The Future of Nintendo…
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 1:14am by Jake
At one time or another we have all wondered what Nintendo’s next step in the industry will be. Whether it be unrevealed games, ideas, or possible hardware revisions it’s always exciting. Using all of my combined Nintendo knowledge and examining past patterns, I’ve constructed a small list of predictions that I believe the company will make. This list covers major games, new peripherals, hardware, etc… Here we go!
(Note: In case you skipped the paragraph above, the list below are complete speculations, predictions, and guesses. They could be completely wrong, but I do believe I’m not far off.)
E3 2008
-Kid Icarus Wii is “officially” announced, complete with a short gameplay video. It is a 3rd person adventure title that is a combo of Zelda dungeons, Mario platforming, and Metroid exploration.
-Disaster: Day of Crisis is given a release date for the US (January 2009) and is playable on the show floor.
-Wii Sports 2 is announced, complete with Balance Board support and a large variety of new sports. Online rankings/play is included.
-Wii Music revealed. Set for holiday 08 release.
-High quality 1st party Wiiware titles shown.
-A new IP is presented with a big push towards the “hardcore”.
-Animal Crossing Wii is finally shown with a huge online networking push. Wii pay-to-play is incorporated by allowing players to buy in-game items, events, etc online. Release date is set for November 2008 in Japan and Spring 2009 for US
-1080 Snowboarding is announced and shown. Developed for the Wii Balance Board. Holiday 2008 release.
-Punch-out!! is brought back and shown for the Wii. Very accurate boxing simulator.
-Possible firmware upgrades allowing flashdrive support to solve lack of HDD. This is Iwata’s solution to the storage issue.
-A new DS design is shown for the first time which retains the touch screen format. Changes include larger screens, extra buttons, increased graphical power, internal flash memory (524mb) with SD card support. Other features include “portable VC” which allows you to download GB, GBC, and GBA games to the DS. The new system keeps support for original DS games. A few tech demo’s are shown including a possible Metroid Dread presentation.
-Usual 3rd party shovelware with a few surprises here or there.
Tokyo game Show
-Once again Nintendo does not show, but 3rd parties continue to preview their holiday titles for Wii/DS
Holiday 2008-Wii Fit sells over 2.5 million units during Q4
-Animal Crossing is launched in Japan with 900,000 units in first week
-Wii sells out for most of the season
-DS sales begin to slow
GDC 2009
-Pikmin 3 for Wii is announced with a short teaser.
-AAA Third Party titles begin to emerge including a “true” Star Wars title for Wii
-Nintendo shows off first hands-on demo of DS 2 (Unknown name), and is planned for a holiday 2009 launch
April 2009-Animal Crossing Wii is released in the US. Does very well.
May 2009
-Punch-out Wii is released with a in a Balance Board bundle
E3 2009
-New Mario “Galaxy” is shown. This time built for the more “skilled” players with slightly improved visuals and tighter controls. Uses same physics engine as Galaxy. Shooting for a February 2010 release.
-Kid Icarus is playable and given a November 2009 release date. Looks good.
-Excite Bike returns (3D). Developed by Monster games. Online support.
-DS 2 is set for end of October 2009 with a few first and third party titles planned.
-A Zelda spin-off is shown. Back to 2D and very similar to Four Swords Adventures. To release on Wiiware.
-New Wario Ware for both Wii and DS 2 are shown
-Third parties present their big DS 2 titles.
-More shovelware.
Holiday 2009
-Kid Icarus is released with good reviews. Sells 1.6 million during Q4.
-DS 2 has a poor launch due to lack of solid software
-Zelda spin-off launches on Wiiware for 1500 Wii points. It’s decent.
-Wii sells well, but the press takes notice of slowing Wii sales.
February 2010
-Mario Galaxy 2 is delayed
-DS 2 sales increase
GDC 2010
-2D Mario platformer is shown for DS 2
-Playable Pikmin 3
-Great third party Wii and DS 2 games.
-Wii price-cut announced for Summer.
June 2010-Galaxy 2 released with fair reviews
-Wii drops to $200. Sales boost, but slowly return to normal.
E3 2010
-Star Fox is announced for the Wii. Goes back to solid flying gameplay, and supports online multiplayer/Co-op.
-Great DS 2 titles presented, including: Metroid Dread, Mario Kart, and Donkey Kong.
-More shovelware
-During Nintendo’s conference, Iwata and Co explain that a new “hardware” evolution is in deep development. Without warning, an extremely short video real is shown that has very early visual tech demos for this “hardware” evolution. Towards the end a new clip shows off Mario and Samus character models rendering in real-time on the new hardware. Looks fairly good, but nothing fancy.
