It's 2012, and the Wii hardware is ancient. It is an overclocked Gamecube, so it's hardware from 11 years ago. This year Nintendo will launch the Wii U, which will be more powerful than 360 and PS3, and finally have Nintendo games developed in HD.

How powerful will it be? We don't know for sure, but certainly "next gen" if it can pull off 1080p at 60 fps, which I think will be the standard, or high-water mark, next-gen (PS4/XNext included), based on the difference in graphics of current maxed-out PC games and the PS3/360.

The next generation could very well all-around be the smallest leap forward in processing power in the history of the industry. However, Nintendo's leap forward will (appear to) be massive.

Question: Will the leap from Wii to Wii U power, in combination with finally seeing what Nintendo can do with HD hardware, make it the most visually impressive console next gen, regardless of the specs difference with PS4/XNext?

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I just want it to be fast and not cumbersome to use. And by fast, I don't mean processing power. I mean the UI and OS and all that crap.

I want an anti-PS3. I want a return to the "start a game and oops you're already playing" days.

Please!

I'd find reassurance in the fact that the Wii is much speedier than the PS3, except the 3DS is absolutely slow and clunky.

@Guillaume
You find the 3DS slow and clunky? I know the eShop can be a pain, but gaming in general feels quite seamless on the system.

@achhibbar Really? I think it feels pretty archaic in comparison to how zippy a smart phone feels these days.

Well, I think first gen software for the Wii U won't take fully advantage of what the hardware can do so I expect it to be on par with what we see now with 360/PS3. By the time developers start digging into the system's capabilities the XNext/PS4 will be out so I think they'll all have a similar result.

All I want is a system that most, if not all, developers WANT to develop for. That was the problem this gen, a lot of devs didn't necessarily want to implement something special on the Wii, they NEEDED to. The Wii sold so much that it'd be a bad business decision not to develop something for it.

@PogueSquadron
I have a Blackberry
I guess that says it all. Will be getting a shiny new smartphone soon, then I'll see how my 3DS stacks up!

@Abdooooo I hear that! What I want to see most is Nintendo do everything they can to help developers succeed on the WiiU.

When WiiWare came out, I was hoping that it was going to be this treasure trove of indie games that all use the remote in a cool way. That games like Fluidity would've been more common. Hopefully this is rectified on WiiU!

I'd be perfectly okay with the WiiU getting to just the visual level of the PS3, because we're due for seeing Metroid, Mario, etc. in HD with current-gen visuals. I also don't think there's much merit to the claims that "Nintendo will have trouble making HD games right away because they don't have the 6+ year experience of other developers." I think they'll do just fine. They're professionals, they know what they're doing, and have done it well for decades.

But I would like to see them at least get the WiiU specs further into the 720/PS4 ballpark, at least to the point where it's not another situation where 3rd parties shun the platform. I'll probably have the other consoles at some point anyways, so multiplatform games not coming to WiiU isn't a huge deal, but there are some games where controls factor into it, among other things, not just visuals. There were some Wii games that had some great control but I couldn't get into because the visuals were just so hideous on my TV. And then there were some 360 games where I wished I could use the Wii-mote to aim. As others have mentioned, I don't think this will be as striking in the next generation because with the 360/PS3, the era of the "bad looking video game" has pretty much ended. Yes, some games obviously look better than others and some games have crummy art styles, but a lot of the technical issues (blurry textures, blocky models, jaggies, etc.) that bogged gaming down for years have gone away. It's going to be more of a growth in refining, adding more detail, etc.

I'd love to see 60 FPS/1080p become a standard, but it's unfortunately never going to happen. As much as you hear about developers wanting to cut costs, there's always that drive to keep pushing and pushing the tech. Publishers want their game to stand out when screen shots are posted online. Because I'm someone who'd be pretty content with another generation with 360-caliber visuals, 60 FPS, 1080p and any other tweaks here and there with lighting and whatnot. But I'm also hardly going to be upset if they do keep on pushing the envelope. There's always going to be that trade-off.

If Nintendo actually brings out a system that would be "next-gen" compared to the PS3/360, it's not like I'd be upset at Nintendo for putting more power under the hood. But I'm also not as hard to please these days as with prior generations. Frankly, I'm not in any hurry for a new Xbox. Even if 2012 would be 7 years, it still feels too early, for some odd reason. I just don't have as much of a demand for better visuals simply because they've gotten so good, overall. The Wii is still part of a generation where games have a lot of visual flaws, and it also lacks the benefit of HD. Honestly, once the Wii U comes around, I'd be set for a while.

But I'm obviously not going to turn down something better either!

@achhibbar
My Droid Razr is about 10x faster than my 3DS, I mean it should be it's a least 10X more powerful in terms of it's processor and RAM. But you can't play Mario Kart or even Pusmho on a phone.

