Rumor: 'New Wii due by 2011' says former-1UPer

"less good". LOL.

samfish, are you talking about Donkey Kong Jungle Beat? If so, WHAT THE HELL!? CRAPPY!? Jungle Beat is EASILY one of the best Gamecube games! In fact it's one of very few games that I've gone back to several times. I very rarely play games more than once unless replaying them offers some kind of very different experience the second time around, but Jungle Beat was just so goddamn fun that I ended up playing every level over and over again until I got all the platinum crests.

Hurts your hands like a bitch though

I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure Miyamoto hasn't worked on anything important (as in, stuff we find important) for a while. He's been busy making shit like wii fit, nintendogs and wii music.

So I think we'll be fine without Miyamoto.

I figured out a solution for this problem...by unhooking it and keeping it in a drawer. At the rate it's going, I might take it out by the time they release...um...Mad World?

It will collect dust and yet somehow still print gobs of money, only Nintendo can do this! : )

MadWorld's going to compel a lot of such people to dust their Wii off, i think.

Can't wait for January, myself.

It gathers the dust, compacts it in the disc tray, and then ejects the compacted dust as paper money of varying currencies depending on region.

Overused Joke Of The Day Award goes to.......

Damnit I was gonna say that!

Relative compared to the massive boost over the PS2, certainly.

I suppose Nintendo would want to put themselves into a nicer technological sweet spot, to the point where PS4-Xbox 1080 games could be readily scaled down to Wii HD specs, not like the totally-different-game porting system they have now.

It would solve their current largest marketplace problem, anyway: the departure of core gamers.

While that sounds great in theory and also somewhat likely - I doubt anything like that will come to fruition.

Nintendo is not a tech company; they clearly do not understand what the phrase "bleeding edge" means. They've released 2 consoles in the era of HDTV's and the only support they've had is 480p (and minimal at that). "Online gaming will never catch on" is what they basically said when Xbox Live rolled out. They also stuck with cartridges past their shelf life date. I've been burned by Nintendo twice now on their last two consoles, I will sit this one out.

I have no faith in them to deliver a superior gaming experience in audio and video. None whatsoever.

'The Wii is at least powerful enough to trump the Xbox, the most powerful console last gen, and that same line of thinking will almost surely be applied to next gen consoles, too'

lolwut? The Wii is barely even able to handle as much as the Gamecube, let alone the Xbox. The only Wii games which look up to the standard of late-life Gamecube games are Mario Galaxy, MP3 and Smash Bros, and Mario and Metroid barely look any better than their 2002 Gamecube counterparts...

Either way, if the Wii 2 is comparable to the PS3 how does that help them get in on the multiplatform action? The PS4 and 720 will then be more powerful than the PS3 is, so the Wii will be a whole generation behind again. But who the hell buys a Nintendo console for third party games anyway? It's clear that Nintendo are pretty past it now though, what with... Ugh... Wii Music... ¬_¬

Either you're expecting the costs of the technology to really come down by 2011 (which I suppose is possible), or you're expecting Nintendo to radically change its business model (which I think is unlikely).

Nintendo has had immense success with the Wii. This time, I expect them to take an evolutionary step forward rather than attempt another revolution. I think they will try to focus more on doing what the Wii has done successfully, and do it better for the next console.

The Wii's success isn't about making high-end games for the core audience. It comes from broadening the market with low-cost games, low-cost hardware, and simple controls. Look for Nintendo to try to enhance that strategy.

Nintendo WAS in on the "multiplatform action" with the GameCube, and look where it got them - last place! It sounds good in theory, but didn't work.

You're just trolling if you think that GC or Xbox could do Super Mario Galaxy. Brawl, Metroid Prime 3, and Sonic and the Secret Rings are all outside the GC's capacity equally, from what i've played.

Really, at its best (RE4, Rogue Squadron) the GC could rival Xbox at its best (NG Black), because of the Xbox's resource-wasting PC-based architecture. With that architecture, Xbox needed those specs to be able to trump their competitors.

