Yesterday's Nintendo press conference was probably the most subdued and honest of the three major events this week. While they didn't have anything really earth-shattering to offer up, the Gameboy Micro, the Revolution's game-downloading capabilities, and the new Zelda Trailer were all welcome news from a company that has been very quiet of late. Commentary, photos, and speculation available from:
Nintendo,
Engadget,
USAToday,
GamesIndustry.biz,
1up.com,
Gamespot,
Cube.IGN,
NYT,
BBC,
Gamasutra, and
CNN. Specific coverage on the new Gameboy Micro is available from
Gamasutra,
GamesIndustry.biz, and
CNN. My two cents about Nintendo's conference are available below.
Last night I took in G4's E3 coverage, and their discussion of the Nintendo press conference struck a chord with me. This last console cycle, with the Gamecube, Nintendo really missed the boat. The GC wasn't released until many months after the PS2 was already in homes lighting up screens, and their attempts to carve out a market share were always muddled by confusing choices. The most confusing choice of the current generation, by far, was their almost complete refusal to participate in online gaming. While the Xbox sailed by with the Live service and the PS2 limped into the arena with the broadband adapter, the GC quietly sailed on with only Phantasy Star to break up its lonely voyage. At last year's E3 Nintendo very specifically said that they were not going to miss the boat this time. They were going to release the next console right around the same time as the other two companies and make sure their name was out there.
I have high hopes for the Revolution, but to be honest Nintendo's press conference was very underwhelming. Even given that the PS3 isn't going to be on store shelves for another year, what Sony showed on Monday was literally jaw-dropping. Even if there was some liberal use of pre-rendered footage in the presentation, the press conference put on by Sony was designed to fire the imagination and get people excited about the possibilities of the next generation. Nintendo offered us Nintendogs. And a new Game Boy Advanced. Yes, I think that downloading old games onto your Revolution is a cool idea, but a...uh...friend of mine tells me that I can emulate those games on my PC for free.
Perhaps all this is just worrywortism. Nintendo has never failed to be innovative in the past, and their support of the DS and quirky games like Warioware is proof that not everything has to be same-old same-old in this ever more business-like industry. They have more than a year to get their ducks in a row, but I'm afraid that Sony and Microsoft may have already beaten them to the punch. In the end, it's not just about making fun games. You have to sell them too.
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Yes, I think that downloading old games onto your Revolution is a cool idea, but a...uh...friend of mine tells me that I can emulate those games on my PC for free.
Yeah, copyright infringement is soo much cheaper!
The Revolution's game-downloading capabilities
My Phantom can do that, and so much more. Infact my phantom is so much better: only those truely 31007, such as myself, can see its golden case...
3 degrees of separation from Vladimir Putin
I know I do, of the next-gen consoles it is at lesat the prettiest and the ability to download over 20+ years of nintendo content! Nintendo is coming back in a big way.
Ok, those look damn smoooooth if I say so myself BUT are those in-game shots or the dreaded "let's show the incredibly breath taking cinematic art and make it LOOK in-game even though we will soon find out after dropping 50 bones that the in-game graphics are as bad as ET the Extra Terrestial on the Atari 2600!"
Nintendo did miss the boat. They've parlayed their one-time leadership of the market into a great big bust. They could hope to catch the low-cost segment of the market with the specs that are given for the Revolution, but that would still require them to take advantage of media events like E3.
I think they're going the way of Sega and Atari. If they keep it up they won't be able to keep producing their own console.
more of the same on Twitter.
Nintendo down the same path? I hope not. I'm an errant oldschool nintendo fanboy based on my 8bit experience mostly; and I bought a N64 on launch... Was i happy with it? Yes. I bought a PS1 only for FF7; and refused to buy a ps2 until a title i had to have was available. I did the same with Xbox and Gamecube; and i ended up buying none of them. We will see how it bans out... :p I really hope they dont go the way of sega and just become an excellent game house.
i actually feel bad for nintendo. some people say that did it to themselves whenever they were on top with the SNES, but it almost hurts to watch a company release 2 bad systems in a row. they do a great job at being innovative (DS for example) but in reality, people just want good games. it is only until the past year or so that they have began opening up to more a mature market. until then, it was constantly ignoring it. same with the broadband market. with the expection of a few titles, they constantly ignored it. but hopefully now they will get everything in order.
i own all 3 systems right now and im sad to say the GC gets the least amount of use out of all. when i bought my N64, i literally played the thing 3-4 times and never touched it again. i hope the revolution will change the pattern that nintendo has seem to be repeating. and while it is great to see that mario, zelda, metroid, mario tennis, and any other old game you can think of getting rehashed constantly, please stop. well dont stop, but get some other titles under the belt other than what is already there. all i see are the top dogs are nintendo saying 'well, we have a shit system, but hey! we have mario! our cash cow only second to zelda!'
Playing antique games is a novelty, NOT a major selling point! It's like having a Video Camera that also plays back mp3s... I mean why not if it's cheap and if gives the user another reason to love their product. Nobody will initially buy based on such a flimsy feature though.
I for one, am taking a wait and see approach.
I've been a nintendo fan from the start with NES. Yes they lost a lot of the market when sony entered the game and gave them real competition, but they've consistantly showed inovation in the gaming industry
From what I've seen from the Sony footage, it looks absolutely amazing, and I'm sure the XBox360 will be great, too.... but I have a Tivo, I have my computer for browsing the internet... I want a game system (don't even get me started on XBox360's connectivity to the MediaCenterPC.... does anyone even own one?). I want new games. I don't want more FPS games. I want new genres... something different. I have faith that Nintendo will provide that something different. The DS (though akward and lacking) shows that they're not really afraid to try something new.
So, while Nintendo's press conference may have been underwhelming, I'm still excited for the Revolution.
Slashdot: where repeating an article in a post is "+5 Insightful"
The implications of this are pretty far-reaching. One the positive side, it potentially allows for some different ideas regarding game-play. The lower power is also probably going to translate into a lower (perhaps much lower) launch price, which could be an asset during the opening months of the next cycle, when the other consoles are still $400+.
However, it's not all good news. Less powerful hardware and a "different" control system is almost certainly going to have ramifications for cross-platform titles on the Revolution. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the vast majority of 3rd party developers just didn't bother. The simple fact is that most developers are, quite rightly, more concerned with making games that are going to sell well than games that will be fun for their programmers to work on. The nice thing at present with the X-Box and PS2 (and to some degree the Gamecube) is that they have a large shared library of games. You can play at least some titles from the Burnout, Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance, Silent Hill, Grand Theft Auto and Metal Gear Solid franchises on more than one system and these are all A-list games. A lower price-point isn't going to be such a big selling-factor for parents if little Johnny can't play the latest big-name cross-platform game on the system.
Had Nintendo been making these moves at the end of the SNES generation, they would have had a decent (perhaps overwhelming) chance of success. However, that was the last time that they really had the market share (and hence the clout with developers) to dictate the shape of the future of the games industry. If they can make the design decisions they want to push through with the Revolution into industry standards, then they will recapture their dominance of the market. However, with Sony now being the real brand leaders, the odds are stacked against them to an almost impossible degree. If they fail, they're going to further establish their reputation as a niche player. Mario, Metroid and Zelda alone are not enough to stay afloat. In these days of spiralling development costs for both hardware and software, they couldn't hold that status for long before being forced down the Sega route.
