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Let's see your nextgen portables do that, then we'll talk.

I suggest you take a look at Nintendo's financial statements. 111,522 million yen operating income and 87,416 million yen net income, both of which are up over previous years.

While Nintendo doesn't have userbase of the other console companies, they are making a profit on each console sold as well as on the games, unlike Sony and Microsoft who are taking losses on console sales.

While Nintendo does not see the ridiculous number of console sales at the PS2, it's sales numbers are almost equal to the X-Box.

To be honest, I've often wondered about the legitimacy of the numbers that Sony and Microsoft tout for their Installed Bases. I can identify no less than three people who are on their second PS2, and I can name two people who've had similar X-Box problems. (In fact, it's how I finally got an X-Box... I got a free X-Box, replaced the DVD-Drive, and modded it.) Point being, If Sony's really sold 83 million (whatever it is), how many of those are actually still in use today. I understand they've got a larger install base than Nintendo, but in my experience I wouldn't think the number's anywhere near what they claim.

Of course, I'm being a bit facetious because all of Slashdot knows that lower sales numbers do not mean "downfall". If that were the case than Nintendo would have been bankrupt for years now. Except somehow the Gamecube sales still keep their books positive.

I do not think the Gamecube is clunky. I think its sleek and functional, but your opinion is your opinion. I think its safe to say that the X-Box is a FUGLY console.

DVD functionality. Yeah. I don't think that killed the gamecube. I use my PS2 to play games. I use my X-Box to play games. And I use my GC to play games. My DVD player plays my movies. Now I tried to use my PS2 to play DVDs. It's something I gave a lot of consideration, and I even donated my DVD player to another room for a while. But the PS2 sucks for that, so I reclaimed it.

I like Mario Kart 64. I like Mario Kart: Double Dash. They each have their own distinct advantages, and I still enjoy playing both. If you have the opportunity, you may wish to try Double Dash with 16 players via LAN Mode. Your perception of the game may change.

Pokemon hasn't disappeared, and it doesn't look like it will anytime soon. Considering there's been three GBA releases in the past year, a GC version, and an upcoming GC version. While the hype has died, people who enjoy pokemon still enjoy pokemon. You may also wish to try this game. While it is targeted for children ages 3-13, it's actually a very clever and complex RPG battle system. Of course, the games aren't extremely difficult, but if you can get a few friends involved, you'll stay challenged for months.

Of course, ultimately you're right. Any video game company needs to focus less on the hardware and more on what we enjoy: the games.

My understanding of the downloadable content is that if the big N owns the publishing rights, the big N is going to offer the download. Obviously, this may not actually happen, but...

According to Nintendo.com, Nintendo owns the publishing rights.

I would suspect that Goldeneye can be downloaded on the Revolution... regaardless of Rare's blessing.

Of course, this is merely speculation.

I solved that problem

And it's still cheaper than keeping a gaming rig up to date, and less worrying than having some inane copy protection toast any of my non-game data.

No it's not.

Of the 517 games for gamecube, 38 are rated mature and none are rated adult only. Most of the games (not including the 38 that Resident Evil 4 belongs to) are "immature" and fun. So 7% of their games are bloody and more adult-like. But a vast majority of their games are still geared towards children, and those were the ones I was referring to. Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier :).

Of the 517 games for gamecube, 38 are rated mature and none are rated adult only. Most of the games (not including the 38 that Resident Evil 4 belongs to) are "immature" and fun. So 7% of their games are bloody and more adult-like. But a vast majority of their games are still geared towards children, and those were the ones I was referring to. Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier :).

Of the 517 games for gamecube, 38 are rated mature and none are rated adult only. Most of the games (not including the 38 that Resident Evil 4 belongs to) are "immature" and fun. So 7% of their games are bloody and more adult-like. But a vast majority of their games are still geared towards children, and those were the ones I was referring to. Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier :).

I'd rather see an original 2D Mario game. Rumor has it that one is coming out on the Nintendo DS, but last I heard was that it was going to be called "New Super Mario Brothers"

It's not rumors, it's official. There's even a gameplay movie from Nintendo itself. It looks really cool.

And I agree, this is a lot more exciting than remakes of the old Mario games. Still, I'm glad I'm going to have both - a new 2D Mario (after 10 years since the last one, no less!) and remakes of the originals.

It's a good time to be a 2D Jump-N-Run-fan :-)

The only advantage I can see going for the DS right now is the fact that you can play a huge catalog of GBA games. But if you're going to do that, why not just get a used GBA SP and save $90? I'm sure they will go back in forth, both with huge releases in the coming months. It won't be for a year or so that we see either one emerge as the true "winner".

Nintendo has been quietly furious about ROM trading all along; now they are taking constructive action by offering them via Revolution (as opposed to just destructive legal action). I think they are finally noticing the sites that call their 'ware "unused classics" (hint: search for that phrase + ROMs) and giving them what they want (all for the price of an original DRM tool, the console).

