Nintendo Confirms New Console

Well it's being released this year, that's a no-no for me then.

_{EDIT: So apparently it's not out this year, unless it comes out late '12 I won't be getting one.}

Time to wait and see what you guys report in June then. :3

so... any word on that clone for E3 yet, corbs? :3

Bad luck. I just got my Wii last year, although there are many great games I haven't played yet. But, I still have to get a 3DS, so I'll pass on this new console, at least for now.

Ah! So it is indeed true.

@Aviator It's out next year, we made a little mistake in the original post!

Will pass on this for now. Nintendo you really are trying to destroy my wallet this year. Last year was meh.. This year you are pulling out all the stops.

wow. Was not expecting this so soon. It'll be interesting to see Nintendo's leap into HD. Don't make it too expensive, Ninty. Interesting to see some people have already decided not to buy one despite knowing nothing about the price, launch games or indeed anything at all, LOL

Some good Wii releases until then, please.

Interesting - I wonder if the 'leaks' were intended, or if Nintendo's hand has been forced here...

Should be a good E3! I hope this means the last few big Wii games I'm looking forward to are still going to be released.

I think the leaks were a logical consequence of trying to gain more 3rd party support for the launch. But we'll see how much of the rumours is true.

So, it looks like Nintendo will definitely own this year's E3.

I just hope Skyward Sword will still be released for Wii.

It'll be interesting to see if this forces Sony's or MS' hands. I highly doubt they're releasing new hardware again so soon, but they do have another 2 months to prepare.

Sony's got the NGP to show off. Now as for Microsoft, who knows.

@Atomic 3DS Man - The investor information confirms Skyward Sword is still on for Wii

@James yeah not like Nintendo re-confirmed TP as gamecube-only for a dozen times before finally bringing it to the Wii I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they brought Skyward Sword to cafe - but I doubt Cafe will have motion controls so it'll be a different input mechanism. Might be worth it for the HD though.

Bit surprised to see them come out and announce this, but I guess they had no choice after all the rumours. Especially ones about it releasing this year, might have been quite damaging for them. Still, I'm sure they would have preferred to keep it a surprise until E3.

It does leave Microsoft in a poor position for E3 too, they're really going to have to pull out all the stops to keep people interested and hyping up more casual nonsense that most gamers don't care about won't suffice. (though I'm sure they learnt that after last year).

And so it begins...

I hope Corbs is hard at work brainstorming a new catchphrase for this new console.

Keep it at or below 300 Euro, Nintendo, I beg you. You don't want a PS3 fiasco, do you?

Agree with above.

More pre-console release excitement. Just got over my 3DS pre-release excitement ffs

well after 6 years of its life and 5 years in my household i need a new one but im still going to keep my normal wii

below 300 Euros? a home console that is more powerful than any on the market right now?

the cheapest, and they would be doing us a favour, is 350.I dunno how people have come to have such demands. next gen handhelds at 150.. next gen home consoles under 300... just because a certain company placed their console at $500 or 600 and they didn't offer anything new, and then had to lower their price to less than 50% to start selling after 4 years doesn't mean that every company does so. That is why 360 was doing better than them. They were more reasonable and were offering pretty much the same product if not better (they still do but it seems that they have given up). Do not compare apples and oranges my friend. We would all love these to be given for free. me too!

But we need to be rational and reasonable. Nintendo will always try to reach an affordable price for the innovation they offer. They will charge a bit extra for early adopters but nothing exorbitant. It is their philosophy, That is guaranteed!

But first, lets wait and see what is really there!

I don't want state-of-the-art hardware. The PS3 has proven that doesn't work, at least not the first few years after release.

Xbox 360 quality graphics, HD output and plenty of shader technology present is all I'm asking for. I think 300 would be a reasonable price for that giving that the 3DS offers most of it for 250, and it's a lot more expensive to compress technology in to a handheld. And I certainly wasn't one who expected a 3DS for 150, I expected it to be 250. The Xbox 360 is currently priced at 200-250 Euro btw.

