Topic: Super Wii: Thoughts on the Wii Successor

[NWR_Neal]

So rumor has it Nintendo is unveiling a new console at E3 2011. What's our take?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26073

Wii 2, Super Wii, The N, whatever we call it for now, it is clear that something is set to happen regarding Nintendo's plans following the Wii. The next home console is a complete mystery, but of course sources around the Internet are keen to stake their claim to the details, whether they sound like real possibilities or not.

Our staff offer their thoughts and theories on the capabilities of the Wii successor, what should be done differently, and what the 3DS tells us about the next Nintendo hardware release.

[leahsdad]

Have to agree with Zach here...there's no way that Nintendo would get back into the hardware race, and no reason they should.  I doubt that the kinds of gamers who are hardcore PS3 or 360 users would have any interest in owning a Nintendo console, and that market's too small for Nintendo to want to give up other markets for.

I think Metts is right about being excited about the controller.  If the rumors are true, I'm thinking Nintendo might be able to make party games or casual games centered around the idea of individual screens.  For the rest of us...I'm guessing this would be used in the same way the the 3DS uses/will use its touchscreen?  Button mapping, inventory in Zelda, etc.. 

If the rumors are true.

[ShyGuy]

what do James and Greg think?

[leahsdad]

what do James and Greg think?

Oh, talking about James, wouldn't the controller be wicked for JRPG's?  Potions, spells, summons mapped to the touchscreen?

[NWR_Lindy]

James didn't have time to submit something for this article, but to paraphrase what he was saying yesterday, it was:

"I hatez teh Nintend0"

Or something to that effect.

[the asylum]

As long as there's new F-Zero this time around, I'm happy.

[Ceric]

I do not think the next console will be portable in anyway simply because what would be the point of the 3DS?  Last I checked we haven't gotten a GBA successor even though it was one of the three pillars.  Not to mention full BC indicates disc drive which has been proven to be a bad idea.  Still hoping for carts and having a disc cart for BC.

[KDR_11k]

They'll get a better console than the 360 and PS3 simply due to the progress of technology. Those HD consoles aren't even remotely cutting edge, they don't even have one gigabyte of RAM!

As for dev costs, no idea what Nintendo will do there but I'm thinking that more tech doesn't mean you have to use it.

[Caterkiller]

I do not think the next console will be portable in anyway simply because what would be the point of the 3DS?  Last I checked we haven't gotten a GBA successor even though it was one of the three pillars.  Not to mention full BC indicates disc drive which has been proven to be a bad idea.  Still hoping for carts and having a disc cart for BC.

Not this again. Did anyone really believe that 3rd pillar nonsense? The DS is the GBA successor, it was clear the moment they announced it. Now I agree we wont be able to take the full version of our tv games on the go, but maybe virtual console games can be taken that way.

[NeoStar9X]

That the new system is going to be more powerful then the Wii and just as powerful as the PS3/360 is really a non issue. It simply has to be considering the text each group are using. The Wii is what '99/2000 tech and the PS3/360 are what from 2004? Even if Nintendo used tech as far back as 2006 they'll be in great shape and be able to produce results better then the current two tech giants. The key here is shaders, etc and if those were current or near current. I'm not even worried on this front.

A lot of these rumors are very hard to believe though. So I'm just waiting for E3 before I get to excited. Comments from developers are meaningless in the end. I'll wait for results from them. Though I only want to get one console in the future I don't think I'll be rushing out to get a new system unless it's launch or near line up are very good.

[Ceric]

I do not think the next console will be portable in anyway simply because what would be the point of the 3DS?  Last I checked we haven't gotten a GBA successor even though it was one of the three pillars.  Not to mention full BC indicates disc drive which has been proven to be a bad idea.  Still hoping for carts and having a disc cart for BC.

Not this again. Did anyone really believe that 3rd pillar nonsense? The DS is the GBA successor, it was clear the moment they announced it. Now I agree we wont be able to take the full version of our tv games on the go, but maybe virtual console games can be taken that way.

Congratulations!  We have a winner!  Give that boy a prize.

[NWR_pap64]

They'll get a better console than the 360 and PS3 simply due to the progress of technology. Those HD consoles aren't even remotely cutting edge, they don't even have one gigabyte of RAM!

This.

I don't see Nintendo trying to enter the hardware race because of a strong system, but because it is natural progression of technology. By the time all companies release their new systems the tech behind the current consoles will be outdated. Remember that the Xbox 360 was released in 2005 and the Wii and PS3 in 2006. That's more than five years worth of old technology and processing power. So if Nintendo is working on a new system, of course they'll use the technology available NOW.

Really, it would be idiotic of them to make a new system will old technology behind it.

[Morari]

What if Nintendo's next console is their Dreamcast?

In a lot of ways, I hope it is! The Dreamcast had a huge library of great games, even in it's short life span. Furthermore, it was light-years ahead of the competition on the design and hardware front. The Dreamcast was a perfect machine, and still the best console around. Hell, I own three and one is still hooked up in my living room next to the Wii. It even looks better than the Wii thanks to the official VGA converters that Sega made for it!

Sega's Dreamcast only failed for two reasons: Sega had generated a lot of bad faith and financial woes with the Saturn before it, and a lot of gamers fed into Sony's outright lies about the power and capabilities of the upcoming PS2 and held out for it instead.

[NeoStar9X]

 

They'll get a better console than the 360 and PS3 simply due to the progress of technology. Those HD consoles aren't even remotely cutting edge, they don't even have one gigabyte of RAM!

This.

