Nintendo New Hardware Rumors (2010)

[NayusDante]

Miyamoto has let it slip (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177860) that new hardware is in development. While this could mean nothing (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174609), they are in a very interesting market position. The Wii has been a runaway success with the casual crowd, but only done well here and there with traditional gaming. Has anyone considered the possibility that they may continue supporting the Wii as-is, while launching a second console aimed squarely at the "hardcore" crowd, as in NOT a Wii2? They really don't have a competing product to the PS3 and 360 right now, but it would seem that they've had enough success to back two consoles at once. Thoughts?

[BHvrd]

Man people have hacked the hell out of the Wii and i'm sure this is what is driving them for a new or redesign more than anything. Wii is a hit and I see no reason to change the formula much, slightly improved visuals and HD while staying in the Ninetendo style and not going "realistic" and Dolby Digital for gods sake!~

It would also be really cool if they somehow incorporated DS docking stations on the unit and started making more cross breed games that you can play at home or take with you in some form or another. A GOOD Pokemon game like this could really get attention.

It wouldn't take much to get me back on-board with Nintendo.... OHHHHHH and for fucks sake get rid of friends codes!!! Seriously friends codes need to fuck off.

[Oobgarm]

Nintendo will not cater to a hardcore demographic with a console. There's too much money to be made otherwise. They've successfully ensnared the "casual" group, so it would make more sense to continue serving them.

[jb143]

But will the "casual group" entertain the concept of shelling out even more money when their original Wii plays just fine? It's like hardcore PC gamers updating hardware everytime a new game comes out while casual game developers need to make sure their games run well on PC's several years old. The casual gamer just can't justify spending that much on new hardware all the time.

I doubt that Nintendo is going hardcore, I just don't think only catering to casual will work too well. A middle ground approach.

[chrisbid]

the 'hardcore' market is dying a slow death, why would nintendo want to enter that mess?

[TonyTheTiger]

The Wii has been a runaway success with the casual crowd, but only done well here and there with traditional gaming.

I think this is pretty untrue. It's accurate in the sense that the Wii isn't much of a haven for third party games but, then again, neither were the GCN or N64. The Wii is basically the same thing. The best games are mostly Nintendo's own, there are a few really good third party games, and that's it. But the good games are REALLY fucking good. The only thing the Wii has beyond that is a sea of shovelware to wade through. I think the "hardcore market" people talk about is a misnomer. Otherwise we would have been hearing the same thing back in the N64 days. What "hardcore market" really means I think is "super high budget games."

I don't think another serious attempt at a console is coming for a while. People would scoff at the idea of spending another $300 for a Wii 2 at the moment. Plus there's the issue of competing with yourself. Having two machines out there, each vying for the same dollar, is lunacy.

[Swamperon]

Nintendo have stated numerous times that work begins on the next console as soon as the current one is released. There is always new hardware in development and I imagine it's pretty much the same with Sony and Microsoft. This is not news.

[NayusDante]

I'm curious that you mentioned Dolby Digital... I haven't looked at the pinout for the AV connector, but as far as I know, all we get for audio on the Wii is RCA stereo jacks, which can do Dolby Pro Logic. Could they do a software update to enable those as digital coax?

[buzz_n64]

An updated Wii will most likely come out the door soon, maybe Christmas 2011 we might see something, or 2012, but no sooner than that. Wii systems are still selling out, and the price isn't even below the $200 mark yet.

[Robocop2]

We still haven't had the flood of multiple different color wii's so I say we're still a ways off from an entirely new console plus the fact that Big N likes to milk a profitable console as much as they can.

[Oobgarm]

Wii systems are still selling out, and the price isn't even below the $200 mark yet.

They've been $199.99 for months now.

[kedawa]

That's not really below $200.

[NayusDante]

I don't think that price matters at this point, because it seems obvious that the Wii is going to get longterm support. People are going to see the Wii to games as VCRs were to movies, and DVD is a long way off. It seems likely that Sony and Microsoft will have new consoles in the next few years, but the Wii seems firmly in place. If the Wii is $200 now, three and a half years into its life, then I can see it surpassing the PS2 in terms of long-term sales and marketshare.

