Topic: Wii Not as Powerful as the Xbox?

[ThePerm]

Having just beat Gears of War(a great game), I have to say i didn't see a huge leap in graphics. From what it looked like it had about the same graphics(on a regular tv), except more detailed characters, textures, and better lighting than certain games iv played on gamecube...but not by much.

the first thing you notice is the characters are really detailed, they have all this armor, and their shiny. Comparing it to Resident evil 4, you could say these charadcters look more detailed, however having played twilight princess I have seen characters just as detailed.

the backround is vast though and the draw distance is pretty high, but then again so was twilight princess. When you ghet into the game you start going inside more and then it ends up looking just like resident evil 4. Even some areas like the caverns and buildings look like they were taken out of re4.

the enemies are detailed, but usually blown away before you get a chance to see you. They are comparable to your character  in appearance, but than again there are never that many people on the screen at a time.

whats really impressive are the huge monsters you fight, but then again if you remember star fox adventures you woul remember some pretty big and impressive characters, as well as some on resident evil 4.

The lighting is better, but than again iv seen what Super Mario Galaxy looks like. Also, eternal darkness probalbly had better lighting than alot of games out now.

What really i think is what makes games look morte next gen is the textures. One of the problems with the last generation was that the characters were looking really detailed, but the textures in games were still blurry. Gamecube had amazing texturing abilities(better than xbox, but what happened was a lack of memory)

from reports Wii has more power, but not much. However it has alot more memory, and also alot more disk space. Wii uses DVD 9 disks which are 8.5gb, Gamecube had a measly 1.5 gb, gamecube had 48mb, and apparently wii has an extra 64mb. Chances are the original gamecube was plenty powerful, but there comes a limit what can be produced graphically when there is a lack of memory. That problem is fixed with wii.

[Kairon]

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Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix

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Originally posted by: Kairon
Then you can be sure for my support Khush!

You traitor.

Hey, it's your own fault. You just admitted that you read EGM.

[cubist]

Oh no...does this mean I'm going to find more Wiis on store shelves now???

Hehe...

[Ian Sane]

This sounds about right.  Obviously the Wii is more powerful than the Gamecube and the Gamecube really is on par with the Xbox so the Wii is more powerful than the Xbox, at least in an overall way.  But really a next gen console shouldn't have hardware be such that anyone is even making a comparison with last gen hardware.

I think a Wii game that makes full use of the hardware will look really good.  The best looking Cube games still wow me today.  The more likely problem is the PS3 and X360 getting some really killer game that everyone is buying and the Wii is incapable of getting it because it doesn't have powerful enough hardware for a port.  Then you get something like GTA showing up on every console last gen BUT Nintendo's.  The Wii has an advantage in that it is hard to port from but it also has a big weakness in that it's hard to port to.

[couchmonkey]

I guess I appreciate Croal's dilligence in trying to come up with a "final" answer to this question, but the truth is the question doesn't matter in the first place!  If you really care about graphics, you should be buying a 360 or a PS3.

That's where Cubist's comment comes in...the people are choosing, and their choice says that they don't care about graphics.  If graphics aren't enough to sell Xbox 360 or PS3 now, why should they be enough a year from now, or two years from now?  By the same token, if "bad" graphics aren't stopping Wii from selling right now, why should they stop it from selling two years from now?  The common answer is that people will get tired of the "gimmick".  Tell me, are people tired of the DS?  Even if they are tired of the stylus control, they sure aren't tired of the system itself.

I've heard a lot of complaints about Wii...but they all have to do with a lack of games...lack of online games, lack of big one-player games, lack of VC games...few people care about the graphics, and the ones who do are in the minority, judging by sales.

[mantidor]

The only problem I have with the graphics is the damn price of the thing, they could have left it at $200 with wiisports included and they still would be making a profit, it just pisses me off that Nintendo themselves brag about it and no fan complains or calls them on their crappy attitude with their own costumers.

[Ian Sane]

"Tell me, are people tired of the DS? Even if they are tired of the stylus control, they sure aren't tired of the system itself."

If people are tired of the stylus control the DS still is a good follow-up to the GBA though.  It's noticably more powerful with it's 3D capabilities being the most obvious difference.  And if you remove the touchscreen the DS still has the normal expected controls.  It even has more buttons than the GBA.

