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Nintendo to reveal Wii HD tomorrow? News
Wii News by Robert Purchese
Nintendo may be planning to unveil new Wii hardware at the press conference it's holding tomorrow.
The model, dubbed Wii HD, has been shown to numerous developers and publishers already, according to What They Play.
We're told this will be a true successor to the Wii in a similar way that Game Boy Advance was to the Game Boy, and Nintendo apparently has a 2011 release slated for the high-definition console.
Aside from HD visuals, the report suggests there will be a greater emphasis on backwards compatibility and digital distribution, plus a large storage solution.
We're also told Nintendo has beefed up internal hardware research by nearly 300 per cent since the Wii was released in 2006.
Nintendo is expected to unveil a new DS at the conference tomorrow, too. This is said to contain a music player and a camera.
This is all just rumour for now, of course. Still - should be interesting, this conference.
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Vice.Destroyer
01/10/08 @ 13:23
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Please, Evolution. Speculate. Keep the wheels of the internet turning.
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Buenos_Estente
01/10/08 @ 13:25
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If it isnt to be released till 2011 is it a bit early to announce it and hinder current sales?
A new more powerfull DS would be welcome tho thanks! |
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GamesProgrammer
01/10/08 @ 13:32
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I beleive they will be announcing the new DS tomorrow as the release for that will be fairly soon, but i highly doubt the will announce Wii HD 3 years before release for there competitors to steal there ideas.
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ThePissartist
01/10/08 @ 13:38
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Wouldn't this potentially damage sales of the current Wii? I guess most of the Wii buyers don't read into gaming conferences, but I think it'd be premature it announce a new console.
A new DS would be great though - if the DS was like the N64, would a new DS have similar spec to the Gamecube?? |
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They should concentrate on more decent games first, instead of "Family Sports Fit Frisbee Mini-Game Fun Fair Island 2" or similar such tat.
If their "tat" is selling way more than their decent games, then they should not be concentrating on decent games. :( I hate Nintendo.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 01/10/08 @ 14:42
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electrolite
01/10/08 @ 13:47
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Surely it's just WiiHDD?
Maybe it's: - A) New Wii version with HDD B) HDD for existing Wii owners C) Vague news there will be a new Nintendo HD console in 2011 |
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I was going to post that it wouldn't happen, but then I remember the last time I was that sure was the rumour Bungie was leaving Microsoft. That'd never happen. Then it did.
But I still doubt it. The only people that really notice a release this early would be gamers, the very people they've been refining their pissing aim against. It won't happen. |
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realworld666
01/10/08 @ 14:11
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Given that most developers haven't had the wii motion plus device yet I find it highly unlikely that theyve spoken to developers about a new Wii thats 3 years off release.
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InfiniteFury
01/10/08 @ 14:15
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Well they're making buckets of money on the Wii, perhaps they'll be jacking it up to compete on the technical level of the PS3 and the Xbox360 and doing a Microsoft ie delivering way ahead of the competition.
Full compatability with previous Wii titles and all that and more familiar development opportunites for developers. |
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Eighthours
01/10/08 @ 14:24
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It's highly unlikely that they will announce the machine so early, even though they're supposedly showing proofs of concept to a few naughty whistle-blowers in the development community.
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I said this is what Nintendo should do a while back... A Wii with a HDMI port, the ability to "upscale" the games and a proper HDD. However this report is sketchy, why would Nintendo announce a new console just before Christmas and not release it for another 3 years? I think someone has their wires crossed.
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Maybe it's just as everyone has said - a Wii 1.1 (ala. Gameboy Advance SP, DS Lite, etc), and it's got a hard drive, and perhaps a HDMI port and upscaler. And the reason they are announcing it now is because it's due out on 20/11 (not 2011), which would be in time for Christmas....
I'm more than likely talking arse though.......... Edit: Reads better.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 01/10/08 @ 15:53
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Pac-man ate my wife
01/10/08 @ 14:54
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At best it'll be a Wii Lite - which it won't be as it's still selling like hot crack - so it's most likely to be a Wii HDD with, perhaps, an improved online store/VC interface.
And the new DS super-lite too. Which, in my dreams, you would be able to download VC games to to play on the move. |
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I cannot see Nintendo announcing the Wii's successor now as it could adversely affect current sales of the Wii. I mean Microsoft will release a successor to the Xbox 360 in three years time (probably) but I highly doubt we'll hear any concrete facts about it for at least another 18 months.
