Do you think Nintendo will lead the next generation ?

[rarecube]

Who thinks Nintendo will lead the Market on the next generation of Videogames ??

From what i see in the net, Nintendo seems very confident on taking over the next few years, with their new home system proyect.

What do you guys reckon ??
I Hope they do. I want quality titles not quantity.

[sens_coll]

Nintendo seems very strong in the future.

[PC-Famicom64]

Yes Nintendo will win,Sony is only useing Blu-Ray and Microsoft is not useing Blu-Ray and HD-DVD and is goin to use DVD-9 disks,So Nintendo must use Both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD and don't forgit DVDs and CDs(DVDs and CDs will not be use for games)Plus Game Cube games. :)

[tholly]

no...microsoft will

i think this round nintendo will be last........again

[FlufflePuff]

As much as I would like it to be otherwise, I predict the next generation of home consoles will be Nintendo's last. The simple fact is that two generations of consoles deemed undesireable by the general public have crippled their image. Now they rely on their big guns (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc) to stay afloat. The only quality franchise they've introduced to the Gamecube is Pikmin. So far they've only released DS games that are based on existing successful franchises. They've lost the guts to innovate, at least on the software front, and that will be their downfall. Don't get me wrong, I love Nintendo. I own a Gamecube and will be the first in line for the Revolution, but I just don't predict the general public being as accepting of it as the Xbox 360 or the PS3. That's my two cents at least, and here's hoping I'm wrong.

[PC-Famicom64]

no...microsoft will

i think this round nintendo will be last........againDVD-9 Disks=Bad idea.

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Disks=Great Idea.

;)

[njiska]

Ok first off you need to add an option for people who don't think nintendo will lead the market but can't make a call on who will. In other words people who don't know who will lead. The poll you have right now really is just a poll asking who will lead, not whether or not nintendo will. You should fix it.

Now on to the question at hand. I personally don't think nintedo will lead the market in the next round. If the revolution is a success then all 3 companies will probably be pretty close in market share. Which is the best scenario for everyone. If the market is tied then all the companies will have to compete extra hard for our money and the best quality games will be produced.

If the revolution is a failure, which it could be, Nintendo will lose even more of it's market share and the battle will be between sony and microsoft with no clear leader.

In either case Nintendo is not capable of taking the market lead. Maybe they could in Japan, but not in the US or in the overall gaming market.

[Push Upstairs]

Unless Nintendo has been hoarding all thier great ideas over the last 10 years and putting them into the "Revolution"...i find it highly unlikely that they will be #1.

As was pointed out, two generations of undesireable systems have hurt thier image and to be perfectly honest, even if everything Revolution related is done *right* that still doesnt mean the gaming public will accept it (see Dreamcast).

[digdug]

I think Nintendo is a great company that has a VERY loyal following. The problem is, is that that followiing isn't propelling them to the top. They need 3 things to begin the LONG road from the bottom to seeing the top.

1. They need a online gameplan similiar to Microsofts

2. They need to have more 3rd party support, and have more quality 3rd party games.

3. They need to drop their image of being just a kid machine and create more games like Eternal Darkness, and games that are similar to GTA.

By adding those I think they will have a chance of climbing out of the cellar.

My opinion though is that Microsoft will dominate this round. Sony has tooo many problems with ALL of their hardware to stay on top. And X-Box Live is just AWESOME. Sony needs to develop an online gameplan similar to Microsofts. They also need to have better first party games ( I don't mean games like Jax & Daxter, Rachet & Clank, and Sly Cooper, I mean games like Socom, and games that will get a more mature crowd to buy there system).

I think Microsoft needs to improve uoon their amount of RPG's. There isn't enough to play you can count all of them in 1 hand. They also need to improve upon their platform games to compete with nintendo, and sony in this department.

Overall for me right now I think Microsoft is the leader in this round til I see something in action of Nintendo's and Sony's next gen system.

Dig Dug

[jdc]

I also think that Nintendo has lost the edge with the average gamer.....which is a shame. No-one really gives the Cube a serious look....for various reasons, and yet the capabilities of that little machine are astounding when placed in the hands of the right developer.

I can't see the Revolution doing too well. Nintendo's promise of "this time it will be different" reminds me of the fable of the boy who cried wolf. That's all very well, but the average gamer isn't listening any more. Master Chief got their attention, their money and their loyalty.

