Reggie Fils-Aime denies Wii HD rumor

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime sat down with VentureBeat on the heels of last week's DSi announcement, and while he didn't drop any major bombshells, he did put the kibosh on those Wii HD rumors, saying that they were "pure rumor and speculation" and that Nintendo wouldn't show off upcoming models to devs as the rumors claimed. Reggie also downplayed the talk that Nintendo is going head to head against Apple, saying that Ninty's always "viewed ourselves as competing in a larger entertainment space." That's the end of that for now, we suppose -- but Reggie didn't close the door on either rumor entirely, and his closing comment that Nintendo's good fortunes "makes us the most paranoid people in the world" certainly keeps possibilities open. Hit the read link for the full interview.

[Dias @ Oct 7th 2008 11:10AM]

Check your mailbox for October 14 Invitation.

[Lowest Ranked @ Oct 7th 2008 11:59AM]

The presidential election is November 4th.



Oh, thats not Obama?

[Flashpoint @ Oct 7th 2008 12:21PM]

AFTER ALL, Wii already can run the most technologicaly advanced NES games of the latter 1980's.

[CT A @ Oct 7th 2008 1:44PM]

I wonder who wold win,

Nintendo Fanboys or Apple Fanboys?

[GON @ Oct 7th 2008 3:22PM]

@ lowestranked
Hey for once your name fits you.

[Lowest Ranked @ Oct 7th 2008 7:11PM]

All the new readers are having trouble adjusting to my dry sense of humor.

[Juxtah @ Oct 7th 2008 11:10AM]

Did they say the DSi was pure speculation and rumour?

[Juxtah @ Oct 7th 2008 11:14AM]

Misspell, meant to say didn't Nintendo also say the DSi was speculation and rumour?

[tom @ Oct 7th 2008 11:24AM]

Looks like somebody is lying in the face again.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

[John H. @ Oct 7th 2008 11:10AM]

He looks kinda, mental...

[nighttime @ Oct 7th 2008 11:15AM]

every photo I've seen of Reggie, makes me think he's stuck in 1993.

[From My Cube @ Oct 7th 2008 11:25AM]

looks like a cros of Will smith from fresh prince and AC slater

[wud_e @ Oct 7th 2008 11:30AM]

LOL Yeah especially with that Box haircut he has. :p

[farfisa @ Oct 7th 2008 12:21PM]

Well maybe YOU're just stuck in 2008!

[rooshma @ Oct 7th 2008 6:44PM]

Though I don't care much what he dresses like, I wish he would die... twice

[ac14 @ Oct 7th 2008 8:00PM]

well, thats the ds prototype he is holding in his hand so its pretty old.

[dark star @ Oct 7th 2008 11:30AM]

sony, ms, can u do us a favor and create a wii controller?? i dont see y we have to wait for wii hd, when the ps3 and xbox360 is pretty powerful as they are

[Quix @ Oct 7th 2008 12:27PM]

For Xbox, it's only a matter of time. Microsoft can't resist the urge to follow the trails others have blazed.

[Ozzman_79 @ Oct 7th 2008 11:32AM]

I hope no one is really actually surprised he's denying it. Like the DSi, and everything else before it, and like every other company spokesman there's ever been, they'll deny it up until the point they make an "official announcement." Nothing new here

[blevay @ Oct 7th 2008 11:35AM]

The next time i have to read "Ninty's" i'm going to stop coming here... Come on guys, just type out the whole damn name.

[Godfail @ Oct 7th 2008 12:12PM]

Yeah, the word "Ninty" is incredibly annoying to read as I picture a 13 year old screaming "PWNED" every time I see it.

[Sam @ Oct 7th 2008 11:40AM]

Reggie also downplayed the talk that Nintendo is going head to head against Apple, saying that Ninty's always "viewed ourselves as competing in a larger entertainment space."

Um, isn't that EXACTLY the space Apple is claiming to compete in? Jist asking.

[Bones3D @ Oct 7th 2008 12:16PM]

This could also be interpreted as a jab at Apple, indirectly suggesting that Apple is not enough of a threat to be acknowledged as a competitor in Nintendo's target market.

[robjennings @ Oct 7th 2008 12:24PM]

The proper interpretation and the intent of Reggie's comment was to imply that Nintendo has always been competing with Apple, just not necessarily in a direct fashion, but in the sense that all companies in the larger entertainment market, which includes games, movies, music and more, compete for the disposable income and leisure time of all consumers.

[Yipcanjo @ Oct 7th 2008 11:50AM]

Andre the Giant love child?

[Abbey @ Oct 7th 2008 11:55AM]

Regardless of the outcome, Nintendo is a day late and a dollar short when it comes to next-gen.

[Tarnation @ Oct 7th 2008 12:24PM]

But, they are still kickin' ass.

[Ozzman_79 @ Oct 7th 2008 2:02PM]

If being "a day late and a dollar short" to the next-gen race lets me outsell my closest competitor by more then a 2:1 margain, heck can I be 3 days late and $1.73 short? I'd love me some of that stack of cash. Next-Gen be damned.

