And the Wii controversy continues...
Processors:
CPU: PowerPC based "Broadway" processor, made with a 90 nm SOI CMOS process, reportedly† clocked at 729 MHz
GPU: ATI "Hollywood" GPU made with a 90 nm CMOS process, reportedly clocked at 243 MHz
Memory:
88 MiB main memory (24 MiB "internal" 1T-SRAM integrated into graphics package, 64 MiB "external" GDDR3 SDRAM)[40]
3 MiB GPU texture memory
You guessed it. Those are the technical specifications of the Wii. If you take a look at those specs, it does look an awful lot like the system is a GameCube with more RAM and processing speed. The debate as to whether or not the Wii is significantly more powerful than the GameCube has been going on for a while now. Some people have compared it to the original Xbox, saying that the Wii is about 1.5 times more powerful. Despite this, most Wii games still look like crap.
There's also a ton of controversy regarding just what the system is and isn't capable of and it's a little disconcerting to see that a lot of game developers seem to have no idea what they're working with.
Let's take a look at some recent quotes from the big name players in the gaming industry with regard to the Wii's capabilities. First up, we have Shingo Mukaitoge, producer of Konami's Elebits and the upcoming Dewy's Adventure:
IGN Wii: This may be the first game that we have seen with normal mapping. We weren't really sure if the Wii supported it.
Mukaitoge: Really? We used normal mapping for some of the bosses in the game. If you look closely at the trailer, you can see normal mapping on the boss character at the end.
You've all probably seen this little conversation by now. It blew up on Digg when it hit the front page. Needless to say, it surprised a lot of people, who like IGN Wii had no idea normal mapping was even possible on the system.
Next, we have Square Enix VP Hiromichi Tanaka in an interview with Adam Riley of Cubed3:
AR: Do you think it’s possible that Final Fantasy XI could make it onto a system like the Wii?
HT: First of all it’s a bit difficult at the moment because of the technology side. We can’t really have FFXI on Wii because of the specs – so it’s a bit difficult to have it on Wii. But also there’s another thing that makes it difficult to have MMOs on Wii because Nintendo’s style doesn’t allow people to contact this third person, unless you are friends – they have different concepts. So, unless we come to agreement…and even if we do come to some agreement at some point, we are not sure if we have enough staff / manpower for people to work on FFXI for Wii…
From the way he worded those first few sentences, it seems like Nintendo's online infrastructure is a secondary concern, taking a backseat to the Wii's specs which apparently don't allow it to run Final Fantasy XI, a game built for the PlayStation 2. What the hell?
Following this, we have Julian Eggebrecht, president of Factor 5, which supported the GameCube more than any other developer at the time. In a Q&A session with IGN, he seems to think developers are just being lazy when it comes to developing for the Wii.
Resident Evil 4 was a beautiful GCN title. Rogue Squadron was doing things at launch that developers still haven't done on Wii. Why do you think that is? Are studios getting sloppy on Wii?
Julian: Yes. I'm so disappointed knowing exactly what the Wii can do -- and I still think nobody knows it better than we (no pun intended) [laughs]. I really have to say, boy, am I disappointed! They all have finally figured out, five years into the hardware's life cycle, how to do at least basic shaders and a rim light, but that's what everybody does. But I still don't see enough bump and normal-mapping, if any. I still don't see enough post effects, although you would have insane fill-rates with Wii. I don't see any of that. I was digging out Rebel Strike the other day and was looking at it, and we had some people who were visiting ask, "Why isn't anybody else doing this on Wii?" And I am at a loss. I really am.
Curiouser and curiouser. Moving along, we now have Bethesda who stated very clearly that the Wii would not be able to support The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
"This time around we did Oblivion and again we designed a game that's really going to push some limits and would do the things we thought next-gen consoles might be able to do. When 360 dev kits were available, we did it on them because it was available. It's not really going to run on a Wii for example, but if it could we would put it there. Our philosophy is to make a game and make it available to as many people as possible. We're not looking to limit who can play a game. We want to make something that's fun and we want as many people as possible to play it." -- Bethesda public relations head Pete Hines
And yet, this game is on the PSP which is essentially a portable PlayStation 2 in terms of horsepower. Seriously, what the hell is going on?
I think by now ... by the "seventh generation of console wars" as people like to refer to it, we as gamers have a right to expect game development studios to know their stuff. Why then, is all is controversy popping up? How do you expect to make a decent looking game for a system when you don't even know what its hardware is capable of?!
One could even say the same for the PS3, really. There are a lot of developers who have been going on and on about how the system is a huge mistake on Sony's part and I sincerely doubt most of them have bothered trying to look underneath the Blu-Ray and the SIXAXIS to see what makes the console tick.
It's incredibly sad but true ... game devs are getting increasingly sloppy and lazy when it comes to taking advantage of hardware. So far, Square Enix and Factor 5 are two of the very few developers who actually take pride in making the most of a system. BioWare does to an extent, too. I really hope we see a change in this trend sometime down the line because there's no point having a powerhouse like the PS3 unless you really make the most of it. And I don't even want to imagine what future games will look like on the Wii unless studios start putting in more of an effort on the graphical front.
