Nintendo to reveal new console at E3

[Vargras]

From this article.

 

"According to multiple reports today, Nintendo will reveal a new console at E3 this coming June.

 

Game Informer first reported the details, saying the console is capable of running games at "HD resolutions." Our sources have said the the console is significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and that Nintendo's intent is to recapture the hardcore market. Another source said it is capable of 1080p resolutions.

 

Nintendo is reportedly showing the console to publishers to garner interest for a late 2012 launch.

 

Additional sources tell IGN that Nintendo will release a pre-announcement this month with a full reveal expected at E3 and that the console will be backwards compatible with current Wii software.

 

A report from CVG states the new Nintendo console will use an all-new controller - not an updated Wii controller - with sources saying it will have a built-in screen. Additional sources informed IGN the screen has touch capability."

 

Something else that was also in the header (which I forgot to include) was a note that the new console will apparently be backwards compatible with all Wii software. Unknown if this will apply to Gamecube software as well.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Vargras

[VicariousShaner]

I'm guessing you will control games with your mind/feet/(redacted).

[deanb]

You know it's a 99.99% chance that whenever Nintendo release their new console it'll be HD. Whether they're going to have 2 consoles launches in the space of a year however is less likely I believe. It's a major strain to launch just one.

Either way I don't much care for Nintendo so...

Also lol at the "hey, now it does HD resolutions everyone is suddenly going to put PS3 n 360 games on it". Cos yeah, those kinect games are running on Move. They aim at different markets. Even if it ran HD I doubt Nintendo would be marketing their console at the same folks as Sony n MS when doing the opposite of them has helped them take the sales lead this gen. Which means 3rd party will probably struggle to sell their games to that audience. It's why pretty much all but Ubizoftz have left them behind in making 3rd party titles. Regardless of HD they'll still get cast offs.

 

I think the online side is something Nintendo will need to deeply work on. A balance between their want/need to wrap their customers in cotton ball and the need for an actual functional and usable online service.

[Kovach_]

Meh, Wii HD Mario 27: Same Stuff Again. I'll pass.

[CorgiShinobi]

I agree with Dean on the online service. Just improving that attribute could actually draw in lost customers. You know, when you purchase an online game, you'll actually be able to play online.

 

If Nintendo could just accept that they can look to Sony and Microsoft for an example of online services, then who cares if some dorks are going to shout off comments that they're copying so-and-so. I do like Virtual Console and WiiWare, but it's almost archaic compared to something like PlayStation Network.

 

As for the controller, I'm hoping Nintendo has realized that a standard-motion hybrid would be best. Motion controls do have a place in gaming, but they can not be the primary method for every action in your average array of games.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Atomsk88

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

You know it's a 99.99% chance that whenever Nintendo release their new console it'll be HD. Whether they're going to have 2 consoles launches in the space of a year however is less likely I believe. It's a major strain to launch just one.

Either way I don't much care for Nintendo so...

Also lol at the "hey, now it does HD resolutions everyone is suddenly going to put PS3 n 360 games on it". Cos yeah, those kinect games are running on Move. They aim at different markets. Even if it ran HD I doubt Nintendo would be marketing their console at the same folks as Sony n MS when doing the opposite of them has helped them take the sales lead this gen. Which means 3rd party will probably struggle to sell their games to that audience. It's why pretty much all but Ubizoftz have left them behind in making 3rd party titles. Regardless of HD they'll still get cast offs.

 

I think the online side is something Nintendo will need to deeply work on. A balance between their want/need to wrap their customers in cotton ball and the need for an actual functional and usable online service.

 

Late 2012 is not within a year.

[deanb]

June 2010 and June 2011 are though.

Never mind the fact that before announcing and launching a console (which btw whose arse you pull "late 2012" out of?) you have to develop it, make games for it, show it to potential developers, get them developing for it. Get production going etc etc.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

Link to the Future

 

Main points from the article

 

"Project Cafe" will be slightly more powerful than ps3/xbox (I think this is more realistic than 'miles more' powerful as Nintendo won't want it to be very expensive).

 

It will have similar architecture to xbox360, a custom IBM PowerPC CPU with three cores, a GPU from the ATI R700 family with a shader unit at version 4.1, and at least 512Mb of RAM. (sounds reasonable)

 

compatible with wii and gamecube games - and all wii accesories. (makes sense to me)

 

"The controller has a six-inch touch screen, a front-facing camera, D-Pad, two bumpers, two triggers and "possibly more," and can allegedly be used as a Wii sensor bar" (this all seems a bit much - and expensive!)

 

There will be another 'big surprise' at e3.

 

 

 

Apparently, the source is the same that leaked the NGP details early.

