Fact: Nintendo to release HD console + controllers with built-in screen late 2012

[V3]

well they did say it was Embedded in the CPU, also I remember IBM saying something about a large amount of Embedded ram.

Maybe it's 768 Megabits, which equates to 96 MB. More reasonable but still large amount.

I am sure Nintendo want something similar to their 1T SRAM memory system, to make Wii U easy to develop for (or needed for easy backward compatible), maybe this eDRAM is it and you're right IBM did say large amount of eDRAM.

 

[onQ]

What is that supposed to change?

I don't know maybe they are doing things different since it's a console & the GPU & CPU will be using the same ram.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Humm...
Hollywood does contain 24MBytes of 1T-SRAM, and wikipedia says that 1T-SRAM is called as "eDRAM" among engineers:

Some engineers use the terms 1T-SRAM and "embedded DRAM" interchangeably, as some foundries provide Mosys's 1T-SRAM as “eDRAM”.

Even then, according to the mm^2/MBit ratio using the latest 1T-SRAM-Q, 768MBytes at 45nm would amount to a total of ~860mm^2 of die area just for the "eDRAM".

768Mbits (96MBytes) would be realistic with 107mm^2 of die area, but it's just impossible that it would be used as the sole source of system RAM.. which takes us back to the starting point.



Nonetheless, these specs aren't DOUBLE CONFIRMED so I'm not trusting them that easily.

 

[Rodéric]

http://www.vg247.com/2011/12/02/more-rumored-wii-u-specs-surface-hardware-similar-to-xbox-360/

 

[AlNom]

That's the same thing above.

 

[V3]

Nonetheless, these specs aren't DOUBLE CONFIRMED so I'm not trusting them that easily.

I still think the CPU has its own eDRAM like what IBM said in their press release and that will be the main memory. The GPU will have its own RAM, probably 2-4GB GDDR5 for textures and buffers. I wonder if it will have something like A-RAM too, DDR3 is sort of cheap now, 1-4 GB DDR3 probably could help too.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

I still think the CPU has its own eDRAM like what IBM said in their press release and that will be the main memory. The GPU will have its own RAM, probably 2-4GB GDDR5 for textures and buffers. I wonder if it will have something like A-RAM too, DDR3 is sort of cheap now, 1-4 GB DDR3 probably could help too.

2-4GB of GDDR5 for the GPU alone?

Not even in my wildest dreams have I thought the GPU would have that much dedicated memory.

 

[AlphaWolf]

I still think the CPU has its own eDRAM like what IBM said in their press release and that will be the main memory. The GPU will have its own RAM, probably 2-4GB GDDR5 for textures and buffers. I wonder if it will have something like A-RAM too, DDR3 is sort of cheap now, 1-4 GB DDR3 probably could help too.

that seems a bit optimistic

 

[AlNom]

Just a wii bit.

ಠ_ಠ

 

[bgassassin]

I still think the CPU has its own eDRAM like what IBM said in their press release and that will be the main memory. The GPU will have its own RAM, probably 2-4GB GDDR5 for textures and buffers. I wonder if it will have something like A-RAM too, DDR3 is sort of cheap now, 1-4 GB DDR3 probably could help too.

Do what now?

 

[msia2k75]

I still think the CPU has its own eDRAM like what IBM said in their press release and that will be the main memory. The GPU will have its own RAM, probably 2-4GB GDDR5 for textures and buffers. I wonder if it will have something like A-RAM too, DDR3 is sort of cheap now, 1-4 GB DDR3 probably could help too.

It will be 1GB for the full system imo (and if Nintendo is generous since they are,apparently, testing two solutions, one with 768MB and the other one with 1GB ) and about the RAM, I wouldnt be surprised if they use DDR3.

 

[Kaotik]

I still think the CPU has its own eDRAM like what IBM said in their press release and that will be the main memory. The GPU will have its own RAM, probably 2-4GB GDDR5 for textures and buffers. I wonder if it will have something like A-RAM too, DDR3 is sort of cheap now, 1-4 GB DDR3 probably could help too.

I'm quite sure every single next gen console will use UMA (+ possible dedicated eDRAM for CPU and/or GPU) so no separated pools of memory

 

[Teasy]

It will be 1GB for the full system imo (and if Nintendo is generous since they are,apparently, testing two solutions, one with 768MB and the other one with 1GB ) and about the RAM, I wouldnt be surprised if they use DDR3.

You seem to be referring to that silly rumour from WiiUDaily.com They're talking about eDram not standard memory so yes 768GB or 1GB would be amazingly generous. Its almost definitely a fake rumour anyway though. The only chance it could be true is if they're referring to 768Mb (96MB) and 1Gb (128MB), but even then its not believable.

There are far more believable sources out there and from those sources it seems the minimum amount of memory inside WiiU will be 1GB plus some eDram, with the maximum being 2GB.

 

[sfried]

There are far more believable sources out there and from those sources it seems the minimum amount of memory inside WiiU will be 1GB plus some eDram, with the maximum being 2GB.

Dev kits came with 2GB, was it? But most kits half was probably used for debugging. And those were the old kits, too.

