Nintendo Confirms New Console In 2005 597
GweeDo writes "It is official. Nintendo will be releasing their next console right along side Sony's PS3 in 2005. The news was released here by cube.ign.com. They also went on to say that Retro Studies is working on a Prequel to Metroid Prime. The best quote to all you people that said Nintendo was leaving the console market is this: 'Iwata emphasized Nintendo's plans to stick in the console industry by saying, "When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business."'"
bigger than life.. (Score:2, Insightful)
nintendo is a juggernaut. they have a lock on some of the most lucrative franchises in the gaming industry (zelda, pokmon, metroid, etc), so why would anyone scoff and say they would not develop another console to compete? playstation fanboi trolls?
Pretty gutzy move. (Score:5, Insightful)
On the other hand... (Score:5, Insightful)
This is not intended as flamebait for the SEGA lovers, since I was a fervent DC evangelist since the day it was released in Japan.
So, a market without Nintendo hardware is possible, just as a market without SEGA hardware is now. We still get their great games, but not on their hardware.
Gamecube support, GBA connections, more questions (Score:5, Insightful)
the significance of being a first mover.... (Score:5, Insightful)
during the genesis/snes wars, the first mover advantage most defn. helped sega when the technologically super snes arrived. the installed base invalidated the technical differences to a degree, and sega did pretty well for themselves.
during the saturn/ps1 wars, sega again had first mover advantage. but they negated that advantage by 1) coming out at too high a price point (i think $300) and 2) missing the boat w.r.t 3D gaming - the saturn just couldn't handle it.
during the latest dreamcast/ps2 wars, sega again had first mover advantage, and the DC did do well initially. i think what screwed it was that ps2 was LIGHT YEARS ahead of DC tech-wise - the first-mover advantage was simply negated this time (as opposed to the smaller difference of degree between the genesis and snes).
nintendo, which has traditionally always had late console releases, now realizes that first mover is vitally important. hence the latest announcement. the GC just came too late - the PS2 is a powerful box with TOO MUCH of a installed base. lets hope that their latest technology is on par with ps3 and xbox2 so they can remain competitive for the long haul.
Consumer Loyalty (Score:5, Insightful)
Although, I would like to hear that Nintendo is doing something revolutionary, instead of the same tired cartridge-based technology improvements.
Re:On the other hand... (Score:4, Insightful)
Comment is based on GBA sales records. (Score:4, Insightful)
That is why I WOULDN'T want to buy a Nintendo. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:the significance of being a first mover.... (Score:3, Insightful)
DVD really helped Sony past the chicken and the egg problem many consoles faced, add to that the fact that it could play the vast library of PS1 games and Sony trampled all over Sega.
Re:Obsolete hardware (Score:4, Insightful)
It confirmed that I was right not to buy a GameCube.
This replacement^H^H^H err... upgrade cycle is the reason I have totally lost interest in console gaming.
If you are intelligent enough to use a computer, use it as your gaming platform too. After all, it is better with regards to price/performance and very hack friendly. In fact, you can even make it do productive things
But here is what really ticks me off. The NES had a very long (store) shelf life. In that time, developers really learned the boundaries of that machine and developed the art of programming on it. Now I recognize that what happened nearly 20 years ago does not fully apply today, and the example of the NES may not be the case in general, but I dont see how this really helps the quality of games to force a new platform every couple of years;
get a few title which are Nintendo/Sony/MS only,
recycle some old video game lines (Metroid, Mario, Zelda),
poorly adapt some PC titles
- and then the whole thing dies within two years as developers rush to plan for the new platform (with its more expensive games). This short development window has got to impact negatively on both the overall creativity of the games and the full use of a console's potential. The home console market imploded several times. This may do it once more.
I understand that new tech begs to be used in gaming - I just think its best used through a graphics card with a TV-out. Longer S-Video cables, anyone?
Re:Right On! (Score:1, Insightful)
Remember the censorship of BMX XXX that Sony forced upon Acclaim?
