Nintendo hides Wii's HD

[wraggster]

IT IS AMAZING WHAT you can get out of a drunk Nintendo executive. Who would have thought Nintendo knows anything about CPUs and GPUs?
The bit I got the other day was that the Wii GPU has full hi-def capabilities even if they are not exposed.

The reason you don't see it is twofold, the fact that the console can't really push HD rez at reasonable frame rates and the fact that it would cost more. The latter will probably become a moot point with the first Wii refresh but the former problem is really here to stay.

What it comes down to is that the Wii may be the best console out there, but don't look for 1920 * 1080 games pushing full rez. If anything, SD or maybe widescreen upscaled is about all you will see, but for me, I just want HDMI outs

via THEINQ

[bmemike]

I'd be more than happy with 16:9 @ 780p (even though I have a full 1080p setup).

[brainpan]

If my Wii was a graphics beast like the PS3 or 360, I would want to be pushing higher resolutions but considering what it is, I am happy running 480p. I'll save my TV's HDMI port for something else.

[SwordOfZork]

Yeah, being able to run at high resolution, and being able to run WELL at high resolution are two different things entirely.

[iniquitous_beast]

Who wrote this? The article gives no specs. It mentions no particular "Nintendo Exec", and it quotes nobody. Besides, if the wii is comparable to the xbox 360, then it can surely do 720p in a few instances. This is hardly newsworthy.

[wolfpack]

Hmm... HD in Wii... yea i can see that. Nintendo shouldve worked out the kinks in it though for it to push the full 1080i, because zelda wouldve looked kickass in it.

[bmemike]

There weren't "kinks" in the Wii that prevents HD, it's hardware deficiencies. I can guarantee that we wouldn't have a $250 system if we were HD-capable.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, I'm more interested in great game play than great graphics. If I need to compromise one, I'll take the weaker graphics than poorer game play.

And if the Wii was going to do HD, it'd be insane not to go full 1080p in lieu of 1080i. That'd just be inciting criticism for a half-way implementation.