Nintendo confirms E3 Wii demos ran in GameCube housings

[Abash Alarmist]

A bit of an update on this story (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12906): Nintendo of America PR Manager Matt Atwood has confirmed the rumors that the Wii demos at E3 were running within Gamecube housing.

The Wii hardware we exhibited at E3 2006 was made specifically for the E3 show and is not the final mass-production version. Some of this hardware was cased in Nintendo GameCube housing
The entire article can be found here (http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12739&rp=49) at Gamedaily. (http://www.gamedaily.com/)

[thecrazyd]

This is the most wrong headline ever. He said they were in Gamecube housing, not that they were running on a Gamecube.

[Kamalot]

So were they GameCubes or just a GameCube husk over Wii innards?

The title of the article suggests one thing while the body of the article suggests another.

[agentgray]

This is the most wrong headline ever. He said they were in Gamecube housing, not that they were running on a Gamecube.
You beat me to it. However, every site I've seen with this has done the same thing.

[NoName]

Yea, the title is wrong. They were confirmed to be not running on gamecubes, they just had gamecube casing.

[NoName]

You beat me to it. However, every site I've seen with this has done the same thing.
The two sites I've seen had it right... I mean comeon, Slashdot didn't even mess it up :eek: .

[thecrazyd]

Thanks for fixing the title, Everlost_MI!

[Leon_X_Macbeth]

Yea, the title is wrong. They were confirmed to be not running on gamecubes, they just had gamecube casing.

If the games were not in fact playing off the Gamecube, why would they play the games off a Gamecube look-a-like? Why not the actual Wii console?

[schizoslayer]

Because the Wii Devkits that developers have been using have all been using Gamecube cases since Nintendo either didn't have or still doesn't have (I'm not about to speculate on it) the final dimensions for the Wii's case.

Which fortunately is the easiest bit of the console to fabricate. Delays in supply are ussually caused by silicon rather than plastic.

Heck the Xennon Devkits (Pre-360) were big old G4 cases.

[Dr Quincy]

If the games were not in fact playing off the Gamecube, why would they play the games off a Gamecube look-a-like? Why not the actual Wii console?

Presumably, at a wild guess because the Wii hardware exhibited at E3 2006 was made specifically for the E3 show and is not the final mass-production version and therefore does not come inside the final mass-produced Wii casing. At a guess.

[slink-jadranko]

You'd think putting it in a little black box would have at least stopped all this bollocks...

[jeffool]

I mean comeon, Slashdot didn't even mess it up :eek: .haha, the bar has been set! All other sites fail at life.

[Everlost_MI]

Thanks for fixing the title, Everlost_MI!
Not a problem. It's not just my job, it's my life.



don't tell anyone, k?

[Pantsmonkey]

If the receiver device for the Wavebird, the bit that sticks into the Cube has the same connections as the Wii input devices then those RF adaptors have be reused, they just needed to drop the new bits of tech inside the boxes and use existing controller ports.

No one has huge coffers of completed final hardware at E3 during launch year, there is so many small refinements before it is pushed into full swing.

[ChaosDent]

The Wii's controllers use Blue Tooth, only 1 reciever is needed for up to 7 devices and that will be built in. I'm certain it won't be compatible with the Wavebird. I'm speculating that the Wii controllers will connect with the system through the optical sensors when they are powered on, then negotiate a BT pairing automatically. Controller order is determined by the order you power the controllers on, and controllers don't have to be firmly "linked" with the system.

[Zeal]

Uh if it only ran in the fuckin' case, why is this even being reported...

[benig]

Uh if it only ran in the fuckin' case, why is this even being reported...Because a lot of very silly people think that the Wii games were running on gamecubes.

[31 Flavas]

Uh if it only ran in the fuckin' case, why is this even being reported...It's being run so clear up the rumors and speculation going around.

You even posted in the news article this is ment to clear up....

[Zeal]

Oh I see. I didn't understand the confusion.

