Now that you’ve bought a game console or two or three, get ready, because at least one of the big manufacturers is likely to release a new game console within the next year. Nintendo is toying with the idea of a new Wii console, called the Wii 2.  This is expected to give the Xbox and PlayStation 3 game consoles a true run for their money. For quite some time now, the Nintendo Wii has been considered a game console for kids, since many of the games developed for the Wii target children and tweens.  The question will be whether any consumers have the stomach for another game console, especially at a few hundred dollars, in this difficult economic environment, and after having bought some other console with the last couple of years.

What would be the reason that a customer might want a new game console? Will there be games that take advantage of new technology that are just irresistible? It’s hard to picture anyone wanting to spend $200, $300, or $400 without some huge attraction. Nintendo was behind the other game manufacturers with its failure to provide high-definition display, and perhaps they need to correct that with a new console. But how many consumers are going to run out and buy one, that’s the question.

If you’re trying to find some other features to add to your home entertainment system, that might be a good place for these game manufacturers to fill in the gaps. For example, all three game consoles will allow you to stream movies using the Netflix interface, but there aren’t many other options for streaming live TV or films from, say, Amazon. Could some of these manufactures be considering developing their own content? That would be a large undertaking, but possibly doable if partnering up with another company that can provide rich content for the platform. It seems that Microsoft might be best positioned for such a play, however, PlayStation is already moving to combine its gaming capabilities with the Android smartphone platform from Google. Partnering with a company like Google that has such extended reach could be huge for Sony and its PlayStation brand.

Ultimately, anyone who has the extra cash to buy another game console for some new bells and whistles is going to buy that video game console no matter what. Can game developers keep up with the demand in terms of the number of platforms, and offer new technology that excites users going into the future? It’s true that even though the Wii does not have a high number of games developed for the platform, and generally speaking it takes a few years for new editions of popular games to be released for any game platform. It will have to make financial sense for game developers to continue to crank out products for an increasing number of game platforms.