| NoirSon said: Unless the 3DS flops hard before E3, no way do they undercut LoZ: Skyward Sword and DQX (in Japan) by announcing a Wii 2. |
Wii 2 may actually help both games in Japan. DQVII being launched so soon after PS2's introduction in Japan seemed to actually help it attract attention thanks to backwards compatibility (and no real launch games worth bothering with). Having a ton a new Wii 2's out there driving sales may be just what Zelda/DQX need to help combat the general Wii malaise in Japan.
Anyway, an E3 announcement wouldn't surprise me, but if it happens then we're looking at a spring 2012 launch for the west (similar to the 3DS timeline). They could do it, but I sort of question if Nintendo's internal teams and external partners will really have enough ready to go by then in terms of games... more likely I expect some more Wii announcements (Pokemon BR2, Pikmin 3, Mario Golf, possibly Star Fox, etc) to carry it through E3 2012, with Wii 2 being announced first around TGS, revealed around GDC, playable at E3, for an eventual summer (Japan) / fall (west) 2012 launch. Nintendo may also tie the first announcement to their financial calendar instead, depending on how their stock fares through the year.
For what Wii 2 actually is, I'm expecting a PS3-plus spec chipset (likely from IBM/AMD again), 1080p/i/3D standard, Blu-ray drive, modest flash drive (say 8GB) with SD card expandability, full Wii backwards compatibility (Wii, WiiWare, Virtual Console) but no GameCube, similar control setup (Wii Remote Plus & Nunchuck) though the Nunchuck will likely have additional motion sensors and the remote should have a biofeedback sensor (aka: Vitality Sensor) built in, 3D camera in the sensor bar, eShop and other channel services, universal friend code, probably a Classic Controller (Pro-ish) and Wii Sports 3D disc bundled in, all for about $299. The big "hook" imo is going to be the biofeedback based expanded gameplay functionality, which is something Valve seems to coincidentally be talking about, while the HD/3D visual upgrade, improved online functionality and evolutionary camera/gyro controls take more of a backseat promotion wise. Biofeedback should be Nintendo's next big differentiator, though if it takes off you can probably expect it grafted on to PS4 and Xbox 3 a year or three down the line.
