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Nintendo Revolution Under Wraps Past E3
Posted by
Zonk
on Tue Apr 19, 2005 09:28 PM
from the taking-their-ball-and-going-home dept.
from the taking-their-ball-and-going-home dept.
The next-generation Nintendo console, codenamed Revolution, may not be shown at this year's E3. Eurogamer reports that the Japanese console maker is going to keep the console under wraps to keep the features of the new system out of the limelight a little while longer. From the article: "Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata is worried about rivals nicking all his best ideas at this early stage. That's how revolutionary the new console is, apparently... and also the exact same line Nintendo used to avoid showing Mario 128 at a previous E3."
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Hmmm... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Hmmm... (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Hmmm... (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Hmmm... (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Hmmm... (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Hmmm... (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Hmmm... (Score:5, Insightful)
And that is why it isn't selling as much as the PSP. Oh wait.
what with Microsoft and that whole "Live" thing.
And the 8% of XBOX gamers who use it. EIGHT PERCENT! Less than one out of ten.
God damn it. I'm so fucking tired of the cheap shots at Nintendo. They are the fucking ones that are making money. Q2 of FY 2003 was the only full quarter loss Nintendo reported in 50 years, and everyone predicts their doom. The XBOX has one profitable quarter after eleven straight losses, and everyone calls them a success.
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They're losing money on every unit (Score:5, Funny)
but they're making up for it in volume!
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Re:Hmmm... (Score:5, Insightful)
I think people take cheap shots at them because they don't want to admit that "kiddy games" such as Zelda: Wind Waker and Mario Sunshine are a lot more fun to play than those hack and slash "grownup" games.
I'm 23 years old and most of my games are E rated. Some are T rated. None are M rated. M rated games just aren't very fun. My buddies tease me about it, but who isn't having fun playing Mario Kart or Mario Party? Who doesn't like to drop a bomb bug on their enemies pikmin and blow 'em to bits? Who doesn't think the storyline to Windwaker is interesting?
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Boss Satoru Iwata... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Boss Satoru Iwata... (Score:3, Funny)
Shy Lies (Score:5, Funny)
As they say... (Score:5, Funny)
Stupid Nintendo! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Stupid Nintendo! (Score:5, Insightful)
Their goal is not the domination of their particular market; instead, they focus on being profitable companies. I say kudos to them for having the balls to make something that works well, is fun and intuitive to use AND still be able to sell enough of it to make some money. And if it takes some secrecy to bring their products to the market, then I'm all for it.
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Re:Stupid Nintendo! (Score:5, Funny)
Xbox 360 - It's a "cool" name for the "skaters". It's bullshit, flip an Xbox 360 and you get an Xbox just like before.
Playstation 3 - All I'm saying is "Yes but these are different, they go all the way up to 11!"
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Re:Stupid Nintendo! (Score:5, Funny)
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meh (Score:5, Insightful)
Nintendo - shooting ourselves in the foot since 1990...
Tokyo Game Show? (Score:5, Interesting)
[pulls hair out in frustration] (Score:4, Funny)
Damn you, Nintendo. I have been a loyal servant of yours ever since I first played Super Mario Brothers 2 on the NES: I've fought for you time and again in the useless internet debates; I've spent my hard-earned college cash to pay for your no-internet system with lacking 3rd Party support; I even still lug around my N64 because it has games I enjoyed enough in the past that I might want to play them again in the future, but I'm not really sure if I ever will!
Doesn't that deserve something? If nothing else, show some footage. I don't need to see the actual system or controllers right now; but damned if I don't see any 'eye candy', and I'm not talking those sweet Ssian numbers you put on display... actually, that's more of a Sony thing.
In any case, I digress. While I can understand wanting to keep industry secrets secret, we're not asking you to reveal every spec of the system. If all you did was hint at what makes this console a 'revolution', and showed a picture of one of the buttons on the controller, that would be enough for many a fanboy.
So, Nintendo, I ask you this: Please, please, won't you show something? Have we not earned at least that?
Solid marketing Decision (Score:5, Insightful)
Nintendo can unveil it at E3, and go up against Microsoft and Sony's HUGE marketing budget and hype. Magazines would probably have a triple feature, with sections given to each system and the respective company booths.
