Nintendo Wii "Has Long Life In Front Of It"; HD Upgrade Unlikely

Nintendo's will-they-won't-they plans for an HD version of the Wii have kept the company regularly fielding speculation and rumors, but the recent announcement that Netflix on the console will be in standard- rather than high-definition has reignited questions about whether a graphics update is – or should – be imminent.  Unfortunately, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, we still shouldn't expect any significant upgrades any time soon.

"We are confident the Wii home entertainment console has a very long life in front of it" Reggie Fils-Aime, president, Nintendo of America

Talking to BusinessWeek, Fils-Aime pointed to the upcoming arrival of new titles in the Metroid Prime and Super Mario franchises and reiterated the company's belief that these anticipated games will be sufficient to reignite demand in the Wii.  A potential HD update had been predicted for the Game Developers Conference, to be held in March 2010, but Fils-Aime denied such rumors.

Nintendo reportedly slashed Wii production last December after poor financial performance in the previous quarter.  Sales of the console drooped 43-percent, a far cry from the early days of the Wii which were punctuated with in-store shortages.

[via Slashdot]