FIFA 08 Wii: Mii-supported party games, dev talks Wii vs. Xbox One
by Ross Miller 
{ Jun 14th 2007 at 2:54PM }
While discussing FIFA with Eurogamer, group producer Tim Tschirner was asked his thoughts on the Wii's horsepower. Tschirner said that the console is "about as powerful as the original Xbox," though noting that the video hardware "unfortunately is not as powerful."
Shaders were cited as an issue, which is something we heard previously when Newsweek's N'Gai Croal discussed Wii and Xbox One similarities with anonymous developers. Not that the hardware limitations have hurt its sales, mind you, so can't we all just get along?
Gallery: FIFA 08 (Wii)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
cc123 @ Jun 14th 2007 3:03PM
"Shaders were cited as an issue"
Wii hardware completely maxed out by a soccer game confirmed. ;P
Darkness @ Jun 14th 2007 3:03PM
Not if you guys keep posting articles like this...
Air Guitar @ Jun 14th 2007 3:04PM
i predict that this will go on for 300 comments without anyone actually knowing what theyr talking about
RP @ Jun 14th 2007 3:04PM
I wish people (EA included, obviously) would stop referring to the Ronaldinho character as a Mii. It isn't, by their own admission, seeing that they used their own tools to create him to imitate the style of a Mii.
Arturo @ Jun 14th 2007 3:09PM
Ronaldinho's face is priceless lol. I hope he makes other expressions besides constantly smiling like that though, haha.
Jake @ Jun 14th 2007 3:12PM
Well, I guess the Wii horsepower debate isn't really cool to have anymore, so this thread won't get its good old 350 comments in it, as we all have accepted that the Wii is a last gen console with a new gen controller. But I'm sure that another dev saying that it is at or near the power of the original Xbox is sure to get some fanbois a fumin'.
In one corner, we have the "devs just haven't unlocked its full power" in denial crowd.
In another corner, the "yeah, but at least the Wii is fun because it doesn't have gfx but sweet wiimote" talking Reggie crowd.
In the third corner, the "you paid $250 for a controller wiitards" insecure PS360 fanboy crowd.
And finally, weighing in at 120 pounds and still living with their parents, the "yeah but it is owning sales so screw graphics" corporate whores.
This fight is scheduled for 86 comments. It is a three on one tag team match against the insecure PS360 crowd. The winner will be crowned as the biggest loser. Touch your barely-hanging-on-limp-wrists gloves and keep blows below the belt. Round 1. FIGHT!
Shagittarius @ Jun 14th 2007 3:11PM
Real gamers don't need confirmation that the wii is a piece of shit.
hvnlysoldr @ Jun 14th 2007 3:12PM
NDF assemble. NES!
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/06/14/by-our-consoles-combined-you-are-a-nintendo-short-cuts-entry/
vidGuy @ Jun 14th 2007 3:12PM
He looks more like an actor on those commercials that have live action scenes painted over with computer tools (or a character from Scanner Darkly or any other of a number of films that use that technique).
And I'm stoked that so many people are comparing the Wii hardware to that of the XBOX. The GC nearly matched the XBOX's output on half the hardware - I'm looking forward to SMG looking about twice as good as Sunshine and Zelda Wii looking twice as good as Twilight Princess.
Striderhayasa @ Jun 14th 2007 3:15PM
ok, so let me get this straight, because I'm having a hard ass time understanding this...in some respects Gamecube rivaled Xbox in performance but the Wii has developers making games that look worse than PS2 games on Wii? WTF is that about? is the development community that inept
kbunch @ Jun 14th 2007 3:19PM
Wow the screenies from that futbol game look horrible. I had a Wii. I loved it when I got it but as I played games beyond wii sports and Zelda I realized the control scheme is a gimmic. I just don't see how motion sensitive controls will add to a futbol game. What you tape the remote to your foot.
People also say that the "graphics are good enough"... I believe in that, however the graphics from the screen shots showing an actual match are just terrible.
JodyAnthony @ Jun 14th 2007 3:19PM
SNES!
Konny @ Jun 14th 2007 3:22PM
Third party Wii games are loaded with mini-games to appeal to the wii demographic.. ie. the causal gamer is likely to pass up FIFA.. unless it had miini-games and used gimmicks like mii characters.
Dont believe me?
Mario Soccer will sell 20x as many copies.. NO MATTER what EA does or how good FIFA is.
deaftly @ Jun 14th 2007 3:27PM
yup, after mario, metroid and smash bros come out, the wii will be another gamecube,nothing but shitty anime fighting games and crappy ps2 ports with tacked on waggle and nintendo will be laughing because they robbed everyone blind, dumbasses
Adv2k1 @ Jun 14th 2007 3:27PM
NOw Strider the reason for many games not looking all that hot for wii is because they are porting and just throwing up games as quickly as possible. Look at 360 many first gen games on 360 didn't look that much better than xbox games, now you look at Gears of War...By the end of the year we should see some very nice looking wii games. If Factor 5 were making Wii games you would see what wii could do, Rogue Leader on Gamecube still looks great years later.
