*** Official Nintendo Wii U thread ***

[Fillado]

What, so next gen starts when Sony & MS say it does...

Yes. Simply because thanks to Nintendo not realising console power is more than pretty graphics, there are now two options. Either 3rd party developers will code for the Wii U and leave the PS4/XB720 with Wii U ports. Or they'll code for the PS4/XB720 and leave the Wii U with sub-standard ports or not even bother. Guess which?

 

[Vonhelmet]

What, so next gen starts when Sony & MS say it does...

"Gen" has been determined by computing and graphics horsepower for a looooong time now. The Wii was not on a par with the 360 and PS3. The Wii U should be comparable in some ways, but seemingly not entirely. As soon as Sony/MS release their next consoles they will pretty much obliterate any lead that Nintendo are able to carve out now in terms of graphics etc. Programmers have to code for the most complex platform and then work down, so yes - the next gen will start when Sony/MS get their next consoles out.

 

[L0rdMike]

Pokemon is what kept the money rolling in during the GC era.

Pretty sure they made a profit on every Gamecube sold.

the next gen will start when the WiiU comes out.

 

[Shagger]

I think a lot of people on here are confused with the term "next gen". The Wii U will start the 8th generation of consoles (the Wii/PS3/360 was the 7th obviously) along with the PS4/NextBox, therefore it is a "next gen" system.

Anyway, console gamers concerned with graphics are seriously on the wrong platform...

 

[Vonhelmet]

Misquoting me.

Even if the first next generation console that is released is the Wii U, it is not going to set the bar for next generation games being released.

 

[Vonhelmet]

I think a lot of people on here are confused with the term "next gen". The Wii U will start the 8th generation of consoles (the Wii/PS3/360 was the 7th obviously) along with the PS4/NextBox, therefore it is a "next gen" system.

Given that console generations can span many years, it's not unreasonable to say that a company could release multiple consoles in one generation. Which generation does the DS Lite fall into? The DSi? The 3DS? Which generations did the numerous Gameboys fall into?

 

[Shagger]

Given that console generations can span many years, it's not unreasonable to say that a company could release multiple consoles in one generation. Which generation does the DS Lite fall into? The DSi? The 3DS? Which generations did the numerous Gameboys fall into?

The DS Lite is a seventh generation handheld as it's not a successor to the DS but merely an update. Same goes for the DSi/DSi XL.

The 3DS on the other hand is an 8th generation handheld as it's a completely new handheld altogether. Same goes for PS Vita.

 

[Vonhelmet]

But where are you drawing the line between the upgrades that keep the DSi 7th gen but mean that the 3DS is 8th? And what about the Gameboy? And if the Wii U is 8th gen, what is it that sufficiently sets the Wii apart from the GameCube that they were different gen consoles? I'd say the Wii U is 7.5, personally.

 

[LeJosh]

 

[Kreeeee]

But where are you drawing the line between the upgrades that keep the DSi 7th gen but mean that the 3DS is 8th? And what about the Gameboy? And if the Wii U is 8th gen, what is it that sufficiently sets the Wii apart from the GameCube that they were different gen consoles? I'd say the Wii U is 7.5, personally.

When games released for the new console do not work on the old one.

 

[Vonhelmet]

When games released for the new console do not work on the old one.

So the DSi is separate to the DS/DS Lite then?

Yeah, yeah, I'm being super pedantic, but there were a handful of DSi only games...

 

[HankScorpio]

If not the same, abit more powerful than the 360.

As if it'll be the same as the 360. That thing is a freaking dinosaur. can't think of a single good looking game on that thing anymore.

 

[Nexus]

I don't think describing handhelds in Generations works in quite the same way. Handhelds are released far more infrequently and its a market that Nintendo has dominated ever since the GameBoy was released.

Consoles have always been described in Generations because they are released to compete with rivals.

VES vs Atari

Nintendo vs Sega

Nintendo vs Sega vs Sony

Nintendo vs Sony vs Microsoft


The one thing that has changed is that there used to be quite a significant leap with each generation, especially when going from 8-bit to 16-bit to 64-bit etc.

Consoles really are fully feature now, with the only real improvement being a bit of a graphics improvement and whatever new gimmick or control scheme they can add to it.

Regardless of whether you might think the Wii-U isn't powerful enough to be considered 'Next-Gen' it certainly is a Next Generation console. Sony and Microsoft will follow suit in the near future, but their user base and the success of the current generation means they aren't in a rush.

 

[antijoke]

What, so next gen starts when Sony & MS say it does...Do not use offensive smiles please.

"Gen" has been determined by computing and graphics horsepower for a looooong time now. The Wii was not on a par with the 360 and PS3. The Wii U should be comparable in some ways, but seemingly not entirely. As soon as Sony/MS release their next consoles they will pretty much obliterate any lead that Nintendo are able to carve out now in terms of graphics etc. Programmers have to code for the most complex platform and then work down, so yes - the next gen will start when Sony/MS get their next consoles out.

As Vonhelmet said above really. So yes it does start when MS/Sony say so.

 

[L0rdMike]

 

[djkav]

The problem I can see is that the visual differences are becoming less and less with current graphics tech.

I think from comments half the time, people expect real life photo-realism from the next consoles. Its not going to happen. I'll put money on that the next batch of consoles might struggle with 1080p with some games.

Its just going to be a "wait and see" game.

 

[Vonhelmet]

The problem I can see is that the visual differences are becoming less and less with current graphics tech.

Between the PS3 and XBox, then yeah, things are pretty comparable, but people still do side by sides and reel off the differences. The Wii is not remotely comparable. The Wii U will be, but as said above I doubt it will be able to compete with the other next gen consoles.

The next consoles from Sony and MS will improve on things, and while the increases are less in the marginal sense, they can still be appreciated. Decent lighting, particle effects, anti-aliasing, higher polygon counts, etc all require increases in graphical power and all of them help things along.

But yeah, we are still a long way from photo-realism.

 

[XeNoN89]

Between the PS3 and XBox, then yeah, things are pretty comparable, but people still do side by sides and reel off the differences. The Wii is not remotely comparable. The Wii U will be, but as said above I doubt it will be able to compete with the other next gen consoles.

The next consoles from Sony and MS will improve on things, and while the increases are less in the marginal sense, they can still be appreciated. Decent lighting, particle effects, anti-aliasing, higher polygon counts, etc all require increases in graphical power and all of them help things along.

But yeah, we are still a long way from photo-realism.

Honestly i think lighting and particle effects look great already, the main improvements i want/expect from next gen consoles is ALL games running smoothly at 1080p, much much higher res textures (i want to walk right up to a wall in a fps and want no pixelated or blurry textures at all) and a decent amount of AA.

 

[antijoke]

I want the next generation of consoles to be capable of offering a game that looks/behaves like Watch Dogs did at the E3 demo.

 

[the shadow]

I can see a pre order price of the Wii U Console of £199.99