Slashdot Mirror
HD Wii By 2011?
1Up noticed an interesting post up at WhatTheyPlay which put together some public information with more from private sources suggesting that the next version of the Wii console is planned for 2011. Quoting:
"Unlike previous console transitions from Nintendo, the new system will be presented as a true successor to the Wii, and is being dubbed by those that have seen the presentation as 'Wii HD.' There is no indication if this will be its eventual name, but the nature of the transition has been characterized as similar to 'the shift from Game Boy to Game Boy Advance,' where familiar, key elements were left intact while the core hardware was made more powerful. It is expected by all those that we have spoken to on the subject that the new device will retain the Wii name in part."
The HDii? Hurr hurr.
Your ad here.
As long as you have good Zelda and Metroid games (even though the last ones have been made by Retro Studios) to go with your new console, I'll buy it.
Is this version going to come with a hard drive standard?
I can't imagine their 'next' generation console will get left behind in the console download race.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Please, this isn't news, speculation can hardly ever be taken serious, and this belongs on Digg, not Slashdot.
-- Cheers!
Wii Too
Wii Two
Wii Wii
But, Given Nintendo's history, it is likely to be called the Super Wii, Ultra Wii, or Wii Advance.
If Sega were involved, it would be the Mega Wii. :)
Nintendo threw everyone for a loop this time. No high def? No hard drive? A strange controller? No way will that thing sell!
I think there's one way to top that. The next wii is $100 and you control it with your butt.
Have you tried buying the upgrade Component cable to get the full 480p out of the Wii? Or are you using the composite cable that came with the Wii? That only lets you get 480i.
... and in the DRM, bind them.
That resolution is really only necessary if you're going for realistic. And this is exactly where Nintendo isn't. The XBox's and PS's are, but not the Wii. High resolution just isn't necessary for cartoon-y stuff. So, don't criticise them for choosing technology that suits there needs, but doesn't live up to what /you/ *think* they should be doing.
Btw, I have a 32" LCD HDTV and Metroid looks amazing and Zelda looks good as well (though Zelda is _not_ supposed to look as good as Metroid).
Sorry to say this, but the majority of households still don't have an HDTV.
Despite the fact most electronics stores carry them exclusively, relatively few can afford to spend circa $1k on one of these things.
The overall market share is still small.
Explain to me why anyone should be paying for resolution they won't see until panels drop to the 300 dollar mark some 5+ years from now?
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
Nintendo has already said they want to go to shorter release cycles. This would put the Wii at four years. I actually expect a new Wii a lot shorter than that.
Beats me.
Although I do expect a WiiHD is going to be a lot harder sell. They had a lot of hype with the Wii and sold--and still selling--based off of it.
Right, the Wii is just a fad. Keep telling yourself that.
But a lot of these Wiis are now sitting around collecting dust waiting for decent games.
An asinine observation. Its true of EVERY system, and everyone's definition of 'decent games' is different. A lot of PS3 are collecting dust too, and xbox360s too.
That said, consider the Wii Fit is still a total sell out after moving 2 million units. To me that pretty much blows your theory that everyone is waiting around for something to buy.
A couple cult following titles and a few lackluster first part titles. They have been been greeted with a lot of hope, and some good reviews from some Nintendo friendly reviewers. But I don't know a lot of people still playing their copies of SMG, MK, or even Brawl.
Same could be said of any of the franchise games for any of the consoles.
I just think it's going to be a hard sell the next around of systems, where they are going to have to show some major titles with some real lasting appeal are going to come.
Like what? Halo 3? Call of Duty? Complete with an achievement system so they can be ranked against 15-year-olds around the world? Yeah, the casuals are going to be lining up to get on that bus. Get real.
Does anyone really think the "casual" gamers who got on board with Wii Play and Wii Fit are going to go buy another system for Wii Play 2 and Wii Fit 2 when they bought the first ones and it sat in the corner a couple of weeks after they had it?
If they think it will be fun and entertain them for a while? Yes.
They don't need to play it 10 hours a week every week to feel they got good value. Even if they pull it out once a month or so for parties or when the grandkids come over, or they play the odd game of tennis, they're happy with their purchase. When the next version comes out, if it has something they want, they'll buy it.
It really is that simple.
Finally, if current trends are an indication: if they launched a "Wii 2" today, they'd sell a quarter million a week easily, and that's assuming the 30 million people who already have a Wii DON'T upgrade. They don't even NEED to 'convert' Wii owners, the untapped market is still large enough.
Of course, they will market to Wii owners as well, and some significant percentage WILL upgrade. A LOT of people are more than satisfied with their purchase. Hell, if they manage to sell a Wii 2 to just half the Wii 1 owners and don't sell a single unit to anyone else, they'll still outsell the PS3.
Its the gamers who want something to buy beyond Zelda or Mario.
meh, there's lots to play out there. Radiant Dawn, Mercury Meltdown, Zack&Wiki, Metroid3, Godfather, ...
I dunno, there are easily 20+ games that are more than difficult enough to be a 'gamers' game. And there are several 'casual' titles that are worthy of play too, and then there's plenty to to be had on the Virtual Console/WiiWare. I just can't be that sympathetic; there is plenty of value there.
And honestly, if you are consuming titles at such a high a rate that the Wii library is 'woefully inadequate', you've already got at least 1 of the other consoles in addition to the Wii, and possibly a DS or PSP to boot.
If that is you, and you are still complaining about the lack of titles... then your expectations are out of whack, or you are skipping tons of good quality games... probably both.
The SNES was just a more powerful NES by most counts
By most counts, yes, but not by some of the counts that matter the most. The SNES was the first console to have shoulder buttons on the controllers, the first to have the diamond-shaped 4-face-button configuration still found on PlayStations and Xboxen today, the first major home console to use wavetable synthesis for audio and bitmap scaling/rotation for graphics.
the N64 was, yet again, another Cartridge system when everyone else was using optical media, it was just a bit more powerful
It also introduced analog controls back to the home console for the first time since the Atari 2600's paddles. (Yes, Atari 5200 and Vectrex had analog joysticks standard issue, but you can count the number of titles that used the analog capabilities on one hand.)
I'm actually kind of surprised at how little credit for innovation you're willing to give Nintendo. I don't think most gamers see it the same way you do.
I did indeed buy one. The biggest problem I have with the image is the crazy amount of staircasing all over the place. I actually turned it back to 480i because the deinterlacer on my Bravia produces a smoother image overall even if there's less detail (my guess is that it averages the scan fields at a higher resolution). It also eliminates the lame 16bit alpha dithering that some games have.