It's 2009, Nintendo's Wii is dominating the charts and the motion controls are a succes. However doubt is on the horizon. Although motion controls are popular, they don't seem to really have changed the core gaming market, and for most games people prefer a regular controller. More importantly the hardware of the console has felt outdated since launch and the Wii misses out on pretty much every major multi-platform game. Some people are feeling the need for a more powerfull system and some speculate that Nintendo might realise a more powerfull Wii system or ''Wii HD'' alongside the regular model. History tells us that this never happenned and Nintendo went on with the Wii until it's sales were all but exhausted and released the Wii-U.
But what if Nintendo hade released an Wii HD in 2009/2010 instead? Some Wii buyers might have opted for the HD model instead, and some people looking for a primary system might have considered it aswell. It could also have maintained the Wii momentum for longer. But the most interesting argument probably comes from the hardware possibilities themselves.
You see, an Wii HD launched as early as 2009 might actually have been much closer to Xbone/PS4 than the PS360. In fact, it might have been able to last through the enitre 8th gen aswell.
Let's take a look at an PC build that would have been possible in 2009 and the estimated costs:
Amd Phenom II x3 705e 2,5 ghz $100
AM3 mainboard $40
4gb DDR3 RAM $30
Amd HD 5750 512mb $100
High Capacity disc drive $50?
160 gb hard drive $30
Case and power supply $30
Total costs: $400
Now first off these are average retail prices if you were to buy parts seperately and at retail stores. Obviously Nintendo wouldn't have to do that, so their costs would be significantly lower. Also if the 4gb was to be used as unified memory the 512mb on the video card would not be needed, making it even cheaper. However we have to add costs for a controller, and for direct backwards compatibilty some Wii parts(PowerPC cpu at the very least).
In total it should have been possible for Nintendo to release a Wii HD with similair hardware at a price point of $399. At this price it should have been (slightly) profitable from day one.
Now let's take a look at the direct competition. PS360 hade 512mb of total memory(ps3's not even unified), and this at the time already proved to be their most limiting factor. With 4GB, the Wii HD would have hade an huge advantage. Then there is the gpu. X360 Xenos gpu delivered roughly 240 megaflops, an HD5750 even at stock speeds however manages 1000 megaflops, or 1 gflops. With such an advantage, running any PS360 multi-platform game at 1080P at 60 fps would have been childsplay. Not to mention an HD5750 supports much more modern techniques like DX11.
Now let's take a look at some of the future competition. The Xbox One is considered weaker than PS4, however it plays most multi-platform games just fine. With above specs, an Wii HD would have been prettynear an Xbox One witch would launch 4 years later. It would also have used to same X86 architecture, and in general should not have hade much trouble playing 8th multiplatform games at 720P. Also if Nintendo hade been smart, the would have added an memory expansion slot, allowing the Wii HD to be upgraded to 8gb later on and thereby matching the amount of ram found Xbox One and PS4.
More notable even is that this proposed Wii HD is also much more capable than the current Wii-U, while being released much earlier. Obviously it doesn't have an tablet controller, however this could have been released as an extra much like the Wii Fit board.
The conclusion is pretty astounding, looking at these facts Nintendo could have released a system in 2009 that could have lasted as long as our current Xbox One and PS4. And at the same price point at release, and probably cheaper than these competitors now. Or if it hade been released in 2010 instead, it would have been even more capable or atleast cheaper at launch, say $349? That price probably looks familair, since that the price the Wii-U launched at two years later with weaker hardware.
Rounding this up i can't shake the idea of what the console market might have looked like if Nintendo hade taken the plunge. We could be starring at a console under our tv, already sitting there for close to 6 years, and still being able to run any new multi-platform game coming out for years to come. And on top of that, all the great exclusives Nintendo has to offer.
So with that in mind, would you have bought one? Would it have been succesfull?
