Nintendo reconfirms Wii 480p

By Tom Bramwell Published 2 November, 2006

720p report a mistake.

Nintendo's moved quickly to reaffirm that Wii will output in 480p, after Official Nintendo Magazine suggested it would offer higher resolutions.

According to reports, the official mag wrote: "At the time of going to print, Wii games will output in 720i and 720p - 720i is your standard TV picture."

But it turns out this was a simple mistake, with Nintendo UK confirming this morning: "Wii will output in 480p".

Nintendo UK also recently said that it had every invention of releasing peripherals like the component cable - used to achieve the 480p resolution - at retail, despite suggestions that you'd have to buy the cables through online shops in the US.

The interest in Wii's high-resolution options is of course spurred on by Microsoft and Sony's battling over the higher end. Both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 generally offer games in 720p, with 1080p now possible for developers who want to go the extra mile (well, the extra 1,152,000 pixels, anyway).

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (60) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • BadBoyBonner #1 5 years ago

    So they are not including the lead?

  • BadBoyBonner #2 5 years ago

    invention?

  • Talha #3 5 years ago

    Well come now Ninty, for that price one would think at least 720p would be supported.

    @disc: you are right, no gamer can hate Nintendo but perhaps many will stay away from their console, just like tthey did in case of GC. Plus 720p is hardly the entire HD spectrum these days - it is fast becoming a default standard.
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 10:08

  • Darren #4 5 years ago

    Trust the terrible Official Nintendo Magazine to make a mistake like that!!! It never was the most reliable of magazines when I used to read years ago. LOL

    They must have confused 720x576 (which is a standard definition resolution) with 1280x720.

  • RE*AC*TOR #5 5 years ago

    720p was never going to happen, however, I would like the component cables. The sharpness will help, especially with the web browser and such.

  • spongebob #6 5 years ago

    Nintendo is the best.

  • Darren #7 5 years ago

    Component video is the best video option for the Wii in terms of clarity and colour quality but I dread to think how jaggy the games will look at 480p as none of them appear to use anti-aliasing. I know from my softmodded Xbox how nasty some 480p games can look without AA although games that use it, like MotoGP 3, look great.

    The Wii is the reason I've kept my 21" 4:3 Sony CRT TV really as GameCube games look great with the RGB SCART lead and the scanline technology helps mask most of the jaggies. My HDTV is reserved for the hi-def consoles like the 360 and the forthcoming PS3 as well as, eventually, HD movies.

  • TR421 #8 5 years ago

    It looks like NoE have got it wrong as well, surely the default output for PAL consoles will be 576i?

  • BadBoyBonner #9 5 years ago

    I am thinking more of the 180 price tag plus the lead take it ever closer to the 360; when Nintendo banged on about it was going to be Sooooo cheap it wasn’t even in the same arena. I think they are making a massive mistake with the price point. They could of released it for 99 easy, say minus the nun-chuck part & minus the packed in game (and as it turns out DVD playback) and they would have had a sure fire winner on their hands. Then made the pack in game the cheapest one out there say £19.99. Think it would have stormed the charts and done far better in the mainstream press, which does influence many more people than our rantings on here unfortunatley.

    It is a crying shame that the gorgeous clean style of Ninty isn't going to benefit. If it is about twice as powerful as the original Xbox which had loads of 720p games even some 1080i ones, surely they must let people have the option. At 99 quid it’s an impulse purchase, which I’d put up with, at probably the 200 mark (with 480p lead) am not so sure, might have to persuade the GF to buy me one for Xmas then I won’t feel the pain of buying the thing, an just enjoy all it’s fun instead!
    Edited by 2 at 02/11/06 @ 10:24

  • space_ace #10 5 years ago

    damn

  • chupachups #11 5 years ago

    The Wii is aimed at a general audience rather than hardcore gaming nuts, and only a small percentage of the population as a whole actually has a HDTV.

    Most people only buy a new TV when their old one breaks down, so the odds are that most people still won't have a HDTV for another five years at least, by which time the successor to the Wii will be available (and Nintendo has already said that definitely WILL be in high definition).

    If the PS3 or 360 become the huge hits their creators want them to be, most of their users will never even see the high definition technology as most of them will use the consoles on standard definition televisions. I think Nintendo has got this right, HDTV is too early in its development to be worth including in this generation, HDTV-compatibility is a waste of money for most gamers.
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 10:23

  • gizmo #12 5 years ago

    Twice as powerful as the original xbox? My understanding is that is is basically the Gamecube with a different controller? Am I wrong here?

  • BadBoyBonner #13 5 years ago

    ChupaChups - so having the option would be a bad thing?

  • BadBoyBonner #14 5 years ago

    Gizmo - if it is I would imagine Nintendo will be asking for their millions back that they gave ATi to develop the new graphics subsytem for the console.

