The Wii 2
Or possibly the Wii 1.5
Console Releases: Nintendo Entertainment System (1985), Game Boy (1989), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1991), Nintendo 64 (1996), Nintendo Gamecube (2001), Nintendo Ds/Lite/DSi (2004-2008), Wii (2006)
Sales since launch: NES: 61 million, Game Boy Family: approximately 200 million, SNES: 49 million, N64: 32 million, NGC: 21 million, DS Family: 77 million, Wii: 34 million
Predicted next move: 2010
Related reading: PS4 to be released in 2012 and the Xbox 720 to be Released in 2011.
Ah Nintendo, the little games company that took off over the fence and hasn’t looked back since. To say that Nintendo’s recent success is surprising would be a massive understatement. The have managed to tap into an audience that Microsoft and Sony can only dream of trying to reach – it really is quite amazing.
Of all the big players, Nintendo is in the enviable position of not actually needing to worry about releasing a new console – after all, when you’re selling Wiis faster than stores can stock them, why bother spending more money on another console? Having said that, we believe, given Nintendo’s past hardware release trends, that a Wii 2 (or 1.5) may come sooner than expected.
Nintendo has shown that it’s not afraid to tweak existing products – just look at all the Gameboy and DS iterations. This approach sees small innovations added to existing hardware. It’s entirely possible that the Wii will receive similar treatment, particularly given that it falls somewhat behind the 360 and PS3 in terms of HD compatibility.
The Wii 2 will undoubtedly include DVD support, higher resolutions and more memory. Possibly a camera, microphone (although the recent Animal Crossing game introduces chat already) and much better online integration. So really, we’re expecting a Wii upgrade rather than a fully fledged console.
However, and this is the kicker, Nintendo are never entirely predictable. When they revealed the Wii, most people thought it was doomed to fail. In many people’s eyes it has, but it certainly hasn’t from a financial perspective. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has been quoted thus when asked about Nintendo’s next console (taken from several interviews): “We are always preparing for the next hardware. We are under development…