Nintendo Wii 2 Could Be Called Stream, Costs Between $350 and $400

The successor of the Nintendo Wii could be called Stream, at least according to a new batch of rumors about the next console, which also say that its cost could range between $350 or $400.

Nintendo's next home console has been intensely rumored these past couple of weeks, with all sorts of "inside sources," analysts or games industry representatives sharing their own views on the subject.

Now, IGN revealed a brand new batch of rumors, which detail quite a few unheard features of the device.

The biggest one is that the Wii 2 could be called Stream, possibly hinting to its ability to stream game content to the built-in display that will be a part of the console's new controllers.

What's more, the increased power of the console might also enable it to provide "virtualized consoles for each individual units," meaning that each controller, through their built-in display, could allow players to each go through a single game at their own pace.

A batch of specifications was also published by the website, which says that the Stream could be powered by a "revamped version of AMD's R700 GPU," which will be more powerful than the PlayStation 3's Nvidia-based graphics assembly.

The CPU of the new Wii is set to be a custom-built triple-core IBM PowerPC chipset, pretty much the same as the one in the Xbox 360, but overclocked to deliver enhanced graphics and a smoother frame rate at a full HD resolution.

With the two components combined, the Stream is capable of producing stereoscopic 3D, but it's said that Nintendo won't market the device with such a feature.

Manufacturing, just like with the Wii, will be handled by Taiwanese company Foxconn, which is expected to ship the first units around October.

Nintendo is expected to stockpile the devices, in order to accumulate a large quantity before officially releasing the new console onto the world, probably at the beginning of 2012.

In terms of size, the report claims that the new Wii could be as large as the original Xbox 360, but in terms of looks, Nintendo is rumored to make it appear as a modernized Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

As of yet, however, Nintendo still hasn't commented on all the huge rumors, so fans still need to wait until E3 for a possible reveal.