If people ever get sick of the Remote the Wii is screwed.  Unlike with the DS, the "normal" control option costs extra.  And in terms of hardware the Wii isn't as big of a jump as the DS is.  Remove the unique feature of each system and the DS becomes what most people wanted for a GBA followup anyway while the Wii becomes a slightly more powerful Gamecube with an NES controller.  The DS would still sell without the touchscreen but the Wii would be a laughing stock without motion control.  People CANNOT get sick of the Remote.  It's just not an option for Nintendo.

[that Baby guy]

Of course, you're forgetting the entire social aspect of the Wii.  The actual emphasis that several Wii titles place on getting groups of people together to play is there, and trust me, it's pretty powerful.  Of course, if you don't decide to pick up a Wii, and no one around you has one either, you'll never get a good chance to experience this.  In a store kiosk is no good for the Wii.  You have to have a chance to get a little more comfortable to play.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"Tell me, are people tired of the DS? Even if they are tired of the stylus control, they sure aren't tired of the system itself."

If people are tired of the stylus control the DS still is a good follow-up to the GBA though.  It's noticably more powerful with it's 3D capabilities being the most obvious difference.  And if you remove the touchscreen the DS still has the normal expected controls.  It even has more buttons than the GBA.

If people ever get sick of the Remote the Wii is screwed.  Unlike with the DS, the "normal" control option costs extra.  And in terms of hardware the Wii isn't as big of a jump as the DS is.  Remove the unique feature of each system and the DS becomes what most people wanted for a GBA followup anyway while the Wii becomes a slightly more powerful Gamecube with an NES controller.  The DS would still sell without the touchscreen but the Wii would be a laughing stock without motion control.  People CANNOT get sick of the Remote.  It's just not an option for Nintendo.

Um Ian I think you are forgetting the nunchuck attachment, the Wii has traditional controls too. Regardless, couldn't you have said the same thing about analog stick controls? Heck you could say it about any new innovation in controls. Besides I REALLY doubt people will get sick of motion controls because at the very least the Wiimote makes aiming a breeze, and works quite well as a 3D mouse.

[senatorquijano]

Poor Microsoft. I seriously feel bad for them. They put everything imaginable into their console and get freaking owned by a console made with technology that's seven years old. Better luck next time.

[Ian Sane]

"Regardless, couldn't you have said the same thing about analog stick controls? Heck you could say it about any new innovation in controls."

Yes I could have said it about the analog stick but Nintendo would have been fine if that didn't work out because the N64 is perfectly suited for d-pad driven controls.  Even with the nunchuk the Wii controller has less buttons than any other console from this gen or the last.  Plus it's sold seperately in two halves and would make for a pretty expensive "normal" controller.

[that Baby guy]

10 dollars more than the competition is hardly "pretty expensive"  when the competition's system is hundreds of dollars more.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

owned so bad.

[TrueNerd]

Honestly, the Wii has failed in proving that hi-def graphics and hardware power in general simply don't matter. Ironically, it is the 360 and PS3 that prove they don't matter. I've played Gears of War in 720p on a 42' plasma and while it looks super crisp, it fails in making the game any better. Also, there is not a single developer making games for the 360/PS3 that has yet to do anything special with these hi-def capabilities. They're all making mature themed realistic games that look pretty similar. (Generalization) Where's the stylized stuff? Where's the cel shading? (Crackdown doesn't count.) Why does Wind Waker, a four year old game, still look infinitely better to me then EVERYTHING ELSE EVER? More importantly, where is this next-gen gaming where we're doing stuff that we definitely couldn't have last generation? Well? Where is all this stuff?

In conclusion, it is hard not to sound like a chemically imbalanced Nintendo fanboy when talking about the unimportance of HD graphics.  

[GoldenPhoenix]

Well to be fair with Xbox 360 Viva Pinata tried to do something new and unique with both its visuals and game play. But I do see your point, which is why I think the Wii is a very important system for this generation. It is shaking things up, instead of recycling the same game play mechanics we've been playing with for years. Gaming sales were starting to drop and I cannot help but think it is because gamers were getting tired of the same old thing, the industry needed a spark before things got too disparate.