6 comments:
This is very interesting and strange. Perhaps we're being premature in expecting the system to be pushed when a lot of the developers releasing right now either had not a lot of work on the GC dev kits or frankly are lazy and don't seek to optimise their code.
I'm interested to see what titles like Sadness bring to the table as name making opportunities for the developer. Making their mark is going to be a great incentive to push the system.
Is this a question of getting those third parties on board not only to write software but to believe the system is capable of telling their stories. It would seem so with your reference to the many PSP/PS2 games that are not being ported.
Not wanting to go on forever I'll say one more thing. Numbers are everything, and if you can sell a huge number of systems, developers will all of a sudden find that incentive to create and/or port titles just fine. I think right now they're just stuck in the "wait and see" mode.
Great article BTW.
Thanks dude. And yea, I see your point. There weren't too many GameCube developers so I suppose expecting them to be familiar with Wii hardware might be a little unfair.
Keep in mind though, this hardware is far less complex than the other two "next gen" systems in existence right now. I'm really stoked for Sadness, too. It could be a very promising game.
What worries me is when people from Capcom go around posting stuff about how the Wii is a party console on message boards. I'm sure you've read that story a dozen times by now. Yes, it can be used for party games as well to a very very large extent, but goddamnit, that's not all it's good for.
The controller exists to provide immersion -- something party games don't exactly require to that great an extent. And it's still sad to see EA employees going on and on about the system's graphical capabilities. For all their mumbo jumbo about how this is their chance to innovate, game studios certainly seem to be giving more attention to the looks of their games.
Wow I need to sleep but here comes a drunken Sunday morning comment. Excuse the extraordinary poor wording. :)
Regarding the hardware I'm just wondering if, say as opposed to the PC, developers generally make their own engines and use them for the given consoles. Perhaps we're seeing that same engine being used on the Wii, with hohum results. So its not so much they can't get to grips with the hardware but more they have little cause to explore it like they would with the 360 and PS3 which need a new engine to be built.
I think the whole party game thing will mellow out in time, its a great genre which I think is suited to the Wii and a wide spread of its demographic market. I don't think its exclusive, much like the DS isn't exclusive to them either (although suffered the same criticism).
I think Nintendo were forced to show their hand perhaps a generation early. The HD gang certainly have a point on the nice graphics front, however I've really grown out of needing JUST a graphics boost in my games.
I also doubt, and have said many times, if anyone would have bought into the Wiimote if it was attached to a system twice the price. Nintendo didn't have much choice but to do it this way or risk another round of GC marginalized sales.
I see only a few developers with imagination and a desire to push boundaries. The fact that many Japanese icons are signing onto the Wii because of the interface gives me great hopes, I know they will push the system as hard as is required to get the result necessary.
Some people hate to compare the DS to the Wii but I see the whole philosophy as being compatible. I'll give Nintendo time, no Nintendo will give me my AAA 1st party titles. I'll give the third parties time to get back into developing great engaging games rather than limited tweak sequels.
I totally agree. I think the underlying philosophy of the DS does seem to be working for the Wii. The only problem is, they're impressing the wrong people. The media is impressed and the general public is impressed ... as for the game developers themselves, that remains to be seen.
I really hope they can get rid of the "party console" rep the Wii has right now. I mean, "party console" isn't much of a step up from "kiddy console". Like you said, though; I'm glad Nintendo is sure to provide the AAA titles along with a couple of other developers. As for the big names in game development...let's see how it goes.
I wonder if developers aren't also bound by some corporate number crunchers. Until they see the Wii represent a large chunk sales from their multi platform ports they won't green light the resources to invest in pushing beyond what they already had with the GC.
Right now, the Wii is never going to win a graphics war with the PS3 and 360 so I'd rather see developers push the Wiimote and have serviceable graphics. Titles like Godfather, Manhunt2 etc may do a lot more to push the system onto spreadsheets than some graphical effects only the nerds can appreciate.
Besides, most developers we expect to push boundaries are already stating a lot of interest in the system. We're really just talking about the veg developers to the big boy meat.
Wait! I thought EA loves the Wii right now. I will give the translated version much clearer:
"We screwed up our handicapping in the console wars and are working like hell to catch up given the wild (and unexpected) success of the Wii. Remember, guys, we bought that studio in Utah specifically devoted to developing games for the Wii, we are keeping up the pressure to catch up with Ubisoft. And hey, while we missed the boat early we are getting on now. After all, we are EA."
And there not so much in love with the PS3 anymore despite the graphics, again the translation:
"Man, that PS3 has screwed the pooch and is killing us. Can you believe nobody in Japan wants it? We have 25 titles lined up - thankfully they can be dual-purposed for PS3 and Xbox 360 - since development costs are a fortune and PS3 is a disappointment. At least Microsoft has this gaming thing going ok. I'm only saying I think PS3 can do 6-7 million units because of the goodwill I need to preserve with Sony given the massive installed base of PS2 users."
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Say about EA what you will - It's not my company either - most of there games will sell however. I'm sure when EA has it's success on the Wii other companies will come through.
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