I agree though, they're no "mom and pop", I mean they've got like 6 billion in cash.
Re:Nintendo's market (Score:2, Insightful)
Go to the store and look at the case of Game Cube games. Yes, you'll see little kid games like Mario Sunshine and Kirby Eats More Stuff (or something like that). But you'll also notice a selection of more "mature" games such as Resident Evil Zero, Mortal Kombat, and Ass Raping Pedophile Warriors (or something like that).
If you chose to buy another console then that's fine. Buy what you want, play it, be happy. But don't make up crap about its competitors in an attempt to further justify your purchase when no justification is necessary.
Re:Withdraw (Score:1, Insightful)
The original poster mentions that the kid-ness has degraded the gameplay somehow. The poster also says that the last game s/he enjoyed was Mario Kart. I would venture to guess that that is the last Nintendo game s/he has played; no one can look at Mario Sunshine or Zelda: Wind Waker and say that either game is less complex or in poorer design quality than the original Super Mario Bros. or Legend of Zelda.
Games are a medium, not just a product. Without this distinction being made it's difficult to claim that games are not for just one section of the populace. As a medium, games should be regulated for distribution control, but must not be categorically censored or dismissed. BMX XXX was a good idea executed shittily (read: by Acclaim)....blah, blah, blah. You all already know this. Point is, the "nintendo is 4 kidz 4nd l4m3rz" argument is invalidated by recent releases.
Re:the significance of being a first mover.... (Score:2, Insightful)
If I remember right, Sega moved up the release date of the Saturn to May 95 from September 95. They announced this at the Spring CES show to try to give themselves a boost/hype machine and blindside Sony. Problem was that all the 1st/2nd party Saturn games were rushed out and none of the third party support had finished games at the early May launch. I remember the Saturn being $399 or $449 at launch, sitting next to 3 or 4 games during the first few months. The PS1 was $299 at launch on 9/9/95 and had Ridge Raaaacer, Toshinden and about 10 other games at launch, and about 50 to 75 by Christmas.
There's definately a sweet-spot for launch time. If you launch too early (Ask Trip Hawkins and 3DO) your price point is too high and your technology looks dated by the time the next system launches. If you wait too long you're behind in user base and no one wants to develop games for your tiny user base.
Anymore, I think these are the keys to success:
Only trolls "slam" it as a kid system... (Score:5, Insightful)
If they do two things... (Score:5, Insightful)
First, Nintendo needs to learn a lesson from its portable market. Biggest reason why I'll get a GBA SP? OR why everyone got GBAs to begin with? *Backwards compatibility*
Sony has it with PS2. It made getting a PS2 much more lucrative than a GC, since I could finally play the FF games, as well as GTA series.
Nintendo should maintain bacwards compat. for Gamecube games, and move up to full sized discs like the PS2 for better soundtracks and even more graphics goodies. I'm not a tech genius but I imagine the system can differentiate between big and small legacy discs...if my $5 cdrom drive can read those funny shaped business card discs, Nintendo should be able to accomplish this.
So...bigger discs for more goodies, and backwards compatibility with Gamecube. Go Nintendo.
Oh, more adult targetted games wouldnt hurt. And maybe online play...but my first two points are the biggies.
Re:Nintendo's market (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Obsolete hardware (Score:5, Insightful)
Uh, dude, console lifecycles have always been 4 to 5 YEARS. That's a lot of time to play with them.
Grain of salt (Score:4, Insightful)
No, what is more likely is that Nintendo is countering Sony's mindshare ploy with a mindshare ploy of their own. This is the first real year for the Game Cube, and by my calculations that means that unless they fail miserably in the market, Nintendo won't release a new system until 2008. Nintendo knows this business, and they know that to be successful you have to make the majority of people wait just a little bit for a new system. The launch of a new system is a huge financial burden... why would they go running in to do that when they are so profitable at number 2?
Actually, in some ways, it's worse... (Score:5, Insightful)
Title exclusivity sucks ass. I hate that each of these consoles has at least one extremely compelling title that is available only on that console.
