Original Story: Yesterday's rumor that Nintendo will
drop the price of the Wii in May sparked speculation that the Mario maker will follow that move by announcing a new console at E3 in June. According to a new report, that's precisely the case.
Game Informer claims to have confirmed with multiple sources the impending announcement of a successor to the Wii. The new system will be revealed at E3 in June and will be capable of high-definition resolutions, although just how it stacks up compared to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 hardware-wise is unknown; some sources indicated it would be more powerful, while others said less. [
Update: Kotaku claims it's heard it will be "more powerful than current-gen systems."] It's also unclear if it will be backwards compatible with the Wii and GameCube or if it will still carry the Wii name.
A source told GI, "Nintendo is doing this one right," also adding that the system is "not a gimmick like the Wii." With that comment in mind, it seems safe to assume that this isn't simply a Wii with a few more GameCubes
duct-taped on for additional horsepower, so to speak. What the new selling point of the system is we don't know, but Nintendo is reportedly already showing it to publishers to get them on board early.
Its release date is said to be "late 2012," which provides plenty of breathing room between it and the recently-launched 3DS.
E3 is scheduled to kick off on June 7. Nintendo (like Sony and Microsoft) always holds a press conference before the event begins, which is where the announcement would likely come. That means we've got less than two months of waiting before finding out just what Nintendo has up its sleeve.
Update: CVG has now chipped in with its own rumors -- it, too, reports that the new system will be more powerful than the 360 and PS3. Additionally, it says it will have an "all-new controller" featuring a built-in HD screen. Sounds reminiscent of the Dreamcast's VMU.
