Nintendo Wii HD in 2011, But We Don’t Really Need One Just Yet

There are reports today that the Nintendo might be releasing an HD version of their popular Wii gaming console by 2011. While HD is the next generation of gaming and video content, the Wii has been the best selling console in the last two years without HD capability. The news comes from Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix, Japan’s biggest gaming house. An HD Wii is inevitable but is 2011 too early? Sales of the Wii suggest that gamers are not looking for an HD version of the gaming console just yet. Nintendo, like most gaming companies, can go through the cycle of releasing new colors, add-ons and lowering prices to stay ahead in console sales.

If the HD version were to be released in 2011, I’d be all for it. One of the reasons for it is because many of the games on the Wii can’t be enjoyed in standard definition. Imagine playing Halo 3 in standard definition, or playing Madden 2010 on the Wii. What’s the point of buying the 2010 version on the Wii, just play any generic football game. The benefit of playing many of these games is to take advantage of the high definition capability, anything less would be pointless.

As much as Mr. Wada would like to think the Wii will be coming out in a HD version, Nintendo is the one that makes the final decision and for them to continue making money, they won’t be releasing an HD console anytime soon. They’re currently in the process of lowering the cost of their console to $199 in the next few weeks. Japan already has a Black version, which the rest of the world will be need to get their hands on, along with a few other colors, before Nintendo can release an HD version. They’ve done that with the DS, and it makes sense to do that with the Wii as well.

But there’s also the argument that without an HD version, the Wii will get boring, and that’s the last thing Nintendo wants. Ask anyone that owns a Wii, how often are they playing with it? When I bought the Wii, I played with it the first few weeks, then it just sat their in my room collecting dust. I got bored playing the same games and the new games I wanted to play, were available in HD on my Playstation 3. After a few months of the Wii just sitting there, I decided to sell it and get the most out of it (I sold it for the same amount I bought the console for, not bad huh?). The Wii will eventually need an HD version but for many the current version will do just fine. For me, I’ll wait till an HD version is released before I consider buying the Wii once again.

Are you content with the Wii the way it is, or do you think the Wii needs an HD version as soon as possible? If Nintendo releases new colors for the Wii, which color would you like to see?