A
airraid.mach2.5
UPDATE: today (well yesterday now) the website easynintendo.net
first edited / censored the interview, removing all the interesting
details regarding the Hollywood GPU in Wii.
here is what the EDITED version looked like,
QUOTE:
___________________________________________________________________
Note: All Wii hardware information has been edited at the request of
Ubisoft. We will not confirm any hardware information previously
published if asked.
Easy Nintendo: First i would like to thank you for this interview, it
really means alot to us here at Easy Nintendo.
Red Steel got alot of attention at E3 this year, what is Ubisofts
reaction to that?
Xavier Poix: Well we are very happy that everyone got to experience it
for themselves and that many of them came away pleased.
EN: How is the online multiplayer going to work? how many players, what
sort of modes will it have?
XP: Unfortunately i cannot comment on anything new in regard to
multiplayer at this time other than to say it will have most if not all
of the standard modes you would expect from a first person shooter.
EN: Can you comment on the price?
XP: (laughs) Sorry.
EN: How about the Wii hardware? What are the specs?
XP: Although i cannot give you exact numbers at this time i can give
you a rough idea about the power of the machine. I would compare the
graphics chip to somewhere inbetween the ATI [censored] and the
[censored], and the CPU to between the [censored] and [censored].
EN: Can you tell us how much memory at what speed the Wii has?
XP: I cannot say how much memory the Wii has, but its running at
[removed at request of Ubisoft].
EN: As we saw in many current-gen titles, 480p can result in
significant jaggies. Can we expect AA and AF from Ubisoft's Wii titles?
XP: Red steel will have 4x Antialiasing and 8x Anisotropic Filtering.
EN: What's been your favorite thing about working on Red Steel?
XP: The controller, easily.
EN: What was the biggest challenge?
XP: Not telling the world about it back in january (laughs). Honestly
the biggest challenge has been making sure the control is just right.
EN: Will Rayman on the Wii be a port of the current-gen game with new
controls, or will it have new art assets for Wii?
XP: Its not a port, other than that i cannot say.
EN: We've been hearing a lot of consistent talk about 60fps at 480p
widescreen from other developers. Is this something we'll see a lot of
on Wii?
XP: I believe so yes.
EN: Why is this target so easy to hit?
XP: The hardware is totally free of bottlenecks, nothing is slowing us
down.
EN: For us graphics whores, what kind of sweet graphical effects will
we see in Red Steel or Rayman that we haven't
seen in Gamecube games?
XP: We have alot of self shadowing going on, also we will have some
normal maps and bump maps things like that.
EN: Will there be any innovative uses of physics in Rayman?
XP: Quite a few interesting things with physics in both Red Steel and
in Rayman. We've got ragdoll in Red Steel for
example.
EN: You said that you were using FEAR as inspiration for Red Steel's
AI. How is that shaping up?
XP: Yes, we loved FEAR and we tried to draw alot from it in terms of
AI. In Red Steel the AI will throw grenades
back at you, it will duck for cover and also try to flank you. Many
things.
EN: Will we see any sort of single disc network play like you have on
the DS?
XP: No comment.
EN: Will Sam Fisher be making a return to Nintendo's home console?
XP: At some point.
EN: Lost Magic was one of the first compelling 3rd-party games for the
DS in a while. Does Ubisoft have any more big
plans for the handheld?
XP: We do, keep an eye on the Tokyo Gameshow.
Last edited by Jessica on Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:06 pm; edited 6 times in
total
EN: What was your favorite Ubisoft Gamecube title?
XP: Prince of Persia (all of them)
EN: Speaking of Prince of Persia, will we be seeing more acrobatic
platforming adventures on Wii?
XP: No comment.
EN: Metroid Hunters was an amazing feat on the DS. Any chance that Ubi
will enter the fray with an FPS of their own?
XP: Possibly.
EN: Could you possibly tell us anything specific about the Wii GPU?
XP: I can tell you that it has [censored], and that it [censored]. It
really takes a huge load off of the cpu.
EN: Is the T&L setup fixed function like it was on the gamecube?
XP: [censored].
EN: How much Edram does it have?
XP: [Censored]. Unfortunately I am out of time, id like to come back
for another interview sometime.
EN: Thank you very much Mr. Poix.
_______________________________________________________________________
UNQUOTE
the interview has now been COMPLETELY removed from the website, which
is very mysterious indeed.
maybe the info was real, with Nintendo, and Ubisoft putting pressure
on the website to take it down,
or, this is a game those that work for the website are playing to make
people think its real because all of a sudden "the info is gone, OMG it
must be real then".....