"Don't call it a comeback; I've been here for years..." --James Todd Smith

The other two may be prerendered, but this one isn't. In the E3 trailer, it's really kind of obvious that there's a human being controlling Link during those scenes, and quite a bit of non-cutscene action takes place during them. That shot is actually a direct rip from the E3 trailer.

When games I want to play stop working in Windows 98 then I'll buy a new OS.

Likewise, tell me when a decent shared-screen 4-player fighting game is ported to Windows XP, and I'll switch from DolphinOS.

Freedom of design: A dynamic development architecture equally accommodates both big-budget, high-profile game "masterpieces" as well as indie games conceived by individual developers equipped with only a big idea.

I don't get the comparison you're drawing here. The cube is neither backward compatible (unless you count the gamecube adapter), has a DVD player, nor a hard drive.

Hence :
No offense intended, I love my cube but no way it would be even close to its current state without SONY, let alone its new sibling. Microsoft clearly has infuence inasmuch as Sony did then. I knew I should have Studied:

You failed to confirm you are a human. Please double-check the 7-letter image and make sure you typed in what it says.

Don't forget NVidia and Nintendo as well. Got all the bases covered - sort of the gaming world's arms dealer...

Actually, I'm missing the exact news reference I found, but here's a link to a Nintendo forum containing similar numbers (from a week previously).

Here. The numbers are from Media Create.

Nintendo's had far more "must buy" games for the DS in Japan - Nintendogs being the main one. For the last week of April, the DS outsold the PSP 3 to 1.

Year-to-date this year the two were even, but the DS pulled out ahead the week after. (60K+ to 30K+ again).

We'll probably get thalamus I/O before we get open-source games!

Seems like Nintendo are saying something different:

"Freedom of design: A dynamic development architecture equally accommodates both big-budget, high-profile game "masterpieces" as well as indie games conceived by individual developers equipped with only a big idea."

Here it is straight from the source in case hyperlinks are suddenly too taxing:

"Freedom of design: A dynamic development architecture equally accommodates both big-budget, high-profile game "masterpieces" as well as indie games conceived by individual developers equipped with only a big idea."

Maybe the idea is to encourage new developers to break into commercial games, something that is very difficult today. And considering they are already intending to sell past content online, they'll have the perfect distribution method already set up. Just a thought, it'd make me buy one.

Well, Nintendo's own site says:

Big Names. Nintendo announced that new franchise properties will be added to current super-star franchises including Mario, Zelda, Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong and Metroid. (my emphasis)

http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=m-Game-000 0-241&

http://www.nintendo.com/newsarticle?articleid=02ea 1a40-ac09-4cdf-9548-91e5a4e78746&page=other

how is that for a source??.thou,it DOES say flash memeroy, which implies storage and not working ram.....

http://media.nintendo.com/zelda/universe/_img/game /legendzelda/e3_zelda_tp_480.mov
Right click and save.Mod this up please.

Who cares?
Electroplankton is being released stateside!

I'm alarmed by the prospect of the Revolution using DVD discs. Why this fear? I'm afraid that its limited storage space will limit game designers.
Right now you might be thinking, "Are you insane? DVD-9 discs can store 9 gigs of data! What do you mean, limited?" Well, here's what I mean.
As most people probably know, both the Xbox and the PS2 use DVD discs. They both support DVD-5 and DVD-9. The support for DVD-9 indicates something; some games are too big to fit on one DVD-5 disc. This can be conclusively proven by looking at some recent games, like Xenosaga Episode II (see the bottom of the page, "Lasting Appeal"), which use multiple discs. At smallest size, these games are unable to fit on a single DVD-5 disc. At largest, they're too big to fit on a single DVD-9.
That's a lot of data.

I recently read in an article (probably in Game Informer, though I can't find it at the moment) that many recent games, including Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, only barely miss filling a DVD-9.
That this is on the PS2. A current-gen system.
I think that says something.

What I'm getting at here is that games are getting bigger and bigger. There's no way around it. As our technology improves and our systems become capable of bigger and better graphics, we must supply more and more data in order to make said graphics.
If a PS2, whose capabilities are far eclipsed by the next-gen systems, almost requires multiple discs, how will those next-gen systems fit all their data in the same space? Better graphics require more data: bigger textures, more polygons, more custom shaders, etc. So how will it all fit?
And bear in mind that this isn't even taking into account the data needed for the actual game. A lot of code and other data is needed for the actual game. Furthermore, the Revolution is supposed to be, as Nintendo says, "revolutionary". How much extra code will it take to do cool things with these "revolutionary" features? A lot, I imagine.

