Unannounced Mystery Game
This theory is equally hard to prove or dismiss. Could it be that Shigeru Miyamoto, greatest of all game designers, has created an entirely new title? Something so new, so fun, so clearly brilliant, that Nintendo has willingly bet its entire fourth quarter on this mystery games’ success?
In my heart, this is the option I would most want to see play out. After all, Miyamoto hasn’t given us a new game (a real game, not some fitness/music/minigame thing) since the original Pikmin (and where is Pikmin 3, anyway?). The thought of a completely fresh experience from The Master has got to be enough to get any self-respecting gamer salivating.
If any company could keep such an event secret, it’s Nintendo. But… I really don’t think Nintendo (or any other publisher, for that matter) would be so bold as to rely solely on an unproven property during the most crucial money-making season of the year. Remember, Nintendo is all about exploiting its existing characters, not creating new ones. So, while I’ll continue to hope we do see a new Miyamoto game, I’m pretty sure that is not what Nintendo is holding for the Fall.
Wii HD
This is it. The last one. The big one. Rumored for years. Could this be Nintendo’s big holiday secret? Let’s think about this one carefully.
I mentioned earlier that a new Zelda game, on its own, wasn’t a big enough deal for Nintendo to move Mario and Metroid to the summer. But a new Zelda on a new system? Well, that would be something. A new Wii would almost certainly have a controller that is distinctly different in fundamental ways from the current Wii controller, while retaining the current controller’s functionality. That could help explain why, from a gameplay standpoint, the new Zelda is apparently so different from last few games in the series.
Consider this: a lot of noise is being made about Sony and Microsoft’s pending entry into the field of motion based gaming with Arc and Natal, respectively. Confident though they may be, Nintendo has got to react to this development. A new system, now, could be the preemptive strike Nintendo needs. In terms of motion control, Sony and Microsoft are only just catching up to where Nintendo was years ago. Were Nintendo to roll out a new system, with a new control interface, it could leave rival technologies in the dust. Again.
A new system would also be the perfect reason to clear out existing games in development. With Mario and Samus along for the ride, the current Wii would go out with a bang. While the glut of budget titles produced for the Wii would be unlikely to dry up any time soon, Nintendo’s internal teams could focus on creating games for the new system.
It’s a safe bet that the new Wii will be fully backward compatible, so any lingering current-gen Wii games will be playable on the new system. Perhaps there will also be some way for the current Wii to play versions of the newer system’s games — lower res graphics, reduced feature sets, et cetera. Sure, for a console, that idea sounds crazy. But scalable games have been the reality on PC for years. If anyone is going to completely redefine what it means to move from one console generation to another, it has got to be Nintendo.
Any or all of these possibilities may be true. To be fair, they may also be nothing but idle speculation. But what is clear is that Nintendo has something big in store for the end of the year, and they’re not ready to tell us what it is just yet. Will it be at E3? Or Tokyo Game Show? Who knows. But I, for one, can’t wait to find out. What do you think? Could one of these be Nintendo’s big surprise? Or can you think of other possibilities?
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No way will the Wii HD come this year – that's late 2011. DS2 is far more likely. You mention that the reason this is unlikely is because it's still selling – Has the Wii stopped or something?
If they release a new Wii and put the new Zelda on it when there hasn't even been a full fledged Wii-only Zelda game yet….well I'll pretty much go ape-shit on Nintendo. No, I don't think they're that stupid. The new DS seems somewhat likely, though I hope not because the current one is great as is. A new Zelda, period, seems much more likely. And it will use Wii motion plus for the controller in order to harness that “new motion control”.
im all up for a wiiHD. While the Wii is fun as is, it needs more. It defenitely needs better Anti Piracy firmware. It definitely needs better online capabilities; im thinking, take PSN's best features and XboxLive's best features and mesh them together for a Mostly Free experience. A built in Hard drive would be greatly appreciated. And all this needs to be at a decent price point and different sizes too. $200, $250 and $300 price points.
I dont care if there are better graphics or not, but i do care for higher resolution. Im sick and tired of playing Wii Games that look stunning but cannot be fully enjoyed because of all the Jaggies and Pixels. REsident Evil the Darkside Chronicles, Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Zelda: TP are all games that suffer from this beutiful design but poor Res situation. And if they are making this new Zelda to be launched with the WiiHD, then count me in for sure. Its gonna break my bank for sure but it would be too exciting to pass on! Heck, i might even sell my 360 to afford it if i have to. I wont sell my PS3 though.