I've not been much of a Nintendo fan for quite a while now; not since it was clear that they'd lost the plot during the N64/PSX generation. However, it's almost refreshing to see a company taking such risks in today's marketplace. Sadly, I think they've picked the wrong risks to take and this is ultimately going to lead to their demise.
Not an expert by any means but Nintendo probably wanted the spotlight to itself. Honestly, everyone is talking about Xbox vs. PS3 --- Nintendo can wait a few weeks/months and release info on the Revolution once PS3/Xbox talks get a bit stale.
My question is if Nintendo and Sony are going to have U.S. launch dates at around the same time as Japan, or is the PS3 going to be out months and months before, like the PS2?
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
Given the deep pockets they're competing against, if Nintendo doesn't have at least three out-of-the-park homerun titles for release on their next platform, I think they're dead as a hardware company and will have to turn themselves into a pure game publisher.
Nintendo always puts out the big information at Tokyo Game Show or some other usually Nintendo biased video game show in Japan. The fact they didn't supply anything at E3 is not a surprise. Why would you try to compete for press time when you can say something later and have the spotlight for yourself?
Nintendo didn't miss out on online in the current generation. Xbox Live has
been a mild success, though the majority of Xbox owners don't use it, but PS2
online was a fizzle.
Honestly, I think Nintendo has been trying harder than anyone to innovate. The
DS lineup is really out there: Nintendogs, PacPix, Electroplankton. Weird,
wonderful stuff. But maybe the rest of the hardcore gaming market has gone too
much over the top, expecting desaturated military shooters, which is what
everyone is announcing at E3 this year.
People like to cite Nintendo as the loser of the current generation, but that's
far from true. They dominate the handheld market both in hardware and game
sales. And though the Game Cube is the third place console, the big games for
that console are all coming straight from Nintendo, with each one pulling in
awards and selling like crazy.
Personally, I think Nintendo's biggest difficulty is that they lean much too
hard on old franchises: Metroid, Zelda, Mario, Kirby, and so on. They were once
fresh, but no longer. Hopefully some of Nintendo's experimentation will result
in a brand new hit for them.
Downloading games to your console is hardly a big deal. You can do it today with Xbox Live. I already have Ms. Pac Man and Dig Dug. The games start at $5.
It's too bad, Gameboy was so commonplace, it was a generic name like 'walkman' for a while. Okay, maybe 'walkman' dates me, but you get the idea. Even my nine year old daughter says that having no backlight on the first GBA was a major screw-up. Then the SP comes out and we're supposed to pay all over again for the same device done right?
Don't even get me started on the DS and how it's "not a replacement for the GBA."
more of the same on Twitter.
With a sucessful marketing campaign, imagine the outcome. Imagine the NES generation, now in their 20s and 30s, with disposable income to spend a mere $200 on, and showing them with Super Mario 3 in their homes. And... here's where I think the MAJOR innovation and system-seller will make Rev sell like wild-fire: combine the internet Wi-Fi with the old-school games. You could play Dr. Mario head-to-head with your old next-door neighbor, even if she now lives in Seattle. You wanna get some Street Fighter II action on? Pop it in. Still remember Up, Up, Down, Down, L, R, L, R, (select) start? Then now you can play through 8 levels of Contra with your college roommate. And as with the great NES games, we often loved watching others play them. Well, if a "spectator mode" is installed, your elementary school/camp buddy/cousin is only a wi-fi connection away, and you can watch him pound away at Bald Bull, King Hippo and Super Macho Man.
The nostalgia market is enourmous. It's more than a Mario-All Stars rehash like the GBA games. This could be the console that Nintendo was sorta going for (but never quite even made much of a dent) with their "Who Are You?" campaign. This sort of strategy will send the message to non-gamers that Nintendo is synonymous with fun. Synonymous with their childhood, and that feeling you had when you first got to World 8 in Super Mario 3. And... perhaps their own 5 year-olds that they now have? Get them in with these games. Then... they'll try that Mario 64 they might have heard their girlfriend's 18 year-old younger brother talk about. Then, they'll try the new Mario 128. Like that? Well, in the Nintendo Online startup screen, here's a frontpage:
"Welcome BTWR! Your collection includes Metroid (NES), Super Mario Bros 2 (NES), Tetris DX (Gameboy Color), Super Mario RPG (SNES) and Street Fighter II (SNES). Might we recommend Super Smash Bros (N64), Tetris Attack (SNES) or Metroid Prime (Gamecube)? Also, look for Metroid: Mission X coming next month for Nintendo Revolution and The Legend of Zelda: World of Hyrule for the Nintendo DS. Press A to pre-order it now on your NintendoAccount and get a 60-minute FreePlay of Super Metroid (SNES) and one (1) free downloadable NES 'Players-Choice' game you wish"
The possibilities are endless...
I believe that Nintendo is overstretching the life of the Gameboy. I mean, not to be a troll, but changing the configuration of a handheld doesn't extend its life, what does is making it more powerful. Does Nintendo think many people with an original Gameboy Advanced is likely to purchase a GBA sp, or a Gameboy mirco? I just don't see, now with the new consoles on the horizon, that there is a need for the Gameboy in its current state, especially due to the DS. Just my two cents.
public class null extends java applet { System.out.print ("Tabula Rasa"); }
Well, assuming you can get one that'll actually still play decently and consistently. The last NES I played would periodically replace chunks of graphics with random characters. And while controlling an @ instead of a Mario was novel at first, it gets annoying eventually. Even my SNES(es) are a bit worn - sometimes it takes several tries to get a cartridge to load.
I agree that $20 a game is ridiculous, but if they lowered it to, say, $3-5 or several for $20, I'd snap one up and collect them all.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
It has that sleek look that means mothers will buy it. and the specs don't look bad. it's a 2 by 4 setup, and 1.8 centimetres (about 0.7 inches) and it definately looks like something dads would buy for their kids :D
Blah blah sig blah blah blah irony blah blah
I doubt PSP was on the front of Nintendo's mind when they decided to create the new GB. Though they are both in the portable gaming market, they are operating on completely different ends of the spectrum. That would be like saying because BMW released a new convertible, Kia would respond in kind by building their own. Such an argument is baseless. Gameboy has been milking their loyal fanbase and caters to a whole different demographic. It's amazing but the GB is still an ideal platform for younger children: it's cheap, uncomplicated, and sturdy. I think the PSP is targeted to a slightly more mature audience.
Nuclear war would really set back cable. - Ted Turner
I mean, seriously, half the G4 coverage w.r.t. the PS2 last night addressed that issue. Then I thought about what I'd seen. In the PS3 "ducky" demo, there was that bald SCEE VP allegedly tweaking the duck's movement. Was it live, or was it Memorex? We've no idea. We have to take the presenters at their word until somebody can lay their hands on a demo, which at this point, will not be the final hardware, or the game's engine isn't properly tweaked, or something.
