@burningsensation: I haven't been allowed to call this generation 'next gen' since all three consoles hit the market.

TalKeaton

does this mean we can stop referring to the current generation of consoles as "next gen"?

burningsensation

"...hardware and will contain HD visuals, digitally distributed content and expanded storage...."

hmmm.... 360 and PS3 perhaps?.... way to go nintendo... way to go...

Twenty5

Better gameplay + better graphics < 2011 .... :S

luisitomix

Let me know when it includes gameplay that's fun for more than 5 minutes.

jayhawk11

@jayhawk11: well put, sir.

snowbeach024

Well, hopefully when they mean "next gen" they aren't going to have 360 comparable graphics by 2011...

Kymeira

I'm very curious to see what Sony and Microsoft do for their next consoles. Because Nintendo has shown they can make MASSES of money with hardware, despite the fact it's not even HD graphics.

Meanwhile Sony is loosing a fortune, and Microsoft has only just had a profitable Xbox year at last. Since in the end it's all a business, why would they not copy Nintendo's formula?

So I wouldn't be surprised if the 360 and PS3 are around for a very long time to come, or that when new ones come out, the machines aren't such a huge leap forward, but are profitable from the start.

TailsNZ

@Kymeira:

360 isn't HD... So it's more than 360 Graphics :P.

And anyways, by 2011.... Hardware for HD gameplay in consoles will be super cheap. I'd be willing to bet the Wii HD will have better graphics than the 360.

Remember.. It's still 2-3 years away.

Kakkoister

@jayhawk11:

I'll let you know when everyone's preferences become the same.

Kakkoister

Does it come in black?

cy3

Does it come in black? Didn't you see the promo photos of the Wii when it was first announced... it already comes in a rainbow of colors, including black!

Only I guess that never happened. Kind of like GT Portable on the PSP ;)

TailsNZ

Be ready for Super Mario HD, Mario Kart HD, Zelda HD, and every other infantile 1980s game, that Nintendo has been selling for decades!

ellito

@jayhawk11:

Different strokes for different folks... I'm a casual/social gamer, and the Wii is just the ticket for me and my comrades.

KRingg

@jayhawk11: Bwahaha. Word. Bet it still wont have one decent 3rd party game.

squish123

@ellito:

If the formula continues to work (which it seemingly does), why change it?

Also, while Mario, Zelda, etc may now be infantile* for the generation of gamers who grew up with them originally, they're still fresh for the new generation who isn't mature enough for the more violent games.

* I still love the remenicent feel, but then again, I'm what you would call VERY casual gamer.

KRingg

Sony's rumored to use CELL for PS4 and Nintendo will go HD?
So in the next-gen, it will be PS3.5 and Wii 2, instead of this gens PS3 and Gamecube 1.5?

Confusing times, if you follow me ;-)

tylerstyle

Yeah, that's what we need, a high-def Super Smash Bros Brawl...no wait, that's actually pretty cool.

michaelleung

I bought the Wii hype and got the console at launch, have 4 games and have not beat any of them and I'm not interested in any others out on the market. My definition of a causal game is an online match in COD 4, a song or two in Rock Band, or a few events in Burnout Paradise, or some time on the number of XBLA titles I own.

The argument that the Wii is the savior of casual gamers is a lie Nintendo has been able to propagate very, very well and many people have fallen for the trap. Yes, the 360 and PS3 offer some deep, long term games, but many of their games are great for pick up and play, just look at my previous statement.

Also, the HD graphics won't save the console from being a place for developers to develop a title around a single gimmick done with the Wii-mote and charge you 40 bucks for it. Now I will agree that there are some genuinely cool and innovative games that have developed interesting uses for the Wii-mote. But the Wii-mote and what it can do is a double edged sword.

CFStang

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if this so-called Wii HD used the Cell processor, its due for some die shrinkage and cost reduction.

Pretty soon the Cell is gonna be in everything.

squish123

@CFStang: Was that supposed to be a pun? You can use the Wii-mote as a double edged sword or even a multi-edge light saber.

LoganSix

I'm not here to bash the console. I just wish I could have found the fun I was hoping for when I purchased mine. =(

Yeah, so Wii HD will come around PS4 and a new Xbox? lol

XanderVincent

@TailsNZ: "Kind of like GT Portable on the PSP ;)"

Argh, I'd finally forgotten about that, and now I feel depressed all over again... :(

SpyderMS

@Kakkoister: "360 isn't HD"

Umm... what?? You're joking right?

