5 things we want from the Wii 2

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The second generation of Nintendo’s little white console is due to be announced this June at E3 and the interwebs are already rife with rumours ranging from triple-core processors to touchscreen controls. With no solid details yet, we decided to create our very own Wii 2 feature wish list.

Body Motion

The Kinect has spoilt us by opening up a world of possibility in which we can flail our arms and legs around like lunatics without having to hold any controllers and it would be nice to have the same option for the Wii 2. Also, “zero controllers” are directly proportionate to “zero smashed TVs”. Simple maths.

Gaming purists can defend the gameplay > graphics argument till Duke Nukem Forever is released, but the fact remains that the Wii has always lacked graphical zest when compared to its beefier rivals. It would be nice to play games without seeing pixels and jagged edges everywhere – we are a shallow generation and looks do matter.

Love it or hate it, 3D looks set to stay and is continuing to be rained down at us from every angle, invading our cinemas, TVs, phones and cameras. Games consoles are no exception and the motion controlled attributes of the Wii coupled with an extra dimension should ensure truly immersive gaming.

Blu-ray

It would be utter madness for Nintendo not to include disc-based media playback straight out of the box. The current Wii can play DVDs, but only with a user-installed hack. If it’s not included in the second generation Wii, we’ll eat our gamepads. Blu-ray would be even sweeter, and the technology seems to be getting cheap enough that it’s a possibility.

A normal controller

Remember buttons, triggers and joysticks? They offer much more precision and accuracy than motion detection and are still the best way to come on top of hectic online frag-fests. An updated GameCube controller would be perfect, and Ninty already seem to have plans for a controller with a built-in touchscreen which should lead to some innovative control schemes.

Oh, and here’s a hopeful sixth thing, just because we’re greedy…

Virtual-reality helmet

Granted this is the least realistic, most hopeful and definitely the unlikeliest wish, but a virtual reality headset that immerses you totally within game worlds would quite frankly be totally awesome. Does this desire stem from the painful “Nintendo ON” Hoax video created shortly before the Wii’s announcement way back in 2005? Yes. Yes it does, but we still wish it was real.

About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.