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[Jocchan]

I guess we should call this the Nintendo Wut.

 

[[Nintex]]

If the screen part is true, Nintendo could go with a LCD+LED screen that are all the rage among LG and others these days. They're quite efficient when it comes to power. I also think that Nintendo would've picked better high-res screens for 3DS if possible but they were held back by the 3D tech(that only works on small resolutions) and the single vendor(Sharp).

 

[Angry Fork]

Except the other rumors are stating this is Nintendo's attempt to woo back the hardcore crowd. This is going to woo who?

PC gamers who already play at 1080P and high AA/AF?

360/PS3 gamers who've built up a huge friend's list for online gaming and aren't going to relocate easily?

If all they're going to do is match 360, nobody has any motivation to buy this thing (aside from the normal supporters who buy solely for Nintendo exclusives).

Making it more powerful doesn't have to raise jack. For instance, you could port over Battlefield 3 and have it running at 1080P/60fps/AA/AF vs sub 720/30fps. This wouldn't make it a single cent more expensive than the 360/PS3 version to develop, but would be an extremely compelling upgrade for the hardcore gamer who usually plays third parties on PS3/360.

I honestly don't think 'core' PS3/360 owners would spend 250$+ for better multi-plat graphics. They could just upgrade their PC's if they wanted to play Battlefield 3 with 1080p and lots of AA.

 

[gofreak]

which are probably the reason why Move is using a large glowing ball: you're much more likely to have sources of IR light in the environment around you than next to your TV.
It makes no sense.

There's solutions to those problems. IR light can use a certain 'encoding' to differentiate it. And things change, tech moves on...the resolution of IR cameras vs the patterns and size of patterns they were trying to track before may not have made sense, but it may be viable in 2012.

I don't think it's necessarily out of line at all.

By the way, on RAM, the article does not actually pin down a number. It says:

RAM: unknown. It would be logical that it is a unified RAM, like the 360, with a minimum of 512 MB

 

[Jive Turkey]

Touch tablet controller sounds fucking terrible. I call bullshit on the basis that it pisses me off.

Oh how I wish the world worked this way.

 

[Zeliard]

A 6 inch tablet is ridiculous, and so would be dropping physical buttons and analog stick(s) for a SINGLE TOUCH touchscreen. Because, you know, you only press one button at a time!

When I first heard of this thing I just imagined it as a variation on the Dreamcast controller, but the touch screen throws a bit of a twist on it. The screen would have to be relatively large for touch capabilities to be effective, which naturally leaves less room for other buttons and such if you're trying to fit the controller in a human being's hands.

 

[NinjaTehFish]

I don't see why the new controller needs to be b/c at all.
All the new console needs to do is support the sensor bar and blue-tooth.
Like how the Wii has Gamecube controller ports.

 

[wsippel]

As far as I can tell it would. The Wii API for pointing exposes a xy coordinate for where the wiimote is pointing. An external observer of a beacon-laden controller could do the same (along with other sensors inside the controller too, perhaps).

That it's producing this result in a different way wouldn't break compatibility. The games don't care how this data is arrived at.

You need a two part controller with motion sensors in each part to emulate a Wiimote. The rumored controller only makes sense as a single device held with both hands and obviously couldn't emulate a Wiimote by design.

 

[H_Prestige]

Nintendo knows how to make comfortable controllers. as funky as the GCN was, the controller just melts in your hands

damn it last post

If only they knew how to make an analog stick that didn't hurt.

 

[Ickman3400]

So wait, I just woke up and I see rumored specs that it's only a bit more powerful than a 360?? If that ends up being true that's a joke. A bit more powerful than 2005 hardware is not acceptable in late 2012-early 2013.

Now I'm even more excited for E3. I can't even believe that they'll have the gall to go out and announce that type of hardware.

 

[WillyFive]

If only they knew how to make an analog stick that didn't hurt.

?