It really upsets me as a wii owner how little nintendo did with hardware. I love motion stuff but seriously they should of had everything x-box had plus more ram and faster processor. Right now it seems like Wii is xbox from another demension where things are similar yet they are not. I wouldn't mind at all ports of Doom 3 or Chronicales of Riddick those games looked awesome on xbox, now I doubt Wii could do both games because such different hardware. I wouldn't mind if Wii was Xbox 180 in power, but it looks like its more xbox +4 -2 so I have no idea what kind of graphics it can put out.
I never cared for soccer games except Road to World Cup 98 on n64, so maybe motion controls will make this possible to me enjoy this game
Capt. Castellanos @ Jun 14th 2007 3:28PM
#7.
i'm in the reggie crowd listed.
but being a total fanboy.
i'm constantly leaning toward the denial crowd...
but i know that the wii isn't powerful.
but hell, it sure is fun to play.
i just wish the next console is alot more powerful.
along with being fun.
can't i have my cake and eat it too!
cc123 @ Jun 14th 2007 3:29PM
"Wii has developers making games that look worse than PS2 games on Wii? WTF is that about? is the development community that inept"
Why do people put 100% of the blame on the developers? Nintendo designed and put out underpowered hardware. They are trying to get more developers on board by telling them how little they have to spend on development compared to the next gen systems. They put out the msg that graphics don't matter which logically resulted in sub-par graphics.
You Wii fans should start looking in Nintendo's direction to place the blame.
Anni @ Jun 14th 2007 3:32PM
One time, I discussed the Wii's graphical capabilities. And by one time, I mean a fucking hundred. Can we talk about soccer?
Almack64 @ Jun 14th 2007 3:32PM
I guess I've come to the conclusion that having a game that has a totally seperate set of mini-games along with a good main game is fine. I'm just tired of games that entirely consist of mini-games. Like Sonic's minigame suite was almost like getting a free copy of Mario Party with a normal sonic game. Just please to don't remove things from the main game in order to have [space] for these mini-games.
rich U.K. @ Jun 14th 2007 3:46PM
Look, It will take a Nintendo developed game to impress graphics wise. So far Super Mario galaxy looks like the most gorgeous Wii game yet. Are Nintendo the only ones who will be able to make a superb looking game on Wii ?????
Matt B @ Jun 14th 2007 3:40PM
So do you strap the wiimote to your legs for the game so you can run in place and kick for real. isn't that what the wii is about?
Hirsbrunner @ Jun 14th 2007 3:43PM
Shagittarius & WiiSucks (how creative) both need to gargle. Their breath stinks really bad.
Might I suggest Massengill?
Striderhayasa @ Jun 14th 2007 3:43PM
@adv2K1
I understand that and agree to an extent but this is ridiculous. And yeah Factor 5 rocked on GC and 64 when it came to graphic quality. I have Rogue Leader wallpapers in a slide show that runs next to PC, 360 and PS3 screens and it holds up pretty good. That's my problem. Rogue Leader was a release title for GC. There isn't one Wii game that looks as good as Rogue Leader, not one.
@cc123
chill out with that logic because it's not totally true. Look at DS. Developers again are porting trash over to the portable. But then look at Metroid Prime Hunters, NanoStray, Ultimate Spiderman, Mario Kart, Mario 64 DS, Mario 3 on 3...these games have great 3D engines and make use of the technology. Wii development has been pathetic up until this point and after see the short movies of Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3, it looks like Nintendo will still be the best on their own hardware.
These other lazy bastards calling themselves developers are ridiculous.
SuperMario21 @ Jun 14th 2007 3:46PM
If all of the games begin to look as good as Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. then I have no problem with my Wii. We all know by now that the Wii doesn't have that much graphical power. It has been debated for months on end. THE WII CAN'T PRODUCE GRAPHICS LIKE THE PS3 NOR XBOX 360. Ok everyone!!. It won't happen, and you just have to live with that. That doesn't mean that good games won't come out for the system though because games make a system great not graphics. I won't be gettting this game though because I'm not a soccer fan.
vidGuy @ Jun 14th 2007 3:46PM
"the Wii has developers making games that look worse than PS2 games on Wii? WTF is that about?"
Developers are being lazy and trying to score a quick buck. The Wii is a ton of fun. I own almost a dozen games for it already. But if I am disappointed in the visuals we've seen so far, simply because it some cases they don't match up to even the GC's output. But, judging by the videos of SMG, MP3, SSBB, and other Nintendo games, the Wii can do more and will very shortly. Hopefully 3rd party developers will join in and give us something that at least tries to use the hardware.