[Promophile]

I predict things will be alot like the current gen. You will have nintendo in last place and Microsoft in second but nipping at the heels of Sony.

[PC-Famicom64]

I think Nintendo is a great company that has a VERY loyal following. The problem is, is that that followiing isn't propelling them to the top. They need 3 things to begin the LONG road from the bottom to seeing the top.

1. They need a online gameplan similiar to Microsofts

2. They need to have more 3rd party support, and have more quality 3rd party games.

3. They need to drop their image of being just a kid machine and create more games like Eternal Darkness, and games that are similar to GTA.

By adding those I think they will have a chance of climbing out of the cellar.

My opinion though is that Microsoft will dominate this round. Sony has tooo many problems with ALL of their hardware to stay on top. And X-Box Live is just AWESOME. Sony needs to develop an online gameplan similar to Microsofts. They also need to have better first party games ( I don't mean games like Jax & Daxter, Rachet & Clank, and Sly Cooper, I mean games like Socom, and games that will get a more mature crowd to buy there system).

I think Microsoft needs to improve uoon their amount of RPG's. There isn't enough to play you can count all of them in 1 hand. They also need to improve upon their platform games to compete with nintendo, and sony in this department.

Overall for me right now I think Microsoft is the leader in this round til I see something in action of Nintendo's and Sony's next gen system.

Dig DugAnd The Big one:Less Pokemon and More Hamtaro(But Hamtaro for Teens and not Kids,And make it more like Konami's Parodius) .

[Dr. Morbis]

Is this a joke? I can't believe people are actually voting for the "yes" option. What on earth has led you people to believe that things are swinging Nintendo's way? Especially considering the release of the PSP, I certainly wouldn't want to be a Nintendo stockholder over the next few years.

[NintendoMan]

They've lost the guts to innovate, at least on the software front, and that will be their downfall.

I really agree with most of the stuff you are saying. Except the whole innovating part, I mean even if some people don't accept it, they are trying to do that with the DS. And they say the revolution will completely innovate, but we will see with that. I am very skeptical.
Nothing M$ and Sony do is innovating, except LIVE, and that's all. So I don't think being on top has ANYTHING to do with innovating.

[NintendoMan]

Is this a joke? I can't believe people are actually voting for the "yes" option. What on earth has led you people to believe that things are swinging Nintendo's way? Especially considering the release of the PSP, I certainly wouldn't want to be a Nintendo stockholder over the next few years.

Well, there needs to be more options in the poll. I would've picked "no, but not last place" but there wasn't an option, so I picked "YES", they will be the leader.

[YoshiM]

Hoooo boy, it's going to get mighty toasty in this thread.

/me zips up flame retardant suit and packs pockets with ice.

First off, I gotta respond to the following:


I think Nintendo is a great company that has a VERY loyal following. The problem is, is that that followiing isn't propelling them to the top. They need 3 things to begin the LONG road from the bottom to seeing the top.

1. They need a online gameplan similiar to Microsofts

2. They need to have more 3rd party support, and have more quality 3rd party games.

3. They need to drop their image of being just a kid machine and create more games like Eternal Darkness, and games that are similar to GTA.



What difference does it make if a particular company's console is "on top"? Just because a company's system is on top doesn't mean you'll get all the tasty games another console has. There will always be exclusives or limit-time exclusives. What's the point of having a market with different consoles then?

Having online isn't necessarily going to cause people to flock to a system. Lately the online capabilities of some games seem to be more tacked on than anything lately. Internet capability (not necessarily a service) should be put in but I think it should be up to the developers/publishers to support online with their game.

As for third party support and quality: that's kinda out of Nintendo's hands. If developers don't want to do up a good multiplatform game, don't blame Nintendo. The Cube is good hardware-can't help it if no one wants to utilize it right.

I think Nintendo has more of a "family" image than "kiddy". From a business standpoint I'd rather offer a machine that appeals to a wide audience than a machine that attracts just "mature" audiences. "Mature" is a very broad description of a game. When you say "they should make more games like Eternal Darkness or GTA", do you mean they should follow a similar structure (like the psychotic episodes that target the player rather than the character in the former or the "sandbox" open world approach of the latter) or that their future games should have similar content (blood, gore, violence, horror, debauchery, the ability to murder in cold blood, etc.)?

