W14 Piranha Wii Shooting Gun

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An excerpt from a Game Informer interview with Hudson Entertainment’s Director of Marketing John Lee by Game Informer:

GI: What are Hudson’s other plans for next-generation consoles?

Lee: We have quite a number of things planned, so you’ll have to stay tuned. We’ll often times make announcements on our Web site before it goes out to masses first, so definitely check out www.HudsonEntertainment.com. Though mind you, our definition of next gen development is quite a bit different than most companies. We aren’t typically out to push specs. We always go back to the basic tenet that gaming needs to be fun. We try to innovate around the concept of fun. So for us, next-gen gaming includes the DS, the Wii and even XBLA. We’re interested in injecting new gameplay concepts into the playing field, and that isn’t defined by better-looking graphics; new and interesting things that you can do on the Wii. New and interesting things you can do over a network, playing against other people. New and interesting ways of buying games that you couldn’t do before. These are the changes in the market place that really get us excited the most!

GI: During his heyday, did anyone from Hudson ever think they’d see a Bonk game on a Nintendo system?

Lee: Actually, Bonk did come out on the SNES many years ago. I have it on my desk, and just finished it last month. It was called, get ready for this: SUPER BONK! Actually, one of the biggest questions I had when I started at Hudson in 2005 was: What in the world ever happened to Bonk? Here was this character that so many people loved. The game won numerous awards, sold like gangbusters, duked it out in a three-way war with Mario and Sonic, and was pretty darn funny as well. Yet by 1995, he just disappeared… And no new games were seen in the U.S. since then. This has led me on a quest to find out more, and what I’m discovering is very fascinating. I’m sure I’ll share it with you one day. If nothing else, the fact that Bonk is selling so well on VC, and has already shown up on two covers on two different gaming magazines in the past year, is another indication that he’s still very popular.

Full Interview 

Famitsu recently ran a poll with 58 developers at 19 Japanese game companies concerning next generation consoles/software. Check out their responses below.

What are your expectations for next-gen consoles?

PS3
48% Extremely high expectations
32% High expectations
18% Low expectations

Xbox 360
13% Extremely high expectations
40% High expectations and
45% Low expectations

Wii
63% Extremely high expectations
36% High expectations
1% Low expectations

For each next gen system, what software are you looking forward to the most?

PS3’s lineup
Metal Gear Solid 4 (12 votes)
Final Fantasy XIII (10 votes)
The Eye of Judgment (7 votes)
Afrika (6 votes)
Heavenly Sword (4 votes)

Xbox 360
Blue Dragon (18 votes)
Lost Odyssey (14 votes)
Culdecept Saga (8 votes)
Dead Rising (4 votes)
Gundam Operation Troy (4 votes)

Wii
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (26 votes)
Super Mario Galaxy (8 votes)
Wii Sports (5 votes)
Animal Crossing (3 votes)
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (3 votes)

What is your favorite part of each next-gen system?

PS3
Visual power took the top spot on (19 votes)
Overall hardware specs (10 votes)
Cell’s computation abilities (9 votes)
Built-in hard disk (3 votes)
Blu-Ray (3 votes)

Xbox 360
Xbox Live (18 votes)
Ease of development (13 votes)
Connectivity with Windows Vista (12 votes)
Visual power (6 votes)
Overall hardware balance (4 votes)

Wii
Wiimote (34 votes).
Wii Connect 24 (9 votes)
Virtual Console (6 votes)
Ease of development (4 votes)
Console price (3 votes)

What next-gen console do you believe will sell the most?

Wii - 60%
PS3 - 37%
Xbox 360 - 3%

What next-gen console would you like to develop for the most?

Wii - 63%
PS3 - 32%
Xbox 360 - 5%.

What next-gen console are you most looking forward to owning?

Wii - 49%
PS3 - 42%
Xbox 360 - 9%.

Source: GoNintendo

IGN got an interview with Redsteel Artistic director, Stephane Bachelet, about improving Red Steel’s visuals. Below are some interesting points and 10 new Redsteel Wii New Images

We had a clear idea of what we wanted to do. But the challenge was, how could we do it? The console was in development, so we worked on Nintendo GameCube kits and PC and made projections based on the technical specs we started receiving.

The Wii kits actually arrived one month prior E3. The E3 demo had to be delivered so quick that we could not take time to implement the whole graphic chart we developed. So, the E3 version’s graphics was a work in progress, just to be show-able, but not finished. We wanted to take time to see people play for the first time with our game, help them to handle the Wii remote and finally, let the door open to all useful changes that would be necessary for the gameplay.

Do you feel limited vs. the power of the console?

The relative power of the console set a limit, in fact. That is why we started working on a stylish realistic rendering rather than on a pure photorealism treatment, with shaders and other heavy effects. The idea is to provide eye-catching scenes that are really cool and emphasize the action of the game, rather than places that highlight impressive effect, which you do not pay any attention to in the middle of the action anyway.

