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Nintendo Businesses Entertainment Games

The Revolution Will Be Globalized 64

Posted by Zonk from the remote-controllers-all-around dept.
Gamespot is reporting that Nintendo plans on a global launch for the Revolution. From the article: "Talking about the Revolution in an interview with Nikkei Business, Iwata stated, 'I can only say that it's coming out during 2006, but it will be after the current fiscal year. We hope to make it a simultaneous worldwide release as much as it's possible ... It [the Revolution] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube'"
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The Revolution Will Be Globalized More

The Revolution Will Be Globalized

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  • I love this idea. I always disliked seeing games come out in Japan first,and having to wait until they get ported to the US, if the game even got ported at all.
    • The US? It's even worse in Australia!
    • "if the game even got ported at all."

      Maybe you did not read the topic. It referred to a global launch of the **console**, not games. I would suspect that there will still be plenty of Japanese games that take a while (or never) to come to the US.
      • Yeah, I don't think this will have an overall effect on the release dates of games. Launch titles are usually done before launch, so there's time enough to catch up and release both Japanese and English versions with the console. But after that, I think it'll revert to the usual. The games will be written in their native language (be that Japanese or Enligh), and released in either the US or Japan when it's finished, and the translation will be started later in development - when the script is finalized, an

        • Either they do it like they do now and delay the initial release while they wait on translations (which makes no sense, and could hurt the games in the long run)

          What about games that need little translation outside the menus, such as Dance Dance Revolution Extreme for PS2 (no, the North American version is nothing like the Japanese version)?

    • Re:worldwide release (Score:3, Insightful)

      by xgamer04 ( 248962 )
      And Europe (usually) gets hosed even worse than North America.

  • Refreshing... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by swerk ( 675797 ) on Tuesday October 25, 2005 @04:06PM (#13875371) Journal
    ...that is, Nintendo follows through and applies this policy to games as well. Why on Earth Electroplankton (quirky DS music-making "game") came out long ago in Japan and will get only a limited release in the 'States in January is beyond me, especially considering there is absolutely nothing to translate. In the past, the N64 DD expansion and its Mario Artist games never made it across the pond at all, and throughout all of Nintendo's history they've given Europe and Australia the shaft big-time, games sometimes coming out a year or more later than in Japan and/or the US.

    Now if they'd only ditch their ridiculous region locking (to their credit, no Game Boy or DS system is reigon-locked, which I've taken advantage of several times) I'd be a happy camper. One step at a time, maybe. :^)

    I'm surprisingly excited about the Revolution... As much as I love traditional video games, I've got to say the idea of some wacky new directions has a lot of appeal. After getting a taste of that "brave new world" stuff on the DS, I'm pretty confident it's not just rhetoric. New experiences, here we come! Not that I won't be suckered into buying a PS3 as well, I'm sure...
    • Elektroplankton was critically acclaimed in Japan, but it didn't sell well.

      So, if a quirky japanese game doesn't do well in Japan, it has no hope on the US. I don't like the idea of the game being only available online, but, hey, it is better than nothing.

    • Re:Refreshing... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by SetupWeasel ( 54062 )
      Just be thankful you have the chance to get Electroplankton. It is very rare to have a game that didn't sell well in Japan make it to the US. Also, I imported Electroplankton, and though the game needs little translation, the manual needs a lot. It isn't a small point either. Iwai handwrote and illustrated the entire thing. The manual itself is a nifty piece of art.

    • Now if [Nintendo would] only ditch their ridiculous region locking (to their credit, no Game Boy or DS system is reigon-locked, which I've taken advantage of several times)

      Games designed for the iQue DS system, available in China, will not play on Nintendo DS systems sold in NZ/Au, North America, Japan, or Europe. Given that the iQue DS firmware is known to be twice as big as the multi-region Nintendo DS firmware, the current hypothesis is that there is an ideographic [wikipedia.org] font in the iQue DS firmware, and i


    • I agree that it's frustrating( been waiting a long time for Band Brothers), but keep in mind it can be much harder to do simultaneous releases with certain software titles because of localization. For example, an adventure or rpg game could have hundreds of pages of text that needs to be translated, new voice actors and recording sessions, and potentially swapping out assets that may be offensive or not relevant the target cultures. Sure, you could do it simultaneously (and some games do), but it's muc

      • For example, an adventure or rpg game could have hundreds of pages of text that needs to be translated

        Then what about games other than adventures and rpgs? Why don't, say, fighting games or platform games almost always see a simultaneous (or at least within a month or two) release? Why are games released in the UK but not in the US (e.g. Kuru Kuru Kururin and Payback for GBA) or vice versa?

