Analysis of Wii Hardware

[quote name='Z-Saber']10 years? I'm sure we won't go 10 hours before reports of dead PS3s surface.[/QUOTE]

Couldn't help but take it out of context could you ;) We're talking about the Console Sales Life.

As for the heat issues

At a rating of just 22 decibels, it's only slightly louder than a human whisper. All we know is that we could barely hear it running. That's definitely worth something.

You may have heard rumors on the Internets that the PS3 was practically setting people on fire at last month's Tokyo Game Show. Whether or not that's true, we witnessed dozens of units performing flawlessly for several hours at a press event yesterday. While the air conditioning struggled against a small army of PS3s, enormous HDTVs, and excitable game reporters, the PS3s themselves hummed along quietly and solidly.

Of course, there's always the possibility that one of them burst into flames just as we were leaving. But we're pretty confident in the system's ability to stay cool under pressure.
Click to expand...

http://www.gametab.com/news/719513/

It's all up in the air at this point. I would'nt be suprised if the Wii's parts start malfunctioning as well.
But hey, it's not nearly as attractive as the popular Sony Bashing is it ;)?
 
[quote name='rodeojones903'] If they did 50 cent: Bulletproof would have tanked.[/QUOTE]

Come now. That is far more the product of marketing than anything. You know as well as I do that the game didn't sell on graphics, but on the bullshit rapper that was pasted on the front.

As for graf-x, the types of people Nintendo wants to reach - assuming their "blue ocean" strategy pans out well - won't give a shit about graphics. I'm talking about old ladies and girls. 'Course, that's a niche in a niche, so you're talking about the college dudes and whatnot.

As I have said for a while now, can we please wait a year and see what happens? If people can't realize the systems (Wii vs PS3/60) offer two different things - interface vs. graphics - then we'll prolly see a repeat of this generation.

It is Nintendo's hope that they will, and it will absolutely err on the side of marketing and pushing the "hey, this is really awesome and new" angle.

We'll see in a year, let's please stop these useless arguments and discussions about which system is going to win now when we have no goddamn clue about it.
 
[quote name='Zoglog']ok mr internet serious business............

I love how defensive you guys get ;). Esp with the passive agressive death wishes. What you going to do now Mr emo? Place a Hex on me ;)?

Unless you have something positive to contribute, stop trolling on this thread. This thread is for HARDWARE DISCUSSION. Not for your stupid fanboy whinings[/QUOTE]

I'll continue to troll this thread all I want simply because every thread you post is a troll. So by all means, eat shit and die as the kids used to say back in the day.

Rodeojones903 brings up a good point. Right now, the argument is about Grafix and only Grafix. Nintendo is looking to change the argument on the consoles like they did in the handhelds. Strell's right in saying it'll take a year for any of this to pan out though and this thread, much like Zoglog himself, is a waste of everyone's time.
 
I don't mean to bust up this anger-fest, but I have an actual question about the wii hardware.... Does anybody know if the wiimote rumbles? I know for a fact that the nunchuck doesn't rumble, but I haven't seen whether or not the main wiimote features it.
 
[quote name='zaxo']I don't mean to bust up this anger-fest, but I have an actual question about the wii hardware.... Does anybody know if the wiimote rumbles? I know for a fact that the nunchuck doesn't rumble, but I haven't seen whether or not the main wiimote features it.[/quote] It will rumble.
 
what i ment about the bat comment was this:

Wii aims to be realistic input so a swing would be a swing such as a bat. when that swings starts to result in other things such as swinging the controller to jump, swing to throw, swing to roll. That is when the swing is nothing more than a button that requires a little more effort to push.

for 360 and ps3 you may press the buttons but they do very cool and interesting reactions when combined with the enviornment and cool visual effects flying on the screen of the game. Better raw processing power allows nice graphics to keep gamer wondering whats up i want to explore, and more things to do. Such as Tony Hawk projcet 8 vs tony hawk downhill jam on wii. Which is more fun and entertaining in the long run. You might think they are both fun but which will have more replayability? I am talking about the results which is related to the power of the console. When you look at Gears of war you think wow i really want to try that head stomp move that would be cool, you don't think i want to press A then B left stick all the way around and then right bumper.
 