It means having to have multiple consoles in order to play the games that you want to play... My house now has all three current generation consoles (Got my son a PS2 Christmas of last year, picked up an Xbox for myself last summer, and ended up getting a Gamecube this year at the after Christmas sales).
At least I'm covered when a new game comes out, but even then I'm faced with difficult decisions. When we want a game that's available for more than one platform, we have to decide which version to get, resigned to the knowledge that we're gonna be committed to playing said game at one of three locations (The Home Theater, the kids' playroom, or my son's bedroom).
It makes PC gaming look so much more attractive than consoles, knowing that I had software portability; that one title could be played on any of the PCs.
I also have to concede that First person shooters suck on consoles. I long for the Keyboard and Mouse combo whenever I play Halo. I'll never be half as good at it as I am at Quake.
I also have to take issue with your assertion about Better Prices. It may be valid for the hardware (PS2 and Xbox for $200, Gamecube for $150), but it's completely invalid for the game titles themselves. A new game costs $50 (at a retail store), regardless of the console you're buying it for. I have seen no indication that games for Platform X are any less expensive than they are for Platforms Y or Z.
I wish there was a single platform specification, with multiple hardware vendors building compatible systems, all capable of running the same software. Then you'd have real choices.
(Oh yeah, I guess there is... They call them PCs)
GameCube: Not just for kids... (Score:5, Insightful)
The complaints obviously don't come from anyone who has actually played a GameCube game for an extended period of time. Nintendo has done an excellent job appealing to both young kids and older GAMERS, IMO.
All of Nintendo's "big" GameCube games are extremely fun to play. Cartoonish characters
appeal to younger players, but it is the solid, fun games that have kept Nintendo fans loyal since the 80s.
Take SSB: Melee, for example. It is filled with characters kids will like based on appearance. Mario, Luigi, Pikachu, Yoshi, etc. It is also extremely fun, but has tons of retro Nintendo goodness that only an older gamer will appreciate (I doubt an 8-Year old understands who the "Ice Climbers" are).
Animal Crossing is yet another game that looks like it is "for kids" at first glance, but delivers some interesting, innovative gaming as well as the ability to play old NES games... a feature that was obviously designed for older fans.
And then, there is Metroid Prime, which is probably the best console game released within the last two years.
Most of the GC games can be enjoyed by anyone. As more people who grew up with the original NES start to have children, Nintendo might actually be able to reclaim the top spot. Why? Because parents will be able to purchase their family a console that they can enjoy for the retro-ness, and their kids can also enjoy.
Honestly, my PS2 got more use in 2002 as a DVD player and a PS1. I haven't been impressed with too many games that have come out in 2002 for it. On the other hand, the my Cube has been getting a lot of play time, and will continue to do so since Link and I will have some serious princess rescuing to do come Spring.
What Nintendo HAS NOT done well is appealed to casual idiot who thinks that having sex with a hooker and then running her over to get your money back is the epitomy of good, "mature," gameplay. This is a good thing.
Re:Great games... if only they were for PS2 (Score:5, Insightful)
The only legitimate reason to buy any console is because it has games you want to play, and can't play elsewhere.
I'm going to snag a Gamecube (in addition to my PS2 and XBox) because of Metroid Prime and Eternal Darkness, not because it can process 76.87 jiggawatts per cubic tachyon pulse.
Re:Obsolete hardware (Score:5, Insightful)
Your kidding right?
I have a total investment in my PS2 and games of around $1200. I have an investment in my computer of around $4000. How is that better price to performance? There are a lot of better games available for my PS2 than there are for my computer. They also work right out of the box. I don't have to mess with Windows. I dont' have to hunt down new drivers. I don't have to install the latest patches. I just pop in the cd/dvd, fire up the console, and play the damn game. That is how gaming should be. I also get to play from the comfort of my couch.
