E3 2011

E3 2011: Wii U third-party montage actually Xbox 360, PS3, PC footage

By Tor Thorsen

Compilation reel of Darksiders II, Dirt, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Ghost Recon Online, Metro Last Light used footage from other platforms, admits Nintendo of America president.

LOS ANGELES--Yesterday at its E3 2011 press conference, Nintendo showed off a montage of games from third-party publisher and developers for the Wii U. The compilation of clips appeared to showcase the new console's 1080p graphics, as it was packed with high-definition shots of games coming to the platform.

Much of the Wii U third-party montage showed footage from Xbox 360, PS3, and PC versions of third-party games.

Much of the Wii U third-party montage showed footage from Xbox 360, PS3, and PC versions of third-party games.

The problem is that apparently many of the clips weren't showing Wii U graphics at all. In an interview with GameTrailers, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime flatly admitted that much of the footage in the "sizzle reel" was in fact of games running on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

"Absolutely, because we're talking a year away from when the [Wii U] system is going to launch," said the executive.

Fils-Aime said the footage substitution wasn't an issue because the Wii U will feature HD graphics, just like the PS3 and 360. "In terms of how good it looks, it's going to be driven by the what the individual developers do," he explained. "The system's going to be 1080p. It's going to be high definition."

Fils-Aime did not single out which game footage was shown running on different consoles. The montage showed clips of Darksiders II and Metro Last Light from THQ, as well as Dirt from Codemasters and Ninja Gaiden: Razor's Edge from Tecmo Koei. The trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines--which is in "consideration" for the Wii U--had been previously shown to the press. Also, the Ghost Recon Online footage had a logo at its top from a PC frame rate testing program. However, the teaser for Namco Bandai's Tekken showcased customization features, which appear to be exclusive to Nintendo's console.

For more info on Nintendo's latest console, the Wii U, be sure to check out our Nintendo Wii U: Everything You Need To Know feature or watch Nintendo's E3 2011 Press Conference to see the full reveal!

By Tor Thorsen

241 Comments

  • Infinity_Gauntl

    Posted Jun 20, 2011 11:46 am GMT

    I really want Nintendo to prosper and return to a great game console. If you look at most of thier games on the shelf its pretty pathetic what nintendo has allowed on thie system...Like

    1.) The Bacheolor
    2.) Deadliest Catch
    3.) Zoo Hospital

    Just to name a few..I really want Nintendo to get back to its hardcore gaming roots..

  • superxtreme101

    Posted Jun 14, 2011 8:00 am GMT

    Well Duh....
    They haven't made those games on the WiiU yet, so they'll definitely get screen videos for the PS3, 360 and PC versions of the games. Not surprised at all, but they will have HD graphics 1080p which is kinda incredible keeping in mind that the PS3 and 360 graphics are 720p. Will they really outdo them in terms of visuals, if so. then I'm definitely getting this DAY 1

  • Solamon

    Posted Jun 11, 2011 3:53 pm GMT

    @inaka_rob I wasn't targeting you in particular with my "graphics over gameplay" statement. It was more targeted at all those people who like to claim that the Wii is only for casual gamers when anyone who actually likes good games knows better. For instance: Super Mario Galazy 1 & 2, A boy and His Blob, Murasasa The Demon Blade, Punch-Out, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Paper Mario, Zelda, Mad World, Zack & Wiki, Wario Ware, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Sin and Punishment, ect, ect.

    As far as I'm concerned, these are some of the best games this generation. And they are all great because of the Wii, not in spite of it.

  • FallenOneX

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 11:19 pm GMT

    @ Alyzen
    yeah, I meant Sony

  • inaka_rob

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 5:53 pm GMT

    @Solamon "who place too much emphasis on graphics over gameplay. " sorry I dont agree with you are all. two of my top five favorite games last year were Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies. I bought game TWICE once on my iphone and once on xbox.

  • Sonic_1048

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 5:17 pm GMT

    Anyone who actually thought those clips were from WiiU versions of those games is stupid. Seriously it was obvious that they were not going to have footage from the WiiU versions of those games this early in its development process.

  • XAF1

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 3:29 pm GMT

    The only issue so far is that there are too many unanswered questions about the Wii-U. We know the Disc format will be some form of Dvd, but will it us SD cards, memory cards or a Hard drive for downloads, content buffering, etc? How much ram will it have, etc? It's easy to say that specs don't matter but to be honest the PS3 and 360 raised the bar in an unpresidented way graphically, as well as in other ways for home consoles. The problem Sony and MS both are facing with their next consoles is how to out do what they have already done and it all is going to come down to better specs----horsepower, graphics, storage and pricing. The question is will the Wii-U be the next Wii ---somewhere in the middle--- when the next console generation really hits for Sony and MS?

  • hannify

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 1:58 pm GMT

    @bigbadonion The PS3 is not capable of 1080p 3D so I don't get what your trying to say? Anyway, all of what I said about Wii-u is speculation but obviously if you have another screen it will have dual screen capabilities.