I think we can narrow down the possibilities to four potential SKUs...

1. Wii HD - Upscales, plays DVDs, integrated NetFlix, etc
2. Wii 2 - See: Reaction to Atari 5200, Video Game Crash of '84
3. Next-Gen Nintendo Console - Supported alongside the Wii (or Wii HD), competitive hardware
4. Nintendo R&D is just playing with prototypes

The best situation for US would be the third one, and I honestly think that's the best path to follow, from a business standpoint. The Wii could go another year without a price drop, and I can see it staying $99 for years to come.

[Graham Mitchell]

I don't think another serious attempt at a console is coming for a while. People would scoff at the idea of spending another $300 for a Wii 2 at the moment. Plus there's the issue of competing with yourself. Having two machines out there, each vying for the same dollar, is lunacy.

This. In the mid to late 90s, there was a time where sega had the genesis, sega cd, 32x, and saturn all on the market simulataneously. They all came out within 2 years of each other, and I think consumers got confused over what to buy in order to get the highest quality games. (In fact, at that time, the simple old genesis was probably getting the best software still. And the snes games coming out were still more impressive than the games coming out for these expensive toys.) I think that was probably harmful to segas competitiveness in the long run.

Personally, I really hope we don't see any new consoles from anyone for a long time. 10 year+ market cycles would be fine with me. Wii excluded, the current gen machines are insanely expensive to get working in their full capacity. (Or, at least they were when I bought them) With all the cables, cords controllers, and other hidden charges, my xbox360 cost me $600 and my ps3 cost me $700. I got them both after they had been on the market for two years, and they were still that costly. At these prices, we are not dealing with a simple toy. These are investments at this point, and 5 years of use wouldn't be enough for me to feel like I got my money's worth.

And just think how much more the next gen machines are going to cost...!

[The 1 2 P]

That's not really below $200.

Unless you live in a tax free state.

I think it's interesting that we've heard more rumors about new Nintendo hardware in the last two years than we've heard about new Sony or Microsoft developed systems. The Wii has been so successful that theres really no need for a new system yet. But I suppose that same arguement could have been made for every one of their handheld systems(except the Micro) starting with the original Gameboy.

My Wii doesn't get nearly as much playtime as my 360 and thats because so few of the games interest me anymore. The Wii gets about 2-5 games a year I'm interested in where as the other systems get 15-30. A new system at this point wouldn't interest me and I seriously doubt Nintendo wants to compete with themselves. The only real possibility I see is them releasing an updated version of the Wii. The Wii2, however, is still several years away.

[j_factor]

PSX was extremely popular, but Sony still didn't hesitate to release the PS2 five years later. I don't think the Wii's popularity necessarily has a huge effect on the timing of their next console. It probably does mean, however, that the Wii will continue to be supported for quite a while after its successor is out (much like PS2). I would expect to see Nintendo's next console in late 2011, with the Wii sticking around for another couple years.

Miyamoto's comment might just as easily have been referring to a new portable. There was that news not long ago about Nintendo securing a CPU deal.

[NayusDante]

Yeah, the rumor goes that Nintendo is building a portable around Tegra 2. I actually don't like that, because a ton of devices are going to use that same chip. There won't be anything to make it distinct from a Tegra-based phone, or the next Zune. It'll be easier to cross-develop, but it's still debateable whether that's a good thing or not.

[swlovinist]

Yeah, the rumor goes that Nintendo is building a portable around Tegra 2. I actually don't like that, because a ton of devices are going to use that same chip. There won't be anything to make it distinct from a Tegra-based phone, or the next Zune. It'll be easier to cross-develop, but it's still debateable whether that's a good thing or not.

This makes me happy due to Nintendo having decent technology and a powerful portable. They will get the ports of other portables, and have their own franchises to add to the mix. Win Win.

