[RUMOR] Wii U Hardware Downgraded Due To Overheating Developer Units

The Wii U has been on the market for almost a year, but reports continue to circulate about the console’s performance.  A recent report on NeoGaf stated that the hardware for the Wii U was downgraded to keep the console from overheating.

Current generation consoles, the Xbox 360 in particular, have experienced serious problems with overheating and it would cause the console to no longer function.  So, if Nintendo were experiencing problems with the Wii U overheating, then it would make sense that they would do something to address the issue.

The Wii U pulls air  through the Heat Sink and out the back of the console.

Now, the source argues that to combat the overheating problem, Nintendo decided to downgrade the console’s hardware to avoid the problem.  Which would be a barbaric way to go about it, but would definitely be a cost-effective solution.  

In the post, the source links a set of quotes from Iwata Asks, a popular interview segment published on the Nintendo website.

Iwata: “Was making the case smaller a clear target from the start?  Kitano-san?”

Kitano:  “Yes.  At the start of development, Takeda-san gave us the task of making the console a “stagehand,” a kind of unobtrusive role behind the scenes.”

The Heat Sink acts to dispense heat away from the electronics of the Wii U.

So, it is clear that Nintendo had intended to reduce the size of the Wii U case to make it less obtrusive in one’s living space.  However, the source believes that this could indicate that Nintendo also decided to downgrade the Wii U’s hardware.

What do you think about this rumor?  Do you believe that Nintendo would purposefully reduce the capability of the Wii U to avoid any overheating problems?  Let me know in the comments below!