[jonat3]

Some interesting comments from Ubisoft:

http://boards.ign.com/nintendo_wii_lobby/b8270/117930488/p1/?1

Basically, Red Steel was running on the wii devkit, but they had to port it from the GC devkit 2 weeks prior to E3.

[Skjef]

The two sites I've seen had it right... I mean comeon, Slashdot didn't even mess it up :eek: .Uh, yeah they did. :)
Nintendo Confirms Wii on GC Housing at E3
kukyfrope writes "Nintendo's PR Manager, Matt Atwood, has confirmed accusations that Wii demo stations at E3 were not running inside the Wii case and instead were running inside Gamecube housing using Wii-spec hardware. 'The Wii hardware we exhibited at E3 2006 was made specifically for the E3 show and is not the final mass-production version. Some of this hardware was cased in Nintendo GameCube housing.'" Update: 05/19 21:08 GMT by Z : Changed 'hardware' to 'housing' in title.Emphasis mine.

[JazGalaxy]

Forget all the speculation. I'm just ultimately curious as to what the potential for Wii games will be. People complain that it's like the gamecube, but I'm one of the few people who seems to remember all the tech demo shots from the early Wii press releases, and they were not far from what we're seeing on 360.

[Dabombpizza]

Forget all the speculation. I'm just ultimately curious as to what the potential for Wii games will be. People complain that it's like the gamecube, but I'm one of the few people who seems to remember all the tech demo shots from the early Wii press releases, and they were not far from what we're seeing on 360.
You must watch really grainy footage of 360 games. I don't think the Wii graphics are anywhere near current 360. Go take a look at CoD2.

[JazGalaxy]

nevermind. I did some searching and the tech demos I had seen were debunked as fake.

[ChaosDent]

None of those are real Jaz, they are renders from disparate sources and are not affiliated with Nintendo in any way. Hell, those renders look cleaner and more detailed than any game on the PC or 360 now, those came out when the expectation for "next generation" graphics were a lot higher than the reality.

[devicelimit]

But really, when have tech predictions been accurate? I remember seeing those Madden 06 predictions a year back and it didn't look near the prediction. I do hope that the Wii is indeed able to do those tech demos in game, but history shows that tech predictions are usually quite optimistic.

[JazGalaxy]

None of those are real Jaz, they are renders from disparate sources and are not affiliated with Nintendo in any way. Hell, those renders look cleaner and more detailed than any game on the PC or 360 now, those came out when the expectation for "next generation" graphics were a lot higher than the reality.

Yeah... just read that.

[DoubleUranium]

What an amazing amount of goodwill Nintendo has - if this was Sony no one would believe them for a second.

[Groo]

The Wii is an overclocked Gamecube with a fancy controller. What's so hard to understand about this?

[Pantsmonkey]

The Wii's controllers use Blue Tooth, only 1 reciever is needed for up to 7 devices and that will be built in. I'm certain it won't be compatible with the Wavebird. I'm speculating that the Wii controllers will connect with the system through the optical sensors when they are powered on, then negotiate a BT pairing automatically. Controller order is determined by the order you power the controllers on, and controllers don't have to be firmly "linked" with the system.

Okay Arthur do you have any proof of that? Im not arguing I just havent seen it written factually anywhere. IMO the Wii controller has an RF Burst Transmitter hidden by the plastic shell. AND a Bluetooth Transmitter for the Accelerometer range sensor. Gyration (the company that makes the Gyroscopes) has a long history of using RF use, the Wavebird is a jewel in the wireless crown for gamers because of it huge range and NON REQUIRMENT for Line of sight.

RF has 1000 rotating auto selecting keyed channels and is cheaper per unit than bluetooth tech.

I am willing to say it has both but if it doesn't have RF I can only scatch my head and ask why Nintendo would abandon its most loved controllers best feature.

