Nintendo 3DS Paves the Way for a Wii 2, Analyst Says

Nintendo, who is preparing to launch its new 3DS handheld console, may also be getting ready to roll out a brand new home console, the successor to the current Wii, next year, according to a games analyst.

The Japanese company is set to really shake up the portable gaming market with the upcoming release of the Nintendo 3DS device, the first to deliver glasses-free 3D technology to the masses.

But that's not all, as Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian says that Nintendo is getting ready, through the launch of the 3DS, to debut a brand new home console, a Wii 2.

"We expect a strong 2011 launch for Nintendo's 3DS, which offers game-play and video playback differentiated from existing portable devices," he said.

"We believe that initial popularity of 3DS will offset recent steep declines in DS sales, and could also set the stage for a debut of a new Wii in 2012."

Nintendo, as of yet, is ruling out the possibility of a new Wii, with Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of its North American division, saying that many more millions of units need to be sold for a new console to appear.

“As we sit here today we're saying the Wii has many, many more units to sell,” Fils-Aime said.

He added, “After we've reached an installed base of 45 million here in the U.S., we can have a conversation about the next generation.”

Until then, however, Nintendo is preparing to launch the 3DS handheld all over the world, a game changer, as it is calling it, because of its glasses-free 3D technology and its powerful hardware.

Already a lot of game companies have jumped on board, confirming that they'll be bringing their most important franchises to the portable device.

The Nintendo 3DS is set to be launched in Japan on February 26, in Europe on March 25, and in North America on March 27.