Topic: Will Nintendo Always Be Playing Catch-Up to Other Companies?

Hey guys, I was reading an article in GameInformer about the next-generation of consoles, and an industry analysis said that the Wii U won't be next-generation, it will just be catching up to the current standards. That got me thinking. Nintendo consoles have something creative other consoles don't, but they were somewhat behind during the Wii era, without HD or as much online. I'm afraid the Wii U will only be as powerful as Xbox 360/PS3 and then the rival consoles will be even better and beat it. The thing is, before the Wii Nintendo's consoles were pretty much as powerful as rival's consoles. (I actually think GameCube was more powerful then PS2) What do you guys think?

Also, I'm worried about how 3DS will do when Vita comes out. I guess it will all come down to HD vs, 3D.

Those "analysts" are just blowing smoke. Each company has their own strategy and no one is playing "catch up" to the others. Nintendo sure as heck wasn't catching up to anyone this past gen when they made the most hardware sales.

Yeah, I read that article. It's a bunch of BS and the guy can't predict what will happen, because I'm sure not many people predicted the success of the Wii. Pretty much what Iz20XX said.

You do realize that technically "next Generation" stands for the next set of consoles and doesn't mean power level.

@Izz20XX
Pretty Much this.

I mean Look at how much money mircosoft made from live and XBLA.

I've never known any company playing "catch-up" to any others, especially not Nintendo. These "analysts" could just be overweight hobos living on state pension for all we know.

Nintendo is a games company only, while Sony and Microsoft are mainly electronics and computer companies, respectively, so it's only natural that Nintendo is always behind when it comes to graphical horsepower.

Wii U is going to be the weakest console in its generation....so Nintendo is always playing "catch-up" despite that they're always doing something different. All they care about is power, graphics...you know, that stuff. :/
Wii U NEEDS a Blu-Ray player, Ultra HD, a normal controller, M-Rated games, and whatever else the PS3 does, I dunno...don't own one. xD

What's Ultra HD?

Also we still don't know how big sony and mircosoft will jump in power. All the rumors of the new xbox relate it too be abit more powerful than what we know of the wii U.

Sony can't make another PS3 Level power jump. They're in too bad of a financial shape.

Ummm ... Sony and Microsoft added motion controls to their consoles three years after Nintendo invented the technology. Who is playing catchup? Nintendo is far more innovative than the other two companies. If someone's idea of progress is simply making consoles more powerful, than yes, Nintendo will always be behind.

I don't think its really out yet...but yeah...Ultra HD...better than regular HD. I dunno how to explain it. Saw some of the TVs being displayed at Best Buy though, it was awesome, lol.
But yeah, heard about rumors about the next XBox having Avatar-like graphics. Sooo...I dunno.

Depends on what you consider innovative. The Wiimote was very Innovative but so was kinect. The Move is highly derrative.

I think the Wii U will still be weaker than the PS4 and 720, but the Wii U will be the "PS2" of the 8th generation.

Your talking about screen type like pentile or amoled right? Ultra HD would be a screen resolution. Tv's are currently capped at 1080p I think.

No its resolution, believe me I saw it. Remember someone posting a thread about it in the general discussion board too...And like I said I don't think they're really out yet, just being showcased.

Going to look it up. Honestly Graphics power doesn't matter at the first part of the next gen. Go back and look at the 360 launch games with the exception of a few they look pretty close to the cube/xbox/ps2 era. The only thing I want from the Wii U is 1080p at 60fps.

Well, it has been said that the Wii U is 50% more powerful than PS360. So it's surpassing, not catching up. When their successors come out... perhaps they'll have higher specs than that. But for now, it IS the next generation.

As for 3DS/Vita... it won't come down to HD vs. 3D. It'll come down to software. Nothing more. That's always the case. Specs have never determined the superior machine. Even the Wii would have been considered the "hardcore" device if the software was swapped, despite having a lower technical aspect. The sales and respect winner of the two handhelds will be based on the games made for each.

I just wanna see Pikmin 3 with PS3 graphics already, lol.
Seriously, the game is gonna look REALISTIC...ish.

EDIT:Trying to look for it too...its very old apparently, lol
Never mind, found it. (forgot about the search bar, lol)
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/general_discussion/have_yo...

Like bro2dragons said I've heard the Wii U is 50% more powerful than 360/ps3. If Nintendo can't stay up to date with graphical power this gen I'm afraid they never will. It doesn't matter though as long as they keep making great games.

Well it depends on the artsyle they use.

That looks better than anything I've seen on the 360 and PS3 and Uncharted and Gears 3 looks amazing. Its also running real time using the Twilight engine.

Couln't find any pictures of the chase mii and battle mii games.

I agree that Nintendo is more innovative. They do something very creative that no other system does, like 2 screens on the DS, motion controls on Wii, etc. By playing catch-up I mean that they don't have things people expect/want in a modern console, like better online or HD. I'm afraid they'll be catching up to the current generation and then Microsoft and Sony will pull something big and they'll be behind again.