Full List of Wii Specs -- Allegedly

[myshoeshurt]

I know, I know... lots of Wii posts... but here's an interesting piece of speculation/rumor:

Full List of Wii Specs -- Allegedly (http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/30/full-list-of-wii-specs-allegedly/)

[Dagless]

Thats been blown out the water apparently. Turns out the Wii has less something-transfer than the Cube which would make Cube playing impossible. nevermind. I doubt the official figures are going to be announced until the system is actually out there, or perhaps not at all.

I think it was on this forum, someone said Nintendo might play it like they did years ago. No numbers on the box etc, that's irrelevant. Just show the controller.

[eva01]

I don't see what the point is of having Specs for consoles just posted around.

It plays games, it isn't needed for anything else you don't need to look on the back of a console game to see if your console meets the minimum requirements for the game (albeit sony may be doing this from some rumors i read somewhere)

[Dagless]

I don't see what the point is of having Specs for consoles just posted around.

It plays games, it isn't needed for anything else you don't need to look on the back of a console game to see if your console meets the minimum requirements for the game (albeit sony may be doing this from some rumors i read somewhere)

Excellent point. I never spouted RAM speeds or GPU power of the Gamecube over it's weaker brethren the PS2. Or laughed at pixelated textures on the PS1, giggling at the lack of Bilinear Filtering.
I think though we're all just snapping for Wii information and figures naturally fall in the "need to know" sector for most people. But they're not requirements, we don't need them.

[Tommyg117]

For a system that has the name nintendo associated with it, I don't even need specs.

Playstation and Xbox love to be at the top of the horsepower game. Nintendo loves to focus on games and innovation of their gameplay. If someone put the specs of the PSP and the DS Lite together, of course the PSP would have a little bit more under the hood. But that isn't the point, the DS Lite is so successful because people are truly having fun with it and it is so creative that it is almost addicting. I just want to get it in my hands so I can see how it plays, specs mean nothing to me when it comes to nintendo as long as it's fun.

[BlizzardBomb]

In the article is says that the intensity of the rumble motor can be changed but I thought this was confirmed that it couldn't be changed?

But I don't really mind that much about specs. Some of the Wii footage released looks great. Also if you compare these specs with the originals Xbox's specs, it looks like its a fair improvement (probably around 20% - 40% more raw power, with faster DVD read speeds).

[ddrueckhammer]

The only specs I need are that it plays games like Zelda, Mario, Metroid, CoD3 etc. and will cost about half of a X360 premium and 1/3 of a premium PS3. Parents will be breathing a sigh of relief this Christmas and will gladly slap down <$250 for one of these and gamers who remeber Nintendo's golden age like me will also be happy as well.

[Tommyg117]

The only specs I need are that it plays games like Zelda, Mario, Metroid, CoD3 etc. and will cost about half of a X360 premium and 1/3 of a premium PS3. Parents will be breathing a sigh of relief this Christmas and will gladly slap down <$250 for one of these and gamers who remeber Nintendo's golden age like me will also be happy as well.
hhahaha, I completely agree. Parents will be really excited. I know that if my parents were looking for a system as a surprise or something, they would have looked at the ps3 price tag and thought it was ridiculous.

[Yvan256]

The only thing I'd really want to know, specs-wise, is the resolution. Is it at least as good as the Xbox?

[zero2dash]

I'm still wondering (as I commented about, see #74 on Joystiq) is -
I understand the system will only support 480p and I can deal with that 'cause it's better than nothing.

My problem is - the rumor sheet claims that the AV out port is analog and supports component (which you'd need for 480p).

Nintendo's site says the system will have a multi AV out that supports component cables, but doesn't mention whether it's digital or analog.

480p through an analog AV out port would be a stupid thing to do. I'm hoping they include a digital out like they did on the initial hardware version of the Gamecube (which does support 480p in some games, if you have the component cable), because if all they put in is an analog AV out, how can it truly support 480p? Correct me if I'm wrong (anyone) but wouldn't that mean that an HDTV would have to upconvert the analog signal to digital, which would then look like crap? 480p through analog is not a true digital 480p signal, right?

