Next Nintendo Console In Spring 2005? 74
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to an IGN story claiming that the Gamecube's successor will launch as early as Spring 2005. This date, sourced from anonymous development houses, seems earlier than expected, and IGN mentions that "..asked if they had received any official documentation for the machine, all software houses contacted said no." But equally, any console getting a head start on the next generation will have a significant advantage, and as IGN suggest, "Nintendo has repeatedly stated that it would not be the last hardware manufacturer out of the gates with its next console."
the first horse out is not always the winner. (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm sorry to say that Nintendo is falling behind not because they were last out of the gate, but because (no matter what software they distribute) they will always have the sickly-sweet stigma associated with their product.
more power to them though, I've always thought Nintendo has created an excellent product, and competition is good for everyone.
Mike
Re:the first horse out is not always the winner. (Score:5, Interesting)
The formula for success is as follows:
1) Set the bar to entry for releasing games with the official logo low enough to make a small-to-decent profit on each title.
2) Allow anyone to be an official developer, if they can afford the purchasing of the official developmental hardware units.
3) Allow anyone to be an unofficial developer using a home-development kit similar to the "Yaroze" program.
4) Offer several different approaches to coding for the platform. Similar to Katana vs Windows CE approach for Dreamcast.
Between all these things you will get a ton of developer mindshare and just about anyone with the cash to spend on the hardware development units can at least try to make games for it. If they have something worthy of selling in stores, then the low barrier to entry should allow most (as in, even smaller) publishers to profit on titles (and therefore be interested in funding development).
Problems with that formula (Score:2)
Re:Problems with that formula (Score:1)
Re:Problems with that formula (Score:1)
Games like PacMan and ET, which were hyped to high heaven and were some of the worst games for the system really turned
Re:the first horse out is not always the winner. (Score:1)
First one out? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:First one out? (Score:1)
Re:First one out? (Score:5, Interesting)
Perhaps what Nintendo really needs is to come out early while being as developer friendly as possible.
On a related note, I'll be intrigued to see how much more power Nintendo gets out of the unit vs. the current Gamecube. Something a lot of fanboys don't understand is that improvement in real graphics quality and CPU performance aren't anything like linear (FPS and pixels/second are somewhat closer to linear). Once you get to Dreamcast/PS2/Gamecube levels, and you get artists who know what they are doing, you need a lot more power to improve the actual quality of the picture. That's why, if you're willing to be honest about it, a latest-generation PS2 game may only look 40-50% better then a last-generation DC game, rather then the 300-400% you might be led to believe from the raw processing power difference.
There's a danger that by coming out so soon, the last-generation GameCube games and the first games out of the new Nintendo machine might not look as different as Nintendo might like, whereas PS2 was an instant winner over the old PS due to the time span. (The new hardware would of course look better in the last generation, but it has to have people buying it to get that far.)
I'd say this is a desparation move, and they really need to make sure they bring developers up to speed as quickly as possible, and make the first few games stunners.
That wasn't enough for the Dreamcast either [ign.com], but hey, the alternative is certain failure.
Re:First one out? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:First one out? (Score:2)
Re:First one out? (Score:1)
Re:First one out? (Score:2, Insightful)
Is it really true that ps2 has the edge because of its early release? I think a major contributor to ps2's success (with both publishers and consumers - which obviously feed each other) has been reputation. Sony built a huge brand with playstation and people bought into that when the new machine came out. Think back to the dreamcast launch, no one was interested in it because they trusted Sony to blow Sega out of the water w
Re:First one out? (Score:2)
They don't even need to do that. They just have to be friendly with a few large development shops (EA would definately increase Nintendo's marketshare) They need some good sports titles and they need to shake that "cartonny" (is that a word?) image. Sure they can continue to provide the Mario, Link and Metroid series, but I beleive some good EA titles, coupled with a cheaper price would help nintendo o
Re:First one out? (Score:1)
Re:First one out? (Score:3, Interesting)
The problem was that the dreamcast was release so early, that it was premature, and nearly half a generation early. Nintendo will likely release days or a few weeks ahead of their competition, not several months.
Difficult times for them... (Score:2, Insightful)
That did not help the Dreamcast. Look where Sega is now. Sony is going to have to make a mistake for the lead to be taken from them - like being very very late to the market with an underpowered machine.
The upcoming PSX reeks of bad planning - people want the PS3 *now* (not some stupid multimedia machine) and they're diluting the Playstation brand with it.
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:2)
Can I have some of that crack? I don't think there was 1 factual statement in that sentence, except that the Cube is cheaper than PS/2 (PS/2 costs the same as XBox).
The technology is different, but not significantly "older" if you can even compare them that way.
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:1)
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:1)
I don't know what market you're in, but in the US the XBox and PS2 have been at the same price point (for the console alone) since the release of the XBox.
As far as graphics go, if you think PS2 looks anywhere near as good as Gamecube and XBox you are smoking
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:2)
No they didn't. They (basically) said that they favored manufacturing efficiency and cost over bleeding-edge performance. Never *once* did they claim that they had the 'slowest' system.
If you read the technical specs on the systems, Nintendo cites lower numbers than Sony or Microsoft -- that's because MS and Sony publish theoretical maximum performance and Nintendo publishes typical in-game perfor
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:1)
If you read the technical specs on the systems, Nintendo cites lower numbers than Sony or Microsoft -- that's because MS and Sony publish theoretical maximum performance and Nintendo publishes typ
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:2)
And did you ever consider buying the console that had the games you wanted?
