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Nintendo's Iwata Talks European Neglect, DS Origins

Posted by simoniker on from the continentals-out-of-luck-no-more? dept.

Thanks to Kikizo for its transcript of an interview with Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata, also available in video form on the site. When asked, Iwata "apologise[s] to the fans of Nintendo products in Europe" over repeated delays, presumably including games such as Animal Crossing, finally out this September in Europe, mentioning "we are now putting our energies so that the European version of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes will be launched in Europe by the end of this year, at the sacrifice of the Japanese launch by the end of this year." He also discusses the origin of the Nintendo DS, "Talking specifically about the DS, [legendary 76-year old Nintendo president Hiroshi] Yamauchi specifically hit upon the idea, and proposed, 'Why not have the two screens?'"

52 comments

  1. Origin of the Nintendo DS - Exclusive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Made in Taiwan! (Not japan?)

  2. Processing power is harmful? by JonBob · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Iwata says...

    Well I really don't believe that there will be a bright future waiting for the so-called next generation consoles that Sony and Microsoft are advocating right now. As you may know I was developing games until quite recently myself, I know how it is, and if any of these developers come to me and say, look, CPU or processing power is ten times as much as today, graphic capability is twenty times, then I will say, that means more workload and slight difference with the current system in terms of letting people understand how improved the graphics shall be.

    Nintendo's laid-back approach to upcoming generations worries me. I think the problem he cites is a real one; sheer processing power is only helpful if you have something to process, which can often mean longer development time. But he proposes that instead of beefing up the processing power they should be looking at alternate user interfaces (like they did with the DS). While there can be cool innovations this way, I'd prefer to see the company attack the problem head-on by aggressively working to make better tools for the developer. Microsoft appears to be working on this, and it just may pay off for them.

    1. Re:Processing power is harmful? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Microsoft isn't working on easier more efficient tools, it is working on a simpler cross-platform API. So the game of the future that requires 50people to make the content can have more of a chance of recouping the expense as it will be more likely to get on more platforms. Producing the game will still be a mamoth effort.

      What Iwata is getting at is that it is costing more and more money to produce games on more and more powerful hardware. Yet, the WOW factor is getting less and less. 2d->3D gives a big WOW, 1000 polys in a scene -> 10,000 gives a slightly smaller WOW, 10,000 -> 30,000 gives a tiny meow. PS3 with 100,000 a frame - who cares?

      It is also becoming more and more difficult to come up with totally new titles, add that to the shocking cost of development and marketing. You would be mad to go out on a limb with something weird (i.e. viewtifulJoe - lost its publisher a ton of money).

      Where can you innovate next to catch the punters imagination -> stick all your old gaming favourites on a twin screen portable with added stylus control. It's certainly different, the games aren't any harder to make and the twin-screen and stylus should prompt a few new ideas. Average punter can't fail to notice the difference, whether he likes it or not is another matter.

    2. Re:Processing power is harmful? by torpor · · Score: 5, Interesting

      But he proposes that instead of beefing up the processing power they should be looking at alternate user interfaces (like they did with the DS).

      I see nothing wrong with this approach. The fact is, there are an awful lot of crap, boring games being written, and if you trace it back, kinetically, in the end it could be simply because of the limitations of control.

      Consumers ability to control things - touchy feely things like mice and keyboards and such - has definitely been proven to be pretty oblique. On one end of the scale, you have the 8-yr old button-smasher, and on the other end you've got the 33 year old vi-using console jockey. Games have to be good for both ends of that scale, or at least hardware games systems do ...

      It tends to be a little more significant than the 'raw specs' of hardware, whether or not the box you intend to mass-produce is going to work for -all- control scenario's that might be required for the truly imaginative games of the future which might be possible with these mega-GPU's ...

      Again, I don't think its A vs. B, here. Sure, its great that we're getting great silicon from the Next Gen game wars, but it is also true that there is a lot left to be done on the human interface, control side of things ...

