Today, over at DS Fanboy, we're discussing the probable changes to the DS Lite, and of course, it's gotten us thinking a little about Wii adjustments. Do you think we'll see a beefed-up version of the little white console? There are some issues with it, certainly, but Nintendo has concentrated most of their hardware re-releases to handhelds in the past. If you think we will see a Wii-plus, what do you think it'll have? Storage? DVD playback? Something utterly useless? When will it hit?













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-28-2008 @ 10:56AM
vidGuy said...
I think the Wii-Plus is going to be Nintendo's next console. The popularity of the Wii is going to stay strong, so I see Nintendo capitalizing on it by beefing-up and fine-tuning the Wii and making it the next thing. For release in late 2010 or early 2011.
The only difficult part will be keeping it similar enough to ride the Wii's coattails while distinguishing it enough to make the Wii market buy it.
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9-28-2008 @ 12:37PM
Mr Khan said...
Easy enough to do. Integrate Motion Plus, then sort of "re-sell" Wii Sports, just a beefier version of Wii Sports, like where you could play any or all of the positions in baseball, had 1:1 golfing and boxing, could move the tennis guys
Or introduce a new set of Wii Sports, etc. The new crowd wants "realism" from the Wii in a parallel way that the old crowd wants "realism" from the PS360. Make more intuitive motion controls and they will buy it.
9-28-2008 @ 10:56AM
ali7300 said...
some things i think we'll see, is obviously motion plus built in, a better sensor bar. hopefully voice chat from the start this time. better graphics, dvd, bigger storage. i think they'll have more than one version. a normal wii, without a big storage, mabey not dvd. something for just the really casual gamers. then a beffed up version, one with the storage, and dvd. and maybe some other stuff. as for when, not anytime soon obviously. wiis selling to good now, then when sales slow down, they'll role out the colors
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9-28-2008 @ 10:59AM
MBJ said...
As much as I'd love to see the Wii get some much needed storage, I doubt that Nintendo will make any changes to the current version of the Wii since it's still selling out in most locations and they are making ridiculous amounts of profit.
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9-28-2008 @ 2:31PM
zchry said...
Agreed.
9-28-2008 @ 11:00AM
Wiibubba88 said...
Well, that's a hard question. The Wii has few flaws that are really bad, one being the storage space. But if they did come out with another Wii, you can BET that it'll include something completely useless, but it would still be cool. I don't think that it would have DVD playback because that's not one of the highest demands and truly, it's not that big of a deal. I definately think that they would do something about the block system that they have going so that they can fix that stupid storage system problem.
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9-28-2008 @ 11:44AM
wiibouy101uk said...
ill tell you now wii 2s sencer bar will have a sencer in it a wii speak mic and a motion capture camera
motion sensing camera and 2x wiimotes with 1to1 will allow all sorts of 3d motion 3d tracking godness and camera mic and sencer bar will allow 3d tracking etc and full online video/speak right out the box
wii 2s will be a dual cpu over clock of broadway and a hollywood 2 gpu more edram and fast ram and a big ass chunk of gddr3/4
a super upscale hd chip with additional filtering optimizing ability
iv just leaked wii2 wii hd wii advance its out in 2011
lol
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9-28-2008 @ 12:29PM
Josh said...
I doubt Nintendo would release a Wii revision. After the DS Mk.III later this year (in Japan, at least), I think they're going to sit on those two systems for at least two years before they begin to talk about their successors.
It's kind of like the NES days again for Nintendo, in that they're going to stretch out their current hardware as long as they possibly can.
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9-28-2008 @ 12:33PM
Garst said...
Porn mode.
What? You weren't thinking that? You are now!
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9-28-2008 @ 12:35PM
Roto13 said...
Consoles don't generally get new versions with non-cosmetic changes.
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9-30-2008 @ 12:37AM
Roto13 said...
What the fuck happened here?
9-28-2008 @ 12:35PM
Roto13 said...
Consoles don't generally get new versions with non-cosmetic changes. Or at least, they didn't before this generation. >_>
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9-28-2008 @ 12:44PM
Mr Khan said...
I think, since the part of the market that really cares about more storage is the part that already has the Wii, that they would avoid releasing Wii mk II just to say "now with 2 GB on-board storage!" as that would piss a lot of people off, yet do nothing to convince new buyers.
Like i said further up, i really think the next Wii will be brought in a lot like the Super NES was, to the point that Wii will still be in the name. Wii HD sounds obvious, Super Wii sounds stupid, but something in that vein is what they're likely to do. It'll sell to the expanded audience with the same draw that Wii did, only stronger: more realism in controls. It's what the people want, and if anyone can sell it, Nintendo can.