"I realized the control scheme is a gimmic"
You mean "I think the control scheme is a gimmic (sic)". I personally find the control to be amazing and truly creative. I can't play Madden or Tiger Woods on the 360 anymore because of the controls; the graphics don't even compensate. Sometimes the controls are used in a gimmicky way (swinging the sword in Zelda, for example) but other times they really highlight and benefit the game (stiff arms in Madden, swinging the clubs in Woods, aiming in Zelda). As the Wii ages more games will use the controls in proper ways, and that'll pretty much kill any yells of "gimmick".
Ok, deaftly, we'll see, we'll see. Personally I think when the Wii takes first place later this year we'll see a lot of third party developers dedicating a lot of time to the Wii, in some cases for exclusive games.
JodyAnthony @ Jun 14th 2007 3:52PM
I had to send my wii in to nintendo because the graphics card overheated :( it sucks
oh well, more time to play NES games. I played through Duck Tales 2 on NES yesterday. What a fantastic game.
Borat @ Jun 14th 2007 3:53PM
The Wii can't produce XB games like Chaos Theory and Riddick, which is a real shame.
Still, the GC produced some great graphics...and the Wii can do slightly better.
Theta @ Jun 14th 2007 3:53PM
Attention, attention,
There will be wii games with good graphics, there will be wii games with bad graphics. The console is selling (really) well and people are having fun with it, irregardless of opinions of clueless console fanboys. Thank you.
- This has been a message brought to you by the reality outside of your mother's basement.
Striderhayasa @ Jun 14th 2007 3:54PM
@vidguy
I feel where you're coming from. For me, that would be call of duty 3. Even though it looks gorgeous on PS3, the controls on the will version are so much better. Personally I don't own that many games for the Wii but the games I do own I had a blast with them until I finished them. The Wii has great potential but consoles have been coming out for over 20 years, I just want more developers to do what Factor 5 did. Make a gorgeous launch title that showed off the hardware and they did that shit in 9 months with Rogue Leader.
At any rate, when Metroid Prime 3 drops, I'm so there. When SSBB and Mario Galaxy release, Wii is going to get much love. But again...these are Nintendo made games. All I can do at this point is shake my head at 3rd parties and put my money back in my wallet.
Inv4d3r G1R @ Jun 14th 2007 4:02PM
That's... kinda scary lookin'.
cc123 @ Jun 14th 2007 4:11PM
@Striderhayasa
Nintendo pretty much gave the developers a license to be lazy and made it financially viable. You can't tell the developers that graphics don't matter then hold them accountable when the graphics look like ass.
At the very least first party games should be leading by example and their not. Nintendo themselves are cashing in on the cheap graphics for massive profits phenomenon. I can't comment on what you said about the DS because I don't own one and didn't follow it at all.
The reason I still have my Wii is cause I'm looking forward to SMG and maybe MP3. But I don't see the 3rd party developer effort changing much in the near future and I place the blame on Nintendo.
vidGuy @ Jun 14th 2007 4:14PM
@Striderhayasa
"All I can do at this point is shake my head at 3rd parties and put my money back in my wallet."
No kidding, for now. I think Nintendo's games will always be the best sellers on their consoles, but that's only because they make stellar games. With a growing diversity of Wii owners, there will be demand for most of the third parties' offerings. 3rd parties don't have to outsell Nintendo on their own platform to make a killing. Even a mediocre game could sell 1/2 million copies if there are dozens of millions of potential customers, which I think the Wii will reach before summer 08.
I can guarantee that a real, exclusive Resident Evil would sell millions. If Sadness ever came out (assuming it's a real game), and if it was done right, it could be another million copy seller.
People who don't play the Wii may ask why Wii gamers are content with so-called last-gen graphics; I ask why so-called Next Gen gamers are content with last-gen controls. My hands tense up everytime I grab a PS3 pad. The 360 pad is nice but still confining compared to the Wii setup.
JodyAnthony @ Jun 14th 2007 4:15PM
i place the blame on people that actually get worked up and upset about video games. I will continue to buy games like red steel and farcry vengeance just out of spite for people that bitch and whine.
Neebs @ Jun 14th 2007 4:21PM
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Microsoft is still trying to connect Xbox 360s and PCs.
Theta @ Jun 14th 2007 4:24PM
"I will continue to buy games like red steel and farcry vengeance just out of spite for people that bitch and whine."
Now let's not go THAT far. *laughs*
I actually want to play Red Steel and see what's causing the ruckus. I've seen more and more people mention how the controls work fine once they've "gotten used to it" and want to see this first hand.
Realistically, the console (and everyone's reaction from complete dismissal to wholehearted embrace) took place all of 6 months ago. We can complain about graphically-weak and shallow games all we want, but how do you expect devs to pound out a top-notch title (not to mention diverting considerable resources to the project) when they barely expected the console to be a contender half-a-year ago?
