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GameCube (Games) Portables (Games) Entertainment Games

Nintendo To Debut Next-Gen Console At E3 2005 56

Posted by simoniker from the cube-squared dept.
An anonymous reader writes "According to Reuters, Nintendo has indicated it will debut its next-generation console at next May's E3, as part of financial results in which the company showed net profit of 70 billion yen ($625 million) - this figure still 'fell by half in the past business year, hurt by disappointing sales of its GameCube console and currency losses, but [Nintendo] predicted earnings would bounce back this year.' The company also indicated 'target shipments of 3.5 million 'DS' machines', with Nintendo's Yoshihiro Mori saying: 'In order to have the DS out by Christmas, we plan to start production late summer or early fall and boost production every month.'"
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Nintendo To Debut Next-Gen Console At E3 2005 More

Nintendo To Debut Next-Gen Console At E3 2005

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  • Does anyone know whether or not the PSP will be here for Christmas? Seems like an enormous missed opprotunity if they don't. How many christmas season observing people are there in Japan NEway?
    • I believe the current date for the PSP is next spring. Wouldn't count on it though, since some Square Enix people were complaining that Sony still hadn't finalized the specs right before E3. Come to think of it, I never saw a PSP actually playing games, just video. The games were all played off a computer emulating specs near what Sony had announced.

    • Re:DS by Christmas (Score:3, Interesting)

      by b0r0din ( 304712 )
      I doubt it'll be here by Christmas. It sounds to me like Sony's trying to rush the PSP's development along as it is.

      In any case, I don't like the price tag for the PSP: 300, 400 bucks? even at 200 it's pretty pricey. It looks kind of big too. I'm guessing the DS will come out lower in cost. Plus it plays old Gameboy games. This is one situation where I think Nintendo really has a superb edge.

      This reminds me of the Nintendo/Sega battle. PSP will no doubt be better technically, I think, but the price and th
      • What I've heard says that it will be March/April/May of '05, aka Spring. The price, yeah it's not cheap. As for the size, it's supposed to be just a little bigger than a standard GBA. It's no GameGear, which would be a major mistake.

        As for the this being the next Nintendo vs. Sega, I think that the PSP is targeted much more at hardcore gamers, while the GBA is the system for everyone (including little kids). I think there is room for both of them.

        The DS really interests me though. First it includes networ

        • The built-in networking really appeals to me. It supports both WiFi and Bluetooth. That means you can play across the internet using WiFi or with somebody 30 ft away from you using Bluetooth.

          Cool!

          • Re:DS by Christmas (Score:4, Interesting)

            by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Thursday May 27, 2004 @05:26PM (#9272137) Homepage
            I agree. The biggest problem with multiplayer on the GameBoy was needing two cartridges. For practical purposes this usually limited you to Tetris.

            The GBA and it's remote boot fixed that by letting you play with one cartridge (although you were limited by the GBAs memory). The DS is supposed to keep this feature. This means the new biggest problem is the cable.

            The cables are unsightly, you have to carry one around, and they are "short". Sure they may be long, but in practice (like two people in a car or on a plane, one sitting in front of the other) the cable can seem short and get in the way. I've never played 3 or 4 player games, but I would imagine that it only gets worse.

            The wireless is fantastic though. Not only do you not need to fuss with the cable, but they could do 8 player, or 16 player, or more! Imagine if you got enough people with a football game, you could have one person play each player on the field! Or do something similar with many other sports. There are many cool things that this opens up; and if it's WiFi/Bluetooth that could mean internet play too.

            There are other little bonuses too. Bluetooth has a standard printer protocall (if I understand correctly) to allow cell phones and PDAs and such to print things easily. Think of just walking up your DS to a printer, pressing a button, and having your highscore table printed out, or the sections of the map you know in Metroid, or something like that. Add in that you could take a picture on a cellphone and Bluetooth it to the GBA to put you in the game. This plus the touch screen means the best Mario Paint game ever could be made. Real drawing, printing, saving (move files over BT), internet sharing (BT or WiFi), putting your picture in, etc.

            The DS (and WiFi and BT) open up tons of cool opertunities. The tech demos that were shown and such are just the tip of the ice burg.

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday May 27, 2004 @03:17PM (#9270974)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • How many christmas season observing people are there in Japan NEway?

      I'm sorry, did you just shorten the six-letter word "anyway" to the five-letter non-word "NEway"? Were the extra letter and grammatical accuracy big thorns in your side?

  • Interesting :) (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Lord Graga ( 696091 )
    It's funny to think about how many years it takes from the start of the development to the debut of the machine... I think this one has started quite early, before the GC launch probably, if you compare it to GBA SP, who had a glued-up prototype a month after the GBA was released! :O

    • Re:Interesting :) (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Interesting :) (Score:2, Interesting)

      That works? Wow. I've been doing it the hard way.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday May 27, 2004 @03:07PM (#9270874)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:Promises, promises... (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Also - if it's so close, why would they put out Zelda for the "dying" GameCube platform? Wouldn't it make sense to hold off and make it a killer launch title for the N5?