More About: Stephane Bachelet, Red Steel, Redsteel Wii, E3, Wii remote

Maxconsole published new nintendo wii specs that where sended to them by an anonymous Wii Developer

The Wii Hardware

• Nintendo Wii’s ‘Broadway’ CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwith of 1.9gbyte/sec.
• Nintendo Wii’s ‘HollyWood’ GPU is clocked at 243MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 24megabytes of high speed main memory.
• 64megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as the external main memory. Just like the internal memory, it can be accessed from the CPU and GPU with a maximum bandwidth of 4gbytes/sec and can also store programs in the MEM2.
• The GPU of the Wii is identical to the GC’s but it is on average 1.5X faster.

Wii’s Optical Disc Drive

• Opitcal Disc Drive (ODD) supports single and dual layer Wii disks, discs eject with software or button and the maximum read speed is the equivalent of DVDx6.
• Two main disc types supported the single sided 12cm single sided 4.7gb and the double sided 8.51 GB. Nintendo GC discs also supported. Some of the capacity of the discs are used by the system and games can not use full disc space.
• Inserting a disc will start the Wii console, even if it was already in an off state. Pressing the eject button will change the console to an on state to take out the disc also.

Wii General Overview

• An optional wired LAN adapter that connects to a USB port is in the pipeline for users who do not possess a wireless LAN set-up currently.
• Internal non-removable 512MB flash memory used to storage game save data and downloadable content thus eliminating the Need for a memory card.
• Both Wii discs and Gamecube discs can be played via an intelligent mode swap. When running in GC mode, the Wii’s CPU and GPU will lower to the respective speeds of the GC and some of the MEM2 functions as ARAM.
• Software development environment is an upgrade to the ‘Dolphin SDK’ used with the GC; the same libraries are used so developers can get up to scratch easily as well as the possibility of ports being easier.
• The following interfaces are included with the Wii; SD card slot, Wireless controller, two USB 2.0 ports, wireless LAN, 4x GC controller ports, 2x GC memory card slots and an AV multi output jack (only an analog jack).
• Supports Wii disks (one sided 12cm) and GC discs (one sided 8cm) and console auto switches depends on what disk is inserted
• More than just the Nunchaku is planned as an extension. GC peripherals such as DK bongos can be used in both Wii and GC modes.
• Three power status, on, off and unplugged. To prevent mistaken turn offs, the power button must be held for about a second.

The Wii Control System

• The Wii controller features; Direct Pointing Device, Three axis accelerometer, Wii power button (remotely turn console on/off), buttons, wireless connectivity, indicator LED’s, rumble, battery powered (two AA alkaline batteries) and ability to connect extension unit.
• The Wii controller supports three types of operations; by itself, with a nunchuk extension or with a classic controller. Classic controllers will ship to developers during August 2006.
• The SYNCHRO button on the Wii controller exchanges wireless ID numbers when pressed at the same time as SYNCRHO on the Wii console. Wireless communications are only possible with consoles which have been authenticated.
• The rumble motor can be turned on and off and the intensity can be changed.
• The Wii remote has a pointer for fine movements as well as a motion sensor +/- 3.4G suitable for larger body movements, the nunchuk attachment has a sensor of +/- 2G
• The sensor bar must be placed above or below a TV set, the pointer measures coordinates between the ends of the bar which are about 20cm apart.
• The Wii remote has four status, disconnected, communicating, establishing connection and pairing wait status.
• The pointer can measure co-ordinates within bounds of rectangle centered upon the sensor bar, thus it can also measure points beyond the screen. It also responds to strong light sources, windows, fluorescent lamps, fireplaces, mirrors etc.
• Due to players hands shaking while holding the controller, a ring buffer allows a precise direction to be created to hold and average accelerator samples.

Wii Broadway CPU

Broadway is Wii’s CPU. Broadway functionality and specifications are as follows.

• Operating speed: 729 MHz
• Bus to main memory: 243 MHz, 64 bits (maximum bandwidth: 1.9 gigabytes/sec)
• 32-kilobyte 8-way set-associative L1 instruction cache
• 32-kilobyte 8-way set-associative L1 data cache (can set up 16-kilobyte data scratch pad)
• Superscalar microprocessor with six execution units (floating-point unit, branching unit, system register unit, load/store unit, two integer units)
• DMA unit (15-entry DMA request queue) used by 16-kilobyte data scratch pad
• Write-gather buffer for writing graphics command lists to the graphics chip
• Onboard 256-kilobyte 2-way set-associative L2 integrated cache
• Two, 32-bit integer units (IU)
• One floating point unit (FPU) (supports single precision (32-bit) and double precision (64-bit))
• The FPU supports paired single floating point (FP/PS)
• The FPU supports paired single multiply add (ps_madd). Most FP/PS instructions can be issued in each cycle and completed in three cycles.
• Fixed-point to floating-point conversion can be performed at the same time as FPU register load and store, with no loss in performance.
• The branch unit supports static branch prediction and dynamic branch prediction.
• When an instruction is stalled on data, the next instruction can be issued and executed.
• All instructions maintain program logic and will complete in the correct program order.
• Supports three L2 cache fetch modes: 32-Byte, 64-Byte, and 128-Byte.

