Nintendo announces new Wii for 2012
In a statement released alongside the company’s latest results today, Nintendo has confirmed that a new home console is indeed on the way, and will be released sometime in 2012. The statement was brief and contained no other details, but did state that the Wii successor will be playable at this year’s E3, and that more specifications will also be released at gaming’s premier event.
The confirmation comes alongside gloomy results for the Japanese gaming giant, with the company reporting a decline in full year profit for the second year in a row. Profit fell by more than 50 per cent, with Nintendo recording 171.1 billion yen ($2.09 billion) in the year ended March, 2011, compared to 356.8 billion yen in the previous year. Declining Wii sales was one significant factor in the results, with global sales recording 15.2 million units in the financial year gone compared to 20.1 million units a year earlier. DS sales also dipped, with 17.52 million units sold in the last year--a fall of roughly 10 million units from the year prior. Nintendo also missed its target of 4 million 3DS units sold, hitting only 3.61 million units by the end of March.
Rumours of a Wii successor have been gaining steam in the last month, with magazine Game Informer tipping a HD-enabled Wii 2 would be announced at or just before this year’s E3. Other sites have also emerged with leaked details, including speculation that the new Nintendo home console would feature controllers with a built-in 6.2-inch touch screen.
For more on this story, read on Gamespot.AU.