During last month’s Electronic Entertainment Exposition, many were wowed by the Wii. The demonstrations of its new motion sensor controller and related games were the buzz of the bystanders. But ATI executive John Swinimer says that the public hasn’t seen all that the Wii can do. Swinimer made his comments to Game Daily and stated, “I think what you saw [at E3] was just the tip of the iceberg of what the Hollywood chip can bring to the Nintendo Wii."Although pressed for specifics, he deflected the question by saying, "I really don’t think that it’s about the [specs]; I think it’s about the innovation that it brings to the table – the motion-sensing, the always-on capability, which is really cool too – the fact that the chip is powerful enough and responsive enough to be there at a moment’s notice. I think that’s pretty cool for the average gamer."ATI, who also provides the chips for the Xbox 360, hesitated to make a direct comparison between the Hollywood chip and the 360 chip by saying, "They’re different chips for different platforms and different uses. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison to put them on a chart. That’s not what it’s all about. I think if you focus on the capabilities that the chip will have for the average consumer, with the amazement and wow factor, I think that’s the value that we bring."Although Swinimer was as elusive in his answers regarding the Wii’s CPU as Kirby floating in the wind, most industry pundits are predicting that the Wii CPU will be anywhere from two to four times as powerful as its predecessor, the GameCube. The GameCube, Nintendo,s answer to the current gen PS2 and Xbox, has recently shipped its 10 millionth unit.
