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Why Wii U is a Next Gen Console

Episode 1 of the new video series, The Game Capsule TV. The argument stops here as we learn what the word "generation" means, and why it makes the Wii U a "next gen" console

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thegamecapsule.com
jcnba284749d ago

Every sane person knows the Wii U is a next generation console. The people that say otherwise are just fanboys trying to hate, simple as.

LOL_WUT4749d ago

Still in denial huh? Developers have publicly come out and stated this there is no conspiracy going on it's the truth. ;)

lilbroRx4749d ago

No, some developers who have never made games for it have said.

Its as credible as me saying the same of the PS4 without working on it testing what it can do.

The people who have made good games on it say it is next gen. The people who work under EA or not on Nintendo hardware at all said it isn't.

I'll take the opinion of the person with hands-on experience.

-Mika-4749d ago

I agree. Insomiac and plenty of developers think the WiiU is a current gen console. If developers think it a current gen console, than nothing more needs to be said.

@ PopRocks359 and the fanboys with the Zelda avatars

When people think of next gen. They think of noticble improvement over the console they currently have. When ps1 owners saw the dreamcast or the ps2. They saw a next gen console. When ps2, xbox and GC owners saw the ps3 and 360. They saw a next gen console. When ps3/360 users look at the wiiU. They don't see a next gen console. To alot of gamers, in order for a console to be labeled as next gen, There needs to be a noticble difference in terms of power and features. The WiiU is lacking in both. This is why alot of gamers lable it as current gen.

mikeslemonade4749d ago (Edited 4749d ago )

Is IPHONE 5 a next generation system? No. If it's not playing the majority of the current gen games then it shouldn't be considered a next generation system along the likes of PS4 and Xbox 720. WiiU is current gen since it's playing mainly the current gen games out right now and is losing a lot of support from the next gen game development.

andrewer4749d ago (Edited 4749d ago )

Really, what is next-gen for you people? Why complicate it? It just means after the previous one ffs. It's called next-gen, not more-advanced-than-that-previo us-hardware-over-there, or even "better-one". If it meant "better-one" I wouldn't even call PS3 a next-gen because of the awesomenessessess(lol) of the PS2. God damn it.

Brasi19894749d ago

@-Mika-
The WiiU is classified, by your description, "Next Gen". Their is a noticeable difference in features. MiiVerse, the GamePad, Nintendo TVii, are just to name a few. The noticeable difference in terms of power has yet to be seen. Go back and look at end of cycle X-Box games and compare them to launch X-Box 360 games. These things do take time. But if we go solely by specs then, still, yes the WiiU should be considered "Next Gen". The CPU may be slower than the 360 and PS3 however with technological advancements the speed becomes irrelevant. Look at Intel vs AMD processors with the same speeds.

CouldHaveYelledUiiW4749d ago (Edited 4749d ago )

@-Mika-

1ST)

My Avatar is not Zelda-
Look closer-
it was created by a former games company whose name began with a "V"
in homage to the game you mentioned.

2ND)
We all know what you mean but it is an aberration of the meaning of the word "generation".

We have to fight the meaning because if we don't people push it even further.

-Some still can't admit that the WiiU is more powerful than current Gen.

-Companies have lied and then recanted stating that the WiiU can't run their "SCALABLE to SMART Phone" Engines.

The thing that is clear is that some companies have decided not to put the work in- Fine- They just shouldn't trash the WiiU in order to justify their personal choices.

All last Gen many games were designed for PC max specs but received a downgraded version for consoles- so how is it now impossible to do the same thing for WiiU.
Ex. Watch_Dogs is on PS3- PC... how is this possible?

Developer choice that's How.

jameson123454749d ago

Some have said it is(Activision and Ubisoft for example, and even EA at one point), some say it isn't (Like EA now, and a couple others)

Legend_Killer4748d ago

developers who have never attempted making games for it call it a current gen console. all they do is port old games that can be enjoyed elsewhere and dont even release DLC. If WiiU's first party games show next gen graphics then we'll see the truth abt these devs.
E3... Can't wait

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4748d ago
MEsoJD4749d ago

Wii-U sure feels current gen to me.

To me a gen represents a certain range of graphics/hardware across systems.

- Sega Genesis, super nintendo

- Saturn, Playstation, nintendo 64

- Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube,
mid- wii(graphics capibility around the same, but better online functionality)

- Playstation 3, Xbox 360, WiiU

- Playstation 4, Xbox ???

