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Technology Lifestyle Nintendo Wii games to get sophisticated graphics?
Technology Lifestyle Nintendo Wii games to get sophisticated graphics? | Nintendo Wii games to get sophisticated graphics? |
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| by Stan Beer | |
| Tuesday, 22 April 2008 | |
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High Voltage claims that Quantum3 will provide a better Wii experience for gamers by enabling the development of games with "dynamic bump mapping, light effects, glossing and other visual improvements." "We think it's a real shame that publishers and developers aren't taking advantage of the technical possibilities of the Wii platform. Most Wii games don't even look as good as the later day PS2 titles and that's a real slap in the face to consumers. We believe that third-party developers need to step up to the plate and deliver. The Wii platform is capable of a lot more than what consumers have seen so far. We're hoping to raise a new bar," stated Kerry Ganofsky, company CEO, in a recent IGN exclusive. What is unclear, however, is whether High Voltage has any plans to license its technology to other Wii developers or is going to keep it exclusively in-house - a question iTWire has put to the company and is awaiting a response. If the technology is as good as High Voltage says it is, licensing could be a good way for the company to build the market for high quality graphics on Wii faster, while leveraging its revenues and market reach through other developers. According to High Voltage Software, it has five Wii titles developed using Quantum3 planned for release in the near future.
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When you subscribe get a 12 months license for LiveProject Valued at $99 USD Comments (21)
  written by joh in oZ, April 22, 2008
Yay so my wii will have better graffix, I have a problem showing my wii to my friends because they laugh at me. Every time I pull it out I get laughs and get told to put it away. Please HVS pimp our wii's so we can delve into hardcore action.
written by Jackson Capper, April 22, 2008
Good news! Didn't know it was capable of anything better. So it was really the software simply not taking advantage of the hardware. That was my ONLY criticism of the Wii, now I'm 100% happy with it.
written by Paul Taylor, April 22, 2008
Okay, look at Rayman 2. Ignore the fact that the gmaeplay sucked, in the shooting levels they had the Wii pushed as far as it would go, to the point where the frame rate was getting a bit too rough to play. As a Software Engineer I know that no amount of streamlining code can make up for the deficiencies in the Wii's Graphics Card. P.S. I love my Wii, but it is NOT and will NOT ever be graphically what my PS3 and Xbox are.
Also think about this: If High Voltage can boost the Wii graphics that much through software, imagine how much their software could boost the PS3 or Xbox360!!!! written by C Ross, April 22, 2008
Paul, How do you know that the code in rayman 2 was up to par? It may have been clunky code that made it run badly in high end frame rates. I think good on the company if they have a functional product.
written by Bah humbug, April 22, 2008
This is just bump mapping and lighting in a single scene demo and is easy to do. there is no need for all this press over this.
written by Warwick, April 22, 2008
Great, now all they need is another company to start making games worth playing for the console.
written by Matrix, April 22, 2008
Whoa...... hold the horses... Perhaps people should wait and see a real demo before getting too excited over mere words. Words are cheap! This could be a total load of crap... I find it extremely doubtful that this new Wii software engine can compete with the power of the PS3's Cell Broadband engine. Their claim of providing graphics as good as a PS3 is probably in reality them comparing the BEST Wii game to the cheapest and most nasty piece of garbage ever published for the PS3.
written by CatDogPigCow, April 22, 2008
A trip down memory lane: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...e;=related
written by Dreamer, April 22, 2008
Awwww, more memories here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkmrvg0ezWw&NR;=1
written by Circus, April 22, 2008
PS4 specs revealed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...e;=related
written by decoy, April 22, 2008
I cant believe that the wii's graphics will ever compete with a decent console, let alone a serious pc setup - lets face it, consoles are designed for a little fun, where-as pc's are designed for serious work(all pun's aside, ive seen a lot titles on the ps3 and x-box really go there with their graphics, but as for unseen graphics quality? a PC beats them all hands down.)
