Nintendo's Wii Weaker than Apple's iPhone?

By Adam Riley 30.07.2009 29

Nintendo

According to comments from someone at Telltale Games, apparently the Wii is weaker than the iPhone. A programmer from Telltale, the team behind Wallace & Gromit, CSI, Strong Bad and, most recently, Tales of Monkey Island, recently came out on the official message boards to defend complaints about frame-rate issues in the WiiWare edition of Tales of Monkey Island, which hit the US on Monday. Amidst the rebuttal, though, the poster who calls themself 'Yare', stated "[...] The Wii is just not a powerful console. An iPhone is much more powerful than a Wii, even [...] The Wii and DS are extremely underpowered and their popularity doesn't remove the hardware limitations."

Do you feel the comments are justified or is it a matter of the team not having enough experience with the system yet?

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meeto_0 is offline. meeto_0 30.07.2009#1

The iphone version of RE4 doesnt look better then wii's.

We really are in an era where devs feed of power.

 
Canyarion is offline. Canyarion 30.07.2009#2

If the iPhone is more powerful, why don't the games show it? And I don't think they put Tales of Monkey Island on iPhone, did they?

If the game suffers from frame-rate issues, they should have fixed it, and not blame the hardware.

That's like making a sinking boat and afterwards blaming the sea for being so wet.

 
Jump_button is offline. Jump_button 30.07.2009#3

come on every one know this is bull shit

My ART Gallery la la la la!
 
Faust_D is offline. Faust_D 30.07.2009#4

Someone give this guy a star people!

Pure. Comedic. Gold.

------------------------------

I have to say that claims like this aren't always to be dismissed immediately, but when I read this all I can see is someone hiding behind outlandish claims.

Myth busted?

~Getting on C3's massive tits since 2K5.~
 
erv is offline. erv 30.07.2009#5

I believe him.

But it's no excuse for framerate issues, they're fixable and should be fixed waaay before release.

I don't think the iphone games show it yet because of the new-ness of the device and the single-developer projects on it. I experience this first hand myself.

Its business model is risky for large scale development, so I doubt if it will show anytime soon. But yes, the iphone is more powerful. But it has to do more than just gaming, so if this comparison applies to actual gaming resources I I wouldn't be too sure.

 
Stulaw is offline. Stulaw 30.07.2009#6

If the Iphone was more powerful, the games would look far better than very well textured N64 games wouldn\'t they?

But then, it could be a joke. Or just someone jumping on the bandwagon and bashing the Wii. Either way it isn\'t ture.

( Edited 30.07.2009 10:25 by Stulaw )

 
meeto_0 is offline. meeto_0 30.07.2009#7

Something is wrong with this generation. Its all a bit messed up. So many individuals standing up and making negative comments towards nintendo. We definately are not in the 80s (those devs would never turn on them)

Code writers seem less and less talented the more powerful the tech gets. They need more and more horse power to create the games in their minds. Anything short of this exposes their lack of creativity.

The majority of games coming out are even tried and tested seen before or mini games on both sides.

I miss the dreamcast. It was a simpler time

 
russraine is offline. russraine 30.07.2009#8

If you look up the specs for both you'll soon find the Wii is more powerful. The iPhone also has a lower resolution.

 
welshwuff is offline. welshwuff 30.07.2009#9

i think this could be true, but it hardly matters. someone brought up resident evil 4 iphone as an example, perfect comparison. the iphone might be more powerful, but ther games are still gonna be downloads and stuff, so regardless of power, theres still storage space to consider, whilst the wii uses retail disks and can be pushed to limits and look way better than iphone. Only games that are gonna benifit are small games that are small in memory size so can be buffed up graphicly.

so no, im not jealous of bejewed that would look shinnier on iphone than wii.

 
Darkflame is offline. Darkflame 30.07.2009#10

I\'m a fan of TaleTall games, but this is a dumb comment.

The iPhone is rendering at half the Wii\'s resolution, yet still the games look no where close to the Wii\'s best.

The only \"spec\" the iPhone beats the Wii in is Ram quantity. (not sure about ram speed).

TellTale games are wonderfull developers for brining back classic games, and proving digital distribution viable. But they arnt the best engine makers.
Their games often have framerate problems even on high end pcs.
They really shouldnt blame the hardware, when other developers are pushing out massively more complex games with better graphics at better framerates.

