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Pachter: Wii HD will provide 360/PS3-like graphics

June 29th, 2009 Posted in News, Wii, Written by Valay

Wii HD rumors aren’t anything new, especially considering the heavy speculation which popped up last year. But in spite of the fact that Nintendo supposedly ended the gossip only a few weeks ago, the rumors have reappeared and are back in full throttle. Wedbush-Morgan’s Michael Pachter, in his “Money for Nothing, How Ancillary Revenues Can Extend the Console Cycle” report, shared his beliefs that a new iteration of the Wii could be on the way – Wii Plus HD – and might even be in stores by the end of 2010.

“We expect Nintendo to sustain their competitive advantage by introducing a high definition version of the Wii, perhaps as early as the end of 2010, in order to convert its large installed base into true ‘next-generation’ households.”

But that’s not all. Controversially, Pachter went on to say that Wii Plus HD would enable developers to create games with graphics more equal to that of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As Pachter explains, Nintendo would receive support from publishers but the release of Wii Plus HD depends on numerous factors.

“In our view, if Nintendo can offer such a device by year-end 2010, it will be in a position to seriously damage Sony’s chances of a comeback this cycle. We would expect publishers to support such a move, given that the cost of porting an Xbox 360 game to the new Wii Plus HD format would likely be lower than the cost of building a ground up Wii game. Of course, the timing of such a launch will depend upon several factors, including the cost of production, the price points of its competitors’ consoles, and the willingness of publishers to support a launch.”

“We believe that each of these factors will shift in Nintendo’s favor eventually, and are targeting fall 2010 for a Wii Plus announcement.”

Related posts:

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  2. Pachter: Wii to receive price cut this year
  3. Pachter: There is not a third party “core” audience on Wii
  4. THQ PAL release dates
  5. Iwata explains why DSi released sooner than expected, doesn’t want consumers to think it’s a waste

  1. 22 Responses to “Pachter: Wii HD will provide 360/PS3-like graphics”

  2. By Desutroyah on Jun 29, 2009

    See, if they make a Wii HD, there’s many concerns about it. For one thing, will it be a brand new system? Like Wii was to GameCube? Or would it make the Wii HD the “DSi” of the consoles? Lastly, would it be backwards compatible with GameCube? I assume so because so many Wii games still have GCN controller option, but…

  3. By Caelum on Jun 29, 2009

    Ugh! When are people going to realize that “next-generation” doesn’t mean HD graphics! The Wii has HD controls as far as I’m concerned, and that’s good enough for me.

  4. By TheOnlySpero on Jun 29, 2009

    As long as it’s cheap and supports GameCube then I am down.

  5. By ZeroCool on Jun 29, 2009

    If the Wii2 HD is a new console. I hope We can all still play our old Virtual Console/WiiWare titles on it. & More memory. it would be great if the Wii2 HD can have at least 120GBHC of Memory storage.

  6. By Tracy on Jun 30, 2009

    I’ve always been a guy that values gameplay over graphics, but it would be nice to have better looking games than the ones currently on Wii. I have an HD TV now, and I think a lot of others do too now, so I think now is a good time to go HD.

  7. By Roger Martin on Jun 30, 2009

    Nintendo will not repeat or keep the crown with an wii HD and here’s why… First, I do not see any reason why any hospital, retirement home and or elderly person who bought the wii need to upgrade so there goes 40% of their sales there. For hardcore gamers, they might shell out money to play Mario “something” or metroid “something” but nintendo will have to make a fresh and good version of them first. And back to economy, well parents will be able to buy a cheaper ps3 or 360 by the time the wii would hit shelves with a much larger game catalog.

  8. By Tracy on Jun 30, 2009

    Roger, you’re neglecting to consider the third parties that will jump on the opportunity to develop on an HD Wii. If the processing power and graphics go up, it attracts hardcore graphics-sticklers from the 360/PS3 crowd, and they attract third party developers. As I recall, Capcom said they wouldn’t be releasing RE5 on Wii because the Wii simply couldn’t handle it. How many other games aren’t being made for Wii because of this?

  9. By Roger Martin on Jun 30, 2009

    Tracy, very very good point. So the next question would which type of processing does it follow, and who would loose by this? Meaning, does the wii follow the 360 or ps3 or develope a whole new engine and slow down the race even more? Anywho the wii was a great leap in innovation but my point is that an updated wii would really only appease the hardcore gamers and there for will not see the success as the original wii.