If they want to minimally support HD, at least do it, don't halfass it; that's my problem. I'd like to have the progressive scan support; I'm not buying the console for the graphics or anything, but sheesh - give me something, Nintendo.

The only thing I'd really want to know, specs-wise, is the resolution. Is it at least as good as the Xbox?

My post will (most likely) answer your question indirectly, but I'll reiterate:
Gamecube supports 480p through digital AV/component cables, and the Wii has been said to support 480p...although now I'm questioning whether it effectively will, or if it's tacked on (ie through analog, I'd consider it "tacked on").

The original Xbox supports 480p in most of its games (from the 2nd gen and beyond), and I know of at least one game that supports 720p (Soul Calibur 2). That's my experience at least from the games that I own.

Xbox 360 from what I understand natively supports 720p in every title, but I could be wrong because I don't own one yet. (360 will be the 2nd system I purchase; Ps3 is waaaaaaayy out of my "price I'd be willing to spend" list.) On that note: Ps3 is rumored to be something that Sony is shooting for 1080p support out of everything natively (games and movies), but we'll see if that happens or not. Sony overhypes and underproduces on everything they do, so I'll believe 1080p on the Ps3 when I see it with my own eyes on a finished console.

[MondayNgt]

Lots of people are always quick to point out that it's not graphics/horsepower but it's gameplay that makes buying a new console worth it, and that is very true save for one factor. Typically a new system should offer a big enough jump/upgrade to trade systems up. If it doesn't, why not just stick with the current gen systems then? Why bother making new systems if the graphics don't play some part in it?

Unlike the PS3 and XBox360, the Wii is a special exception as it's a completely new and different with gamer interaction, though I'm sure it could be argued that the motion sensing technology could just be offered as an add-on to Gamecube (though it'd be a balsy move, considering the history of console add-ons).

[jdechko]

I agree, it's kinda silly posting the specs on a console, as if games for that console have system requirements. Heh. The only requirement(s) I need to know are the system and the size of the save file. It's why I moved back to consoles in the first place. I hate having to upgrade parts just to play the latest games. I know that with the Wii, games purchased on the first day will run as will games purchased at the end of the console's life. The only people who really need to know the specs are the developers.

[zero2dash]

Lots of people are always quick to point out that it's not graphics/horsepower but it's gameplay that makes buying a new console worth it, and that is very true save for one factor. Typically a new system should offer a big enough jump/upgrade to trade systems up. If it doesn't, why not just stick with the current gen systems then? Why bother making new systems if the graphics don't play some part in it?

Unlike the PS3 and XBox360, the Wii is a special exception as it's a completely new and different with gamer interaction, though I'm sure it could be argued that the motion sensing technology could just be offered as an add-on to Gamecube (though it'd be a balsy move, considering the history of console add-ons).

True, and a good point.
Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a graphics whore. :)
I'd rather have solid gameplay, control, story, and fun over graphics anyday. But graphics aren't something to sneeze at like they don't matter. Would a game like Doom 3 have been as scary if it looked or sounded like Doom 2? No. Neither would Resident Evil 4, which offered a lot of new things that wouldn't have been possible with weak graphics (including an easy way to aim at body parts and decapitate enemies, like shooting the arm of a ganado getting ready to throw an axe so he drops the axe and can't throw it at you). Graphics are last in line in my book, but they're still important.

That being said - 3x better than Gamecube graphics works for me. Even though I can support HD and buy higher spec consoles, I'm not looking for the prettiest graphics, I'm looking for games that are fun to play that have good stories and offer me something that I haven't experienced before, and with the Wii having the non-standard control setup, I can't wait.

[Dagless]

Lots of people are always quick to point out that it's not graphics/horsepower but it's gameplay that makes buying a new console worth it, and that is very true save for one factor. Typically a new system should offer a big enough jump/upgrade to trade systems up. If it doesn't, why not just stick with the current gen systems then? Why bother making new systems if the graphics don't play some part in it?