Also, an article from a fairly trustworthy website has appeared
regarding Wii's Hollywood GPU, but with no specific details, only what
ATI would say at E3
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12859
___________________________________________________________________
ATI: Wii Graphics at E3 "Tip of the Iceberg"
Although by many accounts Nintendo stole the show at this year's E3
with an impressive Wii showing, the graphics of the Wii games were far
from impressive. That said, we spoke with an ATI representative who
explained that what we saw was just the "tip of the iceberg." The
"Hollywood" GPU may be more powerful than we think.
While Microsoft and Sony are busy pushing polygons and stressing
high-definition content, Nintendo has let graphics take a "backseat,"
if you will, to the unique functionality of the Wii-mote. Many people
who viewed and played Wii games at E3 this year would tell you that the
visuals looked roughly on par with what users already see on their
GameCubes.
But that doesn't mean that Wii games will simply look like GameCube
titles using a unique control method. Nintendo already told us that the
hardware being used at E3 was not finalized. Moreover, during the show
GameDaily BIZ met with ATI, which is providing the "Hollywood" GPU for
the Wii, and John Swinimer, Senior Public Relations Manager of Consumer
Products, emphasized that the Wii architecture is capable of producing
far better results than what we've witnessed thus far. "I think what
you saw [on Wii] was just the tip of the iceberg of what the Hollywood
chip can bring to the Nintendo Wii," he said.
We tried to pry some design specs out of ATI, but Swinimer would only
offer the following: "I'm really not here to talk about the design
specs... other than the fact that ATI worked closely with Nintendo. The
team that worked on this chip also worked on the Flipper chip that was
in GameCube, and they've been working with Nintendo for a very long
time so there's a great chemistry with the two teams working together."
He continued, "I really don't think that it's about the [specs]; I
think it's about the innovation that it brings to the table-the
motion-sensing, the always-on capability, which is really cool
too-the fact that the chip is powerful enough and responsive enough
to be there at a moment's notice, and I think that's pretty cool for
the average gamer."
Industry sources have said that the Wii GPU would be moderately more
powerful than the GameCube's GPU, but how much more we don't know.
Conservative estimates from developers have placed the Wii console as a
whole at 2 - 2.5 times more powerful than the GameCube.
ATI is also responsible for providing the custom GPU for Microsoft's
Xbox 360, so we tried to find out how the "Hollywood" chip compares to
what's in the 360. Once again, however, Swinimer sidestepped the
question. "They're different chips for different platforms and
different uses. I don't think it's a fair comparison to put them on a
chart [to analyze]. That's not what it's all about... I think if you
focus on the capabilities that the chip will have for the average
consumer, with the amazement and wow factor, I think that's the value
that we bring."
by James Brightman
first edited / censored the interview, removing all the interesting
details regarding the Hollywood GPU in Wii.
here is what the EDITED version looked like,
QUOTE:
___________________________________________________________________
Note: All Wii hardware information has been edited at the request of
Ubisoft. We will not confirm any hardware information previously
published if asked.
Easy Nintendo: First i would like to thank you for this interview, it
really means alot to us here at Easy Nintendo.
Red Steel got alot of attention at E3 this year, what is Ubisofts
reaction to that?
Xavier Poix: Well we are very happy that everyone got to experience it
for themselves and that many of them came away pleased.
EN: How is the online multiplayer going to work? how many players, what
sort of modes will it have?
XP: Unfortunately i cannot comment on anything new in regard to
multiplayer at this time other than to say it will have most if not all
of the standard modes you would expect from a first person shooter.
EN: Can you comment on the price?
XP: (laughs) Sorry.
EN: How about the Wii hardware? What are the specs?
XP: Although i cannot give you exact numbers at this time i can give
you a rough idea about the power of the machine. I would compare the
graphics chip to somewhere inbetween the ATI [censored] and the
[censored], and the CPU to between the [censored] and [censored].
EN: Can you tell us how much memory at what speed the Wii has?
XP: I cannot say how much memory the Wii has, but its running at
[removed at request of Ubisoft].
EN: As we saw in many current-gen titles, 480p can result in
significant jaggies. Can we expect AA and AF from Ubisoft's Wii titles?
XP: Red steel will have 4x Antialiasing and 8x Anisotropic Filtering.
EN: What's been your favorite thing about working on Red Steel?
XP: The controller, easily.
EN: What was the biggest challenge?
XP: Not telling the world about it back in january (laughs). Honestly
the biggest challenge has been making sure the control is just right.
EN: Will Rayman on the Wii be a port of the current-gen game with new
controls, or will it have new art assets for Wii?
XP: Its not a port, other than that i cannot say.
EN: We've been hearing a lot of consistent talk about 60fps at 480p
widescreen from other developers. Is this something we'll see a lot of
on Wii?
XP: I believe so yes.
EN: Why is this target so easy to hit?
XP: The hardware is totally free of bottlenecks, nothing is slowing us
down.
EN: For us graphics whores, what kind of sweet graphical effects will
we see in Red Steel or Rayman that we haven't
seen in Gamecube games?
