Support NeoGAF

[manueldelalas]

I have seen a lot of Final Fantasy threads today, now that Nintendo has a new console are we going to be Crystal Bearer-zoned or will Square finally allow Final Fantasy back on a Nintendo home console?



Meanwhile, this post tells me nothing

I think the release of FFXIII on Xbox 360 is a pretty good sign of mainline FF on a Nintendo console, especially since the Wii U is modern hardware. I see absolutely no reason to not release the game in all consoles (well, I don't think the Xbox 360 will get a new FF game... maybe US only or something like that)

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Crystal Chronicles 2 (on Wii U, with multiple tablet controllers) will be infinitely better than 13-5 or whatever the main series is crapping out nowadays. Mark my words.

 

[Übermatik]

If GDC is the nearest point to getting info on the Wii U I might just cry a little inside. I need some info now! I need game confirmations! I need tech specs! I need footage, screens, RUMOURS, anything!

 

[rpmurphy]

Wii Music is an incredibly maligned game, so much so that at least I have never played it. Is it any good? The Wii promo videos made it look like conducting music could be cool, but e3 2008 almost made me too ashamed to even try the damn thing

I am very much looking forward to Wii U. Given that Im no longer trusting of sony's attitude towards its customers, MS dont make good hw in the first 2 years and Nintendo impressed the fuck out of me with Mario Galaxies and NSMB, Im buying Wii U on day 1. I can be swayed on ps4/xbox3 pending proof that shortcomings have been mended, but given my gaming habits I'm likely going to be limiting myself to only one system next time around.

So the short version of this is: is wii music worth trying for someone not instrumentally inclined?

For pure novices, Wii Music is probably going to be a challenge, but if you're willing to try and not be discouraged by you ending up creating horribly-arranged songs, it's definitely worth a shot. Certainly, it is more novice-friendly as composer software, because the game has a more limited scope and you'll be spending time playing instruments. The main portion of the game is arranging your band, selecting a song, and then you're free to play the song in any way you like -- spazzing out and create a cacophony of sounds, or play just a single note in the entire song, or play like GH/RB and follow along to the guide for a standard version of the song, or anything in between. There are a lot of other details, but that's the idea. It's definitely one of the most unique music games and it's definitely worth a shot to play it.

Looking at Amazon though, prices for new copies are still in the $40 range lol. Used copies look cheap though.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that there are a whole bunch of lessons in it. It is definitely more a learning/experimental music game than a rhythm/band game.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Crystal Chronicles 2 (on Wii U, with multiple tablet controllers) will be infinitely better than 13-5 or whatever the main series is crapping out nowadays. Mark my words.

This a million times.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Crystal Chronicles 2 (on Wii U, with multiple tablet controllers) will be infinitely better than 13-5 or whatever the main series is crapping out nowadays. Mark my words.

Remember when Crystal Bearers was "the real FFXII"?

And then Square somehow managed to make it shitty?

Good times.

 

[EatChildren]

If GDC is the nearest point to getting info on the Wii U I might just cry a little inside. I need some info now! I need game confirmations! I need tech specs! I need footage, screens, RUMOURS, anything!

Sadly this is most likely, and even then we don't really know if we'll get anything at GDC. Nintendo has had their end of year conference and decided to dedicate it almost exclusively to the 3DS, and outside of GDC next year there's nothing else known on the horizon.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they held off until E3 2012.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Why are so many people down on Final Fantasy? Everyone seems to want the remakes over anything new. Tales of series seems to be more exciting to many these days.

I'm looking forward to all 3 major companies not getting left out of Final Fantasy I want to see that series make a comeback

 

[Boerseun]

Crystal Chronicles 2 (on Wii U, with multiple tablet controllers) will be infinitely better than 13-5 or whatever the main series is crapping out nowadays. Mark my words.

Definitely!

I have seen a lot of Final Fantasy threads today, now that Nintendo has a new console are we going to be Crystal Bearer-zoned or will Square finally allow Final Fantasy back on a Nintendo home console?

To be honest, I'd take Crystal Chronicles 2 over Final Fantasy 15.

 

[Penguin]

Sadly this is most likely, and even then we don't really know if we'll get anything at GDC. Nintendo has had their end of year conference and decided to dedicate it almost exclusively to the 3DS, and outside of GDC next year there's nothing else known on the horizon.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they held off until E3 2012.