Also, how often do you upgrade your computer? Do you still have the same computer you had 5 years ago and does it play the latest games? Probably not. Just like I upgrade my computer system every couple of years, I don't want to be using the same gaming hardware for the next 20 years. The NES was great but it had it's day. The same with all of the other consoles that came and went. I still have a ton of PS1 games that I play but I don't play them as much as the newer PS2 games because most of the PS2 games are better. They have better graphics, better sound, etc. The technology has advanced and to utilize the newer technology, you need newer hardware.
It's much more expensive to upgrade a computer than it is to buy a new console. How much is a "nice" graphics card these days? You can spend more on just a graphics card than on a console and still have a lot of other parts to buy, and the first computer you purchase will cost much more because you have nothing to start with and to compare price to performance, you need a decent gaming computer, not the Wally-World special.
Re:On the other hand... (Score:3, Insightful)
Nor would Miyamoto ever want to work for another video game company. When Nintendo's done, he will either retire or try to create a new company or development studio.
The same goes for Nintendo vs. PS2 (Score:5, Insightful)
One other thing: has anyone noticed how quickly Nintendo's Gamecube games start? (Here, I mean specifically the ones made by Nintendo.) I can usually have the power on and be playing in the amount of time it would take to get past the first developer's logo on a PS2 game.
Anyway, all that to say this. I look forward to a new console by Nintendo, but whether they made a new console or not, I look forward mostly, to their games.
Re:Good for them! (Score:3, Insightful)
BZZ WRONG! (Score:2, Insightful)
Yes it is quite illegal for you and I to download/copy the games and play them on an emulator. Why? We don't own the rights to say Super Mario Bros or the NES hardware. Hense any emulation done outside Nintendo is probably illegal.
Oh wait...Nintendo DOES own the rights to the (S)NES and all those games they made! They can do ANYTHING they want with those properties. If they want to emulate a NES on the GameCube and feed it the Metroid ROM, perfectly legal.
They'll tell us that emulation is illegal cause for us, it is. They on the other hand can do whatever the hell they want with their games.
Hypocritical.....pthhh
Re:Pretty gutzy move. (Score:1, Insightful)
don't let all the DVD-quality FMV fool ya, the color palette sucks too. Why are most games done in brown, green, and gray? It's that darn VRAM thing biting them in the ass!
conceptually, it might be cooler tech, but I haven't seen a PS2 game yet that looks as good as Phantasy Star Online, and that's on the Dreamcast for god's sake.
Re:Actually, in some ways, it's worse... (Score:5, Insightful)
I wish there was a single platform specification, with multiple hardware vendors building compatible systems, all capable of running the same software. Then you'd have real choices.
They tried that. It was called the 3DO, and it failed miserably. There were even plans in the works for a 3DO add-in card for PCs. What it basically ammounts to is that exclusivity is what drives up profits. The big three make most of their profits from game liscensing on their console. I'm not going to get into the profit or no-profit on hardware debate because that is one topic that is so rife with misinformation that such arguments usually go nowhere. The simple truth is that the real profit lies in liscensing fees accrued from developers developing on a particular console.
Which console a particular game is developed for or if a game is developed for all consoles depends on a number of factors, but all the hardware vendors try to get exclusive rights to that really big, hit game. In turn, gamers will buy a console based on that really big hit game. Exclusive use of that one game title, will generate a whole slew of profits from the liscensing fees paid from other games on that console. Not to mention profits from the various peripherals that gamers must purchase. Microsoft understood that when they bought Bungie and therefore Halo. Sony understood that when they enticed Rockstar into developing the Grand Theft Auto series exclusively for their systems. Nintendo simply has a wide range of exclusive character brands that keep loyal gamers coming back. The exclusive games on closed consoles economy simply works, and that's all there is to it. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft aren't necessarily making the big bucks from the games developed in house, at least not in comparison to the profits had from the whole of games developed for their consoles. Instead, they make the money off the wide range of games that were liscensed for release on a particular console, that were purchased after that gamer bought his XBox just to play Halo.