To each his own. I just may purchase a WiiU if Nintendo changes it's network policy to have games tied to accounts, a price drop, making the gamepad optional in system purchase(the thing cost like 120 to replace and I have no interest), announce original ip and revive neglected. Unlike past Nintendo consoles, Smash Bros is not going to be enough to warrant a purchase.

JuleyJules4749d ago (Edited 4749d ago )

i like how you conveniently leave wii out of last-gen and toss in wiiu lumping the wii in the previous gen. It was the next-gen over the gamecube. the last gen was wii/ps3/360 as they came out in 2005/06. Next-gen for consoles is WiiU/PS4/Xbox 720 (or whatever). They're out in 2012/13. It simply has to do with when they're released. For Nintendo the Wii U is a big leap forward over the Wii - their last-gen console.

MEsoJD4749d ago

@JuleyJules

This is how I've always viewed gens pertaining to systems. A gen for me consist of systems hardware/graphics that are similar or not too far apart from each other. Given the specs and released footage of ps4 and the soon to be announced xbox, their leap is obvious. Anyone I think my first comment was pretty self exclamatory. Oh wells... :)

slaton244749d ago

to MEso this is not directed to you....guys next gen means the new console release in two years lets say the wiiU2 comes out than its a next gen than the wiiu will be current gen...specs and power isn't the next gen just the console release....by the way cant wait for ps4 and after that I still plan on buyin a wii U.

PopRocks3594749d ago

It's part of the eighth generation of video game consoles while its predecessor was in the seventh. That's really all that needs to be said on the matter.

4749d ago Replies(3)
Kingthrash3604749d ago

of corse this is next gen! just the weakest of the next gen and slightly stronger than the current.....I dont remember this convo with the wii and it was basically the same difference in power.
I see it like this if apple calls iphone 5 the next gen phone after iphone 4 the wiiu is definitely next gen...
last point look up at both the comments above these guys have it right 100%

Gr814749d ago

Not Next Gen..anymore. It is current gen, as Wii/PS3/360 are last gen. And PS4/Infinity will be current gen once released.

CouldHaveYelledUiiW4749d ago

It's a shame when you have to break-out the dictionary-
especially for such a common word a "generation".

Hicken4748d ago (Edited 4748d ago )

Generation has an additional meaning when speaking of technology.

Yes, the Wii U is part of the eighth generation of consoles, and is Nintendo's next generation of console. Therefore, chronologically, it's next gen.

However, from a technological standpoint, the Wii U is closer to consoles in the chronological generation before it than the consoles it'll be competing against. Therefore, it's also current gen.

Both sides are right, in this case. It's simply a matter of the two sides realizing this.

Edit: Honestly, though, if this question REALLY needs asking so frequently, then it's not as simple a "yes" as many people want to make it seem.

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70°

Xbox boss: Memory crisis could impact next-gen hardware pricing

Xbox boss Asha Sharma has discussed how component shortages will impact the company's plans for Project Helix.

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gamedeveloper.com
Eonjay17d ago

When does this end? Its killing everyone. Consoles and PC. And for what? AI? The benefits of AI are completely outweighed by the negatives. And the government should have never allowed one company to buy up all the RAM.

Lexreborn218d ago

This kind of proves this is an after thought product, most products like this are in r&d 5 years before they start mass producing. So they typically have the cost of components and things worked out long before assembly starts.

This is an assumption still, but I wouldn’t be surprised if project helix is similar to Scalebound,perfect dark and sod3. They had an idea but no actual execution other than concept stage. Being impacted by the ram shortage likely would also put this device 3-4 years out.

I’m not even sure MS has that endurance with Xbox yet

Fishy Fingers18d ago (Edited 18d ago )

I mean.... what?

We're at a point that Samsung wont even provide their own phone department ram because they can sell it at higher prices to 3rd parties (AI). Its more profitable to sell the ram than make their own devices with it.

You think because R&D starts 5 years ago the 3rd party component manufacturers will honour that price? They'll sell it to whomever is paying the most today, not some gentlemens agreement they made years ago. AI farms will buy more volume at higher prices than any console manufacturer will. It'll be the same for Playstation.

Lexreborn217d ago

Contractual agreements are not the same as “gentlemen” agreements. If you think that they work with their distributors a month before production then their entire business model is trash. They work with companies like nvidia constantly for building the graphics cards they need. They work with companies that build motherboards years in advance. This is what proper business planning does.

They are not buying components on a whim like a consumer. So again, considering the ram isn’t a singular module and is integrated into the motherboard I highly doubt they wouldn’t have a final schematic that they are supposed to be building around.