-Fans begin building the hype train
August 2010
-Pikmin 3 launches with online co-op and battle mode. The best looking Wii game ever developed. Beautiful title. A Miyamoto masterpiece.
Tokyo Game Show 2010
-Nintendo doesn’t show up to the public, but presents plans for their new console to top developers behind closed doors.
Holiday 2010
-Overall World Wide Wii sales hit 50 million thanks to long lasting software: Wii fit, Brawl, and Animal Crossing.
-DS 2 sales begin to grow very rapidly
-Star Fox Wii launches with mediocre sales.
GDC 2011
-DS 2 software development explodes
-Third party titles continue to grow.
-Nintendo lacks true first part titles for Wii.
E3 2011
-Nintendo announces the Wii 2 (not actual name) which is more of an evolution than a brand new console. It retains the motion/IR remote technology, but remote tech is greatly increased. The main improvement over the Wii would be the processing power and visuals. Graphically the system looks to produce near 360 quality visuals, but no more, no less. Nintendo explains that the market has finally accepted HD into the home and plans to have the new console output at 1080p. VC/Wiiware games can be transferred over to Wii 2 without hassle. Wii games are still playable, but Gamecube support is dropped. Much larger online push. Nintendo keeps the casual market support, but opens up wider to “gamers”. (50 gig HDD)
-New Zelda trailer is shown for Wii 2. It tries to break free from the same rehashed story, but is ultimately the same. Goes back to a cel-shaded art style, but has a much more “darker” mood. Link looks a bit older. Game is built for the console. Shooting for Holiday release.
-EA, Ubisoft, and Capcom present their titles for the system.
-Huge DS 2 support
-GC games to be added to Wii 2 VC for download.
Holiday 2011
-Wii 2 launches in November 2011 for $350. Sells very well. Combats Microsoft’s new console while PS3 remains Sony’s “money machine”.
-DS 2 sales take pass DS lite/Phat sales.
Holiday 2012
-Zelda Wii 2 releases along with more titles.
E3 2050
-Reggie freezes himself in carbonite during the conference
2067
-Rare buys Nintendo.
2068
-Reggie comes out of carbonite freeze and saves the day…
The End
Where do you see Nintendo heading?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:33 am
Waiting 3 more years for HD graphics (and real digital surround sound) on the Wii would fill me with burning rage…
I’m making do with what the Wii has to offer right now (and loving it, frankly), but I don’t know that I can play at 480p on a 60″ TV for 3 more years.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:42 am
Funny Stuff! I really appreciate the attention that was given to Pikmin, I cannot stress enough how much I want Pikmin 3… it will be AWESOME for the Wii.
Also, yeah, what’s with the delay on Animal Crossing Wii? I mean, not that I’m in a huge hurry… but still, seems like I remember Animal Crossing being a prime example of Wii features like Connect 24, etc.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Woo! Save us Reggie!
May 6th, 2008 at 2:18 am
REGGINATOR SAVING THE WORLD.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:23 am
but how does Nintendo’s plans get refactored with the inevitable rise of SKYNET?!?!?!
May 6th, 2008 at 2:33 am
Nintendo’s next console will be more powerful than the PS3. There’s no way they’d let them selvestruly be set back more than a generation like that.
We also aren’t going to see a new DS, save the occasional visual redesign, until at least 2010…maybe 2009.
Star Fox also wouldn’t have mediocre sales. Most people actually enjoy the series, despite the irrational fanboy bitching about it.
They also won’t do a Mario Galaxy 2. It just won’t happen…they ALWAYS say they’re thinking about a second Mario game since Mario64, but it never happens. The main Mario series means too much to Nintendo at this point. I don’t think they’d ever come out with a main Mario game unless they were confident they could blow people’s minds with it.
Anyway, I only have four predictions myself:
-Smash Bros Adventure is released within the next 6 years…a single player/co-op Smash Bros game.
-Mario & Sonic platformer is released within the next 3 years. It will be considered the second greatest game ever (God Hand, of course, is the first). After the mind bogglingly huge sales of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, there’s no way Nintendo and Sega won’t do it now.
-Classic franchises, from Nintendo and third parties, get 2D updates via WiiWare. Capcom will probably give in and give us a Mega Man title…but it’ll feel like a throw away game. Nintendo will probably at least make a new 2D Zelda…maybe NSMB wiiWare or a 2D Metroid. IF IF IF Kid Icarus is real (probably isn’t), we might get a new 2D Kid Icarus, too.
