Nintendo's GCNext Direction Outlined By Iwata 90
Thanks to GameSpy for its in-depth interview with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata regarding "what's gone wrong, what's gone right, and why Nintendo will end up on top." Iwata admits that "the competition is tougher than ever before; and in the short run, we have seen declining profitability", but makes it clear that the next-gen GameCube (which he calls "GCNext or GCN") isn't about raw processing power - rather, Nintendo are "discussing... what should be done to entertain people in a new way; and in order to achieve this, what functionality must be added to our current technology."
What is Nintendo thinking? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's called the Internet. (Score:4, Interesting)
Also, I question the portability issue of the cube. It's not like they got rid of all the attachments necessary to make a gamecube truly portable. You still have to hook up the audio. You still have to plug it into a DC outlet. You still have to bring the controllers along. Sure it's lighter than a PS2, but that still doesn't mean it's a whole lot easier to lug around.
Get something going along networked gaming. M$ and Sony are killing along those lines.
Also, get some adult-themed games going. Maybe even allow independant parties to make games for your system without imposing minimums like a 10,000 minidisc purchase.
Iwata knows... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:"What functionality needs to be added": (Score:3, Interesting)
All three controllers have a very similar button configuration (two sticks, a dpad, 4 face buttons and 2, or 4 on the PS1/2, shoulder buttons). This would enable Nintendo to simply rearrange the buttons on the controller (the resizing of the face buttons, while a good idea, has hardly been used to its potential) and making the C-stick simply a "right stick" and the d-pad usable (honestly, the thing is just too damn small). The L and R buttons provide a great sense of feedback and control that neither XBox's or PS2's shoulder buttons have, and I believe they're the one truly saving grace of the GCN controller.
All Nintendo needs to do is figure out a better configuration of the same amount of buttons, which would allow for play using an old Wavebird, but sometimes awkwardly (similar to a regular PS1 controller being used on games with the Dual Shock in mind, but not required.)