Unlike the PS3 and XBox360, the Wii is a special exception as it's a completely new and different with gamer interaction, though I'm sure it could be argued that the motion sensing technology could just be offered as an add-on to Gamecube (though it'd be a balsy move, considering the history of console add-ons).
yea good point. not to talk about the graphic side, I think the Wii is a bigger improvement it makes up for only 1/2 of the next gen systems to offer an increase in disc space.
I think the leap to full sized 9gb DVD would be good enough to buy a Wii, if they could fit such legendary games as Twilight Princess (pending) and Metroid Prime onto 1 single 1.5gb mini DVD then what on earth will they be able to store on a full DVD?

Nintendo developers impress me more than any other devs out there. To fit so much onto 1 disc, to be so efficient coders to produce games that look like Xbox games on a system nearly half its specs. They just amaze me.

For the system price you're basically getting a new medium (for Nintendo), wireless gyro controllers with rumble and a speaker, download centre for Wii and DS with retro games, a system 3x the power of an older system that gave us Resident Evil 4, free online play, (another) DVD player, 480p in Europe, massive 3rd party and indy support. Jolly good I say.

[myshoeshurt]

Just thought someone might be interested.

[Haoshiro]

yea good point. not to talk about the graphic side, I think the Wii is a bigger improvement it makes up for only 1/2 of the next gen systems to offer an increase in disc space.
I think the leap to full sized 9gb DVD would be good enough to buy a Wii, if they could fit such legendary games as Twilight Princess (pending) and Metroid Prime onto 1 single 1.5gb mini DVD then what on earth will they be able to store on a full DVD?

Nintendo developers impress me more than any other devs out there. To fit so much onto 1 disc, to be so efficient coders to produce games that look like Xbox games on a system nearly half its specs. They just amaze me.

For the system price you're basically getting a new medium (for Nintendo), wireless gyro controllers with rumble and a speaker, download centre for Wii and DS with retro games, a system 3x the power of an older system that gave us Resident Evil 4, free online play, (another) DVD player, 480p in Europe, massive 3rd party and indy support. Jolly good I say.

And that is very true, the disk space increase just doesn't seem worth the price to me considering what I've seen with FAR less space usage.

Compare Zelda:OoT (N64) to *any* of the PS1 games visually... and then realize that all of OoT was a mere 32MB! That means the mega storage of the PS1 (for the time) was really only used to add non-gameplay improving items such as FMV cutscenes, Voice overs (but how many games took good advantage of this?), and Digital music (as opposed to most N64 games using MIDI).

Throwing extra power and disk space at a game rarely makes it better, it just allows the developers be lazier! :D .... or throw in a bunch of extras that don't usually make the game itself any better/more fun.

[BlizzardBomb]

I'm still wondering (as I commented about, see #74 on Joystiq) is -
I understand the system will only support 480p and I can deal with that 'cause it's better than nothing.

My problem is - the rumor sheet claims that the AV out port is analog and supports component (which you'd need for 480p).

Nintendo's site says the system will have a multi AV out that supports component cables, but doesn't mention whether it's digital or analog.


That's odd. If you look at pictures of the Wii's backside, the port is identical to the Digital AV Output of the Gamecube. That's what it looks like anyway because the analog one has a little notch in it.

And for those of you who are saying 3x the power, I very much doubt it. I'm thinking two times. If it had 3x the power with no HD, then they would've used AA and possibly anisotropic filtering which no screenies suggest is used..

[Mavimao]

I'm still wondering (as I commented about, see #74 on Joystiq) is -
I understand the system will only support 480p and I can deal with that 'cause it's better than nothing.

My problem is - the rumor sheet claims that the AV out port is analog and supports component (which you'd need for 480p).

Nintendo's site says the system will have a multi AV out that supports component cables, but doesn't mention whether it's digital or analog.

480p through an analog AV out port would be a stupid thing to do. I'm hoping they include a digital out like they did on the initial hardware version of the Gamecube (which does support 480p in some games, if you have the component cable), because if all they put in is an analog AV out, how can it truly support 480p? Correct me if I'm wrong (anyone) but wouldn't that mean that an HDTV would have to upconvert the analog signal to digital, which would then look like crap? 480p through analog is not a true digital 480p signal, right?