  10. By Oni2382 on Jun 30, 2009

    Caelum:

    There is no such thing as HD Controls…Nice try though…

    If they release a new Wii with updated graphics then Nintendo should give out vouchers to people who already own a Wii. And no graphics shouldn’t matter, but when the bulk of your library looks worse than a PS2 game there’s a HUGE problem…

  11. By Mikhal on Jun 30, 2009

    @Roger and Tracey.

    I think you both have the right line of thinking, but I highly doubt that Nintendo is going to go the route of a HD console as soon as 2010. The Wii is still murdering both systems in terms of sales. Motion plus just came out and there must be an insane number of games in development for the Wii right now. And you seriously think that Nintendo is really just going to abandon the casual market with a new expensive hd machine? I say no way, definetly not as soon as 2010.

  12. By JoshZTP2 on Jun 30, 2009

    It doesn’t matter anyway; I think the point we all would like to make is that… WE WANT NOOOO MORE BS FROM ANALYST’S IN GENERAL OR FROM THIS STUPID PACHTER GUY… AND THAT THIS WIIHD RUMORS ARE GETTING SERIOUSLY OLD & FAST… END OF DISCUSSION!!! :(

  13. By orakga on Jun 30, 2009

    If you think current PS3/360 owners would “migrate” to a Wii-clone system simply because it now finally has the same level of graphics as the PS3/360, then you completely misunderstand hardcore gamers.

    In order for that system to be attractive to that hardcore crowd, it would have to:

    1) Have native 1080p support for EVERY title (because the PS3 can only do it on a very limited basis, and the 360 is primarily 720p)
    2) Have cross-game VoIP like XBLA
    3) Get rid of friend-codes
    4) Have a pricepoint of $299 or lower right out of the gate
    5) have a 120GB or larger HDD

    #1 is possible, but the system would be fairly expensive. #2 is possbile, but #3 might not be (it’s a philosophical issue Miyamoto has with the whole concept of an open community). #4 also possible IF Nintendo is willing to subsidize the price by using the billions they made off of the Wii (i.e. they should be willing to lose $200-300 on each console during its first 12-18 months). #5 also possible but will, again, raise the pricepoint.

    I think Nintendo did an excellent job with the Wii by focusing on their greatest asset; their younger/cheaper consumer base. IMO, they should really just focus on capitalizing and solidifying that base instead of trying to poach the high-end gamers, because that is one field where they haven’t won in nearly two decades, and again IMO, won’t for at least another console cycle.

    p.s. People who buy every iteration of Mario are NOT hardcore gamers; they are hardcore Nintendo fans.

  14. By Roger Martin on Jun 30, 2009

    Orakga, lmao! 100% right! Nintendo is the bottom feeder that got one thing right. Appeal to the very old as well as the young. They simply can not overtake the hardcore gamer. I wish every game company the highest hope but the mass effect of another company trying to cut into the the hardcore gamer aspect without bringing original NEW ideas to the table need not apply. It’s hard enough now with the fanboys messing everything up but we all know that nintendo from day one has ripped off every gamer in the past that only the fair-weather gamer plays their games ie young old or dying.

  15. By Anne on Jul 1, 2009

    @ orakga

    1. Easily done, Technology is getting cheaper and smaller. This is not an issue for Nintendo, just look at xbox360, its capable of full HD and selling near the same price as the current Wii. If you actually think this is an issue (esp in 2010) then you truly are ignorant.

    The reason why Sony had trouble with it is because of Blu-ray, cell processor, BC ps2 capabilities (at first), etc. And the simple fact that Sony won’t be having any trouble soon enough anyway (since the PS3 was released some years ago, technology has improved since then).

    2 and 3) Since they are basically the same.
    Again, easily fixed via the new technology. Nintendo will have to man up, I’ll agree, so that friend’s codes are removed and personal option to lock the console is put in over it.

    4 and 5) Again, see my first point, it is basically the same thing.

    Nintendo’s greatest asset wasn’t ever the really young or the really old. Young, I’ll agree with, but pre-Wii Nintendo focused solely on the gamer, do you honestly see old people playing N64 and GC?

