Nintendo Wii U vs Sony PlayStation 4

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Wii U compared with PlayStation 4

	NintendoWii U	SonyPlayStation 4
Overview
Released
Released	November 2012	November 2013
Performance
Type
Type	Home console	Home console
CPU
CPU	IBM Espresso (PowerPC), 3 cores, 1.24 GHz	AMD Jaguar, 8 cores
GPU
GPU	AMD Radeon-based Latte, 550 MHz	AMD Radeon
GPU compute
GPU compute	–	1.84 TFLOPS
Memory
Memory	2 GB	8 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	8 GB, 32 GB	500 GB (better)
Disc drive
Disc drive	Yes	Yes
CPU
CPU	IBM PowerPC-based tri-core "Espresso" at about 1.24 GHz (Nintendo; fail0verflow Cafe OS log)	Single-chip custom processor; x86-64 AMD "Jaguar", 8 cores at 1.6 GHz (Sony and system architect Mark Cerny)
GPU
GPU	AMD Radeon-based "Latte" at about 550 MHz (Nintendo; fail0verflow Cafe OS log)	1.84 TFLOPS AMD Radeon-based engine; 18 compute units at 800 MHz (Sony and Mark Cerny)
Memory detail
Memory detail	2 GB DDR3L, identified from four Micron memory chips (iFixit)	8 GB GDDR5; a separate 256 MB DDR3 chip and a low-power processor for network tasks (iFixit teardown)
Storage detail
Storage detail	8 GB (Basic) or 32 GB (Premium) internal flash; Wii U and Wii optical discs	500 GB hard drive, user-replaceable; Blu-ray (6× CAV) and DVD (8× CAV) drive, read only
Storage expansion
Storage expansion	SD cards up to 2 GB, SDHC cards up to 32 GB; USB storage up to 2 TB (Nintendo)	External USB 3.0 hard drives for games and apps from system software 4.50 (PlayStation)
Display and video
Maximum output
Maximum output	1080p	1080p
Built-in screen
Built-in screen	No screen on the console; the Wii U GamePad has a 6.2-inch touch screen, 854 × 480 (Nintendo)	No built-in screen
Video output
Video output	HDMI up to 1080p; AV Multi out with composite, RGB SCART or component cable (Nintendo)	HDMI out, up to 1080p
HDR
HDR	–	HDR from system software 4.00, including the original PS4 (PlayStation)
Audio
Audio	Six-channel linear PCM over HDMI; analogue audio through AV Multi out (Nintendo)	DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) port; audio over HDMI
Design and power
Weight
Weight	1,600 g (better)	2,800 g
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Wii U GamePad battery lasts about 3–5 hours and charges in about 2.5 hours (Nintendo UK manual)	–
Power use
Power use	31.5 W during gameplay in Nintendo's 2016 test	250 W maximum rating (CUH-1000 series; Sony)
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × USB 2.0, HDMI, AV Multi out, SD card slot, sensor bar port (Nintendo)	2 × SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0), AUX port (PlayStation Camera), HDMI out, DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL), Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth	Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n (Nintendo)	Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 (EDR)
Controller
Controller	Wii U GamePad with touch screen, two analogue sticks, motion sensors, NFC and approximately 0.3-megapixel camera; works with Wii Remotes and the Wii U Pro Controller	DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller with touch pad, light bar and built-in speaker
Backward compatibility
Backward compatibility	Wii games and accessories	No PS3, PS2 or PS1 discs; some older games are sold as digital re-releases