View Full Version : Wii HD
Retro_Link
16-07-2007, 12:42 PM
http://www.cubed3.com/news/8135/1/Wii_HD_Discussed_by_Nintendo
E3 2007 News | Wii HD Discussed by Nintendo
Quick News - In a video interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, stated whilst hardware related answers could not be given just yet, High Definition could be incorporated at some point into Wii, all depending on the uptake of the format by consumers. Check out the full piece below:
http://kotaku.com/gaming/the-miyamoto-interview-collection/the-miyamoto-interview-collection-part-5-278018.php?autoplay=trueInteresting to know!
Again (like Nintendo's stance with online gaming) it's really comes down to a case of consumer uptake levels.
Charlie
16-07-2007, 12:53 PM
Again (like Nintendo's stance with online gaming) it's really comes down to a case of consumer uptake levels.
That's what they want you believe. If the above statement was true we'd have an Xbox Live style online play thing. The rate of HD conversion is increasing all the time, loads of people have them now. Even people who know absolutely nothing about TVs. They get them because they're flat screens and generally look good and they're assured by the shop assistant they're future-proof.
Excelle
16-07-2007, 12:57 PM
That's what they want you believe. If the above statement was true we'd have an Xbox Live style online play thing. The rate of HD conversion is increasing all the time, loads of people have them now. Even people who know absolutely nothing about TVs. They get them because they're flat screens and generally look good and they're assured by the shop assistant they're future-proof.
I can vouch for that. Even my parents have bought one, and they wouldn't even get a DVD player until I gave them my old one!
JoeTrumpet
16-07-2007, 01:01 PM
That's interesting, because I personally do not know anyone with an HDTV--save for one wealthy individual who plays no video games. Maybe it's different in Europe, but Miyamoto's definitely correct about adoption rates here in the US. They may be rising and noticeable, but the Wii is still billed as a console for everyone, and to raise the price by inclusion of features only used by a minority would alienate many consumers. I would most likely not have gotten a Wii if it had been much more expensive.
I've got a 19" HDTV, 37" HDTV and a HD Projector in my house.
Anyway, a firmware update could make the Wii HD compatible with future games that support it. The Xbox and PS2 did HD.
Mikey
16-07-2007, 01:26 PM
The PS2 could only do upscaling to HD I think?
Hellfire
16-07-2007, 02:17 PM
I've got a 19" HDTV, 37" HDTV and a HD Projector in my house.
Anyway, a firmware update could make the Wii HD compatible with future games that support it. The Xbox and PS2 did HD.
They didn't do HD, it could only be upscaled, Wii and GC support that too. A "Wii HD" would basically have to be a new console.
Teppo Holmqvist
16-07-2007, 02:28 PM
The rate of HD conversion is increasing all the time, loads of people have them now.
Below 10 percent in Europe, around 30 percent in USA and 60+ percent in Japan*. And according to some researchs, 85 percent of HD-TV owners connect have their sets connected with composite (ouch). Realistically speaking, HD-TV is going to reach 50-80 coverage in 6-8 years. Can't really say, but I do know that adaption rate has been slower than excepted.
* And we all know how much impact HD-consoles have managed to do there....
gaggle64
16-07-2007, 02:33 PM
Nintendo prefer to stay one step behind technologically and make their hardware affordable - it's a strategy which has worked for them from the original Gameboy to the DS and the Wii today.
How they pitch their next console against their rivals is going to be interesting. The console wars aren't so simple any more, thanks to the increasingly diverse strategies of all three companies. It's not likely to be mono-et-mono every six years. The Xbox may stick to this pattern, but Sony have previously indicated that they intend to run the PS3 for at least a good ten years. What Nintendo do over the next decade, whether they focus on graphics again with a "Wii 2", or re-reinvent the wheel, is anybodies guess.
Best guesstimate: Wii 2 released in Xmas 2013 - accused of being "souped up 360."
Teppo Holmqvist
16-07-2007, 02:43 PM
The Xbox may stick to this pattern, but Sony have previously indicated that they intend to run the PS3 for at least a good ten years.
Everybody just copycats victors strategy like always, and don't except next consoles having so big jump in power as before. Furthermore, Sony will probably push next console out within four years. PS3 won't ever have ten year long lifetime because it is failing miserably and draining billions of dollars.
I honestly don't see the point in Nintendo doing this, but if they could make the images a little more crisp (espicially round the edges of some in-game characters etc..) then i suppose it would help matters!
I think Nintendo as a company have shown that all they intend to do is make a damn good video-game only console and not having HD hasn't slowed them down yet. So why bother now?
