Nintendo flatly rejected a prediction last year that they would release a Wii HD in 2010. In addition to publicly parrying with DS successor rumors and answering questions about the iPad's implications, the big minds at the House of Mario have kept silent on when their next generation of console hardware would see the light. One voice was willing to delve into hypotheticals, however, and he thinks that making the inevitable Wii follow-up HD-compatible won't be enough.
“If asked if making the Wii compatible with high definition -- just making it compatible with high resolution -- will get players throughout the world to buy it, I would of course say 'do you think it would sell with just that? It needs something new’,” Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told investors during a Q&A session, according to a translation by Andriasang.
Iwata's candid remarks are a bit of a surprise considering how recently his hints at a next-generation DS prompted PR backpedaling at Nintendo, who claimed he was misquoted by a Japanese newspaper. He is on the record now, however, as saying that Nintendo has a number of possibilities floating around in their secret R&D meetings.
“If there were no rival makers in the world, I could give examples of the things that we are considering," Iwata said. "However, for competitive reasons, I cannot give specifics today on the what or when of the things we're considering.”
We know Iwata isn't a fan of 3-D, so exactly what he means when he says Nintendo needs to settle on "something new" for the post-Wii era leaves a blank canvas right now for speculators.
What do you want to see Nintendo's Wii follow-up do? Do you agree with Iwata? Share your reactions in the comment section below.