The ToyBox

Ricardo Bilton & Gloria Sin

Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

By Ricardo Bilton | May 9, 2011, 12:41pm PDT

Summary: With profits down 66%, Nintendo hopes that its much-anticipated follow-up to the Wii will reinvigorate gamer interest and profits.

With the Wii wheezing its dying breaths, Nintendo is finally nearing the announcement of the console’s successor.

On June 7 at 9 a.m. PST, Nintendo will hold a media briefing ahead of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. It was during this same event that the company announced the Wii in 2006, and it’s expected that Nintendo will make a similar console announcement this year as well.

A successor to the Wii could not come at a better time. WIth a 66% dip in profits due to lagging console sales, Nintendo is itching for a repeat of its massive success with the Wii. And the company hopes that its next console will be just that.

Nintendo won’t be the only company to hold a pre-E3 briefing. Both Sony and Microsoft have conferences planned for Monday, June 6. Like Nintendo, Microsoft may also drop details on its next console.

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Successor, Nintendo Co. Ltd., Nintendo Wii, Ricardo Bilton

Ricardo Bilton writes for ZDNet's The ToyBox. His work has appeared in The Japan Times, The New York Observer, and The International Business Times, among other publications.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

Goffee71 10th May 2011

Wii was fun, but suffered from owners buying too few games, the news that the Wii is getting a budget game line (http://t.co/SJJ8LgY) is more important for Nintendo's bottom line than a Wii 2 that will not be out until well into next year.

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My Prediction

Alansonit 9th May 2011

Unless this is a real gamechanger for Nintendo I reckon it will flop, the 3DS will not meet expectations and Nintendo will be in a REAL bad way within 18 months.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

Bates_ Updated - 9th May 2011

@Alansonit Um, have you been under a rock for the past 20 years?

NES- Had one true competitor in the Sega Master System (Atari systems at that time just couldn't compete) and it beat it.
SNES- It and the Genesis went head to head, both did extremely well.
N64- Blew up the scene battling PSX and Saturn. I wouldn't say it won but it came close to beating the PSX
Gamecube- Not a flop in the least. Having awesome Resident Evil games, on top of Nintendo's classic series, it fought and stayed alive.
Wii- Seriously, this console ruled the Next-Gen wars for how long? 'Nuff said.

So what makes you think that Project Cafe will flop? They have yet to have a failing console (oh and BTW I prefer Sony and Sega consoles over anything else).

I understand this is just your opinion, but history and facts are just not on your side on this one.

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probally because the one big thinG the the Wii had over others

Bill Pharaoh 9th May 2011

@Bates_
the whole motion controller thing, is now found in both PlaytStation, and no controller needed XBox360 with Kinect.

They better have mind controled action because there's no longer a need to set the other game consoles aside to get full body game control.

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One of several actually

LiquidLearner 9th May 2011

@Bill

It had the motion controller thing and a serious price advantage. Now it will have the motion control thing, the edge in terms of technical power and an all new controller based on traditional concepts.

Nintendo is constantly working on NEW forms of interaction while the other guys constantly play catch up.

Shoulder buttons? Nintendo. Analog? Nintendo. Original D-Pad? Nintendo. Rumble? Nintendo. Touch screen gaming? Nintendo. Motion controls? Nintendo. Are you getting the picture now?

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LiquidLearner, I understand where you're coming from

Bill Pharaoh 9th May 2011

@Bates_
but my argument (maybe I should have mentioned it) is that for those I know with the Wii, they also have either the XBox or PS3. The Wii brought something the others didin't have at the time, but now have in the way of having purchased Kinect, or the PS wands.

Is there a need now for them to get the Wii 2?
It doesn't matter what they made in the past, it's what the have to compete with now, and I for one will see what they have to offer above and beyond the other game consoles.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

Alansonit 9th May 2011

@Bates_ Totally with you on the history and facts - Nintendo have done some awesome things. However, for me Nintendo for me is converging on a point where uniqueness (i.e. first to have motion control) and a set of legacy game titles can only go so far.

Each manufacturer sells the console at a loss but reaps in the money with services and a strong lineup of games. For me Nintendo needs to start competing with the likes of Live and PSN. Without these services and a new set of games, I just can't see it making money in the long term.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

LarsDennert 9th May 2011

@Alansonit Yea they released a 640x480 game machine when the whole world was going HD. I'm surprised it sold at all.

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For years, it sold more than the PS and the XBox combined

wackoae Updated - 9th May 2011

@LarsDennert For almost 2 years, Wiis were hard to find. They sold faster than pancakes. The reason, they were FUN to play and Nitendo found a better market than hard-core gamers ... ADULTS.

PS and XBox have a lot of bells and whistles, but most of the games are nothing but cookie cutters (ie: same game, different background) and although with impressive HD imaging .... they are pretty much boring, highly predictable and repetitive games. Most game are designed for the gamer who has no life and can spend hours every day playing a game.

On the other hand, Wii games are simple, but fun to play with the family. Even little old grandma can enjoy many games and you don't have to play for days to "get to the fun part". They may not have the HD L&F ... but most people will prefer the retro look over the HD look if the game is fun to play.

Where the Wii lags behind is on availability of games. There are very few games for the Wii.

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You do know

LiquidLearner 9th May 2011

that currency exchange rates are actually the number one cause of the dip in profits. You also completely fail to mention that Nintendo made 2.5 billion in profits last year which, while down 66%, is more than the E&D division at MS and the gaming division at Sony. So even though they've dropped, they're still doing better than the competition.

When your baseline is sky high then it can look worse when you hit market saturation.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

dprahn 9th May 2011

"Both Sony and Microsoft have conferences planned for Monday, May 6." - Pretty sure you meant June 6?

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Ideas the key

guihombre 9th May 2011

Well the Wii has had an excellent run. Whether the next Nintendo product does as well depends on the ideas they put into it.

3DS is apparently a big success, selling faster than any of their previous handhelds at launch. Guess the glasses free 3d is a big hit with the portable gaming crowd.

Again it's the ideas that keep Nintendo ahead, guess we'll see what they do in the next generation.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

webmaster@... 9th May 2011

Nintendo also has something else going for it; an incredible catalog of characters they have Intellectual Property control over.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

LoverockDavidson 9th May 2011

One feature I'd like to see is playing just regular dvds.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

Eric12341 9th May 2011

@LoverockDavidson the regular Wii could already do this with a custom firmware.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

eak2000 9th May 2011

@LoverockDavidson Seconded. I'm a happy Wii owner, but... I wish I didn't need a stand-alone DVD player. Now, NetFlix on it is pretty sweet...

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

Pete "athynz" Athens 9th May 2011

@LoverockDavidson That would be cool with a stock model... although I gotta say streaming Netflix on the wii is pretty sweet.

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RE: Nintendo preps Wii successor for June 7th unveiling

drayphly 9th May 2011

If it wasn't for Nintendo the gaming industry would have crashed again. Nintendo has brought almost every major innovation to console gaming with the exception of online. Like it of hate it, they have also managed to stay highly profitable. They must be doing something right! Can't wait to see what the new product does.