The Wii U was first announced at E3 in June 2011. However, Nintendo has been keeping quiet about the exact hardware specs inside their next generation game console. Now a new report from Gamesindustry International claims that the graphical capabilities of the Wii U might not even reach those of the current generation of game consoles from Microsoft and Sony.
The report quotes two unnamed game developers who have been working on titles that will be released for the Wii U. One of them is quoted as saying, "No, it"s not up to the same level as the PS3 or the 360. The graphics are just not as powerful." The other developer had similar views, saying:
Yeah, that"s true. It doesn"t produce graphics as well as the PS3 or the 360. There aren"t as many shaders, it"s not as capable. Sure, some things are better, mostly as a result of it being a more modern design. But overall the Wii U just can"t quite keep up.
The big change in terms of the Wii U"s hardware, in comparison to the current Wii console, is the tablet controller which has a large LCD screen in the center. There"s speculation that Nintendo, in order to keep the cost of the Wii U as low as possible, has decided to limit the console"s hardware specs so that the price can also support the tablet controller.
However, the unnamed game developers on the Wii U point out the limitations of the tablet controller. One of them states, "The whole thing about the tablet controller is that you only get one of them, and you can only use one and it"s not completely independent. The base console has to be on, and you have to be in range."
Nintendo is expected to reveal much more information about the Wii U at E3 2012 in June. The console is expected to be released sometime in late 2012.