Topic: Wii Successor and Glassess Free 3D: How Will It Work?

[Spak-Spang]

Price, hmmm.

I see Nintendo going for a $300.00 price point.  The trend in technology is to get a bigger better deal, at a higher price.  Everyone is willing to pay more for the technology they like it seems.  Do I want the Wii 2.0 to debut at $300?  Not really, but I think it will.

$300.00 would be great if it was bundled properly.  Pack in Game Wii Party Resort ( combines new Party games with some updated Wii Sports games online) One complete controller, and a classic controller would work wonders. 

[Kytim89]

Price, hmmm.

I see Nintendo going for a $300.00 price point.  The trend in technology is to get a bigger better deal, at a higher price.  Everyone is willing to pay more for the technology they like it seems.  Do I want the Wii 2.0 to debut at $300?  Not really, but I think it will.

$300.00 would be great if it was bundled properly.  Pack in Game Wii Party Resort ( combines new Party games with some updated Wii Sports games online) One complete controller, and a classic controller would work wonders.

Yeah, $300.00 is the ceiling for me when it comes to consoles. There is no way that I should pay more than that amount for any system regardless of features. I would rather wait two extra years and have the system cheap then expensive.

[ThePerm]

ugh god.....$200 , i know Wii was 250, but it was also overpriced. I'd hate Nintendo to start trending towards expensive.

[MaryJane]

Better prepare yourself to start hating then

[Ian Sane]

What kind of hardware could Nintendo get out for $200?  That's what the Wii costs now.  So instead of a Gamecube 1.5 we get a Gamecube 1.7?

With console prices for me it's more like I just have a price limit.  There is a line and if you cross it the console costs too much.  But if you're below it all I give a **** about is what games you have available.  If you made a serious trade off for price, it would not convince me to buy your console.  I don't even think of the price, it just becomes bullet-points.  If the $300 console has features A, B &C and the $200 console has only A & B and no option for C then the $300 wins out for me.  It's below the line so all I'm looking at is what your console offers and you don't have C so you lose out.  I don't care about the $100.  The difference in price will be made up by the extra games the $300 console has but the $200 one doesn't because it is missing feature C.

[BlackNMild2k1]

What kind of hardware could Nintendo get out for $200?  That's what the Wii costs now.  So instead of a Gamecube 1.5 we get a Gamecube 1.7?

It's what an Xbox 360 cost with a small profit margin. Just cause a Wii retails for $200 doesn't mean that's what it cost. I'm sure Nintendo is making Wiis for under $90-$100.

[Adrock]

It also depends on the chipsets Nintendo uses and just because the hardware is powerful, doesn't mean it's necessarily expensive. Gamecube's Flipper and Gekko were mighty impressive and Nintendo managed to make a slight profit even at launch.

[Spak-Spang]

250 or 300 is pretty good price...and if you could get a Xb0x 360 (X1.5) like processor with about 512 to 1 GB RAM that would be a significant jump for the market.

I think the key is to not jump too high with processors, but to try and keep the system capable of receiving ports when eventually the new Xbox and PS3 come out...if they come out a year after the new Wii they will be more powerful...however perhaps if the RAM is high enough ports could still be possible.  Plus, I don't see gaming graphics getting much better than they are now...only marginally better.

I know people are saying look at animated cartoons and CGI...but that takes hundreds of millions of dollars to create that level and it is too costly for gaming. 

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm starting to think a big part of the reason Nintendo's holding off on this is to try not to give Sony and Microsoft the time to rip them off. I think Nintendo's ideal solution is to wait until after at least one of them announces their next console, and I think they'll do that unless the sales get too low.

[BlackNMild2k1]

The problem with that theory is that this next gen is Nintendo's refinement generation. The Wii2 most likely won't be another revolution and be more of an evolution just as the GC was to the N64 and the SNES was to the NES.

As much as Nintendo would love to drag the Wii out as long as possible, there just don't think there will be enough software to support the hardware sales past 2011. Not from 1st party and certainly not from 3rd parties.

[TJ Spyke]

In your opinion. People said the same thing last year and we got a lot of good Wii games this year.

[Adrock]

The Wii2 most likely won't be another revolution...

Another? Don't they need a first? /rimshot

As much as Nintendo would love to drag the Wii out as long as possible, there just don't think there will be enough software to support the hardware sales past 2011. Not from 1st party and certainly not from 3rd parties.

