Call it Wii 2, Nintendo HD or Next-Gen Nintendo. No matter what the name, the rumors all point toward the same general conclusion: Nintendo is close to announcing a new console unlike any they've ever released.
Rumors have been swirling for well over a year that Nintendo is planning to release a new souped-up hardware-focused console that will attract third-party developers rather than turn them away. It would, at minimum, be capable of high definition graphics that take advantage of HD television sets becoming more common in homes with each passing day. It would, for the first time, be able to play the same types of processor-intensive third-party games Xbox 360 and PS3 can but the Wii cannot. Some even speculate it would be disc-free and all games would be available via download only.
The latest batch of rumors via Game Informer suggest that Nintendo is already sharing this new console with third-party developers in order to get an early jump on the 2012 holiday season. Unlike the Wii's launch in which developers were blindsided by the announcement and given little to prep games, they'd have well over a year to build games at whatever new specs Nintendo has come up with. Knowing Nintendo and the current gaming landscape, they've likely come up with something entirely unique; whether it be a new type of motion controller or something no one has even mentioned yet.
I'm personally all for a new Nintendo console that relies on modern horsepower and robust, completely reworked online capabilities rather than the more gimmick-driven Wii. Speaking of Wii, how many of you that own one have turned it on recently? There's little point in doing so with no big games on the horizon and plenty of "A" class titles to choose from on Xbox 360 and PS3.
Game Informer's sources claim the new Nintendo console should be announced either during E3 in June or possibly earlier. We're well on our way to June so if there's a cat in the bag, the time to set it free will be here before you know it.
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