The Nintendo Wii is one of the most popular consoles on the market. It introduced new motion controllers and concepts that are now being copied by its rivals, but in terms of technology it is nothing more than an upgraded GameCube, which is blatant when you compare it to the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

However, there has been a big amount of speculation on when the Wii will eventually get HD and be on par with its main rivals on the market. Analysts pegged the change around 2010-2011, but it now seems that the president of the company, Satoru Iwata, doesn't share that optimistic view.

He recently talked to VentureBeat about the HD upgrade of the Wii and revealed that: “ If we have an opportunity to make a new console, it will probably support HD because it is now common throughout the world. However, as far as the Wii is concerned, we have not found a significant reason to make it HD-compatible at this time.”

The executive went on to say that: “What is the significant meaning to the users? I don't think we should do it unless we find that reason. If we decide for other reasons to make new hardware, then HD is one of the things we would naturally add. As for timing, it may be three years from now, five years from now or eight years from now.”

It's worth taking into account the fact that analog broadcasts in Japan stop in 2011, meaning that an HD Wii might be possible around that time or very close after it. Nothing is for sure though, as Nintendo was always very independent when it came to its hardware releases.

Hopefully, we will see a Wii capable of much nicer graphics in the near future, in order for the console to sell even better around the world.