I don't see Nintendo trying to enter the hardware race because of a strong system, but because it is natural progression of technology. By the time all companies release their new systems the tech behind the current consoles will be outdated. Remember that the Xbox 360 was released in 2005 and the Wii and PS3 in 2006. That's more than five years worth of old technology and processing power. So if Nintendo is working on a new system, of course they'll use the technology available NOW.

Really, it would be idiotic of them to make a new system will old technology behind it.

The problem with using tech available now is you run into a situation where to mass produce a product gets more expensive and you are selling them at a loss. Nintendo won't do that. So while the tech they include will be better then the PS3/360 simply due to how much time  has passed it won't be significantly better then them I bet. It's not cost effective for Nintendo I think. Which is why I think it will be tech around 2006 or maybe 2008 at the latest. Most certainly not 2010 or 2011 tech.

[Ceric]

Still find it amusing that windows CE was under the hood of the Dreamcast.  It was ahead of it times and definitely see why the XBox series borrowed some from it.

[NWR_pap64]

They'll get a better console than the 360 and PS3 simply due to the progress of technology. Those HD consoles aren't even remotely cutting edge, they don't even have one gigabyte of RAM!

This.

I don't see Nintendo trying to enter the hardware race because of a strong system, but because it is natural progression of technology. By the time all companies release their new systems the tech behind the current consoles will be outdated. Remember that the Xbox 360 was released in 2005 and the Wii and PS3 in 2006. That's more than five years worth of old technology and processing power. So if Nintendo is working on a new system, of course they'll use the technology available NOW.

Really, it would be idiotic of them to make a new system will old technology behind it.

The problem with using tech available now is you run into a situation where to mass produce a product gets more expensive and you are selling them at a loss. Nintendo won't do that. So while the tech they include will be better then the PS3/360 simply due to how much time  has passed it won't be significantly better then them I bet. It's not cost effective for Nintendo I think. Which is why I think it will be tech around 2006 or maybe 2008 at the latest. Most certainly not 2010 or 2011 tech.

Oh don't get me wrong, I think MS and Sony will try to out do Nintendo in the technology front in the long run once the system is revealed. I just don't see Nintendo sticking behind in terms of technology for a second console generation. Even the 3DS received a push with its technology.

[ShyGuy]

One thing I'm sure of after reading all the buzz going around the interent: Nintendo still owns the game industry, heart and soul.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

I think Karl has it spot on. If the topic of the successor comes up at all at E3, I also expect something similar to the 'Revolution' reveal of 2005.

The talk of HD and all the other tech boosts is also kind of boring to me. It's all expected at this point, and the proof of the pudding is in the games, which to a large extent is predicated by whatever the distinctive new feature will be.

[Enner]

A Super Wii launch in 2011 would be super crazy, but not that crazy given Nintendo's current habit of shortened news timings.
Now, a more realistic shocker would be if this E3 2011 or TGS 2011 is the full reveal and the system is due out in the summer of 2012. Seeing as how Nintendo wants to avoid the problems of the Wii launch, would a quieter release in the summer be a nice move? The early adopters will snatch it up and than Nintendo will have plenty of time to plan a big fall and winter push. Also, this gives the Wii a little more time for its swan song with Dragon Quest X and other games.

[Razorkid]

As far as hardware goes, I only require that their new system has at least 1 gig of system ram (ram is stupidly cheap nowadays) and no less than 768mb ram on their video card.  I'm currently still rocking an nvidia 8800gts with 512 mb ram from 2006! Every current gen console port and multi-platform releases I've played looks and runs better on my PC. This is from a graphics card that is ostensibly 3 generations old in PC terms.  I'm not worried too much about hardware.  I just want Nintendo to make me say. "Gee whiz, that's neat!" when the system is announced.

[Ceric]

You know ram is pretty darn cheap.  Be really cool if their was about 8 gigs of ram just to preload the optical media.  When you put in the disc it just start filling it.  Pie in the Sky would be about 64gigs and just run everything from memory after the initial load.

[BlackNMild2k1]

RAM may be cheap, but it's not that cheap. Especially not Good RAM and Fast RAM.

2GB ram unified would be more than I would ever expect from Nintendo. 1 GB of really fast RAM is what I realistically hope for though.

[Kytim89]

What I see in terms of reaction from Sony and Micosoft if the Wii 2 does become a success and out perform their systems is not so much a new console for both of their companies but a new upgraded version of what they already have at their disposal. The PS3 operates with 512 MBs of RAM memory, right? If the Wii 2 had a single GB of RAM I could easily see Sony releasing a PS3 Slimmer with 2 GB of RAM. I see Microsoft doing the same with the 360. All they would do is combine 2006 technology with 2010 technology and spear head their motion controllers. Of course this would raise the cosy of their systems, but maybe not much.
 

PS3.5 and Xbox 360.5 versus Super Wii in 2012.
 

[Ceric]

That would effectively be a new console unless they provide free upgrades to current owners.  That is something that worked in the cart world because it could. Be part of the cart.  One if the advantages of carts was that weird upgradeability.

[LittleIrves]

I don't care two bits about RAM or Gigawatts or anything. As many have said, I care about the games, and Nintendo knows that good software sells hardware. And since they make money on every piece of hardware they put out, they need good software to keep the green flowing in. I fully expect some of the more graphics-heavy franchises that skipped Wii (Star Fox, F-Zero) to be showcases for Super W.E.S. or whatever they call it.

But I'm much more with Carmine and Jonny here -- as speculative as all this is, I can't help but get all giddily excited about the promise of something new.  In a way, I love the anticipation-and-reveal part of gaming almost as much as playing the games themselves.  (On a personal note: I sure picked a good year to go to E3 for the first time. Whoa. Can't wait.)