Wii 2

The 8 generation console for Nintendo is currently in development and is to be released "by 2011". Commonly called "Wii 2", "Wii HD", and "Super Wii", this next console is a massive undertaking for Nintendo.

In argument with the transitions between previous Nintendo consoles, this will truely be a successor to Wii, and is being called, by those who saw its presentation, "Wii HD," a good name as it will be the first HD Nintendo console.. There is no truth to whether this will be its real name, but the way the transition will go has been campared to that of as similar to "Game Boy to Game Boy Advance," in that familiar and key elements were left the same while the core hardware was made much more powerful.

Looks
Nintendo has suggested that most of their future consoles will take on a sleek appearance. Ashida, an artist who helped design Wii said "However, since we decided that a sleek design would be more suitable for Wii, a high-quality surface has been adopted, although the actual plastic is the same. I think this direction of pursuing sleeker designs will apply not only to Wii, but to all future Nintendo products." This design is found to be more appealing to a broad audience.

Financing
Although Nintendo is not saying exactly what they are spending on their next console, What They Play found that, "Based on figures from Nintendo’s annual financial reports, the company is currently spending more than ten times as much on research and development as it was ," and even thou that is not necessarily on Wii 2, it is a significant figure to consider.

Graphics
Seeing how Nintendo has used ATI cards before, this will probably be the case this time. However, unlike previous Nintendo consoles, this one will have HD compatibility, most likely 1080i.

Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned at E3 2006 that the successor to the Wii would include high-definition capabilities. He explained that the number of HDTVs in homes is "really not that high, yet. Of course I think five years down the road it would be pretty much a given that Nintendo would create an HD system, but right now the predominant television set in the world is a non-HD set."

Online Gaming
Nintendo is looking to improve its position in the online gaming arena. Shortly after the launch of Wii, Nintendo offered a survey to select members regarding the Nintendo WiFi Connection. The survey questioned how consumers felt about its Friend Code system and if there was any content that consumers would like to see on the service. Surely, Nintendo has plans to improve the quality of its online service.

Controller
Intel corporation has been speaking with Nintendo and its competitors regarding what chipset the next generation consoles may utilize. Intel's chief technology officer, Justin Rattner stated "We imagine some future generation of Nintendo's Wii won't have hand controllers, you just set up the cameras around the room and wave your hand like you're playing tennis."

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