Wii 2 hardware...any clues?

Post by **General Chaos** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:10 pm

When will the next gen systems even come out? If not then, I would expect 2 gens out to possibly forego a hard media format in favor of downloadable content. Of course, this will all depend on the progression of data transfer speeds, etc.

Looking ahead to the next "revolution" in display technology, I'll be interested to see what the first console to take advantage of 3d displays will be. Who knows when these will be perfected and manufacturable at a cost low enough to sell to consumers, but I'd bet Nintendo might take the chance to jump on this market as early as it can.

Also, in terms of processors, in a decade or so you're going to have to consider the implications of nanotech in chip manufacturing. Who knows what will be possible at that point. Even a "low powered" Nintendo system might be amazing compared to what's even remotely possible right now.

Exciting times ahead regardless.

Post by **Niode** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:59 am

Well Sony have stated they're expecting a 10 year shelf life for the PS3 which seems a helluva long time for a console. Considering that the PS2 superceded the PS1 after just 6 years. 10 years.... Thats just less than half of my entire life!!

Granted that the PS3 has already had 1 of those years but still.

3D display technology is still in it's infancy though. So I honestly can't see it becoming mainstream in the next ten years at least. Nintendo tend to favour innovations in control as apposed to innovations in display/graphics technology. EG Dpad NES, Shoulder buttons on SNES, Analogue Stick N64, Motion controls Wii. So probably the next console from Nintendo will have some sort of control innovation to improve immersion as much as possible.

Post by **ImportBoy** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:39 am

When will the next gen systems even come out? If not then, I would expect 2 gens out to possibly forego a hard media format in favor of downloadable content. Of course, this will all depend on the progression of data transfer speeds, etc.

I think this will be a lot longer then one might think. I think it will be an option for some games as soon as next generation (depending how generous they made the built in hard drives) but it will not become normal method of distribution. There are still tons of people in the US who simply can't get broadband yet. And even among those who can download speeds just suck (for downloading titles 8GB+) for many still. They'd probably roll out such a service in Japan first given how well developed the network infrastructure is and will be/

Well Sony have stated they're expecting a 10 year shelf life for the PS3 which seems a helluva long time for a console. Considering that the PS2 superceded the PS1 after just 6 years. 10 years.... Thats just less than half of my entire life!!

Sony said the same thing about the PS2 sometime ago = 10 year lifespan. I don't think it means we won't see a PS4 until Christmas of 2016 - just that they'll still be making PS3 games. Look at the situation with PS2 games - they are still getting developed with no signs of letting up. The last couple Gamecube and Xbox games came out last year and both of those systems were released after the PS2.

If it is anything to go by they were still selling brand new PS1s in several mainstream stores while I was in Japan last June. Not sure when the last PS1 game came out though?

Post by **andymol21** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 1:28 pm

General Chaos wrote:Looking ahead to the next "revolution" in display technology, I'll be interested to see what the first console to take advantage of 3d displays will be. Who knows when these will be perfected and manufacturable at a cost low enough to sell to consumers, but I'd bet Nintendo might take the chance to jump on this market as early as it can.

Nintendo has had a history of jumping ahead of themselves with 3d displays! Who knows? Maybe we will get another wonderful pair of red glasses to burn our retina with! Virtual Boy 2 here we come!

Post by **diehllane** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:26 pm

ImportBoy wrote:
When will the next gen systems even come out? If not then, I would expect 2 gens out to possibly forego a hard media format in favor of downloadable content. Of course, this will all depend on the progression of data transfer speeds, etc.
I think this will be a lot longer then one might think. I think it will be an option for some games as soon as next generation (depending how generous they made the built in hard drives) but it will not become normal method of distribution. There are still tons of people in the US who simply can't get broadband yet. And even among those who can download speeds just suck (for downloading titles 8GB+) for many still. They'd probably roll out such a service in Japan first given how well developed the network infrastructure is and will be/

Well Sony have stated they're expecting a 10 year shelf life for the PS3 which seems a helluva long time for a console. Considering that the PS2 superceded the PS1 after just 6 years. 10 years.... Thats just less than half of my entire life!!
Sony said the same thing about the PS2 sometime ago = 10 year lifespan. I don't think it means we won't see a PS4 until Christmas of 2016 - just that they'll still be making PS3 games. Look at the situation with PS2 games - they are still getting developed with no signs of letting up. The last couple Gamecube and Xbox games came out last year and both of those systems were released after the PS2.

If it is anything to go by they were still selling brand new PS1s in several mainstream stores while I was in Japan last June. Not sure when the last PS1 game came out though?

The last PS1 game was the end of 2004. 10-year lifespan for the PS1, in japan at least.

Post by **D.D.D.** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:55 pm

I really can't imagine Nintendo, Sony or MS, abandoning disc-based games especially since the majority of the US still doesn't have high-speed internet (GB-sized games over DSL... yeah right). Sure in Japan I could see it, fiber-op 100up/100down is getting cheaper everyday, but outside of smaller countries I just don't see the big companies giving up their main revenue source.

As for specs, I just hope "Wii2" will be HD grade, at least 720p.

Name-wise, after Wii, my imagination can not fathom what the fork Nintendo will come up with next.

Post by **RyaNtheSlayA** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:59 pm

in japan, if nintendo used numbers the 3rd wii would be the

wii-ni

yes it is pronounced the way you think it is.

Post by **D.D.D.** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:00 am

RyaNtheSlayA wrote:in japan, if nintendo used numbers the 3rd wii would be the

wii-ni

yes it is pronounced the way you think it is.

hehe I like where you're going but "ni" is two~

Post by **RyaNtheSlayA** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:18 am

oh but still, fanboys thought it was made fun of in 2006 when it came out, when that comes out

Post by **eastside** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:31 pm

http://www.kombo.com/article.php?artid=10938

Microsoft: Discs Are Dying, Digital Distribution is Future

"The horse that we're fundamentally backing is the one that says the future of entertainment content is online digital distribution," he said. "I would argue that we backed the right horse."

He went on, "If we're sitting here in 12 or 18 months time, we'll be saying 'why were people even thinking about a disc format when it's really about digital distribution?' Our strategy's been developed for the last six or seven years, and ever since we launched the platform online content has been our big, big, big bet.

The current transition from using discs to all-digital mediums is far "less significant than the transition from VHS to DVD," Thompson believes. "The fact that Sony are desperately trying to deliver an online offering means they probably understand that there's another front they have to develop for."

Here's hoping.

Next-gen is too early for a download only machine, but maybe it could be an option. A download-only model with no disc and a big hd.