      -Joshua
      • Also - if it's so close, why would they put out Zelda for the "dying" GameCube platform? Wouldn't it make sense to hold off and make it a killer launch title for the N5?

        great, give them ideas why don't you. while they're at it, they could take metroid prime 2, resident evil 4, star fox, and save them for the N5 launch as well.

    • Re:Promises, promises... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Thursday May 27, 2004 @03:29PM (#9271107) Homepage
      Nintendo had a bit of a problem because by the time it was launched the PS2 was already huge. There were almost certanly people who if they came out much closer whould have gone with a 'cube. But they launched later.

      As for the Dreamcast, it launched a year+ early. It wasn't a "next-gen" system so much as a system inbetween generations. It was launched TOO early. If the DC had been released 3-6 months before the PS2, I bet it would have done better. I think it would have still died due to other factors, but it would have done better than it did.

      And this is what Nintendo is trying to do. They want to launch about 6 months before the PS3. They will get a head start, but won't be seen as an inbetween generation.

      As for the games, they did a decent job with the GBA launch, a good job with the GC launch. We've learned that more good games at launch means a better system, so the companies understand that. The PSP is supposed to launch with a bunch of games, not that "here is 3, and few care about the other two" that the N64 saw. Few games hurt Nintendo in the N64 days, I think they've learned their lesson. I also think that $150 or $200 would be a perfect price point to launch at, especially with Sony probably going near $250 or $300 with the PS3.

      That's my take anyways.

    • Don't forget what happened to the Genesis. Sold fairly well when it was the only 16-bit console on the market, but made a big crater when the superior SNES came out.

      Rob

    • Re:Promises, promises... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by fireduck ( 197000 ) on Thursday May 27, 2004 @03:39PM (#9271218)
      if Nintendo can launch a next gen console that is backwards compatible with the GC, then I think they'll be in great shape. I don't know what their plans regarding compatibility are, but maintaining it is definitely a good thing (e.g., phenomenal PS2 sales).

      As for developers and a slew of games, they haven't been doing half-bad in this department. In the past couple of years, they've made deals with some of the bigger names and franchises (getting some Final Fantasy, some Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid), so developers definitely are seeing potential in the big N. Getting to market first with a new console and an exclusive or 2 from a big name (say a Mario game plus an established 3rd party franchise) would really push Nintendo along...

      And finally the price, if I'm recalling correctly, Nintendo almost always has the cheapest hardware, both on launch (weren't PS2 and Xbox ~250-300 while GC was closer to 200?) and throughtout the sales cycle, so there's not much worry there.
      • Satoru Iwata has expressed his intention of making the next Nintendo Console Backwards compatible with the GC. It shouldn't be such an issue, given that it will use a somewhat similar architecture (PowerPC + ATI video again)

        PS3 will probably be BC. As for Xbox2, since it will use a radically different architecture, it wouldn't be possible to make it BC, unless some impressive emulation is throwed in.
    • Nintendo was late out with the N64, and they got burned. They were late with the Gamecube, and they got burned. On the other hand, they'd gotten the NES and SNES out before anything comparable, and dominated. It may not be the only cause, but Nintendo is at a serious disadvantage - the PS3 looks to have two generations worth of backwards-compatible game library built up behind it on top of the new PS3 releases, while the best Nintendo can do is the Gamecube library, which wasn't as good. They need to ge
      • Small correction: The SNES actually WAS late to its generation, coming after the [very popular] Sega Genesis. It did eventually beat the Genesis but only after Sega completely lost all sense of direction, which loss led to SegaCD, 32x and finally the Saturn.
  • I wonder if Nintendo intends to make it's next-gen console backwards compatible with the GameCube. AFAIK, Microsoft and Sony intend on making their next-gen consoles backwards compabitle with the Xbox and PS2 (respectively). I also think Nintendo needs to move away from the mini-disc and develop a console that supports DVD both for games and movie and watching. Oh, and lets not forget supporting more online content. I'm trying to remember why I bought my Gamecube...

    • Re:Backwards Compatibility? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Thursday May 27, 2004 @03:35PM (#9271180) Homepage
      I really hope so. The backwards compatability really helped the PS2 (IMO), and I think it would really help the GC2 (or whatever) when it comes out. I'm pretty sure Sony is going to have backward compatability, but MS seems to be waffeling on the issue (which could end-up to their detriment).