Besides which, so what? The PS3 tech demos were, IMHO, better than anything MS showed, so why didn't MS show prerendered stuff too? Or did they, and it just doesn't look that good?
I suppose it's just one of those "lies, damnable lies, and benchmarks" kind of things, but it's a little absurd devoting much effort to a discussion.
How about a thread re: the estimated $400 console price on both the Xbox2 and PS3? I know that's going to keep me on my trusty PS2 for at least another year.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
>Playing antique games is a novelty, NOT a major selling point! It's like having a Video Camera that also plays back mp3s... I mean why not if it's cheap and if gives the user another reason to love their product. Nobody will initially buy based on such a flimsy feature though.
Having an huge (legal) library of old games is a great feature. If it is such a flimsy feature, why is it that so many of the homebrew apps for the other consoles are emus. Nintendo saw that their competitor's consles could play their own past library of games, and probably had a small if not large decsion to do this.
if you check out NintendoOn.com it points mysteriously to an IGN article containing a link to a video that it calls a hoax. However, we know that IGN is in cahoots with Nintendo (Gamespy being the online content provider for DS and presumably Revolution). Also, if you check out the video, it's got amazingly high production values for a hoax.
I agree. Nethack got old pretty fast for me too.
From Gamasutra.com Article:
I've always wondered what it takes to be a trendsetter. Now I know, its some corporate businessman simply saying "if you buy our product, you are a trendsetter!" I can't wait to get mine and set some trends with my disciminating style.
Oh crap... I just realized my joke isn't funny because its the truth.
"After three days without programming, life becomes meaningless." - Tao of Programming
Nintendo has become the Apple of the gamming world, just look at the Revolution its self, almost exactly like a gaming version of the Mac mini. I think they are very happy being #2.
Now I got to wash my brain out for EVER agreeing with anything G4 has ever said.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
I see it far more likely that the NES/SNES/NES64 games will be part of the online service. For your $12 a month of so you will get all the old roms you want to play.
That constant income stream would be nice to have.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
I guess I'm the only person here who thinks that the ability to pay a few bucks (or, I hope and pray very loudly that it's only a few bucks...) for old skool NES and SNES games that can run on this system actually makes this a good selling point, the ability to illegally download them notwithstanding. Hearing about another in-house production game (Mario 32,000? Metroid Prime 16? Zelda I can't even think of a number high enough?) makes me sick almost every time I do - seriously does make me hark for the days of the older skool. Combine old skool goodness with new skool technology (the thing would look a helluva lot nicer than any previous Nintendo system with my home entertainment system, and if it's anything like the GameCube, it'll drop in price VERY quickly), and you've got something workable.
Want to know how to make it a lot better though? Simple: allow the purchase of import games that never made it to the US. I was definitely not the only person who didn't realize, for example, that Mario 2 was not really Mario 2, or Final Fantasy 3 was actuallly 6. Let me buy import games on an American system (new or old) and I think I'll just buy this thing.
Disclosure: the editor is on my friends list, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that he's doing Something Right.
That problem is caused by a worn header (where the cartridges electrical contacts plug into). If you're good with soldering (come on, most of us /.ers are) you can buy a new one and replace it. I did that to my original NES console, and it works as good as new!
I have to admit, I'm quite a Nintendo fanboy, so you can disregard my comments if you like. There a few advantages that the GC had over its peers that I'd like to point out.
1. Portability: The light weight and small form factor of the GC allows it to be toted around to a friends' house if you want to, or for it to be brought with you for weekend trips.
2. Load Times: The GC has much better load times then both PS2 and XBox. So much less that many games appear to have no load times at all.
3. Lower Price: A new GC can be had for 100 $CDN right now. XBox still costs around 200 $CDN, which is about double the price.
4. Better Controllers: While this is a matter of taste, I believe the controllers are much better on the GC. The buttons are much better laid out, allow easy movement between the buttons, and allowing the buttons to be easily located. One exception is that stupid z button.
I think the GC is one of the most underrated systems of all time. It lost out because people are afraid to buy something that looks kiddie, even though it is anything but. I hope Nintendo grabs more market with the Revolution. I also don't think that the Revolution will scare away 3rd party developers with some weird control scheme. Remeber, it is going to be backwards compatible with GC.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
*shock horror how can he say such a thing*
Well, the fact is that the console war is not a winner-takes-all game. At least Nintendo is not playing it that way. They are profitable, and very much so, by being third.
Also, the PSP is not killing the DS "shock horror how can... etc.". They have sold about the same.
Finally, the fact that the Revolution is not 100 times more powerful than the GC doesn't mean a thing. The graphic capabilities of the GC were already quite good, and of course, a little improvement doesn't hurt, but how much more power do games really need? Many games are perfectly enjoyable on systems like the Mega Drive already. The hardware capabilities of the game consoles of today are very close to just how much you need, because the human eye has it's own, physiological, treshold. Exceeding it is meaningless (except for penis-lenght battles, i.e. my penis has 8 cell processors - yeah, but my penis can do 2 teraflops and has 1 GBYTE of UBGRAM).
Sigged!
Games Are Fun had a blog of the Nintendo conference with smaller "wrap-up" articles about the details for the DS and the Revolution. As well as lots of other E3 coverage of course :)
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Well, in the Gamasutra article, Nintendo says they know this new GBA isn't the successor to anything, just another casing.
As far as the buying of these new handhelds, I know a certain small boy who has a GBA, SP, and will probably end up getting a DS, too. Or whatever. The point is that these aren't just for adults...in fact, when were video games meant for adults?
Adults know when something is a rip-off rehash whatever, but kids will still want them for Christmas....
Everything I need to know about copyrights I learned from Slashdot.
What is revolutionary about the PS3 or the XBox 360? New media formats? Being a media center? They are all incremental developments. And why can't the new Nintendo compete with them? Have you played all three? How do you know it can't compete? I personally prefer Nintendo because they come out with games that are fun to play and they try to do something unique and innovative from time to time. But I have friends who have an XBox and a PS2 and there are some fun games on them also. I think it is a little early to make guesses based on Microsoft and Sony's hype. Let the actual product speak for itself.
To be honest I am not so keen on Sony or Microsofts new offerings. They are still running the spec race when it comes to video game performance. All tech industries run this race (computers, digital cameras, and media players) Its part of the way the industry works. every comany wants to flaunt concrete numbers to validate what is ultimately an abstract experience. For computers it was clock speed , for digicams megapixels, for media players hard drive/flash space. But as each of these sectors Matured the spec race has become less relevent (still a factor mind you but not the final say of quality). so here we have sony and micro$oft bickering over which console can do the most floating point calculations. Gimmie a break IF THE GAMES SUCK THE CONSOLE WILL ALSO SUCK. Ninetedo seems to be the only company who gets this, and I hope that they can pull off some great gameplay and content inovation with the revolution. If so then i think they could easly be the number 2 player in the hardware market, maybe even oust sony for #1.
It fell between PS2 and Xbox, and is a lot closer to the Xbox in power. It also shipped between them, but really at the same time as Xbox.