If "mature" means shock value, it's a path that gets old quickly. Look at old 80's "horror" flicks. Lots of B movie slashers with obligatory T&A. It was formulaic. It pretty much fizzled out by the early to mid 90's except for maybe straight-to-video releases (the latest Hellraisers come to mind...bleh).
---------------------------

From the way I've read things lately, I don't think Nintendo is really gunning to overthrow Sony or Microsoft. They seem to be quite content in trying to be "innovative". They've got their die hard niche market and people still flock to the latest franchise title. Nintendo is essentially the video game equivalent of Apple and they seem to be happy with that.

The real question is: will it be enough to retain retail shelf space? That's something none of us can really predict.

[petewhitley]

I think Nintendo has more of a "family" image than "kiddy". From a business standpoint I'd rather offer a machine that appeals to a wide audience than a machine that attracts just "mature" audiences. "Mature" is a very broad description of a game. When you say "they should make more games like Eternal Darkness or GTA", do you mean they should follow a similar structure (like the psychotic episodes that target the player rather than the character in the former or the "sandbox" open world approach of the latter) or that their future games should have similar content (blood, gore, violence, horror, debauchery, the ability to murder in cold blood, etc.)?

Attracting a wide audience is a nice goal, but when the top-selling game of the year is GTA and Nintendo doesn't have a port or a plan for a port, it makes you wonder if that's really their goal at all (and I'm not so sure it ever really was, but I would argue it should be if they would like to stay successful). They've got the "family" thing down pat, but they seem to be ignoring the large audience that wants a GTA-type gaming experience. Obviously that has negatively impacted their success in this generation, and I would imagine it will continue to negatively impact their success in the next generation if they don't change.

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

No Sony Will be #1 Next Gen. But Nintendo will be a Close 2nd if they do everything right. As for Microsoft Exspect that XBox 2 will be their last console since I beleve they will Close Down.

[scooterb23]

Where's the "Who cares who wins as long as we get to keep playing games" option?

I'll back off now, and allow the inevitable flame war begin.

Of course, I could be pleasantly surprised and come back to a 4 page thread that has nothing but well thought out arguements...

Can you tell the NyQuil is kicking in?

[rarecube]

I believe Nintendo needs a bit of respect.
The Did lead the 80`s and early 90`s. and i am sure Nintendo is coming back strong.
They will lead the handheld market and the home console too.

I am very sure about it too.

[tholly]

As for Microsoft Exspect that XBox 2 will be their last console since I beleve they will Close Down.

LOL LOL

with the amount of money they have, i doubt that one

[YoshiM]

Attracting a wide audience is a nice goal, but when the top-selling game of the year is GTA and Nintendo doesn't have a port or a plan for a port, it makes you wonder if that's really their goal at all (and I'm not so sure it ever really was, but I would argue it should be if they would like to stay successful). They've got the "family" thing down pat, but they seem to be ignoring the large audience that wants a GTA-type gaming experience. Obviously that has negatively impacted their success in this generation, and I would imagine it will continue to negatively impact their success in the next generation if they don't change.

I'm sure if Rockstar was willing to make a port to the Cube I don't think Nintendo would disapprove. The Cube audience got their GTA-type gaming two years ago: True Crimes: Streets of LA. It has its share of violence along with GTA flavah (except you're a good guy rather than a thug). Another brutal sandbox-like environment came in the form of Hitman 2 with its many approaches to assassinating someone. Don't forget the latest blood fest that is Mortal Kombat. With that, you can't tell me Nintendo isn't willing to have violent games (I'm not even going to use "mature", it's just too broad and too misused) on the Cube. I forgot to even mention they got the exclusive rights to Resident Evil AND they published Eternal Darkness.

Sony did a smart thing: they pretty much disassociated themselves with the hardware. They had no legacy other than technology for people to recognize which is why they have a plethora of titles. If anything they are identified by what third parties crank out (Jak and Daxter, Grand Turismo, etc.) However Nintendo built their legacy years ago and it's really only within recent years that the market began to shift. After 25+ of doing the same type of thing, it's hard to shake an audience's perception. Sega is another example: for the masses the "arcade at home" approach was dead. Even though the Dreamcast had a lot of great titles no one cared as they moved onto greener, more epic pastures. Microsoft is now falling into a similar situation: they are being seen as the hardcore "blast-a-thon" system. When your system's main claim to notoriety is Halo and Halo 2, there are certain assumptions that get drawn.

[soniko_karuto]

Nintendo will lead.

