16th of April, 2011
Gameinformer.com have received validation from several sources about a new Nintendo console which will be able to run games on HD quality. Its name, as of yet, is unknown and there is no information regarding the graphic quality of this console, it is possible that it will surpass or be below the graphic standards of the opposing consoles. Also, Nintendo are showcasing the console to a number of developers as preparation for its release sometime towards the end of 2012. This is a big step for a company, that until today have been developing all of the games for their consoles, and this step indeed shows the willingness to acquire good multi-platform games. An anonymous source said that the new console won’t be a gimmick like the Wii, but nothing other than the capability to show HD quality images is known.
It’s a while now that a rumor of an HD quality Wii has been circulating the web, and together with the fact that Wii sales have dropped and he second rumor that Nintendo intend to lower the price of the Wii on the 15h of May, it seems the time has come to announce an heir for the popular console. It’s nice to hear that Nintendo are trying to gain the support of 3rd party developers, contrary to how they handled of the Wii – so this announcement caught even the developers with their pants down. Seems that the official reveal will be announced in E3 of this year, so there is one more thing to look forward to.
Update:
First details in regards to the consoles hardware have cropped up on the French site 01net, which was also the first to inform us about Sony’s next portable, the NGP. The article quotes “a reliable source” according to which he has internal information about the technology that will operate Nintendo’s new console.
We’re talking about an IBM Power PC processor with three cores; ATI GPU of the R700 series with 4.1 shader version and at least 512 MB RAM. These specs are very similar to those of the XBox 360 but the newer GPU that will be present in the new console will surely give it an edge (the XBox 360 GPU uses a 3.0 shader version). The similarity means it will also be rather simple to transfer the XBox’s game library to the new console. An additional report by IGN claims that the console will run games at 1080p, meaning full HD, and will also provides support to Wii games and all of its accessories.
The new controller will probably have a touch screen similar to that of the iPad, but not as advanced, and will show images at Sub HD. Its size will not be above 6” and it will be one touch. We can also expect the usual button scheme: two shoulder buttons, two analog sticks, and more. The controller will also have a forwards camera.
According to a tweet by IGN news editor, Jim Reilly, first and third party games will be available at E3 of this year, though it ‘s not clear if they will be playable. Also, the console will be using discs – Nintendo is even considering using Blueray (the same discs used by the PS3).
This flood of news reports raises many questions in regards to the future competition that will be happening, and at the moment it seems there is an agreement about the details, although Nintendo neither confirms nor denies them. These “surprises” tickle our curiosity and we hope to hear more in this year’s E3, there’s much to wait for.
By TOMER_B
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