Purported Wii U specs revealed though hacker’s Twitter account

People didn’t look up to the PC Engine because of its lower specs. The handful that looked up to it did so mostly because it had some amazing fun games (notably Bomberman and its revolutionary 4-player setup) and because it heralded the birth of CD ROM console games (Which games like Air Zonk and Dracula X in particular exploited to great effect). In other words it provided the means for more compelling audio/visual experiences. The more modest version of the PC Engine were priced modestly. The CD Rom editions with notably better performance costed more. There wasn’t a price to performance disparity. Additionally PC Engine was under-marketed and perceived as the underdog competitor – and there will always be a faction that roots for the underdog.

Also, this was nearly quarter of a century ago. Things change. A lot.

What doesn’t seem to change, however, is the flip-flopping of evangelists. Talk about the great frontiers a new, updated system will have. Then u-turn on that talk and call everyone else graphics whores.

CPU does not equate to graphics so the graphics-whores dismissal tactic really isn’t required here – though it does demonstrate a need to dismiss criticism rather than have an understanding what such details genuinely mean to games. If anything CPU performance is more appropriate for less frame-intensive tasks like AI and pathfinding. But I’m sure no game would benefit from anything like that.

I suppose, when all else fails, true believers can always respond to critics by talking about ‘magic’ instead.

JM

@49, actually, it was very possible on the Wii much like it was possible on PS2 and Xbox, the graphically intensity would have to be toned down and fogging effects may have had to be used but the game could certainly be on any machine with the right talented coding without effecting the overall gameplay.

All I’m saying is bringing the PC into the mix never helps clear up confusion, the PC when built for gaming will piss all over a console because you’re playing big money to make it that way, a £260 Wii U will never match that, the Wii U is only out to better it’s predecessor not anything else it’s a little unfair to dismiss the thing just yet, we need to see what’s going on in 12 months time and more importantly, this machine will hopefully get all those lazy developers out there to actually code properly for Wii U and work with the constrains of the system rather than use a ‘cos they could’ mentality.

@51

I and many people in the UK gaming scene were amazed by what the PC Engine could achieve with lower specs, just saying.

What do you play JM?

I always ask this when people continue to chip away without actually giving some insight into their gaming past or what they enjoy playing.

You comment a lot but don’t really let people know what kind of games you enjoy?