      As for the mini-disc, while I think they may move off to a different format for the increased storage space (dual layer DVD, maybe blue-laser based DVD), I think that at this point the DVD player aspect of a console is worthless. When the current generation started, a DVD player was $150+. So a $300 PS2 could be thought of a $150+ DVD player plus a $150+ PS1 plus a PS2 so it was a deal. I used my PS2 to watch DVDs for 3 years. But at this point most people who want a DVD player have one, and I doubt that they are going to buy a console simply because it has DVD functionality. You can now buy decent DVD players for $40 or under, so I don't think the ability to play DVDs is a selling point any more.

      Now if it plays HD-DVDs (or whatever comes after the DVD), that would be a different story. Sony might do this by using Blue-Ray (their DVD replacement) in the PS3 (my speculation).

      • Now if it plays HD-DVDs (or whatever comes after the DVD), that would be a different story. Sony might do this by using Blue-Ray (their DVD replacement) in the PS3 (my speculation).

        N-Sider's potential next-gen specs [n-sider.com] lists the GameCube successor as having "Blue-laser disk technology". Since Nintendo works with Matsushita, they may go with the (also Sony supported) Blu-ray standard. If both Sony and Nintendo's console play Blu-ray DVDs that would give it a big edge over the competing HD DVD standard.
        • I'm not suprised, thanks for the info.

          Wouldn't it be interesting, though, if the next-gen consoles determined what new DVD standard won out? Video games defining movie's media.

          It's possible. If every PS3 and GC2/N-Sider/Whatever (Usually the code names are cooler (Dolphin), but oh well) could also play Blu-Ray disks, that would be a MAJOR boost. It would mean production facilites for both the drives and disks (drive costs down, provide volume needed to satisfy demand of some movie releases), and provide p

          • Keep in mind that having a blue laser DVD reader and being Blu-Ray compatible are not the same thing.

            The former is a general technology, while the latter is a specification.

            Also, the codename for the new nintendo console is "Revolution".
    • I thought that the word on the street regarding Xbox Next was that it *wouldn't* be backwards compatible. New processor architecture, new graphics chipset (NVidia owning the IP to the original graphics chisp) would make including backwards comp. in the hwardware or software pretty difficult.

      Did some news come out that I missed?
    • I think there was an official statement confirming backwards compatibility. They probably realized the importance of that stuff, else they wouldn't have built an additional port into the DS.

      As for the XBox 2, rumors have it that Microsoft is breaking backwards compatibility due to the shift to a new architecture and removal of the harddrive (NVidia claimed MS couldn't get that to work without licensing NV's technology, which they're clearly not doing). Some games could be played on both regardless of hardw

    • Re:Backwards Compatibility? (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I'm trying to remember why I bought my Gamecube...

      Because you're not as arrogant as you sound and you understand that gameplay is paramount when everything is said and done.

    • I've seen DVD players for 30 bucks. If nintendo put in a DVD player, it would cost an extra 30 bucks or more. A lot of people own DVD players, I think those people would prefer not to pay the extra cash for a feature they already have. Plus, some of that extra money just goes to Sony, since they license the technology. Believe me when I say DVD playback functionality will no longer help sell a significant amount consoles.
    • DVD ... movie ... online content ... I'm trying to remember why I bought my Gamecube

      For the games, perhaps?

  • A good time to buy... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by rmarll ( 161697 ) on Thursday May 27, 2004 @03:30PM (#9271124) Journal
    Generally speaking, in the past the announcement of the next gen product coincides with the current product hitting it's stride with the most high quality games.

    Obligatory Penny Arcade link [penny-arcade.com]

    It's almost a given that the first 24 months or so a console is out, most of the games suck, hard. Certainly their are a gem or two in the manure pile, but it takes about 2.5 years for a strong selection of high quality games to be available. By that time you can buy the console for around 1/2 the original cost, and get those few early good games on the cheap.
    • It's almost a given that the first 24 months or so a console is out, most of the games suck, hard.

      Eh, I don't think that is true for more than a couple consoles (maybe PS2, maybe GC?). The Dreamcast and Xbox (the last two consoles I purchased) had tons of great titles in their first 1.5 years...
  • From the article:
    1. "For the past business year, the video game maker said group net profit totaled 33.2 billion yen versus a profit of 67.3 billion yen in 2002/03."
    2. "Nintendo also suffered a one-time currency loss of 68 billion yen after reassessing the value of its dollar-denominated assets."
    Looks like the currency loss is driving the reduced profits.

  • Man, I can't wait for E3! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Mirkon ( 618432 ) <mirkon@noSPam.gmail.com> on Thursday May 27, 2004 @08:25PM (#9273512) Homepage
    Only 50 weeks away!
  • I haven't been a avid console gamer since the release of the N64. After that there seemed to be an explosion of consoles and with that the major software companies got too thinned out and game selection went down with it. I don't believe a gamer should have to have three gaming consoles just to play the best games out there. Lately you see more software companies generating their games for all three of the major consoles (Xbox, PS, NES), but by having just one console you still miss out on some of the be

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