Wii 2 Inbound
After a rush of leaks in the week prior, Nintendo officially confirmed the Wii successor yesterday and unsurprisingly the Internet is abuzz with rampant speculation. Who can blame them? New console unveilings are always exciting. Today, I’m going to go over some of the rumors floating around and inject my worthless opinion on top of that.
The first detailed reports about the upcoming Nintendo console mentioned the rather odd name, “Project Cafe”. Images were later found (since removed) on an official Nintendo website for developers sporting the same moniker. It seems this has been the codename of the system during development. It is currently unknown if it will sport the Wii branding or something wholly new as Nintendo tends to do. Though with the impressive sales and media attention the original Wii managed to pull in, it seems unlikely that they would abandon the brand.
It doesn't look like we'll be seeing a new Power Glove this time.Supposed leaks claim that the Wii 2 will feature six inch touchscreen on the controller and the ability to stream games to that screen from the console. The topic of streaming games isn’t clarified by any of the sources, but its thought that you may be able to play games on the potentially tablet-like controller without the need for a TV. This is a pretty wild rumor and if it were any other company I’d be inclined to refute it immediately…but this is Nintendo.
Other sources claim that the that the machine will have an extensive online component with a heavy focus on social interaction. HD capabilities are pretty much guaranteed, but the extent of its graphic horsepower has yet to be revealed. It has been noted that Nintendo may be trying to align itself more closely with the competition this time so that they can actually receive ports of popular games this coming generation. Most sources seem to agree that the system will be significantly more powerful than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, meaning this will be the first shot fired in the next-generation of home consoles.
Nintendo's comments seem to imply that we’ll be waiting until E3 to see anything. Maybe they will have pity on us and toss a few morsels our way in the weeks leading up to the big event. In the meantime, strap on that bib, you’re going to be salivating a while.