OK, it's time to correct a little mistake Nintendo made.... Component video by definition is analog. Every DVD player, XBOX 360 that hooks up to your HD TV via component is an analog signal. DVI and HDMI is digital.

On the gamecube, they had the "digital out" port on the first gen gamecubes which was a misdanemour because the gamecubes ports are analog. I'm sure they used "digital" to let some dimwitted consumer know that they could hook up their gc to an HD tv. But I guess they just created them instead.

[BlizzardBomb]

OK, it's time to correct a little mistake Nintendo made.... Component video by definition is analog. Every DVD player, XBOX 360 that hooks up to your HD TV via component is an analog signal. DVI and HDMI is digital.

On the gamecube, they had the "digital out" port on the first gen gamecubes which was a misdanemour because the gamecubes ports are analog. I'm sure they used "digital" to let some dimwitted consumer know that they could hook up their gc to an HD tv. But I guess they just created them instead.

What about SCART? Compared to component it looks incredible.

[zero2dash]

OK, it's time to correct a little mistake Nintendo made.... Component video by definition is analog. Every DVD player, XBOX 360 that hooks up to your HD TV via component is an analog signal. DVI and HDMI is digital.

On the gamecube, they had the "digital out" port on the first gen gamecubes which was a misdanemour because the gamecubes ports are analog. I'm sure they used "digital" to let some dimwitted consumer know that they could hook up their gc to an HD tv. But I guess they just created them instead.

Yeah, they confused me. *raises hand* :)
There's another thread about HD on the Wii and I mentioned the analog port/component cable connection there and someone also said in that thread that component cables are analog by definition (like you did), so yes...I now acknowledge that I was mistaken but I'm still blaming it on Nintendo. heh heh :D

[Mavimao]

What about SCART? Compared to component it looks incredible.

SCART is analog.

SCART is a weird beast because it's only used in PAL land which has a larger resolution and more stable color than NTSC anyway.

SCART, if I remember correctly, outputs RGB which is the highest quality signal one can input on non-digital televisions. However, the support for this is limited since the bandwidth necessary to carry RGB is huge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scart

[BlizzardBomb]

SCART is analog.

SCART is a weird beast because it's only used in PAL land which has a larger resolution and more stable color than NTSC anyway.

SCART, if I remember correctly, outputs RGB which is the highest quality signal one can input on non-digital televisions. However, the support for this is limited since the bandwidth necessary to carry RGB is huge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scart

Ah, ok thanks. Still, it's looks miles better than component.

EDIT: You say RGB support is limited, yet the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube all support it.

[Mavimao]

Ah, ok thanks. Still, it's looks miles better than component.

EDIT: You say RGB support is limited, yet the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube all support it.

Component, despite popular belief, is not RGB.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/component.htm

[Abulia]

The original Xbox supports 480p in most of its games (from the 2nd gen and beyond), and I know of at least one game that supports 720p (Soul Calibur 2). That's my experience at least from the games that I own.Actually, from launch, about 90%+ of all Xbox games supported 480p. In fact, it's pretty rare to find an Xbox game that is 480i only.

There were several 720p games (NBA 2K4, Madden 04, etc) out there too. There were only two (?) 1080i games that come to mind: Dragons Lair and BMX Motocross. (?)

So yea, the 5 year old Xbox console was doing HD back in 2001.Xbox 360 from what I understand natively supports 720p in every title, but I could be wrong because I don't own one yet. You're correct. 720p HD support is mandatory for all 360 titles. Most 360 titles also support 1080i natively as well. In fact I think I've only seen one 360 title that doesn't support 1080i.

Even so, the 360 will scale the output to 1080i if that's all your set will support if you happen to play a game that is 720p native. So no worries there.

As others have noted, anything other than DVI or HDMI is analog, even on the 360. Leaked pics of some new fab'd 360 motherboards show an HDMI connector and presumably the electronics to run said port; the current 360 lacks any kind of digial video output circuitry. (Meaning a DVI signal from the current 360 is nothing more than an analog signal converted to digital, thus losing benefit of an 'all-digital' path.) This little problem (lack of an HDMI port) also means that the 360 can't support the Image Constraint Token (ICT) that is part of HD-DVD and BluRay. When/if movie studios decide to flip the ICT to "on" a whole bunch of people are going to be pissed: their HD movies will automatically "downgrade" to 480p.

