Wii Successor Will Come When Game Developers Ask for It

The existence of a successor for the Nintendo Wii has been talked about for two years, with analysts of the videogame industry saying that the Japanese manufacturer needs to offer more power and better graphics to its customers. But it seems Nintendo is more interested in selling as many Wiis as possible now and less in upgrading its hardware.

Regie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo of America, told Kotaku that “When Mr. Miyamoto goes to Mr. Iwata and says, 'I have this great idea and I can't do it on the Wii,' that's when there will be a next generation console. What that includes we'll see. I think Mr. Miyamoto himself has said that he is very interested in a high-definition experience, but to be 120 percent crystal clear, HD by itself in our view is not enough to go for a new console past the Wii.”

Nintendo probably has the capacity to quickly create and put out a new console, which only offers High Definition graphics, but the company believes it needs more to convince those who have already picked up the Wii to get another one.

It's unlikely that the company will actually hit on something as big as simple motion tracking anytime soon, so it would make sense to deliver a Wii combining HD power with a more complex system that uses motion as the input method.

This comes after Fils-Aime also commented on the impending launches of Project Natal and the PlayStation Move, saying that his company would be embarrassed to be where Microsoft and Sony are right now. Nintendo's plans for the future will probably be determined at some point in early 2011, when the impact of the new motion tracking peripherals is actually felt on the market.