New Wii In 2011 Says Square Enix Head

This year's Tokyo Game Show should be fun to watch, with motion controllers for both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 expected to be out on display. When asked about their impact on gaming, though, Square Enix's head exec played down their importance and predicted that not only would such controls become standard, but that Nintendo's Wii would upgrade itself for 2011.

"Present game machines already have a lot of functions: they are a network terminal, a Blu-ray or DVD player, and a gaming machine," Square Enix chief executive Yoichi Wada told the Financial Times. "Compared to these three pillars, the [new motion] controllers are quite limited, so the impact may be small."

Microsoft's Project Natal and the PS3's new wand-shaped motion controller follow the Wii, which launched with its motion-control-focused Wii Remotes in 2006. Wada reportedly expressed high hopes for such devices.

"As a user interface it’s fantastic and I think it will become standard," Wada said.

Nintendo began augmenting its Wii controller this year with its Wii MotionPlus attachment, but a leap into beefing up the Wii's internal hardware would be an innovative move on their end. The GameCube, Nintendo 64 and SNES all made it through their life cycles without evolving physically. In fact, the Wii would be the first system since the NES to change mid-generation if Wada is proven correct.

What would you like to see Nintendo do to the Wii if they revamp it for 2011? What do you think of Yoichi Wada's prediction? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Tags project natal, yoichi wada