Do you really want a Wii HD?

Mike Bantick
Friday, 15 April 2011 14:16

Opinion and Analysis

Internet rumours are starting to take form that Nintendo is poised to announce a successor console to the fabulously popular Wii.  Supposedly the reveal will come at this year's E3 show in June.  The Wii HD, or Wii 2 (or WiiWii) or whatever the new console will be named, the rumours have Nintendo 'doing this one right.'  Does Nintendo really need to take on Microsoft and Sony at the tech level?

Even the folks behind E3 (The Electronic Entertainment Expo) show think Nintendo will make a Wii successor console announcement at their show, putting the rumour out on the E3 Facebook page recently.

Then there is the upcoming release schedule for Wii, one of the sparsest on record, particularly first party titles from Nintendo.

Another rumour pointing an imminent announcement includes CVG's report that Nintendo intend to cut the price of the Wii by 25 per cent.  Then there are the 'sources close to Nintendo' reports starting to filter in.

Gameinformer is all over the new Wii with statements such as: 'We have confirmed with multiple sources that this new home system is capable of running games at HD resolutions. There are conflicting reports, however, as to whether its graphics will be comparable to those on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 - meaning it could surpass or fall short of those systems:'

And: '''Nintendo is doing this one right," said an anonymous source. "[It's] not a gimmick like the Wii."'

Over at IGN the website also reports on the Gameinformer article as well as adding: 'Additional sources tell IGN that Nintendo will release a pre-announcement this month with a full reveal expected at E3 and that the console will be backwards compatible with current Wii software.'

IGN and Gameinformer speculate that Nintendo is aiming for a late 2012 launch of the new console.

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