Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has said the company will make a decision about a Wii successor when game developers run out of inventive ideas for the original system.
"It's just four years since [Wii's] release," the executive told Yomiuri Online (via Andriasang).
Iwata went on to say once more that he hopes 3DS sales will eventually surpass the 140 million DS units shifted to date, adding that the new portable's extra capabilities will help attract new consumers to the platform.
"We've equipped it with a 3D camera and so-forth, which can also bring in those who aren't interested in games.
"The 3DS will be the first 3D video playback device to reach major penetration. We've had many proposals from the film, music and such industries. We're looking into distributing Hollywood trailers and movies, along with things like 3D reference software."
Comments
16 comments so far...
the nutty boy on 2 Mar '11 said:
cant wait for the new zelda to come out..gotta feeling its gonna be great..as for now..well super mario galaxy 1 and 2 and mario kart online makes me happy with my wii.yeah,there are a lot of crap games for it but...hey...its worth it for mario!
boskersrevenge on 2 Mar '11 said:
Seeing as I turned mine on for the first time last night, I'm in no particular hurry, either.
Art Vandelay on 2 Mar '11 said:
Well if those 'new surprises' consists of the vitality sensor then he can shove it! Also what happened to Nintendo supporting the motion+ peripheral? They should be adding compatibility for it into every first party game and encouraging 3rd parties to do the same!
TOKEN on 2 Mar '11 said:
Im sorry but the wii is out dated,with very little new coming for it and games i would like for it have not yet been annouced?
The family play more with 360 and kinect(next week)why do i want to boot up wii.
if E3 is a dull ninty affair then ill wait for wii 2 hopefully with blu-ray will sell it for me and i can play a true starfox,zelda,mario in next gen IBM cell/broadway 50 GB Disc glory?
Ninty have 3DS to keep em going but my guess is they would of released last year if they did not have 3DS.
monkeymagic on 2 Mar '11 said:
Nintendo have been pretty bad at spacing out their release dates for games. I've got a bad feeling Pikmin 3 and Skyward Sword will be released not too far off from each other. Hopefully there's an announcement of another big game as well, but not counting on it.
g_marrs on 2 Mar '11 said:
Two minds about this. In one, Donkey Kong Country Returns looks pretty awesome but other games are beginning to look graphically off-putting (e.g. Monster Hunter). TBH, I don't really need much more than an HD revision of the Wii. I really just think that the issues are resolution related. A little more graphical grunt would be nice as well though.
DavidVM on 2 Mar '11 said:
If they can come up with a console that consistently plays out at 1080p and 60fps with fast enough access speeds to make load screens a thing of the past for £300 or less, then they'd have a real contender on their hands. But if they can't offer an affordable and significant improvement to the 360 or PS3 then there's no point because those consoles are so established now.
I think they are in a hurry because the Wii's sales have dropped off dramatically (mainly because everyone's got one now) but Nintendo can't afford to make the massive losses on hardware that Sony and MS make. So no matter how shiny and purring their new beast maybe, if they can't keep it affordable and make a profit they're not going to proceed with it. The fact that they've taken out several patents on holographic disks (10x the storage of blurays and way faster access speeds) suggest that they are working on something that will push consoles forward but it's probably just not commercially viable at the moment.
g_marrs on 2 Mar '11 said:
It's also the case that they're definitely not gonna suggest a new home console as round the corner when they're just releasing a new portable.
I'm thinking next GDC could be interesting though.
Dragovian on 2 Mar '11 said:
I would really like them to get Skyward Sword released for the Wii this year, so there's no danger of it doing a "Twilight Princess". After that, a new console for late 2012 would be fine by me.
humanhand on 2 Mar '11 said:
I'm excited for this... major penetration!
g_marrs on 2 Mar '11 said:
TBH, I think it's already in the danger zone for that. Wii sales are now in decay.
Balladeer on 2 Mar '11 said:
So what games are on the horizon after Skyward Sword, eh?
I think the Wii's near the end of its lifespan, but Nintendo want to give the 3DS a chance to sink in. No chance of a Wii2 announcement in his GDC speech, then.
g_marrs on 2 Mar '11 said:
I think Christmas 2012 is likely Wii2 territory.
kimoak on 2 Mar '11 said:
He's keeping his cards close to his chest here. He'll have the number coming with regards to sales while at the same time, they'll be busy as always in the R&D department.
evilboy1216 on 2 Mar '11 said:
I am in no rush for the Wii 2 either. I already have one, it's called the Playstation MOVE!
g_marrs on 2 Mar '11 said:
No, no. That's the Wii. Wii 2 will have moved onto something new. Motion control is, after all, a bit old in the tooth for Nintendo gamers.