Outerlimits from FedWars recently had the opportunity to talk to THQ about all things gaming. According to the member of staff interviewed buying a multi-platform game for Wii U is like buying the definitive Blu-Ray edition of a movie rather than the standard DVD edition as you get better visuals, and more additional content with the Wii U version.
Question: In what ways would the Wii U version be superior over the 360/PS3 versions?
THQ Employee: Well the Wii U is full of potential as far as specs go. I know that Metro: Last Light is running at a good 50-60 fps on the PC, so I’m not sure how the Wii U version will compare to that. But the Wii U version of games from ALL developers and publishers, have potential for much smoother framerates, improved textures, and additional bonus content that the 360/PS3 version’s won’t have. In a way, buying the Wii U version over the 360/PS3 versions, will be like buying the Blu-ray version of a movie instead of the standard dvd version. You get better visuals, and more additional content with the Wii U version of any game compared to the other console version. But this will only happen as long as a developer or publisher puts in the time and effort instead of doing a straight port.
Question: I noticed a lot of games for 360 and PS3 don’t take advantage of TRUE 1080p. Could we see more games on Wii U taking advantage of true 1080p resolution?
THQ Employee: 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. Will Darksiders 2 and Metro: Last Light be in 1080p on Wii U? I can’t speak for the teams behind those games. I don’t work on those specific teams so I can’t say what they plan to do with the Wii U versions of their games as far as graphics or content go. I do know based on the specs I’ve seen, the console is more than capable of graphics that surpass current consoles. It’s like I said before. Expect majority of third party Wii U games from most publishers to have true 1080p, additional content, and smoother framrates than what the PS3/360 versions offer. If you want the DEFINITIVE version of any game in your library, I would suggest either the PC version or the Wii U version…at least for now. This is not a knock agains the 360/PS3 versions of any games either. Fans of the 360 and PS3 are the majority of the gamers who games…period. So publishers have to give them the best product we can.
Question: There is a lot of emphasis on graphics nowadays. Where do you see graphics going with future consoles? And will the Wii U be able to graphically compete against new consoles from Sony and Microsoft?
THQ Employee: Listening to people within the company, people are pretty happy with the specs of the Wii U. I don’t think anyone has anything to worry about. There is one thing I want to mention though. Better graphics is not all rosey for gamers in the long run. Better graphics means that game developers have to increase their staff and their budgets so games will tap into the full potential of next gen hardware. The costs to hire more artists or programmers to a team would get passed down to gamers. Which is why 360 and PS3 games went up 10 bucks compared to the previous generation with Playstation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. It’s fun to dream about the possibilities of the kind of graphics you could see if a console had 10 times better graphics than the current consoles. But with a console that is 10 times more powerful…expect 10 dollars to be added to the price tag every generation. Again, I’m just speculating. I’m not saying any publisher would add to the price. But games aren’t selling like they use to, and costs to produce high budget games need to be passed down to the consumers who can afford to play. I predict a very expensive future in gaming.
Tip: Henry
Nice.
It sounds as though Nintendo are getting things right this time round! Seems like all Developers and Publishers have nothing but good things to say about it. Bravo!
Are you implying that Nintendo did not do the right things last time?
I think he is. Hey lets check those sales charts again. Eh, Nintendo still whooped ass? Ok, just making sure.
I love my Wii but let’s face it we missed out a lot of games cause companys didn’t wanna have to make a toned down version. So this time around it’ll be different and I’m all for that. I don’t think the original post was trolling but an honest opinion.
Ps3 $600 at launch. And xbox 360 red ring of death cost microsoft and sony billions.
Yeah but if a game were to release on PS3/Xbox 360 and Wii, I’d get the High def/better online capability version. Wii was still a success though.
Yeah, wii failed. To the world, it won. But to us hardcore nintendo fans who still own an snes or n64? Worst console yet. I actually gave in and Bought a 360. Me!! The Kid who worships nintendo!!! So nintendo better get it right this time. I’m so excited :D
nintendo has not failed. they have had a good number of amazing games exclusive to the wii.