[BHvrd]

Yeah, the rumor goes that Nintendo is building a portable around Tegra 2. I actually don't like that, because a ton of devices are going to use that same chip. There won't be anything to make it distinct from a Tegra-based phone, or the next Zune. It'll be easier to cross-develop, but it's still debateable whether that's a good thing or not.

Oh GAWD, as if they haven't revised the DS enough to the point of absurdity. Seriously all the things Nintendo could focus on and lame ass add-ons and peripherals is still the same crutch they lean on after all these years.

If history proves anything Nintendo has always been an innovator in gameplay and software but hardware has never been their forte and more times than not has proven disastrous.

Another handheld is not what they need at this point.

[ShinobiMan]

I'm done with Nintendo. They would have to release one hell of a hardcore gamer's console before I jumped back on their wagon. The Wii's output of shitty games is almost unforgivable.

[gamedude45]

I'm done with Nintendo. They would have to release one hell of a hardcore gamer's console before I jumped back on their wagon. The Wii's output of shitty games is almost unforgivable.

I don't know why everyone hates the Wii so much. Everyone should have know from past experiance (the N64 and Gamecube) that the Wii wouldn't have alot of third party support.

So basically if you like first party Nintendo games get a Wii if you don't avoid it like the plague and to be fair the Wii has some decent third party games to such as No More Heros 1&2, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, The House of the Dead: Overkill and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles & The Darkside Chronicles

it's a good system if you avoid the "shitty games" and their pretty easy to avoid considering how obvious those games are.

I don' know what you have against the DS but since your "done with Nintendo" you must have something against it.

Finally to end this mini rant what is the definition of a "hardcore game" anyway? Cause i don't know.

End rant

Back on topic i don't see Nintendo releasing a new console any time soon i think they'll probably update the Wii hardware for HD tv's.

[Zap!]

I'm done with Nintendo. They would have to release one hell of a hardcore gamer's console before I jumped back on their wagon. The Wii's output of shitty games is almost unforgivable.

But their first party games are some of the best the world has ever known, so it balances itself out.

[j_factor]

The Wii is my preferred system this gen and I'm not a huge fan of Nintendo's games. *shrug*

[DuckTalesNES]

I don't know why everyone hates the Wii so much. Everyone should have know from past experiance (the N64 and Gamecube) that the Wii wouldn't have alot of third party support.

So basically if you like first party Nintendo games get a Wii if you don't avoid it like the plague and to be fair the Wii has some decent third party games to such as No More Heros 1&2, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, The House of the Dead: Overkill and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles & The Darkside Chronicles


Except that their first party games used to be INCREDIBLE and now they're pretty mediocre. Zelda 64, Mario 64, Goldeneye were OUTSTANDING games and the best in the whole market and were better than anything we'd seen before. Nowadays their best first party game is Smash Bros., but other than that what are their huge first party games that are so good?? Nintendo made their name by having superior games to the other systems, and with their exclusive licenses they should be doing better.

As a disclaimer, I own a Wii as well. I'm moderately happy about it, but wishes that Nintendo could return to their form back when the N64 was out.

[Zap!]

Except that their first party games used to be INCREDIBLE and now they're pretty mediocre. Zelda 64, Mario 64, Goldeneye were OUTSTANDING games and the best in the whole market and were better than anything we'd seen before. Nowadays their best first party game is Smash Bros., but other than that what are their huge first party games that are so good?? Nintendo made their name by having superior games to the other systems, and with their exclusive licenses they should be doing better.

As a disclaimer, I own a Wii as well. I'm moderately happy about it, but wishes that Nintendo could return to their form back when the N64 was out.

Goldeneye wasn't first party. Smash Brothers is fun, but far from their best first party Wii game. Zelda: Twilight Princess (and it's a launch game), Super Mario Galaxy, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii are the furthest thing in the world from "pretty mediocre" as you put it. All three are level 9 or 10 games. How about Metroid Prime 3? Wii Sports resort? Punch-Out!! Wii?

