You're making a lot of assumptions about the technology that is in the Wii, and also completely ignoring the non-performance enhancements Nintendo is making with their platform ...

Personally, I think Sony, Microsoft and most third party publishers could learn a lot from Nintendo. Even though a large portion of gamers (possibly the majority) prefer single player and local multiplayer experiences over competitive online games, more and more developers are abandoning single player and local multiplayer games in favour of online competitive games. At the same time, while Nintendo has produced many attractive looking games for the Wii (like Super Mario Galaxy) by focusing on what the system can do without blindly focusing on photo-realism, most developers have moved so heavily into photo-realism that their games look bad as soon as new technology comes along.

If developers took more of a Timesplitters-approach to artistic style on the HD consoles it is unlikely that you would be disappointed with the graphics that were being produced ...

What developers are you referring to in that realism arguement you're creating..? Uncharted is a prime example of a game that doesn't have to be completely photo realistic yet still end up being one of the best looking franchises of a generation, same with GOD OF WAR III, that game looks like a painting come to life..

I don't know why you'd say SONY needs to take note from nintendo, considering SONY is the only gaming company pushing games like TEARAWAY/LAST OF US.. AND more new ip on console.. and not rehashing old franchises that are eventually going to stop selling.. in fact sony seems to be the only game company that is really supporting it's video game systems right now.. with their non stop constant flow of new ip and game releases..

Yeah, Sony has nothing to learn from Nintendo ... Nintendo had the market leading home console and handheld gaming system last generation, is on track to have the market leading handheld this generation, Sony lost over half of their console userbase in a generation, the PS-Vita is the worst selling system since the Dreamcast, and Sony has closed several game developers for profitability reasons.

The point with the realism argument is this ... On both my XBox 360 and my PC (which is significantly more powerful than the HD consoles) in "photorealistic" games I regularly see low polygon models, low resolution textures, and (generally) pretty crappy lighting effects that don't seem that bad based on the time the game was released but when new technology becomes available and developers stop needing this low quality filler it becomes obvious and ugly. In contrast, games that take more of a "stylish" route generally don't have these problems. For example, if rendered at 1080p Super Mario Galaxy would still be a very pretty game but few games that were pushing for photorealism on similar hardware would be considered good looking at all.

If you read their financial investor relations information, Sony most assureadly cannot.   MS might be able to I still doubt they'd go balls to the wall technical whe it's not only not needed but not expensive to do so.

Just to make my point clearer ... Focus on the environmental detail of the following two screenshots:

While Resident Evil 5 was a great looking game when it was released, a lot of it doesn't look that good when compared to the latest and greatest technology.

In contrast, Mario Galaxy's look isn't impacted much by this:

First of all, it doesn't look like CGI in play. It's got pretty good lighting and particle effects but the character models and texture resolution are nothing we haven't seen before. Second, everything we've seen from 1313 so far came from a PC. Unless you want to suggest it was running on 360/PS3 in which case it would run perfectly fine on Wii U as well and your argument would be invalid.

It's difficult not to get too excited from seeing some pretty lights but 1313 is not a quantum leap above what we've seen so far. In fact, I don't even consider it a leap. There are games that, from a technical point of view, look far more impressive than 1313.

Boody hell, I forgot to mention about that GoldenEye stream, WTH?!?! I would've asked a ton of questions than the 3 they asked! I wish I was bloody there! Q.Q

New Rayman Legends music stage revealed! Effing awesome!
http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/09/11/rayman-legends-castle-rock-footage

Still no confirmation this is coming but would be nice.

And being in the top 10 preorders for Amazon France suggests the fans really want it.

DUH! at NSMBU being #1, but Rayman is a surprise (#2!!!). Platformers will be HUGE on Wii U. Nintendo Land is nice, but thought it would be #2. Then again, casuals aren't the kind that preorders.

It seems 3rd parties will have very good launches for their games. Assassin's Creed and Batman (Multiplat Ports) beating Pikmin 3 is nothing to sneeze at. I hope its more of them having high preorders than Pikmin having low ones. Expected ZombiU to be the top performer 3rd party wise since it's more or less the flagship 3rd party launch Wii U game, and an exclusive one at that. Also, Aliens Coloniel at #7 (just above Pikmin) despite being a 2013 multiplat game is really promising.

Then again, this is Amazon, and all this could mean nothing :P