Wii U is 'definitely more powerful than 360 and PS3' - Scribblenauts dev
5th Cell CEO finds console power argument "frustrating".
Jeremiah Slaczka, the CEO of Scribblenauts developer 5th Cell, has stated that the Wii U is "definitely more powerful than Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3," adding that he finds the argument over the console's capabilities "frustrating".
Speaking in the latest issue of Game Informer, Slaczka said that the Wii U is "definitely more powerful than Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It's kind of frustrating to see the rumours and speculation of people going back and forth saying it's weaker or more powerful. It's definitely more powerful."
5th Cell is currently developing Wii U title Scribblenauts Unlimited, the fourth game in the word-based puzzle action series.
"I think we were one of the first developers to see the Wii U," he added.
"Nintendo came to our studio and demoed it to us. A couple of weeks later Warner Bros. got to see it, and we said we should do this. This game was originally a Wii title but later moved to Wii U. It's been about two years in development."
Developers can't seem to agree on how powerful Nintendo's upcoming console is.
A report published yesterday quoted Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada as saying "the [Wii U's] clock is kinda low," and that the console's CPU was "a little bit" slower than 360 and PS3's.
Harada is currently porting arcade fighter Tekken Tag Tournament 2 to Nintendo's hardware.
The debate over Wii U's power has raged for months, with regular conflicting views from developers and publishers.
"It's not up to the same level as the PS3 or the 360," said one developer speaking to GamesIndustry.biz. "It doesn't produce graphics as well as the PS3 or the 360. There aren't as many shaders, it's not as capable," said another.
We have no idea who to believe.
Earlier this week, Epic Games' Mark Rein told VideoGamer that it was not Epic's "intention to bring Unreal Engine 4 to Wii U", but that a licensee could "port" a UE4 game to run on the console if it wished to do so.
Unreal Engine 3, the engine used by many Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 titles, "is a really good fit for that platform," he added.
User Comments
pblive
wolfniggr@ pblive
pblive
Dissociative identity disorder in action.
wolfniggr
MJTH, you got burned, but you could have come back with something a little more clever.
MJ, I'm new here too. Don't leave me alone with these nuts. It's hard to find unbiased people on the Internet who you could have a discussion with regarding a console. Unfortunately, no matter where you post, there's always some douche that claims PS3 is better because of this or XBOX is the best because of that or Nintendo the greatest because of this and that. Oh, don't even get me started on pc gamers.
I don't care what system a game is on. If its good enough to make me want to buy that console or graphic card/s I want to play it. I'm a goddamn gamer. Is it wrong of me to expect bigger and better from these companies? Believe me, you'll have a lot more fun if you open your mind to different offerings from different consoles than picking just one and telling everyone they're wrong for not choosing your console of choice.
Peace.
MJ@ MJTH
Your last post is pretty hypocritical and sounds like childish banter. Why scold her for what she did just to turn around and do the same.
And to rbevanx, I appreciate proper spelling and grammar. Since anyone can post on the Internet, the way you come across with what you say can credit or discredit you pretty quickly. At least she added some of her insight to this thread and didn't just post to piggy back on insulting someone.
I'm new to this site as well, but it looks like discussing anything that doesn't agree with a Nintendo fanboy's logic is met with disdain. I'll move on. Good luck gamermerle. Take it easy wolfniggr.
rbevanx@ MJTH
Well if she joined up just to post that rubbish then I think there is a good chance she did.
Edit:
@Gamermerle
MJTH@ Gamermerle
Good Job.
...Also:
Click for Image
:lick:
MJTH@ Woffls
And whilst Nintendo will be making their Mario, Zelda, Smash bros and other first party games that everyone (hardcore and casual) love, they are also seemingly adapting to market they currently now dominate, e.g. the family gathering/ gets every one together once in a while, market.
The recently leaked Microsoft document clearly states that they are aiming for a launch price for the next Xbox to be $299 and with Kinect 2 included in this price. I understand this document is old, but considering that people are saying the new system will launch late 2013, it is fair to assume that since a console require at least 2-3 of development to create, that these documents would be accurate from at the very most the beginning of the new Xbox's development. Kinect to better track the movement of four people is going to have 2 sensors, which means that Kinect 2 could cost are around $120 by itself. The same estimated cost of a Wii U pad. This means that the next Xbox could potentially cost around the same amount as Wii U console itself to make. Now there is no doubt in my mind that the next Xbox will be more powerful then the Wii U, but the gap won't most likely be as big as some people may expect.
