Wii 2 Shipping in October Under the Name Stream?

A lot of rumors are running wild on the web about Nintendo’s next console. IGN claims to have sources that are working on the device. Their sources claim the next console from Nintendo will be priced at around $350 to $400 and it will be produced by Foxconn. The estimated release date is any where from October of this year to early November, but IGN notes that it could be delayed to 2012 so they could build up their supply of the device.

Furthermore, they suggest that the console will be based on AMDs R700 GPU architecture, which would be an HD 4000 series GPU. It is important to note that AMD is currently on the 6000 series of GPUs. However, the 4 series is still more powerful than the trimmed down Nvidia 7800GTX (RSX) found in the PS3 or the modified R500 Xenos GPU in the Xbox 360. It is also unclear which chip variant of the R700 they are using and how they are modifying it. This means its performance can vary significantly as it could be anywhere between an HD 4300 all the way up to a high end HD 4800 series. Since the source suggests it is more powerful than both current generation consoles (PS3 and Xbox 360) it most likely could be leaning somewhere towards the 4800 series.

How does this compare to the PC market? Unfortunately, it will be outdated quite a bit upon release, but it will surely be able to output some amazing graphics. Most systems with the 4 series can play most of the games on today’s market at native 1080p (1920 x 1080). This is good news for solving that pesky up-scaling issue that some gamers complain about. However, this could change as graphics progress and the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony are released down the road. The 4 series also supports Directx 10.1. It is unclear at this time if they plan to make any modifications to support Directx 11 and tessellation.

Additionally, the CPU is supposed to be similar to the Xbox 360’s triple core IBM processor with faster clock speeds. The console is also rumored to support touch screen controllers and the console will be the size of an Xbox 360. Oddly enough the rumored name of the device is Stream. Of course when Nintendo was contacted they declined to comment about these specifications. So, keep an open mind until the console is officially announced by Nintendo or more concrete information is released.

Update:

A supposed leaked image of the device has hit the web.

Project Café is simply the most developer friendly SDK the industry has ever seen. [It] deliver unparalleled next generation performance at current generation cost. It doesn’t get any easier than this.

-Easy portability from PC, Xbox 360.
-Anytime live update past release.
-Integrated M-Live framework.

Also, Miyamoto has confirmed the devices existence. However, he did not verify any of the rumored specs previously mentioned in this article.

Even when the Wii launched we were developing new hardware, work on 3DS had already started. It’s a matter of when we announce it. Please wait. Be patient until we decide [to announce it].

Sources: ign.com, CVG.com, gamertagradio.com