-Capcom announces Okami II…because supposedly Wii sales of Okami have been actually pretty good. At least that seems to be what’s coming through the grape vine.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:36 am
To the bank over and over.
No really I’m not going to touch this with a long long pole. Things change and nintendo is about change but what if this whole thing was a set up to just lower the “hardcore” gamers expectation of nintendo? LOL Who knows yet after the Wii all I can do it figure out what they’ve just done.
What nintendo does has a lot to do with what they learn from the high voltage development and what ever super code that factor 5 produces.
Any new systems will be a direct result of how much nintendo has pushed the current system or either the fact that others want to make very high end games for a nintendo console. Then you will have the price factor of the tech. If they can make a Wii cpu run at 1000mhz then maybe they will do that since that would be the evolution of this chip unless they just have a multi CPU chip thats slightly faster yet just with more cores. Yet who knows the next batch of systems will depend on how much progress intel makes with their future tech.
Games wise nintendo is all over the map I have no idea what is coming next but they have lots more to release. They have to keep the hardcore, casuals, and online people happy now. I’m sure they will add more people on to this though.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:51 am
I feel sick! I just spent the last 45 mins writing a response, and my internet hicups for just long enough to kill the page. Brief summary:
-Wii and DS are here to stay for quite a while. New hardware is not needed to push sales, new software is.
-When Nintendo does eventually get around to showing off new hardware, do not simply expect a Wii 2 and a DS 2.
-Even if there was a DS 2, more buttons quite frankly goes against what the DS stands for. I would expect buttons to be taken away before being added.
-Stop thinking about technology. The idustry is in the midst of a huge upheaval thanks to Nintendo. From now on expect the industry to be driven not by the latest technology, but by people instead.
-Instead of a replacement for the Wii system, lookout for enhancements to the Wii playing experience. Case in point, the WiiFit balance board.
-Mario Galaxy 2 is not neccessary.
-Punch Out! would be awesome!
-Good guess with Animal Crossing 2. It is well suited for that sort of pay-to-play implementation.
-You underplay WiiWare too much. I expect we will see many unexpected things come to us through that channel.
-Speaking of channels, you seem to have forgotten about them as well.
-There is no need for a Wii Sports 2. Rather, look to other games to take the individual sports from Wii Sports, and develop them into fully fleshed out seperate games.
There was a ton more, but I have little time now before class for some oh so precious sleep.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:41 am
i expect a wii2. improved motion sensing, not much deviation in control design.
HD at 720p. 720p is HD standard, not 1080p, and is the most used resolution even today. 1080p is not yet the standard for HD.
plus 720p needs less power and is cheaper to work with. nintendos goal is always efficiency, so that will be enforced.
they will push to the visuals of xb360 at most, no more. maybe a tad less. we will see.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:52 am
all this explains why I crossed over to Microsoft’s Xbox360. Not enough hardcore games to keep me loyal. Maybe if they improve on hardcore more, my resons for buying a WII will increase significantly. I’ll buy the DS2, no doubt bout that though. I mean come on! 2 SCREENS! But I’ll buy the WII for Metroid and SSBB and some Mario games. (Come on sonic! Get with the program!!) Sony for me is out of the question. F^%$ing hell no. The 360 graphics could use a little push though, good point there though…and maybe juuuust alittle bump up in the tech. I mean, the WII is purely bout gaming. The PS series lets you do stuff you could have done on a computer (some things). And Microsoft’s Xx…uhhh…well, I’d guess…i dunno. Looks like they got a bit of alot of stuff (not everything just sprinkled some extras here and there, more than WII, less than PS). I’d say, looking at HALO and maybe CoD4, online play. Main reason for my puchase of the X360: Favorable price, favored selection of games. Reason for purchase of GC: I was a frickin NUB at that time. At the years of the Cube, the platforms already be playin online…sad. Looks like Nintendo will just die out like a ghost like some of the cartoons i used to watch…catdog and all.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:29 am
hilarious.
but i find it weird that you thnk all this is happening/might happen in the next several years. i can’t help but wonder if you guys can either a)see into the future b)guess really awesome-ly or c)have the deduction of L from DEATH NOTE and are using those powers for your own good.
reggi, freezing himself only to unfreeze himself 18 years later, i think not.