I was wondering if it was possible to have a start of the year show like they did this year for the 3DS

Or would we have heard rumblings of it already?

 

[Indyana]

Sadly this is most likely, and even then we don't really know if we'll get anything at GDC. Nintendo has had their end of year conference and decided to dedicate it almost exclusively to the 3DS, and outside of GDC next year there's nothing else known on the horizon.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they held off until E3 2012.

No, please don't become true. I doubt I could wait that much. There has to be something else. Help us Ubisoft, you are our only hope!

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I don't think we'll see anything before 2012.

They have decided the rest of 2011 belongs to the 3DS.

 

[Majine]

I don't think we'll see anything before 2012.

With release in.... fall-....ish... ?

 

[ShockingAlberto]

With release in.... fall-....ish... ?

Guessing Septemberish myself.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Sadly this is most likely, and even then we don't really know if we'll get anything at GDC. Nintendo has had their end of year conference and decided to dedicate it almost exclusively to the 3DS, and outside of GDC next year there's nothing else known on the horizon.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they held off until E3 2012.

urg, this would suck but I really see Nintendo secrecy on this console lock down harder than anything before

Honestly, I would enjoy it more if I learned everything a few months before Launch then to see many many games and wait 8-10 months for a Launch

so Nintendo keeping the NDA's locked until E3 would work for me, at least just part of me feels this way

 

[StevieP]

Why are so many people down on Final Fantasy? Everyone seems to want the remakes over anything new. Tales of series seems to be more exciting to many these days.

I'm looking forward to all 3 major companies not getting left out of Final Fantasy I want to see that series make a comeback

Xenoblade > Tales > > > > > > Final Fantasy nowadays. Sadly.

 

[donny2112]

I bought a Wii to be able to play Wii Music after I saw it for the first time at TGS 2005.

But the bad mouthing of it across the Internet made me not even get it.

Get Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and work to unlock the sound mode. The sound mode let's you conduct the music with the Wiimote to control the pacing. That's probably what you wanted out of a Wii Music, anyways. Was for me.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Xenoblade > Tales > > > > > > Final Fantasy nowadays. Sadly.

I don't have my import yet, my funds are too low
I dream of an HD WiiU remake

 

[EatChildren]

I was wondering if it was possible to have a start of the year show like they did this year for the 3DS

Or would we have heard rumblings of it already?

I assume we'd hear rumblings of it already. Plus, Nintendo will want to push the 3DS as hard as possible for as long as possible, and there's a few games due Q1/Q2 next year. I doubt they'd want to overshadow boosting 3DS sales with a new console, whereas E3 would be the right time.

Waiting sucks, but I'm happy to wait if it means when they next reveal the system they've got some cool shit to show. I want an impressive showing of software and ideas that will knock my socks off, not a trickle of information.

 

[Azure J]

Guessing Septemberish myself.

As much as I really hope they pull off the early launch concept they were going with, a September release would be boss. I could get a birthday present for myself that didn't suck for once. :lol

 

[Smiles and Cries]

It makes sense for them to be 3DS focused now, after WiiU launch they will have to push that thing very hard so 3DS will have to be in the background at that point.

 

[phosphor112]

Will it be more powerful than the WiiU? Almost certainly so, on the simple virtue that the hardware will be newer and come at least a year after Nintendo's console. But I would argue that neither MS or Sony will go full-out generational leapfrog over Nintendo's hardware (unless it's truly on par with the 360/PS3 - which would be ludicrous).

Honestly? I think MS and Sony will try to completely obliterate the Wii U hardware wise just to shake up any consumers that might have wanted a Wii U. Of course the Wii U will have better graphics and such but I still think PS/Xbox will try to go for even more connectivity, and things that are heavy on physics and AI, something the Wii U probably can't compete with.

 

[defferoo]

RSX was a last-minute addition to the PS3. Where they originally thought the Cell would take care of the visuals (LOL) and you can tell it's a last minute addition. The other main components in the PS3 were bleeding-edge and hard to produce in its launch period. Not that the power of the system itself was cutting edge (it wasn't, and isn't) but the main components were outside of its shitty last-minute GPU.

