@BanjoThreeie
I know PowerPC is different from ×86 in terms of architecture, but that doesn't mean the software really has to be different. It's the problem Wii U is facing right now with whether the Wii U gets 3rd party games, because of the hardware.
Since the Wii U based on PowerPC and the other systems are ×86, that automatically gives people the idea that they can't run the same software. That isn't true.
The same scenario could be said for Xbox 360 BC on Xbox One as well. All they would have to do is program PowerPC to work on a ×86 machine's resources. Since the Wii U is basically an Xbox 360 ×2(I think), the PowerPC compatibility on 86× would technically work in reverse for Wii U.
PowerPC to ×86, vice versa. Sorry if this sounds like rambling. I'm not entirely sure. It's just what I think.
AMD's X86-64 to IBM's good old PowerPC are incompatible, period. It would require software emulation (inconceivable for contemporary games being released on newer platforms and when dealing with more powerful systems to a less powerful one.) Also, not sure if Intel or AMD would raise a fuss considering Nintendo doesn't license the technology yet would be emulating it (again, no chance.)
Wii U is a lot like a bumped up Xbox 360 at least in terms of the GPU(Digital Foundry said "1.5x the raw shader power sounds about right") and the CPU isn't really worse ( or at least that much worse) as far as we know despite being tiny (90 nm 360 vs. Wii U's being 45 nm from the beginning for one) and running at a much lower clock (clocks can be deceiving), you're right there, but they're both a whole different architecture than the XB1/PS4 and you can't simply cut and paste. Also, developers are used to the PS360 and those consoles have 80+ million install bases each. Wii U has about 4 and developers aren't familiar with it beyond to an extent if they worked on Gamecube and Wii. 360 is well-understood and documented, PS3 is...well Cell was a mess but it's been 7 years since PS3 launch and some games still get inferior ports compared to 360. If you build it from the ground up exclusively for the system like The Last Of Us you can really make something special though.
@BanjoThreeie
There has to be a way. A PowerPC is just as relevant as an ×86. The knowledge devs got from GCN in comparison to PS2/Xbox should be helpful, here.
Not to mention that 3rd parties only need to get a PowerPC AND ×86 version running off of the one engine they have. It's alot different from porting ×86 to PowerPC. The builds of the game would be the exact same except in different formats. The PS4 is compatible with OpenGL and DirectX, while Wii U is OpenGL and Xbox One is Direct X. My guess would be that that's one of the keys to knowing that the compatibility issues aren't exactly what people make tem out to be.
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Topic: Nintendo should map the Wii U Gamepad to the Classic Controller Pro/Gamecube Controller
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