New Nintendo console at E3 would be 'no surprise' - Analyst

Yesterday, Nintendo announced that the 454,000 Wiis it sold in February helped the system reach 35 million units sold in the United States since arriving in 2006. Now, an industry analyst believes this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo will be the forum for Nintendo to unveil its next console.

Brokerage firm Sterne Agee's managing director, Arvind Bhatia, told Gamasutra recently that his company wouldn't be shocked to see Nintendo show off a next-generation console in Los Angeles this summer.

"We would not be surprised if Nintendo unveiled the specifications of its next console at E3 in June this year, followed by product introduction early next year," he prognosticated.

Bhatia's prediction comes with some precedent. Nintendo first spoke of the GameCube successor at the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo, unveiled it as the Revolution at the Kodak Theatre in 2005, and then trotted out the Wii at 2006's show ahead of its November date with retail.

E3 2011 is currently booked for June 7-9 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. GameSpot will be reporting live from the event.