April 3rd, 2012

Wii U is less powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3, says a couple of developers

97 Comments

According to one, unnamed developer, the Wii U is “not up to the same level as the PS3 or the 360″, being quite clear that “the graphics are just not as powerful”. A different developer at a “major company” said similar things, sharing that “it doesn’t produce graphics as well as the PS3 or the 360″ and:

There aren’t as many shaders, it’s not as capable. Sure, some things are better, mostly as a result of it being a more modern design. But overall the Wii U just can’t quite keep up.

But I’m having a hard time believing this. It’s one thing to be as powerful as the current generation, but to be less powerful? I think Nintendo would have to go out of their way to make a less powerful system. It has been almost six years since the PS3 came out, after all, and longer for the 360. The best reasoning I have seen for these comments, then, is that they may have older dev kits. I just can’t believe that Nintendo would release a less powerful system, and I think these developers are either mistaken, or very stupid.

As always, we’ll have to wait and see. The fact that no other source has said something similar to this though, it probably means it’s a flaming pile of nothing.

  • FK

    I’m not really surprised. Take a look at Mario Kart 7. Beautiful textures, but a lot of pixels, a lot more than a Gamecube game.

    • http://www.blogwiiu.fr blogWiiU.fr

      I don’t even… what does that even mean?

      If you’re saying 3DS games aren’t as good looking as Gamecube ones, we know. It’s down to less powerful hardware and lower resolution.

    • RicardoSForever

      Seriously, gamecube games are better looking than 3DS ones? I agree that 3DS games have a bit “pixel” in then, due to being Wii leveled graphics in a much smaller screen, but less better than the GC ones? I find MGS3D better in graphics on the 3DS than on the PS2.

    • Aanx

      No, no, no.
      3DS can actuall pull out better graphics than the GC.The thing here is that the screen resolution is lower than what the System is capable of showing off.
      Think about playing PS3 on a black and white TV.

      MAybe in the future, when a new 3DS version appears, it will come with a better screen, but who knows.

    • Big E

      @FK Having more pixels is considered a good thing when making something with a lot detail.

    • imrblankie

      This whole thread is just like, what the hell am I reading, people talking about graphics when they have NO idea what they are talking about.

    • Naner

      ^ this.

      PS: Resident Evil Revelations and Kid Icarus Uprising. ‘Nuff said.

  • Meelow

    THQ: “WiiU is just alot more powerful than current HD consoles it does 1080p very easy.”

    Epic: “It will do things current HD consoles simply cant do its going to be a powerful box.”

    Crytek: “WiiU devkits are very powerful,the specs are very good”

    Vigil Games: “We had the game at the same level as high end pc version in a matter of days and a few lines of code got the game up and running on tablet in 5 mins.”

    EA: “Wii U is not a transitional platform, it is a true next generation system.”

    • SuperSonic

      Beautiful proof; Phoenix Wright worthy.

    • D2K

      You know, when I read reports like this I can almost hear the Benny Hill music playing in the background. It’s that comical.

      Just like you pointed out. Any traceable source in regards to the Wii U’s abilities have all said numerous times that not only is it more powerful than the 360 and PS3, but is more powerful even than we think it is.

      I’m convinced that once E3 comes and goes and we know the Wii U specs for certain some of these people will still choose to believe that the Wii U is less powerful. Even the Bible says that people are “willing ignorant” in these last days. People are just filled with so much hate that they REFUSE to see anything else.

    • Kid Buu

      These “unnamed devs” just got served with a side of salad by you, Meelow. Thanks for this intelligent post. :)

    • Nintendo? lol what nintendo?

      They’re just RAGING FANBOYS that just can’t take THE POWEEEERR!!!!

    • http://www.gamesradar.com GameManiac

      Why are the Wii U specs so scattered?

    • Big E

      @GameManiac Because Nintendo has yet to reveal them in full.