The Vita is precisely what I said: the result of mature mainstream mobile tech. It is not bleeding-edge and is high-end only in relation to its portable gaming competition. I'd argue that Sony's ideals on the Vita much more closely match their ideals on the PS1, even though I think the Vita will still not sell as well as its predecessor. I would hope Sony is smart enough to go a similar route on the PS4, and rumours indicate that they might be (so do their financial statements). Of course, you will still get the same bullshit launch CGI trailers from Sony and MS during E3 that will promise you far more than the hardware can deliver, and 99.7% of people will believe them as they have every gen. But that's par for the course.

Will it be more powerful than the WiiU? Almost certainly so, on the simple virtue that the hardware will be newer and come at least a year after Nintendo's console. But I would argue that neither MS or Sony will go full-out generational leapfrog over Nintendo's hardware (unless it's truly on par with the 360/PS3 - which would be ludicrous).

Okay, Vita is not as bleeding edge as Cell and Blu-ray were at the time of the PS3 launch, but it's still fairly new. Nobody else has released a consumer product using a quad-core cortex-A9 processor or a quad-core SGX543MP4+. I agree that the product lines are mature, but the chip itself has never been mass-produced before. btw, A15 processors won't be hitting the market until late 2012, so that wasn't going to happen anyway.

 

[KrawlMan]

Why are so many people down on Final Fantasy? Everyone seems to want the remakes over anything new. Tales of series seems to be more exciting to many these days.

I'm looking forward to all 3 major companies not getting left out of Final Fantasy I want to see that series make a comeback

Oh, I'd love to see them make a comeback. But what I really want from them is a current generation game with the quirky visual style and humor of FFIX, something we're not likely to ever get.

If Square is so lazy at this point that a remake of FFIX is the only way to get that, then I'd gladly take it.

 

[EatChildren]

Honestly? I think MS and Sony will try to completely obliterate the Wii U hardware wise just to shake up any consumers that might have wanted a Wii U. Of course the Wii U will have better graphics and such but I still think PS/Xbox will try to go for even more connectivity, and things that are heavy on physics and AI, something the Wii U probably can't compete with.

Tessellation will be a deal breaker, I think. I expect the PS4/Xbox3 GPUs to be fully equipped for heavy tessellation, whereas I'm not so sure about the Wii U. Tessellation can be hit and miss when half arsed, but when done right it adds a tremendous amount of detail a scene. It would be a fairly affordable addition to a next generation console GPUs with significant graphical advantages.

 

[phosphor112]

Tessellation will be a deal breaker, I think. I expect the PS4/Xbox3 GPUs to be fully equipped for heavy tessellation, whereas I'm not so sure about the Wii U. Tessellation can be hit and miss when half arsed, but when done right it adds a tremendous amount of detail a scene. It would be a fairly affordable addition to a next generation console GPUs with significant graphical advantages.

Oh yeah, definitely. In this day, there is no reason NOT to have a GPU with Tessellation. Not to mention that would allow some complex cloth physics as well. It's not just that though, Sony and MS will show off their power in new ways. Not just graphics, but engines that do things we haven't seen before on consoles, and maybe even PC's. That's the great thing about consoles. Heavy optimization allows you to take complete advantage of the hw, and I think they will brag as much as they can about it.

And like I said.. connectivity. I think PS4 will also support Vita remote play for all PS3 games, Maybe even PS4. MS will up the stakes with XBL, and Sony will push new PSN features that Nintendo can't touch. As I said before, even with EA helping them, the infrastructure is new for them and they have A LOT to catch up with. Hell, they can't even do a basic game online.

 

[Übermatik]

Honestly? I think MS and Sony will try to completely obliterate the Wii U hardware wise just to shake up any consumers that might have wanted a Wii U. Of course the Wii U will have better graphics and such but I still think PS/Xbox will try to go for even more connectivity, and things that are heavy on physics and AI, something the Wii U probably can't compete with.

Honestly, all this talk of Sony and Microsoft obliterating their opponents in the power area is rubbish in my opinion.
I honestly think neither company will spend as much research and money (especially Sony) on making their system a powerhouse.
I fully believe that this gen will be a closer call than last.

 

[mclem]

Oh, I'd love to see them make a comeback. But what I really want from them is a current generation game with the quirky visual style and humor of FFIX, something we're not likely to ever get.

I think your best bet for that's going to be on handhelds. I think BD:FF could well be the sort of thing that fits the bill.