      --
      ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    3. Re:Processing power is harmful? by TechniMyoko · · Score: 2, Funny

      They are also working on easier more efficient tools (read XNA)

    4. Re:Processing power is harmful? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I think there's still plenty of room to grow within the typical Screen+Controller interface.

      Look at board games. Everyone thought they had seen it all but starting in the early 90's the Germans revolutionized board games with new mechanisms and the golden age continues. They didn't need motion detection cameras or holographic tables to do it, they just changed the way a group of people sat around some cardboard and wooden tokens.

      I think the problems of innovation are more deep-rooted and incestuous than merely getting bored with a control pad and a handful of buttons. They are problems with the way we perceive games should be.

    5. Re:Processing power is harmful? by Troed · · Score: 1

      i.e. viewtifulJoe - lost its publisher a ton of money

      Source? I've heard the exact opposite - which would be the reason for both the re-release (out in Japan) and a sequel in the works for GC and PS2.

      --
      it's in my head
    6. Re:Processing power is harmful? by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Informative

      The game didn't sell well, that's true, but the initial shipments in both Japan and North America seem to suggest Capcom expected this to happen (VJ sold out in both markets, apparently Capcom was too pessimistic). From what I understood, P.N. 03, Viewtiful Joe and Killer 7 were produced on relatively small budgets, which is why they went with styles that would require less work (i.e. money). Joe probably was profitable, or at least Capcom saw enough potential in the game to warrant a re-release (new eatures: one additional difficulty level under "kids") in Japan and a sequel.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    7. Re:Processing power is harmful? by AltaMannen · · Score: 1

      I think just adding more polys to individual assets is kind of a waste, but when it comes to populating the game scenes with more assets and more effects such as detailed shadows more polys can go pretty far.

      It will probably not be as great an evolution as genesis/snes to saturn/playstation or even playstation to ps2/ngc/xbox but with more items to interact with and more dynamic effects I think games can take a little step further.

  3. I wounder what the next... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Gamecube will look like if they keep lisenning to the 76 year old.

    "Why not fuzzy?"
    "Why not eadible?"

  4. Two Screens?? by ihtagik · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I really don't see what the all the fanfare surrounding the two screens is. The idea had been milked by Nintendo for years before they decided to dump it in favor of the Gameboy. Not sure what I mean? Check these out: Donkey Kong, LCD game Zelda, LCD game and there were a multitude more. So when legendary 76-year old Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi specifically hit upon the idea, and proposed, 'Why not have the two screens I think he was just having a flashback to the good old days of 2 screen gaming.

    1. Re:Two Screens?? by superpulpsicle · · Score: 0

      This has got to be the end for nintendo. Even the handheld strategies for the future seem awefully lame.

      I expect Mario DS, Metroid DS, Zelda DS, Cruising USA DS. And every other one of the same game put to dual screens, whoopie doooo. As if you haven't seen the transition from mario, super mario, mario 64 etc etc.

      Looking at the light zapper and rumble controllers nintendo always innovated. I think their water well has finally gone dry.
      Time for sammy to buy them out like Sega.

    2. Re:Two Screens?? by hambonewilkins · · Score: 1, Insightful
      I agree, though I suspect you will be modded down by big-N fanboys.

      Remember the Dreamcast? Remember the VMU with the LCD screen that could perform certain functions or give you clues or info during the game? Cool, but gimicky. Ultimately, it was both a memory card and LCD for $20. The second screen on the DS will likely cost far more than that.

      The Dreamcast also had a number of alternative input devices, like maracas and fishing rods.

      And the Dreamcast failed. Yes, two screens is a unique choice. But in the case of the Dreamcast, gimicky add-ons didn't help the system. Hard-core fans may love that stuff, but it died with the public. Nintendo, while being a savvy company, has to move on. Cranking out Mario and Donkey Kong and Metroid and Zelda for every damn machine is getting lame. If Nintendo is such an innovator, screw the two screens and innovate some games. They certainly have the creativity to come up with new games, characters and play styles.

      Unfortunately, with the DS I see an invention in need of a problem.