    • Deadly Scream

      I love how in your list, they actually give there names. But in the article they said “unnamed developers”!!!

    • Green Reuben

      Sony fanboy pretending to be from a gaming company: “not as powerful as xbox 360″

    • abe

      if someone doesn’t offer their name then its a lie.

      and to be honest what i have seen and heard so far, i am very happy with the Wii U

    • Naner

      @D2K: We probably won’t know Wii U’s specs “for certain” until it comes out and someone with a screw driver and guts buys one. Nintendo never talks about that kind of thing. The system does what they want it to do, that’s enough for them and should be enough for us.

      Even then, it’ll be hard to determine its exact specs, since the processor and GPU are certainly custom-built by IBM and ATI.

      And I heard too many positive things from developers to be concerned.

    • Nintyfan90

      This developer is unnamed, I bet it’s that jackass Pachter >:(

    • D2K

      @ Naner: That is true. However Nintendo does release the information that is relevant in terms of specs. It’s not necessary to know that absolute limit of power the system had, but a general idea of what they are working with. People whom are in the know can extrapolate from that.

      Personally I don’t care if they open it up and discover that it is powered by a hamster on a wheel. I’m just ready for it to come out.

    • Tylos

      What’s this “major company”? Sony? Hahaha wait they don’t even make their own games! But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Sony however implausible it may be.

    • Naner

      I’ve been looking around for some actual quotes. Here they are:

      THQ: “The Wii U is much more powerful than the other HD consoles, so Wii U doesn’t have a huge problem doing 1080p for the majority of its games.”

      Gearbox: “The Wii U version [of Aliens: Colonial Marines] has so much more to offer… no other platform can do what the Wii U can do.”

      Vigil: “Our one and only goal once we got the Wii U hardware was to get Darksiders II running on it. We didn’t even have running the game on the touch screen on our ‘to do’ list. But once we got it running, we just fooled around with getting it on the touch screen as a lark. It took all of five minutes and two lines of code, and boom! – there was the entire game running on the controller. Amazing.”

      Crytek: “Our guys in Nottingham, they are very happy with their tests on the dev kits and they’re excited about it.”

      Capcom: “What we saw last E3 is not a reflection of everything this console is able to offer. We have been trying the development kits and some of its new characteristics will improve its possibilities. It isn’t something like Kinect or similar accessories, it’s something different.”

  • ddddd

    Lazy devs with unoptimized hardware

  • Busted Hope

    Just wait until freakin’ E3, don’t believe this nor those who claim ”it’s 3479 more powerfull…” ”it’s on par…” just calm down and wait until the console is showcased, then we all can judge for ourselves.

  • Wildman

    “and I think these developers are either mistaken, or very stupid.”

    That just made my day.

    • HugoBOSS_HD

      Haha I know right! At this point, people are just pulling things out of their ass! O.o

    • Revolution5268

      or maybe an april fools.

  • Guy

    The messages from companies are so mixed, but judging from the demo Nintendo showed off with that bird, I’d say it’s looking good.

    • Revolution5268

      nintendo say its a small bit of graphics with the bird demo i don’t get it.

  • http://www.blogwiiu.fr blogWiiU.fr

    Unnamed developers seem to be the main source of info on Eurogamer lately.

  • jddddd

    completely made up. no true dev would use a phrase like “less powerful graphics” it even doesn’t make any sense.

    and with all the other things we have heard it proves that it is a pile of bull

  • SleepyGuyy

    Nintendo handhelds have always been lacking in antialiasing (making diagonal lines / edges smoother, not made of blocks). BUT their home consoles are the complete opposite, with great antialiasing. So to point out the 3DS’s problems is not representative of their home products. SECONDLY not enough shaders? WHAT THE FUCK? That guy is not a developer. Nor does he understand where good graphics and computing power come from. Fucking attention whores, or trolls.

    • bill

      They all have anti-aliasing, but only the 3DS (and Wii U) actually uses it.