 

[EatChildren]

Oh yeah, definitely. In this day, there is no reason NOT to have a GPU with Tessellation. Not to mention that would allow some complex cloth physics as well. It's not just that though, Sony and MS will show off their power in new ways. Not just graphics, but engines that do things we haven't seen before on consoles, and maybe even PC's. That's the great thing about consoles. Heavy optimization allows you to take complete advantage of the hw, and I think they will brag as much as they can about it.

And like I said.. connectivity. I think PS4 will also support Vita remote play for all PS3 games, Maybe even PS4. MS will up the stakes with XBL, and Sony will push new PSN features that Nintendo can't touch. As I said before, even with EA helping them, the infrastructure is new for them and they have A LOT to catch up with. Hell, they can't even do a basic game online.

I agree with this, but I do think early on tessellation will be one of the graphical show pieces for next generation consoles. It will be a great way to make your game's geometry look a hundred fold more detailed at a minimal cost, which will really stand out against Wii U releases (assuming they're lacking tessellation).

 

[Übermatik]

I agree with this, but I do think early on tessellation will be one of the graphical show pieces for next generation consoles. It will be a great way to make your game's geometry look a hundred fold more detailed at a minimal cost, which will really stand out against Wii U releases (assuming they're lacking tessellation).

I thought it was already confirmed that the GPU series Nintendo are looking at can manage tessellation..?

 

[blu]

I agree with this, but I do think early on tessellation will be one of the graphical show pieces for next generation consoles. It will be a great way to make your game's geometry look a hundred fold more detailed at a minimal cost, which will really stand out against Wii U releases (assuming they're lacking tessellation).

Are you referring to ps360 upports or?

 

[EatChildren]

I thought it was already confirmed that the GPU series Nintendo are looking at can manage tessellation..?

Probably, but until we actually know the specific custom card the Wii U is using it's impossible to say. Nintendo could bolt on or tear off tessellation depending on how necessary they think it is.

Are you referring to ps360 upports or?

Next generation titles. Hypothetically if the Wii U is within some realm of portability from the PS4/Xbox3, and is lacking a tessellation, the geometric detail in heavily tessellated PS4/Xbox3 games will be a noticeable loss on the Wii U port. Plus, just in general showing off the hardware. You can add a lot of detail to a scene with a tessellation that, I think, would really, really impress people.

I though tessellation was mostly known for it's huge use of resources which returns things too small to actually care about? (in comparison to that dramatic hit on resources).

I don't think so. Crysis 2 DX11 on PC supports tessellation and though it is quite crude (the game obviously wasn't built for it) the impact of the effect is very noticeable. There's a performance hit of course, but I expect next generation consoles will be able to handle equal and greater tessellation just as easy as modern computing hardware (probably better).

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

I though tessellation was mostly known for it's huge use of resources which returns things too small to actually care about? (in comparison to that dramatic hit on resources).

 

[KrawlMan]

I think your best bet for that's going to be on handhelds. I think BD:FF could well be the sort of thing that fits the bill.

I don't really like handheld gaming, but I'm pretty much sold on 3DS at this point. After finally figuring out that BDFF was Bravely Default, I checked out the trailer. Pretty neat looking game.

 

[phosphor112]

Honestly, all this talk of Sony and Microsoft obliterating their opponents in the power area is rubbish in my opinion.
I honestly think neither company will spend as much research and money (especially Sony) on making their system a powerhouse.
I fully believe that this gen will be a closer call than last.

What R&D do they need? The tech is already out there. MS is no doubt going to use "off the shelf" parts (though I HATE that term), and we already know Sony and IBM already did research on expanding the Cell years ago. Both of those guys are going to use known GPU's or a slight variant of one. Not only that, but their consoles will come out AFTER the Wii U, meaning newer tech and cheaper prices, but I'm 99% sure they won't release their console with a costly tablet as well, meaning more costs allocated to hardware boosts.

 

[StevieP]

Honestly? I think MS and Sony will try to completely obliterate the Wii U hardware wise just to shake up any consumers that might have wanted a Wii U. Of course the Wii U will have better graphics and such but I still think PS/Xbox will try to go for even more connectivity, and things that are heavy on physics and AI, something the Wii U probably can't compete with.

Both of my gaming PCs "obliterate" the hardware in the 360/PS3 today. The most current one is pretty much guaranteed to be more powerful than all 3 next gen consoles. Thing is - only hardcore gamers can tell the difference when I play Black Ops despite the fact that IQ is much better.