Supports these bus pipeline depth levels: level 2, level 3, and level 4.
Reference Information: Broadway is upward compatible with Nintendo GameCube’s CPU (Gekko).

Wii Hollywood GPU

Hollywood is a system LSI composed of a GPU and internal main memory (MEM1). Hollywood is clocked at 243 MHz. Its internal memory consists of 3 megabytes of embedded graphics memory and 24 megabytes of high speed main memory.

Hollywood includes the following.

• Graphics processing unit (with 3 megabytes of eDRAM)
• Audio DSP
• I/O Bridge
• 24 megabytes of internal main memory
• Internal main memory operates at 486 MHz.
• Maximum bandwidth between Hollywood and internal main memory: 3.9 gigabytes per second
• Possible to locate a program here

Reference Information: Hollywood is similar to Nintendo GameCube’s Flipper and Splash components.

Wii External Main Memory (MEM2)

Wii uses 64 megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as external main memory. Like internal main memory, MEM2 can be accessed directly from Broadway and the GPU at high speed and has a peak bandwidth of 4 gigabytes/sec. Programs can also be placed in MEM2.

More About: nintendo wii specs, Wii Developer, Wii Hardware, Wii’s Optical Disc, Wii Control System, Wii Broadway CPU, Wii Hollywood GPU, Wii External Main Memory

DigitalBattle.com are reporting that an upcoming issue of gaming magazine Game Informer has been leaked, it allegedly contains some very interesting details about the Wii.

As previously speculated the console will include a built in camera allowing users to take pictures of themselves and scan them onto characters within the game. This technology was shown by Nintendo many years ago using the Game Boy Camera peripheral, could it really be making a comeback?

Ti the creators of the ‘Hollywood GPU’ for the Nintendo Wii spoke to GameDaily and had the following to say:

“I think what you saw [on Wii] was just the tip of the iceberg of what the Hollywood chip can bring to the Nintendo Wii.

The team that worked on this chip also worked on the Flipper chip that was in GameCube, and they’ve been working with Nintendo for a very long time so there’s a great chemistry with the two teams working together.”

“I really don’t think that it’s about the [specs]; I think it’s about the innovation that it brings to the table—the motion-sensing, the always-on capability, which is really cool too—the fact that the chip is powerful enough and responsive enough to be there at a moment’s notice, and I think that’s pretty cool for the average gamer…(about 360 and Wii GPU)

They’re different chips for different platforms and different uses. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison to put them on a chart [to analyze]. That’s not what it’s all about… I think if you focus on the capabilities that the chip will have for the average consumer, with the amazement and wow factor, I think that’s the value that we bring.”

Source: GameDaily

More About: Hollywood GPU, Nintendo Wii, Wii, Wii GPU

EasyNintendo.net spoke to Xavier Poix of Ubisoft in an exclusive interview which suggests that Wii is much more powerful then what was originally thought. The following is what was revealed in the interview in terms of specifications of the Wii:

CPU is comparable to an AthlonXP 2400+ to an AthlonXP 3000+. This new revelation shows that the clock speed is possibly between 2.0 Ghz to 2.2 Ghz but can perform much better as AthlonXP’s do.

GPU is comparable to an ATi Radeon X1400 and X1600. In comparison to the Xbox 360, the GPU on the 360 is sometimes compared to an X1800.

As for Red Steel it will have 4x Antialiasing and 8x Anisotropic Filtering.

Wii will have around 8 Pixel Pipelines (which suggests that if the GPU according to IGN was at 243Mhz, the number of MPixels is at 1944 compared to Gamecube’s 648).

GPU processes physics, in the sense that it takes a load off of the CPU. For EDRAM, 2MB for framebuffer, 2MB for Zbuffer and 4mb for texture cache.

RAM Speed at 640Mhz. Gamecube was at 325Mhz.

This Nintendo Wii specs are not official so take it as a fundamented wii rumor

source: Easy Nintendo

More About: Xavier Poi, Wii, specifications of the Wii

• Go to the Japanese Property Digital Library
• Go to PAJ (under Patent&Utility Model)
• Fill in the first text box, NINTENDO and then press the Search button
• You will find a number of hits (currenlty 560),
• Click on the Index Indication Button
• Click the first Patent of 2006 named Game Device (Patent number, 2006 - 020691).

More About: Nintendo 3D patent, 3D display, Nintendo 3D, Japanese Property Digital Library, 2006 - 020691

Name: Wii Sports
Format: Wii™
Developer: Nintendo
Launch Date: TBA
ESRB: RP (Rating Pending)
Game Type: Sports
Players: 1-4, depending on the game

KEY INFORMATION

• Wii Tennis (1-4 players):Players grab the controller like a racket and swing – the game willregister forehands, backhands, volleys, lobs, slices, spin and powerdepending on how fast the user swings and at what angle.

Don’t worryabout moving around the court to get to the ball – the gameautomatically moves players into position.

• Wii Baseball (1-2 players):Grip the controller like a bat and swat fastballs out of the park in ahome run derby.