Plus the next Xbox will most likely support a system similar to onlive or gaikai in order to prolong the sales of the machine. This will allow them to overcome the need to upgrade hardware for some time as they will switch away from the boxed product as internet speeds increase. Their strategy is and I quote
Quote:
Nintendo are currently perfectly fine with their current market position. Whilst the Wii's main audience was the casual market, a lot (I'm not saying all) of gamers still kept their Wii along side their other 360/PS3. Why? Because of Nintendo's range of mostly first party and some third party exclusives. The majority of the brilliant games on the Wii were exclusives. Games that you couldn't get anywhere else, that tried something different. And Nintendo make quality first party games. It is fine to not like Nintendo range of first party games, but people should respect that the clear majority of it is high quality goods. Nintendo have a lot to do something different which is how they have survived. To do something new whilst, still sticking to their roots and making games that give people nostalgia.
It annoys me when people complain that Nintendo continue to make only their exclusive, unbeknownst to the fact that a) Nintendo have more first party exclusive then any other console by A LOT. And b) because they only sell console by making game in series that people enjoy/ sell well even though, that is pretty much what every console maker or developer does. It's a business strategy that works and it wouldn't work if they didn't make good games to back it up.
As for Sony they will come out last and make an very powerful console again, that will cost alot at launch, will have cross platform support with the vita and will probably support Gaikai. I'm not saying that is a bad thing as a lot the best looking games will probably be on the PS orbis 4. And thus covering the entire market. People will buy the each console with the games they want, for the games they want and everyone will hopefully be happy for once.
uh20@ MJ
sorry it sounded wierder than expected, each sentance was like another post
i didnt have enough time not to sound like an idiot so i posted
"of course, this is rough speculation on my part"
instead of rephasing and explaining everything, prolly should have, too lazy.
but to fill in some things:
i was constantly saying these things because it seems people are assuming both the best and worst too early, and more as fact than rough guesses, i only contridicted myself on my own little paragraph in between, should of said that while showing a lot less certain i guess, and should of said it was rough speculation before and after, than accidentally contridicting myself
and heres where my udder and still very ? estimate came from:
the 4x increase, i got this from trends between 2005 and 2012 with similar prices
were going from 10-20,000 mips to around 50,000 mips for processors near the same price between the years
the 2x increase estimate was from the 2 demo's we have (especially batman which has shown to have better view, tesselation, the works, and zombiu, which is slowly getting better, but hey, its by ubisoft, did you expect good graphics from them?, alongside normal developer reactions that although are fluctuating, seem to point to an increase of around 2,(1.5 if you want to be microsoft generous or 2.5 if you want to be nintendo generous) if anything rounded it should be 2, not enough speculation to say anything more
also, microsoft is way up top, based off the (possibly) leaked document of the new xbox, its pretty good, but being so early you can still find it fluctuate around 3.5-5x increase from previous xbox360
stack 2 xbox360's and then stack 3.5 xbox360's thats around a 30% difference with a very generous almost fanlike rounding, this is going to sound corny but there is some fun in owning that silly gamepad, and playing mario, enough to make up for some percentage of the fun gained from extra polygon power
as for multiplying everything off of the xbox360, well its the easiest thing to compare so might as well
so there you go, very heavily rounded because no one knows much still
man this generation of consoles are going slow on the info
and what does all my speculation show, that theres still quite an even competition (unless you mean power, than the next consoles will most likely win {indefinetely})
Woffls
People might be surprised by the gap in power between Xbox 360 and Xbox 3 compared to the previous generational leap we had. I think there's two main reasons why:
1) Microsoft doesn't see a super powerful machine as a crucial part of their 2013+ business strategy. Their market will be won with services and subscriptions, not blowing people away with shiny things. They also know that Sony will go for this method again. More on that later.
2) We are now used to games that look like Crysis 2 and Max Payne 3 (I've heard it looks good but I don't really know tbh). In 2005 we had Perfect Dark Zero and Call of Duty 2 which, let's face it, could have been done on Xbox hardware.
The next leap could still be significant, but it depends so heavily on middle-ware engines being ready and developers knowing how to use them, that we might just see some cobbled together stuff that looks only marginally better than this year's games.
What I think Microsoft are aiming for, and this makes more sense in the context of what I've heard about PS4, is a machine that is comfortably powerful but not pushing any boundaries.
And this is why I think this is relevant to Wii U: if game assets and engines can be made to work on Wii U and Xbox because the gulf in power isn't so huge - and modern engines are hugely scalable - then that's Sony eased out of the market, and publishers being in a very healthy position for the next few years. It will favour Nintendo because big 3rd party games will actually make it to Wii U.
Microsoft have said they don't really see Nintendo as competition, and vice versa, so their main strategy will be to marginalise Sony. I'm expecting Sony to go all out with specs again, and while scalable engines will look better on PS4, a lot of games won't because developers won't waste resources on producing better formats for one system which will, as Sony's last three formats have shown, have a low uptake at launch anyway.
So why wouldn't Microsoft want to go head to head with Sony in a power struggle? Mostly because it prevents them going to market sooner, and will drive the cost of their console up considerably. Also, they won't win. Sony have a huge hardware R&D arm, the cost of which can be offset against all their other hardware endeavours. Microsoft doesn't make much hardware at all, so they don't put aside as much money as Sony do to develop things like the Cell processor.