[BJ is Gooder @ Oct 7th 2008 11:55AM]

His name is Robert Paulson.

[Dead_Rebel @ Oct 7th 2008 11:58AM]

He looks NOTHING like Meatloaf.

[bulgingbritches @ Oct 7th 2008 12:22PM]

"makes us the most paranoid people in the world"

I would be too if I was selling snake oil......

[Quix @ Oct 7th 2008 12:37PM]

I love Nintendo, but I have to say the iPod Touch/iPhone may have a MAJOR impact on mobile gaming. My daughter has a DS, but I'll probably sell it and get her an iPod Touch for Christmas. Why? Because I can download lots of cool software for free or close to it (both educational and entertainment), whereas every game I buy her for the DS costs me $30. Not to mention you can only have one game onboard at a time with the DS, but a whole library with the iPod. Seems like a no-brainer to drop her DS and iPod Nano and get an iPod Touch.

Looking forward to Rolando, Astro Ranch, and what's sure to be a wide array of amazing games for iPod Touch in the coming year. Now, where's the legitimate equivalent of Elite Beat Agents for iPod Touch? Perfect platform for it!

[Andy Anonymous @ Oct 7th 2008 12:57PM]

As a device the touch is very nice, but the game software lineup doesn't come anywhere even close, and to my thinking, that's the most important aspect of gaming hardware. Sure, the touch has only been a gaming device in earnest for a short while, but you'd be gambling on the future you hope for on the iPod using the present that already exists on DS.

[JJ @ Oct 7th 2008 12:38PM]

Nintendo never claimed, nor was their customer strategy ever supposed to be 'Next Gen'. Read up, learn, then attempt to comprehend what the Nintendo Wii are about. I'll give you the cliffnotes so you're not too lost when you try to catch up. The wii is an innovative console using new controller technology to change the paradigm of game control which in turn changes the way games are viewed by developers and customers alike. which then changes the entire customer base. Oh, and by the way, what do you hope to accomplish with negative comments? Do you like to hear yourself b!tch? if you don't have anything nice to say, just shut your pie-hole and go play with your HD games in your moms basement.

[Lobito @ Oct 7th 2008 12:52PM]

More screen. Where is the screen?
PSP seems better so far.

[Andy Anonymous @ Oct 7th 2008 12:58PM]

Every company denies every rumor until they're ready to announce it officially on their own timetable. There will be a new Nintendo console in 2011; there's been a new one every five years since the NES.

[michaelportent @ Oct 7th 2008 1:30PM]

Reggie Beefburger strikes again! People keep telling Nintendo what they want and he singlehandedly beats it back into the ground angrily with a shovel. Nice work, Reg.

[Grey Acumen @ Oct 7th 2008 1:40PM]

God, why are people so stupid? The Wii is still selling like hotcakes, and will probably continue to do so and they think that a new handheld model is going to imply that the Wii is going to get an upgrade?

Come on folks, they already pretty much explicitly stated that the only reason the DSi was created was because every second person in japan already has a DS lite! People are still disputing if the DSi actually IS an upgrade, and it sure as heck didn't get an HD upgrade, it still has the same resolution, the screens were just boosted in size a little.

On top of that, the Wii still hasn't even gotten a second color yet. That is a guaranteed sales boost right there, and there's just no chance in hell that Nintendo is going to miss that one. They're just waiting for the point that their production rate can actually COVER the sales boost they'd be getting.

Furthermore, Nintendo already has a history of doing multiple SKUs for handhelds. You have the Original Gameboy, then the Gameboy Pocket that sharpened the screen, then the Gameboy color that introduced color and some exclusive games. Then you have the Gameboy Advance, then the Gameboy Advance SP that had certain games that wouldn't work for it that would work on the normal GBA, then you had the Gameboy Micro. So that's kinda like 3 iterations for each handheld console. The DSi is just the 3rd iteration, and may have some exclusive content, much how the Gameboy Color did. When it comes to consoles though, Nintendo has NEVER had any history of releasing a Multiple SKUs of any of their consoles.

With the history of console releases, the current success and the potential to still add colored models, the chances of an HD Wii are somewhere between NIL and Not-a-chance-in-Hell

[Ozzman_79 @ Oct 7th 2008 2:09PM]

the PSP may seem better to you, but based on sales figures, it seems your opinion is in the minority.

Also, i'll give you a hint, the sceen is inside, and there's 2 of them, doubling your odds of finding one.

[torqueo @ Oct 7th 2008 3:22PM]

Well, at least they aren't claiming to have the smallest or fastest _____ in the world, or something.. unlike other co's. Most paranoid.. sure.. you can have that one, Nintendo.. nobody wanted that one anyway.

[TavisJohn @ Oct 7th 2008 4:32PM]

The Wii is fun, and does 480p.
It even supports Wide Screen TV's ok... With one flaw... Some VC games that are 4:3, are stretched to 16:9, so everything looks short and fat. I have change the display settings on my TV to play them properly.
The Wii's widescreen support just adjusts the image to look fine when the TV stretches the image out to wide screen, it does not really display a true widescreen image. If your TV does not support stretching the image, the Wii will not play properly in WideScreen mode.