I don't know about all this. everything seems reasonable enough (except the controller - if they won't out a HD screen in the 3DS then I doubt they'll put one in a controller) I'm just not convinced we'll be getting a new console this soon. If we do I will defintiely be excited (though in the minority it seems)

[deanb]

Don't need a HD screen on something hand sized

 

And yeah it's only been 5 years for the Wii which is kinda short. Though it has started to lose steam.

 

It's also going the route of low powered machine if it's only a bit better than current gen HD consoles (which are now 5 years behind the curve, that's quite a few times for Moores law to come into effect) so it's going to have the same issue as the Wii does now.

[CorgiShinobi]

As far as (gaming) history has taught me, it's actually time for someone to begin discussing their new home console. The Wii launched, at the earliest, on November 19, 2006. If the late 2012 date is accurate, the Wii could possibly become six years-old. Aside from launch, Nintendo had been talking about a new console months beforehand, and the rumors were also months before that process.

 

With the insane cash flow in the first half of the Wii's life cycle, I would think that gave Nintendo enough finance to jump-start R&D for a next-gen device. Of course, perhaps a good portion of said finance was used to make the DSi, and now the 3DS.

 

Anyway, as far as graphics, I still stand by that gameplay is far more important. I feel like the motion controls were the attribute looked down on most by critical gamers and reviewers. Any true gamer can get past petty polygons and see a game for what it is: gold or feces.

 

That, and I fall under the camp of: style > power

Edited April 16, 2011 by Atomsk88

[deanb]

So game stores having Easter sales = Definite sign of a new Nintendo console. Well guys just to let you know but new PS n Xbox coming too...

Just my thoughts via Twitter.

[TCP]

Due to the large of amount of great exclusives, my Wii got a lot more attention this in the past two years compared to my 360 (though my PS3 gets played the most). Count me as excited. I believe that Nintendo is serious about recapturing the hardcore market, which makes sense, since they obviously realize the motion controller fad is done and that the Apple's iPad would be hard to compete with for casual gaming dollars. If I was Sony or Microsoft I'd be a little bit nervous... but I suppose we'll see in the next few years.

Either way, Hyrule + HD

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Due to the large of amount of great exclusives

 

[Strangelove]

The NEW super mario games, brawl, the metroid prime series, dkcreturns, and twilight princess really doesnt fill me with any joy at the possiblity of a new system. Graphically, no nintendo franchises need hyper realistic graphics, so i dont care about that.

i just dont see the point when third parties didnt want to support the wii and the first party stuff was weak. Their shit is so fucking recycled and its infuriating that no one sees it. They have such an amazing legacy that theyve thrown away, and not even by making bad games, but by making them mediocre. I hold nintendo on a pedestal of innovation. The wii was great, the games in their franchises were not.

Unless every franchise gets some sort of super creative mindblowing smgalaxy treatment, im just going to stick with their handhelds this coming gen.

[TCP]

Due to the large of amount of great exclusives

 

2011 alone had Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country, Monster Hunter Tri, Other M (which I liked a lot), etc etc. I don't think MS or Sony came close. But then again, that's just my personal preference.

[Strangelove]

Galaxy 2 came out in 2010.

 

I also really enjoyed other m, but can you expand on the etc, etc?

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Due to the large of amount of great exclusives

 

2011 alone had Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country, Monster Hunter Tri, Other M (which I liked a lot), etc etc. I don't think MS or Sony came close. But then again, that's just my personal preference.

 

Yeah, nothing really exciting out of that bunch IMO. Not bad games by any means.

 

2010 for Sony had 3D Dot Game Heroes, GoW3, Gran Turismo 5, Heavy Rain, and Mod Nation Racers. It was also when everyone discovered Demon's Souls though it actually came out in 2009.

There's also multi-plats that Wii didn't get such as RDR, Mass Effect 2, SSF4, AC: B, GTA4 episodes, BFBC2, Vanquish, Just Cause 2, Fallout New Vegas, and Enslaved. That's the thing with the Wii, compared to 360 and PS3, exclusives are ALL that's on the platform whereas 360 and PS3 share some really incredible multi-plats ON TOP of their exclusives.

[RockyRan]

Due to the large of amount of great exclusives

 

2011 alone had Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country, Monster Hunter Tri, Other M (which I liked a lot), etc etc. I don't think MS or Sony came close. But then again, that's just my personal preference.

 

Yeah, nothing really exciting out of that bunch IMO. Not bad games by any means.

 

2010 for Sony had 3D Dot Game Heroes, GoW3, Gran Turismo 5, Heavy Rain, and Mod Nation Racers. It was also when everyone discovered Demon's Souls though it actually came out in 2009.