Give it time; whether the wii succeeds or fails in the long-run, it certainly won't be based on the title output from the first few months. In the meantime, just enjoy what's out there (which, contrary to intarweb bitching, isn't all that weak in the first place). This applies, really, to every major console out there.
Striderhayasa @ Jun 14th 2007 4:32PM
"sigh" I guess there's always Pony Friends and Elf Bowling...
Theta @ Jun 14th 2007 4:33PM
It's ok man, Metroid is due out soon. Just have a cold one and sit it out for a bit. ;)
Kye @ Jun 14th 2007 4:52PM
If you've never seen Ronaldinho play then watch a game. Seriously, the man is unbelievably talented.
But for truely breath-takingly brilliant skills you need to see Denilson (Brazil).
Trust me, watch the 1998 world cup Brazil games.
On topic.
Can't wait for this game.
Grindstone @ Jun 14th 2007 4:52PM
Well, if the goal is 300 comments, then I'd better put in my two cents so we get a little closer.
Uhm, I've no time for more than one console. I think Nintendo did a good job putting a new perspective on gaming, especially if it helps those fat american kids lose an extra twinkie, but for myself, my bed is already made, and I don't need an extra pillow for comfort.
T-MeK @ Jun 14th 2007 4:52PM
Is it just me or do the graphics look a lot sharper in this than most other Wii games? (granted it's still the cartoony style but aside from that.)
http://ionglow.com
NvM @ Jun 14th 2007 4:54PM
I really enjoy my wii.
But in the end, i would rather have it that Nintendo made a high-end system and kept the gamecube controller.
samfish @ Jun 14th 2007 4:58PM
"Nintendo pretty much gave the developers a license to be lazy and made it financially viable. You can't tell the developers that graphics don't matter then hold them accountable when the graphics look like ass."
No, they didn't. The said gameplay should come first to graphics.
They never said graphics don't matter. I suppose you're conveniently forgetting that Miyamoto said publicly that developers should start putting EFFORT into their games for the Wii?
Pixelantes Anonymous @ Jun 14th 2007 4:58PM
You gotta laugh at the "my gfx cars beats up your gfx card" idiots. You know who you are.
I get better play out of 1980s Asteroids arcade cabinet with its monochrome graphics than most (not all) modern games. I'm sure those of us with a gfx card fetish will also yell "ASTEROIDS SUCKS!!!!!!111!!!"
samfish @ Jun 14th 2007 5:00PM
Asteroids sucks!1
...but it would RULE in HD 1080p!
Ken @ Jun 14th 2007 5:23PM
Yep. This article confirms it.
Joystiq loves starting flame wars.
But I will not fall for your trap! I'm sure the article had ALOT better things to say, but you pinpointed the fact that the Wii has bad graphics.
Duh. No shit.
(Didn't read article because I could care less about a soccer game).
Vidikron @ Jun 14th 2007 5:26PM
@44
Whatever. Nostalgia is clouding your judgement badly. Asteroids was fun back in the day, but today it's only good to play once in a while to satisfy that nostalgic itch to play an old game. Games like Geometry Wars are the modern day Asteroids and they ARE better.
cc123 @ Jun 14th 2007 5:57PM
"Miyamoto said publicly that developers should start putting EFFORT into their games for the Wii?"
Why isn't Nintendo practicing what they preach then?
Considering he said this sometime in April I believe he was just trying to save face. After seeing what developers let loose on gamers by following the business model Nintendo sold them on they had to say something.
Gavin @ Jun 14th 2007 6:05PM
My predictions for the reviews: It will describe the PS2 style graphics, bemoan the shaky controls but say state that developers are still trying to figure out how to implement it, complain about the online aspects, and close with a comment about how the mini-games are fun as long as you have a few friends over. Then they'll give it something like three of five or 72% but fanbots online wil brag about how amazing it is and that they can never go back to playing soccer with a regular controller.
Was, rinse, repeat for every Wii game ever released from a 3rd party developer.
The Wii is going to be like a combination of the PS2 and the Gamecube. It will be flooded with game titles (like the PS2) but the will be mostly cheaply developed licensed titles and dumbdowned kiddy crud (like the Gamecube). Isn't that going to be fun?
JRM @ Jun 14th 2007 6:40PM
I expected no better from those corner-cutters at EA. Just look at all the crap they've released for the DS over the years, and you'll see they have no clue what to do with non-conventional consoles.
cc123 @ Jun 14th 2007 6:53PM
"I expected no better from those corner-cutters at EA. Just look at all the crap they've released for the DS over the years, and you'll see they have no clue what to do with non-conventional consoles."
What the hell are you talking about? So far EA has been showing some of the better 3rd party support for the Wii.