Physics and AI (especially AI) rely more on programming than brute force, btw. I constantly see this argument brought up without the consideration that it's entirely dependent on the coded routines.

And like I said.. connectivity. I think PS4 will also support Vita remote play for all PS3 games, Maybe even PS4.

You can't replicate what Nintendo is doing on the UPad using any sort of remote play feature over Wifi.

Hell, they can't even do a basic game online.

I played plenty of Mario Kart Wii online. Seemed fine to me.

IBM already did research on expanding the Cell

IBM is pretty much done with the Cell in any of its mainstream SKUs.

Both of those guys are going to use known GPU's or a slight variant of one.

Yes. And as a result, they will have to look at things like heat and power consumption, of which today's (and tomorrow's) chips do not excel at in the high end of the market.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

Probably, but until we actually know the specific custom card the Wii U is using it's impossible to say. Nintendo could bolt on or tear off tessellation depending on how necessary they think it is.

I don't see the point in them going with a modern GPU and tearing off the tessellation engine. There's really no point in that, and no it wouldn't save money to do something like that.

 

[EatChildren]

I don't see the point in them going with a modern GPU and tearing off the tessellation engine. There's really no point in that, and no it wouldn't save money to do something like that.

Neither, but this is Nintendo, and I generally adopt an "anything is fucking possible" policy to their decision making.

Plus I'm honestly not sure if the rumoured GPU equivalent supports tessellation. Someone will need to go dig up that stuff.

 

[StevieP]

The GPU in the first dev kit was speculated to be a 48xx, which does support tessellation. The tessellator is not as strong as the one they've put in subsequent PC hardware, however. And at this point we do not know how customized the silicon will be in the final console, obviously. History would dictate that the original kit will be different from the final hardware.

 

[Penguin]

I assume we'd hear rumblings of it already. Plus, Nintendo will want to push the 3DS as hard as possible for as long as possible, and there's a few games due Q1/Q2 next year. I doubt they'd want to overshadow boosting 3DS sales with a new console, whereas E3 would be the right time.

Waiting sucks, but I'm happy to wait if it means when they next reveal the system they've got some cool shit to show. I want an impressive showing of software and ideas that will knock my socks off, not a trickle of information.

The other idea I had, which is totally out there and will not happen.

Is if Nintendo has some major 3rd party title lined up for launch or near it, to reveal it as a big secret game during the VGAs....

I mean they've never really done the show, but if had a huge western title to get people excited about

 

[guek]

The other idea I had, which is totally out there and will not happen.

Is if Nintendo has some major 3rd party title lined up for launch or near it, to reveal it as a big secret game during the VGAs....

I mean they've never really done the show, but if had a huge western title to get people excited about

I really doubt nintendo big wigs even know what the VGAs are. It's not like they mean anything anyway.

 

[bgassassin]

Neither, but this is Nintendo, and I generally adopt an "anything is fucking possible" policy to their decision making.

Plus I'm honestly not sure if the rumoured GPU equivalent supports tessellation. Someone will need to go dig up that stuff.

The R700 supports tessellation. But the factor is both small (15) and fixed compared to the larger factor (64) and programmable that was implemented in Evergreen and thereafter.

I would expect Nintendo to use the latest tessellator before removing it all together. Nintendo does do some asinine things, but removing it wouldn't be something they would do. That honestly makes no sense at all, even in Nintendo thinking.

 

[herzogzwei1989]

Hopefully AMD is implementing a DX11-class tessellator for Wii U's GPU.

 

[blu]

Next generation titles. Hypothetically if the Wii U is within some realm of portability from the PS4/Xbox3, and is lacking a tessellation, the geometric detail in heavily tessellated PS4/Xbox3 games will be a noticeable loss on the Wii U port. Plus, just in general showing off the hardware. You can add a lot of detail to a scene with a tessellation that, I think, would really, really impress people.

That is under the assumption Nintendo would remove tessellation capabilities from their rumored GPU, correct?

 

[manueldelalas]

That is under the assumption Nintendo would remove tessellation capabilities from their rumored GPU, correct?

I've never ever seen Nintendo make a move like that, it's completely stupid, there is absolutely nothing that can be gained from that, and Nintendo doesn't make any moves if there isn't something to gain...

