Iwata: next Nintendo console will probably be HD
in 2006:
http://wii.ign.com/articles/707/707800p1.htmlE3 2006: Miyamoto: Successor to Wii HD
The Nintendo mogul has given us the first hint of the follow-up to Wii.
by Daemon Hatfield
May 11, 2006 - Speaking at a Q&A session at E3 yesterday, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto defended the decision not to include HD technology with the Wii, but added that the company's next system would be HD compatible.
Miyamoto explained that the number of HDTV's in homes is "really not that high, yet. Of course I think five years down the road it would be pretty much a given that Nintendo would create an HD system, but right now the predominant television set in the world is a non-HD set."
Miyamoto added: "We thought it would be better to create a system that allows you to interact with any TV set you have in your home in an entirely new, different way, and even kind of turn that into a toy for your TV that anyone can pick up, interact with and enjoy - rather than only the people who have a very high-tech, specific kind of TV set."
So there you go. HD Mario is only a mere five years away.
in 2009
http://wii.ign.com/articles/992/992075p1.htmlE3 2009: Nintendo Sees No Reason for Wii HD
Iwata says no plans for high definition iteration of console.
by Martin Robinson, IGN UK
UK, June 5, 2009 - Satoru Iwata has said that there is currently no reason to make an HD compatible version of the Wii console, saying such an iteration would have no 'significant meaning' to users.
Despite speculative reports to the contrary, the Nintendo President told Venturebeat 'As far as the Wii is concerned, we have not found a significant reason to make it HD-compatible at this time. What is the significant meaning to the users? I don't think we should do it unless we find that reason.'
An HD Wii was heavily rumoured last October, and industry analysts have been confident that such hardware was imminent.
An HD Nintendo console is inevitable, however, with Iwata going onto say, 'If we decide for other reasons to make new hardware, then HD is one of the things we would naturally add.'
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-down-hd-routeWii Successor to be HD
During a question and answer session yesterday, Miyamoto revealed that
Nintendo plans to include HD in the Wii's successor.
"Of course I think five years down the road it would be pretty much a
given that Nintendo would create an HD system, but right now the
predominant television set in the world is a non-HD set."
Good news for fans that wanted HD with the Wii.
http://venturebeat.com/2009/06/04/ni...or-free-games/
"If we have an opportunity to make a new console, it will probably support HD because it is now common throughout the world. However, as far as the Wii is concerned, we have not found a significant reason to make it HD-compatible at this time. What is the significant meaning to the users? I don’t think we should do it unless we find that reason. If we decide for other reasons to make new hardware, then HD is one of the things we would naturally add."
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Miyam...HD-97580.shtmlMiyamoto Says New Technology Might Force the Wii to Go HD
But doesn't confirm anything
Nintendo is one of the most influential console manufacturers in the world, having won the next-gen gaming device war with the Wii. The small white console gained critical acclaim for its unique motion sensitive controls and the complete revamp of old fashion controllers.
The massive amount of casual games which appeal to all kinds of players has also helped the Wii in solidifying the foothold it has on the console market. As a testimony to the huge appeal it has, two years since its launch, the console still enjoys such huge demand that Nintendo is worried it might not respect the holiday demand for the Wii and advised customers to buy their units early.
One major drawback of the small console is that it doesn't support the true next-gen graphics that the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 can display on High Definition TVs. Although rumors have appeared on the Internet that the Japanese company might be working on a version of the Wii capable of supporting HD gaming, no official statements have been delivered by Nintendo.
One of the most influential people in the company, lead game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, responsible for hits like Mario or The Legend of Zelda, has recently expressed his opinion on a possible HD Wii console. He said that technology is constantly changing and that Nintendo should change with it.
“I'm afraid we cannot confirm what we are doing today,” said Miyamoto. “But the fact of the matter is that technology is evolving all the time and in Japan, for example (....). All the analogue broadcast will be stopped and shifted into the digital broadcasting. So many things are taking place and we are working in terms of the changes of the technologies all the time.”
Although this is no confirmation, it's safe to say that a Wii HD is under development and only time will tell when the Japanese company is going to make it public.
Nintendo: the Wii and DS Won't Last Forever, New Consoles Will Arrive
So says the president of the company
Nintendo has been going through a great period in terms of sales and popularity in the last few years, thanks to the release of the DS and Wii consoles, which have changed the way people view gaming in general.
The two devices have been breaking sales records left and right, with the small handheld console managing to ship one million units just last month across North America, even though a lot of years have passed since their releases. This demand is still pretty strong, but Nintendo is already making plans for the moment when the market will be saturated.
The President of the company, Satoru Iwata, has revealed to investors in a recent financial meeting that the Wii and DS won't last forever, but the engineers at the company are hard at work creating new devices, which will be released when the time is right, even though they might be already finished and ready for production.
“We do not think that Nintendo DS and Wii will last forever,” Iwata says. “Our internal hardware teams are always researching and working on new hardware so that we can launch them whenever we find a very interesting idea. New hardware is not needed until the time our software developers see the end in making new software with the existing hardware, or unless we have no more new market to explore and all the potential consumers have purchased our hardware.”
Iwata continues and reveals that, “The more decisive factor is when the software developers will start demanding for new hardware as they cannot create any more software with surprise factors with the existing one. Nintendo has always been making the hardware in order to prepare for that day to come.”
So, it seems that Nintendo is already making long-term plans regarding new devices, with the most speculated one being an HD version of the Wii, which would put it on a par with current generation consoles in terms of power.
http://www.product-reviews.net/2009/...-wii-2-and-hd/Nintendo Wii 2 and HD
With Nintendo seemingly having the ‘worst’ E3 2009 compared to Sony and Microsoft, an article we have found explains the reason why a Nintendo Wii 2 console with HD capabilities is inevitable.
The article comes from GamingVice, who have started by stating a quote from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata who has himself said ‘It’s about time’ a new Nintendo Wii console was launched.
While many gamers feel the Nintendo Wii is way behind the Xbox 360 and PS3 and even more so after E3, GamingVice have suggested ways in which this could prove an advantage to Nintendo.
By announcing an HD-ready Wii console and HD enabled games such as Mario, Metroid, Donkey Kong and Zelda, it could be just the thing that puts Nintendo firmly back in favour with gamers.
http://www.whattheyplay.com/blog/200...i-due-by-2011/New Wii due by 2011
By John Davison, September 30, 2008
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.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Zing