      --

      God Bless America. Why? Did it sneeze?
    3. Re:Two Screens?? by SuperMo0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're comparing a nearly 30 year old series of games (it was never a console, it was more like Tiger Electronic's games) to the Nintendo DS? Sure, the Game and Watch had two screens. But LCD isn't hard to program at all, and those games were rather simplistic. I fail to see how Game + Watch having two screens indicates that Nintendo is losing ideas. Because Sony didn't make an all new controller for the PS2, did that indicate they were running out of ideas? Re-using concepts later on is not a bad thing, as long as it's done well.

    4. Re:Two Screens?? by NonSequor · · Score: 1

      I think right now it's best to just wait and see what happens before burying or praising it. No one can tell whether or not the dual screen thing will work out until games are actually released for it.

      --
      My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
    5. Re:Two Screens?? by Incoherent07 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And they're going to be overtaken in the handheld market by... what again? The PSP, which is an excuse for Sony and their third parties to do the exact same thing on a smaller screen?

      Lack of innovation is not, as you seem to think, confined to Nintendo.

      --
      This is my sig. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
    6. Re:Two Screens?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The Dreamcast did not fail because of poor interface. It was actually VERY successful in Japan. It failed primarily in the US and worldwide because it used the PowerVR graphics chip which does tile-based rendering as opposed to the more conventional method still employed by everyone else.

      Writing software for the Dreamcast without using the WindowsCE api would require completely different middleware. Electronic Arts, the big name in the West, utilized a unified middle ware package developed in-house but developing for the Dreamcast would require a complete rewrite of all their tools just to work on one extra console. The result? No EA support for the Dreamcast; No sales in the US and Europe.

      Even as recently as LAST YEAR games were coming out for the Dreamcast in Japan like Ikaruga and other arcade ports. Dreamcast didn't fail because its "gimmicks" weren't compelling, it failed because cross-platform developers refused to support it.

    7. Re:Two Screens?? by BTWR · · Score: 1

      The "2-screen" game and watch games were not 2 different screens. For all intents and purposes (if you ever played them), they were basically 1 big screen, divided in 2. The 2 screens did exactly the same thing, albeit with the pre-printed LCD sprites in different places.

    8. Re:Two Screens?? by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "Remember the Dreamcast? Remember the VMU with the LCD screen that could perform certain functions or give you clues or info during the game? Cool, but gimicky."

      Pardon my generalizations here, but I really need to let it out: How can you guys like the Palm Pilot but not be impressed by putting a display/interface like it in a GameBoy? How can you call it a gimmick when it revolutionlized pen computing?

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    9. Re:Two Screens?? by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "his has got to be the end for nintendo. Even the handheld strategies for the future seem awefully lame."

      It's lame/uninnovative to make a portable system with a Palm Pilot'esque interface that can connect vai 802.11 for wireless play?

      Sorry, don't agree. What they've done was made a system that can do more or less what the PC does to make on-line play a viable option on a portable system. Why does the two screens matter? Yes. Treat the touch screen like an on-screen keyboard (like for chat or setting your on-line name etc...) and you've got something you don't have on the PS2 or XBOX. (at least not everybody has...)

      And yes, I am a Nintendo Fan boy. Now that that particular point is made, let's get to really discussing this.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    10. Re:Two Screens?? by DarkZero · · Score: 1

      And the Dreamcast failed. Yes, two screens is a unique choice. But in the case of the Dreamcast, gimicky add-ons didn't help the system. Hard-core fans may love that stuff, but it died with the public.

      In the past, "the public" has shown that they simply won't buy any add-ons for their game console. For instance, the NES has a nice variety of light gun shooters back when the NES came with a light gun, but today the PS2, a much, much more popular (as in widespread) gaming platform than the NES ever was or could be, only has a small handful of games that support Namco's GunCon 2 light gun peripheral. People are perfectly willing to use a gimmick when you hand it to them in a package deal, but when you expect them to pay a $20-$40 premium for a game just because it uses a light gun, dance pad, or some other peripheral, they'll pass over it for a game that uses their standard controller. In fact, the only successful peripheral in recent memory is the Dual Shock controller for the PlayStation, but that's only because it was well-marketed, fairly cheap, and most importantly could be used for [i]every single game on the system[/i], which justified its $20 purchase with the Western public.

