14 DAY TRIAL // Video game hardware maker Nintendo has offered some more information on the actual hardware and physical specifications of the upcoming Wii U home console, with president Satoru Iwata saying that the device is six times as powerful as the original Wii, which was launched six years ago.
The new console will have 1 GB of memory that will be reserved exclusively for the system and another GB that is available for video games and other applications to access.
The 2GB total dwarfs the 512 MB that’s available in the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft.
This means that the console will have no problem running games that are originally developed for this generation of hardware and that titles created specifically for the Wii U will probably have sharper textures and better Artificial Intelligence routines.
Nintendo has also revealed that the game disk for the Wii U will have a capacity of 25 GB, which probably means that there will be no option to install any game content to the hard drive of the console.
The 8 GB of flash memory that the Basic version of the Nintendo home console will have will only be enough to store content that players will download from the network and the saves for games that are played.
The 32 GB of the Premium might allow game installs but it is unlikely that Nintendo would choose to segregate its player base in any way.
The Wii U is the first device from the company to offer extensive connectivity options, including the new Nintendo Network.
The Premium Wii U package includes, in addition to the hardware of the Basic, a GamePad dock, a GamePad stand and a console stand.
The Wii U is out in North America on November 18, in Europe on November 30 and in Japan on December 8.