No Wii HD until "far into the future"

By Tom Bramwell Published 17 November, 2009

Next console would need more elements.

Reggie Fils-Aime has said that if Nintendo were to introduce HD to the Wii, it would have to be part of a broader revamp - and that such a console wouldn't be released until "far into the future".

"The way we at Nintendo do things is, you know, when we will move to a new generation, it's because there are some fundamental things the console cannot do," Fils-Aime, who is president of Nintendo of America, told Kotaku when asked whether the company was considering an HD Wii.

"What that says is that simply the addition of HD capability will not be the next step for us. There will be more to it. There will be additional capability. There will be additional elements, and, given that, it is far into the future."

Previously on Wii HD speculation... Shigeru Miyamoto stoked the fires last month by admitting that HD was very nice actually and that "we're going to see videogames and Nintendo's games move along in step with the progression of technology".

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eraysor #1 2 years ago

    It's going to be very tricky to invoke the same consumer insanity as the first one, especially with Natal to compete with. They might end up reaching the next round of the party too late.

  • KDR_11k #2 2 years ago

    Well, yeah, just sticking HD output on a Wii would be a waste of money because people don't care that much about the resolution. Putting HD into a new system is a no brainer as well and that new system wouldn't be a Wii anymore.

  • drumbaby #3 2 years ago

    No interest from me until long after that.

  • wizlon #4 2 years ago

    We'd already figured that out, but when will it be?

  • Tonka #5 2 years ago

    Why is this topic popping up every now and then? It's not Nintendo that need a new strategy, yet I hear little to no talk about the twins future plans.

  • youhavenomail #6 2 years ago

    So basically it's the complete opposite stance they've been taking with the DS.

    Nah, it'll be out next year, just like everyone except Reggie has been saying.

  • spekkeh #7 2 years ago

    This should probably be read as: No new Wii until the sales seriously go down the crapper.

  • Xerx3s #8 2 years ago

    Why would nintendo invest in new hardware if the current one is going to make them top money for years to come? They haven't even started selling the machine with good bundles or for low prices yet and it still sells like hot cakes.

  • menage #9 2 years ago

    I won't buy one till far into the future then.

  • George-Roper #10 2 years ago

    "Why would nintendo invest in new hardware if the current one is going to make them top money for years to come? They haven't even started selling the machine with good bundles or for low prices yet and it still sells like hot cakes."

    Because HD sets are now affordable to all and Wii sales have what, halved in a 12 month period?

    As the first poster said, Wii-like devices are on the way to the twins, which themselves are dropping right down in price.

    Wii 2.0 could very easily miss the boat if Nin aren't careful.

  • JahB #11 2 years ago

    Why would nintendo invest in new hardware if the current one is going to make them top money for years to come? They haven't even started selling the machine with good bundles or for low prices yet and it still sells like hot cakes.

    because their sales are down, and within 12 months from now both competitors will have better motion control tech along the already better hardware. Wii HD for holiday season 2010, mark my words.

    edit: george beat me to it
    Edited by 1 at 17/11/09 @ 08:58

  • photoboy #12 2 years ago

    "when we will move to a new generation, it's because there are some fundamental things the console cannot do"

    So Nintendo needed to release the Wii because the GameCube couldn't handle motion controls? ;)

  • MORZTAN #13 2 years ago

    lol

    "The twins" :D Brilliant!

  • JetSetWilly #14 2 years ago

    Compare the hard line that Reggie takes on Wii HD with Iwata and Miyamoto talking much more positively about HD and it being the next step.

    Reggie talks like the Wii inhabits a consumer electronics vacuum.

  • Teamallstar #15 2 years ago

    Why would they bother making an HD console when there are so many morons willing to spend £200 on a game cube with a waggle stick

  • swissorc #16 2 years ago

    Winter 2011 States, March 2012 Europe, May 2012 Japan mark my words

  • CallousB #17 2 years ago

    There's no logical reason why they couldn't enable 720p on the current machine in certain games.



  • gjgjg #18 2 years ago

    'Far into the future' ...when everyone else is doing super HD Nin will get off their ****

  • FooAtari #19 2 years ago

    They will probably release one at the same time as MS and Sony release try HD consoles.

    Most games are upscaled and only run at 30fps. That does not equal HD.
    Edited by 1 at 17/11/09 @ 19:49

  • davisorle #20 2 years ago

    I never understood why ppl expected and hoped for Wii HD. Wii had no chance to eb rereleased any time soon as WiiHD cause there is no actual profit for the company, the hardware profit will drop when the hype and Wii era is already low and keeps going down so not only strategically its wrong but Not only Id rather see Nintendo work on a new fully console that will be capable of not just Wiimotes and HD but more capable and powerfull then my 360 and be the one always best in crossplatform comparisons. I wouldnt mind it. If not I still hope MS start showing off next Xbox from next year after the release of Natal i guess. They promised that it will be capable to play the 360's games so its all good news to me :) ( well its not news unless it happens any time soon i mean.. )

  • dirk_aircool #21 2 years ago

    but isnt HD somthing the current console ' fundementaly cant do '

  • Darren #22 2 years ago

    It would a huge mistake for Nintendo to release an HD Wii any time soon because it's not hardware sales that are the problem here - the Wii has sold over 50 miilion units after all - it's actually game sales. For a platform with such a large user base, third-party game sales are often underwhelming with many great games being overlooked, e.g. Zak & Wiki and Okami for example.