We'll never see an open console standard, and if we do I would be willing to bet that the big three would still find ways to add exclusive features to their consoles that will only work with exclusive games. Much like the SQL standard and the many extensions written by Oracle, Microsoft and the like. The goal is to snag customers and make them loyal. You've got to milk them for all that they've got.
Re:Obsolete hardware (Score:4, Insightful)
That's odd. Because all of those games you bought for your old console still work. There is nothing, save physical damage to the media or the console (or if you've lost bits and pieces) that will keep you from being able to enjoy any of the games you have.
Contrast that with the PC gaming environment where you are constantly having to upgrade your existing computer to play the latest and greatest games only to find that last year's "must have" game no longer works!
All of my old PSX games still work. Every one (except the one that I rolled my chair over, but that's MY fault). All of my Dreamcast games still work. Contrast that with games for my PC. Unreal no longer works in my system. Dues Ex only runs in software mode. Sin (HAHAHA!) doesn't work anymore at all! I have a pile of games that I can no longer play on my PC because either my system is too fast, has too much RAM (WTF?), is using the wrong version of Windows, has too new a version of DirectX, no longer has a SoundBastard 16 sound card, no longer has a Voodoo1 card, no longer has a Voodoo2 card, etc... ad nausium.
Sure, the upgrade cycle with consoles is a bitch, but it's NOTHING like the nightmare that is the upgrade cycle with PCs where a simple video driver upgrade can kill a game! Sure, new consoles come out and new games for the old systems dry up. But at least the old games keep working!
Re:On the other hand... (Score:4, Insightful)
Nintendo is an excellent company in all respects, but I sadly predict that Sony and Microsoft will be in 2005 what Sega and Nintendo were in 1995.
Re:On the other hand... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:On the other hand... (Score:2, Insightful)
You obviously don't care about gaming. (Score:3, Insightful)
In the gaming world's case, that downfall was how Nintendo raped the market between 1985 and 1989. With carte blanche to force developers into any deals they wanted to, they ruined gaming. Remember Ultra Games? That was a "4th party" Konami used because Nintendo only let 3rd party developers release 2 titles per year. How about the price of the NES set: 200$ USD for 4 straight years. Sound monopolistic? It was.
Competition is good. It means that you have Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo being attentive to the needs of the developers and the needs of the game players. It means that you get more choice, because there is a refinement of target audiences.
I have connected to my entertainment centre right now: NES, TG16, SNES, N64, GC, DC, Xbox, PS2. My Sega Master System isn't connected because I can't find the AC adaptor. Why do I have them setup? Because I care about my gaming. Plus, for less than the cost of keeping one computer up to spec for Doom 3, I can have every console available + the hot games! This means I get my cool Wild Arms 3 and Suikoden 3 on my PS2, I get Metroid and Resident Evil and Sonic on my GameCube, and I get Panzer Dragoon and JSRF and DOA: XV on my Xbox.
If you don't have the money to buy a different console, don't post a whine about it on slashdot. Consoles come out every 5 years or so, and generally have a library of 10 to 15 games which kick ass (the Dreamcast was an exception, with over 20 excellent games). It's as real as the 18 month video card upgrade cycle in PC land.
backwards compatiblilty? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Great games... if only they were for PS2 (Score:4, Insightful)
I must say that I'm quite pleased with my purchase of my Gamecube. There has been quite a number of really good games released for it, and I've only had one disappointment (which would be the Turok game, but it wouldn't be so bad if its loading time didn't take freaking forever.)
PS To all those
Re:If they do two things... (Score:1, Insightful)
Well, they're not going to stop third parties from releasing such games, as is well evidenced by Resident Evil and Eternal Darkness. With that in mind, why should they have to? Does a game with adult themes automatically make it better? Personally, I feel that anyone that asks for that is somewhat immature. Super Smash Bros. Melee is one of the best fighting games I've played on any system, and blood, guts, gore, or sexual themes, it wouldn't have been any better. It would probably just be a waste of processing power.