    • Naner

      He got his words mixed up. Anti-aliasing is when you slightly blur objects’ edges so they seem less pixelated. What you’re thinking about is polygon count. Remember how Mario’s hat looked like a triangle on Super Mario 64? And remember how the same hat is perfectly round (even rounder than some HD hats) in Super Mario Galaxy? That’s due to the increase of polygons put into the 3D models.

      That still happens today. Resident Evil Revelations’ models usually had a good number of polygons, while Snake Eater 3D (because of its PS2 roots) and Kid Icarus Uprising (probably because it was the first 3DS to begin development) have lower numbers. The textures and lighting in Kid Icarus make up for it, though.

  • Wildman

    “There aren’t as many shaders, it’s not as capable.”

    This phrase right here says it all to me.
    They’re talking about GPU shader units
    (aka stream processors).
    The PS3 doesn’t have any shader units on its graphics chip . The Xbox 360 has a total of 48 shader units on its graphics chip.

    The rumored Wii U graphics chip has 800 shaders which sounds plenty more capable than zero and 48.

    • D2K

      ^^ More pwnage. Keep it coming guys.

    • Green Reuben

      at e3 it was said that the wii u was 50% more powerful than the ps3

    • AquaFire

      remeber they were only using v1 devkits.

  • Beat

    Not even Nintendo would be dumb enough to release a console that wasn’t up to competition from years ago. The WiiU has to be at least as powerful as the 360 and probably better than the Ps3 for people to actually take it seriously, and Nintendo knows that.

    • gamer272

      not even nintendo? you don’t like them

  • http://youtube.com Sonicfan10461

    Please… Nintendo, don’t worry about “Graphics” I would’nt care if the graphics looked like the N64. it matters how the games are, and how they play, the entertainment on the console, the controls, and how it comes out overall, who cares about the graphics? All we Nintendo fans, all we want is excitment, gaming, and how it gets us going.

    • uriel

      god ….this speach again. but i aggree except for the n64 part …they would die. but yeah this console will only be considered next gen until ps4 and xbox 720 comes around …..but thats not a problem those consoles wont be released until at least late 2014 if not more. so the wii u better have some great shit to offer so we can have a wiipeat …….corny :) but i believe were going to see the rebirth of nintendo because if they can mold gold software out of crappy outdated piece of tech that was wii imagine the platnum amazement we will see and the reamagining of classic nintendo characters in glorious HD and most likely the birth of new ones …..plus it will sell as long as you say zelda hd ….done

    • Luciano Fran

      I agree all Nintendo has to do is release HD Zelda and Nintendo just sold millions of copies :)

    • D2K

      To add to that point, Nintendo was able to sell 5 million Wiis this past holiday season just with Zelda: Skyward Sword alone. An HD Zelda is beyond scary.

    • StarTropics

      Of course Nintendo cares about graphics, don’t be silly. They tend to work on the perfect balance of graphics/gameplay/sound for their games.

      If Nintendo didn’t care about graphics why would they:

      1)Make the FC/NES match and in some places exceed the quality they put into their arcade games at the time?

      2)Create Mode7 to give you the illusion of 3D

      3)Work with Argonaut Games to create the SuperFX chip for the SNES/SFC to bring 3D polygonal gaming to Nintendo systems

      4) Hire Rare to use their fancy Advanced Computer Modeling(ACM) to make the Donkey Kong Country trilogy and Killer Instinct for the SNES

      5) Take SGI up on the offer to create the Project Reality (N64) which was ahead of its time

      6) Work with ArtX to create a custom GPU for the GameCube. ArtX was bought by ATi which is why the ATi logo is on the cube. The GameCubes GPU is similar to ATi chips from 2002.

      7) Stereoscopic 3D on the 3DS

      Of course Nintendo cares about graphics, just like they care about gameplay sound and the overall quality of a game

    • mrgrimrjs

      judging by the news about Nintendo making it easier for independent developers to make video games, I have a good feeling Nintendo knows exactly what they’re doing. I cant wait to see all the new games to come out.