There's also multi-plats that Wii didn't get such as RDR, Mass Effect 2, SSF4, AC: B, GTA4 episodes, BFBC2, Vanquish, Just Cause 2, Fallout New Vegas, and Enslaved. That's the thing with the Wii, compared to 360 and PS3, exclusives are ALL that's on the platform whereas 360 and PS3 share some really incredible multi-plats ON TOP of their exclusives.

 

Pretty much. On one hand I feel it's a little unfair to count multiplats when comparing Wii vs PS3/360 libraries, but on the other hand there's plenty of really good games to be had on the 360 and PS3 that aren't anywhere on the Wii and thus really can't be disregarded just because they appear on two platforms instead of one.

 

As for the reveal...god damnit. I'm trying really, really hard to not get excited at these rumors but I just can't do it. The idea of a controller with a touchscreen somewhere in it (as long as it doesn't replace any standard buttons in the process. Bold. Underline) sounds seriously cool, and so is the idea of a Nintendo console having the console with top hardware power again. At the same time, I'm getting a little frustrated at hearing that the console would only be SLIGHTLY more powerful than the 360. I really want nothing more than Nintendo to drop its "underpowered console" bullshit and get back to making games that truly pushed boundaries of gaming and technology, not fucking rehash platformers over and over again.

 

Part of me, the highly gullible and probably overly hopeful part, thinks the Wii was but a stepping stone, with Nintendo dipping itself temporarily into the mainstream pop culture, aware that that market isn't sustainable in the long run, but hoping to make enough money to get back into the game and go back to pushing tech and gameplay like they did in the old days, armed with the knowledge of actually how to do it right instead of crippling themselves like in the GameCube days.

 

The other part of me wishes that the first part would shut up already so I wouldn't be disappointed, and tries (so far with no success) to remind the first part of the time when I jumped on the Wii hype bandwagon and ended up horribly burning myself with the single most disappointing console I've ever owned and caused me to go on an irrational Nintendo hate rampage that lasted for about a year.

 

Do you REALLY want to see that happen again? // Why would it happen again? They're smart, they SHOULD realize their foray into pop culture isn't sustainable and they're going to get spit back out. // Will they, though? They've been stupid before. Just look at the GameCube. The games were great, but Ninty as a business was just one bad decision after another on that one // Yes, but they SHOULD learn their history by now. They're the center of the gaming industry a lot of the time after all // But why would they change? Would they really have the foresight to futureproof their console // Why wouldn't they that foresight? They're obviously swimming in money, and if you would notice they haven't made anything internally for years now. It's not crazy to think they're putting some serious R&D into this thing // But the 3DS isn't too impressive, and it was the successor to the freaking DS of all things. It's very possible they'll phone it in again and make something just barely better than the Wii // Handhelds=/=consoles. They know 3rd parties flock to their handhelds and gamers run in not far behind them. With the Wii they've got a lot more to prove // Do they? // Yes. // Why? // Look at the sales and attach rates. Attach rates haven't been "good" since day 1, and sales have tapered off. Nintendo can't ride this phenomenon forever, they'll eventually have to fall back on the more traditional gamer. They're the ones who are going to keep buying games 10 years after the Wii was released, not the non-gamers who have literally just Wii Sports as their only game // But do you not think they can turn them into sustainable consumers? // Not at all. They HAVE to bring in the traditional gamers. They've completely lost touch with them apart from their pure fans // But YOU'RE a fan // I WAS a fan. // You sound like a fan now. // I'm being hopeful. // No, you're being foolish // SHUT UP // NO YOU SHUT UP.

 

BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP.

[TCP]

Due to the large of amount of great exclusives

 

2011 alone had Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country, Monster Hunter Tri, Other M (which I liked a lot), etc etc. I don't think MS or Sony came close. But then again, that's just my personal preference.

 

Yeah, nothing really exciting out of that bunch IMO. Not bad games by any means.

 

2010 for Sony had 3D Dot Game Heroes, GoW3, Gran Turismo 5, Heavy Rain, and Mod Nation Racers. It was also when everyone discovered Demon's Souls though it actually came out in 2009.

There's also multi-plats that Wii didn't get such as RDR, Mass Effect 2, SSF4, AC: B, GTA4 episodes, BFBC2, Vanquish, Just Cause 2, Fallout New Vegas, and Enslaved. That's the thing with the Wii, compared to 360 and PS3, exclusives are ALL that's on the platform whereas 360 and PS3 share some really incredible multi-plats ON TOP of their exclusives.

I played all those games (minus GT5) and I don't think they're as solid as Nintendo's crop. GoW3 was about 3 years too late, and Mod Nation Racers really made me appreciate Mario Kart Wii, blue shells and all.

