News: Nintendo News | Wii SP / Lite to Hit in a Few Years? Page 1

Nintendo News | Wii SP / Lite to Hit in a Few Years?

15.06.2007

Following the comments made by Sega about the Wii's limited appeal, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has responded accordingly. Speaking today, Pachter stated, with regards to the fact that most Third Parties have no idea how to properly cater for the new demographic the Wii and DS have attracted, which includes women and older people:

"I think that a lot of people consider the Wii a 'fad', and attribute that conclusion to the type of people who have been attracted to the Wii so far.

"Sega, of course, has games like Sonic that resonate well with this audience, so I'm not singling them out as having an issue, but it appears to me that these non-traditional consumers baffle most of the publishers.

"As they are unaccustomed to dealing with them this early in the cycle, they have to justify their oversight in not anticipating the strength of the Wii with this group by labelling the group as having no staying power, resulting in the labelling of the Wii as a fad."

As for what Sega Executive Scott Steinberg suggested about developers already reaching the limits in terms of how to use the Wii controller, he said:

"I can't begin to imagine what is on the drawing board for the Wii, but I can say that most developers I've spoken with are extemely excited about the potential for the console... I believe that we've only just scratched the surface.

"Also, Scott's analysis presupposes that we have seen the last in hardware innovation from Nintendo. I disagree. It's easy to envision a Wii 2 in a couple of years that runs at full HD, and has both a Wii-mote and an analog controller, so that all games can be ported to it.

"If Nintendo were to introduce such a device, it would be fully comparable to the Xbox 360 - perhaps it wouldn't have Blu-ray, so a comparison to the PS3 may be unfair - and would likely have most of the same third party content as the other two devices."

What are your thoughts on this? Are developers just not 'getting' what the new audience wants or is the Wii really reaching its full potential? And would you like to see an upgraded 'Wii SP' in a few years?

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James2t3 16.06.2007#1

Nah it won't happen.

Raff 16.06.2007#2

Absolutely no way. All the people who've bought a Wii wouldn't buy another so soon

It's going to be shit and you jolly well know it.

ohm 16.06.2007#3

No, you can't release a special edition of a console which is technically more powerful than the normal version, that would mean a lot of games that work on the SP version wouldn't on the normal one. The thing you can change is physical size, memory size, aesthetics, power consumption etc.

raindog469 16.06.2007#4

They could totally release an HD version of the Wii, that runs existing software at 1080p (just as you can run most PC games at higher resolutions and get better visual quality out of them) and looks for special higher-resolution textures in games specifically written to target it.

One of the advantages of the Wii's development environment being "Gamecube 1.5", as Sony fanboys call it, is that their games are resolution independent. For all we know, there could already be code in some games to make use of better shaders, antialiasing, and other stuff that isn't present in the current Wii's GPU or would require more CPU or processor than it has.

I'm just not sure Nintendo would do that, since it would validate their competitors' strategies if they're struggling, and be unnecessary if they're dominant. That, and I'm old enough to remember failures like the Odyssey3, Sega Multi-Mega/CDX, and Coleco Adam.

But it's also hard to believe the DVD-playing version of the Wii would have only that one tiny hardware change. And while the non-gamer audience the Wii is targeting won't buy a new console every couple years, they are used to DVD players, TVs and VCRs, which always featured small upgrades each year, drawing more and more buyers with each minor revision. Maybe after a couple revisions they'll think, "Huh, I should get this year's Wii and put the old one in the kids' room."

As for the second analog stick being standard, forget it. Developers can target the classic controller if they really need a second analog stick, and frankly, the last thing the Wii needs is more shovelware ports anyway.

Mandown 16.06.2007#5

Grumbler said:
Absolutely no way. All the people whove bought a Wii wouldnt buy another so soon

I think you are underestimating how religiously Nintendo fans will buy Nintendo products. We are the finest in the industry for buying products we essentially already have. We are also certainly the most loyal. LS

( Edited on 16.06.2007 19:11 by Linkyshinks )

tiamat1990 16.06.2007#6

I don't get the Wii SP thing...was the GBA upgraded with the SP?? It was just better lighting wasn't it?

ohm 16.06.2007#7

GBA SP was a huge improvement over the original. It didn't look totally geeky for one, rechargeable battery and inside light. That actually mattered though because it was a handheld. But what could they do cosmetically for Wii? Its small, quiet and aesthetically pleasing enough already.

knighty 16.06.2007#8

Linkyshinks said:
Grumbler said:Absolutely no way. All the people whove bought a Wii wouldnt buy another so soon
, I think you are underestimating how religiouly Nintendo fans will buy Nintendo products. We are the finest in the industry for buying products we essentially already have. We are also certainly the most loyal. LS

I like to think I'm not that stupid myself.

knighty.