But that number doesn’t compare to that of the Gamecube or N64. I mean, GC had Metroid Prime 1 + 2, Pikmin, some of the best Mario Party entries, my favorite Mario Kart game, SSBM, and a plethora of others.
every nintendo console has had a giant number of amazing games, but i think the wii has the fewest. the gamecube also had 2 star foxs, the most awesome f zero, pikmin 2, mario sunshine, wind waker, four swords adventures AND twilight princess. the wii has metroid prime 3 a not quite “live up to the hype” metroid game, skyward sword, and the very awesome galaxies, but it cant compete with the gamecube
I disagree with you 100%. The Wii had many more amazing games than the GameCube. Of course you have your opinion, but I’m entitled to mine.
Mariokart Wii > x 100 > Double dash, Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 > x 1000 > Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime Trilogy > Metroid Prime 1 & 2 (had better controls on Wii), Skyward Sword + Twilight Princess > Twilight Princess + Wind Waker (worst Zelda game in my experience). You missed NSMB Wii, Punch Out, Guitar Hero series, ability of virtual console, etc. There was only a few in my eyes that stuck out on Gamecube, Like Mario Baseball > X100,000 > Wii Mario Baseball, Melee > Brawl, and had those awesome collections for Mega Man, Mega Man X and Sonic. F-Zero was good, along with Luigi’s Mansion.
What about the third party games? Madworld for one example anyone?
That was such a badass game! So much bloody voilence. It was grotesque, but it was a blast to play.
I just got wind waker today! In my opinIonnits awesome!
Um no this analogy is in correct. if you had sense THQ, it would be like buying blue ray over DVD. DVD can get the same picture as blue ray. ITs your /TV that makes the difference. Secondly the only difference between blue ray and DVD is he extra crap that comes with blue ray, just ike how WiiU is like the Wii with extra crap. Except that Extra crap is actually awsome and worth while. So shut up and dont say anything with out thinking what your words actually mean.
yes its a bad analogy, but your reading too far into it. he is stating the wii u has the ability to have better graphics and features than 360/ps3, and that the extra screen can add more gameplay values that the other consoles cannot.
Blu ray has a beter pitcher beter fraim rate and looks pritter the guy is trying to say that the graghics are atleast 100% more you must not have a Blu ray player or you have bad eyi
I honestly think most games have reached a graphical limit…they look so lifelike already that it’s hard to imagine anything better than what is out now.
Until Graphics look live AVATAR, we will still look for more.
Yeah, and look at how long and how much money it took them to release that kind of movie, and it still ended up being unoriginal if you know about history.
Yes, but consoles that had that much power would cost $1000+, and the games would cost $100+. Not worth it, if you ask me.
It’s funny I know everyone is all about better graphics and the life-like way games have become but I kinda don’t want my games to be to life-like. I loved playing games because they took you to a different looking world. For one i loveddddd Super Mario 64 and Mario kart etc etc!!!
not tru thats only a small leap but that means it will cost 350$ games will cost 60$
Hmmmm, “Physically-based Rendering”…
Games may look like this on Wii U…
here’s a link:
people said that when mortal kombat came out……………….so er….. stop being so stupid, it will only stop improving when its photo real
Photo realistic graphics are just not plausible on a console while running at a feasible framerate. Or it will cost an ungodly amount of moolah.
Of course it’s not plausible… yet. 3d graphics weren’t plausible on the NES, but 20 years later, look what we have now! Only time will tell. We just have to wait and see how graphics improve
But I honestly think graphics that look 100% identical to real life will never be achieved. I mean, come on… you’d have to program over a trillion micro-possibilities for every second something moved. And that’s just the subtle things. Hair would make programmers want to shoot themselves.
Something like Avatar- or Pixar-esque graphics take hours to render into a film. I can’t imagine the processing power needed to render all the objects, models, textures, and data all at once and have it run at a halfway decent frame rate. I think graphics will plateau for the time being; devs will start looking for more processing power so that they can use current graphics to their fullest potential.
