Wii Successor - 3, 5 or 8 Years Away News

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has revealed details about Nintendo's plans to succeed the Wii, but in a manner that doesn't entirely disclose too many specific details.

Speaking to VentureBeat, Iwata-san reveals an insight that suggests Nintendo is quite happy to continue distancing itself from the norm, suggesting the company could come to the market earlier than its rivals - or maybe after.  Both Microsoft and Sony have expressed their intention to ensure the current generation lasts longer then the traditional 4-5 year cycle, with come claims that we won't see a new format until 2012 at the earliest.

"As you know, a lot of people in this industry believe that the life cycle for consoles should be longer than five years," claimed Iwata-san.

"However, when it comes to the platform cycle, Nintendo has different opinions from the other companies. I think we have a different criteria about when to shift to a new platform."

"As long as they are comfortable with the current technology's ability to deliver meaningful surprises to the users, we don't need new hardware. However, when they start demanding something new, when they see the existing hardware can't provide what they need, then that is when we decide to launch the new hardware."

"As for timing, it may be three years from now, five years from now or eight years from now," Iwata-san concluded.

In the interview, Iwata-san moves on to suggest their next format could support HD, but appears to rule out any talk of a Wii HD model, by claiming:

"... as far as the Wii is concerned, we have not found a significant reason to make it HD-compatible at this time."