[DuckTalesNES]

Metroid Prime 3 provides nothing new or unique over the previous two metroid prime games. The wii sports resort was just a rehash of wii sports (which was a good game). Punch-Out wii?!? The $50 remake of a game we've all played before? That has nothing on the kind of exlusives Nintendo used to release. Twilight princess was just a port of the GameCube game so hardly next gen. New Mario Bros. wii is really fun, but hardly the type of groundbreaking game that Nintendo used to be known for putting out there.

My mistake on Goldeneye, but it WAS an exlusive for the N64 and a damn good one.

[Zap!]

Metroid Prime 3 provides nothing new or unique over the previous two metroid prime games. The wii sports resort was just a rehash of wii sports (which was a good game). Punch-Out wii?!? The $50 remake of a game we've all played before? That has nothing on the kind of exlusives Nintendo used to release. Twilight princess was just a port of the GameCube game so hardly next gen. New Mario Bros. wii is really fun, but hardly the type of groundbreaking game that Nintendo used to be known for putting out there.

My mistake on Goldeneye, but it WAS an exlusive for the N64 and a damn good one.

The question isn't whether it's a rehash or not, but whether it is a good game. All the games I mentioned most would agree are very good, and I disagree that Wii Sports Resort is a rehash, as it has many more games than the first, in addition to Motion Plus.

Punch-Out!! Wii was one of the best $55 (I got in in Target with the Nunchuck pack-in) I spent in all of 2009. Is it considered a rehash if it's been 15 years since the last game? It was last released on a 16-bit system in 1994.

I never said Zelda was next generation, I merely said it was a level 9/level 10 game. Also, you didn't mention Super Mario Galaxy. Did you really like that one?

Maybe it's just my personally. Everyone tells me I live in the past, and I also like to recycle my jokes. I guess I'm just meant for Nintendo.

[gamedude45]

Except that their first party games used to be INCREDIBLE and now they're pretty mediocre. Zelda 64, Mario 64, Goldeneye were OUTSTANDING games and the best in the whole market and were better than anything we'd seen before

That's the thing tho we had never seen anything like Mario 64 and Zelda 64 we had never seen Mario and Link in 3D before and up to that point their had never been an outstanding FPS like Goldeneye on a home console. Nothing could match that amazment of playing those games for the first time.


Nowadays their best first party game is Smash Bros., but other than that what are their huge first party games that are so good??

Well I think Super Mario Galaxy is better than Brawl but lets say Brawl is the Wii's best game is that really a bad thing Brawl is a very fun game especially with friends. It's definitely not a game i'd be ashamed of calling the best game on the Wii or the PS3 or the 360(if it was on the PS3 or 360 of course)
Now other first party games that are good (this is all personal opinion but) Super Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario Kart Wii, Metroid Prime 3, Punch-Out and Wario Land: Shake it. I'm sure there are more but these are the only first party games i've played.


Nintendo made their name by having superior games to the other systems, and with their exclusive licenses they should be doing better.

How much better can you be than first place?


As a disclaimer, I own a Wii as well. I'm moderately happy about it, but wishes that Nintendo could return to their form back when the N64 was out.

I wish they could go back to form from the days of the SNES good third party games, spectacular first party games, a near perfect controller (except for playing street fighter with) and cartridges. Well i guess most of thats never coming back but they should definitely work on getting back those good third party games.

As my own little disclaimer, I'm probably making myself sound like a big Wii fanboy but i actually perfer the PS3 as my main game console this generation but i fell the Wii games bring something to the table that the neither PS3 or the 360 have.(and no i don't mean "shit games" incase your wondering.)

[Icarus Moonsight]

A new handheld at this point would make more sense than a new console... Seems like the DSi's potential is being mostly wasted anyway. At least the screens are bigger. *shrug* If I didn't trade in two heavily used DS units and get it for ~$20 out of pocket, I would be sorely pissed at this point. As it stands, it's just annoying. If it's another DS though, I'm fine with what I got, thanks.

Would be cool to reanimate the GameBoy brand...

