[Rumor] High-DEF wii scheduled for 2011

[chrisj1968]

news source: what they play also:

Gamedev.net

Article in full:

What They Play has heard from multiple sources in the game development and publishing community that Nintendo is currently showing early presentations of its next home console hardware. Apparently set to hit the market ?by 2011? the new device is said to be the true ?next generation? Nintendo console, and far more than a simple refresh of the current hardware. 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.

While our sources are reluctant to be too specific about ?Wii HD,? they have been able to divulge some (albeit predictable) generalizations. High definition visuals are assured, as is a greater emphasis on digitally distributed and backwardly compatible content, indicating that the new system will feature some form of local storage medium such as a hard drive or large flash memory solution. It has also been indicated that Nintendo?s emphasis is again on what the consumer will hold in their hands and interact with, rather than the ?console? itself.

Nintendo has proven it can be extremely successful by leveraging processor technology that is not on the bleeding edge, and be more profitable and more innovative as a result. In a 2006 interview with Business Week, Nintendo visionary Shigeru Miyamoto stated, ?The consensus [at Nintendo] was that power isn't everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles can't coexist. It's like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction.? Based on our conversations about ?Wii HD? this attitude would seem to still prevail.

But why should you believe this? Everything stated so far could easily have been the result of educated guesswork or speculation. While a Nintendo representative provided the expected response that, ?Nintendo does not comment on speculation or rumor,? there is additional evidence, outside this commentary, to suggest that something is going on.

In 2003, Nintendo declared that $34 million was spent on R&D. This figure steadily climbed to $103 million in 2006 and the following year bumped dramatically to $370 million.

Based on figures from Nintendo?s annual financial reports, the company is currently spending more than ten times as much on research and development as it was five years ago, and since the Wii was launched in 2006, R&D spending has more than tripled. While this could be attributed to any number of additional projects, the level of spending suggests that a large project is in the works. In 2003, Nintendo declared that $34 million was spent on R&D. This figure steadily climbed to $103 million in 2006 (the year that the Wii launched) and the following year bumped dramatically to $370 million. When asked to explain the escalated spending, Nintendo representatives were unable to provide comment.

The current Wii hardware is based upon processors and graphics technology supplied by IBM and AMD. These two companies have a joint development agreement together, which is described by AMD as being focused ?on delivering a range of integrated platforms to serve key markets, including ? gaming and media computing.?

The joint development agreement between IBM and AMD expires on December 31, 2011 but ?may be extended further by the mutual agreement of the parties.? This suggests that Nintendo will be leveraging research and development from the partnership in time to ensure that it?s new hardware will be compatible with the Wii?s current ?Hollywood? and ?Broadway? processors. As Microsoft learned in the transition from Xbox to Xbox 360, switching hardware vendors can make running older games on a new system a much more difficult proposition.

The dramatic bump in spending at Nintendo may also be reflective of Nintendo?s work on a rumored new DS, said to feature a camera and music player. Iterating on the DS in 2009 would certainly shake up the market, though given the incredible monthly sales of the device it hardly needs reinvigorating for the time being. When the Nintendo DS was launched in 2004, the worldwide installed base of the Game Boy Advance was 53 million (on top of the Game Boy?s incredibly huge 118 million.) So far, 80 million Nintendo DS units have been sold worldwide, and demand shows no sign of slowing.

It is unlikely that any official acknowledgement of Nintendo?s new hardware will come until at least 2009, however company president Satoru Iwata will be delivering his annual fall presentation this Wednesday.

UPDATE: Nintendo has now announced it's brand new NIntendo DSi, which features a 3 megapixel camera. We have more news about it here.

[Ayepecks]

I have my doubts, but it'd be nice...

[Massiveterra]

It'll be Wii HD but the games will still be developed in 480p :p

Honestly, though...I don't see Nintendo in any rush to show anything like this to the public.

[The Teej]

I honestly don't see why Nintendo would be showing off new hardware to developers this early. it doesn't make much sense IMO.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

It's not really news is it - nothing anounced...

