Why are people so sure that "Wii 2" (actually it would be Nintendo's sixth home console) is coming out in 2012? That is quite a distance away. I would guess that the date would be 2011, the technology for a more advanced system is already at the correct price - it is time that Nintendo comes out with a new console.
Besides, if Nintendo R&D took over 5 years to complete a new home console then..........
As far as Nintendo not giving a crap about the Wii, that's crazy talk. How do you think investors would feel if there was a huge hole in the home console revenue for the next two years? Keep in mind, that the Wii will be selling until 2013/14, it is not going to stop the moment the new console is released; and Nintendo is not going to wait until the Wii hardware market is dried up completely before launching their next console.... It would be my hope, as a theoretical investor, that Nintendo would transition to the next console without leaving a hole; by the time the Wii sales are fairly dry, the new console will have a solid 35 million units out - enough that software can sell huge amounts.
The Gamecube era was a very low point for Nintendo. N64 hardware and software sales were gone fairly soon, as a result, Nintendo was living off of the handheld industry. Gamecube represents Nintendo at the very lowest - few exciting software titles, and an image as a kids-only system (despite having games like RE4, which were seen as almost charity). Gamecube would have loved to see Wii's current success at any point in its career.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