SpyderMS

@jayhawk11: *roasts a marshmallow on your flamebait*

markarian

Yeah, by 2011, your child's 'LeapFrog' will have an HD screen..

...oh wait, I suppose they will include...A DVD PLAYER TOO! XD

catch up Nintendo -.-

You have the games, now get the technology... snore

Jon B.

@squish123: I think that by then, the PSP will have a cell.

Ariel_Wollinger

@tylerstyle: Cell, really? That crap that no one can properly program for?

Ariel_Wollinger

@Kymeira: @Kymeira:
he's got to be! Even the 360 renders GTA at a higher rez than ps3...
It might not be full HD ( games are upscaled from 720p ) but it is an HD resolution.

Ariel_Wollinger

@luisitomix:
Better gameplay + better graphics < 2011 = ps3 or 360

Ariel_Wollinger

@jayhawk11: agreed! Wii is fun for a couple of minutes , and then when we see how the graphics suck ass, we give up and go play real videogames like 360 or ps3.

Ariel_Wollinger

HD by 2011 just "breathtaking" Princess's peaches will look even more delectable at 720p.

My wii is gathering dust sadly. I use my 360 and Ps3 more often but thats prob because i am just a old man.

wiii bit offf "now in HD"

GDUB

Mark it on your calendars, boys. 2011 is the day you'll finally be able to walk into a store to find a Wii on the shelf of any electronics retailer.

rbf2000

I hope motion plus is REALLY REALLY good so they can warrant using the same wiimotes. Maybe start making some with motion plus included.

I see a lot of people say they are board playing with their wii. Very true if you only play wii sports, or galaxy. I think playing ONLINE with kart, medal of honor heroes 2, and batallion wars 2 are all very refreshing and fun.

Optimus-Prime

What's Nintendo's definition of High Definition, 540p?

Galley

..and consumers will be able to get their hands on one for actual retail price in 2014.

bilups

So they are going to put out a console w/ HD. I'm sure its going to be dated in comparison to the next xbox. Also the wiimote will probably still suck.

kingbob337

It should be named WHii-Dee...and the remotes WHii-Do's.

Yep.

General Halfshaftery

Who cares, this christmas we'll all have newton controllers for our 360's right? and be in HD heaven, so unless there's something more than planning what would be an obselete piece of hardware for the time [2011] then whats the point?

AlmiraHaermm

Though 4 million will be produced, only 260 of those will be available at launch as Miyamoto will give birth to the soul of each one individually in the typical Trickle-Down Wiiconomics fashion.

FreshJulius

I can't really justify purchasing a next gen console when the current gen has provided such little entertainment.

3drage

Does it really matter if cartoons are in HD?

(By the way, HD also stands for Heavy Duty, Hunky Dory and Howdy Doody... or, given our economy, Huge Deficit!)

EricAlder

So, we have to wait till 2011 for what should have been in the current version of the Wii?? Go, Big N!

Mr.SithNinja

How much money will you have spent in nintendo consoles by 2011, compared to Playstations??? Since people get tired of the Wii in a couple of weeks, they decide to sell them new hardware, instead of investing in getting decent games...

The worst part is people fall for it...

iam.gmo

Ya lets see what Nintendo does when it actually has to build a new hardware platform (It didnt with the Wii) and teach developers how to program for it.

Oh wait, and do you really think "casual" gamers are going to pick up another console after they all bought the Wii and played it for like 3-4 hours total. Lets see if they take all their profits and pass it along keeping the price below $250.....come on now

efenili

@jayhawk11: hmm... in order to do that I'd need a time machine to send you a letter in time for November '06

Superlocke

This is interesting i just hope it doesn't end up like being Nintendo's Vista I don't see how they can improve other than graphics

On a side note Brawl in HD?!

brutaluser

@SpyderMS, @Ariel_Wollinger: He meant literally 360 graphics isn't HD. He wasn't saying the Xbox 360 doesn't render HD resolution. It was his clever attempt at a pun that failed miserably.

ezman

$100 says the next wii will still stomp the crap out of the competition. It'll be a LITTLE harder though now that both MS and Sony have acknowledge where they screwed up and are not scrambling like mad to make their own consoles more "Wii-Like."