"Multiple sources", "apparently"

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

2011? Six years after the first HD console first arrived? Talk about wow Nintendo...

[sundayx Veteran]

Shall we move on to "present-gen" consoles then...

[Julius Caro]

I predict shortages!

[Skulltrail-old]

Looks great SO FAR. ;)

[CelticWhisper]

Somehow I expected responses like this. Funny how people clamour so loudly for "Give us HD, Nintendo!" and then, when their pleas are answered, proceed to lambaste the company for being too slow.

The impression I get is that "Not HD" was just an excuse to disparage Nintendo for being "Not Microsoft" and "Not Sony." That Gears of War 3, Halo 4, Uncharted 2 and Metal Gear Solid 5 could all come out on the next Wii in full 1080p/60 with the most advanced online play imaginable and people would just say "LOL, waggle! Waggle waggle waggle LOL LOL!"

Wake up. If this news is true, Nintendo plans on giving you what you asked for. Either people will be satisfied or further confirm my suspicions that they're only happy when they're bitching about something.

(Disclaimer: I do not own a Nintendo Wii. I am only an observer who is sick and tired of the one-sidedness, as well as the inherent absurdity, of game console allegiances on Neowin.)

[monkey13]

Rubbish. They are selling loads of Wii's at the moment. Who are all these people who are not buying the Wii because there is no HD? Is this market really worth that much more?

Also it's going to be announced in 2009 but not available till 2011. That will knacker sales for 2 years.

Does this remind anyone of the DVD playing Gamecube I'm still waiting for. (Yes I'm aware of the Panasonic Q but that was only in Japan and wasn't a Nintendo product.) That was on the cards right up to the point the Wii came out.

[Emn1ty]

Um, just s you know, the Wii may be able to output HD, but it isn't natively HD. Even if you got MGS5 and Halo 4 on the Wii, it would still only be upscaled. Then we have to worry about the graphical capabilites of the machine, which are really no better than the PS2 or Original X-Box, maybe even less. The games would still be stripped down because they werent designed for such lower end parts.

Now, I don't mind getting HD, I just don't see the point in it being in 2011.

[The Teej]

Um, just s you know, the Wii may be able to output HD, but it isn't natively HD. Even if you got MGS5 and Halo 4 on the Wii, it would still only be upscaled. Then we have to worry about the graphical capabilites of the machine, which are really no better than the PS2 or Original X-Box, maybe even less. The games would still be stripped down because they werent designed for such lower end parts.

Now, I don't mind getting HD, I just don't see the point in it being in 2011.

The Gamecube was arguably on par with the XBOX (some even argue more so), so the Wii is more powerful then an XBOX.

[Ci7]

The Gamecube was arguably on par with the XBOX (some even argue more so), so the Wii is more powerful then an XBOX.

are you serious :blink:

[d3nuo]

2011? Six years after the first HD console first arrived? Talk about wow Nintendo...

exactly what i was thinking.. they better call it past-gen when it comes out cuz the new next-gen will blow it out of the water, just as the current gen blows the current Wii (read: last-gen) out of the water.

too little, way too late Nintendo.

at least they are moving in the right direction, just more than a half decade behind (assuming this article is in any way accurate, for which i will hold some reservation)

[Martog]

2011? Six years after the first HD console first arrived? Talk about wow Nintendo...

You aren't thinking of the Xbox 360 are you? The original Xbox could do 720p so make it 11 years? :)

[Ci7]

You aren't thinking of the Xbox 360 are you? The original Xbox could do 720p so make it 11 years? :)

he is probely thinking PS3 and full HD "1080P"

[Massiveterra]

when I'm playing mario kart with my girlfriend and friends while drinking a few beers, the last thing I think of is "OMG! How crazy would this game be if it was in full 60 FPS 1080p HD :woot: WowzOMGLOLz!