Nintendo will start showing themselves to the emo kids. That sells.
Also i don't care about consoles that have nothing that ticles my fancy, no good characters, bad franchises, in ya face attitude.

I like to choose what i play, not what they tell me to play.

[petewhitley]

With that, you can't tell me Nintendo isn't willing to have violent games (I'm not even going to use "mature", it's just too broad and too misused) on the Cube. I forgot to even mention they got the exclusive rights to Resident Evil AND they published Eternal Darkness.

It's not that they aren't willing, but I believe that they aren't agressive enough in pursuing that audience. Obviously that's the audience that is propelling the home gaming market right now, and Nintendo keeps missing it.

[rarecube]

Nintendo will lead.

Nintendo will start showing themselves to the emo kids. That sells.
Also i don't care about consoles that have nothing that ticles my fancy, no good characters, bad franchises, in ya face attitude.

I like to choose what i play, not what they tell me to play.

Completly AGREE

[Jasoco]

So do I.

I really want Nintendo to be on top again, but until I see what they have planned for the future, I don't know if I can vote or not.

I'd at least like to see them be second. The problem is that that'd mean Sony or Microsoft would have to be third, and I just can't see Sony with its loyal fanboy.. I mean fanbase and Microsoft with its wads of cash and Halo sequels abound being third again.

Though, honestly, if I had to pick someone to be third, I'd pick Microsoft. In all honesty, I don't care for Halo much anymore, and really, that's all they got.

But yeah, I'd much rather Nintendo be first. But I ain't holdin' my breath.

[drwily008]

No Sony Will be #1 Next Gen. But Nintendo will be a Close 2nd if they do everything right. As for Microsoft Exspect that XBox 2 will be their last console since I beleve they will Close Down.

Yeah, that wont happen. Nintendo will have a good run at things. The ideas they've been kicking around are finally possible. But unfortunately they will have a hard time making it to top dog. To many people out there who are loyal to SONY for no good reason (I'm on my 3rd broken PS2 and my 4th PS1). XBOX will continue to have a good track record with the masses but be destined to 2nd place. I really wish someone would do an expose' on Sony and expose their inferior system for what it is, but that wont happen, at least not where the entire gaming public could see it. I would love to see a Nintendo VS. Microsoft generation, but this is not in the cards for this next generation.

[FlufflePuff]

They've lost the guts to innovate, at least on the software front, and that will be their downfall.

I really agree with most of the stuff you are saying. Except the whole innovating part, I mean even if some people don't accept it, they are trying to do that with the DS. And they say the revolution will completely innovate, but we will see with that. I am very skeptical.
Nothing M$ and Sony do is innovating, except LIVE, and that's all. So I don't think being on top has ANYTHING to do with innovating.

They are trying to innovate, with their hardware. Their software however isn't innovative at all. It's Mario, Metroid, Pokemon, Zelda, etc... I agree that the DS is innovative. Nintendo claims that the Revolution will be innovative. I'm not doubting this. What I doubt is their ability to craft new game software that will appeal to a wide variety of gamers. In this generation, Sony has created Jack & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Sly, and spearheaded the rebirth/assimilation of several huge franchises (GTA to name one). MS gave us Halo, Fable, Mechassault, KOTOR, and Crimson Skies. What new game has the Gamecube given us? Pikmin? Eternal Darkness? Viewtiful Joe? That's pretty much it. So far the DS's lineup is similarily stale. Nanobreaker looks to be the only interesting new game. If Nintendo fails to attract quality 3rd party support and fails to innovate in-house development, I predict that they will follow in Sega's footsteps and become a software only company after the next console generation. And, if the PSP is as big as it most likely will be, that could include the handheld market as well.

[soniko_karuto]

FYI: innovation != creativity.

[Aussie2B]

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft took the lead in the US, at the rate they're going. They're an American company offering American games, and that's what Americans want. As much as Sony tries to be mainstream and appeal to Americans, they still have a bit of that Japanese feel to them (but not enough for my tastes).

As for what I want, yeah, I'd like Nintendo to be on top. And if Nintendo didn't exist, I'd like to see Sega, SNK, NEC, Bandai, etc. on top instead of Sony or Microsoft. Just any good Japanese hardware company to keep Japanese gaming alive and strong in the US.

But I don't expect Nintendo to be on top. I'm not into doom and gloom predictions like "This will be Nintendo's last console", but I don't expect them to escape their niche unless something drastic happens... and with gaming being so mainstream and such big business these days, I doubt things are going to be anything but business as usual. With so much money moving, nobody is about to take any serious risks.