XP: We have alot of self shadowing going on, also we will have some
normal maps and bump maps things like that.
EN: Will there be any innovative uses of physics in Rayman?
XP: Quite a few interesting things with physics in both Red Steel and
in Rayman. We've got ragdoll in Red Steel for
example.
EN: You said that you were using FEAR as inspiration for Red Steel's
AI. How is that shaping up?
XP: Yes, we loved FEAR and we tried to draw alot from it in terms of
AI. In Red Steel the AI will throw grenades
back at you, it will duck for cover and also try to flank you. Many
things.
EN: Will we see any sort of single disc network play like you have on
the DS?
XP: No comment.
EN: Will Sam Fisher be making a return to Nintendo's home console?
XP: At some point.
EN: Lost Magic was one of the first compelling 3rd-party games for the
DS in a while. Does Ubisoft have any more big
plans for the handheld?
XP: We do, keep an eye on the Tokyo Gameshow.
Last edited by Jessica on Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:06 pm; edited 6 times in
total
EN: What was your favorite Ubisoft Gamecube title?
XP: Prince of Persia (all of them)
EN: Speaking of Prince of Persia, will we be seeing more acrobatic
platforming adventures on Wii?
XP: No comment.
EN: Metroid Hunters was an amazing feat on the DS. Any chance that Ubi
will enter the fray with an FPS of their own?
XP: Possibly.
EN: Could you possibly tell us anything specific about the Wii GPU?
XP: I can tell you that it has [censored], and that it [censored]. It
really takes a huge load off of the cpu.
EN: Is the T&L setup fixed function like it was on the gamecube?
XP: [censored].
EN: How much Edram does it have?
XP: [Censored]. Unfortunately I am out of time, id like to come back
for another interview sometime.
EN: Thank you very much Mr. Poix.
_______________________________________________________________________
UNQUOTE
the interview has now been COMPLETELY removed from the website, which
is very mysterious indeed.
maybe the info was real, with Nintendo, and Ubisoft putting pressure
on the website to take it down,
or, this is a game those that work for the website are playing to make
people think its real because all of a sudden "the info is gone, OMG it
must be real then".....
Also, an article from a fairly trustworthy website has appeared
regarding Wii's Hollywood GPU, but with no specific details, only what
ATI would say at E3
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12859
___________________________________________________________________
ATI: Wii Graphics at E3 "Tip of the Iceberg"
Although by many accounts Nintendo stole the show at this year's E3
with an impressive Wii showing, the graphics of the Wii games were far
from impressive. That said, we spoke with an ATI representative who
explained that what we saw was just the "tip of the iceberg." The
"Hollywood" GPU may be more powerful than we think.
While Microsoft and Sony are busy pushing polygons and stressing
high-definition content, Nintendo has let graphics take a "backseat,"
if you will, to the unique functionality of the Wii-mote. Many people
who viewed and played Wii games at E3 this year would tell you that the
visuals looked roughly on par with what users already see on their
GameCubes.
But that doesn't mean that Wii games will simply look like GameCube
titles using a unique control method. Nintendo already told us that the
hardware being used at E3 was not finalized. Moreover, during the show
GameDaily BIZ met with ATI, which is providing the "Hollywood" GPU for
the Wii, and John Swinimer, Senior Public Relations Manager of Consumer
Products, emphasized that the Wii architecture is capable of producing
far better results than what we've witnessed thus far. "I think what
you saw [on Wii] was just the tip of the iceberg of what the Hollywood
chip can bring to the Nintendo Wii," he said.
We tried to pry some design specs out of ATI, but Swinimer would only
offer the following: "I'm really not here to talk about the design
specs... other than the fact that ATI worked closely with Nintendo. The
team that worked on this chip also worked on the Flipper chip that was
in GameCube, and they've been working with Nintendo for a very long
time so there's a great chemistry with the two teams working together."
He continued, "I really don't think that it's about the [specs]; I
think it's about the innovation that it brings to the table-the
motion-sensing, the always-on capability, which is really cool
too-the fact that the chip is powerful enough and responsive enough
to be there at a moment's notice, and I think that's pretty cool for
the average gamer."
Industry sources have said that the Wii GPU would be moderately more
powerful than the GameCube's GPU, but how much more we don't know.
Conservative estimates from developers have placed the Wii console as a
whole at 2 - 2.5 times more powerful than the GameCube.
ATI is also responsible for providing the custom GPU for Microsoft's
Xbox 360, so we tried to find out how the "Hollywood" chip compares to
what's in the 360. Once again, however, Swinimer sidestepped the
question. "They're different chips for different platforms and
different uses. I don't think it's a fair comparison to put them on a
chart [to analyze]. That's not what it's all about... I think if you
focus on the capabilities that the chip will have for the average
consumer, with the amazement and wow factor, I think that's the value
that we bring."
by James Brightman