The “Wii Heritage Theory”explained. July 25, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in Nintendo, Wii.Tags: HD, Nintendo, Theory, Wii
trackback
I put this into a post on Kotaku about Epic using Unreal 4 in a possible Nintendo Console in the future(2012-2018).Some people tend to think that Nintendo won’t go HD in the future or it’ll be under spec.My little theory I called the “Wii Heritage Theory”explains my thoughts on this.
I’m fairly confident Nintendo is already planning the next console.It’ll have HD,a nice sized Hardrive plus the motion controls of the Wii.Nintendo has been conservative on their pricing on the Wii in order to make money,unlike Microsoft and Sony who have been losing money on their consoles.Nintendo is establishing a large base that associates fun and entertainment with the name “Wii”.Nintendo also knows they will have to go into the HD business sooner or later.
They will establish the large base and then setup the “Wii HD” to take on Sony and Microsoft at their own game.The console might not have the total features of the next Playstation or Xbox but it’ll be close to what the current PS3 has installed with better graphics.
Basically,this is what Sony has been hoping that they can accomplish with bringing over the 120 million plus PS2 owners to PS3.I just can’t see how people think that the Wii in it’s current form won’t be changed within 4-5 years. I just think it’s something Nintendo has been planning once the Wii took off.
[...] Article here [...]
[...] Article here [...]
Nice theroy, I think Wii HD could end up being an SKU, that’s if Nintendo is doing the ipod model. Since wii’s main appeal is not graphics, I don’t think a beefed up wii would be enough to move it’s install base (casuals).
I think the true reason the Wii is underpowered is because it was meant to be an experiment, to test their theories. Why take all the losses on a console that may be the next virtual boy. Now that they’ve proven their theories, I think they’ll be planning a more power console for next time.
The Wii definatlely wasnt just an ‘experiment’. Nintendo stated that if the Wii were to fail (this was before launch), that they would withdraw from the console wars and just make software (kinda what happened to Sega). Ironically, they just so happen to be winning this war.
Nice article btw, I totally agree with it. But knowing Nintendo, the next console will also have something else very unique to it.
I agree with the experiment theory and the point where it was Nintendos last hope at making an impact in the market, but i think they went for a console which wouldent make them the best graphically performer but a console which made money when sold (unlike the PS3 and Xbox 360)
They needed something which would make them money back since the gamecube drained them financially.
“Nintendo also knows they will have to go into the HD business sooner or later.”
Do they? Why? Unless by sooner or later you mean “sometimes in this century”, because HD is far from establishment anywhere outside of the US (which may be because NTSC is a rather low-def format compared to PAL, thus NTSC territories might indeed have a need for HD whereas it struggles into existence in europe).
The great exception of course is computer screens (my 360 is hooked up to my monitor, not my TV) which might become relevant should the PC completely replace TV within the next few years. Which is, in fact, very well possible.