You're talking about price and old technology, but you're not talking about games.
Re:Difficult times for them... (Score:1)
I just hope (Score:5, Insightful)
That, IMO, is one of the main reasons that PS2 won out over the Dreamcast.
Re:I just hope (Score:1)
IIRC PS2 got around this by using the PS1 cpu as its sound processor.
In a word: (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't think there should be a problem (cackles evilly)
Re:I just hope (Score:1)
Actually, it's the I/O processor that acts as the PS1 system in the PS2. The processor was developed with another company (at least for the initial runs of the PS2), so it's not quite the original PS1 CPU (though it's probably the same chip used in the newer PSOne consoles).
From what I've read, Sony's gotten most of the functionality of the PS2 down to 3 or 4 chips (the PS1/I/O chip, the sound processor, and the original dual-chip layou
Re:I just hope (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I just hope (Score:2, Interesting)
Actually, the console was doing ok in the US. It was the f
Backward Compatibilty (Score:1)
I just hope that now that Nintendo's gone disc, they'll follow Sony's example and make this new one backwards compadible.
That, IMO, is one of the main reasons that PS2 won out over the Dreamcast.
Well, first of all, there's an unfair comparision because there was no point in providing backward compatibility with Dreamcast. What could you possibly make Dreamcast backward compatible with? Saturn? (Software libabry too small, most of its best games like NiGHTS or Panzer Dragon do not appeal to the general ma
Re:Backward Compatibilty (Score:2, Informative)
Sega had planned on having software available for the dreamcast to run PS1 games (Bleem I believe it was). The way it would've been offered seemed like a waste of time to me, though, and it really only strengthened the Sony market.
The reason backward compatiblity is beneficial to PS2 is that the original Playstati
Re:Stupid ad (Score:1)
well well well! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:well well well! (Score:1)
Leave the current console on the shelves long enough to get insane levels of market penetration.
Hype up the capabilities of the coming real soon now next console in a way that geeks find ridiculous, but makes more normal gamers salivate.
Re:well well well! (Score:1)
I use normal derogatively.
consoles are obsolete (Score:2)
Re:consoles are obsolete (Score:1)
Re:consoles are obsolete (Score:1)
I would agree that each person having their own monitor is nice, but sometimes I'd rather be alone in my house playing online or sometimes I'd rather just have the ability to play multiplayer without needing extra hardware units. That way if I'm the only person "on the block" with the new leet console then I can haul it to whoever is providing the food and beverages.
GameTime? GameProballity? (Score:1)
Re:GameTime? GameProballity? (Score:1)
Re:GameTime? GameProballity? (Score:2)
Re:GameTime? GameProballity? (Score:1)
I just think I'm funny.
Re:GameTime? GameProballity? (Score:2)
Failed console history (Score:5, Interesting)
Sega started getting a bad wrap with the 32x. Similarly poor decisions on future systems (SegaCD, Saturn, etc.) caused a lot of the gaming public to lose faith. I was working in a game retail outlet when the Dreamcast was finally released, way ahead of everyone else and with a great library of launch titles. When confronted with the news of a new Sega machine, no matter how amazing, the majority of the consumers generally replied with distaste, usually making remarks about the failed (US)Saturn and other past Sega hardware.
Likewise, the N64 could have marked the begining of the end for Nintendo's set top consoles. With a poor library of games and the beginning of horrid developer relations, many lost faith with the big N for their lack of judgment. Now, despite the few beneficial qualities of the GC (great first party titles, excelent hardware engineering, etc.), I hear many people making statemets about Nintendo that are very similar to the gripes that most held with Sega prior to the fall of the DC.
So while Nintendos poor decisions add to their woes, it only seems to take one slip up and public bias will take a company to it's grave. This is interestingly something specific to the game industry due to the entrenched fan-base, but that's a whole other topic.
Re:Failed console history (Score:1)
Heck, I haven't bought a consol since the PS1 and right now i'm truely considering picking up the GC, mainly for the Zelda game.
Now, to find some good RPG's for it as well...
Re:Failed console history (Score:1)
Re:Failed console history (Score:1)
Re:Failed console history (Score:1)
They also fixed things slightly on the atrocious amount of monster encounters for the GC version (though there are still a
Re:Failed console history (Score:2)
Re:Failed console history (Score:1)
Main reason I intend to get zelda is because the fact that it's one of the bundles avlaiable... While I like Metroid and Mario, I've had more fun playing Zelda games.
Re:Failed console history (Score:1)
Re:Failed console history (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Failed console history (Score:1)
Re:Failed console history (Score:1)
It takes years for any given console to gain critical mass, and probably even longer for a video game company to recover from its mistakes and regain the top spot. It's obvious that Nintendo will never win over Sony in this generation, but that's besides the point. GameCube is a good platfor
Re:Failed console history (Score:2)
Re:Failed console history (Score:2)
This one is wise in the
backwards-compatible? (Score:2)
Target Audience... ! (Score:2)
Consoles are becoming increasingly expensive.
To combat this, companies need to do 2 things:
1) Lose money on systems to increase market penetration.
2) Target audiences who have sufficient disposable income.
As we all know, teens have lots of disposable income (look at all those clothes they buy, and how many times they go to the movies!). Sony and MS went after these target groups very aggressively with sports and action titles that would appeal to teens (Madden Football, Halo
What Nintendo needs to do to survive (Score:1)
Re:GCN2 vs. PS3 (Score:1)