The biggest video game trade show of the year is still a few months away, but if an emerging rumor proves to be true, we already know what the biggest news of the show will be.
According to speculation posted by TechRadar.com, Nintendo is planning on unveiling a successor to its Wii console at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June.
This would be at odds with recent statements by the company that it isn't ready to pull the rug out from under the Wii just yet. However, it would bring life back to Nintendo, which has seen vastly decreasing sales over the past year.
The problem with the Wii is that it was built with a "last generation" mindset. That is, it has technology that was on par with the market when it launched in 2006, but it has no future-proof design.
The PS3 and Xbox 360, meanwhile, have strong Internet connectivity, making it possible to update through software and keep up-to-date with current technology. They have also undergone hardware revisions when necessary. The 360, for example, added an HDMI port after high-def televisions became the standard.
The Wii, meanwhile, still has no means of producing HD graphics, a stunting factor that makes the device seem almost archaic in today's environment.
It has been more than seven years since the last major console announcement was made, and nearly five years since the last one - the PS3 - was released. In previous generations, we'd be overdue for a new console announcement. This generation is different, and the Wii is feeling the squeeze.
If the company does announce a Wii successor at E3, it would almost certainly bring attention back to Nintendo. But if it doesn't, it may be seen by many as a lost opportunity.
