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Some Truth to Wii as GameCube 1.5?

Posted by Zonk on from the low-blows-when-the-strike-true dept.

Newsweek's N'Gai tackles the allegation that the Wii is a glorified GameCube. He specifically looked at recent comments by Microsoft's Robbie Bach saying that 'the video graphics on it aren't very strong; the box itself is kind of underpowered; it doesn't play DVDs; there are a lot of down-line components [that] aren't actually that interesting. ... They don't have the graphics horsepower that even Xbox 1 had. So it makes sort of the comparison set a little bit difficult.' LevelUp spoke with a pair of technical experts at third party publishers and learned that, essentially, Bach's comments about horsepower are accurate. However, "the 'Gamecube 1.5' moniker, while accurate, doesn't mean that gamers won't see graphical improvements on the Wii. 'There are three main differences which will result in graphics improvements. One, the increased memory clock speed, from 162 megahertz to 243 megahertz, means that it is easier to do enough pixels for 480p mode versus 480i. Two, the enhanced memory size of the Wii gives much more room for image-related operations such as anti-aliasing, motion blur, etc. The performance to these memory systems from the graphics chip is also improved. So full-screen effects and increased texture usage seem likely as a result.'"

7 of 519 comments (clear)

  1. To paraphrase Tsun-Tzu by Steeltalon · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Cry more n00b!" I'm pretty sure that he said that at one point.

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    Regards, Ian
    1. Re:To paraphrase Tsun-Tzu by maino82 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes, that's from "The art of war", chapter 6. Which, of course, is entitled "Total pwnage."

  2. Re:I'm surprised.. by jimstapleton · · Score: 3, Funny

    maybe not difficult as in "logically challanging", but difficult as in emotionally painful?

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    34486853790
    Connection too slow for X forwarding? Try "ssh -CX user@host"
  3. Re:Who cares? by HoosierPeschke · · Score: 4, Funny

    I agree, it's affordable, it's fun, it does what it needs to do, and it has innovative features. Speed isn't everything, just ask a woman... oh, wait..

    --
    Mr. Universe: "They can't stop the signal, Mal. They can never stop the signal."
  4. Re:Take Microsoft's word, it's not all that great. by toolie · · Score: 2, Funny

    A competitors review of a product, real informative.

    This just in, a competitor downplays a rival's product! News at 11!

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    -- toolie
  5. Re:Who cares? by Torvaun · · Score: 2, Funny

    I recently learned that a penis at least 2 standard deviations shorter than the average is called a micropenis. How cruel is that?

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    I see your informative link, and raise you a pithy comment.
  6. Re:Who cares? by bitingduck · · Score: 2, Funny

    Because it's fun to play. But that doesn't mean it can't be disappointing in many aspects. I finally got to play one about a week ago, and I'm far more disappointed that it doesn't have additional controllers to attach to your feet (for 4 input devices/person) than by the graphics.