This poses a problem. Where will all that data go? It has to go somewhere. Sure, wonders can be worked with compression, and yes, Nintendo has somehow managed to shove DVD-5 games from other systems into the 1.8 gigs offered by its proprietary format, but there is a limit to how small things can get. Furthermore, too much compression will result in decreased performance, which is a bad thing.

This is definitely a big problem. Sony got around it by flinging enormous Blu-Ray discs into its next-gen system, aided somewhat by the fact that it partially owns that standard. For Nintendo or Microsoft to use Blu-Ray would require licensing the technology, and you can be sure Sony would charge them up the wazoo for both the drives and the discs.
That's a problem.

The way I see it, both Microsoft and Nintendo are in trouble if they use normal DVD drives on their next-gen systems. Nintendo possibly more so, depending on the "revolutionary" aspects of their device, but this doesn't change the fact that they're both rather screwed.
For Microsoft, it looks like it's already too late; the Xbox 360 specs declare that it has a "12x dual-layer DVD-ROM". There is still some hope left for Nintendo, though, as they've only announced support for "12cm optical disks", which could be nearly anything.

Here's to hoping that Nintendo chooses something better than DVD-9.

In 1995, Virtual Reality systems reached the apex of all conceivable technological possibility, realised its own state of perfection, and ceased to advance for lack of further necessity.

Just change the server response line if the GET or POST comes from Redmond, WA

What does the home town of Nintendo of America Inc have to do with anything?

http://www.nintendo.com/systemsclassic?type=vb

:)

A new Zelda is slated for Q4 also. This could be a pretty good Q4 for Nintendo. Looks like this new Zelda is getting back to the roots from the N64 titles...

Bingo. The best review I saw of this game was, sadly enough, on Cartoon Network's Toonami, which gave it a 7/10. You roll stuff up using the least intuitive controls I've ever used. (Yes, when I think "rolling ball around" I think "two analog sticks" and not something sensible like one stick. I mean, no one has ever done a ball rolling game before using just one directional control, obviously you need two.)

It has that "it's Japanese, so it's cool!" meme around it. But it is, ultimately, just an average game. There's a good reason it was sold for $20. No one would have played it if it were sold for $50 - it just wasn't that good a game - merely average.

Sony is currently not replacing PSPs for dead pixels, though the seem to be wavering on that. Nintendo will replace it for ONE dead pixel any time in the first 12 months you own it.

Nintendo return form

They'll apparently pay for the shipping through FedEx as well, so they are trying their best to get rid of dead pixels. Sony's policy is currently "deal with it" which is kind of bad for a system that costs 100 bucks more.

From their policy:

We suggest you use your system for a few weeks to determine whether this interferes with your enjoyment of game play. If, after using your system for awhile, you feel that this tiny dot is too distracting, the Nintendo DS does carry a one-year warranty. We are happy to inspect and, if necessary, fix your system at no charge within the warranty period.

Their official policy is the same as Sony's. Whatever they may do above and beyond their policy is interesting, but not necessarily repeatable, and certainly not guaranteed, and is of no interest when dicussing options available to all customers.

If you really wish to bash Sony (as you are wont to do, apparently), do so on the basis of the sheer numbers of PSPs that have the dead pixel problem...it really is kind of ridiculous.

Not really that new a concept... C'mon Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble is pretty old and pretty fun.

The sensor was built in to the game cart, which made it particularly cool, since they could add a new interface without actually changing the gameboy hardware.

Yes.

New innovation in the gaming market?
Not really.

Nintendo has made cartages for thier handheld systems that utilize tilt sensors. I'm sure other companies have them as well.

If you want to be really critical, we've had tilt games forever. You know, those cheapy plastic maze games where you roll the little steel ball thur. That is all I've ever seen these sensors lend themseves to, just digital versions of these games. The killer app for this tech is still waiting to be found. I guess hard drive protection is pretty close.

Like I said it's a neat toy if nothing else. I'm just waiting for my laptop with a power glove :-).

Advance Wars: Under Fire for the Gamecube. Someone posted above to watch out for this game, but this really does not give this game enough merit. Anyone who has played 2D Advance Wars know that these games are all about gameplay. All the richness of gameplay in a ThirdPerson Shooter/Pikmin style of control just blows my mind. What is amazing is that you can control helicopters, troops, and tanks! This game is coming from the makers of Call of Duty: Finest Hour and Shigeru Miyamoto. I think that this game will be the biggest surprise of the year. Zelda doesn't count because we all know that game will be terrific. Here is a link to the video. http://www.nintendo.com/gameminiav?gameid=38f04410 -6efd-4c04-98f5-d3a5bca466f2

On another note, here's a direct link to the hi-rez Zelda trailer in Quicktime format. (30 megs)

Video...no.

Audio...Yes.

I haven't found a video of it yet, but Nintendo is hosting the hour long audio in MP3 format here.

Linkified

Rumble on the Wavebird? Where? How?