      There's simply no comparison between a system that comes with a unique feature built-in and a peripheral that has been created as an expensive add-on to a system that doesn't really need it. The DS is a "gimmick" in the same sense as the PS2's DVD playback ability or the GameCube's internal clock, not the same sense as a light gun, dance pad, or fishing rod controller.

    11. Re:Two Screens?? by StocDred · · Score: 2, Insightful
      If Nintendo is such an innovator, screw the two screens and innovate some games.

      Innovation is in the gameplay, not always the franchise characters that populate it. Just because the word "Mario" is in the title, don't assume there's no innovation there.

      Is WarioWare non-innovative simply because it features one of Mario's supporting cast members? Absolutely not!

      Remember, Mario is a blank slate. There's only the barest personality and character there... he's purely a venue for great games. It's good business: a recognizable, company-owned character whose ugly mug can stare at you from a hundred pieces of box art. Nintendo owns him outright, can count on his presence to continue to sell. The day Mario stops selling games, Nintendo will move on to more lucrative properties.

    12. Re:Two Screens?? by mkenney · · Score: 1
      The Dreamcast failed for reasons laid out in above replies far better than I could hope to outline so I won't touch that subject, but as for the DC's VMU:

      Gimmick? Poorly implemented? Absolutely. Very clever idea, but the "games" you could download onto it and play independently of the DC were 5 minute diversions at best and the only real kind of game genres where the device was actually useful was in sports games (so that you could select your plays without your competition seeing).

      The DS's screens, imo, are a completely different beast: unlike the crippled vmu, its second screen not only boasts the same dimensions and resolution as its brother, but it is also a touch screen and comes equipped with a stylus.

      This is the first time in a long while that developers are going to have a chance to (I hate using this phrase but) "think outside the box" and design/develop completely new styles of (or at least, refreshing new interpretations of) gameplay that only can be done with the capabilites of the DS's second screen. While I expect many third-party first-generation titles will make poor use of the additional screen (overhead maps, inventory lists, etc.), I am looking foward to Nintendo's opening day offerings and what other companies will have available for the system further down the road.

      (The DS's 802.11 and proprietary-network wireless capabilites are going to lead to some very nifty new ideas from companies as well, hopefully outside of just 16-player wireless FPS deathmatches, but that is itself a topic for a different post).

    13. Re:Two Screens?? by GaimeGuy · · Score: 1

      .. I'm not even going to use the quality of Nintendo's products as an argument. I'll just say this:

      You do realize that Nintendo has eight billion dollars of plain cash, right? And that the studios and IP they have is billions more? And that they have no debt?

      Sorry, but there is no reason for Nintendo to sell themselves to another company. Even if Sammy wanted to, I don't think they could afford Nintendo.

    14. Re:Two Screens?? by jensen404 · · Score: 1

      Nintendo does make new games, with new characters and play styles. One of which is Pikmin. (ok, ok... I don't know of any others.)

      They also make new games with new play styles, but with existing characters (super smash brothers, wario ware, Donkey Konga, Luigi's Mansion, Mario RPG, etc.)

      They also add new things to existing series (Zelda four swords, water pack in Mario Sunshine, two riders on Mario Kart Double Dash!!)

      Nintendo is even innovative with hardware. Nintendo was the first in introducing almost every game pad feature. (d-pad, shoulder buttons, analog control, rumble, 4 contoller ports on the console)

  5. What about us? by TechniMyoko · · Score: 1

    I think he should appologize to americans too. We often get the short end of the stick (not as bad as europe however) It sometimes takes Nintendo to translate games for us as well. We still haven't received the Nintendo Puzzle Collection. And Sony should appologize for territorial lockout

    1. Re:What about us? by SuperMo0 · · Score: 1

      The American game market is vastly different from Japan's. A game like Puzzle Collection may have gotten fanfare from the gaming press and hardcore fans, but for the average kid/casual gamer, it may not have been an appealing choice. Not EVERYONE enjoys thinking when they play their games, at least in America.