and besides, i think you’d have more of a problem if it were microsoft that bought nintendo
May 6th, 2008 at 8:06 am
rith, you support he DS, but not the Wii. both systems are actually very similar in concept, with the only difference being one is a handheld, and one is a console, so i’m not sure i get what you’re saying about your hardcore crap. give the wii a little more time to improve its library. devs are still to this day trying to figure out the advanced tech that is the wiimote. now nintendo has thrown them another curve ball and they have to get off their lazy ass and figure that out too. its going to take some time and xavier and i agree with almost everything you said. i second it. i do believe nintendo’s next console (i hate when people say wii2, and ds2), will be drastically different than the wii. people so easily forget that nintendo usually produced the most graphically powerful systems, until this generation. i believe the user interface will be drastically different and improved, up to fingertip accuracy. and look for nintendo to delve into the 3D space with their next system, with absolutely incredible visuals.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:10 am
when i said nintendo has thrown them another curve ball, i was referring to the balance board.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:37 am
There’s no way Nintendo is going to reveal the DS2 at GDC. Unless I’m very much mistaken, very little gets announced at GDC since it’s more for the developers themselves than for the gamers or the press. E3 or TGS would be much more appropriate venues for such an announcement.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:38 am
That was cool, I enjoyed your opinion, but if they were to make a Wii 2 they’d have to call it a “Wii Ni” Because 2 in Japanese is Ni. So cheers to the Wii Ni
May 6th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Downhill, that’s where I see Nintendo heading.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:37 am
WOW… either you were using some sweet weed or that is the best possible prediction i have ever read. Must of what you wrote is very possible. Very nicely done. I too think that Wii2 will be about the same or a little better than 360. Nintendo have never really been about cutting edge. Wii2 will be a solid running 1080p system. Very good job.. now we wait to see if it was the weed or just brilliance.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Your predictions are far more optimistic than mine, I hope you are correct.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Hey man!
I know Infendo 2.0 had become a Nintendo nerd’s paradise but isn’t this post just a Nintendo fan’s wetdream gone too far?
May 6th, 2008 at 11:35 am
@guch
Regginator:the mario and luigi chronicles
May 6th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
“shows off Mario and Samus character models rendering in real-time on the new hardware.”
hahahaha, nice one.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
@jadnice says…
“Nintendo have never really been about cutting edge”
You should probably look at their previous consoles and rethink that statement.
I don’t have a prediction, I just have a rant about current gaming in general.
**rant**
I predict that the term hardcore will only apply to future games and that current games that are labeled with this silly term, will at that time be deemed as casual games.
When this time comes, the newer games that are labeled as hardcore, will in fact be heavily pampered and simplified version of their predecessor. Developers will remove such things as intelligent dialogue, menus, and ability to make decisions. Self labeled hardcore gamers will bask in their own ignorance, as they play the latest hardcore game “PamperedShock,” a new Shock game that removes the ability for a user to move without someone holding their hand. PamperedShock will features a new “mommy button,” which can be clicked whenever the hardcore gamer gets scared, or if they just want a glass of chocolate milk. Every time a player dies in the game, it will automatically respawn their character with gold chains and Mountain Dew, while killing everything on that level…
Come to think of it, this has already happened. Today’s latest so-called hardcore games are jokes designed for kids by developers trying to think like kids.
**rant**
May 6th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Just a few words:
(Similar disclaimer: this is all speculation, of course.)
I don’t think we’ll see any inklings of the next generation DS (DS2 as you called it) until maybe 2009. The current system is doing so well, there’s really no reason to show off a new one yet (though you can bet they’ve been working on it since the DS lite released).
I do think, however, that Nintendo may reveal a Virtual Console solution for DS in order to play those ever-elusive GB, GBC, and maybe GBA titles. Perhaps an official flash cartridge of some sort, similar to some home-brew equipment?
Wii 2 probably won’t be shown at all until 2010. I just get that feeling. Probably won’t be released until 2011 or 2012. Its graphics will at least match the PS3 (that technology won’t be as expensive a few years from now, therefor allowing Nintendo’s console to be the affordable option), but it’ll be behind its competitors, Microsoft and Sony, in that department. I’ll be content, should this be the actual case.
I have a feeling Pikmin 3 will be revealed to a great extent at this year’s E3 (as in, playable and far-along) and released sometime next year. They’ve probably been working on it for a while now. Heck, it could be a big holiday title for this year, if we’re lucky.
Actually, scratch that. Animal Crossing Wii will probably be this year, leaving Pikmin 3 for Q1 or Q2 of next year.
Kid Icarus will be revealed this year, and Factor 5 will be the developer (anyone listening to IGN’s Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, especially this week’s, will basically be able to put 2 and 2 together from Matt’s obvious hints at that). It may even release this holiday season as one of Nintendo’s flagship titles.