Just my uneducated analysis of the video game industry.
It takes hours to render one FRAME. This makes me less hopeful :(
no they havent im waiting for game with good game play and graphic like or better then final fantasy advent children
what about that “real time render?” that graphic capability that creates the individual “atoms” and ditches polygons?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00gAbgBu8R4
I think this will become the new graphical standard for now.
Mind F*ck
not to be a troll, but dx11 already does this with super small polygons instead of super small atoms. both dx11 and “real time render” work for the same purpose, tessellation. only problem is that you need a pretty good rig to run tessellation on high settings (assuming a game has tessellation settings). plus dx11 is backed up with microsoft so they have a lot of support
That tree at 6:02 is covered in marijuana leaves!
the closest thing i seen to real life was when i was running crysis 1 with a realistic mod, the lighting effects where beautiful, the heart beat mod also helped the intensity of the game. but some objects still had polygon edges, which in nature is irrelevant, hopefully dx11 is gonna fix that with tessellation.
I read up a bit about this Unlimited Detail thingy, and it’s not tessellation actually. Here you have a interview with the people who made it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVB1ayT6Fdc
Just letting you know ;)
i know, tessellation is when you break the polygon in to much more smaller polygon. unlimited detail uses small separate atoms.
I smiled when I read this article bring on the fanboys. (Readies flame shield)
O TRUE, good man. And first?
when did xbox get 1080p i thought it was 720???
(honest question not trolling)
I think the X-BOX can only do 1080i.
It can do 1080p and 1080i.
It upscales to do 1080p It really is only 720 but they upscale. So in other words not true 1080p like the Wii U will have.
Black Ops’ native resolution is 608p on the XBox and 544p on the PS3, upscaled to a crappy-looking 1080p.
Nope. Black ops is 1080P on both consoles.
Fifa 11 runs in 720P but Fifa 12 runs in 1080P. It says in the packeging and PSN.
It’s upscaled to 1080p, it’s not true, native 1080p.
it depends on the games . if you run super mario 64, you can play it on 1080p or higher considering your tv/monitor res, with over 100 frames per sec on the highest settings. when you run crysis on a 360 you get 60 fps on low settings with res at 1080i. the higher the FPS and SETTINGS the lower the RESOLUTION (but it makes ). but considering developers always give games a 30fps with water-down settings on games, then the res is mostly 1080i-1080p.
i dont care about graphics as much as i do about the game the 3ds already has better graphics than my tv can produce so my 3ds has better graphics than my ps3
That doesn’t change the power and graphics of the ps3. It’s still far superior to 3ds
This is a sad sign that you may need to buy not only an HDMI cable, but also a new LCD or preferably but more costly, an LED tv. Because sir, if you already have both of those things, and think the 3DS looks better than a ps3, I’m afraid you might have a tumor.
So true, the PS3 on my tv looks like a ps1, I even get headaches from it but not my 3DS lol
………………that better be a hyperbole. I don’t even have a ps3 but I still can’t take that seriously.
thats cause your probably playing it on a shitty tv, or yoyr just a troll
The 3rd party devs want graphics, so this appeals to them. When Nintendo develops, though, they’ll probably stick to their own method: delivering games that fans love.
Go to hell. The 3DS is on par with Gamecubes graphics. The PS3 blows that away a lot of PS3 games now a days are in 3D (yeah you need glasses but and it is expensive as fuck but the 3D is far superior to the 3DS 3D.)
The 3DS, at best, could produce graphics on par if not above Wii graphics.
Very good interview! Wow can’t wait to try out the Wii-U
So at least we can expect first party games to run at full 1080p at 60fpt (Zelda, Metroid, Pikmin, etc). Multiplat games usually don’t take advantage of a system’s horse power. Bayonetta, for example, ran at 60fpt on the 360 and 30fpt on the ps3; the ps3 version also had longer loading times and other issues. The ps3 is certainly capable, but it’s how the games are developed that matters. At the very least, multiplats should run at 60fps on Wii U. For true 1080p, they would need to redesign textures, animations, and character models among other things, which cost time and money.
