Pachter: Wii 2 “very likely” for 2011 reveal, will be fully backward compatible

Michael Pachter has once again discussed his thoughts regarding the oft-predicted Wii 2, stating that it will not only be backwards compatible to entice original Wii owners to upgrade but is also set for a 2011 reveal.

The Webush Morgan Securities gaming research analyst touched on the continuing debacle surrounding the Wii successor on his Gametrailers show Pach-Attack, where he was asked as to whether he thought the Wii had become obsolete due to competition from both Sony’s PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s hands-free motion peripheral, Kinect.

“It’s a long question, and I think that obsolete is probably an overstatement,” Pachter began in response. “You buy a Wii primarily because you want to play Nintendo products, and if you want to play Nintendo games then the Wii will never be obsolete.”

He continued, “Yes I think that when a Wii 2 comes out, that it will be fully backward compatible. So, when the Wii 2 comes out the only reason to buy a Wii is that you either can’t afford it or you don’t have a high-definition monitor and you don’t need it. I think that since we are very likely going to see a Wii 2 in 2011, and, just an edit here, I’ve said it for 2009 and 2010 so I’m just going to keep saying it until it comes out.”

“If you really want to play Nintendo games go buy a Wii now. if you want to wait a month or two for a price drop you’ll probably get one after Microsoft cuts the Xbox 360 price and Sony cut the PlayStation 3 price, I don’t see either of those happening until E3 – so June, probably.”

Pachter then turned his attention to defend the Wii as being obsolete, whilst explaining the merits of both the PlayStation Move and Kinect.

“To answer your question about being obsolete due to PlayStation Move and Kinect, Move is the Wii HD and it really does work just like the Wii does in high-definition and it will have a large line-up of games,” he stated. “Kinect is different, but certainly not a Wii killer. For people buying their first console, Kinect is sufficiently novel and enough to keep them from buying it. Nintendo is still selling about as many consoles as the Xbox 360 so no, I don’t think the Wii is obsolete at all and I don’t think it’ll be obsolete until Nintendo stops making software and that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.”

Do you agree with Pachter’s thoughts that a Wii 2 is set for a 2011 reveal, is it a necessary move for Nintendo or are you still getting enough out of your Wii?