Or, Nintendo can wait a couple of months until the media coverage dies down a little bit, unveil the console, and get the cover of every non-platform-specific major game magazine in the biz. This decision shows not a lack of preparation or a schedule issue, but a smart martketing choice.
Tinfoil hat Suggestion (Score:4, Interesting)
This may seem a little out-there, but if Nintendo is doing something revolutionary like putting a touch screen into the controllers, it stands to reason that the money put into those will result in not as spiffy of graphical specs. If the difference is that noticable, perhaps they're deciding between a $200 system and a $300 system.
Anyway, maybe that's just my imagine working over-time. If I were a bettin man, though, I'd say that Nintendo's big revolution isn't in the system itself, but in the controller. It's probably too late for Sony or MS to mess with the system specs a lot, but tossing in a controller feature may not be out of the question yet.
Here we go again (Score:5, Informative)
Nintendo has said multiple times [google.com] that they will be unveiling the Revolution at E3. They've given warnings along the lines that it may be at an early stage, or that it won't be playable, or that some of the demos may be behind-closed-doors, at E3. But they at least have said they'll be showing it. And this has been said by Nintendo representatives, speaking on the record.
So, what's the source for this article slashdot links, which is saying it won't be?
"Reports". From "Japan".
You'll excuse me if I take repeated statements by official persons speaking for Nintendo more seriously than "reports from Japan".
Re:Vapor.... (Score:5, Funny)
So I take it that you won't be paying attention to the XBOX 360 or Playstation 3, either?
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It Doesn't Matter (Score:4, Informative)
???? Revolution
2004 DS
2003 Gameboy Advanced
2001 Gamecube
1999 Gameboycolor
1998 Gameboypocket
1996 N64
1995 Virtualboy
1991 SNES
1989 Gameboy
1985 NES
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Re:It Doesn't Matter (Score:5, Insightful)
Eh, sort of. Take a closer look at your list here. The Game Boy/Pocket/Color all played the original Game Boy games. The Color had a faster processor and had a few games made specifically for it. The GBA plays all GB games, and the DS plays all GBA games. The NES, SNES, N64, and GameCube are all roughly 5 years apart. The Revolution, in theory, will at least be 4 years apart. The actual support required isn't close enough together to really worry about.
Anyway, I said 'sort of' because you did bring up a point I'm worried about as well. Will the new GBA be DS compatible? I have trouble imagining that. Granted, we really don't know. Still, though, from everything Nintendo's said, the DS seems to be the runt of the litter.
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Re:It Doesn't Matter (Score:5, Informative)
What the heck?
Considering that the DS had the highest launch sales of any console in the UK EVER, and has been outselling the PSP by 2x, I wonder how you are defining "flop".
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Re:It Doesn't Matter (Score:5, Funny)
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...vapour?! (Score:5, Funny)
Wow... that's, uh... interesting.
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Re:Vapor.... (Score:4, Insightful)
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It's not true. (Score:4, Interesting)
Every big rumor site disagrees about Nintendo not showing at E3 (see Spong). It's only rumors running around that Nintendo won't be there; and there is absolutely NO official sources involved.
I don't believe it.
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Re:Lets just hope it isn't too revolutionary (Score:5, Insightful)
This might be insightful if Nintendo wasn't responsible for the standard 4 controller ports, standard analog sticks, standard 'rumble' functions, the huge portable gaming market, yadda yadda yadda.
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Re:Lets just hope it isn't too revolutionary (Score:5, Insightful)
As long as Nintendo stick to their guns and keep making fun games their fanbase won't stray too far. They may not make them number 1 in the games market but right now it's been flooded with "Average Joes" who just want the latest EA offering, Halo whatever it is now and don't care about anything except pretty graphics.
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Re:Lets just hope it isn't too revolutionary (Score:5, Informative)
Not long after the N64 was unveiled, Sony released it's Dual Shock controller (complete with 2!! analog sticks and a built in 'rumble' feature.) to the PS1. Then, the Dreamcast had it's own 'rumble pak'. Then the PS2 came with the Dual Shock Controllers. Then the XBOX came along... etc.
Personally, that little tidbit about the Dual Shock controller is what's making me wonder about Nintendo's secrecy, here. I personally think that they did something snazzy with the controller, but they're trying to prevent an imitation of the feature from making it into the boxes of the PS3 and XBOX02's.
