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Development for the Wii 2 is definitely underway, but it might be quite a while before any details are spilled because Nintendo is worried that other companies might copy its ideas. In a conference with investors, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed, "We are of course studying and developing the next console to Wii... However, there is a big difference between studying a product and announcing what it is and when we will release it."

 

Iwata noted that, just like the Wii did, the next Nintendo platform will "positively surprise people." We can only hope he's talking about a glasses-free 3D home console, a system capable of using the successor to the Power Glove, or anything that uses Smell-O-Vision. We’re actually only half kidding.

 

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Above: If it takes Sony and Microsoft as long to copy Wii 2 as it did for them to clone motion control, what is there to worry about?

 

Iwata's scoff that Nintendo is "of course" working on a new console doesn’t necessarily confirm that the Wii is on the path to obsolescence much more quickly than the 360 or PS3. Neither Microsoft nor Sony has said anything about a successor to their respective systems, but we guarantee there are plans being made in secret underground bunkers filled with marketing analysts and engineers. And probably pie, to keep everyone cheerful.

 

Iwata went on to take a slight jab at Nintendo's competitors, noting, "I am afraid to say that the history of entertainment is also the history of imitation. A great idea will promptly be copied unless protected through patents," adding that the company will "disclose information on our products as late as possible."

 

We smell a sense of scorn there. Perhaps Nintendo realizes it didn't do enough with its Wii patents to prevent devices like the Kinect or the Move from stealing its thunder. Then again, it still has a four-year head start on Move and Kinect and is the market leader – if the competition is that sluggish, should you even care?

 

But while we’re on the subject of stealing ideas, Nintendo, could we make a couple suggestions of things Wii 2 could borrow from its current competitors? We’d like true HD video, an online system that doesn't restrict everyone as though it's a slave camp, and a built-in hard drive that has actual capacity. Whatever you want to do beyond that is fine by us.

 

Source - GamesRadar.com

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Glasses free 3D on home consoles isn't an option until television manufacturers can figure out how to sort out the viewing angle issues, and actually start making TVs capable of it. There's nothing Nintendo can do about it really. At the same time, they wouldn't base their console around something that only a few people would be able to take advantage of right away.

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Except the vitality sensor is a heartbeat sensor, it can't read your thoughts.

 

Didn't think i suggested it did.

 

I guess Nintendo will want to bring something new to the table, and Vitality seems reasonable. I cant think of anything elss that Nintendo could reproduce cost effectively.

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I guess I misinterpreted your post.

 

In all honesty though, I don't think the vitality sensor is going to be the main selling point of Nintendo's next console. It will only have the potential to work well with a very small percentage of the games released for the machine, and the majority of developers aren't going to understand it. Like with motion controls, they'll probably just end up releasing terrible rip offs of whatever Nintendo's releasing.

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I think david.dakota's right about the Vitality Sensor giving a clue about the Wii 2. In the GameCube era, we knew Nintendo were interested in gyroscopes, right? Therefore it was a safe bet that the Wii controller would be based around that kind of technology (ironically, actual gyroscopes weren't put in until MotionPlus). Even though I expected tilt control for the Wii, the actual motion controls we ended up with were more surprising than that - in fact, I didn't know that sort of motion sensing was possible.

 

With the Vitality Sensor, we know Nintendo is interested in reading how we feel, so I'd expect the Wii 2 to go a bit further than we perhaps think possible. Freaky, but I think that's what they're doing.

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Wasn't the Wii Remote originally going to be an extra controller for the GameCube until they realised that releasing a new controller for a console a few years down the line was an utterly stupid idea and doomed to failure?

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Wasn't the Wii Remote originally going to be an extra controller for the GameCube until they realised that releasing a new controller for a console a few years down the line was an utterly stupid idea and doomed to failure?

 

You know your history. Very good.

 

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I'm not sure exactly what Nintendo could do with the vitality sensor. There's a few good ideas, I'm sure. But, how does that work across different genres of games? Is it something that could work in Sports games, as well as Adventure games, or puzzle games? Hmm.

 

In truth, I don't even know where to begin to guess where they'll go next. As long as they know what they're doing, thats alright. :heh:

 

Will they stick with the Wiimote? I hope we see some kind of evolution from that. Maybe incorporate the vitality sensor alongside that, somehow. I just can't see it being the focal point of how we play our games.

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Will they stick with the Wiimote? I hope we see some kind of evolution from that. Maybe incorporate the vitality sensor alongside that, somehow. I just can't see it being the focal point of how we play our games.

 

It probably wouldn't literally use the Vitality Sensor as we know it now - it'd just read your palm or finger as you hold the controller normally.

 

As for whether they'll stick with the Wii Remote, hopefully if they did it'd have more buttons and sticks, and a gyroscope in each hand is a must for Zelda. It'd finally feel like you were holding the shield in one hand and the sword in the other. Plus, we'd be able to rotate the shield and have the Mirror Shield again.

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Perhaps Vitality does hint at the future Nintendo want to read how we're playing games and tailor the experience. Whether that be with a Vitality built into a new remote, or a camera watching us play - I think thats Nintendos next idea. Really connect with players. Then again, Kinect seems to promise to do this, so maybe Nintendo will avoid it.

 

Of course, it won't drop motion control and will revise the Wii Remote and attachments further.

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That's the thing though. At this point that sort of thing is almost guaranteed to be included as part of the experience. If the vitality sensor was the big thing with the system, they wouldn't have shown it as a Wii add on last year.

 

Yes, but there was talk of the Wii remote - or GC version of it - being shown behind closed doors at E3 a good couple of years before the release of Wii. I am sure Vitality will, somehow, be included in the next Wii.

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Agreed. Rubbish. One reason why Nintendo didn't opt for standard DVD is that they didn't want to pay royalties to the DVD Consortium - there is absolutely no way on earth they'll pay royalties to the Blu-ray association.

 

If they use disc - and i hope they don't - they'll be using a variation of their propriety GC/Wii optical disc.

 

As for a trade in? Who smoked what to come up with that?

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Yes, but there was talk of the Wii remote - or GC version of it - being shown behind closed doors at E3 a good couple of years before the release of Wii. I am sure Vitality will, somehow, be included in the next Wii.

 

The public still didn't know about it until TGS 05 though. I'm almost certain it will be part of the experience, I just don't think it will be the big change that Iwata says the company are keeping secret.

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