Whatever happens, he'll be able to claim he was right: isn't Pachter a lot smarter than his haters?   

Third parties want that. It would mean they can have another system to make their multiplatform games, but not have to try making their games better, just rely on being flashy as they've done before.

I have to agree with Iwata.  

If you want Wii HD, shouldn’t you get a PS3 Move?  You can get those today (points to GameStop up the street.)

Now, with that, my new 120Hz 1080P TV did show the limitations of the Wii, and I ended up getting an HD system.  Now, that system has been better than I imagined, and not just the HD part.  I really like the feedback/feel of the Xbox Controller especially vs the 'Wii Classic' (No rumble) controller, the great 5.1 sound, and it's just easier to play, navigate and use with fewer nag screens, etc.  It's opened my eyes in ways I didn't expect.  (I'm sure a PS3 might have too, but I got an Xbox 360.)

I realize a Wii HD is not enough alone to pull me back.  Please no more attachments (M ) that you have to take on and off all the time. (How about some that integrate with each other better.) I think they need to improve their controllers a bit too, and obviously Online (Actually they should be doing that right now with updates.)  But the big improvements in Sound and Video (Say even better than 1080p And hopefully some kind of mind blowing good 3D with 120 pictures per second per eye) would pull me back.  As I see it should be another step closer to the 'holodeck' of Star Trek NG.  (But again, I would need some kind of new 3D TV.)

I say yes, it should innovate in new ways, like Kinect is doing for the Xbox 360 now. Like the 'Rumble Packs,' 16bit graphics, and 3D did so many years ago.  Innovations are risky, and don't always win, but when they hit, they can be amazing. (Looking forward to amazing.)

Zap

I agree with N'Gai Croal-Nintendo will bring out the Vitality Sensor to build up more momentum for Wii. They won't do an incremental upgrade like Wii HD. Like N'Gai said, they need to innovate and surprise the wider market to keep the Wii's momentum up. It's what they've done for the last four years. They rode the initial wave of success with the Wii in 2007, brought out the balance board mid 2008, and motion plus mid 2009. They'll have Vitality Sensor for the middle of next year, I think.

N'Gai Croal is one of the few intelligent commentators of the game industry. I agree with him that Nitendo will try to innovate, otherwise there will be no incentive to someone to buy a Wii HD instead of a PS3 or 360, which already have an extensive library of HD titles.

My guess is that Nintendo's hardware team started working at full steam in the Wii successor as soon as they finished the 3DS. Nintendo will avoid competing against itself by releasing two consoles in the same year. As such, as we are getting the 3DS in 2011, they should release their next console by Christmas 2012.

Also, I believe Nintendo is monitoring the Wii sales. They have a strong line up of exclusives for this holiday season: Goldeneye, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Epic Mickey. If this is not enough to bump Wii sales, then I believe a small upgrade will be release next year as filler before the new console. They might redesign the GPU to be able to upscale the graphics to 1080p and include a HDMI port. Although it would play the same games as the current Wii, it would have HD graphics of some sort.

Simple HD Wii is pointless. It wouldn't attract many customers since it really wouldn't offer anything new. What Nintendo is going to do is offer an experience that can't be offered by its current Wii, or the PS3/Xbox 360. They're going to offer something which offers an experience which cannot be replicated on either of those three systems.

I expect that there will be some controller additions, for example:
* Ports for expanded playability options, maybe a keyboard and trackpad
* Camera on the controller
* Mic and more advanced speakers

Perhaps they have a new and better idea for classic software; it seems as though they are holding off on it on the Virtual Console now, as the last time an influx of great titles came in was over a year ago (if I remember correctly).

One thing I really hoped for was a sort of Interactive world where channels could exist; and be integrated in; the idea of setting up game consoles in the original Animal Crossing was an excellent idea.

Holidays 2012 seems very distant; 24-25 months away. This generation feels like it is coming to a close, and that a new console from Nintendo can't come too soon after this coming Spring.  Even the 12-13 months that there is until next Holiday season is a long time, I am hoping to see something new by then.

This wouldn't be the first time Nintendo released a handheld and a console in the same year as GBA launched the same year as the Gamecube, and DS Lite launched the same year as the Wii. Nintendo would do well to launch Holidays 2011, I mean, 3DS is 9 months before then, it's not like the launches are cramped together; but not far enough away from each other that the next console won't feed on the buzz and excitement generated by 3DS; Nintendo's reputation will be at an alltiime high come the end of next year, will Wii be enough on the console front?