There's a lot of Wii U love going on at Gearbox these days. Last week Randy Pitchford implored Nintendo for more Wii U power, and now the studio's Brian Martell has told Official Nintendo Magazine the console will have one of the best-looking versions of upcoming shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines.
Martell is chief creative officer at Gearbox and director on SEGA's xenophobic (in a good way) blaster, and is obviously a fan of Nintendo's next console:
Things like the Wii U are becoming very sexy with what you can do with the controller, especially with what you're able to do with the motion tracker or whatever the sub gameplay you'd get to see on there. I think the machine itself will have one of the best looking versions of the game because they've got more RAM [and] they're late in the cycle so they've got this really great processor.
Nintendo didn't reveal Wii U's RAM as part of its Wii U technical specifications, but both PS3 and Xbox 360 have 512MB total RAM, a big step up over Wii's paltry 64MB. If Martell's right (and we have little reason to believe he's not) Wii U could have anything from 768MB upwards. Of course there's more to consider than just straight-up amount of RAM — speed and configuration both play major roles in determining RAM's capabilities — but it's a step in the right direction, particularly combined with the IBM Power-based multi-core processor.
That's one more in the "Wii U is powerful" camp, then.
[source officialnintendomagazine.co.uk]
Comments 36
I sure hope so. I'm tired of people saying how 360 and PS3 is better because of graphics....even though there are NES games that are better and more original than some of the popular games out right now.
I know Nintendo is gonna hit one outta the ball park with WiiU. I can't wait.
Very sexy with what you can do? What exactly can you do XD
Even if the hardware was just slightly better than the Wii, I'd be happy. Why? Because that would mean even bigger, better Nintendo games even if they were only slightly better overall.
And with the Wii U's hardware matching the likes of the PlayStation 3, just imagine a Metroid adventure, or even the possibilities with Mario.
TAKE THAT ANONYMOUS DEVELOPERS!
@Joshers744
There are a lot of great games on 360 and PS3 and its not because of their graphics. Anyways, I'm looking forward to the Wii U. E3 can't get here soon enough.
@Chrono_Cross: I bet Metroid on Wii U will be amazing...
"I think the machine itself will have one of the best looking versions of the game because they've got more RAM..."
One of the best looking versions? How many versions are there, like 10 or something? Seriously, if there's only 3 versions, that sentence does not mean anything.
@Faron Four versions by my count — Wii U, PS3, 360, PC
So four versions, and Wii U's will be one of the best. I guess that means it's better than the HD consoles but not better than a PC.
@Burning_Spear I guess the same.
Between many things, I keep imagining that radar thing on the Wii U's controller screen.
@Faron
Agreed. If it's a contest between WiiU, PS3, and Xbox360, WiiU should really be the undisputed winner. If there's any buts about it, in a sense they've failed. If they're struggling to keep pace with 6 year old hardware, that's kinda pathetic.
Only high-end pcs should outclass it.
@Faron - That's exactly what I thought! That statement doesn't really mean anything.
"One of the best looking versions?"
...Well, I guess that means it'll look better that ONE version, at least...
Awesome, though I am not interested in this particular game, it is good to know that Wii U's version will be better than PS3/360 as Wii U is much newer hardware.
I just wish e3 was here so everyone would shut up.
So true
i'm really hoping this turns out to be an excellent game, not just in terms of graphics but everything. the gameplay moreso.
Glad to know Wii U version isn't worse looking. I can already hear the Wii U controller making that motion sensor device sound as aliens are approaching from the darkness... Starting to panic..... COOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
....Scary though
Have you not understood the article? It's boasting Wii U's processor, not condemning. D'ah
I find this article to be quite revealing. Those anonymous sources basically just got snuffed out since we now have another recent report from a respected developer saying that it is, in fact, better. It doesn't seem like WiiU will be too overpowered, but I don't think that will be such a big deal in the future. Creating an affordable system that still improves on the current gen is a win if you ask me. I just hope the video card has enough beef to really make these games shine since it will essentially be split between two screens. I suppose much of the rendering will be seen on the main screen with a more resource friendly menu system/map interface on the controller screen for the more graphically impressive games.
The problem is, the Wii U is not really going to be competing with the PS3 and 360. Those systems will already be on the way out when the Wii U hits store shelves. Instead it will be competing with the PS4 and Xbox 720(or whatever microcrap is going to call it) and I'm not convinced it's going to be as powerful as those consoles. Of course it will have the technically advanced, innovative controller going for it, which is a big plus. So we'll see how things play out.
My biggest complaint about it thus far is that it's not backwards compatible with Gamecube games. One of the things I loved about the Wii is that, with the help of the Virtual Console, it was in many ways like having every Nintendo console ever made in one small machine. This isn't a major negative, but it still irks me some.
Wow... that not much RAM... Even with them being 5-year old devices, my 8 year old computer (Which crashed) had that much. My laptop(s) now have 2GB+ of RAM.
I thought the PS3 had 256 mb of ram.
The Wii U probably has a higher RAM ratio than other systems due to having to track multiple screens which are likely to be displaying completely different assets at any given time. I wouldn't read too much into that on its own.
By any standards would 768MB be considered today a decent ammount of RAM??? My PC's vcard already has 1GB just for textures and that is not even a decent quantity for some games.
"Wii U Out-RAMs Xbox 360 and PS3"
Hopefully!
well, the air is thinner up on Mt Whitney
@Jstar269
PS3 has 512MB, but it is split into 256MB for the GPU and 256MB for the CPU. The 360 also has 512MB but it can be allocated to either GPU or CPU.
@CaPPa
Thanks for telling me!
Everyone comparing this with the RAM in a PC, you have to remember that a PC needs more RAM because it is designed for running multiple applications at once. A game console doesn't need that much because it is designed to run one or two applications at once.
@NeonSh3llz exactly
On a PC you'll typically have a media player, browser and virus scanner running all at once all the time. On top of that it's not crazy for people to want to do things like edit video which chews up a heap more system RAM than a typical game. 750MB of video RAM with 512MB of system RAM? That'd be one hell of an upgrade and more than enough by itself. Could they go further? Definitely.
Get ready for high-res texture heaven.
I would be astonished if Wii U has 1GB RAM. My money is on 768MB shared between CPU and GPU.
Come on Ninty throw 2gig in that mofo we know you want to. Stuff more shaders in this beeearch and a twin processor carburetor with a noss kit. Play with power.
To think I already planned on getting a WiiU day one...E3 isn't even here yet and things are really getting impressive.
Oh wow imagine saying this when the 360(released first) came out "36O OUT RAMS the Gamecube & PS2" even though XBOX:OG took care of business(techs & spechs).
That seems believable, especially since the price of tech has gone down since the PS3 and 360 came out.
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