It has been known for some time since the console’s 2012 debut that the Wii U is a generation ahead for Nintendo, not so much in terms of the overall console race. The console’s specs are fairly well known by this point, but for those not attuned to hardware mumbo jumbo the likes of which Digital Foundry would unleash upon your poor soul, there’s a solution. YouTube personality and all around ambassador of that which is nerd Jake Roper has made the console’s relative power more digestible via stop motion video, and a few interesting musings.
Via his show Vsauce, he’s put together a pretty nifty video breaking down the specs and capabilities of the console via a number of really flattering factoids. For example, while the console’s onboard RAM only totals that around 2GB (a figure already being eclipsed by smartphones and WELL behind the 8GB packed into the PS4 and Xbox One), did you know that it’s 23 times that of the original Wii? Or that Panasonic collaborated with them on the creation of their unique disc drive?
If you’re looking for something more current-gen, or perhaps obscure, there are also excellent fact teardowns of the Playstation 4, and even the Dreamcast on his channel. I enjoy videos like these. They offer the kind of informative perspective that just shows, while we are very adamant about having the best technology at all times, some companies, in Nintendo’s case, build around their interests, and what they specifically need their console to do in order to achieve their vision. Also that the intrinsic value of a console isn’t necessarily tied to their spec sheets. Some remarkable things have still been achieved, no matter how many units were sold.