 

[babybumb]

If they really think they can get the hardcore market by releasing a 1GB 360+ with a gimmick in 2012 they are in a world of hurt. 360 and PS3 will still be in full swing with all the games and established online platform. This product is minimum two years late and i dont see very long life expectancy outside Nintendo 1st party. Current Wii only owners a migrating to Sony and Microsoft in drowes to actually get something to play. Wii U is too late late to stop them. Even the Nintendo fanboys have moved on if you look at the sales decline of Zelda vs boom of Skyrim.

The gimmick is not going to do them much in the casual market when stuff like Kinect is already in the market and much cheaper than a Wii U in 2012. Wii U is going to to do very moderate figures vs Wii.. this console is basically for the hardest of the hardcore that have to all consoles but barely relevant to most

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Do you have real numbers supporting the view Wii owners are moving in droves to PS360? My guess is that Wii's are sitting in cupboards waiting for the next family event like Christmas, being treated more like a social boardgame than console. And as such I don't think there's any crossover interest between the larger part of the Wii owners and PS360 owners. There'll be families that own both to serve mildly different entertainment purposes, but not those who have ditched Wii Waggle to play hardcore FPSes and RPGs. At least not 'in droves' as you suggest (IMO, netight of us presenting supporting facts).

Your reference to Skyrim is not correlated to Wii owners migrated. That's just circumstantial evidence. It could well be that Wii owners aren't interested in more Zelda while PS360 owners are keen to play a top rated, epic RPG, with these populations being discrete and unrelated.

 

[patsu]

Nintendo’s President Expecting a Strong Holiday and Says What He Really Thinks of Zynga
http://allthingsd.com/20111222/nint...iday-and-says-what-he-really-thinks-of-zynga/

...

The market is going to continue to differentiate based on the types of experiences that consumers want. As an example, if I’m the head of a household of a family of four, and my disposable income is $50,000 to $60,000, I’m going to continue to look at the Wii because of the software, and it’s a great entertainment device. For consumers who want to have the latest gadgets and have a higher disposable income, that’s for the Wii U.

We haven’t announced pricing or availability or any other details, but given the current pricing of the Wii, it’s not going to be there.
We’ve been very clear, the market is going to decide how long these products will coexist side by side. Our goal is to launch the Wii U and drive it into the marketplace, but it will speak to a different consumer than the one that is buying the Wii today during the holidays.

...

Are you considering adding more content like live TV or movies?

If the consumer wants live TV, they can get it through the options they have today. We always ask the question, ‘What can we do that’s new and provocative?’ And we will continue to think of new and provocative experiences for the user.

...

You don’t see that innovation happening in social gaming?

The companies that will win in the social gaming space need to show an ability to provide the new and different experiences, and a way to monetize it. In the end, these are businesses that need to make money.

Is that your comment on the free-to-play model? Will you experiment with free-to-play?

I have two comments on that.

First, we make games for Nintendo devices, and that is a competitive advantage for us. You can only play Mario on a Nintendo device, so from that standpoint, I wouldn’t expect to see our franchises on other platforms, and I would argue Facebook is a platform.

My second point, on whether we will experiment with other forms of monetization?

Certainly.

How that comes about, or which ones we do first, that’s all experimentation that’s going on right now in our various studios.

 

[BRiT]

Nintendo’s President Expecting a Strong Holiday and Says What He Really Thinks of Zynga

The market is going to continue to differentiate based on the types of experiences that consumers want. As an example, if I’m the head of a household of a family of four, and my disposable income is $50,000 to $60,000, I’m going to continue to look at the Wii because of the software, and it’s a great entertainment device. For consumers who want to have the latest gadgets and have a higher disposable income, that’s for the Wii U.

Seriously, what family of 4 has a disposable income of $60K? I know for a single person in the US to have that much disposable income you're looking at a salary of well over $120K. What level would that apply for a family of 4, somewhere well over $250K? (I know kids are expensive). The median income in Cuyahoga county in Ohio is under $63K.

Way to be completely out of touch there.

Since they're targeting the uber rich for the Wuu, does this mean system price of $599 with $130 controllers?

 

[AlNom]

Clearly, Reggie meant himself.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Seriously, what family of 4 has a disposable income of $60K? I know for a single person in the US to have that much disposable income you're looking at a salary of well over $120K. What level would that apply for a family of 4, somewhere well over $250K? (I know kids are expensive). The median income in Cuyahoga county in Ohio is under $63K.

Way to be completely out of touch there.

Since they're targeting the uber rich for the Wuu, does this mean system price of $599 with $130 controllers?

$120K?! How come you assume that 60K of disposable salary means an income of >2*$60K??

What are those people spending more than $60K/year in? New car every year?!

Are you also assuming only the father has a job? Is that usual in USA nowadays?
Because it's pretty much prohibitive in Europe nowadays... Not economically, but culturaly (assuming both parents are healthy, of course).


Looking at Reggie's case, from my point of view it's not that far-fetched. If both parents earn ~$55K/year and they don't have huge house/car loans to sustain, I don't see why one would need to spend more than $30K/year on basic/functional needs.