The most obvious and convenient features would be re-chargeable batteries, a total re-drawing of their online system, more power, integrated 1:1 technology, a better sensor bar that has the teleconferencing mic integrated in it.
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9-28-2008 @ 12:52PM
halongw77 said...
Here's what I'd like to see in the Wii-Plus:
1. Full backwards compatibility including games, Wii Shop channel account linking, Wii remote, nunchuck other controllers, etc.
2. Make Wii-Plus branded remotes and nunchucks with built-in MotionPlus technology therefore increasing the use of the MotionPlus technology since everyone would be expected to have this. Since your original Wii remotes and nunchucks would be identical to the Wii-Plus branded remotes except for the MotionPlus technology they could make sure to spread the word that your original Wiimotes will work however you may be required to have the special Wii MotionPlus attachments in order to play some of the Wii-Plus games.
3. Make it HD and include built-in Blu-ray player with Blu-ray movie playback and DVD playback.
4. Keep the same general Wii Menu design but upgrade it significantly one way or another.
5. Give the online system a major upgrade. Don't drop the friend codes entirely however because those will be required in order to have full Wii backwards compatibility. Just make it so you can access your Online Options through the Wii-Plus Menu but also have an option for Parent Online Options. Through the Parent Online Options you could enable Parenting mode. By enabling Parent mode it'll enable friends codes through the main menu where you modify your address book the way it is now. But you wouldn't have to enable parent mode to use your address book and friend codes. If you would like to just add say, someone's Mario Kart Wii friend code so you could race them you could just go to the Parent Online Options section and from there modify your address book without enabling it in the main menu. So you would have a standard friends system like Xbox Live but you would also have the optional friend codes that you'll have to use with the original Wii games but also have it as an option for Wii-Plus games. You could also modify other settings such as mute voice, ESRB, online hours, etc. or completely disable online play. If however you just want to mute voice and keep the standard friends list you could do that. Also they need to include movie purchases, rentals and TV show purchases. They also need to include full Wii game download and even some Wii-Plus games to download.
6. They need to make it just as powerful as the Xbox 360 if not, a little more powerful.
7. Include DS connectivity and Nintendo's next handheld connectivity.
8. Include better media support. Have more video codec support and online streaming via Windows Media Player or Orb.
9. Include head-tracking support.
10. Built-in wifi and built-in USB ports and an ethernet port.
11. Include rechargeable and removable battery packs with a USB charger cord that plugs into the bottom of the Wiimote where the Nunchuck plugs into.
12. Have wireless headsets and a camera at launch.
13. Have a Zelda game and a brand new Donkey Kong platformer at launch in holiday 2010. In Early 2011 release a brand new IP preferably an action title or even an FPS. Summer 2011 release a new quality Mario Party title. Holiday 2011 release a brand new Mario platformer and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Spring 2012 release a new Mario Kart, a new IP and a new Metroid game. Summer 2012 release a new Star Fox game and a new F-Zero title. August 2012 release a new Mario Party title, a new Zelda title and a new Fire Emblem game. Holiday 2012 release a new Donkey Kong title, a new Animal Crossing title, a new Kid Icarus title and a brand new 3D Kirby game similar to the Mario platforming but done differently. Early 2013 release a new Wario game. Nintendo needs to buy High Voltage out and help their team help with production on the Mario, Zelda, DK and Kirby titles as well a release a new Conduit title. They should also buy out some other smaller companies with talent and have them develop one of the new IPs.
I DO NOT WANT TO SEE NINTENDO CATER TO THE CASUAL.
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9-28-2008 @ 1:40PM
bug frawg said...
why would wii2 need a camera? seems pointless except to say it's there. also, casual and hardcore don't really exist. they're just terms that have no real significance other than allowing the so-called 'core' a false sense of superiority over 'casuals' and giving the gaming media buzz words to capitalize on.
9-28-2008 @ 2:25PM
Mr Khan said...
well, he wants the Wii2 to imitate the 360, which a good many people want. But he's asking for unrealistic amounts of core games. Nintendo has never put games out at that rate, not since the NES days, when they did shovel out quite a few bad games in with all the gems.
9-29-2008 @ 5:26AM
Abscissa said...
@bug frawg: This whole "there is no casual or core" movement annoys me more and more every time I hear it.
Fact: There *are* people who play the occasional Solitare, Minesweeper, Tetris, Sims, or the latest offering from Nintendo's non-game catalog or Pop-Cap, and couldn't tell a platformer from a strategy, let alone play either with any competency or interest.
Fact: There *are* people who are far more interested in things like FPS, RTS, TBS, RPG, or Sh'mups, not to mention know what each of those mean and know what's going on in the industry, and finds anything simpler than those to usually be a bit dull.
