What's next: Wii 2 or Wii HD?

[thekitchensink]

puffy said:

Alterego-X said:

puffy said:
the Wii doesn't nees any of those things. HDMI?? What for? Have you seen the sales at all? The only thing the Wii needs now is software.

The successor to Wii will most likely disrupt the market again.

It'll be HD as HD will be in most homes by the time it launches. It'll aim to break down more barriers of entry into gaming. It'll try to firther the mantra that the controller is an extension of your body, NOT an extention of the console. It'll start with software that captures the attention of gamers that are beginning to get bored of gaming, people who are still lapsed and the Wii didn't pick up and the people that don't play due to the barriers of entry. Then software will come for people who have consciously said NO to the console (just like Wii Fit) and then just like DSi and the Nintendo TV service software will come that has nothing to do with gaming at all.

It'll probably have major 3rd Party support from the get go too.

 

I partially disagree. 

The next-gen Nintendo console will be disruptive, but it won't simply restart the whole process. I would say, a better term would be that it will continue the started disruption. 

 

Wii already caught a huge downmarket of New Gamers, and neither current technology doesn't allow getting lower, neither would it make sense from the disruptive strategy. They will obviously keep their downmarket, if they don't want to get disrupted, but the "next-gen console war" will take place on higher tiers.

They will go upmarket, that is different to predict how it will look like, because it will be similar to current "hardcore" gaming, but instead of the old market's values (graphics, cinematics, blood and gore,), it will be based on the new market (social gaming, short learning curve, light-hearted). 

 

The biggest challenge will be to succeed with getting deeper, and more complex games, to create higher tiers for the new market, without losing the accessability, that is their main value.

 

 

I agree with Demotruk, that the motion+ represents Nintendo's direction.

 

I can see what your saying and I thought about wording it that way as 'continuing the disruption' 

What I was getting at though is that they aren't going to make the same mistakes as they did with the SNES, more complicated gaming aimed at different market segments. They'll continue their strategy of games for everybody that continue to break down barriers.

How can they continue to break down those barriers? There is one very obvious way..

Why may a consumer not play a WiiWare game? Perhaps because they'd be required to 'clean out the fridge' - That's a barrier preventing that to occur. Perhaps perople may not want to play because they have to go about swapping disks? Nintendo could fix that. Perhaps they don't want to fiddle around with remotes and wires - well how about having your TV programming coming through your WiiHD? the Wii Remote becomes second nature to all users and the WiiHD Menu is always seen when you turn on your TV. Wires? Well if its your main box then you don't have to worry. Also they could have wireless video and audio..

There are still barriers to be broken down - they're just what I could come up with now.. 

 

About MotionPlus being Nintendo's direction.. I partially agree however Nintendo wanted the Wii Remote to be like that in the first place so it was never a part of their plan to 'reboot' the Wii Remote during the third year or anything. Why have they released the Zapper and Wii Wheel? Because it looks fun to use. Does the Wii MotionPlus look fun to use? No but it'll feel fun to use. Wii Balance Board also looks fun to use and furthers the Wii Remotes aim - The remote is an extention of your body where as in BB games, your body IS the controller. I think THAT is where Nintendo's future lies.

Do you think there's a possibility that Nintendo's next console won't even require a controller, but perhaps just some type of capture device that rests atop your TV?  Like a hyper-advanced version of the Playstation Eye?  To me, it seems that the biggest barrier to entry in gaming is the very fact that it requires a controller to be used constantly, as a opposed to a DVD, which just needs a couple of button presses to get the full enjoyment.

The idea doesn't seem too farfetched to me--Microsoft already showed a TV that you control just by pointing and making specific movements with your hands.

Of course, Microsoft themselves will probably use that for their next system, so who knows?