And that was sort of my point, regarding RDR, ME2, etc. If Nintendo is serious about attracting 3rd party developers, which we know they can do (just look at the DS), then it could interesting to have both Mario and John Marston on one system.

 

I'm expecting much more improved online functions, the 3DS was a good step forward (and I'm expecting more with future firmware updates). I don't think we'll see an achievement system, which, to be honest, I'm happy about. Achievements have a strange control over some gamers, I'd rather let the games speak for themselves.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Part of me, the highly gullible and probably overly hopeful part, thinks the Wii was but a stepping stone, with Nintendo dipping itself temporarily into the mainstream pop culture, aware that that market isn't sustainable in the long run, but hoping to make enough money to get back into the game and go back to pushing tech and gameplay like they did in the old days, armed with the knowledge of actually how to do it right instead of crippling themselves like in the GameCube days.

 

This would be ideal, and I remain hopeful for something like this as well.

[RockyRan]

Part of me, the highly gullible and probably overly hopeful part, thinks the Wii was but a stepping stone, with Nintendo dipping itself temporarily into the mainstream pop culture, aware that that market isn't sustainable in the long run, but hoping to make enough money to get back into the game and go back to pushing tech and gameplay like they did in the old days, armed with the knowledge of actually how to do it right instead of crippling themselves like in the GameCube days.

 

This would be ideal, and I remain hopeful for something like this as well.

 

I think no matter what they'll still maintain the non-gamer-friendly image and execution, though I think the question remains "how much of that image will they maintain?" Will it be closer to the Wii or closer to more traditional hardware? I'm hopeful for the latter, but hopefulness aside it seems like a 50/50 chance, entirely dependent on what they think is best.

Edited April 18, 2011 by RockyRan

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Part of me, the highly gullible and probably overly hopeful part, thinks the Wii was but a stepping stone, with Nintendo dipping itself temporarily into the mainstream pop culture, aware that that market isn't sustainable in the long run, but hoping to make enough money to get back into the game and go back to pushing tech and gameplay like they did in the old days, armed with the knowledge of actually how to do it right instead of crippling themselves like in the GameCube days.

 

This would be ideal, and I remain hopeful for something like this as well.

 

I think no matter what they'll still maintain the non-gamer-friendly image and execution, though I think the question remains "how much of that image will they maintain?" Will it be closer to the Wii or closer to more traditional hardware? I'm hopeful for the latter, but hopefulness aside it seems like a 50/50 chance, entirely dependent on what they think is best.

 

Yeah, and I honestly don't mind the family-friendly "image" as long as we get our hardcore titles too. Don't get me wrong; I love my Wii, but third-party support (aside from quirky games and some excellent gems) has been weak. I remember the days when we could play Mario Party, Diddy Kong Racing, Ocarina of Time, and have the best FPS experience out there for consoles at the time, Goldeneye 007. Here's hoping Nintendo does what's best here.

[RockyRan]

Agreed. I don't mind non-gamer games and I don't expect Nintendo to completely drop them at all, I just hope they don't focus on it so much this time around. What I liked about previous Nintendo consoles was the fact that it was possible to get a robust selection of great titles from all genres. At this point the Wii is only worth it if you're looking specifically for Nintendo's first party affairs, and if it just so happens that you're not into what they're doing now there's really not much else.

 

More rumor time!

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/19/rumor-nintendo-courting-rockstar-for-wii-2-development/

 

Rumor has it that Rockstar is taking serious notice in Nintendo's new console and will even develop a new game for it, many thinking it'll get GTA V. I feel that Rockstar has gone out of its way to make technologically impressive titles, so if the rumors are true I doubt Nintendo's new console won't have some serious power on it.

 

I really DO hope it's significantly more powerful than the 360. I mean, we're talking about 6 year old hardware. I wouldn't find it impressive at all that in 2012 (or whenever it releases) Nintendo releases something even comparable to 2005 hardware. I'm not expecting bleeding edge, of course, but the current consoles are already showing their age.

[McBeeferton]

GTA on a Nintendo console? The thought makes me laugh a little on the inside, but at the same time, I think it'd be great if Nintendo fans got a taste. As for it being more powerful than a 360, I agree. It should be more powerful than the 360, but I'd still be impressed if it out-classed the PS3.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Sir Beefychu

[CorgiShinobi]

GTA on a Nintendo console? The thought makes me laugh a little on the inside, but at the same time, I think it'd be great if Nintendo fans got a taste. As for it being more powerful than a 360, I agree. It should be more powerful than the 360, but I'd still be impressed if it out-classed the PS3.

We do have GTA on the Nintendo DS, though it's more similar to the early top-down GTA games.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Atomsk88