The October issue of EGM features a candid interview with Gearbox founder and president, Randy Pitchford, regarding his thoughts on all three next-gen platforms. The game developer is primarily known for Brothers In Arms, Half-Life, and several PC ports including Halo and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Here are some of the most notable comments from the interview:- On comparing the PS3 to Wii: "From a computing power point of view, the PS3 is a generational leap. The Wii is not."
- On Wii development: "The Wii is like a supercharged GameCube! We can do things exactly like we did them in the last generation, except we have faster processors and lots of extra RAM for us to make everything look better and run faster."
- On online play: "I think it's a little optimistic to imagine that Sony or Nintendo can beat what Microsoft has done with Xbox Live as they kick off."
- When asked if Wii or PS3 will have a better chance of success: "I'd have to go with Nintendo this round. In its favor are a nice price point, a very interesting interface, and a library of must-have first-party games as well as retro classic games... Sony can peak at a much higher plateau than Nintendo (with respect to maximum installed base potential), but they have a number of risk factors to deal with."
- On supporting Wii, PS3, 360: "We are strongly supporting all next-gen systems including the 360, PS3, and the Wii. Depending upon how things unfold, we are very adaptable and agile [read: peeps can be dropped]."
(Page 1) Reader Comments
OFF TOPIC: Hey Joystiq, where's all the coverage? Nintendo's press event is going on RIGHT NOW and you don't have anyone covering the news! They're gonna reveal the japanese release date and price point! (probably)
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I'm in the UK and it's 1:40am!!! Hurry so I can get some sleep!!
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Remember all those fake "leaked" spec sheets from bloggers that used to claim Wii/Revolution was going to blow away 360 and all that? HAHAHA!!! Every one of them started off saying Revolution would be significantly more powerful than 360 in bold font at the top (but never mentioned PS3, oddly). I always joked that I would believe the first supposed leaked Revolution spec sheet that said it would be significantly LESS powerful than 360 in bold font at the top LOL. Well, I was right.
My problem with Wii isn't that it's less powerful than pS3/360, I just wish it wasn't just a souped up Gamecube. Something like a X1600XT with 128MB of RAM and the WII CPU would have been really nice, and possibly rivaled PS3/360 graphics at 480p, and shouldn't have been too expensive. I just wanted something nice, clean, elegant, with some power and a nice leap over Gamecube. But I guess Nintendo was too busy being cheapskates.
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What? You're talking like an ignorant fanboy.
He's aiming his comments at a general audience. What the hell do you want him to say?
And guess what, we already know he's spot on. Wii by all acounts IS a gamecube. Exactly the same as a Gamecube, but with 64MB more RAM, and 50% more clockspeed on the CPU and GPU. But the SAME CPU and GPU as Gamecube.
So yeah, I'd say his comments are exactly correct. And the same as the EA guy said about the TurboCube/Wii Madden game.
It sounds like you're just mad the Wii is wimpy, and he's saying so. The Wii is not a generational leap. It's a turbo Gamecube. That's just fact. I guess you wanted him to lie. How many times does Nintendo have to drill into you that Wii is not about graphics before you get it?
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Dude, you know not what you speak. Blake is SO not anti-Nintendo. If anything he is pro-nintendo (without being fanboyish at all). I often visit his blog when I want some honest, no bullshit Nintendo news. He calls em like he sees em and thats what makes him a great blogger. Theres nothing wrong with liking Nintendo, or Sony, or Microsoft as long as you don't lose your grip on reality.
As for this guys comments, as much as I wish it weren't so, the Wii "sounds like" it is just a supercharged gamecube. I say "sounds like" because we still don't have definitive specs. Obviously it will not be as powerful as the 360 or PS3, but I hope it will look about as good at 480P as the 360 does now.
Anyway, this guy seems to be speaking the truth, the HARD truth. I mean, he states that the 360 is pretty strong and that he favors the Wii over the PS3 dependant on some risk factors. Not much to argue with there IMO. The Wii DOES look solid, for exactly the points he mentioned. The PS3 does have some hurdles to overcome. But in the end, its going to be the games. We all know it. In the past, there has always been one console that really ended up drawing developers like moths to a flame. In the end, its that console that will win out. And so far, the 360 has a strong position with a year headstart. Props to them for pulling it out before anyone else. Its gonna be tough to come back, but anything can happen. We've seen crazier shit in this business in the last 25 years, thats for sure!
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Although I agree with you that the Wii isn't likely to be more powerful than the 360 or the PS3, I'm curious exactly what "souped up Gamecube" means to you? As it was stated above, and hundereds of times here at Joystiq, that analogy really only refers to the fact that the developer tools are similar to the Gamecube's. It really has little bearing on the power of the Wii. But I really want to know, where do you define the difference between "just souped up" and "good enough"?
Also, don't try to relate computer specs (like the X1600XT) to console specs, especially for Nintendo systems. Consoles in general have quite different architechture compared to PCs, and 128MB of Video Card RAM on a card made for the PC doesn't produce the same results for a console as it does for my gaming rig.
Case in point: Last Generation, the Xbox proc was only ~800Mhz, and the Gamecube one (which preformed almost as well) was only 405Mhz. Modern PC's couldn't run Halo or Smash Bros Melee with those specs.
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#14: "But I guess Nintendo was too busy being cheapskates."
I don't know how many times people have to say this before it gets through you guys' thick skulls, but Nintendo doesn't have billions to wa-I mean, *spend* on consoles like the Big Boys. "Cheap" is not spending money you can afford to waste. They can't compete on power, so they're trying to compete in something that you *can't* throw money at: creativity. They really have nothing to lose here.
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Its far better than hater speculations.
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SHOW ME THE MONEY! SHOW ME THE MONEY!
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I DON'T play games everyday, and sometimes I do just for an hour or when my g/f wants to play a multiplayer game like Timesplitters 3 or Mario Kart DD.
It's cheap and better then my gamecube. IT'S BETTER THEN MY GAMECUBE. That's what I have right now and if it's better and can play all my GC games then I am SO there on launch day throwing down my credit card for one.
You want to see a casual gamer??? The most in depth RPG I've played in 5 years is ANIMAL CROSSING.
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http://digg.com/gaming_news/Wii_Japanese_Conference_Coverage_All_The_Links_You_Need_9PM_EST
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:'(
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This link is NOT the live event. It's an old investors event.
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PS3: "$600 of great hardware"
XB360: "The harbingers of the next generation"
Wii: "It's all about the games"
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You and the Nintendo Wii are a *perfect* match.
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LOL. You're as transparent as wonderwoman's invisible jet.
Don't worry wiitards, I'm sure Ninty will reveal the secret uber chip and graphic tricks that give Wii's overclocked gamecube parts the same power as the Cell + RSX, and output in 1080p.
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...because I exist, I am alive. Why are you here?
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http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/10307/
Get with it Joystiq, please.
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is - what I'm doing is working, periodically checking in here, waiting for the news about Wii's 'hidd3n graphix power' (which it *totally* has no need for), and apparently getting under your skin by pointing out your inconsistencies. Et tu?
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Well, that's the gist of it from what I got looking at thier myspace photo galleries.
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