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Hiroshi Yamauchi On Nintendo's Future
Thanks to 1UP for its article covering a new interview with former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, as he discusses the recently announced DS portable and the state of Nintendo as a whole. In particular, the article notes: "The DS represents a critical moment for Nintendo's success over the next two years, Yamauchi said -- 'if it succeeds, we rise to the heavens, if it fails, we sink into hell.' His hope, and Nintendo's mission, is to spread new gameplay through this device and re-energize the games market in both Japan and the rest of the world." Apparently, it was the 76-year-old Yamauchi "...who first proposed the concept of games employing a dual-screen device about 18 months ago", and elsewhere, Game Science has coverage of largely enthusiastic comments from Japanese developers on the DS, ranging from the positive ("It's exciting hardware for both makers and users) to the guarded ("A machine with two screens is going to be quite a high hurdle for developers to get over.")
This guy's brilliance is only surpassed by his arrogance.
One of his better quotes in the mid 90s was something along the lines of
'I could shut this industry down by next week'
Having said that, it was under his direction that led to the massive success of both the NES and the SNES. He became arrogant and somewhat senile during his later days at Nintendo.
I am sorry but this guy would not be working in any other company in the world. 76 year old, how can you trust grandpa to make decisions about the future of a video game company. No wonder Nintendo is in the deep hole for years.
Just wait for Sony's PSP. Nintendo's handheld division will be up against some real competition.
Let me get this straight:
(1) There are very few game ideas that work well with two screens.
(2) It will be difficult to program the hardware (symetric multiprocessor systems are inherently difficult to work with because of the syncronisation issues). Developers coming from the GameBoy will have a bewildering learning curve.
(3) The Sony PSP is launching in the same timeframe, with one fast processor (instead of two slow ones) and one larger screen (instead of two small ones).
(4) Cost. The Gameboy Advance SP is one of the best buys in videogaming history. It's an excellent machine: brilliant screen, great controls, fantastic design... and killer price (under $100) which made it affordable by almost anyone. With the twin hardware I can't see the DS being under $200.. and it will probably be priced up at $300 or so to match the price point of the PSP. But at $300 it's outside the price range of their target market (kids).
Translation: Dead. On. Arrival.
I think the Nintendo DS will make the N-Gage look like the 2nd coming of Christ.
Playstation was cool, it was mature, it was the toy that the young kids wanted because the older kids were interested in it. That's what helped the Playstation 1 to win, that's what will help the PSP to win. Nobody wants games about plumbers who have turtle problems anymore. The Mario franchise (and also most Nintendo games) is the equivalent of a 90 year movie star who just can't understand why the kids of today hate him because he made some great talkies back in the 1930s. Nintendo: Retire your game franchises already, treat your 3rd party developers as nicely as Sony does - and come up with some new game ideas.
first post!!! you lame assholes... I can post first because my XBox is a american product and my pride in my great country and my great XBox accelerate everything...
If only they would make games for that bitch... IAve played Metroid Prime and it ruled... I hope M$ will buy those japanese bastards and port Metroid to my great american console system!!!
God thanks the XBox is build in China. I don't wanna have fellow cowboys assembling my precious XBox.
Join the fun!!!
You're a pedantic asswipe. Stop wasting bandwidth.
Go be a fucking loser playing stupid D&D games with dice and stupid little figurines and not getting women and stop bothering me with your horseshit, you fuck.