 

[Vinterbird]

I honestly don't think 'core' PS3/360 owners would spend 250$+ for better multi-plat graphics. They could just upgrade their PC's if they wanted to play Battlefield 3 with 1080p and lots of AA.

Not everyone owns a pc.

 

[RedSwirl]

On the other hand, it'll probably be affordable, and have a bunch of other features that people ignore while they're busy crying over the lack of DX11 support.

I think the main reason why these supposed leaks have generated so much controversy and premature excitement is that it shows what really matters to a large segment of gamers: just graphics. Rumor comes out that Nintendo is releasing game console superior to PS3 graphix, and the gaming world explodes.

I don't think that's quite the issue here.

What a lot of us are worried about is Nintendo getting left behind by third parties again because their hardware isn't powerful enough for what they want to be making in the future.

You have the Wii - basically the market leader in consoles, being ignored by most third party developers because its hardware was a generation behind what they wanted to work on. Just graphics might not be what most core gamers mainly care about, but it does seem to be what developers care a lot about, especially if Nintendo is indeed aiming to attract western developers with this thing.

I personally am not asking for it to be up-to-par with the latest PC hardware, just powerful enough so that third parties won't completely abandon the thing for the PS4/Xbox 720. It's going to be a difficult balancing act that Nintendo needs to perform between the necessary power to appease third parties, and the necessary level of accessibility and affordability to attract the mass market.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

Hey guys, I hope I can get your attention on this.

The french website 01.net has posted perhaps what is the most complete story so far on the successor of the Wii. Link to the story (in french).

They have a very reliable source that previously told them about the specs of the Sony NGP.
Here are the bullet points. Most of them have already been reported by other sites, but here goes :

• the console is codenamed "Project Café"
• will be introduced at E3 2011
• architecture is very similar to the Xbox 360; the Café is a bit more powerful than the 360
• porting current xbox 360 titles to the Café should be very easy
• should be retro-compatible with GameCube and Wii games, and support all Wii peripherals
• Specs : CPU is custom IBM PowerPC with three cores, GPU should be an ATI from the R700 family, with a shader unit at version 4.1. Ram should be at least 512 Mb.
• the controller is a touch tablet, with moderate graphic output (appears to be sub-HD, so nothing comparable to an Ipad, for example.)
• controller specs : 6-inch screen, single touch (so no multitouch, it seems), front camera, acts as a wii sensor bar, has a d-pad, two bumpers, two triggers, possibly more.
• should be released in June of 2012 (for Japan ?), and holiday season (in the West ?)
• there is another big surprise they can't talk about just yet

I can do a full translation if you guys want, tell me what you think.

They were very accurate with regards to NGP. So i will give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[[Nintex]]

So wait, I just woke up and I see rumored specs that it's only a bit more powerful than a 360?? If that ends up being true that's a joke. A bit more powerful than 2005 hardware is not acceptable in late 2012-early 2013.

Now I'm even more excited for E3. I can't even believe that they'll have the gall to go out and announce that type of hardware.

No the word is that the system is way more powerful than the PS3 and that the controller is equipped with a screen. IGN's Jim Reily confirmed touch capabilities for the build-in screen and tbe system is capable enough to output 1080p resolutions.

They were spot on NGP. So i will give them the benefit of the doubt.

A lot of people were spot on about the NGP, I don't think they were the first with those specs and half of that list is pure speculation on their part, instead of the specsheet post that they did for the NGP.

 

[awa64]

That's pretty incredible. Will that be realistic anytime in the near future?

For full-scene rendering of environments in-context? It's going to be quite a while--as I said, the number of light sources, reflections, and refractions in a scene all increase the amount of time it takes to render a frame--I'm not sure whether that's multiplicative or exponential, but either way, that's not good.

On the other hand, I can imagine a game with selective use of raytracing at some point in the next 5 years. The trick would probably be similar to the "trick" of prerendered backgrounds back in the 32-bit era--except in this case, we'd be using traditional game rendering methods to render the environment each frame, converting the result into an HDR image (which contains simplified lighting data and much simpler data to base reflections upon), using that HDR image to render the main actors and then compositing them into the scene.