      • For example, an adventure or rpg game could have hundreds of pages of text that needs to be translated, new voice actors and recording sessions, and potentially swapping out assets that may be offensive or not relevant the target cultures. Sure, you could do it simultaneously (and some games do), but it's much, much more work.

        Actually, localisation is pretty routine work. The only problem is for smaller companies, who do not have the needed structures to localise a game, so many games are simply ignored.

  • The price. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by PhoenixOne ( 674466 ) on Tuesday October 25, 2005 @04:08PM (#13875408)
    If rumors are correct, and it launches at a sub-$200 price (yes, even $199.95) then I think these things will fly off the shelves.

    I'm not an economist, but it looks like the buying power of the average US consumer isn't going to improve in the next year. People are more likely to take a chance on a $200 box then a $400 (or $600).

    • Re:The price. (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Ayaress ( 662020 )
      History has shown that, more often than not, first to market=first to games=first to sales. Price has never been a serious factor before, though, so Nintendo has an extra chip in their pile if they can pull off a cheap launch (Seeing as, despite being last in sales behind MS and Sony, they were first in profits, I don't doubt they'd be willing to eat an initial loss to get back on top).

      Another boon for Nintendo is the delay rumors around the PS3. If it IS delayed even half as long as some of the rumors, tha

      • Re:The price. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Admiral Ackbar 8 ( 848624 ) on Tuesday October 25, 2005 @05:15PM (#13876134)
        History has shown that, more often than not, first to market=first to games=first to sales.

        Tell that to Sega!
        • The Genesis made Sega a lot of money. The 16 bit generation essentially ended with a tie. And though outside of Japan the Saturn did poorly, in Japan it was actually fairly successful (certainly moreso than the N64 was). Sometimes first to market is an advantage, and Sega is the proof of that.
      • Or the PS1 was a better product than the N64.

        I had an XBOX a long time ago which I sold and i recently got myself a Gamecube thought. The XBOX was boring, paper mario is fun.

      • Re:The price. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by xgamer04 ( 248962 ) <xgamer04@ya[ ].com ['hoo' in gap]> on Tuesday October 25, 2005 @11:46PM (#13878175)
        History has shown that, more often than not, first to market=first to games=first to sales.

        You can't be talking about the videogame industry. TurboGrafx-16/Turbo CD, Sega CD/32x/Saturn/Game Gear/Dreamcast, Virtual Boy, Atari Jaguar, and others were the "first" of their kind, and failed horribly. Even a bizzare homoerotic smear campaign against Sega couldn't save the Turbo system. The PlayStation was out before the N64, and yet it didn't dominate that system. Same for the PS2.

        Price has never been a serious factor before,

        Apparently you forgot about the 3DO and the release price that the Saturn had, which was compounded with the screwy situation of two addons for the Genesis. A phantom example is the fact that no handheld system has ever really been able to supplant the Game Boy, partly due to the fact that Nintendo sells so many they can afford a very low price.

        If Nintendo gets a good release lead on Sony, and have the games to back it up (Their weakness with the DS, although the same can be said for the PSP) they can easily come out on top.

        Dude, you could really strengthen your arguments if you said WTF you were talking about. I assume you mean that the DS and PSP had crappy launch games, but you could also be saying that the DS has a bad game lineup in general (which is not true). Also, I don't see Nintendo being able to get "back on top" of the console pile in the next 2-3 years. This is mostly due to the momentum they are working against. Go find how many PS2s were sold, and then compare that with how many XBoxen and Cubes were sold. Nintendo can't just come flying out of the gate and steal all of Sony's marketshare with a shiny new console, because THEIR COMPETITION HAS SHINY NEW TOYS TOO. A third problem for Nintendo is the constant FUD they encounter from the press. gamesarefun.com has some great editorials debunking some of the myths about Nintendo, but I'm sure new ones will sprout like weeds (OMG the controll3r has less buttons than teh GBA! Nintendo si teh d00med!!1 lolo)
      • History has shown that, more often than not, first to market=first to games=first to sales.