(also, 300 euro = $440, just saying)

No way would I put out a console that wasn't even as powerful as the Playstation 3 knowing that just a year or so later Sony and Microsoft will likely put out something that blows it away in terms of graphical horsepower and third-party support will jump ship.

EVERYONE KEEP YOUR VOICES DOWN IN THE BIG UNVEILING!!! THE 3DS PRICE WENT UP BECAUSE OF ALL THE EXCITEMENT!
don't want the same thing happening to the next Nintendo console ._.

Fair point, Corbs, third party support is - and will always be - a significant problem for Nintendo. However, the difference in the end result will grow smaller and smaller - just look at previous generations. I mean really, how much better do PC games running on the latest hardware look than PS360 titles? I can barely tell the difference.

Nintendo's Cafe would be cheapest to develop for. I would pray they start an App store with easy/cheap to publish for both indie, small and big developers. It would have the uniqueness of a iPad-like controller.

If you guys are really hoping they're developing a 500 Euro state-of-the-art console, I guess we just have different opinions. I won't be jumping ship to the cafe in that case until it drops to a normal price point. (oh and just for clarification: when I said "360 quality graphics, I meant PS360 - some games look better on MS' console, some on Sony; I'm sure the PS3 is more powerful but they're about the same in price anyway now - Nintendo should be able to develop something the same strength for €300)

It is not about what you want, or the other guy, it is what is offered for the price asked, and the wii and DS has proven that. When i say next gen, i do not talk only about graphics, and hardware is important (i.e. DS had to have two screens, 3DS had to offer more powerful graphics and auto-stereoscopic 3D technology) All that cost more money + 30 to $50 extra for the launch and R&D expenses the first year or so.

As Corbs said, if nintendo followed what you want it would be doomed! Why should anyone buy Nintendo's new console if already PS3 with great titles is around and is in full steam right now for a similar price?

@ tealovertoma
Just how long will it be until Microsoft and Sony announce new systems as well? The last thing Nintendo want is to be left behind again, especially if this system really is designed to recapture the market they lost with the Wii.

The PS3 was a bit of a failure at launch but it wasn't the fault of the tech. There were literally no decent games for the system that weren't also available on the 360 and the massive price just made owning one completely pointless, unless you were a massive fanboy.

"Why should anyone buy Nintendo's new console if already PS3 with great titles is around and is in full steam right now for a similar price?"

You mean like how Nintendo released the Wii, for a great price, that offered practically the same hardware as the original Xbox?
Innovation, marketing. People like Nintendo as a brand. With clever strategy alone they can easily pull it off, and people will be just as turned off by the PS4 that sells for $600 and doesn't gather steam until it's 3rd or 4th year.

@Highwinter: I'm not blaming the tech - I'm blaming the price and the incredibly high development costs and long development cycle (that resulted, as you point out, in no decent games in the first year or so). I don't think Nintendo wants to recapture the "hardcore crowd", although I do believe the Cafe is an excellent opportunity to mix hardcore and casual in a delicious blend like never before

@26

Forget it. I'm guessing it's not going to be cheaper than 400€ here (400$in the US) if they're indeed trying to make it potent enough to run run games at full-HD and 60fps (meaning: moderately stronger than the PS360). If they want 3rd party support, they have to. The 3DS is rumored to have aggregated component cost of around 100$. There is a whole world between the 3DS and hardware capable enough to run modern games in full-HD resolution and at 60fps. Add the whole tablet-controller stuff, and you've got some more expensive components. Even if they would manage to keep the component costs as low as 250$, that'd translate to 350$ or more likely to 400$ at retail.

Factor in, that Nintendo - unlike Sony and MS - are hardly going to subsidize their hardware with profits from other product branches other than consoles and games (which they don't have).

Basically, Nintendo isn't going to throw around HD hardware for just 50 bucks more than they are asking for their recent handheld. This would be an outlandish expectation.