:(
This system looks to come out last, and be much less powerful
Yeah, or you can just prowl your local flea market until you find a 2nd generation NES. I've owned two of them; the second one was cracked and covered in oil and dirt (outside anyway) and after running a cleaning cart through it (yecch) it worked like a champ.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I'm a nintendo fan (M$ hater too) but I'm a bit worried that the Revolution may not so revolutionary after all. The only thing we have been let know about it are features already present in other consoles (wireless controllers, internet) or pointless stuff such as the size of the console. Why should I care what size the console is? It's not like I need to carry it around or something. I hope there are some great and unique features on the Nintendo Revolution, because so far this system seems pretty run-of-the-mill. Also, about the DS, this is a good system, but I'm worried we haven't seen games that use the dual screens creatively. Mainly, the bottom screen is just used as a touch-pad and that's it. What happened to the innovation? I applaus Nintendo's statements about how the game industry must find new ways of gaming and reinvent itself, and while Nintendo has made some interesting advancements, so far they have left a lot to be desired.
Give me the old Nintendo games, give me better graphics, give me a controller that can make me breakfast and walk the dog...as long as you give me free wireless gaming! This is my favorite aspect of the Revolution. Even though some developers may charge to play their games online, Nintendo garunteed that all first party games will be free online. The service itself is free no matter what, no monthly charge. This time around, online gaming is going to be big for consoles. Super Smash Brothers online at launch has already sold the system to me. If Nintendo embraces their online capabilities (which it appears they are by having launch games make use of it), that will sell the system. Free online gaming, it will make a world of difference.
G4's E3 coverage has been pretty good. Nice, somewhat fluffy, coverage of the new 3 yesterday was quite good. They don't dive too deeply into the hardware, and tend to get caught up on the little details, but better than nothing. Personally, I'm waiting for the end of the sea of fps and mondo destruction time wasters... it's got a f*cking teraflop, use it for benefit.
They expect me to pay 20-25 bucks for the same exact game from 15 years ago without any new graphics or sound.
You need to shop at better stores. I've never seen the NES Classics series selling for much more than $15, and frankly I think the manufacturing and distribution costs are the only reason why the retail price wasn't even lower.
Also... NESticle? Did it revert to 1998 when I wasn't looking? There are much better NES emu's available now.
It seems interesting to me that Nintendo wants to re-release all this old content on a new system. It almost seems like they want to renew the copyrights on all of their old software. Let's see...copyrights on software usually are for a 28-year term...so that puts us at 1977, (coincidentally?) the year Nintendo released their very first console, the "TV Game Six"...
Yes, because fancy graphics make a bad game good.
And graphics that aren't ultrasuperfinedetailed make good games UTTERLY HORRIBLE(tm)
Nintendo's biding their time. Sony and Microsoft have shown their hands for this round of poker, and Nintendo's playing it safe.
Having been stunned and dismayed by the quality of commentary that I've read in last 24hrs concerning Nintendo's E3 conference, I was excited that this article might perhaps shine some light on the messages from doom that are being put forth. Sadly, it's not exception, and once again shows complete ignorance on well publicized facts, both on Nintendo as a company, and on their upcoming console.
The buzz on most gaming sites is, expectedly, represented by two extremes. On one side, Nintendo fans and some "undecideds", praise the looks of the Revolution, and it's legacy game download feature.
On the other side, statements that have a stinky ting of "BSD is Dead" come in the following shapes and flavors (paraphrasing):
- "What a weak showing, Nintendo is going to hell, gonna get trounced, dead meat"
- "Legacy gaming?! Some revolution!"
- "PS3 and Xbox are going to smoke the Revolution."
- "Nintendo has made a huge mistake, and it's going to pay for it."
Let's clarify some facts:
- Nintendo made profit on the N64 and the Gamecube, both on consoles sales (they didn't sell at a loss), and games sales. So Nintendo did not lose this generation's "war". It made a profit, and that's always more important than being "first". (Yes Sony also made an overall profit with PS2, if we count games).
Nintendo will almost definitely make profit on the Revolution, so even if it's third, Nintendo won't "die".
- Nintendo did NOT intend to show anything important about the Revolution at this E3. They said it before the conference. So what is everyone whining about?
We also know (if we read the news from these months) that the console isn't finished, and that includes the controller. Why is that so difficult to understand? Even the Iwata should, is not the final version. It will be ready in a few months, and he invited user participation to make suggestions on things like color, etc...
Furthermore, they consider they have very revolutionary ideas, and hence don't want those copied early in the game.
So what was Nintendo supposed to show? Some freaky , wacky, OMFG graphics. NO, once again, you're not listening. "It's not about the graphics anymore (Nintendo)".
In conclusion, Nintendo is right on track, and when it's ready it will show it's console. When that happens, you can all open the floodgates of opinion and commentary, but until then read up on Nintendo before making uninformed comments.
Let me guess what the big surprise is - little DS like screen / touch pads built-in.
Starting with the Nintendo64, Nintendo has been losing ground steadily. They were king of the roost for so long, they just don't know how to deal with competition. They're also overdoing it with the GameBoy Advance... they're trying to squeeze blood from a stone there. Yes it's a great handheld, I love my SP and the games available, but it's getting annoying how they try and rebrand the damn thing every 6 or so months. I can't comment much on the DS since I don't have one.
Right now a lot of the speculation is based on pure hardware specs, which the Revolution is sorely lacking in. Face the facts, success of a console in this upcoming generation is going to be based largely in part on how good the games look.
Yeah, the first party games for Nintendo consoles rock. I love Mario and Zelda... but third party titles tend to be rather lacking. Nintendo has lost most of its old classic titles to other consoles (yes, I know Final Fantasy returned to the Cube... sorta...) Mario and Zelda do not a successful console make. The game library is the second key part to a console, and that's another area Nintendo keeps losing ground in.
I root for Nintendo all the time, they've been the "underdog" for a while now, and I want to see them make a comeback if only for nostalgia value, but they have shown they lack the business and market saavy to effectively compete against the likes of Sony or Microsoft.
Nintendo needs to do a LOT of work to leverage their classic library like they have for the GBA. That's where their strength in product lies now, not really in anything too recent.
Their other advantage is because they are so much below the other two in hardware specs, they can undercut them on price by a significant margin. With the other two coming out in the $400-$500 range, a $150 console could really shake things up.
I use the term revolutionary because that's how Nintendo tries to present all of its products, even when they aren't typically revolutionary at all. Hell, they even went so far as to name their new console that. While the other consoles aren't really revolutionary, they represent a massive jump from the current line in terms of technology specs and visual capability. They're poised to leapfrog the capabilities of a PC again (for a time at least).
A few things:
The PSP and the DS do not exactly target the same market. The DS has two primary purposes - as a special controller for Revolution and as a handheld console for people who don't normally play games. That's why a lot of the upcoming titles are puzzle games and things like Animal Crossing.
Online capability: strange, even though X-box has Live, that didn't stop Gamecube from completely owning it in terms of worldwide sales... and Microsoft just started to turn a profit on X-Box???
