back to article Wii HD coming in 2010, claims mole

A seemingly well-connected gaming executive claims to have discovered that Nintendo will launch its long-rumoured HD Wii next year, in addition to a Netflix-for-Wii film and TV streaming service. Dan Rayburn – self-styled “voice for the streaming and online video industry” and Executive VP of streamingmedia.com – said on his …

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  1. Daniel Bennett
    WTF?

    WHY?!

    Why HD on the Wii? The graphics are still crap and cartoony so whats the point?

  2. Citizen Kaned

    hmmmm hd alone = not good enough

    so, will it still be gamecube graphics just at an upscaled resolution? or proper HD and decent graphics? on a 42" tv my wii looks like a throwback to 15 years ago. hence its been in a cupboard for the last year.

    that and the terrible controller for anything other than novelty games seals its death amongst hardcore gamers.

    we are used to almost photoreality (drakes 2 for instance). the wii has a long way to go. especially now sony and m$ are working on their next iterations!

  3. Richard 81

    Well

    As much as the Wii isn't intended for hardcore gaming, rather casual fun play. It would be nice to see an improvement in the hardware, so that at least some current, non-sonic or mario related games come out for it.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    12th rule of Marketing..

    Of course it is! Just after christmas.

    Was just discussing this down the pub two days ago.

    Duh!

  5. edwardecl

    A bit late isn't it?

    I bet Nintendo will still make a killing from it though, bit sad really.

    Now you can play shareware quality games in HD... yay. Or will they be trying to compete with the Xbox360 and PS3 in their own territory?

  6. James Hughes 1

    If I were Nintendo

    I'd bring out a higher res Wii, with much the same everything else, whilst working on a higher spec machine for 2011. Now that the prices for higher powered graphics parts has dropped, they could produce a machine with the power of a current 360 without too much cost. That would be good enough for their target market (not hardcore games - casual gamers. There are more of them....)

    Wii HD would be a good stopgap as everyone can use HDMI instead of those painful composite connectors, and even at low rez is higher quality. Pretty low cost to bring to market as well - only a few quid on top of the current build price. Maybe stick a Blu ray player in it? Might be difficult given the current reversed drive though.

  7. Phil Standen

    HD Tiger Woods!

    Because lets be honest, that is the killer game for the Wii. My copies have certainly got more play than everything else that isn't Mario Kart.

  8. Mitch Kent
    Thumb Up

    Outside the gaming box...

    Seeing as most of the TV's from this point on will be sold as HD anyway, doesn't this just seem like them being able to work with newer systems as well as old? One of the common complaints is not being able to watch films on there as well, maybe this is being addressed? Same with possible future netflix subscriptions etc (who may or may not do HD subs, I don't know)...

  9. Citizen Kaned
    Stop

    but...

    since ms and sony are developing their own wii style controllers i think they need to get their arses in gear. natal (when they get it working) is many times better than what they have, as is the sony version

  10. Andrew Ducker
    Thumb Up

    What's the HD stand for?

    I've heard the HD in Wii used to refer to both the resolution and to it having a Hard Drive. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

    In any case, having an HDMI output would be nice - it's the last thing in my living room that has an analogue connection.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    @Richard 81

    And the PS3 doesn't do those same casual fun play games but better?

    EyePet, Singstar, Buzz, PixelJunk series and a whole wealth of PSN titles, including PS3 Eye games like Trials of Trials of Topoq

    Have you even tried any of them?

  12. Jolyon
    Coat

    Ooh, novel fanboism.

    I'll just pop out for a quick game of virtual cop dog wank while you calmly arrive at a 1080p resolution of your differences.

    Mines the one with the VIC-II chip on the epaulette.

  13. Michael C

    heard this all before

    Wii HD, just a slightly enhanced version of the exact same comsole, equipped with a more powerful full 1080p HD chipset and HDMI, mostly just for playing movies and streaming media though since the game engine will only include moderate qaulity imrpovements to existing games, it's not a whole new console, and doesn't have a new language for game generation. It will still be quite cartoonish, just with smoother curves, better shading and ligting effects, and naturally 1080p instead of SD resolutions. Odds are, a Blu-ray player will also make the cut and it will be sold side by side with the existing Wii for some time. Existing games will look a lot better, as will new ones, but the new games will also have to run on the existing Wii as well...

  14. Dave 129

    nice

    but I've been enjoying my Wii's 480p output upscaled to 720p for months, thanks to the Harman-Kardon AVR354. Looks pretty good to be honest.

    @Citizen Kaned: I actually quite like the controllers - but it depends how they are implemented. Lego <insert title here> all work really well. So does Zelda and Mario Galaxy. de Blob is alright for the most part, but pointing down to jump is so totally f'ed up.

    Oh and another thing: since when did "photo-realistic" become a mandate?? To be honest I get pretty sick and tired of it. Fresh, bright and cartoony graphics make for a change in a sea of browns and greys.

  15. JBH
    Flame

    Warning! Blatant fanboyism and sarcasm! Incoming!

    Oh fantastic, can't wait...

    Seriously though, I enjoy my Wii as it is without HD thank you very much. If I'm having fun I don't notice things thing's like resolution, jaggies etc. Anyone who says their enjoyment is ruined by noticing such things is a bloody idiot with more money than sense. Games should be FUN, end of, and FUN is something that the Wii has got bang on.

    I don't have a HD TV and I don't have any plans to buy one. Shit TV is shit TV no matter what resolution it's in. Who gives a flying fuck if you can see Pat Butcher's nose hair?

    Sod that. You lot stick to your super-duper, hi-def, fps-come-racing-come-footy-come-whatever-tedious-rainbows-the-tech-companies-have-you-chasing-this-week. Me, I'll pass. I have things to get done and better things to spend my money on.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Warning! Blatant fanboyism and sarcasm! Incoming!

    Oh, I'm with you all the way. I'm not the kind for photorealism anyway.

    I am planning to get a PS3, but the Wii will always be the primary machine, at least, until Wii HD comes out...

  17. Adam 45
    Megaphone

    shake to wake

    Well, I played Mario Galaxy extensivley when I stayed at a relatives house for a week. Got to admit it's probably the best, most inventive game I have ever played. And I'm a 360 owner.

    Did I care about the graphics? No. I was too busy being amazed at the enginuity.

    Will I buy a Wii? Nah, because all the other games bar Mario Kart suck.

  18. Jimmy Floyd
    Thumb Down

    HDMI

    HD or no HD, you won't see me putting HDMI anywhere near my setup (which currently includes a HDMI-capable Xbox 360).

    If I want resolution-disabling copy protection built into my hardware I'll buy a book with faint print.

  19. TeeCee Gold badge
    Thumb Down

    @Andrew Ducker

    "....having a Hard Drive."

    What? A bulky, power hungry, heat generating HDD instead of cheap, fast, small and cool flash cards?

    That'd be a really clever move now, wouldn't it? Before anyone trots out any bollocks about capacity, you can swap memory cards (and they're getting more capacious all the time for the lazy)......

    This one bit the dust when they shipped the FW update that allowed you to run download content direct from memory cards rather than having to tediously copy to / from internal memory.

  20. Bryce Prewitt
    FAIL

    @ TeeCee

    "Capacious"? Every post you write on this site really gets on my tits. Good God, man! *THINK* before committing your atrocities against the Queen's English to the internet for all to see.

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