Last month MyGaming reported on suggestions that Nintendo is currently working on a new High Definition (HD) Wii console. The leak, which suggested that the Wii 2 will be released in the third quarter of 2010, was eventually tracked to Nintendo France’s marketing division and revealed that the Blu-Ray toting console would allegedly feature support for full HD resolutions (1080p, 1080i) for video playback and in games.
Although the rumours remained unconfirmed, a recent slump in Wii sales suggest that the console may soon require a significant hardware revision. Nintendo has also enjoyed massive commercial success with the Wii, arguably making development of a new console more financially viable than it would be for Sony or Microsoft.
Despite the many reasons that an HD Wii 2 release in 2010 might make sense Ninendo has officially confirmed that no such console is currently being developed.
In a recent interview with Gametrailers Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime stated categorically that there is no Wii HD.
“Reggie: Michael [Pachter] continues to be the only one who believes that this is gonna happen. I don’t know how forcefully we can say there is no Wii HD.
Keighley: It’s not coming, period?
Reggie: No”
It is important to note that although Fils-Aime may be telling the truth, it may be in Nintendo’s best interest to keep it under wraps for now if the console does indeed exist. Gamers might remember Sony officially denying the existence of the PS3 Slim only months before its release.
Announcing a forthcoming product prematurely could potentially damage an existing product line because potential buyers are likely to wait for the new product.
Reports suggest that the Wii 2 will be released in Q3 next year. Nintendo cannot afford to further damage current Wii sales during the interim, as a result it could make sense for them to deny any future plans that would render the current Wii obsolete.
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