[quote name='zaxo']I don't mean to bust up this anger-fest, but I have an actual question about the wii hardware.... Does anybody know if the wiimote rumbles? I know for a fact that the nunchuck doesn't rumble, but I haven't seen whether or not the main wiimote features it.[/QUOTE]

Actually it hasn't been an angerfest really, just some little kiddies getting riled up and thinking they're hot stuff by trying to sound hard online.

as for the rumble, i'm not sure if that article is recently dated, but I heard they had taken out the rumble.
 
Considering you can get a Wii and a 360 Platinum bundle for the price of the top PS3 package and a game....

Yeah, the old second console argument.

I don't see why Wii needs to be technically superior or equivilent. That's not its game. There's only so much better a 480p game can be.

I'll use the forced letterboxing of a game like Dead Rising, hard to read text, bad menus.... to show that consoles aimed at HD don't always work on SDTV.

The diffference in power between the PS3/360 and the Wii is completely negated IMHO when the first two are trying to run state of the art graphics on a 720p-1080p basis and the second isn't going beyond 480p. HDTV is a massive expense difference.

I think Nintendo has the pricing exactly right on this one. Hell, parents can buy 2 Wii's for less than a PS3 and then the kids will never fight about who gets to play which game and when.

Techs schmecks, this thing is going to sell every single unit they can produce for at least 6 months.
 
[quote name='Zoglog']as for the rumble, i'm not sure if that article is recently dated, but I heard they had taken out the rumble.[/QUOTE]

I doubt that is the case. The Wiimote I used at the Fusion tour still rumbled and I think the posters you can find in stores still shows the Wiimote "shaking".
 
[quote name='panasonic']what i ment about the bat comment was this:

Wii aims to be realistic input so a swing would be a swing such as a bat. when that swings starts to result in other things such as swinging the controller to jump, swing to throw, swing to roll. That is when the swing is nothing more than a button that requires a little more effort to push.

for 360 and ps3 you may press the buttons but they do very cool and interesting reactions when combined with the enviornment and cool visual effects flying on the screen of the game. Better raw processing power allows nice graphics to keep gamer wondering whats up i want to explore, and more things to do. Such as Tony Hawk projcet 8 vs tony hawk downhill jam on wii. Which is more fun and entertaining in the long run. You might think they are both fun but which will have more replayability? I am talking about the results which is related to the power of the console. When you look at Gears of war you think wow i really want to try that head stomp move that would be cool, you don't think i want to press A then B left stick all the way around and then right bumper.[/quote]And that is why the best games for the Wii will be those built ground-up for the Wii. But they're not necessarily aiming for "realistic" control, they're going for more intuitive control. Sometimes that is the same thing, sometimes not.

And until we play Project 8 and Downhill Jam, I don't really know how you're going to claim that P8 is more replayable and fun because it looks nicer. Have you seriously replayed a game because it looked nice, not because you had fun playing it? Usually that's my determining factor.
 
[quote name='botticus']And that is why the best games for the Wii will be those built ground-up for the Wii. But they're not necessarily aiming for "realistic" control, they're going for more intuitive control. Sometimes that is the same thing, sometimes not.

And until we play Project 8 and Downhill Jam, I don't really know how you're going to claim that P8 is more replayable and fun because it looks nicer. Have you seriously replayed a game because it looked nice, not because you had fun playing it? Usually that's my determining factor.[/quote]
Man, you fell into his trap. Project 8 will be more replayable because it is a better game, not because it has better graphics. Don't use Project 8 and Downhill Jam to compare different control methods, they are completely different games. Better comparisons would be Madden, or M:UA, or CoD3. All of those games have both Wii and Next-Gen counterparts. The difference, at this point, is not only graphics, but online multiplayer -- I think that is what will really hurt Wii at the start. If it were just graphics, I think the Wii control scheme would win over a lot more people.