Unless you are shaking it constantly, which doesn't count.

Liar.

Organizer Plus for the Nintendo DS. Not much information, other then it has been on the DS gamelist on Nintendo.com ever since the DS's launch.

Three handhelds will be with us this year, the DS, the PSP and an outsider, the Gizmondo.

Out of the three I think the PSP is the most likely to succeed. Sony's strategy is very similar to that of the first playstation, they don't want Nintendo's market, they want to open up handheld to a new more mainstream demographic. The Game Boy, while succesful, has always been seen as a childs toy. The PSP with its sexy design, playstation type games and ability to play movies will appeal to the same 15 - 25 male demographic that has made the playstation so successful.

The DS will also be succesful due to the current large Game Boy fanbase. However I predict that as Sony open the market up Nintendo's dominant share of that market will decline an they may well lose customers to the PSP if it gains enough momentum.

It would be easy to write the Gizmondo off but its GPS features (cheap for its price) mean it could well find a market amongst older people. It could open up a new 25 - 35 year old market, people who use its navigation functions but also want games, music and film. However I do think there is a risk of the Nintendo and Sony marketing machines making the Gizmondo seem invisible.

There are other factors which could affect the outcome of this handheld war. Most notably there are question marks over the PSP's battery life and loading times, these are things that shouldn't be underestimated.

Nintendo, with their boatloads of money from their new and old games (and enforcing their copyrights) is probably like their own Mario.

If they die, I'm sure they'll just drop offscreen and go down to 2 lives from 3.

Nintendo, with their boatloads of money from their new and old games (and enforcing their copyrights) is probably like their own Mario.

If they die, I'm sure they'll just drop offscreen and go down to 2 lives from 3.

As much as I like free - I haven't seen any of them produce quality games like Half-Life 2, etc et al.

I prefer to keep my non-game computing and my commercial video games in separate cubes, thank you very much. I would play a commercial game on a Treacherous Computing platform provided it could run side-by-side with a non-Treacherous platform, either in separate memory spaces or in separate machines. Besides, have you even played some of the better Free games, such as StepMania or TOD?

And, at least for the near future, MS Office is the industry standard

Well it's a good thing only the most expensive version of Microsoft Office supports digital restrictions management of .doc files. This means that companies won't be distributing information in DRM .doc format to the public, many of whom use the Works Suite edition of Word or the student edition of Office, and OpenOffice.org will still open files in non-DRM .doc format even more reliably than other versions of Microsoft Word do.

The first to attack SMB networking would be Nintendo.

DS + Movie Player = Better than PSP.

Okay, okay, let's clear the air here. We don't need to start a fight here.

1. The PlayStation Pocket has a better resolution than the Nintendo DS. (480 x 272 compared to 256 x 192 per NDS screen [totaling 256 x 384 for both screens]). The PSP wins the graphics category.
2. A) Nintendo DS replacement batteries only cost US$15 (http://store.nintendo.com/...) as opposed to US$46.54 (http://www.jp.playstation.com/Item/4/6170173.html (Japanese); (Google translation))
   B) The battery life is an issue. The PSP has terrible battery life compared to the NDS. Don't act like it's not important.
3. It is a nice bonus to have a free media player in the PSP, but the Image Converter software should be free as well. Plus the NDS media player is compatible with the GBA/GBA SP. The PSP wins this category, but Sony really could've done a better job.
4. With the horrendous battery life of the PSP, a manual wireless switch is a must. (It still sucks, but it must exist.) As far as I can tell, the NDS narrowly takes this category.
5. Both systems have a sleep function, which is very useful. (Kamalot took this spot to take a cheap [but not uncalled-for] shot at the PSP's battery life.)
6. See #3 for media player info.
7. Of course Sony has more 3rd party support, but Nintendo's 1st party games have their own unique crowd. It's just a matter of personal preference here; no clear victor.
8. $150 < $185
   That's all there is to it. NDS wins.
9. The PSP's screen may suck compared to a >$1,000 monitor, but it's not bad. Graphicswise, the PSP wins this category, but when we factor in the touch screen, the NDS takes this category easily.
10. "Announcements are coming very soon"
    Of course the PSP and the NDS both will have new and maybe even exciting peripherals. Obviously Nintendo still has a few tricks up their sleeve, and we can also expect more from Sony. (Don't forget Nintendo and Sony are working on their new consoles.)
11. Poor design choices? The disc vs. cartridge dispute is in the forum down the hall. Yes it sucks that you need a $50 memory card for the PSP, but if you already have one for your digital camera, it's a nice feature.

I know I haven't covered everything, but I don't have that kind of time. (Who am I kidding? I have no life, I just don't feel like researching this further.)

By the way, Mike Hawk, anyone who posts in an online forum isn't too far away from a fanboy.

Game Boy Advance

http://www.nintendo.com/overviewgba