Nintendo has shared a few specs about the Wii U, revealing that of the system’s 2GB worth of memory, 1GB of that is designated solely for the operating system. The dimensions of the hardware were also shared, along with the capacity of the discs (25GB). There’s images after the break.
A supposed leak from Ubisoft has possibly revealed that the CPU within the Wii U is similar to that of the Xbox 360 and PS3. But in regards to the GPU, it’s about 1.5 times as powerful as either console. It’s only a rumour, of course, but based on what we’ve seen running on the Wii U so far, it’s not that hard to believe.
I didn’t expect any of the tech specs to be released for the Wii U, but I was wrong. Nintendo released them moments after the end of their press conference, and you can find them after the break.
A user on NeoGAF has shared a series of posts that provide a relative understanding of the Wii U hardware in relation to the Xbox 720 and PS4. Supposedly, he is a developer who has proven himself to the moderators on the forum, but as with anything, be skeptical. It’s also very early days for the other consoles, so a lot of things can change between now and then.
This apparent developer compares the Wii U to a “low specs PC” and, while the “PS4 is not final yet and can change a lot”, the next Xbox is “more or less clear right now” and “the gap is big in almost every part”.
He specifically mentions, in response to someone disagreeing there will be a major difference with graphics that, “no, it will be noticeable (technically speaking)”. Of course, “noticeable” is a relative term in itself. But will be interesting to see if these systems make the Wii U look like another Wii in terms of raw power.
Ah yes, more rumours about the specifications of the Wii U. This time, an analyst has said that “developers told him the Wii U will have 50 percent more processing power than the Xbox 360 and PS3″. This matches up with what I believe to be true, but of course we’ll have to wait and see.
A user at NeoGAF has shared that they’ve been told the Wii U is the “best of the current generation by a country mile but not significantly beyond that”. Meaning, it’s beyond the PS3 and Xbox 360 by a noticeable margin, but will fall-short of being seen as a genuine next-generation platform. But, that said:
…there will probably be nothing hardware-wise stopping downgraded ports from what people think the new XBox will offer. We’re talking, like, Witcher 2 on high settings vs. Witcher 2 on low settings. Same game, same basic idea, different graphics.
And while we’ve heard all sorts of rumours and speculation being flung back-and-forth about the specs of the Wii U’s hardware, I think this is where the pendulum will fall. It won’t be seen as super powerful when the Xbox 720 and PS4 come along, but it’ll be appreciated for its improvements over the current generation for the time being. It’s that satisfying middle-ground that I think most rumours have been pointing toward.
The rumours and speculation regarding the specs of the Wii U span the entire spectrum, from doom and gloom to the impossibly optimistic. In response to this, Nintendo has said:
We do not focus on technology specs. We understand that people like to dissect graphics and processing power, but the experience of playing will always be more important than raw numbers.
This sentiment is regularly shared via Nintendo, but people have been quick to say that “oh noes, that means the Wii U is really weak!” To be honest though, I think this is just Nintendo being as vague as they usually are. They have a protocol for how they respond to things, and this core belief is part of that protocol.
That said, I do think folks who believe the system will be some insanely technical powerhouse will be let down. But I wouldn’t expect to be spending another six years or so with the equivalent of a Wii.