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[Gahiggidy]

Why do I feel like we know even less about the Wii U CPU/GPU setup today than what we knew 6 months ago?

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Nascar Wii-U Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZuURJKRfro&feature=related

Not sure if it's real or not.

this was posted a few days ago... along when a gif of a profile for it saying it was for WiiU

I forgot who posted it but I believe its no big deal to think of it as real
its not the kind of thing that is worth faking NASCAR is super niche

 

[CrAzYLeGzLU]

Why do I feel like we know even less about the Wii U CPU/GPU setup today than what we knew 6 months ago?

I think it's just confusion from all the different rumors that have been flying around. I've personally given up on trying to figure out what's inside it right now.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Why do I feel like we know even less about the Wii U CPU/GPU setup today than what we knew 6 months ago?

all our faith and hopes have been based on posts by a few members here including BG just above

some of them may know much more than we do but they have posted as educated guess based on a lot of speculation

For all we know Nintendo may have gone in a totally different direction then the info these guys have been feed

 

[Mistle]

While that demo looked great, Link's hair and skin colour don't match well. It always looked off to me, haha

 

[Dreamwriter]

Just got done re-watching Nintendo's 2006 E3 Conference and there's one thing I really really hope they stop doing when marketing the Wii U. Those stupid overacted trailers/commercials with people diving behind couches and jumping around the room. Make them straight and to the point with gameplay and if you need to show how a feature works on the UPad just cut to a CG one floating and demonstrate it there or explain it with text.

They needed that for the Wii. The main point of the system was its motion controls, they did that stuff to emphasize that the player's motions are actually affecting the game. And explain something with text? Include a "tutorial" showing a CG controller? How are those ideas supposed to create excitement in a sizzle video?

 

[bgassassin]

Why do I feel like we know even less about the Wii U CPU/GPU setup today than what we knew 6 months ago?

I'd say that opposite is true as six months ago we were still expecting a more traditional GPU in Wii U. At least we know now that's not the case.

all our faith and hopes have been based on posts by a few members here including BG just above

some of them may know much more than we do but they have posted as educated guess based on a lot of speculation

For all we know Nintendo may have gone in a totally different direction then the info these guys have been feed

Not this late in the game.

 

[Dreamwriter]

While that demo looked great, Link's hair and skin colour don't match well. It always looked off to me, haha

Well, yeah, his hair wasn't pink...

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I'd say that opposite is true as six months ago we were still expecting a more traditional GPU in Wii U. At least we know now that's not the case.



Not this late in the game.

not late in the game... it depends on what Nintendo has been giving your sources BG
I don't know where you get your info, I'm just saying how much can Nintendo make changes that still support whatever the devs are doing but maybe changed enough not to be what everyone knows on paper

not late means it was planned years ago to give only the info the devs have now but keep the meat of something bigger in-house

 

[Gahiggidy]

bgassassin, do you think its too late to redesign the basic dimensions of the case? I mean, for example, could they have decided to stack the disc drive on top of the motherboard without disrupting the plans for the chipset?

 

[bgassassin]

not late in the game... it depends on what Nintendo has been giving your sources BG
I don't know where you get your info, I'm just saying how much can Nintendo make changes that still support whatever the devs are doing but maybe changed enough not to be what everyone knows on paper

not late means it was planned years ago to give only the info the devs have now but keep the meat of something bigger in-house

I don't recall ever saying everything I told was "on paper", so I'll just stick to what I said in the other post.

 

[Dreamwriter]

I'd be willing to bet money that whatever GPU the Wii-U ships with, was planned by Nintendo at least 2 years ago, and has gone through zero design changes. The 3DS CPU/GPU SOC didn't get any changes even when the hardware team learned that the system needed to support twice the rendering power than they had planned - they just upped the clockrate it was using.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I don't recall ever saying everything I told was "on paper", so I'll just stick to what I said in the other post.

well poo for us uninformed losers here

the good thing about not knowing, is that it will be all NEW Info to us

so no surprises for you BG

 

[Freezie KO]

I was rewatching the Reggie Facebook video. I wonder if Reggie actually plays video games.

 

[antonz]

I'd be willing to bet money that whatever GPU the Wii-U ships with, was planned by Nintendo at least 2 years ago, and has gone through zero design changes. The 3DS CPU/GPU SOC didn't get any changes even when the hardware team learned that the system needed to support twice the rendering power than they had planned - they just upped the clockrate it was using.

3DS is a tough one to call. We do know Nintendo was making it with a Tegra chip initially. Common belief is Nintendo dropped it due to Tegra not living up to promised performance.