More likely, as others have said, is that Nintendo are announcing either an HDD add-on for the Wii or a Wii HDD (i.e. with a built in hard disc drive). I think the Wii's lack of storage space is a more pressing matter personally and I'd hope Nintendo deal with that first as a matter of priority rather than announce a high-definition Wii that isn't out for another three years! |
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Eighthours
01/10/08 @ 14:57
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Nintendo have said that any storage solution for the present Wii wouldn't be a hard drive, which to some has implied some form of online storage.
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@GamesProgrammer
"I beleive they will be announcing the new DS tomorrow as the release for that will be fairly soon, but i highly doubt the will announce Wii HD 3 years before release for there competitors to steal there ideas." Yes, they're Nintendo's ideas; HD, digital distribution and a large storage solution are all Nintendo ideas, if anyone else creates a console with those features then they're stealing ideas from Nintendo! I bet you Microsoft and Sony will do just that as soon as Nintendo reveal their new and hugely innovative console; they'll create HD consoles with some sort of digital distribution network with a large storage solution. The bastards! ;) The Wii remote and nunchuk were the true innovations in Nintendos Wii, the rest of the console was pretty much just a slight improvement on their previous gen console. I'd imagine they will reuse the same control concept for the Wii HD (with maybe more precision) so I wouldn't be surprised if they announce it, it's basically just them saying "we have a new, more powerful version of the Wii in the works! Ooh, isn't it shiny, now with an entire 2 gigs of internal storage!". Unless of course, as other people have said, the HD refers to Hard Drive rather than High Definition in which case they may have been serious when they said they considered storage a growing problem. That would be great. If they do announce the Wii HD with a 2011 release date then I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the current crop of Nintendo big-name Wii games are pushed out to Wii HD. That would suck, to a degree, suck because there would be a 2-3 year wait (but, in fairness, who's to say there won't be at least a 2-3 year wait for the next Zelda/Mario anyway) but be good because they'll look even prettier, as evilfoxhound said "Imagine the new Zelda in HD *drools*". Drools indeed. :) |
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Pac-man ate my wife
01/10/08 @ 15:36
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@Eighthours - What's the point in offering online storage since it already exists now? I mean you can redownload anything you've bought from the Virtual Console as many times as you like which amounts to the exact same thing... doesn't it?
I don't think many people know that, and it doesn't keep saved positions in games etc. A more developed form of that would be great! |
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@Darren
"@Eighthours - What's the point in offering online storage since it already exists now? I mean you can redownload anything you've bought from the Virtual Console as many times as you like which amounts to the exact same thing... doesn't it? " Well, don't you lose your saves from the Virtual Console titles you delete then re-download (I haven't tried yet)? If you could store the saves on-line so that when you re-download the games you can continue from where you left off it'd be an improvement, wouldn't it? |
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Itd make total sense to release a new machine with "motionplus" built in.
.. and it makes total sense because nintendo's release schedule is a bit empty at the moment (maybe they're developing for the new one)? but on the other hand.. when the wii is selling so well worldwide? I dunno.. seems madness. |
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If this turns out to be true EG will have got a huge scoop
Or unbelievably lucky! I can't see any logic whatsoever in even hinting at a 2011 console at the moment. Maybe they are being nice, and in the face of the inevitable stock shortages this Christmas they are going to tell us all a new console is on the way, so at least most people can pick up a Wii if they want one. A new DS would make more sense, particularly as everyone in Japan seems to have at least two of the 'old' ones now. |
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scouserfuller9
01/10/08 @ 21:18
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All I can say is when Nintendo do release their next console I hope it's the next step up and not just a better version of the Wii with more storage space. OK, we'll be able to store more virtual console and WiiWare games on the console but lets not forget they can only be played on one so if you have a huge collection like I do you'll have to either keep both consoles downloading games on both or be a sad tosser by selling the current Wii with all it's downloads and then buying the new one wasting money on any if not all the previous downloads you had. Excluding handhelds if Nintendo show any console tomorrow it'll just be a upgraded version of the Wii similar to the DS lite and GBA SP anyhow but I can't see either happening.
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