Today in Japan, Nintendo confirmed the upcoming release of the Wii's successor. The still-unnamed console will be revealed at this year's E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles in June.The new console will go on sale in 2012, said Nintendo in an official statement.
As of March, Nintendo has sold 86.01 million Wiis since 2006 when the console was launched. However, in 2010 the company sold only 15.1 million Wiis globally -- a 25% drop from 2009 when it sold 20.1 million units.
The news comes from the company's Japanese investor relations website, following months of speculation and supposed information leaks. The most recent of which, the "Screen Stream" controllers, would have players viewing a quarter of a 1080p display on their controller for an improved multiplayer experience. Other rumours include a price point of $400, support for 1080p and stereoscopic 3D, and graphics surpassing that of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Graphical capabilities have long been considered a weak point of the Wii, so this rumour comes as no surprise.
Speculation surrounding the new console has been scattershot at best. Some say it will be named the Stream. Some say it will have a triple-core PowerPC CPU. Some say it will natively output 1080p video. Some say its controllers will have their own screens, and will be able to emulate consoles. For all we know, it could be called the Stig (though I may be thinking of Top Gear in that case).
The company noted that a tough comparison to its December 2009 record U.S. sales were a primary reason for the year-on-year decline in revenues, as well as the appreciation of the yen and the price reduction of the Nintendo DS during the fiscal year.
Looking forward to the 2012 fiscal year, Nintendo noted that "the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake is unpredictable. Nintendo has not suffered any direct damage which will significantly affect our production".
