Japanese Console Rumors Debunked

Posted by simoniker on Tuesday June 24, 2003 @12:52PM from the ps4-not-coming-out-in-time-for-halloween dept.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Video-Fenky blog post translating the 'Truth behind the rumors' feature that ran in Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu recently. Intriguing questions answered by major Japanese gaming companies include the use of the Cell processor in Sony's Playstation 3 ("..we will be investing 200 billion yen [$1.7 billion] over the next three years into Cell manufacturing facilities."), why Nintendo aren't so hot about online support ("As long as the rate of broadband installation isn't up there with TV sets, then online play can't be the core of business development"), and why Nokia's N-Gage won't be coming out in Japan ("..protocols are incompatible, [the N-Gage] cannot be used as a communications device in Japan.")

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Re:Online play by handsomepete · 2003-06-24 15:59 · Score: 4, Insightful

"Compare that to the investment needed to entice 20% of the market and you see why Nintendo doesn't care. MS and Sony are wasting cash to CREATE the market."

Yes, they absolutely are. However, as a result of creating the market they're gaining credability and developing infrastructure to support the future online games which will most likely be, as crazy as it drives me, the predominant force in the market 3 or 4 years from now. That's why Xbox Live might be one of the most ingenious things Microsoft has done in quite a while: They've basically created a brand name for online gaming, and that'll definitely stick as long as the console can survive now.