Everyone was complaining about range at E3 (Something not practised by wavebird users) so perhaps you are right I really would like confirmation on this though.

http://media.revolution.ign.com/media/827/827423/vids_1.html

http://media.ign.com/thumb/150/1507489/remote_pointer_demo_wii_051206_qtlowwide_thumb.jpg

Theres a Nintendo Pointer tech demo for you! I want to play that game so much it BURNS! BURNS!

[thecrazyd]

The Wii is an overclocked Gamecube with a fancy controller. What's so hard to understand about this?
The 360 is an overclocked XBox with a nicer controller. The PS3 is an overclocked PS2 with a stupid controller.

[shnastybiznastic]

The Wii is an overclocked Gamecube with a fancy controller. What's so hard to understand about this?
That is almost certanly not true. The 'cube uses a PPC750 (G3, folks) based core. it is produced on a .18 micrometre process (AFAIK, the smallest the die has ever been shrunk). The ppc750 is from '97. IBM has confirmed that the chips they are producing for nintendo are manufactures on the 90 nanometre process. Given these facts, and what little nintendo has let go, it's probably based on the 8641 (g4 with onboard memory management) or some other g4 variant with high memory bandwidth. I say this because the step from g3 to g4 is more than a clock bump, it adds instructions and juicy, juicy altivec capacity. void endRant();

[Pantsmonkey]

The 360 is an overclocked XBox with a nicer controller. The PS3 is an overclocked PS2 with a stupid controller.

That's a bit defeatist innit? Simply turning of the 6 Way Duck Tilt makes it the same as a rumble-less Dual Shock.

And if all this stuff was running on GCN hardward anyway that would only be more impressive as some of them looked to be pushing some really nice things around the screen.

*EDIT* And shnastybiznastic they are testing all kinds of Micron sizes .08 and .04 micron ATM. .18 sounds pretty good for a cube ilk tech though.

The actual composition of the chips at below .08 micron presents a whole new range of production problems chip manufacture is pretty freaking interesting for anyone with a free google window =)

[shnastybiznastic]

The actual composition of the chips at below .08 micron presents a whole new range of production problems chip manufacture is pretty freaking interesting
Quoted For Truth! :D

[divinechaos]

So the graphix we saw at E3 were actually from the Rev?

[jonat3]

Yeah, they were from the wii devkits. But i hear that atleast EA and Ubisoft had only 2 weeks to port them from the GC devkits to the wii devkit. So i'm certain we'll see some pretty big improvements at launch.

[mouseclicked]

Okay Arthur do you have any proof of that? Im not arguing I just havent seen it written factually anywhere. IMO the Wii controller has an RF Burst Transmitter hidden by the plastic shell. AND a Bluetooth Transmitter for the Accelerometer range sensor. Gyration (the company that makes the Gyroscopes) has a long history of using RF use, the Wavebird is a jewel in the wireless crown for gamers because of it huge range and NON REQUIRMENT for Line of sight.

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/708/708953p1.html
/\/\/\/\/\
IGN ran an article about Broadcom, the company supplying the Wiimote with Bluetooth technology. Broadcom said the Wii will be the first videogame console to use Bluetooth as a standard for controller-to-console interaction.

RF has 1000 rotating auto selecting keyed channels and is cheaper per unit than bluetooth tech.

I am willing to say it has both but if it doesn't have RF I can only scatch my head and ask why Nintendo would abandon its most loved controllers best feature.

Because I belief RF transmitters are bulkier and they have interferance problems (I can't tell you how much trouble I have with my one Wavebird, let alone when my friends all bring there's and we have to fiddle around with channels for 15 minutes before we get it all working.)

Everyone was complaining about range at E3 (Something not practised by wavebird users) so perhaps you are right I really would like confirmation on this though.

I think that had more to do with sensor bar problems than Bluetooth problems.

Just some thoughts.