I used to love Rare games, but a part of me died when they started pushing "context sensitive" controls as the holy grail of gaming, i.e. move over here and push the 'A' button, and your character will do whatever he is supposed to do here; move somewhere else and push the 'A' button, and he'll do whatever he is supposed to do there. I want to be in control of my character. Right or wrong, I want to decide what he does -- to me, that's what gaming is all about. The Wiimote has the potential to give us more direct control over our characters' actions.
 
If we didn't have competition in the hardware market, you wouldnt see a generational change that often. I'm sure in a fictional scenario, Sony would love to sit with their fat PS2 userbase and just let 3rd parties continue to make games for it, but they have to have a response ready if someone else comes along with new fanciness. The whole 10 year generational cycle is just silly.
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']And that is where the problem comes in. If the "masses" that Nintendo wants to reach can see the two compared side by side in the store, chances might be good that they pick the one that looks better.

Remember, that masses don't care about good gameplay. If they did 50 cent: Bulletproof would have tanked.[/QUOTE]

This is fine for the people who are casual gamers. I realize that would happen. I realize that graphics do drive people to buy a new console. The thing is people act as if updated uber graphics are innovative. They aren't...we've gotten better graphics each and every generation.

Now for someone who reads a video game bulletin board and knows Nintendo's approach to this generation and complains about the graphics is a complete moron. It's like this:

Nintendo: We aren't going to have the best graphics this gen.
Guy: WHY AREN'T YOU GOING TO HAVE GOOD GRAHPICS?

The other funny thing is the PS2 (out of its generation) was the worst console in terms of graphics and it did the best in terms of sales.
 
They are trying to reach people that nothing has reached so far. Not graphics, not the current controls, nothing.

There is more to see side by side this time. You'll see the PLAYERS side by side also. This will be a big difference.

Those Wii experience videos dont focus on the screen much. Thats what the "masses" that come into the store are going to see. And that will be something they havent seen before.
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']And that is where the problem comes in. If the "masses" that Nintendo wants to reach can see the two compared side by side in the store, chances might be good that they pick the one that looks better.

Remember, that masses don't care about good gameplay. If they did 50 cent: Bulletproof would have tanked.[/quote]

this comment is pretty dead on when I show my brother my DS he looks at it and goes hmm that looks bad and puts it down after a few minutes. He dosen't want to use the stylus to control the game it feels awkward and annoying to him. He looks at my PSP and plays it much longer before putting it down since its more appealing visually and has a control scheme he's use to. People don't always go with whats innovative and new they go with whats reliable and looks good. My brother would be a very good indicator to me of the "masses" nintendo wants to reach with gaming.

I myself find the Wii intriguing and will likely pick one up. Unfortunatly for me the launch lineup only has like two games appealing to me Red Steel and Zelda everything else is mostly a pass so I will likey wait till next year and see what develops much like I did when the DS launched.
 
I would generally agree with that sort of logic, but currently sales are showing this is not the case. Unless the people buying three times more DSs than PSPs are all of the hardcore crowd.

I think that's really where cost comes in.
 
[quote name='PhoenixT']this comment is pretty dead on when I show my brother my DS he looks at it and goes hmm that looks bad and puts it down after a few minutes. He dosen't want to use the stylus to control the game it feels awkward and annoying to him. He looks at my PSP and plays it much longer before putting it down since its more appealing visually and has a control scheme he's use to. People don't always go with whats innovative and new they go with whats reliable and looks good. My brother would be a very good indicator to me of the "masses" nintendo wants to reach with gaming.[/quote]

Based on PSP sales, your brother is in the minority. And it's one thing to have someone hand you two systems and say "which looks prettier?" It's different when you actually own it and play it every day over an extended period and try to find a consistent number of fun, quality games.