Raff 16.06.2007#9

The guy was obviously not inferring a Wii lite or SP, but an actual successor.

knighty said:
Linkyshinks said:
Grumbler said:Absolutely no way. All the people whove bought a Wii wouldnt buy another so soon
, I think you are underestimating how religiouly Nintendo fans will buy Nintendo products. We are the finest in the industry for buying products we essentially already have. We are also certainly the most loyal. LS
I like to think Im not that stupid myself.knighty.

There's only one person in this thread stupid and materialistic enough to buy everything, no matter what.
GL

( Edited on 16.06.2007 15:08 by Grumbler )

It's going to be shit and you jolly well know it.

Megadanxzero 16.06.2007#10

Yeah I thought the 'few years' made it seem obvious he was talking about the next home console. It's a pretty obvious thing to say really, it has to do HD by then or it'll be a complete failure, and the Wii already does (basically) have the potential to play most 360/PS3 games controller-wise

Still a proud member of the 'omfg amazing water in games' society

Mandown 16.06.2007#11

Grumbler said:
The guy was obviously not inferring a Wii lite or SP, but an actual successor.
knighty said:
Linkyshinks said:
Grumbler said:Absolutely no way. All the people whove bought a Wii wouldnt buy another so soon
, I think you are underestimating how religiouly Nintendo fans will buy Nintendo products. We are the finest in the industry for buying products we essentially already have. We are also certainly the most loyal. LS
I like to think Im not that stupid myself.knighty.
Theres only one person in this thread stupid and materialistic enough to buy everything, no matter what.GL( Edited on 16.06.2007 15:08 by Grumbler )

Stupid- Smilie , materialistic Budhhist- Smilie

GL - I think I know what your L stands for- Smilie

[LS]

Megadanxzero 16.06.2007#12

Ler?

And while we're on the subject, why exactly do you type LS at the end of every post? It's not like we couldn't tell from your avatar, sig and of course name that you're Linkyshinks

Still a proud member of the 'omfg amazing water in games' society

Mandown 16.06.2007#13

"Ler?"

-os

[LS]

( Edited on 16.06.2007 19:59 by Linkyshinks )

CuRoi 16.06.2007#14

No I would not like to see a new Wii in a couple of years. Far too soon.

Linkyshinks said:
Ler? -os[LS]( Edited on 16.06.2007 19:59 by Linkyshinks )

Eh?

Ah, I see you've taken to putting LS in square brackets. Better, much better...

[CR]

Laurelin 17.06.2007#15

I think this man is right. Not from the HD-Upgrade, that's not important here. But what he said about control scheme. Just look at it and tell me if I am the only one asking myaself 'what the...' when reading SEGA earlier:

"Control scheme is already worn out" So what? Just imagine picking a controller up and pressing a button to beat, another to jump and some moving stick to walk/run. You just do 5 games with it and then it runs out and there is no potential anymore.
So now tell me all the games from Pong till now where worn out in terms of steering.
Just who gave this Sega-Steinberg this job??? It's a new control scheme and that's all? It's not important when you find standards for Wiimote-steering some months from now, then you can take it and think of good games instead.
Has DS-touchscreen worn out? Well, yes, but only as in 'we know now how we do steering with DS'. And then there is Hotel dusk which lets you hold DS like a book. New scheme as in Kawashima. Thank you, Steinberg, to the Dungeons with you!
So what the hell is innovative with pressing buttons?

Thanks, Mr. Morgan, for answering Steinberg in this most diplomatic way.

I find your lack of faith disturbing!