 

[BowieZ]

Adjustable Haptic button dual touch controller, 1080p, major online focus, intuitive Internet browser.

Ninternet™

 

[WillyFive]

Nintendo biggest mistake imo would be to try and step back into the graphics arena with Sony and MS that way leads a beating. The Wii's biggest success was to differentiate itself from those two.

You can jump into the graphics arena without risking being just like the others.

The reason the Wii was different was not because of it's graphics.

 

[NegativeZero]

No the word is that the system is way more powerful than the PS3 and that the controller is equipped with a screen. IGN's Jim Reily confirmed touch capabilities for the build-in screen and 1080p resolutions.

1080p resolution on the built-in screen?

 

[1-D_FTW]

If the screen part is true, Nintendo could go with a LCD+LED screen that are all the rage among LG and others these days. They're quite efficient when it comes to power. I also think that Nintendo would've picked better high-res screens for 3DS if possible but they were held back by the 3D tech(that only works on small resolutions) and the single vendor(Sharp).

You've got facts all messed up. It only works on small sizes (like sub 12 inches). It NEEDS resolution. That's why it took so long to implement. It didn't work on the older low res screens.

Sharp has their standard 3D screen that's much higher resolution. Nintendo commissioned a custom part that was much lower resolution (the bare minimum for 3D to effectively work) to save on dollars.

 

[NeonZ]

So, one would assume, you set the controller down in front of the TV when using a Wii Remote.

It's a typically odd, yet efficient, Nintendo solution to such problems.

I don't see how making people buy 4 sensor bars when they might not use even one would be efficient at all.

 

[H_Prestige]

?

N64, GCN: hard plastic, no padding like dualshock and 360 controller.

 

[WillyFive]

1080p resolution on the built-in screen?

No, the sentence wrote it as two different things.

And of course, common sense says 1080p on a handheld screen would be out there, unless the controller was bigger than an Xbox.

 

[Future PhaZe]

I honestly don't think 'core' PS3/360 owners would spend 250$+ for better multi-plat graphics. They could just upgrade their PC's if they wanted to play Battlefield 3 with 1080p and lots of AA.

Eh...I'd jump on it. I don't own a wii and if they can give me 64 players in Bf3 with upgraded visuals for just 250 I'm there.

 

[[Nintex]]

1080p resolution on the built-in screen?

nah that was for the output of the system, not the screen but that is rumored to be an HD screen but I guess they meant a nice res and not actual HD, doesn't make much sense.

 

[delta25]

I have no doubts that whatever Nintendo has cooking up it'll end up being amazing in the end.

 

[gofreak]

You need a two part controller with motion sensors in each part to emulate a Wiimote. The rumored controller only makes sense as a single device held with both hands and obviously couldn't emulate a Wiimote by design.

Doesn't necessarily follow at all that it's a two-handed device.

I mean IF it was a wiimote with a touchscreen layered on the face, with a d-pad and the occasional button punctuating it, you'd be looking at...'a 6" screen'.

It depends what the design is.

What my point was, though, is that the fact that the beacons are supposedly on the controller with the observer elsewhere wouldn't prevent it from supporting the same functions as the wiimote...you could get all the same data out of it, just in a different way.

 

[Jocchan]

There's solutions to those problems. IR light can use a certain 'encoding' to differentiate it. And things change, tech moves on...the resolution of IR cameras vs the patterns and size of patterns they were trying to track before may not have made sense, but it may be viable in 2012.

I don't think it's necessarily out of line at all.

By the way, on RAM, the article does not actually pin down a number. It says:

Oh, I know it's not impossible. They could also switch to something different from IR LEDs. It just makes the rumor less likely as a whole.

Thanks for clarifying about the RAM. Still seems a low number, tbh. Did ATI ever release an R700 card with less than 512 MB?