Both of those *do* exist. The former we call "casual", the latter we call "(hard)core" (because having actual terms for things can be useful when trying to talk about them). Obviously there's a whole sliding-scale of grey area in there as well, and none of the people who use the terms "casual" or "core" are actually stupid enough to delude themselves into believing there aren't a lot of people that fall somewhere between the two extremes.
They're nothing more than the videogame equivalents of "movie buff" vs. "average moviegoer". Anyone who says "There's no such thing as a movie buff or an average moviegoer" is clearly full of shit. Same goes for the videogame equivalents, "casual" and "(hard)core".
9-29-2008 @ 10:15PM
Nathew said...
jesus x. christ, dude. just say you want an xbox360/ps3 and call it good.
9-28-2008 @ 12:54PM
John B said...
http://kotaku.com/5055944/report-new-nintendo-ds-coming-this-year-with-camera-music-playback
is this true
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9-28-2008 @ 1:11PM
samfish said...
I'm not a huge fan of changing the console's specs, but in the Wii's case, I think everyone will make an exception with regards to storage.
From what I understand, at some point, it would actually cost them MORE to keep the 512mb storage in there and cheaper to put in more space.
Anyway, aside from that, if they were going to come out with an upgraded Wii, I'd like to see it have:
• more storage space
• DVD playback
• built in ethernet port
• rechargeable Wiimotes
• Wiimotion Plus built into the Wiimote.
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9-28-2008 @ 2:23PM
wiibouy101uk2008GIZZA said...
http://www.gamekyo.com/videoen13210_monster-hunter-3-tri-new-video.html
ONLY MOBILE PHONE BUT STILL LOOKING SWEET
right there's a rumor a DS lite MEDIA version is in the works, comes with camera and flash card reader and media aka mp3 etc built in i think it may be fake but all the same nintendo do have a press event this coming week......
but this tallys strangely with an email i got from a friend game testing at nintendo germany (a job that i was offered but didnt take the bastard lol true)
anyway he is employed via a german work agency as a wii games/english tester quality control tester at nintendo europe in germany
right ill get to the point this is ether wii or wii 2 related
theres a sencer bar this guy has seen that contains the sencer a wii speak mic and also a motion capture camera all in one cool looking sencer bar with a usb conection at the end of the wire.....
the camera can act as a web cam and video camera its also eye toy like motion capture and is also linked to 3d tracking my freind stated that wiimotes 1to1 and mouse funtions combined with the cameras motion capture allows a level of 3d interaction thats simply amassing
dual 3d mouse was mentioned as was dual 1to1 wiimotes
this has to be wii 2 right or is it a wii sp or wii lite type new version of the wii
nintendo is also linked to a super scale hd chip manufacturer
all true please go ahead talk about it but please dont shoot the messenger
MY POST AT CVG I GOT EMAIL FROM GUY AT NINTENDO GERMANY
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9-28-2008 @ 3:08PM
WalkingCarpet said...
Hi-Def support is a must. A DVD player would be convenient, and more storage is something else that they will have to fix. The VC is a great idea, and these old games don't cost hardly anything to re-release as a download, so Nintendo needs to make it easier for us to give them our money.
A more powerful system would be nice, but maybe not completely necessary. I think that they're either going to leave the Wii Remote alone, or come out with a new one that has the MotionPlus built in, but that still works with the games that don't feature MotionPlus support.
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9-28-2008 @ 4:08PM
Mr Khan said...
Again, you can draw on what they did with the NES-SNES transition to look at what they'll probably do to the Wii remote, add a few buttons and make the whole thing a bit more ergonomic.
Kidney-shaped X-Y buttons around the A-button, which would void out the need to use 1 and 2 for the standard Wiimote or Wiimote/Nunchuk system would really make it perfect, imo
9-28-2008 @ 11:09PM
Abscissa said...
About a year or so ago I would have come up with all sorts of ideas of what they might do (and right now, I could come up with an enormous list of things I'd *like* to see), but at this point I think "something utterly useless" sounds just about right, especially if the recent DS rumors are to be believed.
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9-29-2008 @ 4:50PM
Physio said...
Hi all. I may have missed this in the discourse so far - has anyone considered putting heart rate into a Wii game? There must be a way to do this easily given the Wii has a BT interface (I think - feel free to correct me). Has anyone come across anything like this to date? It seems like a logical extension to the Wii fit side of the device/game family.
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9-29-2008 @ 10:39PM
Nathew said...
yeah, i think a new model will be introduced with bigger storage size (8GB?) to solve that problem. other than that, i don't see much being changed.
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