They are by no means developing a €500 console. I believe they will be able to offer something around 400. 350 if they want to be competitive and they play the same game as Sony does. That is losing money from hardware gaining from software.

I see you insist about the same strength and 300 and you fail to realize that going for the same strength and same price with a new product while others offer this for 5 years now is called suicide in business

EVERYONE KEEP YOUR VOICES DOWN IN THE BIG UNVEILING!!! THE 3DS PRICE WENT UP BECAUSE OF ALL THE EXCITEMENT!
don't want the same thing happening to the next Nintendo console ._.

haha, good idea @Arcanum. Let's all play it cool this time :3

bah.. sorry tealovertoma i do not have the energy to explain further.. believe what you must.

if they indeed have chosen this hardware that is being rumoured, what they are saying to the developers is we are going to keep you the same development costs with PS3 and 360, (same as they did with 3DS Vs PSP) and offer something better and innovative. If you have no idea about development business it is very difficult to understand that. They are constantly going with affordable and disruptive solutions. which is a very smart thing to do. Like a submarine in a blue ocean

@33 I expect Nintendo will do a price drop on the 3DS by the time Cafe hits the stores, and then it'll be €100 more. And I take it Sony and MS are now making profit off their €200-250 HD consoles? Precisely what Nintendo should be doing.

It's not necessarily that this is what I "think" will happen, it's just what I'm hoping for. Relatively low development costs. Innovation, but a little bit more focus on the hardcore crowd this time around.

With every €50 that they add to the console price they're significantly reducing the casual market of their new console. This would only happen if they wave goodbye to their Blue Ocean strategy, which would be unwise if you look at how successful it has been so far.

no they are not. you assume too much.

@tealovertoma
I think recapturing the hardcore audience is exactly what they're trying to do. But like you said, that doesn't mean they have to lose their new fans. They can keep releasing casual content, the machine is still rumoured to have motion controls and I'm sure they'll keep releasing games to suit them.

But these people bought very few games for the Wii, it had the poorest attach rate of any system, so appealing to the people who actually buy games is a must. I'm sure that's going to be their aim this time around.

@Jerryo
I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, I'm speaking completely hypothetically. Like I said, Nintendo need to appeal to the more gaming orientated audience. If they release a system that's merely on par with current technology, they run the risk of being over shadowed when Microsoft release the Xbox 720 - which can do everything this new system can do but also has holographic imagers, which shoot the graphics directly into your brain. (obviously not, but see the point?)

The system needs to be viable in the long term, they know that Sony and Microsoft are working on new systems, it would be a terrible business move to release a system that could to be completely overshadowed within a year.

@Highwinter: Well they did release a console that was already overshadowed when it launched, and it did way better than their previous attempts.

But I do see your points and I would like it if people actually gamed on the console they bought. Whether Nintendo agrees and thinks software sales are more important than hardware ones remains to be seen. I personally think the Wii only half succeeded at bringing gaming to a new audience, because of the low attach rate and low number of million sellers. In that respect, you could view the Wii as a failure. But financially it was most definitely not.

Still though, how many graphical improvements lie beyond the PS3? And how big do we want these development costs and cycles to be? I agree that Sony and Microsoft aren't likely to stray off their chosen path (hardware advancements) but there's only so far that you can take things.

From a personal perspective, I honestly don't care about graphics and would be more than happy to see Nintendo working a generation (or half a generation) behind everyone else. I'm excited to see some shader technology because it can result in new artstyles, but that's about it.

Well we've already seen MS and Sony attempt to bring in the casual crowd and both are doing quite well at it. Kinect is selling millions and I'd expect to see them carry a lot of that forward with their next system. People are already complaining that they've "become the next Nintendo".

The Wii did so well when it launched, despite technical limitations, because it had an entire market to itself. It missed out on big third party games but it had an audience nobody else had. That's no longer the case.