I really don't know why someone in his right mind would think this is even a possibility...

 

[EatChildren]

That is under the assumption Nintendo would remove tessellation capabilities from their rumored GPU, correct?

Correct.

Forgive me, but when it comes to video games I live in a bleak, cynical world of bitterness . Especially when it comes to console hardware, and especially when it comes to Nintendo. I don't like applying 'out of the box' hardware features to devkits. Things can change, people make decisions, sometimes right sometimes wrong. No matter how probable or what the devkit cards are based on, I wont be convinced (nor unconvinced, for that matter) that the Wii U has decent tessellation support until I hear it. Neutral I remain.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

Neither, but this is Nintendo, and I generally adopt an "anything is fucking possible" policy to their decision making.

Plus I'm honestly not sure if the rumoured GPU equivalent supports tessellation. Someone will need to go dig up that stuff.

As other's have said Nintendo makes some dumb moves from time to time, but there's almost always a reason for it. The gain may seem lame or stupid to us, but there's usually something they gain from it.

Again as others have said the RV700 line supports tessellation, it's not as good as what's found in more modern cards but its there. They gain nothing though from removing it, it won't save them money, really won't make the chip run cooler in any significant way, it won't help in other areas, so there's really no gain to removing it.

It makes more sense for AMD to replace it with a more modern tessellator than to remove it all together. So this

This acting like the Wii-U won't have tessellation is just silly and a lame attempt to support the idea that the Wii-U won't beable to get direct ports of PS4/KineXtBox games

It's not going to be another Wii situation. People need to accept that fact. There has been no paradigm shift in GPUs that would be in the PS4/KineXtBox that would make porting engines to the Wii-U not possible in the way it was on Wii.

 

[phosphor112]

Physics and AI (especially AI) rely more on programming than brute force, btw. I constantly see this argument brought up without the consideration that it's entirely dependent on the coded routines.

GT5 and any other racing sim. Not only do the physics calculations take a crap ton of processing. iRacing lets you turn down the graphics to look like poop just to make sure you can run their physics engine. This is a sim that has NO AI and still needs a lot of power.

You can't replicate what Nintendo is doing on the UPad using any sort of remote play feature over Wifi.

You seem so sure about this...

I played plenty of Mario Kart Wii online. Seemed fine to me.

I've always had lag issues. Though Ad-hoc mode for Mario Kart DS runs perfectly, even on game share.

IBM is pretty much done with the Cell in any of its mainstream SKUs.

The cell blade =/= CBE for PS3. Not to mention pretty much all CPU manufacturers are looking into symmetrical processing.

Yes. And as a result, they will have to look at things like heat and power consumption, of which today's (and tomorrow's) chips do not excel at in the high end of the market.

As they do for ANY console released. It's not like costs will be much higher to look at something newer.

 

[EatChildren]

This acting like the Wii-U won't have tessellation is just silly and a lame attempt to support the idea that the Wii-U won't beable to get direct ports of PS4/KineXtBox games

That is not my stance nor intention and I'd appreciate it if you didn't pigeon hole me, thanks.

 

[blu]

Correct.

Forgive me, but when it comes to video games I live in a bleak, cynical world of bitterness . Especially when it comes to console hardware, and especially when it comes to Nintendo. I don't like applying 'out of the box' hardware features to devkits. Things can change, people make decisions, sometimes right sometimes wrong. No matter how probable or what the devkit cards are based on, I wont be convinced (nor unconvinced, for that matter) that the Wii U has decent tessellation support until I hear it. Neutral I remain.

Here's the thing though: Nintendo cannot remove tessellation if they did not base their design on at least one gen later GPU tech vs what is rumored to be in the kits.

The GPU generation in the kits can do tessellation, just not as efficiently as the next one. The difference being in a relatively small enhancement in the pipeline that makes a difference though. But GPUs starting with the C6/Xenos already can do tessellation, and there's practically nothing (hw-wise) one needs to add to them to enable it. Ergo, there's nothing Nintendo can gain from removing tessellation from a R700-based GPU.

Nintendo can choose to not expose some tessellation-prerequisite hw capabilities, say, APIs like Geometry shaders, etc, but that would be akin to them not exposing EMBM capabilities in Flipper - it's too damn fundamental a hw capability to just shrug it off, given the hw does support it.