They should just be happy they are making fun games and pleaseing fans of classic point and clicks. Nothing wrong with not being able to make the best engines, just dont blame the tools.

( Edited 30.07.2009 12:25 by Darkflame )

http://www.fanficmaker.com <-- Tells some truly terrible tales.
Last update; Mice,Plumbers,Animatronics and Airbenders. We also have the socials; Facebook & G+. 
 
meeto_0 is offline. meeto_0 30.07.2009#11

Darkflame said:
I\'m a fan of TaleTall games, but this is a dumb comment.

The iPhone is rendering at half the Wii\'s resolution, yet still the games look no where close to the Wii\'s best.

The only \"spec\" the iPhone beats the Wii in is Ram quantity. (not sure about ram speed).

.

If that is true about the RAM then it sounds rather embarrassing to me. What a weird statement that we are at a point in time we can say a mobile phone has more ram then a current home console. I still remeber my nokia \'face off, black n white no camera\' phone.

( Edited 30.07.2009 12:58 by meeto_0 )

 
JoshSL is offline. JoshSL 30.07.2009#12

Rumours say that Sony, the graphic whores, will be giving the PSP2 power similar to the original XBOX.

Now, I dunno about you, but I'd be a tad concerned if a graphic whore's handheld gaming console was weaker graphically than a tiny phone.

Of course the PSP2 stuff is just a rumour, but just think about how small the iPhone is. It's a ridiculous statement.

Twitter | C3 Writer/Moderator | Backloggery
 
Darkflame is offline. Darkflame 30.07.2009#13

meeto_0 said:
Darkflame said:
I\'m a fan of TaleTall games, but this is a dumb comment.

The iPhone is rendering at half the Wii\'s resolution, yet still the games look no where close to the Wii\'s best.

The only \"spec\" the iPhone beats the Wii in is Ram quantity. (not sure about ram speed).

.

If that is true about the RAM then it sounds rather embarrassing to me. What a weird statement that we are at a point in time we can say a mobile phone has more ram then a current home console. I still remeber my nokia \'face off, black n white no camera\' phone.


Yesm but we are talking about a very expensive phone here though.
Many times the cost of the Wii if it wasnt being subsidised by the contract. You wouldn\'t be surprised if a laptop had more ram would you?

Also, I commented specificaly on Ram speed because Nintendo has always gone for the fastest possible ram in their consoles. I think its because they have fast loading as a principle of design.
Apple may have done that too though, so I dont know.

Last gen the Xbox had more ram, but the Gamecube had faster ram, meaning (on averate) the Cube loaded games faster, but the xbox could have a few more things on the screen at once.
It was also the reason capcom gave for having RE on the gamecube...allthough that was probably just marketing talk.

Rumours say that Sony, the graphic whores, will be giving the PSP2 power similar to the original XBOX.

Yes, but according to Sony the Ps2 was more powerfull then the Xbox and Gamecube anyway Smilie

( Edited 30.07.2009 13:30 by Darkflame )

http://www.fanficmaker.com <-- Tells some truly terrible tales.
Last update; Mice,Plumbers,Animatronics and Airbenders. We also have the socials; Facebook & G+. 
 
TruLink is offline. TruLink 30.07.2009#14

I smell a "clarification" coming soon from "Yare". I just can't wait for the Big N to see this commentSmilie

I don't post much, but I will appreciate any feedback on the posts I do make. Feel free to PM
 
satsubatsu347 is offline. satsubatsu347 30.07.2009#15

I agree with Canyarion...

Sounds like monday morning quarterbacking. Fix your game ass hat!

 
knighty is offline. knighty 30.07.2009#16

meeto_0 said:
Something is wrong with this generation. Its all a bit messed up. So many individuals standing up and making negative comments towards nintendo. We definately are not in the 80s (those devs would never turn on them)

Code writers seem less and less talented the more powerful the tech gets. They need more and more horse power to create the games in their minds. Anything short of this exposes their lack of creativity.

The majority of games coming out are even tried and tested seen before or mini games on both sides.

