Is there something high-def cooking over at Nintendo?

Normally, I wouldn't buy into these kinds of rumors. But there is more proof than ever now that an HD version of the Wii may be releasing next year.

Yesterday, a story was posted on one of my favourite sites, GoNintendo, concerning a rumor that the Wii HD or Wii 2 would be released near the middle of next year (Q3), and that it would support 1080P games and movies through a Blu-ray drive. This all sounds a little too-good-to-be-true to those of us that know the ways of Nintendo, but it seems that lately their ways are changing. So let's analyze this rumor logically.


Nintendo has stated that their next-generation home console would most likely support high definition games. What better way to do this than Blu-ray, the current industry disc standard for high definition. Nintendo has stated that they aren't really working on a next generation console, but I wouldn't really consider an HD Wii all that "next-gen", would you? Nintendo probably wouldn't either, they would see it as more of a revision, similar to what they've been doing with the DS. Industry analyst Michael Pachter has stated time and time again that a Wii HD would be coming eventually, despite Nintendo denying the claims. So it's pretty safe to assume that somewhere at Nintendo, an HD version of the Wii is being worked on.

The rumor also stated that there would be a trade-in option for owners of the original Wii to upgrade to the Wii HD. Nintendo obviously knows that many hardcore gamers who own the Wii aren't pleased with the graphics, so they've come up with a solution for those people. Furthermore, according to this rumor, the announcement of the system would only come a few months before release, to create as much hype and demand as possible.

So when is it coming? I told you, Q3 2010. My proof? Well, so far we have no idea what Nintendo's lineup is going to be for Wii this coming spring. And even for the past few months, the software lineup for Wii has been relatively slim. Perhaps they're slowing down Wii production, and moving development of certain titles to the Wii HD? Why haven't we seen some of the older Nintendo franchises appear on the Wii? Because they're coming in HD. Why hasn't the rumored Netflix service come out for Wii? Because they're waiting for HD Why do you think they've been so hesitant to show off the new Zelda game? Because it's coming in HD! Do you see where I'm going with this? And after all, Nintendo did just spring a new DSi on us, which is completely out of character for them. Who's to stop them from doing something like this for the Wii?

And of course there are all of the leaks putting the Wii HD launch at sometime in 2010.

Granted, there are some good counter points to my arguments. Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, Sin and Punishment 2. All announced for the Wii. But I still think my argument is pretty compelling, don't you?