Maybe Nintendos next console should feature HD though, as by then, HD may well be coming in full swing.
steggy
16-07-2007, 03:46 PM
I think HD would be a good idea in some areas. I'd like to see a HD option on the Internet Browser, and I think strategy games can benefit from the extra resolution (the new civ) just because being able to see more onscreen can be useful.
In terms of action games, I don't think it makes too much difference to be honest. I'd much rather a silky smooth frame rate than a few extra lines of resolution.
Fanelia
16-07-2007, 04:29 PM
pikmin 3 has to look great in hd. imagine 300 on-screen pikmin all going about their business in plain sd. that sucks.
am aai rite?
Emasher
16-07-2007, 04:31 PM
i remember some news a while back that the wii actually has the HD chips in it there just not active at the moment
i remember some news a while back that the wii actually has the HD chips in it there just not active at the moment
Bullshit!!
It's chips are compatible of HD (hell, the NES could probably do HD). It's just a case of how well games run with HD. (with the NES you'll get one screen and then it'll crash...or something)
Ten10
16-07-2007, 04:37 PM
What I think nintendo need to do for now is focus on getting widescreen support into all their games. That is the least they can do.
Zechs Merquise
16-07-2007, 04:50 PM
Below 10 percent in Europe, around 30 percent in USA and 60+ percent in Japan*. And according to some researchs, 85 percent of HD-TV owners connect have their sets connected with composite (ouch). Realistically speaking, HD-TV is going to reach 50-80 coverage in 6-8 years. Can't really say, but I do know that adaption rate has been slower than excepted.
* And we all know how much impact HD-consoles have managed to do there....
Yes exactly, 6-8 years, in that timescale we'll be seeing a new generation of consoles, and by that time HD will be more affordable and Nintendo will shove it in.
Hellfire
16-07-2007, 06:05 PM
I don't think there's such a thing as an "HD chip", just the technical power to output at higher resolutions. I could be wrong though.
Pit-Jr
16-07-2007, 06:12 PM
Miyamoto is a terrible spokesman. Get back to making games, you.
It kind of depends on what HD means in this case. HD Wii here would probably mean a Wii with a good, built-in upscale chip and HDMI support.
Thing is, Wii can't physically render games in HD resolutions - its framebuffer is way too tiny. All that should be possible on the current hardware is add some components in the video output that make for a better image on HDTVs.
david.dakota
16-07-2007, 07:34 PM
If you look through your instruction books, Nintendo seem to refer 480i as ED/HD.
Its been commented that Wii CAN support HD visuals, however, this comes at the expense of framerates which drop to terrible rates. Miyamoto has gone on record a couple of times to say that Nintendo would create a HD console in the future, and thats a no-brainer. Perhaps upscaling is an option in the future for Wii, but expect a new consle for Nintendo HD.
flameboy
16-07-2007, 07:45 PM
I don't see how Nintendo could really justify doing this. They said they were dropping out of the graphics race to concerntrate on other things they would be hypocritical to release a new version that is clearly aimed at the graphics whore and creating a two tier userbase isn't a good idea.
Leave true HD to any future consoles, firmware upscaling is fine though...
Konfucius
16-07-2007, 07:52 PM
That's typical Miyamoto talk: could be. But he's not in charge of those decisions although he can be quite influential.
We were promised DVD support and we didn't even get that (not that I needed it) now why should they make a HD version? The games aren't meant to be output in HD and Ninty wouldn't create one for DVD playback alone.
I think the best bet is that we'll see HD with the next Wii and although I think it will be a long way off because Wii is in the lead at the moment this will only give them more money to put into R&D of the new console (and a lot more money to put on the bank).
A simple firmware upgrade will not make the Wii go HD out of the blue; they would've launched the Wii with that if it was possible. For the Wii to go HD, extra components are necessary. Even so, there's no way the games will actually be HD; they'll be 480p games scaled up properly to HD resolutions.
Speedfreak
17-07-2007, 12:51 PM
A Wii with a new GPU that just renders in HD is really quite possible in a couple of years.
Jasper
17-07-2007, 01:20 PM
That's what they want you believe. If the above statement was true we'd have an Xbox Live style online play thing. The rate of HD conversion is increasing all the time, loads of people have them now. Even people who know absolutely nothing about TVs. They get them because they're flat screens and generally look good and they're assured by the shop assistant they're future-proof.
There something vastly different going on here. At this moment, people buy flat-screens. They don't buy HD-tv's. If my parents talk about buying a new TV they are thinking about a flat-screen. Not of the awe-inspiring visuals that come along with it. Nintendo made a pretty good decision - even with only gaming. Just don't forget that Nintendo's resources for online gaming are not as good (and i'm not talking about money, here, I'm talking about the necesarry experience in the team) as Microsoft.
