Open the Nintendo Wii U and See its Brains

Comment by Hoj, on 12.10.2012 at 13:16

It's a thing of beauty really.

Comment by Flynnie, on 11.10.2012 at 23:31

I think the Wii Disc drive is a bit more fragile than anything they've ever made...but on the whole and compared to its competitors i have to say that Ninty have my trust when it comes to making a sturdy console and accessories.Â

Some of my N64Â joysticks are a little stiff though...:(

Comment by TAG, on 11.10.2012 at 21:02

Nintendo makes reliable hardware. That's without question. I've been through at least four or five different Xbox 360s. I've never had to replace a Nintendo console.

Also, see-through cases are cool. Let me buy one, Nintendo :D

Comment by Guest, on 11.10.2012 at 20:38

So small and yet powerful. Now that's what Japanese are good at. How about you do the same, Microsoft

Comment by Phoenom, on 11.10.2012 at 19:49

Certainly strange but refreshing to see Nintendo talk about hardware specs.

So that's two transparent machine models they've shown off now. Are they intentionally trying to annoy me? :P

Comment by jb, on 11.10.2012 at 19:22

This interview reiterates what I love about Nintendo. They maybe behind at times specs wise and in certain areas (like online up until the 3DS), but hardware quality is something that they do incredibly well - much more so than Microsoft or Sony.

Wii, GameCube, 3DS etc - they all last. My N64's been battered, bruised and shoved in a manner of draws, boxes etc - still works perfectly. Controllers too are in decent condition. The testing, need for efficiency and a high quality end product is why Nintendo is a reliable company to buy from.

Comment by SirLink , on 11.10.2012 at 18:02

Iwata: Oh! It's clear! Cool!
Everyone: (laughs)
Iwata: You've got to sell this to me! (laughs)
Everyone: (laughs)

Iwata is simply awesome! :lol:

Comment by Stulaw, on 11.10.2012 at 17:53

I want a see through Wii U now. ( Edited 11.10.2012 18:16 by Stulaw )

Comment by jb, on 11.10.2012 at 13:29

This post is a copy of the news report: http://www.cubed3.com/news/17274All posts made in this forum topic below will appear as news comments on the above link. If you make a comment on the original article link above, it will also appear here as a forum post.With just over a month before the Wii U arrives in the West, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took the lid off the console, literally.

In the latest roundtable session with Iwata, the hardware team discuss the Wii U development process and how efficiency, size and power consumption were key in developing the processing guts of the beast.

Although the Gamepad controller is the star of the show, it wouldn't be half as effective without the console itself. With an advancement in spec, Nintendo didn't want to have to enlarge the Wii U's size too much, and by combining components into a single board, it's lowered power use and production costs.

[img]/media/2012/October/wiiuguts1.jpg[/img][blog]

The Wii U's motherboard is unlike the Wii and GameCube's - instead of a separate unit for the CPU and GPU, the two sit nicely on a multi chip module (MCM) - with these components sourced from multiple companies - IBM, ATI and Renesas.

A more powerful console does equal more heat produced and so both the heat sink and fan have increased in size. The team spent over 2000 hours ensuring that the Wii U keeps cool, quiet and well ventilated.

[img]/media/2012/October/wiiuguts3.jpg[/img]

The structure and need to differentiate the Wii from the Wii U has lead the new console to sit horizontally by default, however Nintendo has devised a stand to get it working vertically as well.

In terms of case design, the Wii U has all its useful bits at the front - the sync button, USB ports and game cards are housed at the front, with a lid that opens inwards instead of popping out.

[img]/media/2012/October/wiiuguts2.jpg[/img]