New, post-E3 details are starting to emerge about the specs of Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U console.
Despite rumors that the console would include a Blu-ray or DVD drive, Nintendo has confirmed that they will instead be using their own proprietary disc format. This does not, however mean that they will be using a lower capacity disc as Nintendo has stated that they will have a 25GB maximum (the same as Blu-ray). The downside is that the Wii U won’t be able to double as a Blu-ray or DVD player (just as the original Wii), but game storage won’t suffer under Nintendo’s proprietary discs. Consumers in looking to watching hi-def content on their Wii U will still be able due to its 1080p out through HDMI.
Nintendo Wii U
We’re also getting to know a little more about IBM’s CPU that’s powering the Wii U. GameWatch, a Japanese gaming site, has found that the Wii U is packing a Radeon HD4000 GPU that supports Direct X 10.1 (released in 2008). This news has come as a slight disappointment to the gaming community because the hardware isn’t as leaps and bounds ahead of the PS3 or Xbox 360 as first imagined (especially after the impressive “Japanese Garden demo” Nintendo showed off). It’s easy to understand why Nintendo would choose to go with slightly outdated tech in this case, as cutting-edge hardware would have severely increased their production costs, putting them in a similar position where Sony was when they released the PS3 in 2006 for US$599.
We’ve come to expect impressive visuals from Nintendo’s first party games, but it’ll be up to third-parties to get the most out of the Wii U’s hardware when it’s released in 2012.
Via: GizmoDigit
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