Wii far more powerful then expected?

James: Agreed.

From what I've seen, the Wii titles with the most impressive graphics were Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda, Metroid Prime Corruption, Red Steel and Sonic Wii. And all of them looked like 3rd generation GameCube titles - Zelda literally IS one.

Go back and check out the graphics in Super Mario Sunshine (still stunning, btw), and then give Nintendo a year or two longer and I'd be suprised if they couldn't generate a similar level of graphics as we saw in the trailer for Super Mario Galaxy.

It would be awesome if this were true, but if the Wii were capable of graphics akin to the 360, why would they showcase subpar visuals at E3? If you're going to be behind in the graphics race from the get-go, why make your situation worse by handing your third parties substantially inferior hardware? It just doesn't add up.

The most telling point is, of course, that the Wii is just so damn SMALL that it would be nothing short of a miracle to cram in the kind of hardware that could generate 360 graphics, even in SD.

admeister: I haven't watched the trailer for Smash, so I can't really comment... but games like that are difficult to judge anyway, because the graphics in games that are set in a limited area (like a fighting arena) are often a lot better looking than other genres (think Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast).

ZNMS: THAT is definitely a point I'll agree with. Part of the reason I used to prefer consoles over PC's is that, although you sacrifice the higher resolution, you usually have a far more stable framerate. At least that's how it USED to be. It depends on the game, really... Resident Evil 4 pushes the PS2 about as hard as it can be pushed, but the framerate is still rock solid for the most part.

If the Wii got a port of Oblivion which wasn't quite up to par in terms of textures and resolution but had a rock solid 60fps, I'd be all over that. Whether or not that's even possible is a question I couldn't answer... But if there was going to be any hurdle, I think it wouldn't be the lack of processing power so much as the lack of RAM. Games like that eat RAM for breakfast. Which is a shame, because tossing things around and sword-fighting with the Wiimote would be kick-ass.

cycosippius: You may well be right... but depending on HD adoption rates, it could potentially be yet another in a line-up of features that Nintendo didn't think consumers were ready for.

NES: "Consumers don't need 16-bit graphics! Maybe we'll consider releasing a new console in, oh, 1997... Huh? Sega who? They've grabbed HOW much of our market share? Ummm.. er... Tada! Super Nintendo!"

N64: "Cartridges for the win! Consumers don't want those silly CD things. Who cares about FMV or CD quality soundtracks anyway? Huh? Who slammed that door? Square? SQUAAAAAAAAARE!!!"

GameCube: "Consumers aren't ready for online gaming. When it's cost effective, we'll think about it. That silly upstart Microsoft company thinks it's going to start up an online service and make money off it... Hah! What's that? They made HOW much?? Er.. have we got any new consoles coming out soon? DS you say? Quick, jam some internets in there!"

Disclaimer: Quotes may or may not have been edited, abridged or fabricated for comedic purposes.

You're totally right in that regard (it being more of a "PR issue,"), but that's where most of Nintendo's recent difficulties lie. Not including available technology creates the mainstream belief that the system is inferior - whether the lack of the technology is used by the majority of consumers or not.

The GameCube was a pretty potent piece of hardware - superior in almost every way to the PS2. But mainstream gamers are STILL of the belief that the PS2 is more powerful, simply because the games look more realistic (for the most part), because of its design and marketing, and because it has features like DVD playback and a network adaptor. (Sure, the GCN has a network adaptor too, but have you ever seen one advertised in stores?)

The lack of HD is a similar point. It's true that a great proportion of gamers don't have HD televisions (yet), but it remains a feature that one console has that another doesn't. Dolby Digital 5.1 is another.

The difference THIS time around is that there's going to be a major price difference between the consoles, so a consumer will say "Well, this console doesn't have this, this and this, but it's $300 cheaper, so it's still a great deal," as opposed to saying "These consoles are the same price, but this one has HD graphics, 5.1 and more games."

tullyano7: If you're wondering what the benefit to consumers are in regards to using optical discs as opposed to cartridges, the answers are many:

1) Optical dics (CD's, DVD's, Blu Ray) hold far in excess of what cartridges are capable of. Someone might be able to correct me, but that largest cartridge size I've heard of is less than 1 GB, whereas dual layer DVD's are capable of 9.

2) Optical discs are cheaper to manufacture. That sounds like a benefit for the manufacturer, rather than the consumer, right? Wrong. A developer might only budget $100,000 for the release of a game. If each cartridge costs $30, whereas DVD's cost $2, then you're going to see larger numbers of a particular title in stores. Games on cartridges (DS, for example) are released in "batches," because companies can never be sure how well the game is going to sell. If you miss out on the first batch? Tough. You'll have to wait until they decide it's worth producing a new batch, which could be months.

3) Discs can be spanned. Take a look at Final Fantasy 7. Even with the larger storage, it STILL took up 3 CD's. The advantage is that, with a separate storage medium (memory cards, hard drive), you can save your progress and continue with the second disc. With the save file located on the cartridge, however, you cannot do this.

Load times are a factor (especially with portable devices), however PS3 games utilize a new method where it stores a good portion of the game on the hard drive so it doesn't have to load the entire level when you start it up again (Warhawk load times were about 3 seconds at E3).

The other advantage with cartridges is that, if you have kids, they absolutely LOVE smearing icky goo all over your game discs (icky goo if you're lucky). But with online distribution poised to be the next big thing, that won't be a problem for much longer... It means you can store hundreds of games on your hard drive or flash memory contained within your console... and, more importantly, it means my 3 year-old son won't be constantly bugging me to swap games all the time.... Yaaaaaay!!!

Yeah, me too.

Sony also took me backstage to show me the real PS3 controller. It's the size of your little fingernail and translates your brain waves into holographic images that swirl around the room.

It's sweet.