Nintendo will make changes mid play if they have to but its not something to expect constantly

 

[bgassassin]

well poo for us uninformed losers here

the good thing about not knowing, is that it will be all NEW Info to us

so no surprises for you BG

LOL. I was told the same thing by one of the people who shared info with me. I told him I just wanted to have a better understanding of the hardware and that I'll save the surprises for the games and how the online looks.

bgassassin, do you think its too late to redesign the basic dimensions of the case? I mean, for example, could they have decided to stack the disc drive on top of the motherboard without disrupting the plans for the chipset?

By now something like that I would assume is set. Looking at the length of the case, I don't see the disc drive being too much on top of the MB unless we are looking at a long MB.

I'd be willing to bet money that whatever GPU the Wii-U ships with, was planned by Nintendo at least 2 years ago, and has gone through zero design changes. The 3DS CPU/GPU SOC didn't get any changes even when the hardware team learned that the system needed to support twice the rendering power than they had planned - they just upped the clockrate it was using.

I'd be totally willing to bet against that.

 

[CrAzYLeGzLU]

They needed that for the Wii. The main point of the system was its motion controls, they did that stuff to emphasize that the player's motions are actually affecting the game. And explain something with text? Include a "tutorial" showing a CG controller? How are those ideas supposed to create excitement in a sizzle video?

Not so much a tutorial but more like how Mortal Kombat Vita's trailers were and most trailers for Vita games here recently.

http://youtu.be/l2wxuZxmsBs

For the UPad we don't really need a full pulled back view of the person using the controller (unless the game really does rely heavily on motion controls) just an over the shoulder view of how that particular game is played on it will work. Have that mixed in with full screen gameplay and I think you'd have a trailer that keeps from being over the top but still conveys the message of how that particular game is fun to play.

 

[antonz]

I think Ideaman was teasing that the Console casing itself saw some changes but I cant verify that. Finalized details like that arent in my paygrade

 

[Smiles and Cries]

BG has already seen the final case... sheesh dude you have ruined E3 for yourself

 

[Gahiggidy]

Yeah, right now its just so boring to me. Not ugly, but not interesting or memorable:

I can see they made it that long shape in order to hide its volume when peeking out of an entertainment shelf, but I think they need to do something else to actually have it stand out in people's minds.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Nintendo's most boring box ever, even NES has more character

I wonder if the dvd slot has led lights

 

[Oddduck]

I was rewatching the Reggie Facebook video. I wonder if Reggie actually plays video games.

I'm sure he does.

Although I doubt he has the time to play games for extensive amounts of time.

 

[bgassassin]

BG has already seen the final case... sheesh dude you have ruined E3 for yourself

Nope on both accounts. There are plenty of things left to surprise me. If it doesn't it's only because of on-point speculation on whatever it is. Like Iwata officially talking about individual accounts not tied to hardware.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Nope on both accounts. There are plenty of things left to surprise me. If it doesn't it's only because of on-point speculation on whatever it is. Like Iwata officially talking about individual accounts not tied to hardware.

ok then, there is still a chance the boring box has changed enough to look appealing?

 

[Freezie KO]

I'm sure he does.

Although I doubt he has the time to play games for extensive amounts of time.

Do you have any evidence that he does? Or are you just "sure"? I'm just curious. For some reason, this question intrigues me.

I agree that he probably doesn't have much time. So has he played Galaxy? Skyward Sword? Has he ever downloaded a game from Wiiware?

Maybe he only plays portable games when he travels. Does he just play Touch Golf and Brain Age? Or has he beaten Super Mario 3D Land? What third-party games has he played?

None of this matters as a spokesperson at E3, of course, but as the president of NOA, I think it's interesting. We know, at least, that Iwata was a game developer, so his credentials as loving the industry are top notch. Reggie was the guy that made a really big rectangle pizza.

 

[antonz]

ok then, there is still a chance the boring box has changed enough to look appealing?

I wouldnt expect anything besides maybe altering the interior or the case and maybe a small size increase in spots. Its likely the boring book shape is here to stay

 

[Caramello]

Do you have any evidence that he does? Or are you just "sure"? I'm just curious. For some reason, this question intrigues me.

I agree that he probably doesn't have much time. So has he played Galaxy? Skyward Sword? Has he ever downloaded a game from Wiiware?

Maybe he only plays portable games when he travels. Does he just play Touch Golf and Brain Age? Or has he beaten Super Mario 3D Land? What third-party games has he played?

None of this matters as a spokesperson at E3, of course, but as the president of NOA, I think it's interesting. We know, at least, that Iwata was a game developer, so his credentials as loving the industry are top notch. Reggie was the guy that made a really big rectangle pizza.

He's a pretty big Zelda fan as far as I'm aware

Reggie Fils-Aime: “I'm a longtime ‘Zelda’ fan. I played ‘Zelda’ before I ever considered that I could be working for the company. I cut my teeth on ‘Link to the Past.’"