I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the Zelda series on Wii. I feel we will see some glimpses of it either this E3 or at a Nintendo-hosted event sometime next year, and (hopefully) it will be a cel-shaded Zelda title if it doesn’t do something completely different with the series altogether, at least artistically. I’m looking forward to that more than anything.
As a side note, it’s important for people to remember that Twilight Princess, while a good game on Wii, is not technically a Wii game at all. The original plan was a GameCube release only. That’s why we’ll be seeing Link and the rest again this generation.
If (and this is a big “if”) there is a Wii Ware spinoff of Zelda, it will be based on a character we have not yet seen, but that will be extremely prominent (or at least extremely strange, kind of like Tingle) in the true Wii iteration of Zelda.
Sometime in the rest of the DS’s lifespan, Smash Bros. DS will be announced but will most likely not be developed by Sakurai. This isn’t me bitching about his work in Brawl. He always seems to be tired of the Smash series, so he’ll probably try to take his team and do something else, instead.
Also on the DS will be Metroid Dread, probably in 2010. As to whether or not they will opt for a 2D or 3D presentation is beyond me.
If we’re really lucky, Capcom will grant a 3rd party the right to make a Mega Man title that does not follow the recent RPG formula and will be a reinvention of the franchise, drawing from its Action/Platformer roots. It will not be Mega Man Legends 3. This is probably the piece of speculation that has the least amount of logic or evidence to support it, but I’m very hopeful.
As for Reggie kicking ass and taking names in the future? Yeah, that’ll totally happen.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
“I do think, however, that Nintendo may reveal a Virtual Console solution for DS”
I agree with this. The Wii VC was Nintendo’s most successful rip-off machine yet, I don’t see why they wouldn’t make a DS version.
“Its graphics will at least match the PS3 (that technology won’t be as expensive a few years from now, therefor allowing Nintendo’s console to be the affordable option)”
I’m not sure with this. Maybe now that Nintendo’s developed their motion-sensing technology, they can spend more time/money on the hardware. Also, remember that Nintendo has WAY WAY WAY more money now, and can therefore spend more money making hardware.
“I have a feeling Pikmin 3 will be revealed to a great extent at this year’s E3 (as in, playable and far-along)”
I hope so. And it better be good. Though, my cynicism (which I have a lot of) tells me another God-forsaken Animal Crossing. Please God I hope not.
“Actually, scratch that. Animal Crossing Wii will probably be this year, leaving Pikmin 3 for Q1 or Q2 of next year.”
DAMN IT!
“It may even release this holiday season as one of Nintendo’s flagship titles.”
Lies. You should know Nintendo better. :p They will delay.
“and (hopefully) it will be a cel-shaded Zelda title if it doesn’t do something completely different with the series altogether, at least artistically. I’m looking forward to that more than anything.”
NO NO NO NO! No more cel-shaded please! Twilight Princess (and beyond) was the way the Zelda Series meant to look. I like the Cel-shaded look. But I was hoping that it would only last one game. The whole “cutsie” look is NOT ZELDA. But I agree that they should completely change the series. Oh, and it should NOT have multiplayer, as Phantom hourglass proved how much that can make a game suck. Hell, any online multiplayer on the DS and Wii sucks. Except for maybe the Mario Kart games… But that’s pushing it.
“If (and this is a big “if”) there is a Wii Ware spinoff of Zelda, it will be based on a character we have not yet seen,”
It will be a party game like Link’s Crossbow training.
“Sometime in the rest of the DS’s lifespan, Smash Bros. DS will be announced”
I don’t think so. I think Nintendo will be satisfied with SSBB.
“Also on the DS will be Metroid Dread, probably in 2010. As to whether or not they will opt for a 2D or 3D presentation is beyond me.”
Could be, but I couldn’t tell you for sure.
“As for Reggie kicking ass and taking names in the future? Yeah, that’ll totally happen.”
It will and it shall.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
February 2010
-Mario Galaxy 2 is delayed
roflmao
May 8th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
“2068
-Reggie comes out of carbonite freeze and saves the day…”
Hahaha… sweet.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I think that was a mildly interesting list of things to come. My one problem with it is at the end. But I could see that as a possibility. Wouldn’t it be nice if nintendo did release a new zelda title on wii ware, hell make it a Four Swords entry or rerelease the one that was featured on the GBA version of ALTTP and sell it on wii. I’m sure many fans would appreciate it.