Rumor: Nintendo's Project Cafe to Cost $400

[oldtaku]

So...I don't know what any of those hardware specs mean. Is that good?

Can I get a judgment from one of the many people here who know about that sort of thing?

IF true, a beefier Xbox 360. An R700 graphics chip instead of the R500 in the X360. Triple PowerPC CPU like the X360 but presumably faster. I imagine they'll cram more memory in there too.

It's certainly not going to beat a good gaming PC, but it'll spank a X360/PS3.

 

[mjc0961]

All I know is that I am not excited for this console at all. You hear that Iwata? No excitement for this console whatsoever.

>_>

<_<

Think he's buying it?

 

[mjc0961]

Big N is gonna lose another console war.

...

Well good luck on the new system. Might get it...but probably not if it turns out like the WII.

You do realize that if there is a "winner" in console wars, Nintendo is undeniably "winning" right now, don't you? PS3 and 360 both just recently broke 50 million, whereas Wii hit that milestone sometime back in 2009 and was a hair away from 85 million at the end of last year.

If that is "losing", well then god damn I want to start losing more often because losing is fucking awesome!

EDIT: Oh shit. Double post. Oops, sorry about that. I completely forgot I had already written one while I was googling sales figures.

 

[-Dragmire-]

"...won't necessarily stick with a single, primary controller type."

And thus comes another department store wall of accessories

Spoiler: More of this...

"...will resemble a "modernized version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System""

Can't complain about this, I loves that design

"... will use a controller with a 6.2 inch touchscreen, two analog sticks, a camera, and 8 buttons."

Why does everything need a camera these days?
Does a D-pad count as 1 button or 4...?
Guess it might not have a D-pad at all. That would suck if that were true.

 

[TheComfyChair]

So...I don't know what any of those hardware specs mean. Is that good?

Can I get a judgment from one of the many people here who know about that sort of thing?

About 5-6 times more powerful than a 360 and will be about a quarter the power of the new hd7 series graphics cards coming out soon for PC's.

So, kicks the crap out of current consoles and is in turn kicked the crap out of by PC's. But no console will ever compete with PC ever again, so it's pretty damn good.

 

[CrystalShadow]

$400 huh? Eh. Sounds pretty typical. an N64 cost me 650 guilders at launch, which is a currency that no longer exists, but works out somewhere in that vicinity.

As to the specs and all that stuff, well it sounds a little odd, especially if it also is expected to have backwards compatibility with the Wii... (Wii remotes are one-handed designs for a reason.)

But... At this point it's all just a huge random pile of speculation and half-facts.

I really don't know what to make of them either;

Why use an R700 gpu when it would be more effective to use something derived from the ATI/AMD 5000 or 6000 series?

I mean, the fastest R700 series chip is about as fast as a 5770, which is upper mid-range... So you could go with a more recent design, but one that isn't a high-end part.
It'd do wonders for energy consumption too.

Altough, I guess you need to sort of finalize the design well before launch. Who knows how far along they are with this, after all.

 

[TheComfyChair]

The hd5770 is low mid range crytal. Upper mid range being the gtx560, a card twice as fast.

 

[Killing_Time]

I just want the old Nintendo back. Can't they just go back to making normal consoles again seriously, I used to be such a big Nintendo fan. Then the Wii happened... finally they have a chance to have the ultimate hardcore gaming comeback and they botch it by making a controller with an lcd in it... fml

 

[tehweave]

Called.
It.

Frankly, I'm not surprised, and seeing how pricey the 360 and PS3 were when they first came out, I'm actually quite satisfied with this price. Let's see how the launch library and OS interface will be before I start saving up.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

That's... kind of expensive. But of course, I know I'm going to be buying it day one anyway. Still cheaper than the PS3, though.

 

[Sparrow]

Honestly, it sounds like it'll be $400 if were fucking lucky.

 

[Jumplion]

I can't imagine Nintendo releasing a console, or any piece of hardware, for over $300-$350, it's just no their style. No matter how advanced the technology would be, I severely doubt that Nintendo would come out of the gate with a $400 machine, and if they did they would have to deck it out with features and apps that have already been commonplace for smartphones years ago.

Color me skeptical.

 

[LeonLethality]

Three hundred and ninty nine US dollars...Three hundred and ninty nine US dollars...Three hundred and ninty nine US dollars...

Does it have Riiiiidge racer?


Also this whole touch screen on each controllers sounds bogus. I don't think a console could be strong enough to render 1080p on screen with 3d and render up to four controllers at once without costing a bit more than 400 dollars.

 

[herzogzwei]

I hope that Wii HD aka Project Cafe is indeed using an AMD R700 graphics processor, specifically the RV770 or some custom variant of it. If so, that would offer roughly one hundred times the graphics performance of the Hollywood GPU in Wii. Now imagine what EAD Tokyo could do with a Mario Galaxy 3 in 1080p 60fps glory! drooooooool

 

[Carlston]

Big N is gonna lose another console war.

...

Well good luck on the new system. Might get it...but probably not if it turns out like the WII.

You do realize that if there is a "winner" in console wars, Nintendo is undeniably "winning" right now, don't you? PS3 and 360 both just recently broke 50 million, whereas Wii hit that milestone sometime back in 2009 and was a hair away from 85 million at the end of last year.

If that is "losing", well then god damn I want to start losing more often because losing is fucking awesome!

EDIT: Oh shit. Double post. Oops, sorry about that. I completely forgot I had already written one while I was googling sales figures.

Well that just comes to pricing. Your gonna find a lot of people who can afford 200 bucks, but not 400 and 599.99

So that just comes to who can afford the good stuff. I still feel the system didn't have enough major titles and way way to much shovel ware.

 

[Wintermoot]

I think this is a hoax.
Nintendo keeps the specs and price low to make it accessible for the entire public.

 

[numbersix1979]

Considering the fact that a good chunk of the lasting appeal of the last 2 Nintendo consoles were their comparatively low prices (and that the big N took enough stick for the name Wii to name the next system Stream), I'm taking these rumors with a grain of salt. Sure, it *sounds* great. Sounds great enough for me to fork out that much cash for it, in fact. But still, I'm gonna reserve my enthusiasm until Nintendo opens E3 this year with its Stream of Wii booth.