MetalKingSlime 17.06.2007#16

i don't even play my wii. its been sitting for over a month now and i only played some wii sports and little bit of zelda, which sucks *imo* but what ev, i'll play some wii tennis later on when i have time. at first i thought it was great and was hyped up in getting it, but who knows, maybe it is a fad? what ever lol

Dr_R 18.06.2007#17

Now (finally) a proud Wii owner, I firmly believe it's nonsense to say that the controller is a gimmick. With the nunchuk I'd say it's like a standard controller with stuff added. The primary additions of interest to the hardcore gamer are the pointing abilities of the Wiimote and the motion sensing of the nunchuk. Together these could seriously add to existing 'hardcore' genres.

On its own, the Wiimote is like a tool and the human capacity for tool use hasn't yet been exhausted.

The problem is developers who can't think beyond third-person, avatar-based games or FPSs.

As to a Wii 2 in a couple of years time. Could it work like PC games where there's a minimum spec, but your games look better on a more powerful system? That way all games could be forward- and backwards compatible.

Just conjecture, as I'm not a PC-gamer, but that would be the only way I could see a new iteration of the Wii in 2 years that wasn't just a redesign (which would be pointless as it's a thing of beauty).

"This man has advanced communist views ... He dresses in a bohemian fashion both at his office and in his leisure hours."

Raff 18.06.2007#18

A Wii with VGA output, a nice scaler chip, Ethernet socket and more storage would get my vote.

It's going to be shit and you jolly well know it.

ohm 18.06.2007#19

i don't even play my wii. its been sitting for over a month now and i only played some wii sports and little bit of zelda, which sucks *imo* but what ev, i'll play some wii tennis later on when i have time. at first i thought it was great and was hyped up in getting it, but who knows, maybe it is a fad? what ever lol

This is not a chatroom. Thank you Smilie

Andrezao 18.06.2007#20

guys, has anyone thought of a Signal converter? not tuner, but converter for the wii? like think about it, a device made by nintendo or panasonic (which has teamed up with nintendo to create devices) and create a converter to expand the signal from 480p, to whatever resolution they want, i suggest 720p- 1080i, hey its an idea, and u can't say its impossible, but upgrading the wii instead of making a new console to live throughout the HD era, making a signal converter specially designed for the wii would be MUCH more convienient. 1 reason, well, whoever wants hd can have it, and whoever does not need it, can just keep living with the console they have. possibilities are endless, plus a console that is not as advanced as the others can be upgraded. lets wait and see shall we? something between these lines could just be the new hardware they will announce at E3. oh and so ppl don't start with "oh this goes against the gameplay over grapgics theory" their theory was to expand the audience so everyone can play, a device like this will just expand it more and give different choices to their audience. its just a thought anyways... Smilie

Cheesing It Up 18.06.2007#21

guys, has anyone thought of a Signal converter? not tuner, but converter for the wii? like think about it, a device made by nintendo or panasonic (which has teamed up with nintendo to create devices) and create a converter to expand the signal from 480p, to whatever resolution they want, i suggest 720p- 1080i, hey its an idea

I'm no expert but wouldn't this just stretch the picture to that ratio? Unless Nintendo started to make games there were in HD for the Wii, which seems unlikely at the moment given the Wii's current runnaway success.

Raff 18.06.2007#22

Yeah that's a scaler chip. It wouldn't be actual HD resolution but at least it would be a step up from the Gamecube, and even better than the Dreamcast!

(if you want a reference, it's like watching a DVD on your PC)

( Edited on 18.06.2007 14:08 by Grumbler )

It's going to be shit and you jolly well know it.

Andrezao 18.06.2007#23

mmm not really, for example, from what i know, the original Xbox could do 720p, ok, well a update on the Wii plus that device could well do that, its just a converter, so what it does is it CONVERTS the picture to 1080i for example, so what they need is games that can be displayed in that resolution if they created a device like that. i reckon its possible, and nintendo has been surprising a lot of people. first uniting with Konami, then Sega, and later in the GC's life with Panasonic, its possible to create a device, it could be like a external image processor, so the disc slot reads the disc and send the data to the converter, attached via USB, then on to the TV, so the processing happens outside the box. its a good alternative, plus it would be TINY! the only reason the Wii is small is cause of the Space for the Disc slot, a processor ala digital tuner would be Tiny! it could be a good solution... ninty' making so much money, they could invest in that sort of plan and research.

the boy who likes to 18.06.2007#24

Perhaps when the Wii Version 2.0 comes out theyll have some sort of chip in that prevents anyone from discussing the Wii version 3.0 within a few months of its release.

Come on Intel, you can do it.