Khan, do you really think, considering the Wii's success, that the core market still holds value for Nintendo? I'm not taking the "I've been wronged, woe is me" stance here, but from a statistical standpoint, I really don't see how we core fans are still relevant against the newly risen horde of casual Wii players. I bought my Wii, played Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Smash Bros, then shelved it as my parents and siblings went to town on Super Swing Golf, and I haven't had a reason to take it back from them yet.

Samfish said ...

"With Sony looking like the PS4 is going to be only a relatively small step up from the PS3, Nintendo's next console being moderately comparable would make sense to me."

Thats just speculation at this point. By the time the PS4 is released the cell architecture will have a huge technology leap and it's advantages for gaming may be better utilized. They will simply use the same architecture to make development more feasible and less exotic. But, saying that the PS4 will only be a small step above the PS3 is probably far from true.

If the PS4 is in the early stages of R&D now and we can gauge a release date by a more traditional pattern of release I would expect an announcement in 2011 or 2012 and a console release the following year or two. Hopefully they have learned some lessons about what the design of the architecture should be in such a way to play to the strengths and not hamper the cell.

I would expect to see all the games made for the PS3 as well like some of the bigger titles are now for the PS2.

The argument of "if it's so easy to make money off of the casuals, why bother making complex hardcore games" is readily broken, simply because there are fewer of us doesn't mean that they won't cater to our tastes. Nintendo has made niche games in the past and will probably continue to do so

Super Mario Galaxy sold 6.1 million copies, Brawl sold about 3 million in America alone. Most of their "core" first party titles have reached million-seller status (except for niche projects like Fire Emblem)

The argument of Nintendo "abandoning" us for them is just horrible business sense.

'It comes from broadening the market with low-cost games, low-cost hardware, and simple controls.'

What the fuck? Low-cost hardware? The Wii has been MORE expensive than the 360 for ages, and it's considerably cheaper to make. If that isn't the biggest rip-off you've ever heard of I don't know what is. Well, apart from maybe the iPhone...

'You're just trolling if you think that GC or Xbox could do Super Mario Galaxy.'

Or I'm just sensible. The only reason Super Mario Galaxy is the best looking Wii game is because there's fuck all on screen. If someone had made a game on the GC which consisted of nothing but an enormous sky dome and some spheres I'm sure it would have looked just as good, if not better. To be perfectly honest I, and many other people I've spoken to, think that Mario Sunshine looks better than Galaxy (Apart from the lighting), and the same applies to Metoid Primes 1 and 3. As for Sonic and the Secret Rings... What the hell? That doesn't even look that good for a Wii game

The only game that looks significantly better than its last-gen counterpart is Smash Bros, and the GC one looked pretty bad... Brawl could probably be done just as well on the Xbox, and maybe even the GC. Rogue Squadron and Halo 2 are both far more impressive than anything on the Wii

"Either you're expecting the costs of the technology to really come down by 2011 (which I suppose is possible), or you're expecting Nintendo to radically change its business model (which I think is unlikely)."

Technology costs will definitely be down by 2011. By then, the PS3 and 360 will both be selling for $150 or less. Nintendo wouldn't have to change it's business model at that point. It wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a console with 2-3x the power of the PS3 to launch for $250 or less. Thus there will be no change to their business model, in that regard.
I SINCERELY doubt the next Wii will only be a small step up from the current Wii. Nintendo might have gone that route this time, but they have artists and such there, too. There'll be an internal push to be able to work on something with significantly higher specs than the Wii next time around. I'd be very surprised if Nintendo doesn't take those people's requests into serious consideration. They'd probably risk losing staff, to some degree.

"I really don't see how we core fans are still relevant against the newly risen horde of casual Wii players. I bought my Wii, played Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Smash Bros,"

NINTENDO has given their core audience all they could want in the Wii's first 18 months. Frankly, when people say this and demand MORE from Nintendo, they're just being greedy. The problem is THIRD PARTIES.
Technically, the 'hardcore' have no reason to be opposed to Nintendo themselves. They've been one of the few to hold up their end of the bargain on the Wii, and sales reflect that. Its simply a case of ignorantly misdirected rage.


