Wii U

[Joshi]

Also, Joshi, nobody really knows about the Wii U's power, but there are rumours that it's significantly more powerful than PS3/XBOX 360

Nintendo said it was "comparable". And if they want it to sell at this point in time, they're going to need to keep the price comparable as well, which would mean the hardware can't be TOO Much better than the 360's.

and that it's been modifyed to run the Unreal Engine 4.

This literally makes no sense.

[MelonBread975]

How does that not make any sense? Nintendo is constantly modifying consoles in development. Here's the rumor about Nintendo tweaking the Wii U, and here is an interview with NintendoEnthusiast. It's still a rumor, but it's very likely to be true, because Unreal Engine 4 is the future of next-gen gaming. It would be foolish of them not to support it, because then third parties would drop their support and it would become a flop like the Wii. Mark Rein of Epic Games says that he's also confident in the Wii U, making that rumor seem even more likely to be true.

They need to keep the price point low, and to do so, they're going to take losses.
Still, I don't think it's time to talk about the Wii U's capabilities as there is very little known about them. I would be surprised if the final product is only slightly more powerful than the seventh generation. It would really defeat their purpose of wanting to bring back the core gaming audience to their system, because like you said earlier, people would just stick with their PS3/XBOX 360, and then buy Microsoft or Sony's next gen home console.

This is all just speculation, so we'll have to wait until E3 to see what the system is really capable of.

[Joshi]

How do you tweak hardware to support software? That's what doesn't make sense.

The Wii-U will support the Unreal 4 engine if it's built for the Wii-U. That's really all there is to it.

I mean, seriously. Nintendo especially has never much cared what others are doing. YOU can modify your games to fit THEM, not the other way around.

a flop like the Wii

You realise the Wii printed money, right?

[MelonBread975]

I'm not talking about the Wii's success, I mean the Wii's flop to third parties. Almost all of the great games like Skryim, Mass Effect, and the Orange Box weren't on Wii. Sorry for not being clear. Tweaking the hardware means that Nintendo changes the design and manufactures a new product. I mean, how else you develop a system? It would be impossible to immediately engineer hardware and release the prototype. Nintendo is changing their ways with the development of Wii U, because they actually ARE listening to the big studios now.

[Joshi]

Alright, alright, let me put this another way.

How does tweaking an entire console to better support one piece of software (out of many many) make sense? Particularly, how does it make more sense than tweaking the software, which wouldn't require pressing now circuit boards and stuff?

Nintendo is changing their ways with the development of Wii U, because they actually ARE listening to the big studios now.

Hey look, it's a claim they made with the N64 and GC as well. Look what didn't happen either of those times!

[MelonBread975]

Well, the software is being built for the true next generation of consoles and PC equipment, not just for Nintendo. If Nintendo chooses to only have a console that's as powerful as a PS3, then third parties are going to ditch the Wii U just like they did Wii. If Nintendo doesn't make a console that supports this piece of software, they're kinda shooting themselves in the foot. This is something that will be used by several games made by different companies.

Alright, alright, let me put this another way.

Nintendo is changing their ways with the development of Wii U, because they actually ARE listening to the big studios now.

Hey look, it's a claim they made with the N64 and GC as well. Look what didn't happen either of those times!

I'm not raising my expectations too high. Again, I think it's better to wait until the console's final form is unveiled to see.

[Joshi]

Are you suggesting they're building an engine for systems that aren't even announced yet, let alone finalised, and won't be for like another 3 to 5 years, at which point any projections they make now would be completely meaningless?

[MelonBread975]

Yeah, Epic Games said so themselves.

[Zikki-Dee]

IF REALLY GOOD GAMES COME OUT ON THE WII U ONLY, I WILL BE MAAAAAAD!

[MelonBread975]

Zelda

[Zikki-Dee]

*gets mad*

[Hiei]

Nintendo + HD (not underpowered) = *drools*
I think Nintendo will make a lot of worthwhile games for the Wii U and since it will also have similar (and ported) games to PS3 and Xbox 360 I think (most) people will upgrade to it. Iwata said it would be expensive, but I doubt it'll be very. Perhaps $300.

[MelonBread975]

Hm, I was thinking more like $350. Nintendo said they didn't want to make the same pricing mistake they did with the 3DS, but $300 sounds really cheap for a new console. I hope the console is significantly more powerful than the PS3 and XBOX 360. There are rumors saying it is, although others suggest that it is only slightly more powerful.

[Rei]

I have high hopes for the Wii-U. I would like to see more games directed towards their classical players; because, honestly, I was disappointed that most games for the Wii didn't even slightly interest me.

I'm also sick of people around me saying things like "the Wii is a woman's system" or "be a real man and buy Black Ops for Xbox" etc. etc. I want to see Nintendo truly give it their all and excel with this system and sweep that sort of ignorance off of its feet.

[Zikki-Dee]

I totally Agree!