Link: http://www.examiner.com/article/reggie-fils-aime-is-a-longtime-zelda-fan

 

[Dreamwriter]

3DS is a tough one to call. We do know Nintendo was making it with a Tegra chip initially. Common belief is Nintendo dropped it due to Tegra not living up to promised performance.

Nintendo will make changes mid play if they have to but its not something to expect constantly

Nintendo told us some about the 3DS SOC development - here's one of the key places where they discuss it, and here's another. They make it pretty clear that the SOC development has to happen VERY early, and takes a long time to complete. And changing it mid-play is very hard, and rare.

 

[CrAzYLeGzLU]

ok then, there is still a chance the boring box has changed enough to look appealing?

I really hope so. The Wii design was great and fit the idea of the system well but just making pretty much a longer Wii for the Wii U is kinda boring. Seeing what cool design Nintendo has come up with for their new console is half the fun.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I'm sure he does.

Although I doubt he has the time to play games for extensive amounts of time.

I think people lack the understanding of how much work Reggie has on his plate everyday from his job at Nintendo

even putting E3 together is all on his plate to pull off, not the decision of what to say or show but the whole putting things together is all on NoA's turf

reaching out to all local devs, secret meeting and deals.... media and marketing

any failure in the US lands on his lap

then you have the crazy fans

 

[Gahiggidy]

I wonder if Reggie eats pizza?

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I wouldnt expect anything besides maybe altering the interior or the case and maybe a small size increase in spots. Its likely the boring book shape is here to stay

you know you don't have to change the interior to change the plastic shell into something nicer

 

[Gahiggidy]

I really hope so. The Wii design was great and fit the idea of the system well but just making pretty much a longer Wii for the Wii U is kinda boring. Seeing what cool design Nintendo has come up with for their new console is half the fun.

The Wii also had that stand that perched the box up at an interesting angle.

 

[bgassassin]

I wouldnt expect anything besides maybe altering the interior or the case and maybe a small size increase in spots. Its likely the boring book shape is here to stay

This is the take I have as well. Any external changes won't be done to make it aesthetically appealing IMO. A change in color is probably all we'll get and even that will be limited (as it should IMO also).

 

[Agent Unknown]

He's a pretty big Zelda fan as far as I'm aware

Reggie Fils-Aime: “I'm a longtime ‘Zelda’ fan. I played ‘Zelda’ before I ever considered that I could be working for the company. I cut my teeth on ‘Link to the Past.’"

Link: http://www.examiner.com/article/reggie-fils-aime-is-a-longtime-zelda-fan

Yeah, LttP is his favorite game and IIRC he said the first time he met Miyamoto he had him autograph his cartridge.

 

[antonz]

you know you don't have to change the interior to change the plastic shell into something nicer

Thats true but when I mention interior changes I speak more for the increased airflow etc type changes.

That kind of stuff has already been teased. Nintendo settled on the general console design for sure

 

[Dreamwriter]

We know, at least, that Iwata was a game developer, so his credentials as loving the industry are top notch.

Can't always count on that... I used to have a lead programmer, he was awesome at programming video games, shipped many of them. Later on he helped found a new game development company. Guess what, he's not a gamer at all, hates playing video games. He's just skilled at making them

 

[Smiles and Cries]

my friend Elmo, says that the WiiU is shaped like the letter U

 

[Freezie KO]

He's a pretty big Zelda fan as far as I'm aware

Reggie Fils-Aime: “I'm a longtime ‘Zelda’ fan. I played ‘Zelda’ before I ever considered that I could be working for the company. I cut my teeth on ‘Link to the Past.’"

Link: http://www.examiner.com/article/reggie-fils-aime-is-a-longtime-zelda-fan

Cool. Thanks! I find it interesting to know if he actually has played what he's selling. It might also inform some decisions, like if he's ever had to download a game, then he might have had influence in revamping the eShop.

Can't always count on that... I used to have a lead programmer, he was awesome at programming video games, shipped many of them. Later on he helped found a new game development company. Guess what, he's not a gamer at all, hates playing video games. He's just skilled at making them

If I found out Iwata hated video games, I would be saddened. Although that would be an epic villain moment in E3 history, if the head of Nintendo came out on stage and bellowed: "I hate video games!"

 

[Gahiggidy]

Thats true but when I mention interior changes I speak more for the increased airflow etc type changes.

That kind of stuff has already been teased. Nintendo settled on the general console design for sure

Are they aware that its universally disliked?

 

[Kard8p3]

Do you have any evidence that he does? Or are you just "sure"? I'm just curious. For some reason, this question intrigues me.

I agree that he probably doesn't have much time. So has he played Galaxy? Skyward Sword? Has he ever downloaded a game from Wiiware?