  • BurnoutJunkie #15 5 years ago

    ChupaChups: Nintendo also said Wii will have a DVD player. They also said they would not be last to market.

  • Gurgeh #16 5 years ago

    With the Wii at 480p, some PS3 games dropping to 720p because of framerate issues (and the X360 having 1080p as a marketing tool) and most people not having an HDTV anyway the HD era is once again next-gen-after-this-one

  • BadBoyBonner #17 5 years ago

    Wii's ATI-provided "Hollywood" GPU clocks in at 243MHz. By comparison, GameCube's GPU ran at 162MHz. The 'Hollywood' is a large-scale integrated chip that includes the GPU, DSP, I/O bridge and 3MBs of texture memory.

    Wii will operate using 24MBs of "main" 1T-SRAM. It will additionally boast 64MBs of "external" 1T-SRAM. That brings the total number of system RAM up to 88MBs, not including the 3MB texture buffer on the GPU. By comparison, GameCube featured 40MBs of RAM not counting the GPU's on-board 3MBs. The original Xbox included 64MBs total RAM

    IBM's "Broadway" CPU is clocked at 729MHz by comparison, GameCube's Gekko CPU ran at 485MHz.
    Edited by 2 at 02/11/06 @ 10:35

  • MadMirko #18 5 years ago

    My understanding is that is is basically the Gamecube with a different controller? Am I wrong here?

    Yes, you are.

    but I dread to think how jaggy the games will look at 480p

    That depends on your display. If you have a standard TV they will look brilliant, as the source matrial is of higher resolution than TVs, DVDs (not upscaled) and the like.

    If you already have a HDTV and it is not a good one, they will look bad because of the displays bad scaler (the thing that's used to transform 480p to 720p or 1080p or whatever resolution your display uses). If you have a good one, they will look good.

    You can easily check by watching standard TV or DVDs (on a player without upscaling). If they look crap your TV is crap.

  • BadBoyBonner #19 5 years ago

    And if Gears of War cost Microsoft one billion dollars (by persuading them to go from 256mb to 512mb for those that missed the storyhttp://ww w.eurogamer.net/article.php?art... ) then, how much have nintendo saved doing this 88mb machine and passed, it would seem, little or none of the saving on.
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 10:39

  • NOSAVIOUR #20 5 years ago

    I take it my Wii will look good on my SAMSUNG HDTV @ 480p if using component cables and not give the ghosting you get using ordinary scart cables on the PS2 and gamecube?

  • fizzer25 #21 5 years ago

    I think the wiis success depends on 3 things, regardless of what p they output in!

    Mario Galaxy

    Zelda Twilight Princess

    And the thing that is really putting me off the wiimote of nunchuks or whatever the hell it is!!

    I get the impression the thing will be too damn fiddly and will make games harder and more frustating rather than more fun!!

  • Uncle_Fishboy #22 5 years ago

    I waiting for a resolution that will caress my nipples

  • BadBoyBonner #23 5 years ago

    Thought it was funny when the Nintendo stated that they think the kids in the front room pissing about with the Wii controller will make other's in the house think, “hey what's he doing” and join in. Most English families I know (mine included) if I had of been pissing about in front of the TV would have been asked to get out of the way, an if I wanted to do that goto my room an do it, because coronation street is about to start! lol
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 10:59

  • SeesThroughAll #24 5 years ago

    This is VERY disappointing. Sorry, Nintendo, no deal!

  • Roachdog #25 5 years ago

    'Nintendo UK also recently said that it had every invention'

    Nice malapropism :p (new word for the day!)

  • Talha #26 5 years ago

    "Cutting edge of the gameplay experience"
    "Bringing gaming into the mainstream'
    "This industry without Nintendo as a platform holder is simply unthinkable."

    That is the juiciest bit of pro-Nintendo ass-licking I have come accross for some time. True to form, you have collected every cliche Nintendo have been using for the past 20 years and have regurgitated them here. Hey, I am sure the 76,000th Mario game coming on the Wii DOES offer cutting edge gameplay. I also believe that about 250 million XBox/PS users are 'not mainstream', rather mutant geeks with hides for skins. No, the mainstream is only what Nintendo defines it to be.

    And yes, the home console market would have collapsed without the GameCube sales to support it - you say true!

    Mind, I am not against Nintendo here - but it is hard to stomach such crap, no matter who it comes from.

  • Darren #27 5 years ago

    I don't any issue with the 480p resolution, just the fact that none of the game footage I've seen suggests the Wii is using anti-aliasing. Surely with the increased power but games that look graphically similar to GameCube games, developers could have added at least 2xQ AA for all games? Apparently not...