They look at numbers and the number of online videogames were pretty tiny back in the days of GameCube. If they went online then, they would have a tiny install base - simply because the numbers of online gamers was low at that time. Everybody had internet, but when GameCube launched we were still at the very start of a huge internet experience (the internet boom came after that with YouTube and Google becoming immense). Now Nintendo jumps in with an (okay, it's lacking) online service, but the timing is correct. Even the PS2 didn't support awesome online gaming that much, and everybody is only looking at Nintendo for this.
Nintendo's decision against HD might seem stupid now, but it's clever enough. The numbers were there: 5% of the American Households had HD when they made that decision. I didn't even know what HD was before they said they didn't include it.
Here's the problem with HD: the general consumer does not know what it means, does or how it enhances the experience. People buy a fancy HD-tv and play regular DVD's on it, and meanwhile they think they have enhanced visuals on their TV, but actually they don't. What people don't know, and what the HD-group should tell them, is that they need to upgrade all their devices to HD. And for now, that isn't happening.
I've got a 19" HDTV, 37" HDTV and a HD Projector in my house.
Anyway, a firmware update could make the Wii HD compatible with future games that support it. The Xbox and PS2 did HD.
Any device could do HD. But do you ever stop and wonder why there's so much horsepower in PS3 and Xbox360? Because HD visuals requrie a system to make four times as much calculations on screen - you need four times as much pixels. And you don't have any control running yet. So yes, Wii could do HD, but it could a) look like a 1996 PC-game (wich means there are more straight lines to a ball than a cube) or b) smoothly as PS3... at 5 frames per second.
The Wii cannot do HD by a system update, neither could an Xbox or PS2. Upscaling, yes, that would be possible, but that means you make the games in non-HD and sharpen them afterwards again, after scaling it. it's easier, but it won't increase detail in the visuals (you can't make a one-pixel enemie on the horizon, because with upscaling, it would be about four pixels).
My parents ain't picking up HD for a while, and I guess the public that Nintendo is aiming at right now won't for a while.
Any device could do HD. But do you ever stop and wonder why there's so much horsepower in PS3 and Xbox360? Because HD visuals requrie a system to make four times as much calculations on screen - you need four times as much pixels. And you don't have any control running yet. So yes, Wii could do HD, but it could a) look like a 1996 PC-game (wich means there are more straight lines to a ball than a cube) or b) smoothly as PS3... at 5 frames per second.
I explained that in my second post, that it isn't a matter of the resolution, but more to do with how it performs.
steggy
17-07-2007, 02:25 PM
I think in the UK we are pretty much being forced into HD. I needed to get a new TV last year, and I had a choice of a budget CRT with next to nothing connectivity or a plasma or LCD. All I really wanted was a CRT with component inputs, which were easily availiable a couple of years prior but were non-existent at the time.
In the end I managed to get hold of the only HD CRT model availiable in the UK and I'm more than happy with it. Okay HD material isn't quite as sharp as on an LCD, but considering I don't want to spend a fortune on Sky HD that doesn't really matter. And then when I do pony up the cash, only 10% of my viewing will be in HD anyway. So I got something that was better looking than an LCD at SD resolutions and not quite as good at HD.
Most people arn't even aware that this option exists in the UK.
Charlie
17-07-2007, 02:33 PM
Nintendo made a pretty good decision - even with only gaming. Just don't forget that Nintendo's resources for online gaming are not as good (and i'm not talking about money, here, I'm talking about the necesarry experience in the team) as Microsoft.
They look at numbers and the number of online videogames were pretty tiny back in the days of GameCube. If they went online then, they would have a tiny install base - simply because the numbers of online gamers was low at that time. Everybody had internet, but when GameCube launched we were still at the very start of a huge internet experience (the internet boom came after that with YouTube and Google becoming immense). Now Nintendo jumps in with an (okay, it's lacking) online service, but the timing is correct. Even the PS2 didn't support awesome online gaming that much, and everybody is only looking at Nintendo for this.
.
Xbox Live on the original Xbox started in 2003 and it was amazing. Loads of people used it regularly, and still do use the original Xbox live.
Xbox Live on the original Xbox started in 2003 and it was amazing. Loads of people used it regularly, and still do use the original Xbox live.
Nintendo are probably basing it on their own failed experience with online, mainly due to starting it way too early.
Also, Nintendo games generally don't suit online, as they always have "hidden" depth in the gameplay, it's part of the thing that makes it fun and noone complained about them. Until online came along.
Caris
17-07-2007, 02:42 PM
Wii HD is never ever gonna happen, get over it.
Wii HD is never ever gonna happen, get over it.
Well until 4 years time, mate
Hellfire
17-07-2007, 04:28 PM
Look Nintendo won't release a HD special edition, when they release their next console, they release it with HD capabilities, that's it.