Maybe he only plays portable games when he travels. Does he just play Touch Golf and Brain Age? Or has he beaten Super Mario 3D Land? What third-party games has he played?

None of this matters as a spokesperson at E3, of course, but as the president of NOA, I think it's interesting. We know, at least, that Iwata was a game developer, so his credentials as loving the industry are top notch. Reggie was the guy that made a really big rectangle pizza.

I'm pretty sure he plays games when he gets the chance. I do remember a video from a few years ago where he was showing off his DSi and he had a copy of FFIV in it.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I wonder if Reggie eats pizza?

did he not work for a Pizza company before VH1?

I kinda remember the BIGFOOT pizza was his baby for some reason

edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Fils-Aime yep!

 

[antonz]

Are they aware that its universally disliked?

I dont think they care. They are very dismissive about the console itself these days. remember its just a box

did he not work for a Pizza company before VH1?

I kinda remember the BIGFOOT pizza was his baby for some reason

edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Fils-Aime yep!

Reggie is a mans man. Worked as Head of Marketing for a Beer Company, Worked as an Executive for a Pizza Company and now is an Executive for a Video Game Company.

 

[Gahiggidy]

did he not work for a Pizza company before VH1?

I kinda remember the BIGFOOT pizza was his baby for some reason

edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_Fils-Aime yep!

Yeah, I was playing off the poster who mentioned the Pizza hut background. I imagine there is a Pizza-Age Forum somewhere with posters wondering if the pizza company executives like to east pizza as much as they themselves do.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I dont think they care. They are very dismissive about the console itself these days. remember its just a box



Reggie is a mans man. Worked as Head of Marketing for a Beer Company, Worked as an Executive for a Pizza Company and now is an Executive for a Video Game Company.

GEOFF!!!

 

[japtor]

Poor Zelda...having to heft those double D's around...

"You asked for 'Mature Zelda'...you got it!"

I think it's just confusion from all the different rumors that have been flying around. I've personally given up on trying to figure out what's inside it right now.

The Apple strategy of saying nothing and driving everyone mad in anticipation with speculation ending up going all over the place.

By now something like that I would assume is set. Looking at the length of the case, I don't see the disc drive being too much on top of the MB unless we are looking at a long MB.

Well it's probably a 12.7mm drive (desktop drive would fill the case) with just SD/USB slots in front so there should be a decent chunk of space in there.

I wonder if Reggie eats pizza?

"Reggie eats pizza" should be on the bingo card.

If I found out Iwata hated video games, I would be saddened. Although that would be an epic villain moment in E3 history, if the head of Nintendo came out on stage and bellowed: "I hate video games!"

...worked for Yamauchi.

 

[Terrell]

Are they aware that its universally disliked?

GAF hating it is not "universal dislike". As always, we do not represent the universe, and it's best to remember that.

I'm just happy it's not gloss white.

 

[Oddduck]

Here's some proof that Reggie plays games.

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/32643/reggies-favourite-game-revealed/

Official Nintendo Magazine:

Asked which game of Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword or Super Mario 3D Land he is most looking forward to, Reggie replied: "It's like asking me which of my children do I love the most. I'm a huge Zelda fan - my favourite game of all time is Zelda: Link to the Past.

"One of the benefits of my job is that I get to play games in development. I have a special Wii in my office, and I've been playing Skyward Sword since E3 [in June]. I'm very much looking forward to that game.

"As I practised and got ready to play at Jimmy [Fallon] last night, it rekindled all of the things I love about Zelda. It's puzzle solving, it's the battles, but now with the Wii Motion Plus, every battle is a puzzle to solve. And it's such a big game. The development team said that this is the largest Zelda game that they've ever created."

Also:

Link from a site you GO to for news.

A portion of a Games interview with Reggie Fils-Aime...

Games: What are you playing on the competitive systems?

RFA: So, I've played Battlefield [3] on the home consoles, I've played it on PC. I've played some Gears of War to see how that played, I played a little Resistance [3]. You know, I think it's important for me to have knowledge, insight on everything that's coming out. I got to see Skyrim at E3, and I'm looking forward to seeing that. But I try to get my hands on everything.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

I really hope so. The Wii design was great and fit the idea of the system well but just making pretty much a longer Wii for the Wii U is kinda boring. Seeing what cool design Nintendo has come up with for their new console is half the fun.

If we dont see the same console before E3 at sometime Im pretty sure they redesigned it then.

 

[Freezie KO]

Here's some proof that Reggie plays games.

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/32643/reggies-favourite-game-revealed/

Official Nintendo Magazine:

Yeah. Here's an old interview where he says he plays games 20 hours a week. At the time he was playing Metroid Prime 3 and Phantom Hourglass.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/BUM4SSC18.DTL