  • Santino #28 5 years ago

    lets forget all the technical talk for a minute and watch the opening title screen for twilight princess, suddenly none of this talk of specs or resolution matters anymore.
    http://us.wi i.com/viewer_zelda.jsp?vid=8
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 11:41

  • peterfll #29 5 years ago

    I have an HDTV and my US Gamecube running in 480p looks sweet with no jaggies.

    Do I win a prize?
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 12:55

  • tonynibbles #30 5 years ago

    Standard Definition shocker.

    Nout wrong with that.

  • Zuiyo #31 5 years ago

    "at least Nintendo's accountants didn't buy their degrees from off the Internet"

    You mean there are other places you can get them from? I hope they're cheaper! My accounting degree costed me a fortune and left my PayPal account shaking.

  • Uncle_Fishboy #32 5 years ago

    "lets forget all the technical talk for a minute and watch the opening title screen for twilight princess, suddenly none of this talk of specs or resolution matters anymore"

    I just watched it and it looks rubbish

  • MadMirko #33 5 years ago

    Like this one better: [link url=http://de.wii. com/software/game_01_02/
    ]http://de.wii. com/software/game_01_02/
    [/link]

    Oh, and *gasp* on the Wii site you see people SITTING DOWN WHILE PLAYING!! OMFG!!!11!ElevenOne!

  • Talha #34 5 years ago

    @Northy: I don't have a nerve that you could hit, since I have equal disgust and distaste for Sony , MS and Nintendo and for that matter, ATI and NVidia! ;-)

    And hey, I don't flame people, I flame their comments. Which yours deserved, IMHO - ask anyone. Could compete favorably with any of the recent load of bullshit that Sony have said.
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 12:05

  • the_dudefather #35 5 years ago

    //watches zelda intro

    ok, that does it, someone defrost me on december 7th

  • Santino #36 5 years ago

    lol whatever fishboy

  • bigbadbeasty #37 5 years ago

    Erm, didn't we all know that it wasn't 720p? I find it odd that anyone expected more...

    I just want a DVI lead, not a bloody component one. And the same goes to you M$, why VGA and not DVI?!

    *Shakes fist*

  • BadBoyBonner #38 5 years ago

    //watches zelda intro

    Yeah I must admit, that when the screen is only 5 inch diagonally even the Wii lloks almost high res !lol
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 12:17

  • LittleVoice #39 5 years ago

    Post deleted at 18:03:32 01-02-2012

  • Uncle_Fishboy #40 5 years ago

    If I was the manchild on the horse of that video I certainly wouldn't be galloping so close to that edge of that big cliff. That's just irresponsible. I mean he can do what he wants with his own life but I don't think he's considering the horses feelings here, or the thoughts of the horses family. There looks to be more than enough free space for him to gallop on but no he has to go right to the edge. What's he going to do next - base jump off it and land on a fluffy squirrel?

  • BadBoyBonner #41 5 years ago

    Think there must be something wrong with the advert, or this page, as its nearly bring my system to a crawl over 70% CPU usage on Athlon 3200xp with nvidia 7800gs

  • Rush2112 #42 5 years ago

    I just hope the Wii looks better on my 26" Sony Bravia with a component cable than my PS2 looks, ie slightly on the soft side.

  • MadMirko #43 5 years ago

    Rush, I have my PS2 via component connected to a 40" Bravia. It's very sharp and you can fully appreciate the outdated graphics at 288 lines. :)

  • Beano #44 5 years ago

    Why 480p on a PAL console.. wouldn't 576p be more correct?

  • chupachups #45 5 years ago

    "ChupaChups - so having the option would be a bad thing?"

    For most people, yes it would be a bad thing because it means most of the processing power of the console is wasted.

    PC games have often had a "shrink window" option because the lower resolution pictures allowed slower processors to cope with the game at full speed. Higher resolution games either slow down, or require faster processors.

    High Definition compatibility isn't produced by some £5 add-on widget, it requires having much better hardware that can cope with high quality graphics at a very high resolution without slowing down the frame rate. If you're only going to use your console to run games in standard definition, which is what most people will do this generation, you're not making full use of an HD-compatible console.

    Until most people have HD televisions, HD-compatibility in consoles is a waste of money for most people. The same goes for blu-ray and HD-DVD, for most people there's absolutely no point buying them because they only have an advantage over DVD if you own a high definition television. In five years time, HD will be in everything and HDTVs will be really cheap, but right now it's just too early.
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 13:20

  • Talha #46 5 years ago

    @Northy: Honestly how can you even think about needlessly criticizing others after your first post is beyond me, trying to define social/antisocial norms and intellectual stuff like that.

    Even more baffling is why I keep replying to you. My bad!

  • Rambaldi #47 5 years ago

    Look, I know it's "all about the games maaan", but what's with their absolute reluctance on this issue?

    Why not include the cable so you can at least have 480p out of the box?