    And forget completely against the fact that it isn’t old people, but women of all ages that is the power behind the Wii. Again, showing your complete lack of understanding.

    Nintendo will continue to support the original Wii, to think they will stop support is moronic. And they will continue to support the blue ocean, but they know that if Sony and MS get into it, it will become a red ocean.

    Nintendo’s plan was never to stick to blue ocean, their mission was to make more gamers, to raise another generation of players rather then stick to the same 15-30 aged males that were weened onto games during the 90s.

    So saying that Nintendo shouldn’t market towards hardcore is moronic since they are making hardcore gamers. It isn’t luck that has them releasing a more family friendly (4 player) mario game, and it isn’t random that they are making another metroid game (see female audience).

    Nintendo is just spreading their wings to cover all bases, whether that means they will go HD? I have no doubt that Nintendo’s next console WILL be HD, it has to be, Wii games look horrible on my full HD TV…

    Will be only be HD? Of course not, adding HD to new consoles is natural, Nintendo will have something else as well.

  16. By Anne on Jul 1, 2009

    Just to add….

    LOL @ oh Nintendo should stick to old people because that was always their aim. You are a real idiot if you actually think Nintendo didn’t aim for the hardcore N64/GC and think they actually aimed for older audience before the Wii.

    And I’m sorry? But most professionals and/or critics buy both Mario and other good titles, so your comment about Mario games is revelent.

    Why would you make such a stupid comment? I play/buy mario and I also have played RTS, FPS or even MMORPGs (and no I don’t mean the casual rubbish that exists now days) hardcore in the past. Sure I never played or brought all the Marios (since I was always a PC kid when I was young), but I’d have no problem doing so.

    http://malstrom.50webs.com/disruptionchronicles.htm

    Read it since you seem to be having trouble with complex business issues.

  17. By orakga on Jul 1, 2009

    Hi Anne:

    First of all, thanks for calling me moronic. That was completely necessary.

    You do have some general arguments that could be considered fair and even true in some cases, but let me just point out a few areas where I do not believe your assertions are factually correct.

    1) “just look at xbox360, its capable of full HD and selling near the same price as the current Wii”

    I thought I’d made this one clear. The 360 runs almost entirely at 720p or lower. That is NOT equivalent to “full HD”. In fact it’s 50% HD in simple terms of pixel count. I specifically said Nintendo’s HD console would need to support 1080p as its native resolution, because only then would it surpass its “competition” in the graphics department. Plus, it’s $199 without the HDD nor WiFi. Come on, Anne… pay attention!

    2) “pre-Wii Nintendo focused solely on the gamer”

    I disagree. Just look at their lineup. They’re ALL kids-friendly. Their lineup and target audience is essentially like Pixar’s (i.e. they target EVERYBODY, which means EVERYTHING has to be kids-friendly). Yes, I’d say even Perfect Dark is “kids-friendly” (especially considering what was available on competing consoles in the same year).

    Don’t get me wrong; their games are indeed good, so gamers would still get those games at least to try them out (I know I did). But let’s be honest here… no sane “hardcore” gamer would chose a Nintendo system over the others if given only one choice for a console.

    Also, I NEVER once mentioned “old people” in my comment, so you’re just arguing against the mirror at this point.

    3) VoIP/Friend-codes

    You don’t really know WHY friend-codes were created in the first place, do you? /sigh

    4) “Sure I never played or brought all the Marios”

    Thank you for providing my point. What I said was “People who buy *EVERY* iteration of Mario are NOT hardcore gamers; they are hardcore Nintendo fans.” The point being that, Nintendo CANNOT count on the hardcore gamers to buy their HD system simply by releasing another Metroid or Mario (in “Full HD”).

    There has to be more to it than the “same game play, higher resolution” approach they’ve become so comfortable with.

    —

    Honestly, I don’t actually think our argument can ever be settled here, because my guess is that you consider yourself a hardcore gamer, while I can clearly tell that you’re not. How can I tell, you ask?

    “the same 15-30 aged males that were weened onto games during the 90s”

    Yes, that statement just reeks of dislike for the demographic that just happens to form the foundation of the so-called “hardcore gamer” segment. GOSH, THOSE LOSERS!!

    Anyway, I never actually disagreed with the main post, in which it states that Nintendo’s intention is to convert its CURRENT user base into HD-gamers. THAT, I completely agree with.