Remember that Gamecube's primary customers are parents looking for family-friendly games. What if pedophiles started hanging out in Pokemon Online? The American media would eat it up and Big N would be dead in the water in a month. Definitely not something to be rushed into.
And as for those saying that Nintendo will stop making hardware: have you ever played with a Gamecube? Ergonomic controllers. Next to no load time. Sharp graphics. All in a small, light, durable box. $99 CDN. Sony and Microsoft wouldn't know how to pull that off, even if they had any interest in doing so.
If I want to play Ultimate Online Gorefest 2005 (complete with five-minute load screens before each level) I'll go play on my computer. However if I have some friends over and want to jump right into a really fun game, nothing beats Nintendo.
The US Army: promoting democracy through unquestioned obedience
Its possible that I've just missed any reference to this in the various articles and /. user comments, but has anybody from Nintendo specifically said whether they will or will not be charging fees for the old downloadable nintendo games? Many people seem to be assuming that these games will be free but quotes like this one from Nintendo.com really isn't specific enough to tell.
"The console also will have downloadable access to 20 years of fan-favorite titles originally released for Nintendo 64, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and even the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)."
When comparing Nintendo's strategy compared to Microsoft's and Sony's, it looks pretty bad. But that's not the point, Nintendo is doing something different than the other two.
Sony and Microsoft are attempting to bring hardcore gaming to the mainstream using convergence. Nintendo on the otherhand are attempting to change the nature of gaming to create something new for both hardcore and non-gamers. I don't really think that it's fair to compare the strategies of Sony and Microsoft to what Nintendo is going to do. If you're not excited by what Nintendo's strategy is, then you're just not part of their market.
While I agree that nostalgic games won't be a selling point for hardcore gamers, I guarantee that they will make a killing on the casual and non-gamer market through nostalgia. Believe it or not, nostalgic games are big moneymakers.
Also, the reason why I think people will buy the downloadable versions of the games instead of emulating those games for free on your PC is that you will be able to play multiplayer. You could play Mario Kart and Goldeneye as if you're playing on the N64 for example.
...that you don't know that GBA stands for Game Boy Advance. Not Game Boy Advanced. Nintendo are still WAY behind Sony and Microsoft, but I'm hoping that Revolution can make it a three-horse race again. And why would anyone buy a Game Boy Micro when they can buy a DS, get the great new games that are coming for that and play all of their old GBA games on it?
My Mind Is Rewired. Is Yours?
Do you have a GBA?
Yes? Then of course you don't want a Micro. The only real draw is the screen, unless you feel that you'd be happier with a smaller GBA.
No? Well, here's the top of the line model. Properly backlit screen, fits in your pocket, plays all your favorite games. If you don't want it now, you probably never did, and therefore, Nintendo hasn't lost anything.
The thing that people forget is that there's room for more than one console these days. Many people have at least two of the three big consoles. The GBA is still the bridge system to the Gamecube, as the DS can't connect to it. And yes, the Gamecube can't pump as many texturemapped polys per second. Yes, Gamecube discs hold less data than the competition. Yes, you might lose out on some fancy visual effects.
However, the one thing that Nintendo tends to get right is the biggest one. The games are fun. They take a known formula, update it for the new console, and knock it out of the park. Then they take something completely off the wall, like Pikmin, and somehow manage to get people addicted to it. And the Gamecube is the system people prefer to bring over to a friend's place, usually for Smash Brothers, sometimes for Mario Party. Four players, one system, and fun games.
Sure, the PS2 probably has a bigger library. Sure, the Xbox has those edgier, bloodier games. But somehow, too many of them just aren't fun, and that keeps those games from leading console sales. Aside from the N64, Nintendo's done a pretty impressive job of releasing systems with tons of great games, and that's really what keeps them going. A bit of expertise in delivering the minimum hardware in the optimum form factor doesn't seem to hurt, either.
And really, the Game Boy micro is no worse than the Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light (only in Japan, I think,) and Game Boy Color. Three functionally identical handhelds, and then one with a minor upgrade and a non-backlit color screen. Not very exciting, but enough of a change to get new customers, as well as getting a few sales from people who just wanted a more compact system. They don't have to be groundbreaking, they just have to impress those people who wanted a handheld that they could carry around in a pocket or a purse.
Raptor
"Procrastination is great. It gives me a lot more time to do things that I'm never going to do."
It's obvious Nintendo is in some trouble now since instead of coming out with really great new products, they're releasing a console
That's like saying the iPod is in trouble because they've come out with four revisions of it. You need to understand that the Gameboy is at such a point of market saturation that they can be constantly revamping and updating their handheld and this is what works for them and has worked for them in the past decade.
Mmmm, -funroll-loops
Nintendo is working on nailing a competition-free niche to distinguish their product as the only option in a certain market. They have the commanding lead in 'youth-oriented titles'. If they could make a strong v-chip style protection system for it and market it as the more affordable console for the younger gamer, they would secure their largely untapped market. You're right though, not playing ball is not playing ball. How long, though, before there's room in the market for several fringe players? Is that time already here? Nintendo seems awful optimistic after falling so hard and staying on the bottom of the heap. Affordability and technological ubiquity has made the game console market larger than ever before.
You're right! Choice is bad! Nintendo should only produce one type of GBA, in one color, and we should all thank them for it! How dare they take something that's been entirely successful for them and give us consumers more choice?! Who are they trying to fool!?
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
I can download Nesticle
Nesticle was good for its time, but compared to current emulators, it's an inaccurate P.O.S. In fact, an NES program can detect Nesticle with just four instructions. Use Nintendulator instead, especially if you're developing your own NES programs.
and a couple hundred ROMS
Now that Nintendo is renting ROMs online, the fair use argument for abandonware largely evaporates. Are you prepared to pay statutory damages if you're caught?
Playing antique games is a novelty, NOT a major selling point!
It's not a selling point to the public. It's a selling point to Nintendo's legal counsel, who can neatly bust through the fair use defenses that some of the abandonware(z) sites have been trying now that Nintendo is dealing in the works in question once again.
It's not so much choice as Nintendo trying to milk little kids (or more appropriately their parents) for money by making the same old product look "new and shiny" but charge more money for it. The SP pissed a lot of people off because they felt it was what the GBA should have been at initial release. It's a cheap trick to keep turning now new versions of the same hardware with incrimental improvements in design. Hell, this time it's not even a better design really, it's just smaller... because the SP wasn't already pocket-sized.
Throwing a new case on the same hardware, or additional color shells isn't providing real choice, especially when you charge "new product" prices for the next shell design.
Because it's Nintendo, people want to defend it out of some sense of nostalgia. Microsoft gets blasted every time they put out a new version of Word because most here look at it and think it's just an incrimental improvement over the last version and shouldn't cost so much for so little in return. Sony got hammered a bit over the smaller PS1 and PS2 consoles too.
Nintendo is surrounded by some mythical shroud of warm fuzzy feelings for a lot of people. This magic shield gets people to look past the poor business decisions or the cheap marketing tactics they use because of some odd feeling of duty many of us feel just because we had an NES when we were a kid.
