Or so says Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime, in an interview with Kotaku.
“Wii has many, many more units to sell,” Fils-Aime said, after revealing that lifetime Wii sales in the U.S. stand at 30 million. “After we’ve reached an installed base of 45 million here in the U.S., we can have a conversation about the next generation.”
When asked if Nintendo needs to release a Wii successor by next year, Fils-Aime offered a blunt, “No.” (NOTE: The question was “release” not “announce.” I’m betting Nintendo will soft announce something at E3 next year, although the newly released 3DS will rightfully retain the spotlight.”)
Either way, it’s hard to fault Nintendo’s patience. After all, the company says the Wii still sells 23 percent faster than the PlayStation 2 did during the same period. Infendo readers need no reminder that the PS2 eventually finished as the best-selling console of all time, selling a whopping 145 million units to date. (Via 1up)
Lance
I don’t think the Wii will be able to last much longer at all on it’s current tech sadly. The console is inferior in many ways to competitors, yet superior in some respects.
If Nintendo wants to keep up with it’s competitors, they NEED to improve their online abilities. Unify the DS and Wii into a single network. Much like Games for Windows – Live is rolled into Xbox Live as part of the Live Anywhere initiative. They have Windows Phone 7 tied to Live now! Then Sony has PSN for the PSP and PS3 which are again intertwined.
Out of the three major console developers, Nintendo is the only one that’s lagging (no pun intended) in the online space and has been somewhat disappointing with their online decisions. They also need to get more AAA exclusives from third parties as well. Sure they got Monster Hunter Tri now, but that isn’t much seeing as 360 as 3rd Party exclusives like Gears of War, limited exclusivity on CoD dlc, Fable. Sony also has their own strong lineup of AAA third party software like Uncharted (great game if you disagree you probably never played it), Resistance, Ratchet & Clank, and Infamous.
Nintendo’s best titles seems to be the first party and very, very few 3rd party. However, as long as Nintendo is able to churn out gaming gold like Mario Galaxy, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, DKCR, Metroid Other M, and soon Skyward Sword, I will still be a Nintendo fan boy.
garyaga
I dont think they will sell 15 million in the next year. Eventually yes. I agree with lance in some points. If Nintendo had a reasonable online service and a few more exclusives they dont need many. Nintendo games sell FOR…E…VER I think sales would already way past 45mil. But you cant take away what they have done so far with what they have already its impressive.
Richard
Donkey Kong and Epic Mickey will bring some more players aboard, but if Nintendo really wants to sell that many more Wiis, they gotta drop the price to $99. Make it a financial snap for 360 and PS3 owners who’d like to enjoy some classi franchises on the side.
urkan
Or Reggie might be bullshitting us (or not even in on the Japanese motherships grand scheme)
It’s rarely wise for a company reveal or even talk about the next generation while the current one is still selling well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osbourne_effect
bananaoomarang
The Wii is dying now, it has had it’s time and it was great. It’s lost it’s USP to superior (tech wise) alternatives, it’s underpowered and it’s online is a joke. And that’s coming from a Nintendo fan. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great console, the best of this generation, but it’s had it’s time.
Fabio
As I posted elsewhere, it will all come down to how well the Wii will do this holiday season in comparison to the other consoles. If Wii sales decline considerably, you bet they will announce Wii’s successor next year (and likely release it 2012).
If the Wii still sell strong numbers, they are likely to hold it off one more year.
Best!
Kale
Nintendo is simply trying to maximize their return on investment; with the Wii having been profitable since Day 1, Nintendo has all the time in the world and a really big pile of money in their favor. I can see them hinting as early as next year’s TGS, but probably not at E3 because they need the focus to be on the 3DS, especially with system’s launch missing this year’s holiday season. I’m sure that Nintendo is also going to wait long enough to get a better idea of how Move and Kinect are going to affect the market, and that will take the better part of a year to really get good data on. I’m betting on a Holiday 2012 release, but a Summer 2013 is not an impossibility either…
NekoKnight
Call me crazy, but I think that a holiday 2011 release is still possible. Remember, the GameBoy Advance and GameCube were released the same year. The reason being that the GBA and GCN could interact with eachother. The GBA came out in spring and the GCN came out in autumn. If the 3DS will be able to interact with the Wii 2 (I’ll just call it that for now), and the 3DS is coming out in the Spring, then it’s possible the Wii 2 will come out in time for the holiday season 2011. I can see it happening. The PS3 sells for around $300, and the money they’re losing on the console is getting lower and lower. Some say the PS3 will actually start making a profit by the end of March 2011. And since Nintendo believes in selling their consoles both cheap AND for a profit, I can definitely see HD in their near future.
Al
*goes to Gamstop to buy 15 million Wiis*
Parker Dickenson
Meanwhile, my Wii disc drive has crapped out.
EvilGeek
This is kinda funny. 15 million more wii’s? What? Are the people at nintendo going to push that little red button that makes everyones wii screw up so they have to buy more? I know, urban legend… but how WILL they do it?
XCWarrior
Everyone keeps talking abaout how it needs to drop to $99. First it has to drop to $149, then to $99. Even more reason its staying around for more than a year. So let’s stop talking abotu the next system on the podcast all the time, since its not going to happen.
Bryan M
The only real fact of the matter is that Reggie can say whatever he wants. If we assume he’s being honest, that doesn’t mean the Wii’s successor is not already well into the works. So Nintendo can still milk the Wii while it readies for the Wii 2 – or whatever it’s called. I am so curious about Nintendo’s next system – I hope they give the thing the power it deserves. And indeed, they need to get a grip on the online components; they’re currently borderline dreadful.
ac
come on now. do u really think reggie is going to spill the beans on their next console? this is totally an expected response. i think nintendo will sell another 15 mil, but its gonna take some years regardless when they release their next console. i don’t think they’re gonna do that whole debacle again where they announce their system a year in advance (3DS). i think they realize its wiser to announce out of nowhere, surprise everyone, and make it available shortly after the announcement. i think its still possible, 2011 holidays, but more likely announced at e3 2012, and released holidays 2012.
EdEN
Nintendo won’t announce a new console in 2011. 2011 is the year of the 3DS and all their resources are set to support the new portable. We’ll get some criptic “Wii 2” announcements by november 2011 and get our first glimpse in E3 2012, 6 years after the Wii got a widespread public demo.
Skotski
Remember folks: They’re not saying “15million in a year”, it’s most likely going to be panned out for the next 2 to 4 years. And it can sell 15 million within that time limit.
Even if “everyone has a Wii”, there are a good number who are willing to purchase the new colors – and there are also a good number re-purchasing Wiis (having sold it in the past) whenever awesome games are announced.
Will that make 15 million bought immediately? Psh no. But it is something to consider when you also consider how many already own or previously owned one.
gamecollector44
Well ~pushes glasses up~ the PS2 is also only $99. So that’d heavily contribute to the sales.