      It's really up in the air, in the end, whether a game will sell in any market. However, the money required to take it into a second market and translate it is considerable, and they need to focus this money on the games that they are sure will do well instead of niche games.

    2. Re:What about us? by TechniMyoko · · Score: 1

      As someone who imported Puzzle Collection, I can assure you it would've sold well. Afterall, Tetris sold the first gameboy

    3. Re:What about us? by SuperMo0 · · Score: 1

      But the gameboy was a portable system. Puzzle games seem to do better on portable systems because they foster short playtimes, like 10-15 minutes, such as when you're waiting in line or on a plane. However, consoles are more prone to sitting down and longer gaming sessions.

    4. Re:What about us? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're making a pretty weak argument. There are plenty of games that reach a very narrow demographic that get released anyway. Puzzle games reach the widest demographic and it's not like there's a surplus of them anyway. I can count the number of good puzzle games on next gen consoles in the US on one hand.

    5. Re:What about us? by SuperMo0 · · Score: 1

      I'm not saying there's a low number of people who want to play puzzle games, I'm just saying that puzzle games in general are more suited to a portable format.

    6. Re:What about us? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So your position is... people play puzzle games, just people don't want to play puzzle games if it's not portable...

      That's clearly not true, which you need it to be if you want the past three posts you've made to be convincing.

    7. Re:What about us? by SuperMo0 · · Score: 1

      I'm not speaking in absolutes, I'm speaking of how puzzles games do BETTER on portables, not that they only sell on portables.

    8. Re:What about us? by dancingmad · · Score: 1

      Now apologize for the tax hike.

      --
      "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
    9. Re:What about us? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For what it's worth, the Nintendo Puzzle Collection on GameCube allows you to download versions of the game to your GBA, so you can take the games portably.

      http://cube.ign.com/articles/379/379347p1.html

  6. Touch Screen? Mic In? Low-power Wireless? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I think you're missing the perhaps more important features in the DS. It has a pen-based touch screen which will undoubtably improve many turn-based games and allow some very interactive and unique action games. There is also a microphone jack on the DS which could evolve into some interesting, although probably not compelling, game features. And finally, the greatest feature in my opinion, up to 16 player wireless in a 100-foot area. Not 4 players and you had to have it so every person had a cable to player. 16 players and you just need to be in the same general area.

    You might say, well the PSP has wireless, but it uses WiFi which is incredibly more power hungry than the Nintendo proprietary short-range alternative. As a device, I think most people would agree the DS is quite functional and the second screen is only gravy on top.

  7. why not?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Yamauchi specifically hit upon the idea, and proposed, 'Why not have the two screens?'"

    Gee, I don't know.. Maybe because it's a stupid gimmick that won't improve games one bit?

    1. Re:why not?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Prove it.

    2. Re:why not?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Maybe because it's a stupid gimmick that won't improve games one bit?

      What, like being able to hold two different guns at once in Halo 2?

  8. GBA is the last generation by Tezkah · · Score: 1

    He's comparing the numbers (16 million to nil) of the GBA vs the PSP. So what? There was millions of NESs when the Genesis took over, and millions of SNESs when the PSX started dominating, even if it was expensive at the time.

    I don't think they understand the threat of the PSP, this is the 2D->3D jump in handhelds, and they look like they'll be over in the corner preaching to the Nintendo choir as Sony again grabs the attention of mainstream gamers.

    1. Re:GBA is the last generation by mr.capaneus · · Score: 1

      There was millions of NESs when the Genesis took over

      I don't remember this happening. I may be off base on this one but I can't think of any time that Sega "took over" anything. They were the Pepsi of the Nintendo generation.