If they are delaying production another 3 years then it’s obvious again this is an after though project and is just trying to be responsive to their bad execution they had the last 14 years.

It also isn’t far fetched to use their failure to produce first party titles the last 7 years including the highly anticipated games I mentioned all being cancelled. That they would continue to you know… lie

Sitdown18d ago

You don't really know how this works huh?

Profchaos18d ago (Edited 18d ago )

Helix is going to be stupidly expensive

Instead of leaning into smarter upscaling techniques they're brute forcing hardware that will cost them dearly and it remains to be seen if it's genuinely going to provide a meaningful differential

I know in the oc.doace people like to brag about not using frame gen or dlss to get to high on a game but for the majority of players they happily use those technologies without a second thought

That's going to be ps6 vs Helix

Eonjay17d ago

Yeah with FSR 5 they should be able to offer a much cheaper version of Helix.

Eonjay17d ago

While this does seem to be the case, I am encouraged by the statement from Microsoft about wanting to provide affordable options. If this means a Series S style Helix, at least there will be something affordable being offered.

XBManiac17d ago

Series S is what has killed Xbox Series so... Will they dare?

blacktiger18d ago

It's called systematic inflationary. Yes we get it Microsoft, keep raising in the name ofall kinds of stuffs

pwnmaster300018d ago

Honestly if there was thing I learned from this generation is that new consoles arnt day one anymore.
I can wait 1-3 years.

DarXyde18d ago

Another important lesson from this generation: while Nintendo showed us that prices don't necessarily need to ever drop, we've now learned that waiting 1-3 years does carry some risk that prices increase. This generation is just bizarre in all the wrong ways.

LucasRuinedChildhood18d ago (Edited 18d ago )

The factors are largely external. Covid and Russia-Ukraine war causing inflation led to the first price increase in 2022.

Then we get Trump's tariffs increasing hardware prices, AI boom causing a RAM crisis, war on Iran causing a worldwide fuel crisis which impacts the cost of everything.

Gaming doesn't exist in a vacuum. The last few years have been a shitshow and lot of it was definitely avoidable.

DarXyde17d ago

LucasRuinedChildhood,

For sure. No disagreement on the external factors doing a lot of this. Where I have to gently push back however is on two fronts:

1. The pandemic definitely caused some issues: asynchronous development was a big issue and really complicated timelines and affected game quality. At the same time, when it comes to price hikes, it's really difficult to know what was genuine necessity and what was taking consumers for a ride. The pandemic brought about "stag-flation" which was increasing prices and stagnant wages, which was a problem caused by supply chain constraints. There was also "Greed-flation", where companies that were slightly affected or had no issues took advantage of the situation and squeezed everyone citing supply chain issues when there were none.

2. It's definitely true that the tariffs, AI boom, and RAM crisis were all things enabled by tech broligarchs throwing money at this caricature of a world leader, one of them being Satya Nadella. I don't think Sony and Nintendo have contributed much to this problem if at all, but Microsoft's Nadella I feel was instrumental in causing every one of those issues. Microsoft as a company contributed to both candidates (though they gave Harris 4x as much if I recall), but Nadella was all in on letting AI run wild. He paid for unregulated AI, and got a war that's not a war (even though Trump called it that at least five times on television) that screwed up helium access. So for me, I feel that one of the players in the gaming industry is a key architect of these issues, and for that reason I struggle a bit to think of it as "external".

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40°

Pixels in the Blood: The Journey of Rob Hewson

The name "Hewson" carries a special weight for anyone who grew up during the golden age of British computing. As the son of Andrew Hewson—the man behind legendary publisher Hewson Consultants—Rob Hewson didn't just grow up playing video games; he learned to spell his name from their title screens. However, Rob didn't just rest on his family's 8-bit laurels. From leading major LEGO franchises at TT Games to tackling the high-stakes world of technical porting at Huey Games, Rob has carved out a unique path in an ever-evolving industry. In this candid interview Rob to discussed the burden and beauty of a family legacy, the technical "scar tissue" left by the ambitious Hydrophobia, and why porting a masterpiece like Inscryption to consoles is far more than a simple copy-paste job.

50°

The top 10 best Super Mario games ranked

NE: "We rank the 10 best main series Super Mario games in celebration of the recent MAR10 Day with 2D and 3D included."

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nintendoeverything.com
Agent7547d ago

Best 2D, Mario World, best 3D, Mario 64. Can't say there's been a bad one, although Mario World 2 wasn't a true sequel. The Mario Land games were good (not the first one) and also Wario Land. I thought after Mario 64, Mario 3D World was excellent.