    • http://www.csfgpapercraft.com Seb

      @StarTropics, Good old Argonaut :’(

  • miiworld2

    Why would Nintendo develop a hardware that is less powerful than a hardware that has been released 6 years ago (PS3) or 7 years (Xbox 360).

    These “unnamed” developers coming from these “major companies” are clearly and obviously trolls.

  • Hanko

    Obviously an April fools joke.

  • leo

    im preety sure Wii u is more powerful than xbox360

  • d

    Awww, I just wanted to scream “OWNED!!!!!!!!%^(!!!!*&) into all those die-hard insane sony and Microsoft trolls who cannot exempt other people’s opinions.

  • Wolfy

    I Can’t wait. :( I feel like i’m being teased…. god damn you Nintendo….. I want my fix…. -crosses arms- damn developers, and their damn teasing…. god I feel like i’m in a strip club, and the wii u is that hot chick on a strip pole who I can’t touch.

  • buci

    Rumor 1: Wii U is 10 times as powerful as current consoles
    Rumor 2: Wii U is twice as powerful as current consoles
    Rumor 3: Wii U is on par with current consoles
    Rumor 4: Wii U is less powerful than current consoles

    Maybe the devkits are getting worse with each new version. (sarcasm)

    • George Tirebiter

      I might believe that if the developer statements actually surfaced in such a linear fashion. Remember, Epic’s statement on Wii U doing what current HD systems can’t is a recent one.

    • http://www.techpowerup.com Stewox

      the “10 times” was actuall 5x which is most accurate

  • sawada

    Wow are you kidding me..
    i am pretty sure Wii U is more powerful than Xbox360 and ps3.. and rival ps4 and Durango in graphic prowess

    well, if this turn out to be true (which i don’t think it is), i might have to reconsider again buying Wii U, and take a look again at games offered exclusively for this platform..

    i really hope that games from ps4 and Durango can be ported to Wii U, so I don’t have to buy 2 home console and it wont be Wii all over again

  • The Video Gamer

    Well considering they’re both anonymous sources I think it’s just a Sony or Microsoft fanboy trolling.

  • DemonDoughnut

    If this is true (which it probably isnt) i will not be buying it. Because why would i pay more money on something, which has already been out powered.

  • jobro

    Why should that be true?
    They maybe just got the first dev kit…Otherwise there wouldnt be so many other companies saying its more or even twice as powerful as XBox360/PS3…Maybe they got the latest Devkits.
    I dont think its even possible not just to support but use 1080 p although being less powerful than the current consoles which only “support”1080p…
    If u cant understand what I´m trying to say I´m soory,but I´m not English so…

  • http://optimalgaming.blogspot.com Lyco

    I’m pretty sure they’re using weak development kits, due to the fact that everyone was bitching before that it was “too difficult” to develop for.

    • uriel

      hopefully developers dont get lazy and decide not to port titles . im afraid that a few years from now when new consoles are available wiiu wont get ports because of the lazy developers not giving time to get there games running in a less powerful machine and some games just dont need touch controls . oh at e3 did anyone else think the part were the girl is hitting a golf ball off the screen is stupid …i would never do that .that just seems like disaster waiting to happen. and i dont see any sane developer using the screen that way its silly. i think most developers will use the screen like the ds sometimes alot and sometimes not at all 50/50 .lastly the 3ds is like a wii u i think this is nintendos plan for future game ports between systems. smash bros cough cough gameplay.

  • NintendoFanboy

    to be honest, this sounds to me like those “unnamed developers” were blacmailed by microsoft and sony to denunciate the wii u before it launches.. :/

    • NintendoFanboy

      edit: a meant to write “bribed” instead of “blackmailed” :P

  • sam765

    So sad that the WiiU will have Wii-graphics wile the next PS3 and Xbox360 will be the true next-gen…

    • BlueHawk007

      Have you seen the tech demos shown at E3? They look much better than Wii graphics, you don’t believe everything you read especially when the person refuses to give their damn name for something like this.