    2. Re:GBA is the last generation by Dizzle · · Score: 1

      You're absolutely right. Nintendo had a massive installed user base and then Sony came out of seemingly nowhere and got a stranglehold on the market. I see a very similar situation here: Nintendo, currently number one with no real innovation in years, facing competition from someone with a technical edge over them. Interestingly enough, it's the same company challenging them. If you question whether or not Nintendo has innovated in the last... 15 years or so that the gambeboy has been available, just think about it: up until about a year ago there was *still* no light and you had to hold the damn thing at an awkward angle sometimes. Color took forever and they were still pushing ugly graphics on expensive media. The battle over handheld dominance will be very interesting as we know Sony has a track record for taking hold in the video game market.

      --
      -Dizzle
      "I most likely AM so interested in myself."
    3. Re:GBA is the last generation by Zed2K · · Score: 1

      I bet this first PSP will be a flop but it won't deter sony. Sony will strike back with a better device that is cheaper ($99-$150) and actually has 10 hours of gameplay battery life. Price and battery life are the things that will hold back the PSP.

      The DS is as powerful as a N64 and has the battery life of a GBA, but will only cost a little more than a SP.

    4. Re:GBA is the last generation by GaimeGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "You're absolutely right. Nintendo had a massive installed user base and then Sony came out of seemingly nowhere and got a stranglehold on the market. I see a very similar situation here: Nintendo, currently number one with no real innovation in years, facing competition from someone with a technical edge over them. Interestingly enough, it's the same company challenging them. If you question whether or not Nintendo has innovated in the last... 15 years or so that the gambeboy has been available, just think about it: up until about a year ago there was *still* no light and you had to hold the damn thing at an awkward angle sometimes. Color took forever and they were still pushing ugly graphics on expensive media. The battle over handheld dominance will be very interesting as we know Sony has a track record for taking hold in the video game market"

      Wait a minute, adding a light source to a handheld is innovative? Waiting to add color is uninnovative? What the heck? First of all, color pretty much was nonexistant in any portable device until the mid to late 1990s. And even so, color handheld games is more of a technological upgrade than an innovation. Same with the frontlight on the GB. What portable devices do you remember having an internal lighting source when the GBC came out? While I admit, Nintendo should have included a light in the GBA, at least they corrected that mistake with the GBASP, and they didn't sacrifice performance or battery life for it, the way it should be done. These things have NOTHING to do with innovation: They have to do with the technological limitations of the time. I mean, look at how the Game Gear performed with the color it had. Technologically, none of this: a game boy with color and/or a backlight/frontlight couldn't be done until six or seven years ago. Don't confuse that with lack of innovation.

      Nintendo has not innovated? Wtf? Why is it that people say that? Just because Nintendo often uses the same characters in its games does not make them uninnovative. Mario Kart was innovative in that it started the kart racing subgenre. Mario Party: What games were like it beforehand? It made a board/minigame hybrid party game. How about Pikmin, a game in which you play as a guy and control an army of small plants which have special abilities and powers? Or how about Wario Ware? How in the world is THAT not innovative? Nintendo, just like everyone else, uses brand names, because people love what they are familiar with. It's human nature. Not only that, but when people see a game with Mario in it, they're pretty sure it will be high quality, because that's what mario games usually are. Brand names help inform a consumer of what to expect from a product, like that.

      The Playstaion got more support than the N64 because it was, in order of most importance: Cheapter to develop for, easier to develop for, and had more storage. Now, let's look at the DS and the PSP: The DS allows developers new ways to make games, and appeals to video game developers' creative side. the DS will use a cheap semiconductor memory unit, 128 Megabytes and beyond. Now, Mario 64 was 16 Megabytes. 16 megabytes was the typical maximum for an N64 game, although there was one game that was 24 Megabytes (Ogre Battle 64), and two games that were 32 Megabytes (Pokemon Colloseum 2, and Resident Evil 2). 128 megabytes should be plenty for developers, unless they want to use a bunch of pre-renders and high poly models, which don't really matter on a handheld. The price of the DS looks to be pretty cheap, too.