I miss the dreamcast. It was a simpler time

Now that's just a plains stupid comment. Techniques being used are far far more advanced back in the Dreamcast days, nowadays noone sits around optimising stuff that would have been done back then. Anyway, I suspect they are not far off with the iPhone but it is almost certainly still weaker. In regards to RAM speeds, I would have agreed last gen; official Gamecube games loaded ridiculously fast, but that totally changed this gen. Anyone noticed how it takes Brawl like 5 times as long to load levels? >:

The iphone version of RE4 doesnt look better then wii's.

We really are in an era where devs feed of power.

You mean like every generation of games ever? Just look at the fuss there was over things like the SuperFX chip. You think developers pushing tech boundaries is a new thing?

 
E-Dracon is offline. E-Dracon 30.07.2009#17

I call BS. Just look at all the apps and games on the Iphone. They look just slightly better than N64 games.

 
meeto_0 is offline. meeto_0 30.07.2009#18

knighty said:
meeto_0 said:
Something is wrong with this generation. Its all a bit messed up. So many individuals standing up and making negative comments towards nintendo. We definately are not in the 80s (those devs would never turn on them)

Code writers seem less and less talented the more powerful the tech gets. They need more and more horse power to create the games in their minds. Anything short of this exposes their lack of creativity.

The majority of games coming out are even tried and tested seen before or mini games on both sides.

I miss the dreamcast. It was a simpler time

Now that's just a plains stupid comment. Techniques being used are far far more advanced back in the Dreamcast days, nowadays noone sits around optimising stuff that would have been done back then. Anyway, I suspect they are not far off with the iPhone but it is almost certainly still weaker. In regards to RAM speeds, I would have agreed last gen; official Gamecube games loaded ridiculously fast, but that totally changed this gen. Anyone noticed how it takes Brawl like 5 times as long to load levels? >:

The iphone version of RE4 doesnt look better then wii's.

We really are in an era where devs feed of power.

You mean like every generation of games ever? Just look at the fuss there was over things like the SuperFX chip. You think developers pushing tech boundaries is a new thing?


My comments are founded when you have devs say they will wait until a HD version of a console comes out before making a game. That tells me their ideas are based purely on what they can do on a technical level. There is little reason to resist the wii now there is motion plus.
Then you have games like gears of war which was fun. But what was remotely new. context sensitive buttons? Zelda pioneered that. Third person shooting: done before. Was the story deep and intricate? nope. It had never been done before in shiny graphics that was the difference.

Give a dev as powerful a machine as you can find and they will perform. Give them restrictions the same restrictions we had last gen and all of a sudden they scratch their heads.

 
knighty is offline. knighty 30.07.2009#19

No, you don't understand why. It's the comparative difference. Do you not think it would have been the same if either the Xbox PS2 or GC had N64/PS1 graphics? It's Nintendo's fault.

 
meeto_0 is offline. meeto_0 30.07.2009#20

its not the same. Because its not just a gamecube in a new skin. The idea of control and motion, how we interact with games was to be what made it next generation. Whether it has succeeded is one thing. But it definately exposed many and how they defined next generation. For many it is simply the specification of whats under the hood. how many polygons were on screen. your comment alone has fallen into this trap. whether you actually believe that or not your comments suggest one thing.

I would have preferred a gamecube with N64 graphics if the games were as good as they were on the 64. I still consider it nintendos finest moment. Mario 64 and ocarina have never been bettered.

( Edited 30.07.2009 19:31 by meeto_0 )

 
knighty is offline. knighty 30.07.2009#21

The Gamecube DID have Nintendo's best games. Fact of the matter is, Nintendo have totally failed to be "next-gen" with motion control. I don't think many people would deny that.

 
Darkflame is offline. Darkflame 30.07.2009#22

Depends on the games.
Imho, Mario Galaxy is about a bazillion times better then Sunshine. And Twlight Princess is far better then Wind Waker. (TWW is still the most obviously rushed game Nintendo have released....BG&E was a far more enjoyable game that era).
While some debate Wind Waker as better then TP, as they love the style, no one would claim TWW is better then Ocarina.


Metroid Corruption, meanwhile, is an excelent demo of the mind-blowing superiority of wii controls.
I don\'t think any (honest) FPS player would denigh that when directly comparing it with analogue sticks.