Anyway, this rumor is BULLSHIT. What you see here isn't the entire rumor. The rumor also includes holographic data storage. As we all know there is no way in HELL the next Wii will contain such technology.

JEmlay

@brutaluser: It would still be a cartoon in HD..... not much point.....

Mr.SithNinja

Will it play DVDs? :^)

The big definition of next gen though is will the games be unplayable on the current Wii. If this new machine plays Wii games and it's titles are unplayable on the Wii then it's next gen.

If the new machines games can run just as well on the Wii then it's just a Wii 2.0. Nothing more. No different than when Sony came out with the re-designed PSOne or PSTwo.

Jordan Lund

@Jordan Lund: Knowing Nintendo and it's penchant for using outdated medium it will probably feature HD-DVD.

Mr.SithNinja

I have had a Wii since launch. I finally went out and bought a PS3 last week and I have already used my PS3 more and I don't even have any PS3 games yet! It has served my HD movies to my new HDTV and has played many a blu ray disc already and I swear I have logged more hours on it than I have on my Wii all year!

UpIrons

I'd rather have HD than motion controls and I think most semi-hardcore gamers will agree with me.

gamecrazychris

@ellito:

Mario Kart HD would be the shiznit.

sakko

@Galley: 720p and a half.

michaelleung

@jayhawk11: OK.

*checks watch*

It's fun for more than 5 minutes.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

@Mr.SithNinja: Lol i agree to an extent there are some characters that have HD counter parts such as snake and some of the "humanistic" charters can get more details

Kirby on the other hand not so much

brutaluser

Why is that an old promo picture of a Wii - look at the controller, the power button isn't rectangular any more, 'a' and 'b' buttons are now '1' and '2', "start" and "select" are '+' and '-'. and the reset button is by the power button on the console itself.

Mister Cow Pnoy

@LoganSix: no what he is saying is that Wii motion controlles are fun for about four minutes then just make the game gimmicky and hurt the over all playability of the game.

Assassin_Kensei

@Jon B.: Nintendo doesn't have the games, they have Zelda and SSBB, that's it, what they have is a cheap console it a time when money is tight for a lot of people, see how fast the 360 passes Nintendo up now that the Arcade is $199. and when the PS3 gets to be affordable for the non hard core tech buffs, watch it fly off the shelves.

Assassin_Kensei

@GDUB: Mine gathers dust as well, my PS3 plays lots of movies and a game, but my 360 see the most of just gaming, but I watch A LOT of movies on my PS3. because I work at a movie store.

Assassin_Kensei

@Galley: no they probably have 481i it would be just over standard def.

Assassin_Kensei

WOW!!! glad that wont feel like a last gen console again, wait a minute????

Assassin_Kensei

Hmm yeah it's disturbing when the parents make predictions when it's there children that play the games...

DJTripleRRR

@cy3: OK Batman.

Cristian Bale as Bruce Wayne talking to Morgan Freeman "Does it come in Black???"

Assassin_Kensei

@tylerstyle: Sony hasn't released any info on the PS4 this is a complete rumor, I believe by then we will be using 3d processing technology, and the Cell will be looked at like your brick of a cell phone from 1995.

Assassin_Kensei

@ezman:

It wasn't an attempt at a pun. I just meant True HD. 1080p.

PC does higher than 1080p on games, and has been able to for years and years. Consoles are seriously lagging behind in the graphics department in comparison to PC's.

And nobody start with the, "yeah but you need to pay like 1000 dollars man!"

Cause it actually cost's ALOT less then that. Especially if you only need to upgrade the graphics card.

Kakkoister

Of course, for 'hardcores' (teenagers mostly) gameplay = FPS with HD and shining gfx. I'm 26 and I'm really having fun playing Megaman 9. What defines "next-gen" anyway.

OlgaGanjiro

hahaha yeah, well it does have the words "HD" in the title. and maybe it may support 5.1 surround sound as well

AbaNimpimplah

As long as they seriously speef up the GPU. Who knows what's in stall for PS4 and xbox 720. Oh and more mature titles please - my wii is collecting dust ATM

AbaNimpimplah