14 DAY TRIAL // The recently unveiled Nintendo Wii U, even if it is backwards compatible with the current Wii, won't offer any extra features when playing them, like texture filtering or upscaling their image to an HD resolution like 720p, and it won't be able to play older GameCube titles.
The Nintendo Wii is the most popular console this generation, even if it can't even display its games in a high definition resolution, something that has been lamented by fans for quite some time.
Now, with last week's announcement of the HD-capable Nintendo Wii U, which is backwards compatible with the current Wii, many were wondering whether the Japanese company might add in features like upscaling or texture filtering, as seen on devices like the PlayStation 3.
Sadly, according to Giant Bomb, which cites Nintendo Public Relations Head Mark Franklin, the Wii U won't be able to upscale the image of the regular Wii games, keeping them at a standard definition, instead of a high one, which could have been achieved by practically enlarging the image and applying certain filters to decrease the pixelation.
Dedicated fans have found ways around the HD problem of the Wii, and are using special emulators to play their games on computers and enlarging the image to whatever resolution they want, but such a feature in the Wii U would've certainly made plenty of Wii owners flock to the new device.
More bad news was also delivered about the Wii U, as the new console is backwards compatible with just the Wii, and not the older GameCube device, which the current Wii still supports.
While this is a pretty sad thing to hear, Nintendo is no doubt preparing to unleash legacy titles made for older platforms like the GameCube or Nintendo 64, onto the Wii U by remastering them in high definition, as is the current trend for platforms like the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
Nintendo Wii U was presented to the world last week and is getting ready to be deployed during 2012.