I guess my plan for getting a 3DS have been screwed

IMMA BUYING DIS

Highwinter that was towards tealovertoma there see? fixed it
I agree with what you say. he assumes too much.

the battle that Sony and MS are fighting right now is not to make profit but improve their Brand name. They want to at least come close to what nintendo sold so they do not appear to be "the fancy losers who got trampled all over the place by inferior hardware" and to be honest MS is more sincere and more down to earth. Otherwise they will not be able to successfully move on to the next gen. It's more about marketing for them right now and they are sort of "trapped" in that position. They have to stay for at least 2 years. Unless they dare to do the "unthinkable" and at a great loss they bring out their next gen. But even like so, nintendo following the strategy mentioned above in a business environment which is stagnant and money is short, and them bringing out a console that takes a lot more money to develop on is not going to be seen with a good eye. Same as PS3 did. In short they are trapped in their own game and nintendo dances around. It is risky dance, but so far it has worked very nicely for Ninty.

It is an exciting time to be alive.

Still though, this road of "better graphics" feels like a dead end to me. One that is nearing very, very quickly. I hope Nintendo found a solution to this with the Cafe.

Innovate or die.

@Jerryo: You've failed to grasp my point, I don't think Nintendo should be following Sony or Microsoft. I was just referring to how you can launch an affordable HD machine. They still need to innovate.

@JafriYakin

Buy a 3DS don't be silly don't wait almost two years to get your hands on some awesomness! 2 years is a LONG time!

Still though, this road of "better graphics" feels like a dead end to me.

But keeping "Gamecube graphics" for the next console would be a let down whatever innovative controls Nintendo gives us this time. The Wii was capable of better graphics than the Gamecube but many games didn't bother to utilise its graphical capabilities, it has to be said.

@Bass Oh totally, I'm excited about shader technology, can't wait to see some crazy new artstyles. But outside of the occasional jump in resolution that Nintendo should be able to make without ridiculous costs (and which Nintendo has already confirmed through interviews anyway), the game industry needs to realise its difference with the film industry: interaction, control. There are so many things the video game industry can offer that the pretty pictures in the cinema can't, and plenty of interesting things are happening in that area, and that's what the focus should be on IMO. Not graphical advancements.

I've been bashing Sony and MS a lot for the route they're taking, but fact is that Xbox Live has been revolutionary and perhaps the only thing that can compete with things like the App Store and Steam. I think Nintendo has a lot of lessons to learn there.

That image is not the console and not only that, it's crap.

@topic

WOOHOO!

• Smiles *

Also - Project Cafe suggests Nintendo are finally getting on the user profile/online service bandwagon. Not a bad thing at all. I strongly believe that if they release a console only slight more powerful than the current gen, introduce user profiles and an oline service they'll dominate the market once again.

SERIOUSLY
well, as long as it's confirmed, let's think of titles. Because of all this information that's been "leaked," let's call it the Liik. Plus, that's the perfect successor name to the Wii.

I do wonder how Nintendo will play this next console. Will it go after the same audience that brought the Wii such huge success or the audience that feels it may have been left behind with this generation? Something to think about (and probably discuss tomorrow!)

Well color me wrong. New system it is. Unfortunate. Sony and Microsoft will wait one year, then release better systems leaving this system the inferior of the 3 and third parties won't want to develop for it - again.

Fans get what they want I guess, or at least they do short term...

Not looking forward to having to buy ANOTHER system.

Not looking forward to having to buy ANOTHER system.

Just what NES fans said when the SNES came out. And the same what SNES fans said when the N64 came out. Also what GBA fans said when the DS came out.

Or perhaps not... in my experience, a new console is a joyous occasion. Even the Wii.

Fake?

Well shut my mouth and slap my grandma it is coming!
My Wii is already turning green with envy. Doesn't seem that long ago that I went out and bought the last console.
Nintendo you're killing my wallet.

Am I the only one who thinks this Project Cafe may not be a home console?

Does this look a bit suspicious to anyone else?

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2011/110425_4e.pdf

Dammit wallet! Why must you be so empty?! Oh well I know that somehow Ill be getting at launch.
@moosa: it better be, it wouldn't make sense for it to be another handheld right?

