Mr Dip
join:2005-02-28
Lisle, IL | reply to Boomer86
Re: It would be a mistake... said by Boomer86:to add HD capability to the existing Wii console; it's been on the market for nearly THREE YEARS already with only firmware updates. The smart thing for Nintendo to do is to add HD and streaming video functionality to the (eventual) successor to the Wii console. The original Wii could continue to be sold as a value model, while the next generation console could be made backwards compatible with existing Wii software. Sony did it with the Playstation line successfully for almost a decade. That would be a bigger mistake if you did that in 2010. A new HD Wii console sold alongside the existing Wii as a value model? That will alienate the two market segments. The Wii's biggest success is the fact that anyone can pick it up and play it. It also means that any soccer mom can go to Target and buy a Wii game and it works. Making games that are now "Wii HD Only" complicates things.
It makes better sense to release an external scaler/hard drive for the existing Wii. You do not need distribute new developmental kits to the 3rd party developers. They merely continue to make Wii games - the scaler will upscale the 480p image to 720p - there is your "HD" gaming. The hard drive needs to work in conjuntion with the scaler to stream true 720p Netflix right to the TV. |
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1 edit | Why would it be impossible to run HD games at 480p?
Computer games have quality, detail, and resolution settings to run on older less capable hardware. There is no reason wii games can't use the same techniques.
And tvs already upscale video to match their resolution. |
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Mr Dip
join:2005-02-28
Lisle, IL | 480p is not HD. Many Xbox 360 games are native in sub-HD resolutions - including Halo 3 and the Call of Duty series. It's the console that scales to 720p to handoff to the TV. Some TVs upscale great, others don't. A scaler on the Wii gives the power of quality control to Nintendo. It also gives them the ability to make games that will work without the scaler, but could come optimized for an HD peripheral. |
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| I never said 480p was HD. I am saying games meant for 720p can be displayed at 480p and rendered at 480p by the older hardware.
The only issue here is if a game designed for HD can be ran by older non HD Wiis.
As long as they can be, then there is no issue. New games can support HD but still run on the older Wiis. |
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