Yeah, eventually resources have to shift to their next console. I think they've already started. Several of Nintendo's internal development teams have probably released their last Wii titles this year and last and are now working on 3DS and Wii 2 titles. We haven't heard from the Pikmin team since New Super Mario Bros. Wii came out.  If Nintendo launches next November, Software Development Group No. 4 will have had 2 years or more to come up with something. Wishful thinking, but I'd love to see them get both Pikmin 3 and New Super Mario Bros. 3 out at launch.

[Spak-Spang]

New Super Mario Bros 3 would be a perfect launch game...as would Pikmin 3 actually...or Star Fox. 

Realistically I see Pikmin 3 being one of the last Nintendo Wii games.  A nice swan song for the fans.  However, I think that would be a bad move.  It would be better to save that as the quirky launch game that sells millions because it is out at launch.

[MaryJane]

Pikmin 3, WiiMusic 2, and Zelda Skyward Sword = 3, million sellers for Wii in 2011. It is FAR from dead.

The Wii is still selling strong, why would Nintendo stop that before it stops on it's own?

And while the 3DS won't adversely affect Wii(or Wii2) sales it could boost Wii sales, or have the momentum to carry Nintendo's finances through the 2011 holiday.

The Wii2 is not coming out in 2011 and if it does I will literally eat my shoe, record it and post it here. The vitality sensor is still yet to come out, and the Wii hasn't even seen a price cut yet! If Nintendo cuts the Wii to $99 and $149 for bundles in the 2011 holiday how many consoles do you imagine they would sell? I'm guessing a lot.

Launcing a new console is expensive and risky, what reason is there for Nintendo to take that leap? The Wii has outsold the PS3 every month this year (through September is all I could find quickly) and has even outsold the X360 a few months. Why are people saying it's time for a change? Just because it's not selling like last year, doesn't mean it's not doing well, it's just not selling astronomically anymore.

[Ian Sane]

Regarding the price the 3DS is rumoured to be as much as $300 or $250 at the very least.  I really can't see Nintendo charging more for their portable then for their console so realistically whatever the 3DS's final price is, the Wii 2's will be higher or at best equal to it.

[BlackNMild2k1]

The Wii is still selling strong, why would Nintendo stop that before it stops on it's own?

Launcing a new console is expensive and risky, what reason is there for Nintendo to take that leap? The Wii has outsold the PS3 every month this year (through September is all I could find quickly) and has even outsold the X360 a few months. Why are people saying it's time for a change? Just because it's not selling like last year, doesn't mean it's not doing well, it's just not selling astronomically anymore.

It's called riding momentum and it's something you want to do before your existing audience starts moving on to the competition while the product your holding onto is starting to seem dated and unappealing. It's why there is a new iPhone every year. There are bigger and better phones coming out every 4-6 months and a new iPhone keeps the existing and fence sitting userbase wanting to get the iPhone.

By the end of 2011 there is not likely to be much as far as compelling software coming from Nintendo and 3rd parties have barely put in effort as it is, so I doubt things would change in 2011 or beyond.

Nintendo will want to release Wii2 on the back of the consumer goodwill that the Wii has before that tone shifts. It's not like the Wii is just gonna stop selling after the Wii2 goes on sale and the Wii will only become more appealing to those that haven't bought it yet because it has lots of room to drop the price, but the existing Wii may not continue to be so appealing to those that have already had it for years and are looking for new experiences that can be found on competing products.

The Wii2 is not coming out in 2011 and if it does I will literally eat my shoe, record it and post it here. The vitality sensor is still yet to come out, and the Wii hasn't even seen a price cut yet! If Nintendo cuts the Wii to $99 and $149 for bundles in the 2011 holiday how many consoles do you imagine they would sell? I'm guessing a lot.

we'll hold you to that should it come true, but can we go by FY 2011 and not just calender year 2011.

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't see Nintendo releasing a console early in the year the way they're doing it with the 3DS. If it's not Q4 2011, it's not coming until Q4 2012.

[BlackNMild2k1]

That's the gamble we're taking on MJ eating his shoe for all of NWR to see.

If he doesn't see it happening at Q4 2011 and thinks it will only happen in Q4 of 2012 or 2013 then a FQ4 2011 won't make much of a difference in the timeline of things either.

[King of Twitch]

So 3DS and Zelda will already be out by then and Wii 2 may or may not be seen at all.

E3 prediction: Iwata dumps crates of money from the rafters for an hour straight.

[BlackNMild2k1]

When is Zelda supposed to come out? has there been a date set or a timeframe or anything?

[MaryJane]

Lol BnM, I think it's possible for Wii2 to launch in March 2012 so the shoe eating is only for Jan - Dec 2011.