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Re:Lets just hope it isn't too revolutionary (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Linux Already (Score:4, Interesting)
There are more people with GameCubes than using Linux today. Why would Linux make the next Nintendo system suddenly capture marketshare when nobody even cared that the PS2 had a Linux kit?
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Re:Linux Already (Score:5, Funny)
Yes. Bring me back my old Slashdot. Please, please bring back:
1. Make it with Linux
2. ??
3. Profit!
Bring back the good old days, when BSD was dead and Red Hat was king.
(and yes I AM serious)
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Re:Linux Already (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:These guys defined product delay (Score:5, Funny)
Someone else modded him down while I was looking for the "-1 Belabored" or "-1 Bad Joke" options in the moderation box. =)
Maybe I should have been looking for "+0.5 Almost Funny"?
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Rare? (Score:5, Informative)
When's the last time Rare made a good game?
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Re:Nintendont (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not to say you can't do both...... Nintendo isn't saying they're going to go backwards on hardware or something. Just that their philosophy is that a focus should be on fun and enjoyable games, rather than just purely on hardware, etc. used to do more advanced versions of the same basic game types.
Regarding the second comment...... just because something is a sequel to an existing franchise doesn't mean it can't be something new. And conversely, something can be a "new" brand but still basically be just a rehash of old ideas. For the most part, when you look at some of the recent Zelda and Metroid sequels, for example, you see something where they take elements and brands that have existed before, but do pretty new things with them. I don't think I'd blame them though for doing something in the vein of an existing franchise though, rather than creating a completely new franchise, because it can make it a lot easier for someone to pay attention to a completely new game if it is part of a universe and history that people like.
-Tom
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Re:Bad news (Score:5, Insightful)
DS was featured at E3 in May of last year, and had several changes made to it before its launch on September 21st. 4 months sure can make a difference.
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Re:Bad news (Score:5, Insightful)
sfdgferbewfrerszt trewrd fgdswerdesbf
Do you really think that showing it to the public is the same as showing it to developers?
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Re:Bad news (Score:4, Informative)
And Playstation's features that Nintendo later copied? Optical disk format.
Who copied it from 3DO, who copied it from Sega (Sega CD) and NEC (PC Engine CD).
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Re:Bad news (Score:4, Insightful)
The irony is that Sony had partnered with Nintendo to develop an optical drive for the Super Nintendo, and when Nintendo got cold feet, Sony took what they'd learned and created the Playstation. Microsoft did the same thing, partnering with Nintendo to learn about game system development, but pulled out of the agreement to create their own game system. The main difference is who broke up with whom: Nintendo dumped Sony, causing Sony to create the PS; Microsoft dumped Nintendo, suggesting they went into the relationship with less-than-honest intentions.
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Re:competition (Score:4, Insightful)
That said, I think all of the next consoles are going to have an uphill fight for volume simply because their projected street price brings them awfully close to computers which have more utility and a larger body of games.
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Re:It's not about the hardware (Score:4, Insightful)
You shouldn't think of Nintendo as Gateway to Sony's Dell... Nintendo is the Apple of the console business.
Think about it: Heavy on concept, low on market share, and with a related consumer product (the Gameboy) whose design has managed to totally dominate its market continuously against technically superior competition.
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Re:what are they afraid of? (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe if these features turn out to be a success in the marketplace -- unlikely if the DS is any indicator...
If anything, I'd say DS sales bode quite well for Nintendo. It's already past 6 million units, set the all-time record for highest-volume launch sales in the UK, sold 40% past Nintendo's holiday projections... And, Nintendo's production line is up to speed and has thus far prevented any serious DS shortages in any market (say what you will about the limited initial supply of the PS2 or the PSP creating additional product lust, it's still nice to be able to actually buy a console).
The DS has a lot going for it: the touch screen and microphone enable some very fun interaction that's perfect for short stints of mobile gaming. Plus, it has backwards compatibility with the whole library of GBA titles. Everyone says the PSP has a strong launch lineup... this is somewhat true, although many of the titles are just ports of PS2 games with reduced technical capability (near-PS2 graphics is an exaggeration, the graphics look more like some of the better quality Dreamcast games, but that still ain't bad). The only PSP title that really does it for me right now is Lumines, and that doesn't use the PSP's horsepower anyway.