First place or not, one can always do better. First place =/= perfect.

[Gameguy]

A new handheld at this point would make more sense than a new console... Seems like the DSi's potential is being mostly wasted anyway. At least the screens are bigger. *shrug* If I didn't trade in two heavily used DS units and get it for ~$20 out of pocket, I would be sorely pissed at this point. As it stands, it's just annoying. If it's another DS though, I'm fine with what I got, thanks.
I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but there's already another version of the DSi coming out. The DSi XL with even bigger screens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DSi_XL

[Icarus Moonsight]

Yeah, and I'm fine with what I got. Wife might want to upgrade her Lite when that comes though. It's also why I thought this might mean bringing the Gameboy back. Since yet another DS on top of that seems even more silly than a new console ATM.

I did just get Korg DS-10 Plus in the mail today... So my DSi is not only bigger screens, louder audio and better buttons anymore. I'll be tapping into the DSi-ness, finally... Only took a little less than a year. LOL

[kedawa]

Nintendo's biggest challenge is getting people who don't care about graphics to buy new hardware that just provides better graphics.

[gamedude45]

First place or not, one can always do better. First place =/= perfect.

True so very true but it's definitely not a bad place to be in.

No company is perfect especially Nintendo I mean how many Wii accessories do we need? and how many diferent DS models are there? but to be fair it does seem to be the popular thing to do these days (DS has 3 different models 4 if you count the XL PSP has 4 different models) and they are all basically pointless cause you can still play most of the consoles library on the original model. The lack of DSi specific games..eeh yeah I don't think Nintendo thinks of the DSi as a new console just a slightly upgraded DS with bigger screens and a online shop(wich has some pretty good games that you can't get on a normal DS) but thats hardly worth it for the full price of the DSi and i'm pretty disappointed that they aren't backing the DSi like I fell they should but this all goes back to your point that Nintendo is far from perfect.

[RetroYoungen]

Aren't both the Wii and the DS/i really the current price-point, accessible-to-everyone consoles at the moment? The Wii, shovelware-laden as it might be, is still a huge seller for them, and the DS almost IS the "handheld" market (if you ignore phones; according to Wikipedia, the DS/i has sold over 125 million units compared to the nearly 56 million for the PSP) with just as much garbage over a so-far longer shelf-life. Of course they're always in development, it makes total sense that they should be looking into every possibility and working on any promising future ideas... but I can't see them laying down what they have at the moment any time soon.

That said, I'm really looking forward to what the next Nintendo handheld would bring. And I'd love to see the re-imergence of the powerhouse that was the Game Boy brought back to life with something to hold the attention. Wishful thinking maybe, but I can dream. :D

[Sonicwolf]

Is it just me or does it seem that Nintendo produces the best first-party games when they are in a serious struggle for console supremacy and not comfortably ahead of the competition?

[RetroYoungen]

Is it just me or does it seem that Nintendo produces the best first-party games when they are in a serious struggle for console supremacy and not comfortably ahead of the competition?

Makes sense to me. When one finds themselves ahead and able to do as they please, they're less likely to try as hard. Why make an amazing masterpiece when you can put both "Olympics" and "Sonic" on the box?

That said, heard NSMBWii was actually pretty sweet... haven't tried it yet. lol

[Zap!]

Is it just me or does it seem that Nintendo produces the best first-party games when they are in a serious struggle for console supremacy and not comfortably ahead of the competition?

It's just you. I'll take Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Super Mario Bros. 3 over Super Mario Sunshine or anything else put out by Nintendo when they were second (and third) fiddle.

[buzz_n64]

Nintendo is simply the best publisher out there, weather their systems suck or not. If someday they lose in the console or hand held wars, they will still be the best at making games, it won't be another sega-sammy or snk-playmore.

[j_factor]

It's just you. I'll take Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Super Mario Bros. 3 over Super Mario Sunshine or anything else put out by Nintendo when they were second (and third) fiddle.

