Satoru Iwata insists that the Wii U and Wii can exist on the market at the same time.

A new console usually means an old one is being replaced but this is not the plan for the Wii once the Wii U is released next year according to Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata. CNBC report that Mr. Iwata claimed that the Wii still has life in it and Nintendo believe a lot of late-adopters will still purchase the console.

Sony has successfully continued support for an old console once a new one has been released, with both the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 being supported long after they have been succeeded. It would seem that Nintendo hope to repeat their success and the recent Wii price cut is probably part of this plan.

During the same discussion Mr. Iwata stated that Nintendo have been considering a separate screen for their next console since 2007, although at the time the screen would have been much smaller due to costs. In fact the screen was to be completely separate from the controller and designed to be used on a table.