        History has also "shown" the opposite. I don't think you can apply simplistic rules like so many poeple like to do with sales expectations.

        Too many poeple are thinking from a hardcore point of view, stating how many games are coming for the system, what the performance is etc.

        The casual consumer isn't interested in any of that, and even the best marketing about superiority can't overpower basic market prfere

    • It would be great if a situation like this happened, but here in Australia, the Gamecube has pretty much been withdrawn from the market. The few stores that still have it (such as EB) have it at $99 AUD for a new console, when the XBox and PS2 are still above the $200 AUD mark. These remaining Gamecube consoles are not flying off the shelves, even though there are still over a hundred titles on the market for the Gamecube, and new titles are still coming out.

      I've been holding off on getting a Gamecube, b

      • If you pick up a Cube, you need to get Super Smash Brothers Melee [ign.com]. One of the funnest multiplayers you will ever play. If you get no other game, get that one.
        • Smash Melee is still pretty expensive. If you're looking to save money by buying a GameCube, you might as well also save some dough on a game and pick up Super Monek Ball 2 [ign.com] instead. It's just as fun multiplayer IMHO, has a better single player, and can usually be found cheap. I got my copy new at Sam's Club for $13.
          • I had never even heard of it. Thanks for the recommend!
          • But in no way should you get Monkey Ball 2 over Smash. Once you're better than your 15 Cube owning friends but one, and you are just about as good as that one, you see the real gem that Smash is. There is no way to understand the fun of Yoshi and Mario on a team defeating two level nine CPU players, then having several one on one matches, the outcome being a tie. I am a Super Smash Bros. Melee veteran, and I truly say it is the best multiplayer game in existance. P.S. Don't think I suck. I can defeat far m
            • I'll conceed a lot on this post but when you say "it is the best multiplayer game in existance," I must strongly disagree. Saturn Bomberman is head and shoulders above all other multiplayer games. Where else can you have 10 player action? Having two or three friends over to play your system is cool and all but there's nothing quite like having nine of your closest friends over for a bomberman tourney. It's a shame that game came out on such an unpopular system.
    • While I love Nintendo, it seems like they've been falling to the wayside since the release of the N64. Most people I've talked to in my age range seem to look at the quirky features offered in newer systems as novelty instead of gaming innovation. Hopefully the Revolution will strike everyone as something so removed from the tradition console that people will take a chance with it. And on the other side of the coin, it's anyone's guess whether said system will deliver.

  • Smash Bros (Score:2, Interesting)

    by b4k3d b34nz ( 900066 )

    As long as Smash Bros 3 (or whatever it would be called) comes out for the Revolution, I'll be buying it. I still avidly play SSBM for the GC--it's probably the most replayable game ever made. Other than Contra.

    • Re:Smash Bros (Score:3, Interesting)

      by SScorpio ( 595836 )
      Then you'll be happy to hear that a smash bros is coming out, and it's going to be online. With luck it will hopefully be a launch title and really make the consoles fly off the shelves.

    • Glad to know that SSB3 will be coming out, and that it'll be online. IT'S ABOUT TIME, NINTENDO. I was hoping that SSBM would be online, but obviously it isn't...so sad.

      My wife (among others) won't play Smash Bros. with me. I've been playing for 4 years now, so noobs generally don't do to well...I've been playing 1-on-3 team for a challenge lately :) However, she doesn't mind me playing video games--as long as I don't pay more attention to them then to her ;)

  • According to this article [nintendojo.com] from Nintendojo, the Nintendo Power Line (number listed in article) says that the Revolution will be launched in the "latter half of 2006". While it certainly isn't unknown for phone service numbers to have bad information, this does line up with the article.

    I think that, unless the PS3 gets a large headstart, the Revolution will probably be out late September-early October. Enough to drum up interest for Christmas, and will allow it to be available for Black Friday in the States.
  • Funny, they said almost the exact same thing about communism.

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