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Hey guys, I hope I can get your attention on this.

The french website 01.net has posted perhaps what is the most complete story so far on the successor of the Wii. Link to the story (in french).

They have a very reliable source that previously told them about the specs of the Sony NGP.
Here are the bullet points. Most of them have already been reported by other sites, but here goes :

• the console is codenamed "Project Café"
• will be introduced at E3 2011
• architecture is very similar to the Xbox 360; the Café is a bit more powerful than the 360
• porting current xbox 360 titles to the Café should be very easy
• should be retro-compatible with GameCube and Wii games, and support all Wii peripherals
• Specs : CPU is custom IBM PowerPC with three cores, GPU should be an ATI from the R700 family, with a shader unit at version 4.1. Ram should be at least 512 Mb.
• the controller is a touch tablet, with moderate graphic output (appears to be sub-HD, so nothing comparable to an Ipad, for example.)
• controller specs : 6-inch screen, single touch (so no multitouch, it seems), front camera, acts as a wii sensor bar, has a d-pad, two bumpers, two triggers, possibly more.
• should be released in June of 2012 (for Japan ?), and holiday season (in the West ?)
• there is another big surprise they can't talk about just yet

I can do a full translation if you guys want, tell me what you think.

If these are the specs PS4\Xbox next going to eat this alive.
Still if i remember right they were mostly right about NGP so i go with them for now.

 

[Interfectum]

They were very accurate with regards to NGP. So i will give them the benefit of the doubt.

To be fair, Sony couldn't have been any more predictable with the NGP specs.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Touch tablet controller sounds fucking terrible. I call bullshit on the basis that it pisses me off.

Hear hear!

 

[Cosmonaut X]

1080p resolution on the built-in screen?

No, 1080p output from the console.

(which, incidentally, is another thing running counter to the specs posted - if this thing is just 360+, how will it pump out 1080p visuals?)

 

[H_Prestige]

To be fair, Sony couldn't have been any more predictable with the NGP specs.

Uh, who else was reporting the EXACT CPU/GPU specs and physical dimensions?

 

[[Nintex]]

You've got facts all messed up. It only works on small sizes (like sub 12 inches). It NEEDS resolution. That's why it took so long to implement. It didn't work on the older low res screens.

Sharp has their standard 3D screen that's much higher resolution. Nintendo commissioned a custom part that was much lower resolution (the bare minimum for 3D to effectively work) to save on dollars.

Ah thanks for clearing that up.

 

[gofreak]

A lot of people were spot on about the NGP, I don't think they were the first with those specs and half of that list is pure speculation on their part, instead of the specsheet post that they did for the NGP.

They were the first to offer very specific details beyond the SGXMP4 and they got everything right so far.

They were the first to talk (definitively) about the quad-core Cortex A9, the seperate VRAM, the GPS, the pressure sensitive 6-way multitouch on both sides etc. There were lots of little details in their article that were both entirely new, and entirely correct in hindsight. I've no doubt they have good sources - that doesn't mean their info here is correct, but they were the real deal with the NGP leak.

 

[Jocchan]

No, 1080p output from the console.

(which, incidentally, is another thing running counter to the specs posted - if this thing is just 360+, how will it pump out 1080p visuals?)

The menus, man! The Nintendo Wut will be able to display them at glorious 1080p!

 

[Eversynth]

I personally am not asking for it to be up-to-par with the latest PC hardware, just powerful enough so that third parties won't completely abandon the thing for the PS4/Xbox 720. It's going to be a difficult balancing act that Nintendo needs to perform between the necessary power to appease third parties, and the necessary level of accessibility and affordability to attract the mass market.

Ok, but when are the next playstation and xbox gonna be released? We "just" had slim versions + kinect/move, so it "looks" like MS and Sony want to double the standard console life duration.
What I mean is, by the time (or 1-2 years after) the next PS or Xbox launches, there could already be a "Wii 3"...