Another point: Even if the PS3 is capable of graphics and audio far surpassing that generated by the Wii and even the 360, if the vast majority of the games on that system use that horsepower to primarily depict bloody gun battles, hideous aliens, roaming gangs of thugs, zombies, and football simulations, you're not going to attract anyone besides the same core gaming constituency you always have (those that can afford it, anyway). And that's a very small fraction of the population. If, on the other hand, you can provide software that attracts a broad swath of the population and hardware that makes it easy for them to play it, you go from a niche demographic to everyone who owns a television.
 
I always find these threads to be a bit crazy. I work hard, have a good job and make decent money but I can't afford HD. I probably won't have a HD tv until the next next gen system. Where the hell do you guys get this money? Do you just charge the crap out of your cards? I'm more than satisfied with current gen graphics, if the Wii is a slight improvement then I'm happy.

I've been a Sony guy for years but they lost me with this PS3. I'm not spending that kind of loot on a gaming system. I've got my Wii preordered and paid for. I can't wait for it. Between the Wii, my original Xbox and my PSP, I'm covered. I would have been a GameCube guy if it had an XBox Live type of capability, I'll get this with the Wii. I ONLY concern with the Wii is sports gaming options, not Wii Sports.

RC
 
[quote name='rscaramelo']I always find these threads to be a bit crazy. I work hard, have a good job and make decent money but I can't afford HD. I probably won't have a HD tv until the next next gen system. Where the hell do you guys get this money? Do you just charge the crap out of your cards? I'm more than satisfied with current gen graphics, if the Wii is a slight improvement then I'm happy.

[/QUOTE]

1. Cut the booze and smokes = $$$$$

2. Sell old shit you don't want anymore. Ebay is there for a reason. I haven't paid out of pocket for a system since the N64. I snagged the GC, Xbox, 360 & Wii from selling old games, systems, movies, books, anything online. Sure I spent the initial money, so technically it is money out of my pocket, but it is money spent long ago, and the new purchases don't put a dent in my paycheck. I look at it as recycled money for my hobby.

3. Become a pimp
 
[quote name='rscaramelo']I always find these threads to be a bit crazy. I work hard, have a good job and make decent money but I can't afford HD. I probably won't have a HD tv until the next next gen system. Where the hell do you guys get this money?[/QUOTE]

Marry

A) A doctor
B) A lawyer
C) An engineer

I chose option C. Cheapy chose option B.
 
[quote name='Zoglog']Couldn't help but take it out of context could you ;) We're talking about the Console Sales Life.[/quote]I skimmed. The only thing I read was "PS3 will not need to be replaced for at least 10 years" and naturally figured we were talking about the life of the physical piece of hardware, not the support around it.

So, yes, I really couldn't help but take it out of context. :lol:
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']Broke ass guy gamers marrying rich! Huzzah![/QUOTE]

Well, I'm not broke. I go to work every day and make an okay living. But my wife still makes almost twice what I do.
 
[quote name='Tybee']Well, I'm not broke. I go to work every day and make an okay living. But my wife still makes almost twice what I do.[/quote]My fiancee's going into public service. :whistle2:(
 
[quote name='Tybee']Well, I'm not broke. I go to work every day and make an okay living. But my wife still makes almost twice what I do.[/QUOTE]

My wife used to make 3 times my salary. She's at home now. That was a mortgage and 2 kids ago! Also living in Mass isn't cheap. Down south my house would probably cost about 100K-125K but up here it's 350K.

Back on topic, I care about the games being fun. I'm not worried about this with the Wii. I'm done paying for all the bells and whistles when I barely use any of them.

RC
 
[quote name='Tybee']Marry

A) A doctor
B) A lawyer
C) An engineer

I chose option C. Cheapy chose option B.[/quote]

I'm gonna be an engineer!!:bouncy:
 
OK, so it's an enhanced GameCube .... are the games fun? Is it more powerful than a DS because the DS has some really fun games. More powerful than a PSP, man they've got some awesome games for that system too. The console wars come down to one thing - who has the most enjoyable games.

