Same here. It's sounding too much like 360, and holding back potential. I'm pretty sure Wii Too will be able to compete with PS4 and Xbox 720 on the graphics front now that Nintendo has the confidence and money to support it. After all, Gamecube was graphically superior to Dreamcast and PS2 but was still cheaper than the competition (and they still made a profit).

He as a point.

Now these figures are refutable. But well documented sales covered by NPD, Enterbrain and Magic Box, European sales trackers and the like have the machine at very near 10 million machines, and if the changeover hasn’t actually occurred within the last couple of days, it most certainly will in the next 28 days. At a rate of 2.3 machines per 360 sold, it’s more than inevitable, it’s actuality.

And this is the way you are supposed to interpret data.

Moving on...

Not a bad editorial, but a bit unnecessary to anyone actually following video games. Really, does it say anything that anyone who reads gaming sites doesn't already know? Hopefully it can be picked up by more mainstream news sources where it will do some good.

@ Truthsayer

You don't think that Nintendo has been trying to make friends with 3Ps? They actually started for GameCube (the partnership with Capcom, loaning characters like Link and StarFox out to 3Ps for use in their games, etc). The 3Ps didn't leave the Cube for poor relations - they left because of poor sales. That excuse is gone now, and we know that 3Ps are scrambling to join the Wiivolution, just as they did for the DS, and past history shows that they will follow the current industry leader until they are given a reason not to.

@shams...

- Wii 2.0 is launched 12 months before other 'next-gen' consoles (say 2010)
- $199 price point
- WiiSports II launch title
- gfx around 50%-75% caps of a 360
- 10m units within first 6months of launch
- supports Wiimote + WiiBalanceBoard units 

On the date - Nintendo tends to do 6 years between consoles, so 2012 wouldn't be unreasonable. However, I can see them pulling the string a year earlier, so I expect a Wii2 to be announced in 2010 and on shelves in 2011. 

If Nintendo can maintain it's lead the way the PS1 did theirs, then they will have a huge advantage in being out first. The PS2's early launch could succeed because Sony could essentially stop PS1 development, and the last gen market dried up just when they needed it to. The 360s early launch would have been more successful had 3rd parties not still be supporting the PS2, which meant very few gamers felt the need to go Next Gen a year early. If Nintendo remains the industry driver, it will determine when the "next gen" start, and everyone will either have to follow suit or be ignored.

$199 price point wasn't needed now, and it won't be needed in 4-5 years. Given inflation, anything under $299 should be enough.

Innovate, don't imitate. WiiSports was a simple game to show off the innovations of the Wii. The Wii2 must continue developing and innovating (though likely not so big a jump this time), and I think a new franchise would be a better choice.

No excuse for the graphics not hitting at least 360/PS3 levels given the fact that such technology will be far cheaper by then, and far more people will have joined the HD party. My guess is a system that will be a step up from those, just as the Wii is a step up from the GCN.

I think everyone agrees 100% backwards compatability is a must, so the wiimotes and board stay. However, I think they can make significant improvements to the wiimote, specifically in terms of the speaker and rumble.

 @sqrl

MS and Sony: Right now they are going to be expected to push the envelope as usual on graphics, maybe not to the extent they did this generation but they will be expected to push it nevertheless.  While they spend literally hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars to push their graphics they also have to then be concerned about motion controls.  But their motion controls will be lacking a generations worth of thorough trial/error.  Sony has the SIXAXIS of course and that will give them a leg up on MS but its not the same as the Wii where almost every developer is giving serious time and consideration to the motion controls.  

Do you really think, if things stay as they are, anyone will be expecting them to push the envelope on graphics? I suspect even most developers would say at this point pushing the envelope gains far less than it did with earlier consoles. I think the design teams at Sony and MS are going to be seriously challenged when it comes to the next gen, because they will have to find some way of both copying and topping what Nintendo has done (given that MS's response to the Wii resulted in SceneIt! 360 I think it fair to say they have a LOT of work ahead of them), while still pushing for that unified home entertainment system that has justified the investment (and loss) of billions.