Look at the 3DS. Both SSF4 3D edition and Dead or Alive Dimensions run at 60fps in 2D but only 30fps in 3D because they had little time to develop the games. Mario Kart 7 and Tekken 3D will run at 60fps even in 3D. That’s because they’ve had more time to develop those games. People didn’t think it was possible on the 3DS, but it’s happening. Most 360/PS3 games run at 30fps only in comparison.
I’m happy there are developers eager to work on this new system. Since my PS3 died last month, I won’t get any of the holidays games. I’m not going to get a new one anymore. I will wait for the Wii U and play the ports on that system. If Skyrim does make the cut, then I’ll play the “fixed” version there. I do hope Nintendo releases a big first party game to show us what a first gen game will be like on the new system. Metroid would do, but I’d love to see another Eternal Darkness on it.
ETERNAL DARKNESS!!! (A WiiU version would kickass. Activating spells on the touchpad controller?! “sanity” fakeouts where te TV flickers and goes out, spiders crawling on the touchpad?!
You are a horrible person for making me get my hopes up. ;) (how amazing would that be!!!)
Yea, I wanna see an Eternal Darkness WiiU remake or something. It was good, but I think it fell really short from it’s potential.
You really do understand the gaming industry and I really appreciate that. You are absolutely correct about everything. Games are as good as the time and money spent developing them. I would rather wait for a good game then play a bad rushed one. Thats why i hope Sora, Hal and Nintendo take their time developing the next Smash Bros. I would rather wait 2-3 years for a good smash bros, then have one out as a Wii u launch title or even come out in 2012
Sounds more and more like Ninty has got the Wii U right, now they just need a good release.
Wii U is powerfull and looks to be amazing… HOWEVER Its not as powerfull as it could be…they could easily increase the RAM and add better CPU and GPU but they dont because they dont want a £600 price….thats the problem with releasing early…Microsoft and Sony would have figured out a cheap way to get high grapical consoles but cheaper…thats the problem…The Wii U will just be last in terms of power when going against PS4 and xbox 720….Unless Both companies release the consoles early and have similar hardware to Wii U (which is what I hope for..as i dont want 3rd party devs only on ps4 and 720…I want wii U versions aswell..
They will not be able to be that much more powerful without being too expensive even 2 years from now. We are kind of at a stand still with what we can do with graphics without jacking up the price way too high.
well sony said that the PS4 wont have better graphics than the PS3 and that is not going to have more power simply becasue their graphics cant get better. as for microsoft they said that the 720 will only be 25% more powerfull than the 360 and in other aspects. and since the Wii U is confirmed by every single developer to be WAAAAY more powerfull than the 360 and PS3 and and since its confirmed that the next consoles from microsoft and sony wont be more powerfull than they’re current ones then the Wii U will be the most powerfull console of the 8th gen. so things should g like this:
1)Wii U (obviously)
2)Xbox720 (it will be 25% more powerfull than 360)
3)PS4 (wont have any graphical update wont be stronger than PS3 and will be focused exclusively for casuals)
thats BS, the ps3s card is a 7 series card which is very old. if they put a gtx 560 ti*which is rumored) that only cost about 250 currently, it could be be up to 3 times stronger or more, which is a lot.all this shyt about xbox720 being 25% and ps4 being aa casual console is so wrong. you have no proof whats so ever, and your speculations are only made up by your fanboyism.
sony said themselves in a press conference some months ago to not expect any major graphical update on the PS4 and they also said that they are focusing it to a casual audience. and microsoft said that the 720 will only be 25% more powerfull than the 360 they also said that they are only going to focus on gameplay in a press conference. also the only fanboy here is you.
yea they mean dont expect a graphical update like the PS2 to PS3,ps3 to ps4 is not going to be as major but still a big leap. if the rumors are true which say that the ps4 cell is going to be clocked at 3.8ghz and it would have a gpu similar to the gtx 560 ti, then it would be a major update to the ps3’s 7900 modified card .you have no proof of microsoft saying that there nextbox would be only 25% stronger . and another thing, i called you a fanboy because your talking like the wii u is going to be king over all console, you dont know that, plus all these falls statements your saying just to prove a point clearly makes you look like a nintendo fanboy, grow up.
