Iwata Downplays Graphical Shortcomings of Wii U, Says People Won’t See Difference Compared to PS4, Xbox 720

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has now taken the gloves off and is ready to talk smack when it comes to Sony and Microsoft's next-gen offerings.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Iwata downplays the visual disparity the Wii U will have compared to the (expected) technologically superior next-gen offerings from Sony and Microsoft.

My impression is that the things that happened with Wii v 360 or Wii v PS3 won't happen again…If they decide to increase the spec numbers, will the consumers be able to realise the difference enough so that they can understand it's much superior to today's machine?

Not only that, but Iwata also thinks that with the added horsepower, that means more work for developers and he's not sure if that added work "makes sense."

 And also, if they beef up the processing power, that simply means much more work for software developers to take advantage of those spec numbers. So I have to ask the question if that type of differentiation really makes sense. But I think further arguments must wait until probably next year, when they have finalised and disclosed whatever they are thinking about for the next generation of consoles.

If you need a refresher, a couple of developers have already said that the Wii U won't be a significant jump graphically compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360. Some are even claiming that it's just "on par" with the current consoles we have out now.

I admit, the amount of development knowledge I have can only fill a teacup but does his statements make sense to you? If developers wouldn't want to work with new and stronger hardware, wouldn't we be stuck playing 2D games in cartridges? 

Of course, Sony and Microsoft has yet to reveal the tech specs of their next-gen consoles — or even formally acknowledge that they are working on it, but from the rumors that's been scattered around, it looks like it will run circles compared to what the Wii U has under the hood. 

Do you agree with Iwata's sentiments or do you think this will be a repeat of the Wii compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360 all over again?