I'm stoked for the Wii; if I want realizm I'll walk out my front door.
 
I thought that the GC had some great graphics, even comparable to the Xbox sometimes. Everybody's making it sound like GC means PS1.

And there is a power increase in the Wii. It may be small, and there doesn't appear to be any change in the audio, but it will allow for slightly better poly counts, textures, and draw distance.

And we will see that power increase at launch, because devs already know their way around the hardware.

I'm going to say what every other Nintendo fan says, because it's true. Gameplay over graphics. The end.
 
[quote name='Z-Saber']The Wii. Will be. More powerful. Than an Xbox.

And I still think the GameCube had the best graphics of three anyway.[/quote]I'll second that :)
 
[quote name='CrimsonPaw']

I'm stoked for the Wii; if I want realizm I'll walk out my front door.[/QUOTE]

I just had to quote that..
 
See here's the issue I've had with this kind of thinking in the past. It assumes that the new tech is the better tech, that everyone can use the new tech, and that the US is the only video game market.

The author of the article calls this (actually emphasizes it) an unprecedented thing. Even that's wrong. This is nearly the same approach Nintendo took to the DS vs. PSP war, and they are winning that. Why is it so suprising that they would take a similar approach with their next console?

Part of that success was to due the Asian market of games, particurly Japan. This is a segment of the market that always sees the latest and greatest tech, but doesn't necessarily make that the "best" tech. People buy up special edition consoles despite already owning one, etc. In other words, flashy graphics don't equal an automatic win over there and to be honest it doesn't here either. The athor briefly alludes to that, but then continues his apparent rant. HDTVs are just now closing in on the 50% saturation point. He banks alot of his argument on HDTVs really. But only half the people own them. Guess what if I buy a 360 with an SDTV, best I'm going to be able to see resoltuion wise is 480p. So resolution is not as big a deal as the author seems to think. Yes graphics and physics maybe still be better on the 360 than the Wii, but let's look at my last point (and the biggest), who uses this tech?

If the Wii is successful it WILL NOT be because people like the author bought one for themselves. Nintendo's target audience has never really been and especially is not with Wii, those hardcore gamers that want the latest graphics and so on. Sure they try to pander to them as well, but that's not the real target. It's the kids, the families, the average gamer, the closet gamers, or the newer gamers. Adult and experienced gamers like us will buy the PS3s and 360s for stuff like MGS 4, Madden, GTA, etc., etc. (along with other titles obviously). People who buy the Wii will buy it so their kid can play something, or because they want something simple they can pick up and play, or because it will work with their 7 year old SDTV. They're buying it specially for the Zeldas the Mario Galaxy game, Wii Sports, etc., etc. Nintendo has used this strategy before, in fact it's similar to the one used for the cube and the DS. The difference between the cube and now is innovation. The cube was just another console, everyone had seen it before and to the average eye it seemed just like the others. The Wii is being seen as different. "Innovation" equals new forms of hype. I've personally seen it too, I know people that have had little interest in gaming beforehand outside of playing NES Genesis, or SNES when they were little. Now some of them see the "innovation" of the Wii and have taken interest in that again. Things like that and price point will be the Wii's only true weapons and I think Nintendo knows this. It's been sometime since we've seen this kind of separation in prices. And let's face facts here, as a parent of say a 9 year old kid, which do you think they'll really buy for their kid to play, the $500 system or the $250 system?
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Back then it was blast processing on the genesis, mode 7 on the SNES etc. It's always been around in fanboy bantering...just the terminology has changed with the technology.[/QUOTE]

The important difference being that Mode 7 actually existed. 'Blast processing' was invented by a marketing guy long after the hardware had been shipping.
 
[quote name='epobirs']The important difference being that Mode 7 actually existed. 'Blast processing' was invented by a marketing guy long after the hardware had been shipping.[/QUOTE]

Blast processing is what happens after I eat bad Mexican.
 
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