On the other hand, they have a few stinkers for Wii (like Wii Music) and NES (like Baseball), whereas they were pretty consistent on SNES, N64, and Gamecube (minus the Mario Party series and the console Pokemon games).

[Zap!]

On the other hand, they have a few stinkers for Wii (like Wii Music) and NES (like Baseball), whereas they were pretty consistent on SNES, N64, and Gamecube (minus the Mario Party series and the console Pokemon games).

NES Baseball was an October, 1985 launch game. They NES didn't really dominate until 1987. However, no argument, they do have some bad games too.

[kupomogli]

3. Next-Gen Nintendo Console - Supported alongside the Wii (or Wii HD), competitive hardware

I don't think Nintendo has ever continued to support their consoles once the next one hit the market.

I'm not sure about NES when SNES came out, but GB and GBC support pretty much ended as soon as the GBA was announced. SNES support ended as soon as the N64 was released. GBA lasted a year at most after the DS was released. Gamecube lasted a couple months after the release of the Wii.

This is a company that completely drops support. Basically buy a new system or screw you.

I mean sure. It gives them more marketshare because the consumer is going to buy their next system but it's also screwing over the customers. Nintendo already had Twilight Princess completed but screwed Gamecube owners hard by making them wait another year until after the Wii was released, then releasing it for the Wii a month prior so if they wanted to play it they had to buy a Wii, then after that pretty much completely dropped support for the Gamecube when mentioning that all the games they were currently developing were going over to the Wii instead.

*edit*


Nintendo is simply the best publisher out there, weather their systems suck or not. If someday they lose in the console or hand held wars, they will still be the best at making games, it won't be another sega-sammy or snk-playmore.

All the Mario Party series(including handheld) after the first two, Mario 64, Majora's Mask, Mario Kart GBA, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii, all the Mario sports titles. When it comes to the sports titles though I only played Golf and Strikers which were worse than games being developed by EA and other developers for years, and the good thing about the sports titles from places like EA is the prices are actually 19.99 within a year instead of 49.99 for five years.

Nintendo has had a lot of bad games and honestly, none of their new games are remotely good as ones Sega has released recently. Games such as Valkyria Chronicles, Yakuza series, Feel the Magic, and the Rub Rabbits. That's pretty much it, but those games are some of the best games on their respective systems.

[Icarus Moonsight]

That's not universally true... They didn't stop building Famicoms until sometime in the 2000s (supplying Asian markets, I'm sure). Their main focus is being a profitable company, if that means extending or cutting off support for a platform in a region, that's what happens. It's not an arbitrary, 'let's screw them over' move. It's calculated, and the customers habit and preferences pretty much dictates it. I'm surprised they actually released Z:TP for GC...

If you are comparing GC/Wii to PS2/PS3, Sony failed in the context you are drawing, where Nintendo succeded. NES/SNES had overlap. SNES/64 had less, but it was still there through a handful of late titles on SNES. I didn't care much for 64, so I wasn't paying attention to any 64/GC overlap. I just got a damn GC. LOL

The PS2 longevity is mostly because of it's own strength and how not-well recieved it's big brother is/was. Axing BC only hurt PS3 more, and helped PS2 stay around longer. Also a calculated move, I'd wager.

[Zoltor]

Yeah, and I'm fine with what I got. Wife might want to upgrade her Lite when that comes though. It's also why I thought this might mean bringing the Gameboy back. Since yet another DS on top of that seems even more silly than a new console ATM.

I did just get Korg DS-10 Plus in the mail today... So my DSi is not only bigger screens, louder audio and better buttons anymore. I'll be tapping into the DSi-ness, finally... Only took a little less than a year. LOL

I have a DS Light, which I have no plans to get a DSi, why, because from what I heard, to have the cameras, prevented them from allowing GBA support, and such(which in Nintendo's DEF is ok, because atleast the camera feature has applications with actual games, unlike Sony picking Blue-Ray movies over backwards compatibility, It's not the choice I would've made, as backwards compatibility is a far better feature then cameras), so maybe they are gonna redign the DSi, so it can have both(which is what they should've done from the beginning, but anyway), that would be very much worth it, and logical, as a new handheld model.

