It's been over a year since the unveiling of Nintendo's next-gen console the Wii U yet somehow gamers are still unsure just how powerful the device really is. Before anyone truly had an opportunity to play around with it, analysts and industry professionals were claiming the console was a little more powerful than an Xbox 360, but not by much.
However, now that the Wii U's specs have (presumably) been finalized, gamers are starting to get a better idea of just how powerful the machine is. Unfortunately, according to Dynasty Warriors developer Tecmo Koei, it's not as powerful as many had hoped.
Speaking with Eurogamer, Akihiro Suzuki revealed that the console's CPU is actually less powerful than the current generation of consoles, namely the PS3 and the aforementioned 360. Tecmo Koei currently has a Wii U launch title, Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper, slated to release but, as Eurogamer notes, the game struggles to deliver a comparable Dynasty Warriors experience.
For example, the frame rate and amount of enemies on screen is not on par with what Sony and Microsoft's consoles are capable of delivering. As Suzuki explained, it all comes down to power, and the Wii U apparently just can't compete.
"One of the weaknesses of the Wii U compared to PS3 and Xbox 360 is the CPU power is a little bit less. So for games in the Warriors series, including Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi, when you have a lot of enemies coming at you at once, the performance tends to be affected because of the CPU."
Suzuki does acknowledge the Wii U's GPU is capable of delivering superior graphics and is, most importantly a new console. Additionally he feels there are inherent "challenges" to working on an unknown platform, but still believes the Wii U packs a little less power. He says that the team at Tecmo Koei is working to improve the quality of the experience in Warriors Orochi, but is not making any promises.
Back at E3 2012, the Wii U seemed to run fine in most cases, but that was with the suite of games Nintendo had handpicked to represent their console. Going hands-on with Lego City: Undercover did result in a game crash, but given the circumstances that wasn't entirely unexpected.
For fans that are mulling over purchasing either of the two Wii U options, the decision only continues to get tougher, which is being made even worse by the fact the console is selling out everywhere. How powerful is it? What are the specs of the console? These are all questions fans want to have answered, yet they appear to have to pre-order the console on blind faith in the hope it isn't a complete waste of money.
Does the Wii U's apparent lack of power give you pause about pre-ordering the console?
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper currently has no North American release date, but will be out in Japan on December 8, 2012. Nintendo's Wii U releases on November 18, 2012.
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Source: Eurogamer