...except that GC and NDS consoles (and games) are selling fairly well in Japan (unlike, say, the Xbox). I know that Slashdot is USA-centric, but it irritates me that, because Nintendo encourage games fitting to the Japanese gaming style, Americans keep saying that the company is dying. Newsflash: it isn't, and there are those of us who deeply enjoy its games.
Prescriptive grammar:linguistics
1. Games are targetted towards an older demographic
2. The thing costs $250 for a unit with no games.
Sony's counting on that older audience to keep the PSP afloat. The fact that it's missing its targets probably shows that the reason the GBA has done so well is that it targets kids as well as teens/adults.
The PSP is going after the gadget/gamer crowd. While there's definitely money there, in no way is it goign to be greater than the gadget+kid crowd.
New iPods offer additional features over the original version. With the exception of the lit screen that was introduced with the SP, there's no added benefit to the new GBAs.
Agreed. While already noted that if you wanted to play past titles that emulation was an option, for some of us it isn't.
Take my computer for an example, an aging Pentium 3@450mhz with 192mb of ram. For me, trying to emulate games like GoldenEye or Ocarina of Time results in a sound studdering, 5 frames per second, 300 pixel wide window of disapointment.
While I already own a Nintendo64, having to unhook my Gamecube, hookup the 64, and be limited to the games I already own kind of sucks. Sure there are lots of second hand game shops where I could get n64 games for a dime a dozen; but depending on their condition and all things considered, I'd rather have my NES+SNES+N64 all on one console.
With the power now available in these nextgen consoles, I'm glad all 3 contenders are offering the backwards compatability I've been wishing for for years. Just the thought of playing some SMB3, then in a matter of seconds be traversing Hyrule in Link to the Past, then jumping into a good ol round of multiplayer on GoldenEye, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Kudos Nintendo for continuing to give me reasons to believe in you.
You don't even need to solder the adapter on. The 2 NES' that i've repaired this way you just take them apart and yank the old connector off the motherboard (provided you have all the screws pulled out). Now, after that's done clean your game cart contacts then take care to NOT DO THE BLOW TRICK ON THE GAMES! You can get the adapter here from MCM
How would these downloaded games be preserved? If Nintendo is smart, they will not charge a rental fee for the old games or even a per-play fee. If they allow you to repurchase their old library of games and KEEP them (possibly on the SD cards) or alternately allow gamers to play the old games on demand for free, including the Gamecube games, then this could be a huge success. I know I'd be more interested in being able to play some of those old SNES games along with the Gamecube games (many of which I want to play already). On top of that, I'd obviously be willing to buy new games for the Revolution. If they do this right, it could be a good selling point. In my opinion anyway.
KhyronWhat support for the DS are you talking about? Its been out since November and we have a crippled Mario 64 version, and an underwelming version of WarioWare. Thats about it. OK Feel the Magic is kinda cool, but the software definately wasn't ready when the console shipped.
"My head hurts, My feet stink, and I dont love Jesus." -Jimmy Buffett
From Nintendo's Japanese site - haven't seen all of these anywhere else yet:h tml
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/e3_2005/revo/index.
The second last one has what looks like ports for Gamecube controllers on top?? If so it adds weight to the new-controllers-are-weird theory - maybe you will need a gamecube controller to play gamecube games on it?
I think 99 cents for an NES game, $5 for an SNES game and $10 for an N64 game sounds like a fair deal to me ;)
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
"If you're good with soldering..."
That's odd, when I replaced mine I didn't need to solder anything. The socket was pluggable to the system motherboard. Soldering just seemed like overkill.
Nintendo obviously only has copyright for 1st party games from previous systems. Which probably means that either the selection will be limited, or it will be a pay service.
I think it will still be a pretty cool feature (very fortunate for Nintendo that their games maxed out at about 20megs before the GC) and will probably turn a lot of heads.
So, now that Nintendo is coming out with their Nth generation of portable gaming system, does anyone else think it's time to updates /.'s old GamyBoy icon to something a little more modern?
I'm a Zelda addict. I've bought every Nintendo console solely for the purpose of playing every Zelda game in the series.
I've been waiting for more official news of the next game, so this is great news. And if anyone hasn't already seen the trailer, they've put up a Zelda:Twilight Princess preview page with it (and other stuff) on Zelda.com
This one looks incredible, though I was secretly hoping for another cell-shaded version -- at long as it was a longer game than Wind Waker
No, it is still choice. You might not like the new price, but there it is, make your decision.
Nintendo gets picked on too. There's no love here for the Virtual Boy. Everyone admits the problems that the original GBA had.
Comparing this mini GBA to a new version of Word from MS is sort of a silly analogy. Nintendo is giving you a brand new piece of hardware for your money, and it doesn't break compatibility with the old one. Some people might value the smaller form, some might not. Why are you so pissy about it?
Nintendo has its fanboys just like every other system. Go read the threads about the other systems. Sony and MS get ripped apart in some posts, and held up as gods in others. Nintendo isn't any different in that regard.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
It seems pretty obvious to me that online play had nothing to do with the success or lack of success for this generation of consoles.
The Xbox had the best online play with xbox live and it hardly beats out Nintendo for 2nd place.
If PS2's online service limps along then why is it by FAR the #1 consol and not the XBox?
I personally don't know anybody at all who plays their console games online and just about everybody I know owns all 3 systems.
Was online play really that big of a factor??!
As far as America goes I'm willing to bet that KIDS perception of playing adult games versus "kid games" has more to do with Nintendo's lack of success than anything else.
(the reason I say kids is because I don't know a kid over the age of 7 or 8 that doesn't think the GC is for kids..)
So how long after playing are your hands numb from clapping like a fool really hard because the faster you go the harder you clap?
I just got both of those last night. Holy crap what fun. Super monkey ball is a lot of fun too.
I'm outside their target demographic at 33 though I bet.
As a rock-in-roll Physicist once said, No matter where you go, there you are.
At least in most western countries, copyrights are pushing the century mark. Early Nintendo games won't be public domain until well after most of us are dead and buried.
I gotta tell you, though... I've been playing emulated games for years now, and building a nice collection of original carts. If Nintendo can get the emulation 100%, with a nice selection of games (don't forget to include more than just the top-sellers, guys!), for a *reasonable* price, I'm more than sold. This will be like the ultimate emuPC, but legal, a proper TV-out signal, good controllers.. *drooooool*.
Couple of ideas that would make this my own personal wet dream:
1. Cross-license with Sega. Have Master System and Genesis (and maybe Saturn!) games available too.
2. Sell (reasonably cheap, say $10-15) controllers that plug into the Rev, with the original button layout and design. Actually, if it's all going to be wireless, this should just be a form-factor issue.
Everyone else can enjoy their $50 games. If Nintendo can keep the price reasonable (I dunno, $1-5 per), I'd spend hundreds each year. Much easier to justify a $2 impulse purchase than a $50 one. And I'd be doing it every other day.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
The new feature of the GBA is its size and design, technically its completly identical to the old GBAs, Nintendo has been rather clear on that. Its for those people that want a small device that really fits in their pocket and doesn't look like a toy and for those that simply collect gameboys :)
If you own already another GBA and are happy no need to buy a Micro, if you always wanted the smallest Gameboy ever, now you can get it.