      People whom want to actually smash something legidemtalways say their name to have glory. This report definalty is false.

  • http://www.techpowerup.com Stewox

    1. BS developer with old kits
    2. April Fool
    3. Fake

  • Richard

    READ THIS AND FIND OUT WHY:

    About the author

    Steve Peterson
    Steve Peterson has been in the game business for 30 years now as a designer (co-designer of the Champions RPG among others), a marketer (for various software companies) and a lecturer. Follow him on Twitter @20thLevel.

    This guy has worked for Sony. Everything is explained.

  • J.C.

    Ummm, think about the games that were first release for the ps3 and 360, of course people think the look of the games were great back then, but later over the years the games became way better than expected (ex: Oblivion 2006, to Skyrim 2011), think about it.

  • BlueHawk007

    I honestly don’t care if the graphics are like PS3 because those are good graphics still! And it has an extremely unique console design and play style with the controller.

    I can’t wait, regardless of what anyone says.

  • Elroy

    I am not gonna buy this console if it isn’t realy powerfull

  • herp derp

    If it is, I’ll just pick up the nextbox for halo. and use my pc for all the other games, I’m not buying another console that is a generation behind.

  • IDk

    not like they’ve ever cared about graphics to begin with and its funny to see how you nintendo fanboys react to one little thing especially if its about graphics….your all such hypocrites

  • Tylos

    Yeah right like Nintendo would go out of their way to make a less powerful console than one released six years ago, it sounds like something Sony or Microsoft would do if they were desperate, maybe something like: Sony:”F**k, the wii sold way more than us even though we have better graphics and hd while they don’t… Maybe if we make a less powerful console too it will seem original and more will buy it?” microsoft: “great idea and while you’re at it we can buy more companies off of Nintendo to get better games!” no offence to Sony or Microsoft fans reading but they always follow Nintendo around: “motion controls!? Let’s copy that but instead of including it with the console from the beginning make people pay extra cash for them… Like buying two consoles but actually only having one!”

  • http://nintendo3ds.wikia.com J. Severe

    I suppose the next batch of rumors will suggest that the Wii U’s graphics are on par with the Dreamcast’s.

    • D2K

      ^^ Hah. Good one.

    • uriel

      then nes …..game gear ….. then ping pong ,…….. radio…………..wiigi board (HA! wii-gi) ……… stick …… poop throwing ….. evolution ……big bang …….. poor ninty everyone hates on its last gen hardware(which might be the case) but its software is great (needs new ip) badly …i liove mario/link but seriously

    • http://www.gamesradar.com GameManiac

      I think there was actually a rumor article earlier that they’re working on THREE new ones for the Wii U.

  • Captain N

    Everyone please just watch this interview and go to the 25 sec mark to end this stupid debate.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5XREKd6UcI&feature=fvsr

    10 % PEOPLE !!!!!

  • Slacker

    this has to be bull shit i mean that IBM said it has a power7 with 4cors 3.5 gigahertz and a r4850 or a r4870 ok this means it has to have more shreders more pixels think this a ploy to make people to think its weak then at E3 the true power well be showen it will be more powerful PS3 and Xbox 720 and by more than 50% …..

    • D2K

      If the rumor is true about the type of GPU the 720 will be using the Wii U is already 6 times more powerful than the 720 will be. But it is a rumor.

      People want to believe the Wii U is weak because they know that it is going to be a monster. Sony and Microsoft are scared to death because Nintendo has pulled away all the excuses games have made in the past towards them. People whom turn down the Wii U are people whom just hate Nintendo and won’t buy a Wii U out of spite, not interested in gaming at all, are fanboys of the other to companies, or are idiots.