    Some publishers like EA are showing concern for their poor Wii game sales and no doubt others are too. It seems like only Nintendo's own games sell extremely well, no doubt due to heavy promotion, and I doubt that the people buying those are unduly bothered by the lack of HD. I'm betting most of them are still using the A/V cable that came in the box and are unaware of what HD even is!

    It would have been nice for the Wii to have supported HD but in all honesty you only have to look at the PS3 and Xbox 360 to see that it was massively overhyped as many of their owners are still gaming in SD albeit their consoles can produce much better graphics.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #23 2 years ago

    ... and the reason thirdparty game sales are so poor is because the Wii does not have technical parity with the 'HD' consoles. The worlds's greatest thirdparty development teams do not appear to want to stoop to developing for techology that is so far from the cutting edge.

    As a result, you get two-year-late conversions about which everybody complains that it's not so special because the graphics are less good. If Nintendo release a PowerPC-derived succesor to the wii, backwardly compatible with existing Wii software but technically on a level with Xbox 360 and PS3, then it ought to redress that problem. Trouble is, they'd need to do it relatively soon (next year or 2011 at the latest), or they'd risk being gazumped by Sony and MS's next consoles, or at least their pre-release hype.

    Edit: Whilst I think that makes sense for a corporate strategy, I'm not sure whether I'd acually want one or not. I have more issue with the uselessness of the wiimote and nunchuck for mainstream game control systems than I do with the fact that Wii can't seem to produce much better graphics than PS2.
    Edited by 1 at 17/11/09 @ 11:38

  • KDR_11k #24 2 years ago

    Why is this topic popping up every now and then? It's not Nintendo that need a new strategy, yet I hear little to no talk about the twins future plans.

    Distraction.

  • CallousB #25 2 years ago

    "... and the reason third party game sales are so poor is because the Wii does not have technical parity with the 'HD' consoles"

    There are more 3rd party million sellers on Wii than PS3.

  • penhalion #26 2 years ago

    When Miyamoto said "move along in step with the progression of technology" he actually meant to say "Racing along a few dozen miles behind the progression of technology...you know when it's become dirt cheap and instantly profitable"

    Yea we know how you roll Nintendo. Like a cheap ass gangsta wanna-be ;)

  • TonyHarrison #27 2 years ago

    Unless it's coming from someone at Nintendo of Japan, then you can pretty much ignore any speculation with regards to future console development.

    P.S. Did someone say poor sales for Okami? The Wii version doubled the sales of the PS2 version with less than half the userbase....

  • smoison #28 2 years ago

    Why would Wii HD come out before the PS4 and next Xbox, when its typically always the consol that sells the least who gets a shorter life cycle.

  • DeveloperPump #29 2 years ago

    >>There's no logical reason why they couldn't enable 720p on the current machine in certain games.

    That's not strictly true. There's not enough graphics card memory to hold the frame buffer at higher colour depths. And even if there was, 1366*720 is 3.2x more texture-fill real-estate than 640x480. Anything with a proper complicated 3D scene would be very choppy indeed.

    It would be nonsensical to attempt this on the Wii, IMHO.

  • ianegg #30 2 years ago

    Nintendo should really consider an upgrade. Piracy is rampant on the Wii and ridiculously trivial for the core gamers. Core gamers are also the ones who would be interested in a HD upgrade, in which Nintendo could add something akin to the PS3's hypervisor to handle the patching of old games to HD and properly lock out piracy. (Rather than the pitiful attempts they've made so far.)

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #31 2 years ago

    Why would Wii HD come out before the PS4 and next Xbox, when its typically always the consol that sells the least who gets a shorter life cycle

    That's not strictly true. For one, the original Xbox outsold the Gamecube, but the GC had an extra year of life over the xbox. More significantly, the best-selling Nintendo DS has been superceded by a technically superior new model, with significantly more memory, a faster processor, extra input devices (cameras) and not even total compatibility with the DS's back catalogue since they left out the GBA cart slot. Although the form factor has changed more significatly, the actual game-playing hardware of the new model of PSP has remained the same.

    Wii may be the best-selling console, but Nintendo and its shareholders now expect it to be, and to remain so. If sales momentum is dropping, they need to find something to re-invigorate that, and with the talk coming out of Nintendo Japan's top brass, it sounds like a new higher-spec, HD compatible home console could be it.
    Edited by 1 at 17/11/09 @ 16:07

  • Ryze #32 2 years ago

    Games please.

  • IronCladChicken #33 2 years ago

    @Eraysor
    Though - has the non-gamer wii crowd even heard of Natel?

  • Kaparen #34 2 years ago

    Actually, I couldn't care less for fancy graphics, HD and that kind of stuff. Zelda, Mario, Zack & Wiki graphics are fine enough, they should really concentrate on making good games and getting some talented third party developers with them.