[BlizzardBomb]

So yea, the 5 year old Xbox console was doing HD back in 2001.You're correct. 720p HD support is mandatory for all 360 titles. Most 360 titles also support 1080i natively as well. In fact I think I've only seen one 360 title that doesn't support 1080i.

Why does PGR3 run at 600p then?

[Abulia]

Why does PGR3 run at 600p then?It doesn't. From the MS website and back of the box:
HDTV 720pPGR3 is one of the few games that is 720p only and not natively 1080i. Looks great in 1080i on my set, however.

[BlizzardBomb]

It doesn't. From the MS website and back of the box:
PGR3 is one of the few games that is 720p only and not natively 1080i. Looks great in 1080i on my set, however.

Apparently it's upscaled from 600p to be 720p

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=PGR3%20running%20at%20600p&sa=N&tab=iw

[srobert]

A little handy website I keep referring to.

HDTV Arcade (http://www.hdtvarcade.com/hdtvforum/index.php?autocom=custom&page=hdlists)

It lists all games for every last gen consoles (and some older) that will run at anything higher than 480i, 4x3 and stereo sound. (16:9, 480p, 720p, 1080i, PLII and 5.1)

[Abulia]

Apparently it's upscaled from 600p to be 720p

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=PGR3%20running%20at%20600p&sa=N&tab=iwHaha! That's pretty funny that MS would cut corners on their own specs.

OT, I can't visit most of those links because of a work firewall, but was there every any explanation as to how/why this happened?

[BlizzardBomb]

Haha! That's pretty funny that MS would cut corners on their own specs.

OT, I can't visit most of those links because of a work firewall, but was there every any explanation as to how/why this happened?

You’ll see all Xbox 360 titles at 720p and 1080i resolution in 16:9 widescreen, with anti-aliasing for smooth, movie-like graphics and multi-channel surround sound.

So maybe not natively at 720p, but hey they can upscale.

A little handy website I keep referring to.

Ah, so OoT (GC Collector's Edition) was bumped to 480p after all. Thanks for the link!

[zero2dash]

Haha! That's pretty funny that MS would cut corners on their own specs.

OT, I can't visit most of those links because of a work firewall, but was there every any explanation as to how/why this happened?

Got yer answer right here :)
(I remember reading this back when it first came out.)
http://www.joystiq.com/2005/11/13/pgr3-not-truly-high-definition-if-in-game-screenshots-are-to/
This is the HD Era. At least, that's what the fellows over at Microsoft would like you to believe. As a matter of fact, they've even gone so far as to dictate that every game for the Xbox 360 must support high-def resolutions up to 720p and 1080i. But according to a forum poster at BizzareOnline.net, this policy may not be as ironclad as previously suspected:

"I have a review build of PGR3 and every time we capture a screenshot (which takes directly from the graphics buffer inside the machine) it punts out at 1024x600. This is unlike any of the other Xbox 360 games we have so far screengrabbed, which have all given screenshots of 1280x720."

It's important to note that the source, going by the name of MoonFace, states that menu screens output at a full 1280x720, while only in-game racing shots are subject to the decreased resolution. For your own personal scrutiny, take a look at the screenshot provided by MoonFace and judge the accuracy of his claims for yourself.

Whether or not PGR3 runs natively at 720p, it hasn't stopped many from labeling it as the most visually impressive game in the Xbox 360's launch window. When it comes down to it, what's more important? A high-definition resolution, proper antialiasing, or a solid 30 fps? And, more importantly, what would it say for Microsoft's HD Era if the best-looking launch title on the Xbox 360 wasn't even truly high-def?

[Oblivious]

No way Nintendo has been working with ATi for years on the Wii's GPU only to turn out something identical to the Gamecube. I call BS.