  • Julian

    Wouldn’t surprise me.

    I won’t believe any of the talk until Nintendo releases the specs.- I will probably only start listening to this when E3 comes round

  • abe
  • http://nintendo.com tuly

    I hate this now everyone all over the net are posting on how weak the wii u is and some sights are mysteriously finding sites that also say that the wii u is underpowered.SO ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • http://nintendo.com tuly

      * I meant sites and they found other unamed devs.

  • Kloo

    PLEASE READ! (THIS WILL ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES FROM YOU!)

    I know that we shouldn’t trust a unnamed developer. But if for some reason this turns out to be true(which for some reason I have a huge feeling right now that it will probably turn out to be true knowing what Nintendo has done with there recent systems), I won’t be buying a Wii U and possibly think of switching from a Nintendo fan to a Sony or Microsoft fan. I am dead serious. Its about freaking time for Nintendo to make a perfect console with great games, controls, graphics, power, and LOTS OF THIRD PARTY SUPPORT!. The last 3 is what I think Nintendo lacks upon. Now, I know many of you are probably saying right now that gameplay+games are more important than graphics+power, which I agree. But, I bet that I am not the only one who has heard people only talk about the Xbox 360 or PS3 when it comes to gaming conversations. Why leave out the Wii? Because its not that powerful graphic and hardware wise? I don’t want the Wii U to be in the same position the Wii is right now. WHO AGREES?!

    • Richard

      Relax man … So many developers (with names!) have said that the Wii U is more powerful than PS360 … So many videos that show developers talking about how nice it will be … This rumor came from a place where the person who posted that has worked for Sony … Does this mean anything to you?

    • Richard

      look this:

      About the author

      Steve Peterson
      Steve Peterson has been in the game business for 30 years now as a designer (co-designer of the ***Champions RPG*** among others), a marketer (for various software companies) and a lecturer. Follow him on Twitter @20thLevel.

    • Julian

      I agree with you 100%

      I don’t want to be left out because i have a console which lacks 3rd party support other consoles get.

      ATM i am considering wiiU for first party releases, PC for everything else.

      Hopefully by november (when i will start to make my decisions) i will be able to change my mind.

    • sam765

      Try it first and if it doesn’t make you smile like the first time than go to the other side…

  • leo
  • dubYA

    Hopefully this helps to put everyone at ease.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcnsG11MRE8&feature=g-all-lik&context=G227d496FAAAAAAAADAA

    Even if you don’t get all the tech jargon, the numbers are pretty easy to follow.

    There’s absolutely no way would release a console that doesn’t outperform the PS3 and 360. Wii U is going to rock.

    • D2K

      Posting information is pointless. Either people are to stupid to know any better, or are intentionally ignoring the facts. Not matter how much information there is to the contrary, people whom believe that the Wii U is a weak system will continue to do so.

      Anyone with any sense of intelligence at all doesn’t need to be put at ease. We are already in chill mode waiting for June 5th 2012 9:AM PST.

    • http://nintendo.com tuly

      ha ha ha its hilarious how much more powerful the rumored specs for the wii u are than the ps3/x360 and these specs are over a year old!!!!!!!!

  • Chris

    Turns out this was actually an April Fools joke.

    Wii U will be more powerful

  • Sigzers

    This is fake. The original commentator was talking about the wii, not wii u.

  • Bewoulf2000

    Don’t know if there right or wrong. Even if they are right, the Wii U has Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Pokemon, ETC. ETC. ETC.

  • Ty

    Doubt the rumors are true. There seems to be some conflicting info out there. Several named devs have openly said that the Wii U is a lot more powerful than both the Xbox 360 and PS3.

    Gearbox said that the Wii U version of Aliens would look a lot better and have more features than the PS3 or Xbox 360 versions.

    These devs aren’t named, and only one media outlet has “talked” to them, so I’m doubtful.