Who is a point? lol

 You could make an argument that the industry players aren't expecting a big boost, but I am pretty sure after the boost from the PS2/Xbox to the PS3/360 a lot of consumers will be expecting another graphical boost. 

I think you hit on something important actually, with the graphical increases at the core of their strategy the last two generations I think you are correct when you say "Sony and MS are going to be seriously challenged when it comes to the next gen".  If they decide to not go for a large graphical boost they are going to have to find a reason to justify to their user base why they should be upgrading to the new console.

The result is they would then have to venture into untested waters. So more than likely even if they do come up with interesting new ideas they are still going to be risky ventures just like the Wii was.  They will need to prove the technology and the idea and there is no gauruntee of success.

So in a lot of ways I agree with what you said, and I think it supports my points quite well. 

If you're talking a minor push (on the scale of Wii over GCN or maybe a little more) then I think we agree.

But if you're talking another exponential graphical leap (as we've seen in all past generations), then we don't. I do think if either company does go in this direction they would have a hard time justifying it based on the Wii's success and the needless cost it would impose on the console and consumer. I think themain lesson they should learn is that people want it better AND cheaper, not "better at any cost." 

 Well it depends on who you are talking about... I think the the average consumer is going to expect the large graphical leap.  But I don't actually think they will go down that road. Honestly the Wii has all but forced them to go with a $300 or less price point next gen, and that alone will make it impossible for them to achieve major graphical boosts.

I'm just not sure how much a "major" graphical boost will be able to show marked differences from this gen (esp late gen) games - at least to the point where someone will say "yeah, that justifies the cost."

in 2012 the next consoles that come out will look -graphically- almost exactly like hte best ps3 games coming out ie 1080p resolution

in 2012 the wii2 will do this resolution at an affordable price

if anything the wii has show that the people want console gaming to be AFFORDABLE,.and fun.

all 3 consoles will come out around 300 to 350 tops.

They need to be flexible.

If in 4-5 demand is still high, they need to go with small increments (like the portable line).  I don't think they should ruin what they got going for them by releasing something that they are going to lose money on.  They only have gaming, it's not like they can fall back on an OS or Movie Players.  To nintendo they need to make a profit on every piece of hardware and software.  Instead of being "charitable" like MS and Sony; Nintendo should use those resources to develop platforms that are more cost effective and rely on features that gamers (and soon-to-be-gamers) will actually be able to make use of and afford.  There will still be plenty of non-gamers for Nintendo to convert at the end of the Wii life cycle.  What are they going to do to keep more gamers coming in? Better graphics wont do it.  Losing $200 per console won't do it. 

Imagine if instead of putting in a three core processing MS Decided to put all the losses from manufacturing and warranties that they put that money into developing games for all different types of gamers.  Instead of jumping onto the casual bandwagon, with a remake of a board game, invested in developing a game that would be worth people paying $300 for?  What if they hadn't shot themselves in the foot with the budget shoppers by releasing multiple skus, basically scaring off any one who doesn't want to pay more than 299 for a console.  What if they spent the money to make it smaller so that JPN gamers would have room for it.  There are so many things wrong with their model.  They are going after an admittedly small segment, so they should have optimized to make a profit off of each console.  NIntendo's situation is even more precarious because they have so many different audiences that they need to make happy; but at the same time safer because they can fall back on different audiences.  All lot of "What if's", but bear with me.

Where does this put us in the Next Gen for Nintendo?  I think it is Nintendo's best interest to push the Wii as is, as long as possible, then release a slim or a media center version.  Just like they do with the portables.  Drag it out for a while, keep ignoreing what the competition is doing, there are plenty of customers for every one.  Are you trying to win customers or beat the competition?  Nintendo did it right by trying to win and maintain customers, they need to keep that model.