      And the PSP? Well, it uses 1.8 GB disks, so, again, it has the memory advantage of an optical format over a cartridge. But that's the only advantage that the PSP has over the DS that the PS had over the N64. It looks like games will have the production costs of Playstation 2 games, and higher prices disencourages innovation and risky moves by developers. That's one reason

    5. Re:GBA is the last generation by Dizzle · · Score: 1

      I'm not quite sure that two screens is so special either. Dreamcast had this a while back, and while it didn't have a touch sensitive screen, it was done.

      Also, Nintendo was not innovating as they should have. Look how long the Gameboy sat there as the king. With no competition, they didn't feel the need to innovate. Maybe this attitude is justified, but resting on their laurels may come back to haunt them.

      But like I also said, we'll just have to wait and see. We didn't expect the PSX to take over, but it did. Is it feasible that the PSP may do that as well? Of course it is! Is it possible that it won't? Of course! So in summary, let's just wait and see, and THEN analyze what went wrong.

      --
      -Dizzle
      "I most likely AM so interested in myself."
    6. Re:GBA is the last generation by silentbobdp · · Score: 1

      Note:

      In Japan, there was a small run of the Game Boy Light - a GBPocket with a backlight.

      --
      --Moo.
    7. Re:GBA is the last generation by GaimeGuy · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I know that, but, if I remember correctly, it wasn't exactly the best technical model for the GB, at that time. Costs and battery life, I believe, were worsenned due to the light. Though, I could be wrong.

    8. Re:GBA is the last generation by jcuervo · · Score: 1
      What portable devices do you remember having an internal lighting source when the GBC came out?
      The Sega GameGear had decent games, a backlit colour display, and an optional (but hard to find) AM/FM/TV tuner.
      --
      Assume I was drunk when I posted this.
    9. Re:GBA is the last generation by GaimeGuy · · Score: 1

      And it SUCKED THE BATTERIES DRY. The technology has always been there, BUT IT WASN'T AFFORDABLE AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT. That's how it is with all technology. My point has been proven.

  9. Quite honorable... by GaimeGuy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It takes a lot of guts for a company to apologize to the consumer for its mistakes. I salute you, Iwata-san.

    1. Re:Quite honorable... by Rallion · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is why I like Nintendo over their competitors. They truly seem to want to create a better gaming experience, and get the profits from that, rather than getting the profits and then seeing what they can do about gameplay. That means they must admit their mistakes and problems, whether they be creative (like, let's say, the Virtual Boy) or business (like the Europe issue), in order to fix them and provide a better gaming experience for everybody.

      I saw this in the press conferences, too. Nintendo's was focused on their games, and the future of their games. This was much nicer than an hour straight of talk about marketshares and profits and install bases. It seems like Nintendo is about "games making money" while the others are more about "making money through games," if you understand what I mean. It's to be expected, I suppose, with Nintendo being solely focused on games, but that doesn't dull my preference.

    2. Re:Quite honorable... by GaimeGuy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You also noticed Sony and MS talking about how technologically powerful their next consoles would be, while nintendo was talking about broadening the industry, with the Nintendo Revolution, of which Iwata has said, "It won't simply be a box that connects to your TV," and the Nintendo DS. Even if the gaming audience doesn't like this at first, the developers DO like it, so they'll put their support into the Nintendo Revolution and DS. Gamers will be "forced" to try out these new systems due to the support they get. So, even if gamer approval starts off slow, the appeal of these innovations to developers will pay off in the long run.

      I'm excited, because I know Nintendo can really change the industry from being run by technological improvements in sight and sound, to being run by changes in interface and new features which bring gamers together, like Wi-Fi in the DS.

      People are upset that Nintendo isn't doing online, that they're doing GBA-GC connectivity, that they're not doing as much "Here and now" as other companies. But Nintendo knows exactly what it's doing, exactly what it needs to do for itself, and exactly what the gamers, and the industry need.

      That's not me speaking as a stubborn Nintendo fanboy: That's me speaking from my heart.