[Dysphoria]

he is probely thinking PS3 and full HD "1080P"

The Xbox 360 can do 1080p over a VGA cable, which is what I am running on my HDTV

[Ayepecks]

Somehow I expected responses like this. Funny how people clamour so loudly for "Give us HD, Nintendo!" and then, when their pleas are answered, proceed to lambaste the company for being too slow.

The impression I get is that "Not HD" was just an excuse to disparage Nintendo for being "Not Microsoft" and "Not Sony." That Gears of War 3, Halo 4, Uncharted 2 and Metal Gear Solid 5 could all come out on the next Wii in full 1080p/60 with the most advanced online play imaginable and people would just say "LOL, waggle! Waggle waggle waggle LOL LOL!"

Wake up. If this news is true, Nintendo plans on giving you what you asked for. Either people will be satisfied or further confirm my suspicions that they're only happy when they're bitching about something.

(Disclaimer: I do not own a Nintendo Wii. I am only an observer who is sick and tired of the one-sidedness, as well as the inherent absurdity, of game console allegiances on Neowin.)

I'm sorry: why should the company not be lambasted for being too slow to the HD game? They're praised for creating the Wii's unique motion ability, so we should just forget about everything else?

2011 is three years from now when you consider they'll likely launch around holiday time if this is true -- and that's a big if. And then we don't even know if this next console of theirs will be able to compete with the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony or if it'll just be comparable to a 360 or PS3.

If you're always one step behind, why should you not be criticized? You say people are demanding HD, well yeah... so if they launch this next console, miss a major feature and say "but our next console will have it!" they shouldn't be criticized? (N)

[Martog]

he is probely thinking PS3 and full HD "1080P"

Considering the 360 was released in 2005, and PS3 in 2006, would be a safe bet he is talking about the 360. :) Still though, the Xbox was HD as it outputs 720p and 1080i resolutions. :)

[Emn1ty]

The Gamecube was arguably on par with the XBOX (some even argue more so), so the Wii is more powerful then an XBOX.

The Wii at the end of its life was on par with the X-Box at the very, very beginning of its lifespan graphically. That does not make them the same, it just means that they found more ways to optimize the software. No matter how hard you try, you would never get Halo 2 to run on a Gamecube and look the same and/or run as smooth.

Even if what you said was true, the 360 vs Wii is two completely different animals. The 360 has Triple Core Process with two virtual cores and a GPU at least two series higher than the Wii. Thats even a different league than the original XBox, its a monster in comparison. The Wii just would not be able to handle the games the 360 is dishing out, as it was shown by Force Unleashed (looked like Jedi Knights: Jedi Acadamy).

[edit] - I take that comparison back, Force Unleashed looks WORSE than Jedi Academy

Jedi Academy

Force Unleashed on Wii

Edited October 7, 2008 by Emn1ty

[Ayepecks]

You can't compare two completely different games, especially when you're having one downsized to remove aliasing and texture quality ;)

[Emn1ty]

Fine, here you go, a similar screen at an equal size. And I am not comparing the games so much as the technology they run on. It is obvious that Force Unleashed, a new game running on a newer console, does not look as good as Jedi Academy, an older game on an older console.

Edited October 7, 2008 by Emn1ty

[Smigit]

I honestly don't see why Nintendo would be showing off new hardware to developers this early. it doesn't make much sense IMO.

To get developer feedback. I doubt they have much up and running but itd be a good idea to talk to your 3rd party developers and ask them what they would like to develop for. I mean it's infamous now that Epic supposedly convinced MS to increase the ram in the console. I'd imagine alot of companies are doing research or even starting development of engines designed to be used in 2 or so years from now and if you can be given some indication of where the hardware will be that makes your jon a hell of alot easier.

I mean look at Crysis. For an industry that supposedly releases faster cards every 6 months they arrived at the very end of an extremly slow period in the GPU market that saw the 8800GTX being the market leader for something like 18 months or so. Had graphics cards kept improving like they had rather than that drought then the reception and audience that could have played that game would have been drastically different from what it was. Knowing where hardware is going in 2, 3 or more years is pretty vital to development.