Miyamoto not worried about console power, talks switch to HD, Wii U system/GamePad changes
As has been the case for quite some time, Nintendo isn’t concerned with console power. The Wii U is capable in its own right, but no one expects it to offer more juice than Microsoft and Sony’s next-gen systems.
Shigeru Miyamoto was recently asked about the Wii U’s power relative to the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 successors. He responded by saying that power and cost must be balanced, and in a separate answer, said that “it’s easy to lose sight of whether a game is fun or not.”
Head past the break to see all of Miyamoto’s comments about console power, Nintendo’s switch to HD, and changes made to the Wii U (the hardware hasn’t changed over the past year, but obviously the GamePad has).
Miyamoto on whether or not Wii U will be powerful to deal with Sony/Microsoft’s next-gen consoles…
“If the conversation is only really about whether the power is going to match up to another generation of hardware from, say, Sony or Microsoft, I can’t answer that question yet. [Wii U] might not be as powerful as those systems when they eventually do come around. But I think that the more important question is… It’s not just about power alone, but how to balance what you’re offering in terms of power with cost.”
Miyamoto on how Nintendo usually doesn’t take a loss on hardware…
“The cost to performance ratio is something we do spend a lot of time thinking about. We also think about the environment that we’re designing for. So in today’s living room, where there are a lot of HDTVs, but they’re not yet mostly 3D TVs, I think the console is certainly adequately powerful to create gaming experiences that will look really good on those displays. But whenever we talk about who’s winning in a power competition, I think it’s easy to lose sight of whether a game is fun or not. Which is certainly going to be more important to me.”
Miyamoto on how moving from standard definition to HD is a key moment for Nintendo’s development, even though others made the leap a few years ago…
“I think that we have enough power here to bring the kind of advanced games you see on other hardware in a totally unique form, that is different from the way it’s realized in other places. In the case of Wii, we had a really clear decision, because we did not go HD on that platform, we stayed SD. That decision was based on the number of HD displays that were actually in people’s homes, and that number has certainly changed since then as well. But at the same time, like now, we’re thinking about how to balance our ability to bring a completely unique experience to consumers along with the cost that they’ll have to pay to be able to have that experience in the first place. I’m very happy with the balance that we’ve been able to strike. What’s left is how developers use it.”
Miyamoto on whether or not the Wii U hardware changed at all within the past year…
“The system itself hasn’t really changed. In order to maintain a consistent development environment, you really have to fix your specs at one point and let people know what they’re designing for, so they can make good progress.”
Miyamoto on the changes to the Wii U GamePad…
“Yes, the GamePad itself has changed a lot. One of the things we’ve focused on was making sure it would be very easy for players who are accustomed to the 3DS to pick it up and find it comfortable to use. So to that extent, we lengthened the sticks a little bit, we added the ability to press down on the sticks, and overall I feel like we really were able to improve the quality of that hardware a lot. I’m excited about the prospects of people using the gyro to look around as a second monitor in somewhat hardcore games. That was something we really wanted to add. We spent a lot of time doing hand-holding tests, to make sure that the hardware felt really comfortable. And as a result, we improved the grip and how it feels when you access the L and R buttons, which resulted in a very different overall shape, I think, that is very comfortable.”