[Dagless]

No way Nintendo has been working with ATi for years on the Wii's GPU only to turn out something identical to the Gamecube. I call BS.
yesyesyes! I forgot about that. I still think there is a surprise or 2 in there somewhere. Nintendo have invested a lot of time into ATi.

back to the Cube HD stuff. I'm feeling a little p***ed off at NoE at the moment. I think my lack of swearing shows how annoyed I am in text form ;) Metroid Prime in 480p? Why is it America get both incredibly cheap games AND progressive scan?! fair play we have the 525i res but I'd give a fair amount for progressive scan. The Wii better fix this. if they remove p-scan I'm importing a Wii.

[greatdevourer]

yesyesyes! I forgot about that. I still think there is a surprise or 2 in there somewhere. Nintendo have invested a lot of time into ATi.

back to the Cube HD stuff. I'm feeling a little p***ed off at NoE at the moment. I think my lack of swearing shows how annoyed I am in text form ;) Metroid Prime in 480p? Why is it America get both incredibly cheap games AND progressive scan?! fair play we have the 525i res but I'd give a fair amount for progressive scan. The Wii better fix this. if they remove p-scan I'm importing a Wii. Yeah, this is summat I was wondering when I heard "it does 480p". Unfortunately, I doubt it's gonna happen, but almost all TVs that do widescreen progressive do 480p anyways, so it's possibly gonna be 480p/525i

[Dagless]

out of curiosity, and seeing that EyeTV can render a 525p signal from regular TV, is it possible to upconvert to a 480/525i Cube to progressive scan outside of the Cube? some kind of graphics box or something?

[jdechko]

That's odd. If you look at pictures of the Wii's backside, the port is identical to the Digital AV Output of the Gamecube. That's what it looks like anyway because the analog one has a little notch in it.

I really hope they have one output that is compatible with everything. I'd really like to see a Component/Optical output connector like on the 360.

[srobert]

I really hope they have one output that is compatible with everything. I'd really like to see a Component/Optical output connector like on the 360.

I think Nintendo comfirmed that component output was supported.

Video:
- Up to 480p and will work with a computer monitor as well as any TV or projector
- Component (including Progressive scan), S-Video, or composite output
- 16:9 widescreen support

[jdechko]

I think Nintendo comfirmed that component output was supported.

Video:
- Up to 480p and will work with a computer monitor as well as any TV or projector
- Component (including Progressive scan), S-Video, or composite output
- 16:9 widescreen support

Yeah, I knew that. I was referring to something like this: Link (http://www.modchipman.com/xbox-360-multifunctional-component-cable-optical-out-p-655.html)

[srobert]

Yeah, I knew that. I was referring to something like this: Link (http://www.modchipman.com/xbox-360-multifunctional-component-cable-optical-out-p-655.html)


I see. Got one like this for my 360. The one with optical audio out. Good connector, decently priced, but optical cable keeps unpluging because of all that plastic on the connector that gets in the way.

I'm pretty sure it will be an optional accessory for the Wii. I don't think it will be included in the box to keep production costs as low as possible.

[Mavimao]

I really hope they have one output that is compatible with everything. I'd really like to see a Component/Optical output connector like on the 360.

From what I've heard, the Wii does not support optical digital sound. Only stereo with Dolby Pro Logic II support.

[jdechko]

From what I've heard, the Wii does not support optical digital sound. Only stereo with Dolby Pro Logic II support.

Well, poop. I guess there's always next-gen.

[Dagless]

ah well. I can't really use 5.1 in my room yet. Damned if I'm upgrading my amp :D

[ddrueckhammer]

SPDIF Digital Optical or Digital Co-axe cables are required for Dolby Digital sound but you can certainly get 5.1 separation from a composite RCA input. Just set your receiver to Pro Logic. I did it for a while with my computer before I had a nice DVD player with optical out and was able to get pretty good channel separation for 5.1 in Pro Logic mode. It definately doesn't sound as good as digital, but it sounds better than regular stereo sound. I'm not sure about games because I never really paid attention but regular DVDs usually don't do that good of a job with surround anyway.

[jdechko]

Yeah, my receiver supports ProLogic II, but it also has optical and coax inputs.