I meant to say Super Smash Bros Brawl, not Melee. But it did however make me think, if it would also up convert the resolution of the Gamecube games, id be so happy!
hmmmm…. I don't think that Nintendo will be able to compete. New better technologies are coming out which results in new better games. I just can't see nintendo going down that road because lets face it, they SUCK at it. Maybe it's time for them to re-look at their gameplan, because super smash brothers can't keep them on top forever.
Innovation over horsepower bought Nintendo a few years grace with the Wii. There's something about the Wii… it's like, there's a certain something about it that I still absolutely love. And yet, I just can't abide playing games on the thing, especially with a PS3 and 360 sat next to it.
The DS Next needs to look a lot like the concept art in the article in order to compete with the iPhone and PSP. Right now it's aesthetically bankrupt.
Aesthetically bankrupt, yes. But the current DS it is still outselling everything in the market right now.
I think the DS should have been like this articles concept art from the beginning but Nintendo seems to be going with this new approach which is to stay behind graphically while pushes out new ideas. I think now that the new ideas are established, its time they play catch up in the graphics department. And to say they cant comepete? How So? The gamecube was a leap ahead of PS2 technology and if you remember correctly, the PS2 was praised for its hardware when it was released. It wasnt Gamecube's graphics that kept it in 3rd place, it was its library.
When the 360 and PS3 were being developed, its components werent available to the larget consumer market and so it was costly and hard to manufacture. With it being 3-4yrs since the release of the 360 and PS3, new and updated components have been released which made the older ones seen in the 360 and PS3 much more available and easier to afford. If Nintendo takes advantage of this, they could see themselves on top for another 5yrs. If they plan on keeping their current setup, they will soon be dethroned…I'd put my money on it. I have alwasy backed Nintendo and its Wii machine but now with 360 and PS3 percents rising rapidly and Wii slowly declining, it wont be long till the Power houses catch up to units sold. I think without a wii update, Sony's black box will dominate by late 2012. If they do update, i see Wii staying on top until 2015.
You know that's the problem with Nintendo so called Fans. More then any other group of fanboys. You think after almost 30 years of being a Nintendo fan. You know what their pattern is, and may always be. This generation more than any other before. They have push them selves. To provide even more content. 3 platformer Mario games in one generation. It's the NES all over again. Even with that it's not enough. You pretendo Nintendo fans ease up. The games will come when they come!
Out From The Side Of My Neck Bonus Thought 7: Yes Nintendo Loves Me Part 1 and 2
Some of you may need to watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf4zyPgqSJY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjoQgQCSrQc
wii HD dream on dude it aint happening wii is no were near tapped out and all the secret core games are for wii ds and maybe ds2 any future version of wii and games for it are far far away
its going to be new games both casual and core zelda is just one game theres most likley a good 2 to 3 coming second half 2010 into early 2011
wii-motion plus and pointer core games thats what coming with fine graphics
all the first half of year games are super gamecube games maybe some motion and pointing
but full on wm+ core games are to come like kid icaus etc these kinds of ideas for core action gameplay also the likes of pickmen etc
theres plenty to come Q3/4 2010 AND 2011
DSi horse power hasnt even been touched yet
cop recruit has insane ds graphics at 60 frames DSi is at least a DS 2.5 graphically and has its own DSi only bigger cart coming
theres more DSi games to come as wel as DS2 i think DSi and DS 2 will co-exist for a long wile
imagine 2 x 2.5 x the graphics of DS best loking games we havnt seen anything like that yet from dsi
hi the won keep up the good work like jesus said to his father on the cross forgive them lord they know not what they do
same applys here forgive them hardly cores superior nintendo fan they know not nothing about D'game
Backwards compatible games? That concept blew my mind. Though its late at night for me, making mindblowing quite as bit eaier
Great article, a new Zelda might convince me to add a Wii to my X box dominated life.
I think Nintendo is pretty safe right now considering the DS and Wii are both still selling like crazy! They may have to respond to Natal though because that will give them a run for their money. Maybe a Wii HD is in the works? But how will they compete with Natal? New controller interface? Natal isn't even going to have a control or remote! How do you top that?? I do love Nintendo though… The only systems I own are Wii, Gamecube, PS2, and PS3… and the old 3DO but that's waaaaay long ago
I hope you are right… New Zelda on a New Wii….
Nintendo have so much more market data, experience and creativity…
they where… (then they lost for a decade to ps and xbox) and are now and for the foreseeable future Kings of the gaming console market… and I'm no fanboy but I do know a quality company when I see it, sony and m$ just don't go anywhere but mainstream leaving new and creative ideas behind and inadvertently making games of the same genre basically generic, slightly improved version of each other.
I just admire that Nintendo seem to strive for excellence and quality in both hardware and software, nearly as much as they strive for healthy profits (as they should)