as Nintendo then maybe they could out perform Nintendo games. All 3rd parties really need to do is put time and dedication in their work.

Someone said that 3rd party developers aren't trying because anything they put out Nintendo will make something better, but if third parties tried as hard as Nintendo then maybe they could out perform Nintendo games. All 3rd parties really need to do is put time and dedication in their work.

kart_racer

It comes down to which devs have their own studios made for the Wii. RIght now a few of them do with Nintendo(duh), EA, Bandai, Ubisoft, and I think one more for now.

The nice thing is that the blends are interchangeable. Make one great blend for realistic metal and all the games can use it. THis is why it's going to be a big deal for each developer to have it's own studio to continue to just build.

yeah the wii has some pretty good graphix...

hey add me on wii

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Yes even tho its not as Powerful as our PS3 and 360, its still Very powerful and publishers definately haven't taken advantage of most of its power yetGalen20K

Yes, I know. The wii also comes with built in internet, and there are no games with online multiplayer yet.

[QUOTE="Spelunker"]

[QUOTE="Eternal_Phoenix"]hey wait did Nintendo ever revealed the hardware's specs because I remember they kept the in secret.nintendo-4life

They didn't release it publicly, nor will they- there's no reason. They did- and had to- provide full documentation on all the details of the hardware to developers, obviously. And several news organizations have their own copy of that documentation.

relating to something that was discussed before the Wii was released, Nintendo Wii may have hardware disadvantages, however some developers have SDK advantages allowing developers to develope a much more graphical interface within a game using new usable software technques. For example, Nintendo is definetly using displacement mapping, which is how they add actually bumpy looking textures without using major hardware to render it. The XBox used just regular bump mapping, which is similar to displacement mapping but not even close. Nintendo is staying on top of the ball when it comes to what they can do graphically with the Wii, and it's only a matter of time before Nintendo finds new SDK tricks to make the Wii graphics even look better using simple hardware.Regginator14520

Nintendo put a patent on their "Displacement mapping" techiques, so no one else can copy it unless its for development for the Wii.

The PS3 and 360 can use regular displacement mapping, but the Wii has a special kind of displacement mapping thats better.