wii2: specs and features

wii2: specs and features



18 March 2011 10:47 GMT / By Libby Plummer
If the internet rumourmill is to be believed, we could be seeing the Nintendo Wii 2 as early as June 2011 at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles. While the Wii led the way in motion-controlled gaming it has been rather outshined lately by Sony's PlayStation Move and Microsoft's controller-free Xbox Kinect system. So, in that case, what would we like to see on the Nintendo Wii 2 to help it stand up to its rival consoles? Read on to find out.

Blu-ray

The idea of putting a Blu-ray drive into the PS3 was an absolute masterstroke by Sony. Not only did it help Blu-ray to defeat HD DVD in the high-def disc format war, it also set the PS3 apart from its gaming console rivals. Blu-ray may have been more of an early adoptor technology when it first appeared in the PS3, but with players now a hell of a lot cheaper, the inclusion of one on the Wii 2 could give it a much-needed boost. Whether Nintendo would hand this concession to their rival is another question

Improved processing

Out of the three main consoles (Xbox, PS3 and Wii), the Wii is the least powerful, having been largely marketed at families and casual gamers, rather than hardcore enthusiasts. One thing that any new console is almost sure to have is an improved graphics processor. According to the blogosphere, the Wii 2 is rumoured to be getting a quad-core processor which would up its game considerably, replacing the IBM Broadway 720MHz processor and ATI Hollywood GPU. To put that into perspective, a quad-core chipset could put the Wii 2 in the same league as the Xbox 360 and its tri-core processor

More gesture controls

When the Wii first came out, it didn't take us long to figure out that despite the enthusiastic jumping around in the adverts, it was entirely possible to have a game of tennis or ten-pin bowling on the Wii simply with a flick of the rest while sitting comfortably in a chair, rather than leaping around like a loon. We've already mentioned the Xbox Kinect and the fact that it offers a motion-based gaming experience without even needing a controller, relying instead on your own body movements. We'd like to see something similar on the Wii 2 so that games can be controlled using various gestures, so that you're not limited to just Wiimote play.

from - http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/39060/nintendo-wii-2-specs-features