"But, saying that the PS4 will only be a small step above the PS3 is probably far from true."

You're going to be disappointed, then. The days for consoles that are 20 times a powerful as their predecessors are OVER.
Nintendo has shown Sony and Microsoft:
A) how to appeal to EVERYONE, which means that
B) their media center ambitions will be that much easier to attain.
Believe me – for all the crying from fanboys over how Nintendo hates gamers, the truth of the matter is that Nintendo is the only company that DOES care about gamers. If Sony or MS DO manage to get into everyone's living rooms the way DVD players are, I *GUARANTEE* you'll see what abandoning gamers REALLY looks like. As of today, at least, Nintendo's lifeblood are gamers and only gamers.

Anyway, as for the PS4 speculation, it's from a reputable site, too. There's little reason to doubt that what we heard will be fairly similar to the final specs on a base level.

"Or I'm just sensible. The only reason Super Mario Galaxy is the best looking Wii game is because there's fuck all on screen. If someone had made a game on the GC which consisted of nothing but an enormous sky dome and some spheres I'm sure it would have looked just as good, if not better. To be perfectly honest I, and many other people I've spoken to, think that Mario Sunshine looks better than Galaxy (Apart from the lighting), and the same applies to Metoid Primes 1 and 3. As for Sonic and the Secret Rings... What the hell? That doesn't even look that good for a Wii game"

If you aren't trolling, you don't know what you're talking about, then.

If you think Secret Rings looked bad, you have to have been looking at the wrong game. And Mario Galaxy had quite a few instances of places where there was much more going on on-screen.

Draw distance and lighting were really what set Metroid Prime 3 apart. Wander around Elysia and you see what i'm getting at.

Err... Since when do you need some kind of profound knowledge to look at two screenshots and say 'Hmm... This one looks better than this one'. I don't need to 'know' anything to say Wii games don't look any better than GC games other than what they look like, and considering the fact that I own both consoles and several games for each, I'd say I qualify.

Also, people should probably learn the meaning of the word trolling before throwing it around...

Megadanxzero:

"What the fuck? Low-cost hardware? The Wii has been MORE expensive than the 360 for ages, and it's considerably cheaper to make."

Low-cost = low cost of manufacturing. Translates to high profit margins for Nintendo.

Low-price = low sales price. Translates into the consumer paying less.

Nintendo has firm beliefs about making their hardware cheap and selling consoles for a profit, as opposed to other companies that sell for a loss and hope to recoup on software.

Samfish -

My god you are delusional. Keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

You are right that the days we see consoles that are 20X stronger are over. I would expect next gen to see the PS4 & 360 2 at least 40X stronger if not closer to 100X.

Components are getting CHEAPER. The architecture will continue to evolve as well as the process for memory. There have been so many breakthroughs in the last 2-3 years since these consoles were released that the next gen will only resemble them in name.

I hope Nintendo brings something more to the party than some Sunny Delight when the big boys brought blow and smack (in a metaphorical sense) to the show.

Microsoft is a software company
Sony is a hardware and consumer electronics company
Nintendo is a video game company

They all have strengths and weaknesses. I seriously doubt that the next iteration will be baby steps like the Wii was compared to the Game Cube. By that time most of the Wii children will be graduated to the big boy systems and there will also be the older more experienced generations that are the heart and soul of the industry now.

The Wii worked this time. I don't see it flying next gen if they continue to barely even upgrade their console.

Honestly, if the Game Cube had the Wii mote there would not even be that big of a difference in the games.

It's just sad.

It won't at launch. Nintendo will add that capability with a separate add-on peripheral with the release of 'Wii Vaccuum: HD!' six months after the system launches.

Haha...good show.

Or a kind of Wii vacuuming game that the 40+ crowd will inexplicably latch on to.

No.

Actually it'd be quadruple.

HOLY FISHCAKES.