"No, it's not up to the same level as the PS3 or the 360," said one developer who's been working with the Wii U. What does that mean? "The graphics are just not as powerful," reiterated the source.

This developer is not alone in their opinion. Another developer at a major company confirmed this point of view. "Yeah, that's true. It doesn't produce graphics as well as the PS3 or the 360," said the source. "There aren't as many shaders, it's not as capable. Sure, some things are better, mostly as a result of it being a more modern design. But overall the Wii U just can't quite keep up."

This may be a surprise to some consumers, who could be expecting that with a new console design five years later than the Xbox 360 or PS3 designs, that Nintendo should be able to produce more raw power than those consoles. It's not quite that simple, though. Cost and graphics power are generally tightly linked. Graphics on the cutting edge of chip technology is going to be more expensive.