Looks like a super nintendo mashed with a wii, also I won't why they used project cafe for the codename? It sounds mobile.

Too bad. They better release it befor the next E3 (2012). Otherwise the hype are gonna cost Wii sales. And that with the holiday season approaching.

Cannot waaiiiiiit for E3!

@59: It looks like my Modem O.O

@Above. I would imagine is odd to release it before E3 next year. An early console? Hasn't happened in a while with Nintendo. Wait...I don't think at all O.O. But it could follow the same path as the handheld, which would be pretty sweet.
THIS holiday season I feel is way too soon though as it might devour their new 3DS, and I want them to really take their time to get good software and all the features down-pat.

This is awesome news!

@ Waveboy
Yeah just last month Reggie was saying the Wii hasn't reached it's limit yet.
Looks like it has. I guess they aren't able to offer anymore surprises on Wii. He's such a tease.

Now just a month and a bit left of stupid rumours.

I wonder if Nintendo will totally punch us in the face and not go HD
that would be funny

_{but I know that won't happen right right}

Holy crap. So, it's being announced like the 3DS?

Nintendo drinks your milkshake.

I'm hoping that codename 'cafe' is a hint towards a stronger online strategy

Again, something sounds fishy. Who begins a press release with, "To whom it may concern"? Where is the company logo? The first sentence is grammatically incorrect. And "Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided ... ?" If this is legit, it was written by a flunky on a iPhone on the train to work. Not saying there won't be a new console, but this is very suspicious.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2011/110425_4e.pdf

@Burning Spear It's linked to in the Nintendo earnings report and hosted on Nintendo.co.jp, so it's totally legit. They did the same with 3DS as well, in fact (see this link here).

As for the has/have confusion, as Nintendo is a company it's a singular noun, so Nintendo has decided is correct (you'll see the same used here!)

Wow, you got me Newt. But actually, the grammatical faux pas is, "which the company has sold 86.01 million units ... " My eyes may not be what they once were, but nothing gets past this editor.

So looking forward to E3 now!

i just wished the invented the time machine so i could travel to 2012 and buy it already!

You better play the crap out of that thing at E3, Corbie, for all of us.

With the Wii they targetted to new gamers, mostly casual and social ones. And for these to satisfy there is no need to outperform the PS3, no need at all to even replace the Wii. Do you need a PS3 to create Wii Party/Sports/Mario-like games? No.

Is that Nintendo is now aiming for a different type of users?

E3 can't come soon enough!

lol not surprised, but it's nice to have confirmation. :3

I made a mockup of what I want

(click for bigger version)

buttons would be bigger, sticks would be lower etc, obv, it's just a quick and dirty

the whole thing would probably be a bit smaller than an iPad, obviously, but the main point I'm making is that it would be a lower resolution screen that would allow for maps, item selection, etc (much like the DS' second screen)

The PS3 slim has been $300 for how long now? They can definitely release a more powerful machine for $300 by 2012. Something that can run most games at 1080p at 60fps is really as good as you can do anyway on todays HDTV's. Make it 3D ready, slap in a decent sized hard drive (even directly booting off of 32 GB SD cards would allow a decent file size limit for download titles - especially if they moved to flash memory carts for retail game storage like in the DS - no loading time, no need to put whole games on the hard drive like on PS360).

I'm just worried about controller costs. I hope they continue with motion control somewhat (and improve on it) and a traditional controller with a screen is cool but along with improved motion controllers is expensive. I guess Kinect, Move, and Wii Fit have shown people are willing to pay a lot for extra accessories, especially if you have decent game bundles.

That being said, it's surprising it's being announced now if it will be a holiday 2012 release, which is standard for home consoles. Maybe it'll be a spring release like the 3DS? That'd be nice, because you'd probably see fewer shortages.

CANNOT. WAIT.

