Wii Can No Longer Surprise

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently discussed the reasons why it’s the right tiem to start talking about the Wii's successor.

Up until now the big folks at the company continually denied a successor, expressing that a "new Wii" would only be considered when developers could no longer offer surprises - unique ways to play using Nintendo's hardware. Technology is also to blame - HD televisions, whether simply HD enabled or full on 1080p, are commonplace with even entry-level sets supporting high definition output.

Iwata admitted that the main reason for a new home console is that "it became difficult for developers to surprise customers with the current Wii. We will offer something new for home game systems."

The sixth home console from Nintendo is due in 2012, but not before April Iwata admitted.

The Nintendo president also admitted that until now the company has done far too much on its own, and will seek more support from others for the future - especially when it comes to marketing the Wii and 3DS.

I now regret that we didn't tie up with someone outside the company to market the Wii. If we had done that, the fate of the Wii might have been different.

The Wii still has some life in it, with Nintendo aiming to release at least one first or second party game from May. The Vitality Sensor peripheral is still under development, but is facing some issues with only a 70% compatibility rate with people in tests - Nintendo want this to be at least 99% before hitting the market.

More details on the new Nintendo system will be available at E3 in June, Iwata hopes for surprises during the event with press getting their mitts on the new tech before Nintendo talk specifics.

As for the details of exactly what it will be, we have decided that it is best to let people experience it for themselves at E3. So I won’t talk about specific details today, but it will offer a new way of playing games within the home.