 

[[Nintex]]

They were the first to offer very specific details beyond the SGXMP4 and they got everything right so far.

They were the first to talk (definitively) about the quad-core Cortex A9, the seperate VRAM, the GPS, the pressure sensitive 6-way multitouch on both sides etc. There were lots of little details in their article that were both entirely new, and entirely correct in hindsight. I've no doubt they have good sources - that doesn't mean their info here is correct, but they were the real deal with the NGP leak.

Meh their report doesn't make sense on many levels and conflicts too much with the other sources. A publisher said: "Nintendo is doing it right this time, this is no gimmick" according to GI and Project Cafe and Butterfly sound like total disasters.

 

[Jarmel]

I don't see how making people buy 4 sensor bars when they might not use even one would be efficient at all.

The answer to this should be obvious.

Spoiler

There is money to be made.

 

[wrowa]

Eh. That french report sounds just like a collection of yesterday's rumor plus some made up details to get some attention.

Nintendo makes controllers with their games in mind, there's no way they would take a touch-only path. How would you control Mario or Zelda games with that?

 

[gofreak]

Oh, I know it's not impossible. They could also switch to something different from IR LEDs. It just makes the rumor less likely as a whole.

Thanks for clarifying about the RAM. Still seems a low number, tbh. Did ATI ever release an R700 card with less than 512 MB?

I'm not sure, but it'd be irrelevant anyway. They'll make whatever Nintendo wants. This chip would I guess be a custom part anyway, even if based on the R700 it wouldn't have any relation to a specific R700 part.

And on RAM, again, they're just saying 'we don't know, we presume it'll be like the 360 with a unified design and at least 512MB'. So I wouldn't get hung up on their number, it's not a claim they're making or something they're claiming they were told by their sources.

 

[Kosma]

Why can't the controller double act as a handheld? Now THAT would be sweet.

 

[Graphics Horse]

which are probably the reason why Move is using a large glowing ball: you're much more likely to have sources of IR light in the environment around you than next to your TV.
It makes no sense.

Part of the reason Move uses a large glowing ball is it's retro-fitted to the PS eye, which means ability to use IR is out, and you have to be able to accurately judge distance using a single camera. A system designed from the ground up wouldn't have to fit in with those constraints.

 

[IonicSnake]

Uh, who else was reporting the EXACT CPU/GPU specs and physical dimensions?

Don't forget the OLED touchscreen.

 

[1-D_FTW]

Assuming they're correct, the last part of the Navilink article is probably built in biometric membrane.

I really don't see how this is accurate, unless "a bit" more powerful than the 360 means it can run 360 games at 1080P. That's not a quantum leap, but it's a significant leap that would be compelling (assuming the controller had some truly compelling features) upgrade.

360/PS3 really don't need bigger polygon budgets. They just need to be able to run what they have at 1080P with AA/AF.

 

[Ellis Kim]

Nintendo knows how to make comfortable controllers. as funky as the GCN was, the controller just melts in your hands

damn it last post

Oh god yes. The Gamecube controller was the best part of the last generation, though people with ridiculously huge hands disagree.

 

[JohnTinker]

Just give me StarFox/F-Zero at launch

 

[Jocchan]

When I first heard of this thing I just imagined it as a variation on the Dreamcast controller, but the touch screen throws a bit of a twist on it. The screen would have to be relatively large for touch capabilities to be effective, which naturally leaves less room for other buttons and such if you're trying to fit the controller in a human being's hands.

That's pretty much how I imagine it. Still, I find it a bit hard to believe they'd abandon the 2-piece controller setup and go back to a traditional one.

 

[WillyFive]

N64, GCN: hard plastic, no padding like dualshock and 360 controller.

The N64 analog was tough (and pointy), but the GCN stick was soft. I don't see how it could be hard plastic unless you played one with it's skin stolen.

 

[From The Dust]

I just can't see the screen on the controller being all that powerful. it would make the 3DS look pitiful in comparison (at least when it comes to potential resolution and screen size)