I get the momentum argument, but I (and apparently Iwata and Reggie) think the Wiis momentum can continue for a few more years especially through 2011.

You posted somewhere about how important the holiday season is to Nintendo. Even if this holiday season is abysmal for them (which is highly unlikely) they would probably need two bad holiday seasons to be convinced the Wii ride is over, and with Zelda and 3DS still to come I can't see how the 2011 holiday wouldn't be a good one for Nintendo.


I know Nintendo hasn't said anything about but they HAVE to be looking at some kind of 3DS/Wii integration, like using the 3DS as a controller that displays extra content in 3D or being able to use some of the new weapons/swords/tunics in Skyward Swords in OoT 3D or some similar type of game interactions. If the 3DS is half as popular as the DS any interaction between it and the Wii will boost Wii sales if even slightly, and with how well it's selling Nintendo might only need slight boost to wait until 2013 to launch the Wii2. I'm hoping it's 2012 but 2013 is possible if their 3rd party support gets a big boost which will be evidenced or dismissed at E3 2011. Even if dismissed, the Wii has enough momentum to carry it through 2011 which is only a month away and only lasts for 12, a pretty short time in the console world. Not so much in the smartphone world, because, as you said, the multiple sources of competition demand quick shifts. But Sony and MS are in no position to release new consoles that are significant improvements over their current offerings, they can only offer peripherals and small upgrades, which Nintendo is also capable of doing.

[BlackNMild2k1]

We should revisit the Wii momentum argument after Xmas sales are released and then again after the 3DS is released.
All eyes on 3DS, big sales for 3DS, all games directed at Nintendo being made for 3DS. E3 will be heavily focused on 3DS as I just don't think there is much steam left in the Wii sales.

You are also banking on Zelda being the Holiday 2011 Wii Saver, but I still think it's possible that Skyward Sword gets the Twilight Princess treatment and also becomes a Wii2 launch title.

Re: the competition thing. Sony & MS don't have to really release anything different than what they have because the Wii begins to look old and PS3/360 have better graphics, better online, motion controls and all those other games that they haven't played yet. If Nintendo puts most of it's focus on 3DS outside of Zelda and a small handful of titles, then that is all there will be worth mentioning for Wii as most 3rd parties have never bothered and the rest will have mostly moved on to the 3DS.

as afar as connectivity is concerned, I think it's too late for Wii integration, the system just isn't flexible enough to do anything all that cool with an adoption rate that would make a difference. Selling the Wii2 on the HYPE of 3DS integration though would be much more effective as it would be something planned from the start and make the Wii2 and 3DS a paired purchase for those interested in the potential.

[Kytim89]

Nintendo is most likely going to revitalize integration between consoles and handhelds with the 3DS and Wii 2. A good way to this would be, for example, using the 3DS to pilot a Unmanned Arial Vehicule (UAV) for Call of Duty on the Wii 2 to take out a target within the console game.

[Ian Sane]

I think it's safe to say that no matter what timeframe you figure the Wii 2 is going to be released the Wii has more years behind it then it does in front.  The Wii 2 is coming.  I think integration with the 3DS is largely a waste of time because I don't figure the two systems will co-exist as the current Nintendo systems for very long.  I'm guessing maybe two years at the absolute maximum.  It doesn't seem worth it.

The Wii is also not going to go up from here.  Any idea of the third party support getting better is delusional fantasy.  It's a lost cause.  Third parties will never show any interest in the Wii.  That problem will only be solved with a new console.  Wii sales will not go up.  That's not even a bash on the Wii.  The Wii is incredibly popular but that's the thing - everyone who wants one has one.  The DS was also incredibly successful and its sales have leveled off, not because people don't like it but because they love it so the market is saturated.  I can't see any sort of big game suddenly spiking Wii sales.

This is just anecdotal evidence but every day I go on videogame boards and encounter someone saying that they're getting Kinect because their wife or girlfriend or kid are all nutso over that dance game.  Yes, that is anecdotal but I didn't encounter that with Move.  There wasn't even the slightest suggestion of a casual frenzy regarding Move.  But Kinect is getting a bit of that.  I'm observing non-gamers talking about it like I did with the Wii.

Microsoft has stated that they are treating Kinect as their next generation.  If Kinect is successful then the Xbox 360 is the Wii 2's competitor.  There is no next gen Xbox that Nintendo can wait it out for.  The next gen is already here.  Now MS has a bit of a safety net that if Kinect falls into obscurity over the next year they can retroactively declare that as not the next gen and try again.  But at the very least it is an attempt to go next gen.

[ShyGuy]

I think Kinect will be a shorter "fad" than the Wii was.