Do you know why MS/Sony managed to get cheaper yet powerful consoles? Because their tech got cheaper over time. It’s good they had other ways of getting revenue, because it’s pretty clear they were initially taking losses during their consoles’ first cycles. Doubtful that they have that problem anymore, though, since the tech is less expensive now. It sounds cool to use brand-new technology, but not when it fries your money resources. Unlike MS/Sony, Nintendo doesn’t have the advantage of technology conglomeration, so had it invested heavily in the same technology that MS/Sony did back in 2006, it would have killed itself. In a way, Nintendo has a mild advantage with its technology for the Wii u as it’s not as old as the tech used for the 360/PS3, Since tech gets cheaper over time, Nintendo doesn’t have to use up as much money as they would have if they did this in 2006.
nintendo is using 2009 tech for the wii u
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I have a Wii U. The graphical capabilities really are quite good. You guys won’t be disappointed, trust me. But I think the NES is better, in terms of graphics anyway.
How do YOU know? Do you work with developers on Wii U? It’s not even out yet!!! & they only had DEMOS of Wii U at e3!!! :(
Pretty sure he was trollin’, or just joking, he said that the NES has better graphics than the Wii U
he was obviously joking
Why the HELL are you always replying to your own comments?
Why the HELL don’t you guys get that avatar is the most common one?
I mean come on, that avatar has an address of “http://en.gravatar.com/false” while all others have something like “http://en.gravatar.com/c992a99734c695beed41fe7637fd1ec1”
We can see your the same person! You’ve got the same icon because your IP is locked to your icon
lol, is that kid again.
I hate sarcasm when were talking about Wii U
Fits of giddiness at the Blu-Ray > DVD analogy.
Actually, I don’t find the prospects of a $70 price tag for Wii u games out of the ordinary. Nintendo games have always been priced at pretty high rates back in the day, so it’s not something unfamiliar. I mean, yeah, it still sucks, but it’s not unexpected. If there were anything I’d want to see updated in graphics for the future, it would be the increase in assets on the screen and still maintain the frame rate. They’ll have to find a better way of texture mapping now; instead of just getting a polygon model and slapping a texture onto it, like grass texture on the polygon ground, they should try to render every individual blade of grass. Yeah, that’s a pain in the ass, but that is certainly one way to achieve “better graphics”. This idea would of course require even more processing power. So I guess the issue here isn’t so much increasing graphical power as it is increasing the processing power for such sophisticated rendering instead.
The thing you’re saying about grass already exists. Some game have “standing-up” textures of grass placed extremely close together, providing the same visual effect. It actually works pretty well. And bump mapping is another great texture effect that has been used with Nintendo just a little bit(more with the 360, PS3, and PC, though.)
If you don’t know bump mapping is, it’s a texture effect that makes a 3D illusion, this is commonly found in many games.
Yeah, that’s what I’m saying — they cannot just make a map with static bumps and textures, they need those textures to be individual elements themselves that behave in their individual fashion. All the more reason why I proposed greater processing power because rendering all those differently behaving elements will be a massive chore.
This sounds great until nintendo runs into the same issue Sony did with third party games.
Unless the games best (or at least equal) version is released on 360 then Microsoft won’t sell it. So wii U can be the best since sliced bread, but unless devs lower games a tad for wii U then they won’t sell on 360 and no developer in their mind would give that up.
I as a ps3 user have had to deal with this for some time.
Gotta love first party games though :D
AGREE! I always buy blue-ray over Standed.
Because it’s better quality. Compare 480P to 1080P. Over 2x the picture quality :D
I really hope nintendo revolutionize gaming once again and make it bigger and something that people wont see as a thing “nerds” do. Srrsly hope they succeed to turn casuals into real gamers :)
Nintendo keeps secrets. They always have an ace up their sleeve, and they’ve got a damn good poker face too.