@Token_Girl thank you! So glad someone agrees. My thoughts exactly. Apart from 3D support, like Iwata said this morning:
“It’s difficult to make 3-D images a key feature, because 3-D televisions haven’t obtained wide acceptance yet.”

i like that mock up it would be good if the pad was something like that wonder if anyone will leak an actual picture before june

I heard they are bumping up wiiware max size to 45mb. Can't wait!

My dream specs...

1. 5 times more powerful than the PS3 or X-Box 360 across the board.
2. Utilizes that screen on the controller to stream games, menus, Netflix, movies, and others.
3. Enhanced Blu-Ray disc media format so we can also play Blu-Rays/DVDs on it... AND watch them on the controller.
4. Vastly improved online network, interrfacing, and community. This CANNOT be overlooked.
5. Ability to transfer everything on Wii to the new platform for true 100% backwards compatability.
6. 1080p ready with an HDMI cable packed in.
7. Bunlded with not one but TWO stream controllers, two enhanced motion controllers, two wireless headsets, and a wireless keyboard
8. F-Zero/Zelda: Four Swords bundled in as Nintendo's HD/Improved Online/Streaming Controller tech demo(s).
9. Screens on the controllers capable of glasses-free 3D.
10. An awesome launch lineup.

@91: Getting a little ahead of ourselves, are we? Nah, I won't destroy your dream.
Anyways, all I want for Christmas is good games, HD support, and better graphics. I love my Wii and all, but my GC Resident Evil 4 looks almost better than most of the other Wii games I own, with a few exceptions.

... And I was right-- Announcement this E3, console released by end of 2012. I'll take my gold star now, I know Nintendo too well.

I'm not at all surprised that the rumors of a new console were true, and it's nice to know for sure. What's surprising is that it'll be playable at E3 in less then two months. Historically, Nintendo had a pretty set pattern as far as console reveals went. They'd first confirm a system was indeed coming, usually 6 months to a year before they show the console and/or the controller, which was sometimes shown on seperate occasions. Another 6 months to a year after that they'd finally offer playable games to the press. In this case it would seem they are cutting to the chase, so to speak. Anxious to see what software Nintendo has cooking for this new system but I also hope they don't forget that the Wii is still here in the meantime. I really don't want to see Zelda jump ship again.

I'm ok with this whole "screen on controller" as long as the controller isn't paper thin! The ipod touch 4g cramped my my hands so bad I had to sell it! that's why I got the 3ds (still a little cramp, but not bad) so let's hope it actually has handles on it!

Soo I wander what the exact release date is?

Don't you worry, I'll be all over this thing at E3.

oh my gad!

Why don't I just give nintendo all the money I make for the rest of my life? Seems like that's what I'm doing now any ways!

Don't get me wrong, I am excited... and I will probably end up buying it just like I did with the 3DS. Dang it.

(Side note: I hope Skyward Sword is out before this. I don't want a repeat of Twilight Princess!)

@92. 1080ike: Dreams are supposed to be big.

what do you guys think about the rumors saying nintendo is showing this to developers?

well I knew it was coming but had to be sure since people have been saying "a new wii will come out next year" since 2007

@59 That looks like the renders I have to make for school, it looks "real" but not real real lol

CAN'T WAIT. Hope we get before the world ends I want to go out with a bang.

I was predicting a new Nintendo system to be unveiled at E3. However, I am pleasantly surprised to see it playable. This will be another awesome E3.

Skyward Sword delays await!!!

Ho yeah!!!

We haven't seen anything new from Microsoft in awhile. .-. If they made a Xbox handheld then we'd see the three companies going at it again. I personally would like to see that happen this year.

So it will be at E3 and it will even be playable! Cool! I wonder what they will show!

%€|£.....€]€]*......cAń ÅnYbøđy hëAr mE? ^|>#~€}......Ïm fRom tHę fûtuRē!!! £%|#........BAAAM POOOM.
AH! Finally, I came from the from the future to tell you guys that this new čõNśoLe įš göÌNg Tõ bE

""\ Wii U ///""