Facepalm: The Wii U Games We’re Seeing This Week Are Stuck At 720p

John Biggs

Biggs is the East Coast Editor of TechCrunch. Biggs has written for the New York Times, InSync, USA Weekend, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Money and a number of other outlets on technology and wristwatches. He is the former editor-in-chief of Gizmodo.com and lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. You can Tweet him here and G+ him here. Email him directly at... → Learn More

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012
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According to WiiUDaily (and we’re confirming), the games shown at E3 are native at 720p resolution, a considerable step down from the 1080p, 3D-pumping action coming out of the 360 and the PS3 in many cases. Although there is no absolute proof that the Wii U launch titles will all be 720p, the site noted that “the representative couldn’t confirm whether the games can be upscaled to 1080p, only that the ‘native resolution is 720p for all titles showcased.’”

Does it really matter that the Wii U is showing off 720p titles? Not particularly, but 1080p would definitely be a nice to have. Nintendo sells all over the world, even to folks who may not have HD TVs. To stymie resolution offers a cost and processor savings that can be rolled back into gameplay. But shouldn’t this be a showcase of what this thing can do out of the gate?

Does it make me particularly happy to learn that it’s showing games at 720p? Not really. The Wii has long been hampered by its standard definition roots and it’s going to piss off a lot of fanboys. Here’s hoping this is just growing pains.

UPDATED – Points fixed for clarification.