Goron_3
17-07-2007, 09:55 PM
Wii 2 will have HD, not our beloved Wii; it's not powerful enough.
Upscaling however...possibly.
jammy2211
17-07-2007, 10:26 PM
Xbox Live on the original Xbox started in 2003 and it was amazing. Loads of people used it regularly, and still do use the original Xbox live.
The Xbox 360 is hardly flying off shelves is it? And even then only 55% of consoles have actually connected to Xbox Live.
Online gaming isn't that big, sure, in 5 or 10 years it will probably be a large part of gaming (at least alot bigger then it is now) but when it is, Nintendo will be there ready to pounce. Thing is, at the moment, it's not important, and so Nintendo are in a good position with their focus, it's their but it's pretty suttle.
I still think Wii online is going to be great come 2008 anyway, the list of online games is growing at a good pace and it is extremely cheap and easy for online to be built into Wii games, no doubt a huge enticement for any developer.
Weren't Nintendo first for downloadable content for consoles?
jammy2211
17-07-2007, 10:44 PM
Weren't Nintendo first for downloadable content for consoles?
About 20 years ago, yeah lol.
Calza
17-07-2007, 11:37 PM
Wii in HD.
Best oxymoron I've heard in ages.
Jasper
18-07-2007, 09:48 AM
Xbox Live on the original Xbox started in 2003 and it was amazing. Loads of people used it regularly, and still do use the original Xbox live.
Let's not forget a few things here. Back in the GameCube days, Xboxes weren't selling like hotcakes and not even all of them connected. The online gaming community back then was incredibly small. Microsoft hadn't launched live! cross-platform, so the only way a developer could make a succesfull online game was to publish it on pc or Xbox, wich couldn't play together as nice yet. So what did you have? 25 million sold Xboxes and maybe 10 million connected users. On a total consolenumber over the 150 million? That's nothing.
Back in the day, Nintendo made a rational decision.
Wii HD is never ever gonna happen, get over it.
Catch Numbero Duo: Wii is a name that will stay. Nintendo stated it was like 'Yahoo' and 'Google', and the people Nintendo aims at know the console as Wii (i.e. 'Let's play Wii!' not 'Let's play Nintendo (Wii)'). SO the next console Nintendo announces, it will be somewhere around 2009-2010, will still be named Wii. But Caris, you made the most rational remark, only you left out the necessary details. The current Wii HD is never ever gonna happen, het over it.
Zechs Merquise
18-07-2007, 11:21 AM
FACT 1: Wii is not HD
FACT 2: There is no hidden HD chip
FACT 3: Nintendo aren't going to make Wii 1.5 with HD, they are not going to make the mistake of an upgrade/add-on like they did with the 64DD
FACT 4: Nintendo left out HD as part of their business plan, because they make more money this way and they didn't see HD take up high enough to warrant including it for another 6-8 years, by which time we will be in another generation.
FACT 5: If you want games in HD buy a 360
Jasper
18-07-2007, 06:19 PM
FACT 1: Wii is not HD
FACT 2: There is no hidden HD chip
FACT 3: Nintendo aren't going to make Wii 1.5 with HD, they are not going to make the mistake of an upgrade/add-on like they did with the 64DD
FACT 4: Nintendo left out HD as part of their business plan, because they make more money this way and they didn't see HD take up high enough to warrant including it for another 6-8 years, by which time we will be in another generation.
FACT 5: If you want games in HD buy a 360
You make discussing a possible Wii with HD a little boring, don't you? We are talking about the next generation, wich for Nintendo might pop up sooner than you think.
You make discussing a possible Wii with HD a little boring, don't you? We are talking about the next generation, wich for Nintendo might pop up sooner than you think.
There isn't any whisperings of a new DS, and "GBA2" has vanished completely. IIRC, at this point in the DS's lifespan people were like "GBA2 will have PSP graphics" or "GameCube graphics"
It's just the same again...
Yeah, it doesn't make any sense... Why would Nintendo's next generation start any earlier? Their consoles are more timeless than they ever were.
Personally, I don't see a new Nintendo console being released before 2011, which might be a good time for a DS2 with new gameplay features.
At the end of the day a HD Wii wouldn't make any difference if your TV has a good upscale chip built in.
Zechs Merquise
18-07-2007, 09:31 PM
You make discussing a possible Wii with HD a little boring, don't you? We are talking about the next generation, wich for Nintendo might pop up sooner than you think.
The next gen won't be happening for a good five to six years. No one knows which company will kick the next gen off. And it's a pointless discussion because the Wii is what the Wii is.
I was annoyed at first that we wouldn't be seeing Link and Samus in glorious hi-def, but hey the games can still look very good indeed, and I don;t have an HD TV!
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