The games console rumor mill has been put into overdrive after Nintendo announced that its new offering will be unveiled at June’s annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles.
The existence of the new console,dubbed “Project Cafe”, was confirmed in Nintendo’s 2011 financial statement – with a playable model being prepared for the E3 expo – but details on what kind of console it will be and what sort of specification it will carry have so far been kept firmly under wraps.
This secrecy hasn’t stopped the great swathes of Nintendo fans from splurging their hopes and expectations for the new console around the web, though.Based almost wholly on speculation and rumor, forums and blogs feature discussions about how fans believe Nintendo plans to follow up its 2006 release, the Nintendo Wii.
The Wii is currently the leading seventh-generation games console, consistently outstripping its closest rivals, the Microsoft Xbox 360and the PlayStation 3 in terms of worldwide sales. Rumors around the web suggest that Nintendo will look to sustain the Wii’s popularity by making the new console backwards compatible with its predecessor, while offering a more powerful games engine than the PlayStation 3or the Xbox 360.
Reports from ConnectedConsoles.com suggest that the new Nintendo could piggyback onto the recent successes of tablet format computers by offering gamers a tablet-shaped controller with a six-inch touch screen display and twin analogue control sticks. Such a controller could offer gamers the capability to stream content from their console to their handset, bringing together the worlds of hand-held gaming and console-based gaming in one package.
These rumors seem credible enough,while also remaining true to Nintendo’s reputation for not releasing new consoles simply to increase graphical power or game play. The Japanese company tends to only deliver significant product launches when it has something truly new to offer to the gaming market and, five years after the Wii took the world by storm, it appears set to do so again.
The E3 expo will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 7th to 9th and a playable model of Project Cafe will be there for the world to see, with a release of the new Nintendo console expected to follow in 2012.