-Moses

[51|RandoM]

[url]
Because I belief RF transmitters are bulkier and they have interferance problems (I can't tell you how much trouble I have with my one Wavebird, let alone when my friends all bring there's and we have to fiddle around with channels for 15 minutes before we get it all working.)


Bluetooth has interference problems as well, just an fyi.

As far as RF for the wii, why even build it in if the main controllers are bluetooth? If you want to use a wavebird, you'll be plugging it in just like you did on the cube.

If it took you 15 minutes to set different channels on two wavebird controllers, you probably spend a large portion of your daily commute on the short bus.

[lockwoodx]

Wii are getting scammed into thinking it's a next gen console.

[51|RandoM]

On running WII hardware in the gamecube housing---that I just don't understand.

What practical reason would justify that? It seems to me it would cost them more money to make the wii stuff fit inside a cube housing than to produce a housing that fit the wii stuff.

I think there was more 'cube' to those units than just the housing. :-)

[ChaosDent]

http://revolution.ign.com/articles/708/708953p1.html
/\/\/\/\/\
IGN ran an article about Broadcom, the company supplying the Wiimote with Bluetooth technology. Broadcom said the Wii will be the first videogame console to use Bluetooth as a standard for controller-to-console interaction.


Other announced hardware partnerships include Analog Devices (http://www.analog.com/en/press/0,2890,3__99573,00.html) for solid state accelerometer technology (not gyros) and Pixart (http://www.analog.com/en/press/0,2890,3__99573,00.html) for optical tracking of the sensor bar. BlueTooth makes sense too as it has a standard protocol for transmitting audio, necessary for the controller, and can be used to allow wireless headsets for online communication.

On running WII hardware in the gamecube housing---that I just don't understand. What practical reason would justify that? It seems to me it would cost them more money to make the wii stuff fit inside a cube housing than to produce a housing that fit the wii stuff. I think there was more 'cube' to those units than just the housing. :-)

Everything points to Wii using upgraded Gamecube components, this is consistent with Nintendo's traditional stnance on backwards compatibility with the Gameboy hardware. It seems probable that the new Wii components will still fit into a slightly modified Gamecube development board.

[shnastybiznastic]

BlueTooth makes sense too as it has a standard protocol for transmitting audio, necessary for the controller, and can be used to allow wireless headsets for online communication.
Bluetooth is also immenently hackable :D standardised protocols FTW!

Everything points to Wii using upgraded Gamecube components, this is consistent with Nintendo's traditional stnance on backwards compatibility with the Gameboy hardware. It seems probable that the new Wii components will still fit into a slightly modified Gamecube development board.
I dunno, I mean, all that I have heard that even comes close to stating this is the fact that they used cube housings for e3 kits, which make sense from an engeneering standpoint, since they have greater volume and arent very thin. Did I miss something?

[mouseclicked]

If it took you 15 minutes to set different channels on two wavebird controllers, you probably spend a large portion of your daily commute on the short bus.

Ah man, aren't generalizations super awesome? I wish I could make them like you. Then I'd be super awesome, too, wouldn't I?

Maybe it's just me and my friends, but certain wavebirds only work in certain ports on certain channels, and when we have 3 or 4 wavebirds it takes forever to find the right combination of frequencies and controller ports where all the controllers work fine. Then one will inexplicably stop working and we'll have to reconfigure everything.

What kind of interferance problems does Bluetooth have, because there's a ton of things in my house emitting radio signals.

-Moses

[51|RandoM]

Ah man, aren't generalizations super awesome? I wish I could make them like you. Then I'd be super awesome, too, wouldn't I?

What kind of interferance problems does Bluetooth have, because there's a ton of things in my house emitting radio signals.

-Moses

If I set a logitech bluetooth basestation next to a netgear wireless router, neither of them work, or they work intermittently.

on the wavebird stuff, it was probably interference from other stuff. That said, you should be able to test each channel id with just one controller, note which ones work fine and which ones don't and then just use the ones that do next time somebody hooks up n+1 controllers.