What the gamecube did have though was Pikmin, Eternal Darkness and the excellent Paper Mario 2.

Anyway, I suspect they are not far off with the iPhone but it is almost certainly still weaker. In regards to RAM speeds, I would have agreed last gen; official Gamecube games loaded ridiculously fast, but that totally changed this gen. Anyone noticed how it takes Brawl like 5 times as long to load levels? >:

Maybe sloopy codeding in brawl. Much like Nintendo used to have sloopy SD card reading/writing code.

The hardware of the Wii still had pretty fast ram in it, and is still pretty much the fastest loading console of this gen.
Of course that, its also loading a lot less data overall.


Now that\'s just a plains stupid comment. Techniques being used are far far more advanced back in the Dreamcast days, nowadays noone sits around optimising stuff that would have been done back then.

Its *precisely* because no one is optimising stuff that you get these problems.

Very, very few developers have the time or skills to fully push any specific bit of hardware.
Some plane dont bother trying.

They use up whatever you give them in terms of storage or power, but that dosnt mean they are pushing the limits of what can be done. In 90% of cases they have just got lazyer/less skiller/less time.



( Edited 30.07.2009 19:54 by Darkflame )

http://www.fanficmaker.com <-- Tells some truly terrible tales.
Last update; Mice,Plumbers,Animatronics and Airbenders. We also have the socials; Facebook & G+. 
 
meeto_0 is offline. meeto_0 30.07.2009#23

has it failed so far with motion control? yeah I would say so.
Has it got the industry rethinking how they approach the future of gaming? natal and PS3 wands say yes.

Will the wii end up delivering its promise for motion control being its take on this generation? I will take a leap of faith and say yes. Red steel 2 will be what we all wanted the first to be. The next zelda will be amazing. We might even squeeze a good star wars game out. Grand slam tennis has shown me that motion plus delivers.

PS 64 much better then cube. ocarina and majora both better then wind walker and twilight.

mario 64 banjo kazooie tooie DK 100% better then sunshine.

Golden eye and perfect dark better than ???

Star fox 64 better than star fox adventures lol

 
knighty is offline. knighty 30.07.2009#24

Darkflame, are you a programmer? Because if you\'re not you don\'t half talk a load of shit. Developers are not getting lazier and less skilled. I\'m saying that as time goes on, areas that would have been optimised in the past don\'t get so much because the rate the hardware progresses at means that it\'s more worthwhile to implement more advanced techniques, and the benefit of optimising those previously important areas gets less and less significant. This has always happened, and always will. Otherwise we\'d be programming in assembly still just because you can make the best use of the hardware (actually that\'s kind of a bad comparison because nowadays compilers are so damn good it\'s pretty difficult to do it better yourself).

In 10 years time, we\'ll have the same situation. Realtime radiosity will be a standard feature, and there will be some new technique that comes along that everyone puts their time into because the realtime radiosity is an insignificant contributor to performance.

Oh and Darkflame, TP IS A GAMECUBE GAME. Sheesh. I\'d also say Sunshine was better than 64 and Galaxy.

( Edited 30.07.2009 20:29 by knighty )

 
maeda is offline. maeda 30.07.2009#25

Horsepower is worthless if game designers don't have idea how to use it (yeah, right, not game programmers, but game designers). How many HD games have you seen so far which would not be possible game mechanics - wise on an XBOX 1? I've seen only one, it's GTA 4. Rockstar created an amazing illusion of a living city. Also graphic - wise HD consoles are a big disappointment for me. I expected much more. Same pixelated textures even in blockbusters like GeoW 2 or KZ 2. Same angular models. Plus on big HD screens jaggies are much more obvious. All they do is overuse bump and normal maps. And talking about them I remember only one game where they were used to a great effect, this game is Bioshock, where bump mapping creates a grotesque and surrealistic world and characters. I haven't seen many games on HD consoles which have made me admire them like i admired Super Mario Galaxy or MP 3. Wii proved that motion controls are the future of gaming, because they can improve accuracy, immersion and even make experiences not possible before (look at Zack and Wiki). Last E3 proved that Nintendo made a new standard in gaming inputs, as they did with digital crosspad, shoulder buttons and analog sticks.

 

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