[rarecube]

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft took the lead in the US, at the rate they're going. They're an American company offering American games, and that's what Americans want. As much as Sony tries to be mainstream and appeal to Americans, they still have a bit of that Japanese feel to them (but not enough for my tastes).

As for what I want, yeah, I'd like Nintendo to be on top. And if Nintendo didn't exist, I'd like to see Sega, SNK, NEC, Bandai, etc.

Agree on that too...
I was on tears when sega confirmed to finish with hardware production.
They always made the same mistake, there marketing was very poor.
But the games and systems were great.

[James]

Ok everyone good points, but as for the many comments about Nintendo not being innovative that is just ridiculous especially since one of the people stating this point mentioned Pikmin, if you can name me a more innovative game by a Console manufacturer I'd like to hear it (Katamari Damacy excluded, it was developed by Namco, although a very good game that should be multi platform). I don’t see how you could argue the Gamecube as not being a desirable system for the general public, it has sold just as well as the Xbox has worldwide and that system is generally overrated.

As for the next round I agree with Njiska saying you need to add a poll for those of us who have no idea who will lead which is all of us as it hasn't happened yet. There might be something to the jump ahead tactic Microsoft is attempting but who knows that could work against them, Sega failed because of this tactic but only because everyone ignored them. Which is unfortunate as the Dreamcast is a better system than the PS2 by a long shot, well the controller could use some work.

As for the next round I see this happening:

1. Microsoft - 45% market share
2. Nintendo - 35% market share
3. Sony - 20 % market share

Of course I don't think we’ll hit those numbers until around late 2007. That should be the case unless Sony is able to somehow release a very nice system which could happen but don’t bet on it. As far as their track record goes their marketing plan is repackaged crap over and over. And if you don’t agree you’ve got no idea what good games are. For example every single game series they picked up that use to be on the SNES or Genesis has turned to crap (Well except Castlevania: Symphony of the Night). And to be perfectly honest I don’t think I'm going to get a PS3 or at least not until I know what I'm buying because with Sony's record it will break and then break again and I'm fed up with them and their pathetically built hardware. No other company in video gaming history has this many intentional problems with their hardware. In ten years from now I dought there will be any working PS2's in existence that haven't been fixed a few times or modified by their user. Well the next round is looking like it will be very exciting and maybe with some luck the 3 companies will have the same market share because as was stated earlier that will benefit the gamer the most.

[Algol]

IMO, its a bit early to decide how well the Revolution will do before we know anything about it. Nintendo will do everything in their power to make it a success, and whether anyone buys it is up to the consumers.

As long as Revolution isn't a company killing flop, there should also be some great Gamecube games on the way, as prices fall. Look at how well the PS1 did after PS2.

[Hep038]

I have a few questions for James post.



(Katamari Damacy excluded, it was developed by Namco, although a very good game that should be multi platform).

Why should Katamari be excluded?



As far as their track record goes their marketing plan is repackaged crap over and over. And if you don’t agree you’ve got no idea what good games are.

Are you talking about nintendo or sony here?

[anagrama]

Is it not hard to avoid bumping into things when the wool is pulled tight over your eyes?

[GrayFox]

As much as I want Nintendo at the top, I just don't know if that's gonna happen, but at the same time, I don't think Sony is gonna stay at number 1.

Lately, X-Box has been kicking plenty of ass, probably because of some kickass exclusives and Live. People are loving it, and personally, I'd rather see Microsoft at number 1 than Sony.

Sony doesn't care about gaming, they want to combine all forms of media into one. I don't want that, ever.

[hydr0x]

well, if the question is "will nintendo lead next generation?" than the answer is no, but i'm pretty sure they will gain market share

if the question is, "will nintendo ever be in the lead again?" than my answer has got to be YES

for me, Nintendo still has the best fundament (not talking of finances here) to build the market leader on, the only reason they aren't are multiple mistakes they made since ~1993 (when the cd issue came up). what i can see now is that they are making up and fixing everything they did wrong bit by bit while bringing a few innovations from time to time... i think that will make them no1 once again someday. how many generations that's away? no idea

[theoakwoody]

First of all I'm sick and tired of the same old Nintendo franchises in every single fucking game they put out. I love Nintendo and I have to stick up for them when people claim they are not innovative in their software. So maybe the characters are not innovative but I think that the games and the environments are very innovative.

