Madden NFL 13 for Wii U omits several features

@TTDog Well the advantage they did hold at the time was that cartridges had shorter loading times. Beyond that, N64 had a solid library and sold really well. The only real repercussion they had to deal with was backlash from the developer community which wanted disks due to larger storage.

The disk size for GC didn't really hurt them either, Infact the smaller disc size kept them from having to pay royalties on the optical disk patent.

As for Wii U, I'm not buying one either due to poor decisions made more recently on their part. Why people still buy Wii U? Well a large mass of people grew up with Nintendo, many have been collecting since the NES days even. People are buying it solely for the 1st party titles they grew up with and loved. 3p titles likes ME3 are side show deterrents to keep gamers from leaving while they produce those golden titles.

I'll only buy a WiiU once I see 2 things:

1. They survive the 8th generation after the launch of PS4 and 720

2. The next smash bros. Starfox or HD Zelda.

@bigcrusha: I'd argue that the PS1 was more succesful than the N64 beause if disks overs carts... that the disks were easy to copy helped sales of the PlayStation immensely. The disk size on the GC was just syptomatic of piss-poor decisions by Nintendo... why is why I have no confidence in the power of the WiiU. The Wii was never aimed at "proper" gamers, aside from the hardcore fanboys I can't see who will buy a WiiU as they've effectively left the mainstream market. I mean... take ME3, if you had any interest in that at all you'd already have it on 360 or PS3 so why would you need a WiiU?

@TTDog I sorta disagree with that, I mean in retrospect yes they are rebellious decisions but not by any means bad ones. N64 went onto to be arguably the most successful console of all time(title eventually stolen by ps2 ofc). This regardless of their cartridge rebel decision.

Gamecube's rocky cycle had nothing to do with the disc size decision either, they were up against a console which had better support due to easy pie precise programming, the console had online functionality which went on eventually to be the future, Above all, the price of PS2 was a reasonably low enough to nullify any reason in going the GC route.

Now the Wii, the most controversial console of all. Contrary to popular belief didn't fail due to its hardware limitations. In fact, it went on to be and still is among the best selling consoles of all time. Where they botched is their focus. Wii was purchased by casual and core gamers alike. Being the most underpowered console, all they had to do to survive the cycle was to give a steady stream of first party titles to the core mass.

They did from 06-to-09 bringing LOZ TP, Metroid, SSBB, Mario Gal, Mario Kart etc...Then by late 09 they lost focus by streaming games like Wii fit, Wii music etc... Leaving third party to keep cores busy, and we all know just how well 3p devs work with inferior hardware kits. By 2010 it was too late to buy back what they lost.

The reason I personally am not buying Wii U until proven otherwise is due to it being a desperation move and what market calls "place holder product". I have no doubt in my mind it's powerful enough for this cycle, but I'm not so sure about how well they do when the other horses are out of the gate.

@bigcrusha: Except this is Nintendo we're talking about... the company that refused to let go of cartridges on the N64, the company that refused to use standard sized disks with the Gamecube, the company that repackaged an old console with motion control rather than produce a next gen machine and the company that thinks having the player take their eyes off the screen to check out a smaller display on the controller is a good idea. Not a good track record all in all.

@TTDog Some programmers who know PS1 in's and outs can run scripts that emulate ps2 behavior. You'll be surprised what a programmer can do with old hardware and a good kit. You give a developer a bad kit and he's going to yell at you.

360 Features are far less than ps3 but third party devs figured out how to utilize the 4 SIMD registers to rival ps3 cell microprocessors 6 spe's as well as it's custom gpu.

When hardware is released, It comes with a large line of feats that work synergistically. an i7 3.3 ghz (3rd gen) doesn't have as many features as an i7 3.3 ghz(1st gen). They also come with different kits.

The problem is that we don't know what kind of SDK build WiiU is distributing. To make my xbox 360 play N64 games: I'd have to rewrite the script. disable the shaders. Rewrite the sound script. Reprogram the 360 to emulate N64 Behavior etc.

All this to say TT that there are 3 million factors that come into play when new console software tries to run software designed on a 2012 patch modded 2006 SDK. That doesn't mean Wii U SDK is inferior.

@bigcrusha

Yet SOFTware is limited by the HARDware it runs on... the best programmer in the world could not make a PS1 run a PS2 title... if the HARDware is not up to running the SOFTware then you are going to be limited in what you produce.

@TTDog Again TT you are thinking HARDWARE. HARD....WARE. programming is SOFTWARE. WiiU is 2012 SOFT...WARE. The coding used to power Wii U is 2012.

PC forums? I am a pc gamer actually, I also know some basic scripting, c++ and javascript. I have many friends and family in the programing and some in the gaming industry.

Think of it this way, specs are like the plug that goes into the jack. Programming software is like the lamp filaments and circuitry. Hardware is just the power base to a program.

Programing is the most detrimental part to how a game functions. That is why games from 2012 look and play 2000 times better than they did in 2006. Yet it's still ps3 and 360 hardware.

@bigcrusha: Except that we're not talking about "new" hardware... Nintendo aren't launching the next gen console first... tehy're 6 years late joining the current generation... and are still behind what MS/Sony have produced. Ignoring specs (try that argument in the PC forums, they'll love it) there is a limit to what programming can do... which is why new consoles are released... because hardware isn't capable of producing what they know they can do on other available hardware.

@TTDog Again you're thinking hardware specs TT, you're not thinking about programming, that's a whole other generation. Writing a script on a new console in 2012 isn't the same as writing a script on 2006 hardware.

Dude I know you're a smart dude. You don't need me to tell you this, just read up on the process of game design.

@bigcrusha: I haven't changed my stance one jot... the WiiU is nit the mighty machine Nintendo claim. The NFL 06 porting issue is mute, that was changing generations where here it's a case of.moving to a machine in the same generation... albeit one that Nintendo has joined 6 years late.

