Nintendo talks Wii HD

Some observers would have you believe that Wii HD is just around the corner and whilst a recent Nintendo investor call suggests this is certainly not the case, Nintendo is at long last turning its attentions to the hi-def future of the Wii.

We probably cannot swim against the tide,” Nintendo’s head of design Shigeru Miyamoto stated. The customers’ tastes will become more and more refined. Even today, many customers who have seen HD once say they cannot go back to SD. When the majority of people around us say it is OK, we are content with the situation.”

Further fuel was added by R&D manager Genyo Takeda: Since an increasing number of the TV sets at home around the world are becoming HD today, it will be natural for a machine to be able to generate graphics that people will be accustomed to see on HD televisions.

Since the ordinary TV programs are now shifting to HD, moving to HD appears to me a natural flow.”

Miyamoto did unsurprisingly have a note of scepticism about the need for HD. We have to ask ourselves if HD is really necessary to develop Wii Fit. Won’t HD be better for the games like Pikmin? The developers should choose the most appropriate graphical format depending on the software they make.”

However, those of you getting excited about a possible launch of Wii HD in the near future will no doubt be saddened to hear the words of NOA boss Reggie Fils-Aime, who this morning told GameTrailers that: Michael Pachter continues to be the only one that believes [Wii HD] is going to happen. I don’t know how forcefully we can say that there is no Wii HD.”

The conclusion? Wii HD is coming. But don’t hold your breath.