According to a Nintendo marketing employee, Wii is set to have a successor as soon as next year! Some info on the system are as follows…

• Wii 2 will feature a blu-Ray disc drive in a bid to prevent piracy.
• Support for 1080p resolution for both blu-ray movies and games.
• Due to release in the third quarter of 2010, in a worldwide same day release.
• Trade-in scheme for existing Wii owners to receive a discount on the new hardware.
• An announcement would come a month before release date, riding on the back of viral marketing to build hype.

If Wii 2 had the same specs as a GameCube or a Wii (they’re both the damn same anyway) then blu-ray space would be wasted. It could be telling that there is nothing what-so-ever in these key Wii 2 details regarding the systems’ graphical capabilities. Could you imagine if the Wii 2 was exactly the same as the original Wii, but with a blu-ray drive, HD support and nothing else!? That sounds like some shit that could actually fly at Nintendo. Just look at the evolutionary steps from the DS, to DSi, to the the DSi LL. Nintendo aren’t ones to fully embrace current technology. They always prefer to creep 5 years behind everybody else.

And as for the trade-in scheme? I cannot see Nintendo going for that. They made no effort to offer such a scheme for DS lite owners who would like to upgrade to a DSi, so I can’t see them doing it for their consoles. Nintendo are all about printing their own money. Not helping others save it.

A new Nintendo system with a blu-ray drive would be really cool. Even though Nintendo probably wouldn’t allow it to play blu-ray movies without a 16-digit blu-ray movie code.

It’s all speculation, but it’s rather exciting. A new Nintendo console with full HD output and a blu-ray drive would certainly make sense given the current games-scape – which is why I’m inclined to not believe it could happen. Because it sounds like way too much sense for Nintendo to actually go along with. I hope I’m wrong.

[Max console]

Not gaming while driving seems like common sense. While one can argue good judgment while texting, lawmakers in the City Council of Oahu have passed a ban on motorists text-messaging and playing video games while behind the wheel. This comes on the heels of a city bus driver was operating a moving vehicle with passengers aboard and playing what seems to be a PSP from the video above.

Determining whether this piece of legislation is useless or in good practice will only been seen from the cabin of a police cruiser. But I’d like to think these sorts of actions aren’t all that common, so I wanted to throw this out to the community… Do you game or text while driving? Tell us in the comments!

[KGMB News]

Alongside Slurpees, Zingers and slow roasting hot dogs you’ll notice some new merchandise at eye level. Participating 7-Elevens are stocking shelves with what the industry calls “AAA” games. These are the most anticipated and top selling titles. 

Hoping to further build upon the idea of a “convenience store”, 7-Eleven plans to include this in their total line-up year round. Wanting to compete with some of the major retailers and dive deeper in the videogame market, gamers are able to reserve a copy of  upcoming titles (with a small deposit) and have it available for pick by 12 AM on street date.

While this isn’t necessarily “new” news. Keep in mind if your favorite store is all sold out this holiday season, try your local convenience store.

Suggested retail prices are $59.99 for Xbox 360 and PS3 games, $49.99 for Nintendo Wii, and $39.99 for PS2.

“We think video games will be a great year-round seller for us,” said Michael Jester, 7-Eleven category manager for gaming and electronics. “Whenever a big-name game is released, it creates instant demand, and we plan on being there to meet it.”

[MarketWatch]

ZEN Studios announced yesterday that they are working alongside Capcom to release a Street Fighter II themed table for Pinball FX, available on the Xbox LIVE Arcade. While at first this downloadable table (decked out a la Super Street Fighter II Turbo) may seem like a great way to get your fix while you wait for Street Fighter II Turbo HD and/or Street Fighter IV, but upon closer inspection it would appear that this is the equivalent of Capcom leasing out their IP to make a pair of Street Fighter Velcro shoes; its a quick cash in that is riding the on the wake of the Good Ship Street Fighter IV. All aboard? Toot, toot!

Hit the jump to read more and to check out some screens from the Super Street Fighter II Turbo Pinball FX table.

Read more!

Just in time for the black Friday rush! why go out shopping and waiting in line for Rock Band, and countless other games with middle aged ladies with lots of make-up and full football gear, ready for a rumble in the toy section, shop online! Why go out and risk your life when the man in a brown truck can bring your stuff right to your door?

And with all that time you saved, you can come to the DDN forums! Chat it up with the crew! if you have a news tip or want to discuss some recent news, or anything in general, we have what you need!

Ever want to see what we the people behind the scenes are like? well heres your chance, as Nahu, Myself, and hopefully many more, will be there to answer your questions, and just hang out with the people that makes this site great, YOU!

Also new in stock! Another board!

For those who don’t like to read: GO TO THE FORUMS! WE CARE AGAIN!

60 year old Japanese house wife Yukiko Ikebe made 400 million yen (roughly ?1.7 million, $3.5 million) in trading in foreign exchange markets! (Wow!!) But recently she got got fined 34 million yen for evading tax. (Oh crap!) Ikebe-san used relatives’ names to make her gains look smaller and therefore avoid paying tax.

Yukiko Ikebe was reported as saying she spent the money on jewellery and kimono’s. With 400 million yen in her pocket you can bet she was dripping in enough ice to make her body freeze and that she was buying 100% silk kimono’s lined with Panda fur - all capped off with a pair of Gucci Geta sandals. What she did was illegal. But we all know we would’ve done the same damn thing if it meant we could pocket that kind of money over a period of time. Getting fined 34 million yen isn’t even a big deal, she’s still got over 300 million to mess around with!

[Yahoo! news]

This is the latest Rumors, and news clips.

• Sega has made a video showing a Developer for the company kidnapped by two Geisha’s, demanding information about their new April Release, with many crying something about “viral marketing”. (Its not Bandai folks) [Joystiq]
• Guild Wars 2 has been announced, and have created a bit of suspense, in their saying “It’ll still be free folks”. This installment will be running along the first one with one more expansion called “The Eye Of the North” the last one for the first game, with many new items, quests and classes, fans of the first one will definitely jump for joy with this news [Kotaku]
• Hironobu Sakaguchi, the boss of Mistwalker, the company that made “Blue Dragon”, is anticipating, and looking forward to making one or even two more games in the series, saying, “even if it’ll take 10 years”. [Kotaku]
• Devil May Cry’s multi-platform decision by Capcom made thousands of fans angry, angry enough to write a petition, to get capcom to be a PS3 exclusive title, (rabid fanboys I tell ya). In response to this, Capcom has only confirmed that Lost Planet, and Dead Rising, will still be X-Box exclusive. [Kotaku]
• Namco-Bandai is scrambling around trying to stop rumors that the newest Katamari Damacy game, titled “Beautiful Katamari” is false, but Gamefly’s release dates say otherwise, nice try. [Joystiq]
• Square-Enix’s Title “Project Sylpheed” has shown up on GameStop’s new releases page, with of all things, Microsoft on the label of Developers, and Publishers, along with a nice price of $40, what could be happening here? Some buttering up on Square-Enix, with Final Fantasy’s exclusivity on the line?

A reader sent Falafelkid, from the Wii: Definitive speculation blog, evidence that the Wii will launch in November. A retail training site, Cyberschollar, prepares retail workers with information on upcoming products and features. Their Nintendo sub-site, The Nintendo Link, clearly states in a section dedicated to Nintendo at E3 that the Wii would launch in November. From the site:

Falafelkid, a german videogame journalist, has been a major figure in the road to Revolution/Wii. His blog was one of the first reliable sources of information and reasonable speculation out there. Frankly I believe the guy, he’s proven his word has weight.

[The Nintendo Link / Via Wii: Definitive Speculation]