I voted that M$ would win out in the next generation because they are coming out first and will have an entire year to work out the kinks and have some amazing software to blow away whatever is being released for the Revolution and the PS3. Even though I lean towards nintendofanboyism I have to admit that M$ is doing the best job right now of giving their customers what they want.

Now even though Nintendo will probably come in 3rd place in the next generation it doesn't bother me in the least. I agree with whoever said that Nintendo is content to be like apple and make high quality products regardless of whether or not they are mainstream. Nintendo will never go away unless the revolution turns out to be the Virtual Boy 2 or something. Even if Nintendo only captures 10 to 15 % of the console market they will always have the handheld market. The PSP will do fine but if somebody thinks that it will kill the DS and the gameboy than they are underestimating what has made Nintendo successful for the last 15 years.

[Captain Wrong]

I think MS will lead, Sony will get a bit of humble pie and the Nintendo fanboys will still claim to the death that Nintendo is winning, even as the company announces their withdraw from the home console market.

Why? Well, I think on-line gaming is going to become a bigger and bigger piece of the pie. MS has a nice head start and is frankly doing it pretty well. Sony will still have brand loyality and I expect a lot of exclusives to be system sellers.

Nintendo will continue to do more talking than showing. Again, it's going to be the same song and dance about how they are going to revloutinize the biz, and then they're going to introduce the next equavilent of GBA-GC connectivity. While there may be quality at the Nintendo camp, they continue to fail to recognize it's not 1989 anymore and gamers are different these days. Yes, they actually do want things like on-line play.

And people keep getting hung up on "innovation." Pimpkin may be innovative, but the fact of the matter is, most gamers don't want to play it. Innovation doesn't put a company on top. Having games people want to play does. You can argue 'till the cows come home that Nintendo has the best games or whatever, but until they start getting large quantites of exclusive games that most gamers want to play (think Resident Evil, well, before the PS2 port was announced anyway) they're going to continue preaching to the coverted and losing market share.

It's not too hard to see this principal at work. The Dreamcast was innovative and loaded with quality titles yet it still fell by the wayside because too few of those titles were ones most gamers wanted to play. Like it or not, catering to the masses sells more systems than catering to the hardcore.

[hydr0x]

Nintendo will continue to do more talking than showing.

seems like you haven't been watching console dev lately, Nintendo announced build-in WiFi for the Revolution (which basically means it does Internet, there just has to be someone who makes software for it) and also announced that the Revolution will definetly be backwards compatible which clearly shows they are going in the right direction

i'm not saying they are already doing everything right, but Nintendo today moved far away from the Nintendo we had 2 years ago, people like Iwata and Fils-Aime really seem to have realized what's important in this market.

Now, and that's what i meant above, if Nintendo REALLY gets into all the stuff that Sony had in favor (compatibility, keeping the old system alive, internet-gaming, more 3rd Party and more mature games, weird peripherals), and i really feel they are moving faster into that direction right now than ever before, then Sony looses all his plus points. No one can argue the fact that Nintendo has the better selling First Party games and a much higher appeal to parents of childs <12 so Sony needs some advantages, if they loose them all (i didn't mention dvd/hddvd/blueray compatibility as noone already knows how that works out and which consoles will accept what) and don't find a way to make up for it then they will ultimately loose the fight, even if in the end it's only due to Nintendos franchises being the only thing that remains different between the consoles

[€ÜRØTRŧH]

I'm not trying to incite some sort of fanboy flamewar. But, I'd advise people to be reluctant in getting extremely excited over a new console, from Nintendo. I really hope I am wrong but I just cannot see Nintendo leading the next generation. I mean Gamecube had all the potential in the world, but the games just weren't there, any game worth playing on it is a port from another system. N64 was much the same, its only good games were the initial ones and traditional nintendo franchises such as Mario and Zelda. Virtual Boy was DOA. Don't get me wrong I love all of the aformentioned systems as I'm sure many of you do. I'm just trying to say Revolution might be an amazing system and I hope it is, but let's face it Nintendo hasn't made a truly great system since SNES which was over a decade ago.

[downfall]

I do not believe that Nintendo will lead the market - they've got too much ground to cover to do that. However, I believe they're taking some steps in the right direction (Backwards compatibility, WiFi, etc.). It may be considered too late to many people (developers included), but I'm happy to see that they're admitting that they've done some things wrong, and that they want to correct some of those mistakes.