  • CHROMEFLAMIN

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 1:46 pm GMT

    @hanni ... it would be nice if it really worked that way but sadly it doesnt

  • cptpeg

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 12:12 pm GMT

    I love Nintendo but all the third party crap that's been released recently is making them look a little pathetic. I would love to see Nintendo hire a load of staff and go completely first party with their console, only release games made by Nintendo. Think of how many series they have at the moment:

    Mario (including kart, party, tennis,etc.)
    Zelda
    Luigi's Manson
    Animal Crossing
    WarioWare
    Metroid
    Kirby
    Fire Emblem
    Pokemon
    Earthbound
    Nintendogs
    Starfox
    Donkey Kong
    Pikmin
    Ice Climbers
    Kid Icarus
    Wii Sports
    Wii Fit
    F-Zero
    Super Smash Bros

    It would ensure nothing but quality games are released and with the extra staff they could start developing new characters and games.

    I know it wouldn't happen but it'd be cool.

  • the09system

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 11:56 am GMT

    Well, that's to be expected. I'm pretty sure developers only a had a few months to actually play around the dev kits that Nintendo sent out.

    Besides how is this any different than the Battlefield 3 trailer(which is PC footage) or the Modern Warfare 3 trailer(which is X360 footage)? Or any other game trailer outside console exclusives for that matter?

  • bigbadonion

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 11:48 am GMT

    @darksimm All he states is "it will feature hd graphics just like xbox 360 and ps3" and keeps repeating that it's high definition. If the thing was going to be better than xbox 360 and ps3 he would have flat out said it, and certainly would have stated that the games will natively be 1080p without giving any specs that alone would suggest this thing is more powerful, since most of there games on ps3 and 360 are actually 720p, and quite a few less than that. Remember this is meant to be a next gen console and from what I've seen all nintendo are concentrating on is the controller I also believe Nintendo haven't said anything about what's under the hood for a good reason.

    Both companies have stated their next consoles are in development. Just because they're giving the current ones a 10 year life cycle that doesn't mean the next machines wont come out in during that life. Ps2 also has a 10 year life. But the last time I checked PS3 hasn't only just been released.

    @hannify if you watched the sony press conference you would have seen that ps3 is capible of displaying 2 different images at once in 1080p what that means to the graphics who knows but that certainly doesn't suggest this is more powerful just because of the dual screens.

  • hannify

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 11:33 am GMT

    @Darksimm Agreed. Also, having another screen in your hand means 1080p+560p perhaps so that is still quite a bit of power.

  • Darksimm

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 11:25 am GMT

    @ bigbadonion before you go betting something you don't have (ahem left testicle) learn to read ..It says nothing about being no more powerful than the PS3 or 360 - what it does say is it's capable of HD graphics and it's going to look as good as what the developers want it to look like..so if they want to make it look better or worse than a PS3/ 360 its totally up to them, now I don't know about you but Nintendo hasn't said anything about what's under the hood of this thing so before you write it off why don't you wait till we get a spec sheet.Also Sony and Microsoft have already stated that they've just started making money on their current systems..They're not about to go back into the red this soon they want another 5 years out of their systems.

  • ahpuck

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 11:15 am GMT

    As it stands now the Wii U is nothing but a glorified controller. That A- just sunk to an F.

  • bigbadonion

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 10:47 am GMT

    so from what he said its basically going to be no more powerful than 360 ans ps3. Epic fail for a next gen console trying to attract core gamers. Sure it wont bother the casuals. But seriously this thing doesn't launch until next year and i bet my left testicle microsoft or sony or even both pop up with their own unveil of some sort by the time this thing hits the shelves. All the core gamers such as my self will flock to those machines. Boasting you're gonna get current gen games on your "next gen console" is never a good sign. I was looking forward to this thing, but the more i read and find out about it the less I want it. Nintendo really need to go back to basics if they want to impress the core crowd, and rekindle what the had with SNES. I for one wont be buying it if all they can come up with that's different from what i'm currently playing is some gimmicky tablet style controller, that will distract you more than aid you.

  • GameNow79

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 10:42 am GMT

    I'm quite confident that this investigative reporting will help bolster up Nintendo's plummeting stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, right? What better promo than to show impressive HD clips of games that will/may be on the Wii U than by doing so using other current-gen gaming platforms from Nintendo's own comptition? And then being called out on it after the fact! This is almost laughable.

  • BxPunisher103

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 10:41 am GMT

    I wish Nintendo would just focus on their games... It's like the third place finish for the Gamecube just devastated their gaming mindset. I'll reserve judgment on the Wii U until I actually see something and play it but come on Nintendo. At least throw us a bone here... Stop sugarcoating your desire to make a huge profit under the pretense that you're gonna "revolutionize" gaming, especially after you didn't fulfill that promise with the Wii. I love the company but damn, get back to the basics.

  • variable21

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 10:41 am GMT

    hm i also think that how the controller works will be an issue for the hardcore.. and i mean in any case, you cant look at 2 screens at the same time, because it blocks your view... not like the ds, where you automaticly look at the 2 screens... hm... questions over questions

  • hippiesanta

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 10:35 am GMT

    ops...I'm embarrass