The Wii U Won't Be Getting Unreal Engine 4

[Sheikah]

First of all, don't call me an idiot.

 

Secondly, this is exactly the problem - you think it's OK to insult those who disagree with you. The truth is there is no universal agreement on what a console generation is. It's not the same thing as the dictionary definition of generation, and even if it was there's no need to be rude about it.

 

The anger is only flowing one way - towards people who are not including the Wii U as next gen, not the other way round.

 

Well put.

 

There's a general confusion here between the word 'generation' and the term 'next gen'. They are not intended to mean the same thing.

 

When people or devs are referring to a console or feature as 'next gen' they are not referring to a time frame in which a particular series of consoles were released. They are implying that the particular feature/hardware/whatever in question is what you might expect for a generation along of the current consoles.

 

It's basically mostly industry and part consumer speculation on what features are significantly advanced enough to make a big deal out of.

[Zechs Merquise]

First of all, don't call me an idiot.

 

Secondly, this is exactly the problem - you think it's OK to insult those who disagree with you. The truth is there is no universal agreement on what a console generation is. It's not the same thing as the dictionary definition of generation, and even if it was there's no need to be rude about it.

 

The anger is only flowing one way - towards people who are not including the Wii U as next gen, not the other way round.

 

Well as a generation is a time frame, it's pretty obvious what a generation means. It's always been that way. People assume a lot of things on a generational change - a change of controller was a huge point in previous generations and a leap in power was too. However since the days of the SNES there's been a huge power differential in consoles released in one generation - look at the Neo Geo. Or look at the N64 generation, look at the difference between the Jaguar and the N64!

 

I'm not being rude to anyone, I'm treating nonsense with the contempt it deserves. This whole 'what constitutes a generation' argument has only come about very recently. Some fool started it and every half-wit blogger who wants cheap hits from sites like N4G writes a trolling article about what is or what isn't 'next gen'.

 

We're at the point where publishers are requesting that characters get guns on the boxarts even if they don't use a gun in the game. Guns and shooters sell.

 

Exactly!

 

Do shooters sell best? COD is commercial beast but there are plenty FPS shooters that have failed flopped. I think western trends suggest other genre of games are hugely commercial successful.[/b]

 

There is no way Nintendo will be happy if the Wii U sells like the Gamecube did regardless if its all profit. I dont think they expect wii sales but 20 million would be a failure.

 

Shooters, or military themed games sell better period. It's not just COD is it? Battlefield sells through the roof ad then there's Halo, Killzone, Resistance, Gears of War... etc.

 

You can see how much the games industry is tilted toward shooters when a game like Xenoblade comes out to universal critical acclaim yet it sells less than a sub-par cookie cutter shooter like Medal of Honour War Fighter!

 

Where were all the self styled 'core gamers' for Xenoblade... oh yes, they were nowhere to be seen.

 

Well put.

 

There's a general confusion here between the word 'generation' and the term 'next gen'. They are not intended to mean the same thing.

 

When people or devs are referring to a console or feature as 'next gen' they are not referring to a time frame in which a particular series of consoles were released. They are implying that the particular feature/hardware/whatever in question is what you might expect for a generation along of the current consoles.

 

It's basically mostly industry and part consumer speculation on what features are significantly advanced enough to make a big deal out of.

 

Next generation simply implies the generation that will follow the current generation. The Wii was 'next gen' at one point and didn't lead to a leap in power. And as I've already clearly stated, a generational leap has lead to lots of different innovations in the past, a change of power, a change of controller and even a change of the number of ports on a console to facilitate greater numbers in multi-player gaming - remember the N64 having four ports rather than two?

 

And if any of those definitions were applied to the Wii U it would qualify as 'next gen'. It is more powerful than the Wii, has a different controller and presents new ways to approach gaming.

 

OOOH, sorry what you meant was that raw graphical ability was what counted and what generations should be measured by. Well when the Ouya launches I'll be interested to see how it compares to other fifth generation consoles sales...

[Cube]

Where were all the self styled 'core gamers' for Xenoblade... oh yes, they were nowhere to be seen.

 

For a game reluctantly released in an area of the world it wasn't designed for, it sold very well.

 

Also, Mario games sell bucketloads.

[Sheikah]

Next generation simply implies the generation that will follow the current generation. The Wii was 'next gen' at one point and didn't lead to a leap in power. And as I've already clearly stated, a generational leap has lead to lots of different innovations in the past, a change of power, a change of controller and even a change of the number of ports on a console to facilitate greater numbers in multi-player gaming - remember the N64 having four ports rather than two?