Nintendo still knows the portable gaming market very well, and I think the interface features on the DS will continue to do quite well there. The PlayStation Portable is pretty much just that, a shrunken-down version of an ordinary console. Nintendo is trying to enable a new, unique experience on the DS, whereas Sony is trying to deliver a home-console gaming experience that comes along with you. The one thing that the PSP has going over the DS as a portable entertainment device is its multimedia capabilities, but even those are far from polished. If you want to enjoy music and video on the PSP, you have to buy a bigger memory stick (and it has to be the Duo version), and you can't just drag and drop songs and videos from your PC, that'd be way too easy. Instead, you must use special software (definitely not included in the box) to properly convert and obfuscate those files, and you're still limited to the 1GB size of Sony's largest memory stick. Sony has made an effort to make the PSP a multimedia convergence device, but it is, unfortunately, halfhearted. Hopefully they will roll in some improvements in subsequent firmware updates, but I still wish they would have included a little slot on the back that could hold a mini hard-drive option.
People want a convergence device, but the PSP hasn't made multimedia use easy enough for the average user yet, and I doubt it will do a whole lot to stave off the cell phone's continued drive to assimilate every other peice of portable electronics. This isn't a huge issue for Sony, as they are in that market, too (I have a T610 and I love it, Sony's definitely got that down, don't get me wrong). If you want a portable gaming device, though, the innovation present in the DS, for me and for a whole lot of other gamers, trumps the raw power and the (I'll admit it) oh-so-sexy screen of the PSP.
Notice, however, that what Nintendo has going on with the DS doesn't necessarily translate to whatever the hell they're planning with revolution. To succeed in the home console space, they need 3rd party developer support (it's becoming clear that, despite continued strong showings from the Mario, Zelda, and Metroid franchises, they just aren't system sellers anymore), and they need to make a decent technical showing against Microsoft and Sony. Now, Microsoft started this generation with a very small selection of games but obvious technical superiority, showcased by their trump title Halo, and gradually built up a solid selection of titles. Sony had backwards compatibility with the vast universe of PS1 games, plus astoundingly great 3rd party support that gave them plenty of system sellers at no development cost to them (Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy, Tekken, Soul Calibur... all developed by 3rd parties), and was first to launch by
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Re:Shhh!! Secrets. (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:makes no difference to me... (Score:5, Insightful)
I found out about it very late, and played it only about a year ago, and even going in with high expectations, I was STILL blown away. A year later, I can close my eyes and summon up exact pictures of several locations, to the point that I could sketch them out and be pretty accurate. That's how intensely it impressed itself into my memory... no small feat, when you consider that I'm nearer 40 than 30, and have played so many games over the years.
All the consoles have something to offer. Pick one of each up used, for chrissake. Refusing to buy hardware because it's not Nintendo is cutting off your nose to spite your face. All you're hurting is yourself.
I have all three consoles, and I don't have any real attachment to any of them. I suppose, overall, I like the XBox the most at the moment, because it has had the most interesting games of late, and it may have better 'legs' than the other two. Chronicles of Riddick is really good. Burnout 3 is excellent. Jade Empire is quite good... maybe not as good as Knights of the Old Republic, but good. KOTOR was one of the best RPGs ever done, a true classic. Halo was okay, but tremendously overrated.
On the PS2, there's the Grand Theft Auto series and Katamari Damacy as can't-miss titles. And Ico. And probably a zillion others I can't think of right now.... I guess if you've never owned a Playstation, you must have missed all the Final Fantasy games? Final Fantasy 7 is probably the second-best RPG ever made, and you could argue that it was better than KOTOR in some areas. (freedom and duration, mostly.)
Gamecube has Wind Waker, a true masterpiece, though I do feel it was a bit on the short side. Harvest Moon was good, but got old a bit fast. Animal Crossing was a lot of fun for awhile. The Metroids were excellent. Wario Ware is a completely bizarre, but fun, party-type game. I've often gotten the feeling that the console is underused... it really feels like it has more power than what you actually see.
Nintendo makes great consoles, but cripes, you've missed some unbelievably good games because of your platform-centrism. The platform doesn't MATTER. It's the games that matter. Find the games you want to play, and buy the hardware that plays them best. That's really all there is to it.
If you don't want to play Ico just because Nintendo didn't make it, then you're willfully blind and ignorant. Go away, or I shall be forced to taunt you again.
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