Yep, you read the title of this post right. We’re less than two days away from E3 now, and GameInformer is hearing talk that the Wii 2 won’t be called the Stream, Feel, Beem, or anything of the sort. Their sources tell them that it will simply be called…

…Nintendo.

Although I doubt that even Amazon has seen the console yet, their German division has already put up a placeholder page for the console, which has garnered 53 “likes” at the time of writing this. Earlier, there were a whole bunch of reviews and even a rating of four stars, too, but those seem to have been taken down. You can’t pre-order it just yet, but you can sign up to get an email notification as soon as you’re able to.

There’s a lengthy product description on the page, which appears to be sourced from GameStar.de. There’s nothing new in it, but it does seem to be surprisingly sure about backwards compatibility with Wii games. If anyone requests a full translation of it in the comments, I’ll make one and add it to this post; but again, there really isn’t anything to learn.

Paul Gale, the man who gave us the juicy rumour that Retro Studios is working on a Wii 2 project we all want, has received another interesting tidbit of info from a secret source of his.

Nintendo’s new machine is powerful and though I hate to bash, it won’t be another Dreamcast. This will be the PS2 of its generation.

Basically, what this means is that the Wii’s successor will end up being the weakest of its generation. But, before you declare a flame war over it, keep in mind that the console is reportedly still going to be “significantly” more powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 – neither of which produce graphics you can really complain about.

The differences in the next-generation consoles’ capabilities will likely be minisucle compared to what we had this gen, and I think we’re looking at a GameCube-PlayStation 2-Xbox-type situation again, where all three consoles will see major multiplatform hits releasing on them.

Shane Satterfield, GameTrailers’ Editor-in-Chief, says he’s heard that there will be lots of third-party titles announced for Project Café.

I have kind of heard some things through the grapevine there is going to be some big third-party announcements for Nintendo’s new console at the show, there’s no doubt about that.

Awesome third-party support is one of the many promises the rumours about the console have been touting, going as far as a Grand Theft Auto launch title. Do you think third-party studios may start jumping ship from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in favour of the Wii’s successor?

Thanks for the tip, Travis!

A NeoGAF’er by the name of Nemesis556 has put up a picture of what he claims to be a local retailer’s listing of Wii games and products they are expecting to receive. Three very interesting items appeared on it. I’m 99% sure it’s fake, and I’ll explain why in a moment, but I’m putting it up for discussion’s sake, anyway.

Click the pic for full-size.

First off, there’s a new Mario game on the list. A lot of websites seem to be incorrectly misinterpreting it as the rumoured Super Mario Café, which speculation began about just two days ago. There’s no chance it could possibly be that, as Nintendo confirmed that the Wii’s successor is coming after April 2012. If it’s even true at all, it’s most likely a sequel to New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which is plausible considering the runaway success of the first game.

Second, the Vitality Sensor shows up. Nothing wrong with this, considering that Iwata confirmed they’re still working on it; however, at this point in time, it seems far more likely to me that it might make the jump to the Wii’s successor. Either way, there isn’t too much to say about this.

Lastly, the big hammer: the “Nintendo Wii 2 Co,” which I’m sure is just an abbreviation for “console,” is listed with a date in 2012 – you’d think they’d have some dates that year for a few other things then, too.

So, that’s my take on this listing. What do you think?

Capcom is one company that has traditionally been very supportive of Nintendo’s platforms in the past, and I expect no different for the Wii’s successor. A quote from an interview with IGN all but confirms they’re working on something.

We’re a multiplatform publisher, and I think anytime we have new hardware coming to the market that can be a canvas that our creators can create on and help them execute their visions, we’re supportive of that. There’s more news to come on that front in the future.

There was a rumour going around earlier that Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition may feature connectivity with Project Café. Maybe we’ll see this connectivity come to light at E3?

A fantastic mockup of what the controller might look like, by Jade Doel.

Arguably the most prominent rumour about the Wii’s successor has been that of a touchscreen-enabled controller. Nikkei, a well-known source of accurate leaks in the past, has “confirmed” that the Wii 2’s controller will, in fact, actually feature that six-inch touchscreen.

And while it wasn’t said directly, a further statement seems to imply that the controller will double as a standalone portable gaming device, too.

Nintendo aims to attract more users by offering a console that doubles as a portable game system.

Even though it’s from a reliable source, this news still isn’t coming from Nintendo themselves, so take it with a grain of salt. But at this point, we’ve heard so much about that touchscreen controller that I’d be more surprised if it wasn’t revealed than if it was.

(via GameSpot)

Super Mario Sunshine skipped the GameCube's launch, but still served as a novel display of the new hardware. Might we see Mario launch Project Café?

CVG claims to have heard word that Nintendo’s going to be showing off another Mario game that isn’t Super Mario 3DS at E3, quite possibly one for the Wii’s successor. They speculate that it may be a new Super Mario Galaxy title, but that’s just their own guess.

But we’ve also heard another little whisper from our Ninty sources – that Super Mario 3DS won’t be the only new Mario title to be shown off in Los Angeles. Could we be looking at a Super Mario Galaxy for the next, next generation?

I’d peg this one as “likely,” because if there’s one fact that has been proven time and time again over the years, it’s that Mario sets the hype machine into overdrive. The NES’s and SNES’s success can largely be attributed to the fact that there was an epic new Mario adventure ready to play, right out of the box. And while it didn’t turn out to be a pack-in, Super Mario 64 in large defined the Nintendo 64’s launch, and served as a technical showpiece for the system’s new analog control stick and graphical prowess back when it was first revealed.

But Nintendo skipped out on having Mario there right out of the gate with the GameCube and Wii – we had to wait for about a year to see those systems’ first Mario platformers appear. Could Nintendo perhaps be planning to return to selling new hardware with Mario as its face?

EB Games is starting a new video games expo down in Australia known as the EB Expo. Nintendo’s been confirmed to be in attendance there, but Daniel Vuckovic of Vooks.net has heard word that their new console will be shown there, “with Nintendo allegedly booking floor space for something big.”

Tickets for the show are now on sale, and if you want to go, you can get yours here. I probably won’t be able to make it down myself, but there’s lots of time between now and October, so you never know.

If you live in Australia and happen to sign up for it yourself, let me know!

Not too long ago, Eiji Aonuma appeared on Famitsu’s TV channel, Nico Nico, and apparently revealed a very interesting little tidbit while he was on there: namely, that a new Zelda title would get shown during the week of E3 in celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary.

That’s all we’ve got. The platform of the game is entirely unknown, so I’d say it’s equally likely to be a Wii, 3DS, or Wii 2 project.

Do you think this is going to be a retro collection in the vein of Super Mario All-Stars, or a brand-new game?