So what? They never had them on the GC either. So they're not "losing" anything.

What would be really bitchin is a USB attachment thats basically an external video card to piggyback onto whats in the Wii already. It would have more RAM, and an extra/better GPU to enable those oh so coveting HD resolutions and shader effects. All games would still support Wii without the attachment, but the new games would have optional eye candy and higher resolutions that would kick on automagically if you have the attachment.

Not sure if USB is fast enough to be a passthrough though. I thought they had external video cards already that ran on USB.

What portion of the PS2's userbase are purests, hard-core or core gamers? Consider for a moment that NO PS2 game ever sold to more that 20% of PS2 owners ...

Even if these purest, hard-core and core gamers eventually buy a PS3 what is stopping them from buying a Wii? Consider that 90% to 95% of current Wii owners would fall into the purest, hard-core and core gamers categories ...

In my opinion, one of the main reasons the Wii is selling so well is because of Generation X. Born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X was the first generation of people who were gamers; the older members of the generation grew up with pinball and pong while the younger ones tend to have more memories of Mario on the NES. Up until now this generation has determined the outcome of every previous generation and as they moved into their teens and early adult years their desire for more 'Mature' gaming lead to the dominance of Sony ...

Today the yongest of this generation is in their late 20s while the oldest are in their early 40s, most of them have started families and are looking to share videogames with their children. Graphics are (for the most part) a lesser consern for them because they still remember playing Zelda or Metal Gear on the NES and the capabilities of the Playstation 2 to produce high quality graphics are 'good enough' for a large portion of them.

Nintendo has produced a system that they can play in their limited spare time, enjoy with their Wife (who normally doesn't play games) and their children (including their daughters who don't normally play videogames). The PS3 and XBox 360 have NOTHING which can compete with that.

Nintendo is definitely gaining lots of ground this generation. The last two generations, they were trying to pander more towards the, "hard core" gaming population wiht very little support from anyone (devs and public). I am impressed at how well they have turned the market. I am not sure they are losing any more gamers than they were already losing from the start. By extension, I am not sure if they will ever gain those customers back. I do know for certain that Nintendo made a wise decision and if they continue on this path, we will be looking at a very different console generation next time around.

 It isn't.  Throughput on PCIe x16 is 4 GB/s; throughput on USB 2.0 is 480 MB/s.  I'm not sure exactly what the Wii uses to communicate with its GPU but you're pretty much guaranteed that a USB solution would be a downgrade.

If anyone's tapping the PS2 user base, it's Nintendo. The PS2 was built on the mainstream audience, not core gamers. Core gamers bought the system, but there probably aren't 40 million of them, let alone 120 million.

QFT, even if it is an understatement lol.  There is pretty much no way you could get decent graphics over USB, especially since those 480 MB/s numbers are all burst speeds, not sustained.  Hell even Firewire 800 which is significantly faster (and significantly less supported) would be a huge stretch to do anything meaningful.

Don't get me wrong it's a good thought, but not feasible with the current setup. 

a wii slim wtf people. It is small enough. This isnt sony shrinking the same thing by a very little amount. When they change stuff they really do.


The only possibilty I see is HD and not because they want to put it in but developers will want to use it and keep asking for it if they havent already.

I could see Nintendo forgoing a 2008 price drop in favor of a WiiHD, or something similar. By then manufacturing costs should have dropped to the point where they can still turn a profit.  

If Nintendo's going to upgrade the system, it's going to be cost-effective, the last thing they will want to do is raise the price of the Wii.

The only things that really seem like they'd be effective improvements are:

DVD support
USB Mouse and Keyboard support (primarily for Internet Channel)
Wired internet connection (for people without the USB Wireless Connector)