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Nintendo Talks DS, Zelda, PSP Threat

Posted by simoniker on from the reggie-lution-already-televised dept.

Thanks to IGN Cube for its interview with Nintendo VP of corporate affairs Perrin Kaplan, as she comments on the Nintendo DS' backwards compatibility ("I think the initial appeal the DS gives you is that you can start with a library of 500 games"), on the new realistic-looking Zelda title ("We knew that people were going to say, 'Oh, is the new Zelda because you made a mistake with Wind Waker?' You don't make a mistake when you sell something in the millions and millions"), on the battery life of Nintendo's forthcoming handheld ("Very similar to the [Game Boy Advance] SP and I think very different from the PSP. I'm not quite sure why Sony said "Two to 10 hours" [for PSP's battery life]. That must mean that it's two hours"), and on rivalry with Sony's PSP ("I think Sony has developed a very nice looking screen. I think that having a system with claims to all the multi-functionality is a big question in our minds. Pricing is a huge question.")

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  1. PSP a threat? by wheresdrew · · Score: 4, Interesting
    It doesn't seem to be shaping up to be one, according to some of the big guys in the industry.

    Asian Wall Street Journal story: http://tinyurl.com/2mqoj

    What's more, Sony's decision to put out a machine that plays movies as well as games has some creators scratching their heads.

    "Will it be a game machine or a video Walkman?" asks Michihiro Sasaki, general manager of corporate strategy at Japanese video-game maker Square Enix Co. "We're still not sure what Sony wants to do with it -- that's a problem."

    Mr. Sasaki says Square Enix, known for its Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games, eventually hopes to provide content for the PSP but wants to hear more about the PSP's business model before deciding what to prepare.

    Still, some game developers worry that it may be hard to balance competing technical demands -- as well as figure out the price and audience -- for a gadget that combines the functions of a Walkman, video player and game machine.

    "It would be better if [the PSP] were just a game machine," says Kazumi Kitaue, executive in charge of video games at Konami Corp., which puts out the popular Metal Gear Solid series. "It's silly to talk about watching movies anywhere anytime; you want to concentrate."

    Mr. Kitaue says that Konami has started developing games for the PSP and that he has high hopes for the machine. But he worries that the product release could be delayed in Japan -- as it was in the U.S.

    I don't think Nintendo's all that worried about the PSP.