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The Revolution Will Be Globalized

Posted by Zonk on from the remote-controllers-all-around dept.

Gamespot is reporting that Nintendo plans on a global launch for the Revolution. From the article: "Talking about the Revolution in an interview with Nikkei Business, Iwata stated, 'I can only say that it's coming out during 2006, but it will be after the current fiscal year. We hope to make it a simultaneous worldwide release as much as it's possible ... It [the Revolution] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube'"

5 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Re:June 2006 confirmed by NeMon'ess · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That article also claims the Revolution will retail for $200 in the US, 300 in mainland Europe, and £200 in the UK.

    Why would it cost the equivalent of $360 in mainland Europe and $354 in the UK? Are the VATs that high?

  2. Refreshing... by swerk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...that is, Nintendo follows through and applies this policy to games as well. Why on Earth Electroplankton (quirky DS music-making "game") came out long ago in Japan and will get only a limited release in the 'States in January is beyond me, especially considering there is absolutely nothing to translate. In the past, the N64 DD expansion and its Mario Artist games never made it across the pond at all, and throughout all of Nintendo's history they've given Europe and Australia the shaft big-time, games sometimes coming out a year or more later than in Japan and/or the US.

    Now if they'd only ditch their ridiculous region locking (to their credit, no Game Boy or DS system is reigon-locked, which I've taken advantage of several times) I'd be a happy camper. One step at a time, maybe. :^)

    I'm surprisingly excited about the Revolution... As much as I love traditional video games, I've got to say the idea of some wacky new directions has a lot of appeal. After getting a taste of that "brave new world" stuff on the DS, I'm pretty confident it's not just rhetoric. New experiences, here we come! Not that I won't be suckered into buying a PS3 as well, I'm sure...

  3. The price. by PhoenixOne · · Score: 5, Interesting
    If rumors are correct, and it launches at a sub-$200 price (yes, even $199.95) then I think these things will fly off the shelves.

    I'm not an economist, but it looks like the buying power of the average US consumer isn't going to improve in the next year. People are more likely to take a chance on a $200 box then a $400 (or $600).

    --
    Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
    1. Re:The price. by Admiral+Ackbar+8 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      History has shown that, more often than not, first to market=first to games=first to sales.

      Tell that to Sega!

    2. Re:The price. by xgamer04 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      History has shown that, more often than not, first to market=first to games=first to sales.

      You can't be talking about the videogame industry. TurboGrafx-16/Turbo CD, Sega CD/32x/Saturn/Game Gear/Dreamcast, Virtual Boy, Atari Jaguar, and others were the "first" of their kind, and failed horribly. Even a bizzare homoerotic smear campaign against Sega couldn't save the Turbo system. The PlayStation was out before the N64, and yet it didn't dominate that system. Same for the PS2.

      Price has never been a serious factor before,

      Apparently you forgot about the 3DO and the release price that the Saturn had, which was compounded with the screwy situation of two addons for the Genesis. A phantom example is the fact that no handheld system has ever really been able to supplant the Game Boy, partly due to the fact that Nintendo sells so many they can afford a very low price.

      If Nintendo gets a good release lead on Sony, and have the games to back it up (Their weakness with the DS, although the same can be said for the PSP) they can easily come out on top.

      Dude, you could really strengthen your arguments if you said WTF you were talking about. I assume you mean that the DS and PSP had crappy launch games, but you could also be saying that the DS has a bad game lineup in general (which is not true). Also, I don't see Nintendo being able to get "back on top" of the console pile in the next 2-3 years. This is mostly due to the momentum they are working against. Go find how many PS2s were sold, and then compare that with how many XBoxen and Cubes were sold. Nintendo can't just come flying out of the gate and steal all of Sony's marketshare with a shiny new console, because THEIR COMPETITION HAS SHINY NEW TOYS TOO. A third problem for Nintendo is the constant FUD they encounter from the press. gamesarefun.com has some great editorials debunking some of the myths about Nintendo, but I'm sure new ones will sprout like weeds (OMG the controll3r has less buttons than teh GBA! Nintendo si teh d00med!!1 lolo)

      --
      When you look at the state of the world, how can you not become a radical, liberal anarchist?