New Nintendo HD Console Rumors Abound

pcgfx805 writes "Game Informer has reportedly received word from 'multiple sources' that a new HD console from Nintendo will be debuting at this year's E3. They report on conflicting information regarding the power of the console compared to the other current-gen consoles, but go on to speculate that 'Either way it will offer competitive specifications.'" This year's E3 is scheduled for June 7-9.

Comments

I don't care if it's HD

[YoshiDan]

As long as they have Mario games I'll piss my money away on it.

Re:I don't care if it's HD

[Nyder]

Should anybody mention something called "The Osborne Effect" to them?

Do you even know what your talking about?

Nintendo just didn't release the Wii, so talking about a better machine coming out isn't going to kill it like it did Osborne.

The Wii came out 5 or so years ago, it's more then time for talks about new machines to come out. Just because Sony & MS thinks they can expand the console lifetime doesn't mean other companies are that stupid.

Re:I don't care if it's HD

[Cornelius Scarabeus]

The Wii came out 5 years ago, but the machine itself isn't much more than a reboxed Gamecube, so it's essentially 10 year old hardware by now.

Re:I don't care if it's HD

[robthebloke]

No, that makes it 5 year old hardware. The i7 is effectively a pentium 1 on steroids, but that doesn't make it 18 years old....

I'm sure it's coming eventually

[_xeno_]

I have no doubt Nintendo will make a next-gen console, and I have no doubt it'll support HD. None of this is really new or interesting.

However, my questions are:

1. Will it support backwards compatibility with the Wii? (I expect it will.)
2. Will it allow save games to be copied off the Wii onto the new console? (AFAIK, this only applies to games with online components, but some game saves are locked to the console.)
3. Will it allow Virtual Console and WiiWare purchases to be transferred?

That last one is a deal-breaker for me. If you can't copy your existing digital purchases off the Wii onto whatever the next-gen Nintendo console is, forget it.

This is one thing that Microsoft and Sony do right: all you need to do to use your digital purchases on a new console is log in.

With Nintendo, you simply can't use them on anything but the original hardware. And if the hardware fails (which has happened to me twice), your only recourse is to ship it back to Nintendo and have them fix it, or lose any downloaded games you may have purchased.

Re:More like a 10 year release schedule methinks..

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

NES > SNES (graphics only upgrade really for the SNES)
N64 > Gamecube (N64 brings 3D and anaolgue, Gamecube enhances graphics)

You are seriously downplaying the advances in each case. Please do not be fooled by retrospective appearances.

The SNES was a major leap forward from the NES. Major. It's difficult to really stress this enough. Nintendo were riding high from the huge success of the NES and built a worthy successor. The breadth, depth and variety of SNES games is a testament to the capability of the system, capability which simply did not exist on the NES in any fashion.

Mode 7 is the obvious feature here, but the sheer level of improvements in basic functionality opened up a new world of potential in games. Just compare say, Super Metroid, with the original game, or consider the entirely new Genre's like 2D fighters which came to consoles during this time. The NES could not have supported these games or anything even resembling them.

The Gamecube is similar, though comparisons with contemporary rivals can skew things. However, it suffices to say that even a game like Luigi's Mansion would never have fit on the N64.