PS. I really hope this is the case, because the DSi also has DSi ware, and SD support ofcourse, so if they did do that, I would definitely upgrade.

[gamedude45]

I have a DS Light, which I have no plans to get a DSi, why, because from what I heard, to have the cameras, prevented them from allowing GBA support

Now before I start i would like to say I applaud Nintendo for their backwards compatibility on the Game Boy line.\\^_^/ That being said I don't mind that the DSi isn't compatible with GBA games. I mean I miss the feature but you have to think that as a company backwards compatibility hurt your software sales after awhile. I mean why buy new super mario bros. when you can get super mario bros. 1/2/3/world on gba it may not seem like their losing much but after awhile the lost sales add up. The old video game buisness model is sell the console/handheld at a loss and make your money back on software sales but you can't do that if everyones using their DS as a GBA or their GBA as a Game Boy/GBC.


unlike Sony picking Blue-Ray movies over backwards compatibility

of course Sony picked Blu-Ray over backwards compatibility it's the consoles main media. Think back to 2006/07 when everyone was complaining that the PS3 was over priced and demanding a price drop they had to take out backwards compatibility to drop the price. anyway all that aside the PS3 has proven it self to be a good console with great exclusives and it's selling well all without ps2 backwards compatibility so i don't think Sony is in any rush to put backwards compatibility back in.

[j_factor]

I don't think Nintendo has ever continued to support their consoles once the next one hit the market.

I'm not sure about NES when SNES came out, but GB and GBC support pretty much ended as soon as the GBA was announced. SNES support ended as soon as the N64 was released. GBA lasted a year at most after the DS was released. Gamecube lasted a couple months after the release of the Wii.

This is a company that completely drops support. Basically buy a new system or screw you.

It has nothing to do with the company. Gamecube was already on life support long before the launch of the Wii. I still remember when Chibi-Robo came out, and it was literally the only new Gamecube game at the time, and its release pretty much fell on deaf ears. Two months later, Odama came out, and similarly fell on deaf ears. I don't think there even were any releases in between.

N64 had been more popular than Gamecube, but it sharply declined late in its life. When Sega announced the discontinuation of the Dreamcast, N64 had no such announcement; and yet, in the months following, Dreamcast was getting quite a few significant releases, whereas N64 was practically no man's land.

They did support SNES for about a year after N64, although such support was very tepid. Not sure what happened there. NES was supported until 1994, they gave it as long of a life as they possibly could.

Games compatible with the original Game Boy were released until 2000. That's only two years, but, the GBA came out just three years after the GBC. GBC was more of an extension of the original Game Boy than a whole new system. GBC was dropped pretty quickly after the GBA, but the 8-bit GBC seemed extremely outdated and passé by that time, so I don't blame them.

It's not true that GBA was immediately replaced by the DS. GBA still had decent support in 2006, and a trickle of games in 2007. However, I do find it really douchey of them in light of their repeated emphatic statements that the DS was not replacing GBA and the two would be supported side-by-side.


I mean sure. It gives them more marketshare because the consumer is going to buy their next system but it's also screwing over the customers. Nintendo already had Twilight Princess completed but screwed Gamecube owners hard by making them wait another year until after the Wii was released, then releasing it for the Wii a month prior so if they wanted to play it they had to buy a Wii, then after that pretty much completely dropped support for the Gamecube when mentioning that all the games they were currently developing were going over to the Wii instead.

I don't think Twilight Princess was actually completed in 2005. But you are right that delaying the Gamecube release until after the Wii launch was a prick move. I was also highly annoyed when Super Paper Mario and DK Bongo Blast were moved to the Wii, when they had already shown them as Gamecube games alongside the Wii. And I was extremely disappointed that the Kirby game never came out. But really, it's just four games.

[Voliko]

The final game relased on Super Famicom was Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 in 1999, albiet only in the Japanese market..