Nobody knows the cards that they hold, until they reveal their hand.
Then companies fold, and are left in the cold. Yes, that is Nintendo’s plan.
So what your saying is, Nintendo cheats if things don’t go as planned, but they bluff all the way with a bad hand, and tries to get the other companies to fold?
Lol. I was just making a rhyme, but good interpretation.
I just know I’m excited to buy one when it releases.
This is good news!
I got a question, does anyone else wants Nintendo to do a Ocarina of Time HD remake for the Wii U? Cuz i would and it will be a day one purchase for me!
They pretty much already did so for the 3DS. Even if you added more vectors or had higher quality textures, it would look the same unless they wanted to change the original style, which people would complain about.
Ahh.
I’m expecting an enjoyable 7-8 year run with his console.
That would be a very good console investment.
Aren’t these articles about Nintendo tired of criticizing them? The Wii U was just announced a few months ago, it’s still in progress. Judging the capabilities of this system should wait until it actually comes out. The idea behind this whole system is very original in style and ability; which is what Nintendo has always done to accomplish.
This is the greatest news I’ve heard all damn day. Thanks THQ, Now I know for a fact Wii U will be a great success.
It looks like Nintendo is making all the right moves with the Wii U so far. I can’t wait to see if people will really tap into the full potential of the Wii U.
I’m so glad Nintendo is making 3rd parties happy. This could be the best console in history if it sells good!
I really hope third party developers produce the best quality graphics on Wii U. It sounds like THQ is headed in the right direction with the Wii U in developing their games.
i hate the graphical thing going on, i don’t know why people play games for graphics or HD, i mean i’ll be fine playing games in gamecube graphics but whatever, playing a game for graphics is like watching porn for a storyline.
Not all of us do, Us Nintendo fans are very appreciative and love gameplay over graphics but if we can get awesome gameplay with awesome graphics then that’s even sweeter. But then alot of sony and micro fans n etc only care about graphics
This is all graphics need to be at this point. Right now, games have good graphics and kind of low AI. AI really needs improvement at this point.
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Yay: New Super Mario Bros. Mii!
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I don’t get it when people say games will “cost more” in the future. Maybe 20 years old is ancient these days, but I still remember the days when N64 games were $60+.
http://i56.tinypic.com/10glq54.jpg
Several were at excess of $65, some even $70 ($69.99)! And we’re not even taking inflation into account here ($60 back then was worth more (could buy more) than $60 today). History shows that games have actually been DECREASING in price over the years. $70 NES games…remember that? Hahaha! They’re worth pennies these days.
I think developers and gamers should focus more on gameplay advancements than graphics advancements at this time. The graphics WILL come in time as tech advances regardless. Better processing power could however make better physics, smarter artificial intelligence, etc., right now. There’s more to processing power than graphics, and the gameplay is currently far more important, as far as I’m concerned.
The prices are a moot point. The market will even those out anyway, as they always have. When a brand new game is released these days, it’s about $60. Wait just a week though, and you can grab it 10-15 bucks cheaper. The market will dictate how much games are worth, regardless of the price points publishers put on them.
THQ? Oh you mean the people who close Homefront studios, cancel avengers game, and make the same WWE game every year?
^this
^This ^this
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I do consider all of the concepts you have introduced to your post. They’re very convincing and will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too short for novices. May just you please lengthen them a little from next time? Thank you for the post.
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It just makes me laugh how many people consider the Wii the failure and the N64/Gamecube as Nintendo’s most successful consoles. Those two machines nearly ruined Nintendo as a home console developer (mainly thanks to Nintendo’s adamant stance on not using CDs on the N64 and the Gamecube’s kiddie reputation, plus the lack of 2D Mario for all that time) and if they hadn’t made the Wii the way they did, they would have likely gone the way of Sega.
Nintendo might “win” by default this time around because the barely necessary PS4 and Nextbox will have to be so much more expensive to get back the cost for all those boosted visuals.