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.
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. :)
On that note, it'd be great if Nintendo would fix up their save-game system.
I mean, seriously, save slots? Still? Sure, it made sense when using carts where there was a limited space tied to the cart. It kinda stopped making sense when you had memory cards and most certainly stopped making sense when the console has built-in storage.
I'm assuming it's some Nintendo requirement because even third-party games will have a limited number of save slots stored on the Wii. Based on the memory browser, it looks like Wii games are allowed to say "I need this much space for saving" and then get a single chunk of space, which then gets divided into save slots. Which is ridiculous.
While they're at it, poach the whole user profile thing that Sony has on the PS3. You can create multiple "users" on the console, and each "user" gets their own collection of save games. It's very nice to be able to share a console without worrying about accidentally overwriting someone else's save. I'd imagine the Xbox 360 has something similar (although I don't know).
'Course, presumably this is possible to do on the Wii, although it might require a firmware update or something...
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
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).
and in 2011 chances are that it'll be a dirt cheap 64 or 128 gig Flash SSD
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.