So for the fun factor, i cant see the wii knocking the ps3 or x-box off the podium(oh yeah more sales, but has that EVER really equated much to serious gamers? and dont say this isnt about them, as the entire graphics argument is aimed at serious gamers.) Who has the biggest advertising budget? the wii from what i have seen, plus the wii-remote thing/controller, yeah cool - a lot of ppl thought it was cool - and its a serious jump in technology when it comes to interaction, but at the end of the day, a cool remote does not make up for anything. Now they go after the graphics, but you can only code so much before your hardware starts to let you down... Hardware? oh im sorry cant upgrade your video card? need to spend another 500 to get an entire new system? oh terribly sorry! (hehe had to add that last part :P) Overall, new graphics? cool, but you still wont touch the hardcore gaming market, which has weighed and measured the wii, and found it severely lacking. written by faux, April 23, 2008
new software that will boost the wii graphics, great. There really should be no argument about the wii and hardcore gamers. Nintendo intended the wii for the more casual, fun players out there. not the hardcore get stuck in and keep goin gamers. don't get me wrong, i know how good it is to get into a really good, deep pretty game. but at the same time there has to be some respect given to nintendo for what they have done here. Fingers crossed that the new software will make 3rd party games look as good as some of the first party.
written by nintendo89, April 23, 2008
If I want to play a first person shooter with insane graphics I will simply use my computer, rather then shell out hundreds of dollars for an Xbox 360 or a PS3. The reason I bought a Wii is because Nintendo has always been at the forefront of console gaming due to their innovations in game play. I mean if you look at spec’s for both the Sega Mega Drive and the NES the Mega Drive far surpassed the NES (from a hardware standpoint), but due to its spectacular games the NES was a far better console. I don’t know if anyone remembers back that far but at that time Sega was like “we have a 16-bit console with blast processing” whereas Nintendo was like “well we have Mario 3, Zelda, Contra, Megaman, Final Fantasy etc.” and I need not remind anyone who won that war. To me this is exactly whats going on today, Sony and Microsoft are constantly pushing their hardware to the next level while Nintendo is just keeping it’s consoles at a competitive level and focusing more about pushing its games to the next level. Back in the day all sega had was better hardware and Sonic, yet they failed miserably to Nintendo. Today all Microsoft’s got is better hardware and Halo, we’ll wait and see what happens.
written by JimM, April 23, 2008
This is the same High Voltage Software that brought us "Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude" and "The Family Guy Video Game!"?
Forgive me for being skeptical about their ability to deliver a cutting-edge FPS engine. written by DarkObelisk, April 23, 2008
There's a demo out. Do a YouTube search on "The Conduit - High Voltage Quantum3 Tech Demo".
written by Bitter and Twisted, April 23, 2008
DarkObelisk is a bit lazy... could have pasted the YouTube hyperlink for us in here?
written by Bitter and Twisted, April 23, 2008
OK, I just watched that YouTube video mentioned by DarkObelisk. It seems OK but the proof will be in the pudding to see real gameplay of future games.
If software engines can do this with crap hardware, imagine what newer software engines for the PS3 can do? written by Question Everything, April 23, 2008
I am tired of the Wii. In fact, I am tired of the XBOX 360 and PS3 too. There are just a hint bitter than their earlier versions. Wait until we have virtual reality, or something like Matrix :-)
written by Not a fan, May 10, 2008
I don't understand that people can be sceptical about this being on par with 360. I also don't understand why an engine like this would boost 360 or PS3 graphics as well since those consoles seem to output these graphics by default.
The idea is that High Voltage software implemented some light and bumpmapping effects on the Wii. The techdemo shows some nice light reflection in the sword and axe. Besides that, the bumpmapping shows some very good shadowing too. The question is: how much CPU and GPU capacity does that tech demo use. The 360 and PS3 will output this without breaking a sweat but how will the Wii perform? To make this work in a game it shouldn't use more than 20% of its capacity. BTW those game screenshots look like crap compared to the tech demo. I'd expect light reflection and bumpmapping on all surfaces, not only in game characters. Tell us what you think! better to paste your comment - this page will refresh every 15 minutes
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