@TTDog See there now you're making a bit more sense, you changed your tune, so determined to prove WiiU isn't up to speed with current gen hardware. Now you say it will lag behind come future titles.

See that's not a point I'm going to disagree with, and from the standpoint of an analyst like myself, I'd be inclined to agree with you on that.

Again enough with the childish insults dude, it's not really winding me up, It's just making you look stupid.

My argument with you lies with the point that this article does NOTHING to hint any sort specification as pertaining to what this console is capable.

And TTDog..... If you're truly older than I am, you of all people should know that standing in opposition to an argument doesn't make you a loyalist. I'm actually shocked you think so narrow minded.

@bigcrusha: Which question? How much of a Nintendo fanboy are you determined to look? How much do you hate EA? How much further can I wind you up? The WiiU is, at best, up to speed with the current Sony/MS consoles... and any serious gamers who bought a Wii will already have one of those when they realised the Wii wasn't really that much cop once you got past the gimmick of the motion control. The WiiU won't shift as many units as the Wii, casuals won't upgrade as there's no reason for them to buy a new machine when the old one can do everything they want it to. As the next gen progresses the WiiU will lag behind as more and more things are left out because the machine is already lagging behind... big releases like ME4 and AC5/6/7 will be notable by their absence.

@TTDog I love how you're not even going to answer my question, so you resort to insults. That's where it gets pathetic for one who claims to be older than I am.

Again for the millionth time, NFL06 gave them the same problem when they designed the engine for xbox and tried to port to 360. They had to cut some things.

Gamespot is smart, they knew an article like this would spark buzz and have people like you talking. interestingly enough, they left out the point mentioned above from the article.

No... no it's much easier to manipulate people like you into falsely interpretation of information. We can get the buzz and flame train going! Journalism is cool like that.

@bigcrusha: Want some help putting your toys back in your pram? You may want to wait to see the quality of these titles before you hold them up as shining examples of the WiiU's capabilities... of course they're hyping it... what sort of impression would.it give if they announced a new machine and admitted it was worse than their competitors 6 year old machines?

@TTDog Nah not a fail. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PROGRAM A GAME TTDOG????????!!!!!!!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH WORK GOES INTO DESIGNING AN ENGINE AND MELDING IT WITH THE PROGRAMMING SCRIPT OF A NEWWWWWW CONSOLE.

Sorry I was hoping if i yelled it loud enough, it would stick.... They are porting NFL 13, not redesigning it. If anything, that helps prove my point, that a newer console rejects a kit designed for a previous generation.

@bigcrusha: So porting games packed with semi-scripted events invalidates my argument but EA dropping their latest engine from Madden 13 doesn't damage yours? Massive FAIL on your part there son.

@TTDog Why is it that because I can read, it makes me a cheerleader? It's not what I can or can't accept, it's what I've seen.

Why can't you accept that console kit utilization is something that happens often in the industry,

It's not a reality check, I'm a pretty rational thinker and analyst, the problem with your "upsell' theory is that they're porting AC3. Arkham City and ME3. That automatically discredits and invalidates your point.

The only "reality check" here is that YOU DON'T HAVE A VALID ARGUMENT.

@bigcrusha: And if you can't accept, even for a second, that the WiiU may not be as all powerful as Nintendo claim then stop acting like their biggest cheerleader and go seek therapy. Either that or have a lie down in a darkened room and have a reality check... console manufacturers big up their new machine all the time... its what helped Sony kill the Dreamcast before its time.

@TTDog Quote from article: " the challenges of working with "NEW" hardware made it impossible"

AGAIN PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Google the term "DEVKIT" before replying again!

HFL 06 was also barebonned on the 360 port due to "hardware challenges"

Thirdly this thing is going to be running AC3. Arkham City and ME3....

So this article "indicates" JACK SQUAT about what this system can and can't do.

If you can't bring a valid point to the table then give it a rest TTDog......

@bigcrusha: No article can "prove" anything but this one "indicates" that, in EA's opinion (and they've had time to evaluate the WiiU far more than most) it's not capable of performing the same tasks as the PS3 and 360... Simple as that. So yet again we're looking at an already out of date console from Nintendo... instead of a Gamecube in a fancy new box we're looking at a HD Gamecube with another new box and another gimmicky controller.

@TTDog Why is it so hard for you to grasp the concept that they had over a year to work with a never before seen Devkit? I want you to google the term "Devkit" and read the wiki link.

3P publishers have an entire console cycle to figure out how to use one. That includes patches that get periodically sent to them to make kits easier to use. That's why 360 games from 2006 have doubled in graphics quality and standard by 2012.

I had a programmer explain the concept to me once, he said: " Writing scripts and programming software for xbox360 is like the mathematical equation of 10. PS3 mathematical equation would be 10.5. Defaulting games at 10 or 11 would be easy, BUT 10.5??????!!!

That's why back in 2006 developers were sending numerous complaints to Sony saying their kits were impossible to figure out with the inclusion of the "cell processor".

Basically, I'm saying this article does nothing to prove that Wii U specs are out of date, specs have minimal to do with how a game is created.

@bigcrusha: Why is it so hard for people to grasp the concept that the WiiU may not be capable of running the same engine because Nintendo have talked up its abilities beyond what it is capable of? As for "son" I've got gaming machines that are probably older than you... experience shows that there is always a gulf between what console manufacturers say a machine can do... and reality.

@TTDog Er.... couple problems with your statement......

Historically you are right, but Nintendo already confirmed that Wii U online is going to be a much more open and user friendly experience.

Oh and if you think hardware specs are the only challenge a third party company like EA faces when working with new consoles? Might wanna grab a book son.