Nintendo does thinks as it sees fit, they never followed the industry standard.
That being said, Wii2 will likely be an HD machine if Myamoto (?)'s comments are to be taken as the truth. So if Wii2 lauches earlier, maybe...lets say a year and a half before Xbox720 and PS4, with another pack in like Wii Sports HD and a kickass controller and great console (has Nintendo ever disapointed in this regard?) they will start the 8th gen off well.
Another reason I gave them a year and half before launch is Nintendo can start NOW to work on a serious heavy hitter launch title for Wii2, maybe Zelda HD, Mario HD or even Metroid HD, these titles can come in and blow away anything on the X360 and PS3 graphically while the MST and SONY are still bottled up in their next gen plans, which might force them to rush things (IE Red Ring Of Death)
however NINTENDO cannot make the same mistake, their hardware is among the most reliable technology on the face of the Earth, but when going for a quick start you have to be PERFECT. (Red Ring example again
Historicaly however, Nintendo has rarely been 1st to market with consoles, (Only the NES launched 1st) SNES was 1991 while GEN was 1989, N64 was 1996 while PS was 1994 ,GCN was 2001 while PS2 was 1999 and Wii was 2006 while the 360 was a year earlier. So Nintendo isint the tipical company to go for early marketshare.
Time will tell.
Althoguh I think the DSi is an important part in Nintendo's plans for the Wii's lifetime. I see the DSi as Nintendo expanding Wii functionalty, with more connectivity between the two platforms and SD card sharing Nintendo may be trying to maximize the Wii's lifetime instead of rushing into HD gaming.







