Gizmodo: wii hd

The Wii Is Gorgeous in High Definition

Mark Wilson — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:20:00 EDT

Super Mario Galaxy has incredible art design, but in standard def, the game can just be so visually disappointing compared to its potential hinted at onscreen. So what would it look like in 720P HD? Like this.

Pumped through a Wii PC emulator, these images are just upscaled versions of the SMG's existing graphics—in other words, you're not even seeing what advanced hardware/graphics engines can do with additional texture or lighting. But with a boost in sharpness alone (more pixels), the Wii looks simply splendid in HD. Edges are smooth and objects are crisp, which is really all you need with Nintendo's trademark artistic style. Yeah, I hope that analysts predicting a Wii HD aren't totally full of it.
See lots more shots in their native rez at: [NeoGAF via Kotaku]

Nintendo: We Could Be Stuck With the Wii for 8 More Years

matt buchanan — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:20:00 EDT

The Xbox 360 is less than halfway done, and the PS3 is a "ten year" console. But what about Wii? Satoru Iwata says new hardware could come "three years from now, five years from now or eight years from now."

Dear lord. Eight years with no HD and a processor that won't allow the new Super Mario Bros. on Wii to feature online play?

On the HD front, Iwata says, "If we have an opportunity to make a new console, it will probably support HD because it is now common throughout the world. However, as far as the Wii is concerned, we have not found a significant reason to make it HD-compatible at this time. What is the significant meaning to the users? I don't think we should do it unless we find that reason."

Ashcraft notes that Japan stops analog broadcasting in 2011, so he's suspecting we'll actually see a new Nintendo console sometime before—so more like three years. [VentureBeat via Kotaku]

Reggie Denies HD Wii in 2011 Rumor...Sort Of

Sean Fallon — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:45:00 EDT

You know the drill. First a rumor spreads across the internet. Then an executive in the company offers up some sort of vague denial of said rumor. Time passes. An announcement is made. Guess what? The rumors were true all along. Obviously, that doesn't happen in every situation, but I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case with the recent rumor that an HD version of the Wii will hit the market in 2011. In a recent interview with Venture Beat, Nintendo of America Pres Reggie Fils-Aime referred to the story as "speculation" and claimed that showing a prototype to the game development community is "not the way they would find out" about a project. While this may be true, rumors tend to stick around in the absence of a flat-out denial. [Venture Beat via Crunchgear]

True Next Gen Wii Coming in 2011

Elaine Chow — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:25:16 EDT

A true “next generation” Nintendo console, tentatively referred to as the Wii HD, will hit the market in 2011, according to the folks at What They Play. The site claimed that Nintendo is currently showing early presentations of Wii 2.0 to the game development community, and that Miyamoto's new device will be based on completely new hardware and will contain HD visuals, digitally distributed content and expanded storage.

The sources said the transition will be similar to “the shift from Game Boy to Game Boy Advance,” meaning key elements (such as Wiimote-game interaction) will stay the same while the core hardware gets taken to a new level. Nintendo's not commenting, but What They Play pointed out that R&D spending at the company has more than tripled—from $103 million to $370 million—since the Wii was released two years ago. Be still my fluttering heart. [What They Play]

Wii Does HD, But Not Really

Mark Wilson — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 13:25:45 EST

Dear Internet,

I know you are all excited over the HD Wii rumor. Have you not seen it yet? A "drunken" Nintendo employee revealed:

...the Wii GPU has full hi-def capabilities even if they are not exposed. The reason you don't see it is twofold, the fact that the console can't really push HD rez at reasonable frame rates and the fact that it would cost more.

Of course the Wii can produce HD images—just like I can crank any PC game to ridiculous 38472398479xinfinity resolution. The subsequent 4 fps gameplay is nothing short of astounding. If the Wii cannot actually provide HD gameplay, then it can't "do" HD. So let's all finally accept what we've known all along: we love the Wii, but it will never support HD. We pretended not to care at first, but we've found out we actually do.

Sincerely,
Mark Wilson

Nintendo Hides Wii's HD [theinquirer]