@Guillaume
Hmm, in my experience the PS3 isn't any slower than the Wii or 360 in terms of load times, the only thing that's excruciatingly slow waiting for updates, and background updates only work for PS+ subscribers. If WiiU can update itself via SpotPass in the middle of the night I think we'll be okay.

New Forms said:

I can't count the number of times I've sat in awe at the screen in front of me, feeling lucky to be alive in an age where such mind-blowing gaming experiences were possible. I've felt it with Atari 2600, NES, SNES, etc. etc., straight up through today.

I can relate. I remember back in college, my roommate and I would fire up the Dreamcast and just let the Soul Calibur "attract" mode run on loop. Over and over. And we'd just watch it, in awe of how freakin' amazing the graphics were.

I don't know if I'm jaded now or what, but... I haven't had that feeling this generation. I've played plenty of PS3 and 360 games, too. And the graphics are great, don't get me wrong. I'm just not as impressed anymore. I'm hoping that magic feeling of really being impressed returns.

I want to say "wow."

I'm still impressed by graphics, I fired up Super Mario Galaxy for the first time in months the other day and was blown away by how stunning that games looks. I'm glad we're not still limited to Atari 2600-level technology, and I'll never understand the anti-graphics stance taken by some Nintendo fans.

deathly_hallows said:

I'll never understand the anti-graphics stance taken by some Nintendo fans.

It's not that hard to understand. Some people are just content with less. Some others are "anti-graphics" because SO, SO many companies seem to think shinier graphics are a substitute for good ART, which they absolutely are not.

Nintendo can do more with SNES graphic capabilities and artists than Epic could do with all the processing power in the world.

@-JKR-
I don't think any developer thinks "shiny" graphics are a substitute to good art, because any one of them will tell you that they don't have to be mutually exclusive.

@deathly_hallows

I think you just misunderstand the debate. Usually when people talk about "graphics", they talk about specs. About the number of polygons and whatnot. And those who argue on the side of "graphics don't matter", argue that there is more to a game being visually pleasing than graphical prowess.

@Guillaume
And I'm saying the more power the better, Super Mario Galaxy just wouldn't have been possible on an Atari 2600, and games 20 years from now wouldn't be possible on Wii. I don't think there's ever a good argument that technology should stop moving forward and we should stop striving to do more, and I've never bought into the idea that higher specs = bad art, there's just no evidence that's ever been true.

@deathly_hallows

And yet you fire up SMG today despite the fact that the Wii's tech is like 11 years old and you're still wow'ed.

You're on the "graphics don't matter" camp and you don't even know it.

@deathly_hallows

Agreed.

When I think about it, there is a trace pattern of memories. Times when I'd say, "Ho-ly F'ing Shit!" or "Oh my god!" in earnest. In a room with a game. Out loud. All by myself.

These are the treasured gaming moments that I've felt over the past 35+ years since Pong hit the scene. Every step of the way, with each leap gaming has taken.

There are some that are burned into my brain, just like it was yesterday. Others I vaguely recall. It doesn't happen too often, yet all were genuine moments of wonder and ecstasy.



Show this picture to a younger gamer and they might smile and nod, while secretly thinking what a sorry sap your gaming life must have been like in the past.

But to me it was magical.

Shaking off the nostalgia, it's why I think our hobby is on a upward spiral of complexity and immersion where all of us will likely never see the finish line. I know I wont.

@Guillaume
My point is we never would have reached the stage where a visual experience like Galaxy would have even been possible if the idea that technology is absolutely unimportant (or even harmful) in the creation of games. We would have just stopped at monochrome games like Pong. Thankfully video games and technology have always walked hand in hand and every few years the technology takes a leap and allows for more possibilities.

@deathly_hallows

And someone who says graphics don't matter wouldn't disagree. Unless you suddenly think SMG looks bad, then you aren't in disagreement.

@deathly_hallows

I've found that many who justify stagnation lack perspective of the past and vision of the future.

I still love them Golden Oldies like Ms. Pac Man but I also recognize, respect and look forward to what bright new technologies can offer us in the present and future. I personally welcome it with open arms.

Now if I can only get with this sentiment for modern music!

I don't know many people who truly "don't care about graphics", I think when people say that what they more mean is that they're not going to freak out over specs X versus specs Y. That as long as we're not moving backwards, it's all good or whatever.

To me it's hard to be very impressed with this generation because graphics and gameplay are tied together in my mind. I just know that, whether it has been anyone else's experience or not, my experience with the HD consoles this generation has been, for the most part, last gen ideas repackaged in prettier graphics. So, unless the industry has some kind of revelation, I think we're mostly headed down the same path again next generation. More prettiness, same stuff. Hard for me to get too excited about the raw tech when I don't feel excited about the path of the industry as a whole.