In summary, I think Wii U and Xbox 3 will be closer than most assume, and PS4 will be considerably more powerful than both. But Microsoft and Sony will see an advantage from this because 3rd party game developers will invest more in games that look good on these two platforms.
That said, I'm quite sure already that the best looking console games next generation will be PS4 exclusives. Probably made by Naughty Dog, unless they go third party :p
tvr77@ MJ
MJ@ uh20
"wiiu seems to be around 2x times more powerful than an xbox360 and around 20-35% less powerful than the next xbox(720?), if they increase 4x per generation, but because of budget of sony and high chair of microsoft probably invoking them to cash in on cheep hardware, it will be about 3.5x"
Where the f@ck did you pull those numbers out of. How can you expect anyone to take you seriously when posting stuff out of your a$$.
You started off by saying
"if you want to get some real information"
and then say
"of course, this is rough speculation on my part"
You're counteracting yourself idiot. What about this doosy,
"the only loophole to yell at this response...blah blah blah blah blah"
Your entire post is dumb. The reason I'm being real hard on you is because of this statement
"can you stop saying its going to be bad or not..."
Just like you, everyone here can post their thoughts and if you dont agree then you can also refrain from posting, too(damn hypocrite).
IMHO, I think wolfniggr and gamermerle are on point. I also expected Nintendo to come through this time around. Where the hell is the damn hard drive? Why not Mario galaxy 3? First time they release a next gen system before the competition and this is what they give us? Talk about missed opportunity. I was skepticle about their online plans, but if Namco says online fights are a go, then I'm hopeful in that regard.
Listen uh20, sorry to be so hard on you. Feel free to respond as I will never demand that you stop saying anything you want. Is that too Captain America for you? Sorry, couldn't resist.
Gamermerle@ uh20
uh20
this is kind of funny, developers are crossing themselves left and right almost like rumors, silly people, if you were to base power off of dev's. it could be anywhere between slightly less than current generation to about 2x-3x, sheesh, nintendo is at least going to spill it fall, and this crap can lay to rest, and we can tell if its good or not
to the posters:
can you stop saying its going to be bad or not, you can easily make a guess off of the silly talk we have been getting off of it but to directly say its going to be this and that is wrong
yes, im talking to gamermerle and mrnintyfan, both could be far from what might happen
if you want to get some real information from the console hunting pro, wiiu seems to be around 2x times more powerful than an xbox360 and around 20-35% less powerful than the next xbox(720?), if they increase 4x per generation, but because of budget of sony and high chair of microsoft probably invoking them to cash in on cheep hardware, it will be about 3.5x
of course, this is rough speculation on my part, just stop, wait, and listen for new and official news before you say "I TOLD YOU SO" in a captain american like voice, besides, we are all just customers and should rather flock to whatevers best (trade off nintendo creativity with microsoft/sony power)
besides, computers and linux gaming seem getting better and better, if that happens than the next console will be a computer with controllers on it
edit: the only loophole to yell at this response now is that nintendo did not have good or creative first party titles, its the only arguable point to date on the wii, and yes, old and tired mario still has games that are great, so to a certain point the fun coming from the gamepad/nintendo first party games could at least offset the fun of just pure realism
powers the big one but theres more aspects to getting more fun into a console
and consoles are about fun, right?, or is it noob pwning these dais
Gamermerle@ mrnintyfan
You are jaded because you're comparing the U to the Wii. The newer systems from Microsoft and Sony are looking to launch next year. Do you really think the U will be anywhere on par with those systems(or is your inner fanboy blinding you)?
5th cell hasn't worked on 360 or PS3. So your comment again is influenced by the die hard fanboy in you. Yes, any company can port a game to a system, but you're content on a port of a current game system instead of a good next gen original(or even a next gen port).
Of course you'd pay anything for the U. There are plenty of fanboy sheep for every console who would blindly buy a new console. The thing is, Nintendo knows they can't survive on its sheep alone which is why they catered to the casual player with the wii. They seem to no longer have that advantage with this system.
Why don't you fanboys demand more of Nintendo instead of being so quick to suck on a new tit?
I'm an avid gamer and have no preference to any console or pc. I've owned every major console released in NA since 1980(yes including cd addons and NeoGeo no BS). I love good games and dont care what system they are on, but I expect more from Nintendo this time around. Did the 3ds really f@ck with their money that much? Is it really so wrong to want a truly next gen system from them? I want to be wowed like I was back when super Nintendo was released. No one can deny they were on their sh!t back then.
I mean, why would I want a cross platform game on a U when I already own 2 systems that can run them without any real difference? Even though Nintendo is first to the door, they still managed to be late to the party.