Its really not much different from what Apple did with the iPod vs iPod mini, a little bit smaller in size, even so the original was already anything but large, but nothing really new beside that.
ok Im going to hold my comments about revolution , yes what Nintendo shown was underwhelming, but then we havent seen much of it to state anything so...
However what I can I say is about the ps3 , the ps3 was impressive, seriously but is also a lot of theory with no actual game demos to talk about. Lets talk per example about the Alfred Molina demo in which the actor was rendered using 3d technology and was almost good enough to pass as a human photograph, impressive yes, but you can clearly see that,it was the only thing done by the system, we couldnt see the famous octopus arms moving around, the entire 2 teraflops of power were used to render one single character head. How could you do a game like that? obviously you CANT.
Then there was the unreal 3 engine demo, and the announcer tried to convince the audience it was made in 2 months, even the developer tried to say "yeah, but we are er, very good at this..." FYI the U3 engine took around 3-5 years to be created! it may have taken 2 months to port it to the PS3 but theres no way you could do that in 2 months!
That leads me to believe the sony wasnt preocupied on the veracity of their statements. And yes, that leads me to believe that what we saw was mostly prerrendered.
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
Playing old games? Please. Where is the "revolution"?
Think of this as the iTunes of video games.
Sure didn't seem like a big deal at the time. Downloading music? Please. I've been doing that for free with Napster for years!
I'd say that was quite a revolution for the music industry. Only difference this time is that Nintendo will lose out on the folks who only want to play this year's games. Seeing as how you can still buy PS1 games brand new in stores, and most of the Playstation market is the newer generation of game players, I don't think there are too many of the "old games suck" crowd left.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
I have to say, and this as a erstwhile PS fan, Nintendo definitely wins the design prize this time around. The XBox 360 and PS3 both strayed from the simplicity mantra of great design. With the addition of DVD playback and the ability to relive my childhood through those old ROMs, this might actually find a place in my cramped dorm room.
I can totally see my floor girls having Bubble Bobble night in my room.
A lot of times not even that.
Scrub the heck out of your cartridge contacts with rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip (it'll come out BLACK), and old games play like they're brand new.
I've gone through 10 or 12 NES decks in the past couple of years (I keep selling my spares to friends), and haven't had to touch the inside of the deck yet.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
How exactly did MS force it's way in??? From what I know, they developed the console, made a few hundred thousand of them, put them in stores to sell. Where's this force people keep talking about?
The Digital Couture Collection
Is it just me or does this seem like a rehash of a PC game title that is still around?
I'm not sure how many people recall the "Catz" and Dogz" series of virtual pet games that have been around for years. When I first saw this game that was the first thing I thought of, "Oh! They ported Dogz to the Nintendo DS....um and this is big why?".
Ubisoft still makes/distributes the games/sims or whatever you want to call them. Check them out at:
http://petz.ubi.com/
If I'm not mistaken (and I could be) microsoft sold about 20 million xbox... and they have 2 million live subscribers... How is this a mild success for a concept that's never been brought to the console before? I don't care what anyone says, but MS did a wonderful job with Live.
The Digital Couture Collection
Best. Zelda. Evar.
Not since Marie-Antoinette played milkmaid has looking simple and honest been so fake and complicated.
"I think maybe Nintendo is feeling pressure from Sony's PSP, which is obviously superior to the DS, and they scrapped together something just so they can present. Lame!"
Yeah, they quickly scavanged up a nation wide wireless network service complete with Revolution compatible emulators, flash memory, and ready to go ROMs so they can flip off the PSP even though it's not competing with the Revolution.
"Derp de derp."
"according to Nintendo's measurement about the weight of 80 paper clips."
Yes, yes, but what is that in sticks of gum?
When were videogames made for adults?
Read Stephen Levy's "Hackers" (NOT related to the movie in any way or form) And you'll see that videogames were first designed by adults, and only adults played it, on a HUGE machine that you had to flip switches on to get the appropriate response.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
I remember a local store was selling them for $20 when they were discontinued and I was kicking myself for not buying all of them. The ones that I found were all going for too much money.
I own an Xbox and a GC and I play the GC a lot more than I do the XBox. Right now the favorite is Donkey Konga. I've got Halo 1/2, KOTOR, Doom3, all the favorites for the XBox. But I just seem to enjoy playing the GC more. Tales of Symphonia is the coolest looking game I've seen in a while.
It could just be that I'm a 10 year old trapped in a 30 year old body though.
"For a successful technology, honesty must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled." -Feynman
I hadn't seen it. It... made me cry. I've gone from 'moderately interested' to 'I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.'
By reading this you acknowledge that you have read it.
You beat me to it. The alcohol trick works perfectly. Just make sure you use the clear kind and none of that mint scented stuff, though it probably wouldn't hurt.
...All I can say is that my life is pretty strange...
I should also mention that GCN games can run in progressive scan mode.
Doesn't progressive scan need component outputs? And don't component outputs need the "DIGITAL A/V OUT", which isn't present in newer GameCube units? And don't the older units that have "DIGITAL A/V OUT" cost beaucoup bucks on eBay?
Even in the cartridge days, they didn't start measuring them in "megabits" to make them look 8x bigger until everyone else was doing it (notably SNK with Neo Geo, I think that was where that started)
To the best of my knowledge, Nintendo of America didn't even disclose the ROM size of its Game Paks until the late 1990 issue of Nintendo Power that reviewed the game Dr. Mario for NES, a 512 Kibit game.
XB360s interchangable faceplates (lame concession to the X-Treme gamer segment I abhor)
Is not. Nintendo started it with the Game Boy Play It Loud series, monochrome GB systems with differently colored cases. It continued through the N64 and GameCube, whose controllers were available in different colors.
I currently own an PS2, XBox, and Gamecube. I bought the PS2 first for FF, then the Cube for the nintendo games (and it was cheap) and finally the XBox because I got a good deal on it. After reading all of the stats the only console I'm definitly going to buy is the Revolution. NES/SNES/N64 Library? Where do I sign up?!?! I know I'll get a PS3 or X360 (or both) but I'm waiting to hear what games are coming out for which. The Revolution, on the other hand, is going to have a huge library of classics I grew up on, so that one I'll preorder. Good move Nintendo I say.
Nintendo is a lot like Disney.
At least Nintendo doesn't make distorted adaptations of popular folk tales and then try to use trademark law and copyright term extensions to deter otherwise non-infringing and/or non-commercial competition. (There was the SuicideGirls incident, but that was Nintendo's law firm's mistake, not Nintendo's.)
Nintendo is a lot like Disney. 9 times out of 10 they put out the highest quality stuff around
May be true of Nintendo but not of Disney. Of Disney's last five canonical animated films (Atlantis, Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, and Home on the Range), only Lilo & Stitch got overwhelmingly good reviews.
Well, in all honesty - they did scramble that whole DS wirelss network thingy together. They aren't actually doing it themselves, as they are just contracting ign/gamespy - and they probably aren't going to set up any wireless hotspots over here in the states - the country is too big, and wifi is percolating into downtown areas of its own accord anyway. I think that the fact that PSP has internet ready games at launch did kind of force them to realize that they need to get their consoles into gear with this whole online thing.