 

And if any of those definitions were applied to the Wii U it would qualify as 'next gen'. It is more powerful than the Wii, has a different controller and presents new ways to approach gaming.

 

OOOH, sorry what you meant was that raw graphical ability was what counted and what generations should be measured by. Well when the Ouya launches I'll be interested to see how it compares to other fifth generation consoles sales...

 

Like I've said, the term 'next gen' when used in context describes a feature considered to be novel or advanced. It doesn't have to mean graphics either. It is a term used independently of a time frame, and people shouldn't mistakenly associate it with the literal definition of 'generation' as you are doing.

 

When game devs are criticising the WiiU for not being 'next gen', however right or wrong that may be, of course they aren't implying it wasn't actually of the most recent console generation. To do so would be to deny the existence of time. They're clearly saying it to mean what I just explained above.

[Lens of Truth]

Like I've said, the term 'next gen' when used in context describes a feature considered to be novel or advanced. It doesn't have to mean graphics either. It is a term used independently of a time frame, and people shouldn't mistakenly associate it with the literal definition of 'generation' as you are doing.

 

When game devs are criticising the WiiU for not being 'next gen', however right or wrong that may be, of course they aren't implying it wasn't actually of the most recent console generation. To do so would be to deny the existence of time. They're clearly saying it to mean what I just explained above.

 

I agree with this partly; it can be used a a simple shorthand for advancement and what we expect is round the corner, but it's not quite as simple and pure as you're making it sound. The term is slippery and that's precisely why it's so popular among squabbling gamers and within the very competitive industry. It's often used, as we all well know, in distinction with 'current gen' or 'last gen'. Sometimes it's divorced from 'time', sometimes not, all depending on the argument people want to push.

 

Something can only be new (to say nothing of "next" ) for a very short time and yet last generation two of the then current consoles were continually referred to as 'next gen' for most of the duration of their lifespan. Even if you pooh-pooh strict linguistic correctness, this is more than a little silly (I'm sure PC gamers thought it was a laugh!).

 

I honestly don't see why anyone, let alone a developer, has to resort to rehearsing this old console war mumbo jumbo to justify anything.

[Sheikah]

I would argue that the terms 'current gen' and 'last gen' are pretty much used to properly refer to console generations.

 

You are right though @Lens of Truth, it is context dependent. If somebody says 'the next generation of consoles...' then chances are they are talking about the anticipated roster of consoles that are due to be released within the same time frame.

 

However in the case of devs claiming the Wii U is 'not next gen', as is being mentioned here, there's no doubt they are referring to technological features not being what they expect for a generation along from the current one, rather than implying the Wii U wasn't released as part of the next generation (which would defy time/logic).

[Lens of Truth]

Rein was using it to falsely imply that the Wii U is so far out of the loop that it would be incompatible - so far as to be a joke (particularly funny vis phones etc!). The people who questioned that have been somewhat vindicated by his subsequent backtracking admission that the engine could be ported and is indeed scaleable (which we knew already).

 

I do think it's looking like the Wii U is out of the game in terms of all this 'gen' talk and seems to have been written off by Western devs (not without cause, due to sales, but I wish they'd just say that).

[Retro_Link]

Thief is an UE4 game, which means it's another that the Wii U will miss out on. Looks so good!...

 

Edited April 4, 2013 by Retro_Link

[Daft]

Did Tomb Raider use UE3?

[Retro_Link]

Did Tomb Raider use UE3?

*Googles*

 

"Modified Crystal Engine"... I think Tomb Raider has always had it's own engine.

[Cube]

Did Tomb Raider use UE3?

 

It used Crystal Dynamics' own engine.

[Daft]

Ah, okay. I started playing it yesterday and it looked like Unreal...not that you can necessarily judge from the visuals.

[Captain Falcon]

Thief isn't UE4 - it's UE3

 

From the producer Stephane Roy

 

"We worked a lot to improve the tools for the artists and the designers. The game is big, we have to produce a lot of assets. Light and shadow gameplay is amazingly important on our side so we worked very hard to boost the rendering aspect of the engine, how to deal with the light. So I think it's a question of flexibility. With Unreal it's possible to do it. So yes, it's Unreal 3, but [there are] some modifications."

 

Still wouldn't get hope up though just yet.

 

Source

[Retro_Link]

[unreal 3.5 ] Oh ok, but yeah still doubt it's coming :p or surely it would be listed at the end alongside PS4.