Analyst: Nintendo May Revise Wii Hardware with More Storage, DVD Playback

With the current console generation just now settled in most homes, many in the industry are thinking about the current set of machines lasting up to 2012, or even being the last set we ever need.

In the meantime, Nintendo’s Wii might receive a facelift, says Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian as reported by EDGE Online.

Assuming the next console generation starts in 2012, Sebastian says Nintendo could use the next few years to “upgrade the Wii with faster processing power, DVD capability and/or greater storage.”

Sebastian is far from the first to call out the Wii’s common shortcomings compared to competing consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. He also recently called for the Nintendo DS to receive a refresh, a prediction echoed by other analysts.

[ShackNews]



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  • DarkWish

    Highly doubt it. Nintendo has expressed no interest in upgrading their technology. The focus on the fun factor and that’s what they’re good at. The high Wii and DS sales clearly indicate that, so there’s no reason for them to be the first to enter the next gen. It’s obviously going to be Microsoft that does so.

  • dylan

    the DS needs to go its been 5 years

  • http://wiinintendo.net noodle

    Ds is still great (If you have a flashcart).

    I don’t want a new Wii, that’ll be another $400. EB will scam everyone so you only get like $150 for your Wii.

  • aphexbr

    Won’t happen. Revising the hardware in any way would piss off hardcore gamers, who would see it as a cheap cash-in, and would confuse the casual market.

    We will see an announcement some time in the next 2-3 years about where the Wii is headed, whether it’ll be a “Wii 2″ with HD graphics and hard drive capability or another console with improved controls (e.g. all the new peripherals apart from the balance board installed by default).

  • Harry

    Why do they need to make another Wii. JUST LET OUT AN UPDATE WITH ALLOWS USB DRIVE COMPATIBALITY! THE GAMES AND CHANNELS ARE CODED TO YOUR WII ONLY It will be the same as an SD card.

  • xero

    guys, remember, the dude saying this in an analyst.
    in other words: “I have no inside knowledge whatsoever and since I’m being paid to make stuff up, i think Nintendo will update their console.”

    The way its written makes it look like its from a credible source (“…Nintendo’s Wii might receive a facelift…”) but this guy knows…well…nothing.

    interesting though, and if Nintendo were to update the Wii, I’m sure they would do something for those of us who already own the old model (such as a rather cheap update. I doubt they would just hand it out, though its not like the don’t have the money…)

  • Surgical Precision

    Is that a real Revolution beta or just some sticker you found & slapped on a usb dvd drive?…

    Anyway just throwing in my two cents here…

    Aside from portables Nintendo has stopped making major updates to their home consoles aside from color change’s or special promotions since the days of the SNES…

    Why?… Because they’ve never sold well for Nintendo and in the best case scenarios (Like for Sony) they have only served to make people want to deliberately wait to buy the more “Finished” product instead of what one could almost look at as a public beta release by comparison…

    The Playstation 2 update to PStwo Slimline is what finally convinced me to stop buying Sony’s consoles until it becomes obvious that they’re acutely done making the damn thing…

    Nintendo knows that all updating does is cost money & makes your user base loose trust in you…