    However, my post was simply to say that the majority of PS3/360 users would not be getting that Wii HD system unless those conditions I stated were met first. Okay?

    —-

    And just to wrap this all up…

    “But most professionals and/or critics buy both Mario and other good titles, so your comment about Mario games is revelent.”

    That last word should have spelled: “IRrelevAnt”

    Not “relevEnt”.

    Yea, I brought back the oldschool (90’s) nitpicking trick on yo ass, bitch.

  18. By mastershredder on Jul 1, 2009

    Simply adding an HD output will NOT allow graphic levels on par with the Xbox and PS3. A whole new chipset would need to be involved. Which means that the system would cost more, or the same where as the original Wii would take a price cut.

    Production costs would hike up a bit. Even if Nintendo did go with a new hardware profile that could run HD content at a decent rate, the development teams are the ones whom would need to bring content that is actually HD content and not just a series of games that look a little better which have been scaled to fit a HD frame field (think Haze). The developers need to make money and a small client base of Wii HD owners are not going to be a priority. So if for some wild reason an HD iteration pops up we are looking at upscaled pictures, not a new slew of format for games.

    If you want to talk about fine detail, additional layers, effects and physics, etc. the Wii hardware is obviously limited in that realm as well (if you understand the hardware involved you will know this). Sure if it packed more punch you could make improvements with environments and atmosheres even on standard resolution. But you are not going to achieve what the 360 or PS3 do with lower-end, bargain-minded hardware components. It would still have to be based off the cube form factor to maintain compatibility after all.

    I don’t see Nintendo burning their already well established Wii audience which would not be able to take advantage of new content. It does not make sense, but perhaps only to some Nintendo-daydreamers. HD in a new future Nintendo console is more likely. Nintendo’s original stance on HD was pretty damn clear. So far I think they are doing just fine in SD.

  19. By Tracy on Jul 1, 2009

    I have no doubt that the next Nintendo system will be HD. It has been stated that the reason the Wii isn’t HD is because, at the time, not many people had HD TVs. This is true. I didn’t have an HD TV when I bought the Wii, and I wouldn’t have wanted to pay for HD that I wouldn’t use, but now I do have one. And I think many many people do too. At this point, and I know somebody from Nintendo said this, HD is not only practical, but necessary. Somebody said that casuals won’t pay for the expense of HD, but I really don’t think that’s an issue now. The price of technology rapidly decreases, and HD is much cheaper now.

    The question is whether or not HD will be the ONLY change to the Wii. A simply HD Wii would probably be a bad move, but I have a feeling the new system will advance the Wii in other ways as well.

  20. By wiiboy101 on Jul 28, 2009

    apparantly 40% of wii sales are old ladys homes etc SOMEONES READING INTERNET INFO A LITTLE TOO MUCH COUGH ….

    wii is far reaching into mainastream BUT LETS NOT BELIEVE INTERNET MYTHOLOGY HAY GUYS

    wii hd makes sence a wii and a wii+ just like DS and DSi in each case the lowewr tech version fazes out as the upgrade fazes in

    the fact the next system will be HD is of no concern to Nintendo its out put is HD WHO CARES its only HD as 720p along with 480i/p 576i/p will become a standard around the globe resolution it has nothing to do with function or graphics

    its just nintendo supporting the mainstream resolutions and nothing more

    the wii+ will be about its + points more power function storage and control a DSi like wii upgrade

    i think its a strong possibility but i think wii games with wii hd upgrades and wii hd only games will come much much faster than DSi only etc games

    im sure zelda will be two version a wii and wii HD or HD mode on the same disc

    i upgraded wii with backward compatabillity and a wii/x360 like chipset i.e both wii and pc unified shader code can run on it is GREAT BUSSINESS SENSE

    AS YOU CONTIMUE WITH Wii games and wii hd enhanced games but ALSO PORT FROM X360 AND ADD CORE GAMER MOTION CONTROLS presto

    ps2 ports wii only games wii hd only games pc ports and x360 ports

    A RICH LIBERY OF GAMES ALL DEVED-PUBLISHED CHEAPER THAN X360 /PS3

    PRESTO PROFITS FOR ALL who jump onboard

    Wii + will have wii games download games wii+ games pc ports and x360 ports

    its commonsense wii can continue as little brother and faze out

    simple when you think about it

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