    Next you'll be telling me it only outputs black and white!

  • peterfll #48 5 years ago

    I can understand why they're not putting the component cables in the box with the console.

    Won't you get only standard composites with the 20gb PS3? The Core 360 package also only comes with composites - do you remember all those poor people who could only buy 360 Core packages last year, and then couldn't even view the console in HD as there was all the shortages of the leads?

    Anyhow, with the ethos Nintendo have adopted with the Wii it doesn't surprise me they're not included.

    ps The only thing I've ever known to output 576p is DVD players. The 360 doesn't and nor will the PS3 I believe.
    Edited by 2 at 02/11/06 @ 13:56

  • Feanor #49 5 years ago

    It's poor that the PS3 doesn't come with a cable that does composite and component like the proper 360 does.

  • dog2_99 #50 5 years ago

    The component cable is £14.99 on play.com not that bad! :0)

  • peterfll #51 5 years ago

    Well, the 360 Core pack still doesn't come with the component, so I guess Sony are no better or worse for doing the same with the 20gb version.

  • BadBoyBonner #52 5 years ago

    ChupaChups - Your argument is one of circular semantics and obviously flawed, how is the processing power wasted on an option people do not have to use? Surely the propagation of HD availability in the home is influenced by all factors, some people love films, some love watching sport, some people love playing games some people enjoy a combination of some or all of the above – and some of these people want HD.

    So with the original Xbox supporting upto 1080i display are you saying that everyone who played it on a standard TV was wasting their time? Or that Microsoft was wasting theirs? Or that Grand Turismo 4 graphics were weak an slow on the PS2 because it supported upto 1080i and 480p? And that the Original Xbox, Xbox360,PS2, PS3 being able to display HD resolutions (which have been possible on the PC for years) and anyone connecting a PC to a tv/projector/monitor is wasting their time?

    Hell, if ya can read text at 320 x 240 why even bother going to higher Res to read anything, infact come back teletext all is forgiven let me dig my BBC Model B out an get cracking on my dissertation! lol
    Edited by 1 at 02/11/06 @ 16:37

  • m0thr4 #53 5 years ago

    TR421 said: It looks like NoE have got it wrong as well, surely the default output for PAL consoles will be 576i?

    That's true via the composite and S-Video leads, but no one seems to know what the PAL Wii will output via the component lead. This all depends on what the PAL games developers are doing...

    Are they going to include 480p which, although a progressive scan method, is 69,120 pixels fewer than 576i, which means either black borders at the top and bottom of the screen or a picture that's stretched vertically to fill the screen.

    Are they going to include 576p, which will require extra graphical horsepower in order to display 20% more pixels than 480p?

    Wii shall have to wait and see.

  • m0thr4 #54 5 years ago

    They're only reconfirming 480p for the NTSC market. Nothing to see here for us Europeans.

  • ChromeMud #55 5 years ago

    I like 4x AA from my 360 and I don't feel the need to go to HD
    just yet but I wouldn't drop down to a Wii just because I have SD.
    I watched many CGI type films on my TV and I don't think game graphics
    are any where near the detail from pre-rendered ray-traced footage.
    I could easily stick with 480P if graphics improved to the degree that
    a high quality DVD can display.

  • dcangel #56 5 years ago

    Oh, for heavens' sake...

    Pretty much everyone has a TV that will accept a composite or SCART input. Not everyone has a TV with component input, so it's pointless including it as a pack-in for a console that is not marketed as pointedly towards the hardcore crowd. And Nintendo has been saying for bloody ages that Wii's max output resolution will be 480p!

  • dave.k #57 5 years ago

    m0thr4 said: Are they going to include 576p, which will require extra graphical horsepower in order to display 20% more pixels than 480p?

    Not necessarily. That's 20% more pixels, but at nearly 20% less framerate. Remember, it's 480p@60Hz, and 576p@50Hz. So the same hardware should be able to cope with both signals perfectly fine, I would think.

  • SirScratchalot #58 5 years ago

    @Darren: I thought all nintendo games since the N64 boasted anti-aliasing?
    Of course anti-aliasing when displaying a 320x240 resolution like on the N64 was absolutely wasted, but still...

  • kangarootoo #59 5 years ago

    Why is the whole "cable not in the box" issue such an... issue? Its not complex.

    If it was in the box, you would be paying for it to be there. Its not in the box, so you don't pay for it. If you don't need the cable, hurray no money wasted. If you do need the cable, go and buy one (spending the money you would have already spent had the cable been bundled).

    Christ, can we all sit back down now that apparent game equivalent of string theory has been cleared up.

  • secombe #60 5 years ago

    "This is VERY disappointing. Sorry, Nintendo, no deal!"

    I see where you are coming from, the graphical inferiority of the DS against the PSP really seems to finished that particular Nintendo product off.