Wii 2 in 2011?

There has been a lot of speculation on when the 8th generation of video game consoles will start. Many believe we are looking at a date beyond 2012. However, there are some solid facts that points to Nintendo kick starting the next generation as soon as 2011. Exited? You should be.

Nintendo is not planning on lowering the price of the Wii during 2010. While this could change in time for christmas, right now they are focusing on increasing the value by including more attractive games and peripherals (like the Wii Plus) in the current $200 price.

Even as Nintendo expects Wii sales to slow, there are 3 major titles that should keep Wii sales at a respectable level through 2010.

• Super Mario Galaxy 2 (May)
• Metroid: Other M (June) 
• The Legend of Zelda Wii 2 (TBA) 

2011 should see a Wii price cut to $149 or less for Nintendo to keep up with the PS3/Move and Xbox 360/Natal. Both Sony and Microsoft will probably price their respective hardware aggressively to move units.

Now, this is where things get interesting. With Move and Natal on the market, Nintendo will no longer be able to claim uniqueness with the their motion sensors. And hardware wise, the Wii is miles behind Sony's and Microsoft's offerings. This seemingly would inspire Nintendo to release the Wii 2 in time for christmas 2011. The alternative is a Wii 2 in late 2012. Can Nintendo afford to wait that long with a wastly inferior machine?

The answer is maybe. Nintendo dropped the price of the Gamecube to $99 a full 3 years before they released the Wii. Nintendo seem to be happy as long as they are making a profit on every machine sold.

Let's also have a look at some previous U.S. release dates for Nintendo's consoles.

• SNES - 1991
• N64 - 1996
• Gamecube - 2001
• Wii - 2006

Nintendo likes to stay on a 5 year schedule between new consoles. 2011 has Wii 2 written all over it.