To borrow a line from a song, Nintendo is "glorifying their past while the future dries up."
Banking primarily on your past catalog is something that tired old rock stars do when they can't hit the notes, write the songs, or bring in the fans anymore with something new. While I understand there's a lot of well-deserved goodwill towards Nintendo's old titles, at some point you have to look ahead and re-releasing and rehashing over and over again isn't innovative and it sure as hell isn't revolutionary.
Nintendo said that many developers would be turned-off by their new console and I can see why. It is designed to promote their back catalog above all else. They are the has-beens of the console world and would rather focus on the latest repackaged "Greatest Hits" collection than dare to even try something new.
When it comes down to a choice between Super Mario Bros 2 or playing Mario 45 and Zelda 37, you can't expect to be seen as doing anything but spinning your wheels.
The Xbox Live Arcade will offer old games up for download as well. Microsoft views it as icing on the cake and not the Be-All, End-All of gaming and a pinnacle of innovation that will change everything.
Online Smash Bros. sequel available at launch?
Nintendo has sold me a console.
...but is it art?
- Nintendo made profit on the N64 and the Gamecube, both on consoles sales (they didn't sell at a loss), and games sales. So Nintendo did not lose this generation's "war". It made a profit, and that's always more important than being "first". (Yes Sony also made an overall profit with PS2, if we count games).
Nintendo has sold the Gamecube at a loss.
Just copying and pasting the standard info, feel free to find links yourself (your nonsense is posted too often to bother with a custom post):
May 24, 2001
In the GameCube business, industry specialists estimate the company will lose 5,000-10,000 yen per console, each carrying a 25,000 yen price tag, at least for the first year.
Spaceworld 2001
"We expect to incur a small loss on the GameCube hardware initially, and you're right that it hasn't been our habit in the past but we expect it to turn okay early next year." - Peter Main, Nintendo
January 14, 2004
Perrin: "I would say that our losses are really negligible. It's such a small amount. Plus with the amount of software that's being sold we're still definitely in a solid profit situation."
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
Repeat after me: The Nintendo Revolution IS NOT A VR HELMET.
True, but that doesn't mean that something like Nintendo On can't be the fourth pillar (console, handheld, dual screen handheld, VR system).
Soldering is not required. You just need to remove the 72-pin connector that the game cart plugs into. Then clean the connector and bend its pins back so that they exert more pressure on the carts when they are plugged in. It takes a few minutes to do, but then your NES will be as good as new for another 10 years or so. Hence as long as you do the process every 10 years, it should work fine. I would like to see how a Playstation 2 fairs after 25 years.
Remember that incredibly impressive Zelda demo back when the GameCube was unveiled?
That became Super Smash Bros. Melee and Soul Calibur II Link Mix.
nesticle plays very smoothly on old systems (486,586) which can't be said for the other emulators.
and it has most of the features people use so it's not like you're losing a lot.
but there's no reason you can't have all the emulators installed at once...
Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
Please Nintendo, allow a downloadable and *legal* version of TECHMO SUPER BOWL! Updated rosters would be nice!!! he,he...
My reactions to the design of the new consoles, as they have been unveiled:
Xbox 360: "hahaha, looks like a bent, beige clone PC case! The PS3 is gonna look so much better!"
PS3: "WTF??? Looks like a laminating machine? Or is it the new version of the George Foreman grill?"
Nintendo Revolution: "Hmmm... looks like a squarish black mac mini with a neon disc slot. Not bad."
I own a PS2 and will probably get a PS3. Maybe I'll try hacking the case to make it look better. I've never owned a Nintendo console, but the interesting thing is that they have peaked my curiosity with this one. If this download of the back-catalog of games thing pans out I think I will be buying a Nintendo finally.
As for the Xbox, never, thanks. That's where I draw the line on Microsoft's invasion of [the|my] world.
If you own a remotely modern PC, you should not be using Nesticle. Its colors are wrong, the sound is wrong, and there are popular games that aren't even compatible with Nesticle. Yes, if you are an unlucky person with PC that was made before 1997, Nesticle might be the best thing you can run... but most people have a computer that is powerful enough to run a much better emulator such as FCE Ultra.
Not to mention the fact that Nesticle is a DOS program! So Mac and Linux users can't use it.
Super Mario Kart, the original Mario Kart, the one for the SNES, is still the best Mario Kart ever. Yup the graphics and sound don't compare to the sequals, but it is pure classic Mario Kart action.
Then they take something completely off the wall, like Pikmin, and somehow manage to get people addicted to it.
This isn't really for or against your arguments, but it's something that I just felt like saying....
In my experience, the things that are completely off the wall are most likely to foster addiction. That's why I've played so damn much Tetris in my life. That's why I've completely beaten each level in Katamari Damacy with good scores and yet still play it even at the slightest excuse. And that's why I kept playing Pikmin until I was able to beat it in just nine game days.
On the other hand, while I like Metroid Prime 2, it just hasn't fostered that same kind of obsession. It's just too similar to the FPS games that have annoyed me completely out of that genre -- and to the original Metroid Prime, by the way.
I usually just filter comments to 4+. It's an interesting read at 4+, almost exclusively people daring to go against the grain and support nintendo. One post after the other saying, "I don't care what everyone else is saying, nintendo is the bestest!" I guess i'd have to go down to 1 or even lower to see what those other people are saying.
In any event, If Nintendo chose to do so, they could probably force Squaresoft (now Square-Enix) to allow those games to be sold on a Nintendo-branded service.
It depends on the contract between Square and Nintendo. Publishing contracts written and signed in the NES days will likely not specify any sort of permission or royalty structure for electronic distribution and reproduction, and given New York Times Co. v. Tasini et al. , Nintendo can't just rely on its old cartridge manufacturing contracts.
I thought the Xbox360 arcade is going to be stuff like freecell and solitare and online checkers, chess, go etc. Not stuff like classic PC or console games.
Anyone care to clarify with some "official" documents?
"Cheeze it!" - Bender
No kidding... those water and forest scenes looked awesome - especially the ones with the dynamic lighting. And I noticed a lot more subtle fabric movements are present than in previous games (aside from Wind Waker). Wonder if that's in-game or pre-rendered stuff.
I need an official release date so I can start the countdown
Computeing power does this, however these consoles are not using the latest processor tech. Otherwise they would end up costing $5000 - $1000 (just for the processors). Even purchasing the latest chips in bulk by the millions will not yeld a price point low enought for a $300 console.
Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
"Right now a lot of the speculation is based on pure hardware specs, which the Revolution is sorely lacking in. "
I know you have a bias, but please explain how a machine with specs comprable to the XB360 is sorely lacking?
Do you even have a clue what the specs mean? I mean the real specs, not the BS specs(Gflops for instance).
Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
"I've completely beaten each level in Katamari Damacy with good scores and yet still play it even at the slightest excuse."
Have you managed to pick up all the countries on the planet during the credits?
Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
Alas! I'm still one short. I didn't even get a different message from the King when I got 194!
If only that damn camera didn't keep moving back, argh.