I also do not believe that Microsoft will lead the market - if some of the specs I've read on the XBox 2 are correct (optional hard drive, non DVD media, no backwards compatibility, etc.), then I really feel like they're taking a few steps backwards. I also think this winter is too early to launch, especially if there's no backwards compatibility - I just don't currently see it turning out all that well, especially when some of the biggest XBox fans I know share the same viewpoint as myself.

I can see Sony continuing to lead if only because of their current lead in the market - but depending upon how the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD wars turn out, Sony could cause themselves some trouble by limiting themselves to Blu-Ray. It's a gamble either way, though it's looking like Blu-Ray is gathering up more support than HD-DVD at this point. Regardless, I still believe that Sony would have to make some huge mistake or just flat out not pay attention to the competition in order to be knocked off their perch right now.

It's really too early to do much speculation though - especially when there's not *that* much known about any of the three systems.

[PC-Famicom64]

Nintendo will win,Sony is only useing Blu-Ray and Microsoft is useing DVD-9 Disks,Nintendo "Must or Will" Use both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (So that people don't buy 2 DVD players,One for Blu-Ray and one for HD-DVD) Plus It will play DVDs and CDs(Music-CDs,Video-CDs and Pic.-CDs) and Game Cube games,Plus Wi-Fi bult-in,That wey Nintendo will Win and Sony and Microsoft will make "Nomore Constles" .

;)

[Push Upstairs]

I really hope I am wrong but I just cannot see Nintendo leading the next generation.

I tend to believe that once you were on top of the gaming world you never can reach that spot again. I don't ever recall any gaming company who had a major fall from #1 and was able to climb up again.


Moving along,

As i said and others have said as well...Nintendo can do everything right at the launch, but if they don't have quality games that gamers (other than the army of Nintendo fanantics) want to play they are not going to get anywhere.

[RCM]

Nintendo's marketshare has slipped every home console generation. All you Nintendo fanboys gotta face fact, Nintendo is in trouble. Regardless if PSP "loses" to DS, the PSP will take a chunk of Nintendo's marketshare. That's huge because the way things are looking right now, the Revolution won't be a revolution. Unless something drastic happens, the next console race will center around the Xbox 2 vs. the PS3. Nintendo has failed to change with the times and that has clearly hurt them. I really don't want anyone to "win" the next console race. The industry needs balance and hopefully Microsoft and Nintendo will give it some. As it looks right now though, Nintendo is on its way out of the home console biz. Let's get real Nintendo fanboys.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[petewhitley]

seems like you haven't been watching console dev lately, Nintendo announced build-in WiFi for the Revolution (which basically means it does Internet, there just has to be someone who makes software for it) and also announced that the Revolution will definetly be backwards compatible which clearly shows they are going in the right direction

I hope they've got alot more up their sleeves than that, as they've basically announced the same stuff you've got for this generation on the PS2 with a wireless adaptor. They're building up this "revolution" and "paradigm shift" business quite a bit, let's hope they deliver. :hmm:

[ghostangelofcky]

As much as I hate to say it I believe Sony will reign king for a while longer.

Nintendo could pull it off but their last 2 consoles have hurt them, the Gameboy seems to be their only king card they still have, but I fear that will faulter once the PSP hits US shores. Also it seems the only exclusive devolper they had was capcom, I could be wrong in this though, and capcom just broke their deal with nintendo on the exclusive Resident Evil franchise when they started porting their games to the PS2, ie Resident Evil 4.

And Microsoft will never be "king of the consoles" until they win over Japan, which as I'm sure we all know will never happen. As their sales # for japan shows.

[Promophile]

Nintendo's marketshare has slipped every home console generation. All you Nintendo fanboys gotta face fact, Nintendo is in trouble. Regardless if PSP "loses" to DS, the PSP will take a chunk of Nintendo's marketshare. That's huge because the way things are looking right now, the Revolution won't be a revolution. Unless something drastic happens, the next console race will center around the Xbox 2 vs. the PS3. Nintendo has failed to change with the times and that has clearly hurt them. I really don't want anyone to "win" the next console race. The industry needs balance and hopefully Microsoft and Nintendo will give it some. As it looks right now though, Nintendo is on its way out of the home console biz. Let's get real Nintendo fanboys.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

I agree with you but I think there is a place for Nintendo in the console market. They furfill a niche Sony and Microsoft don't.

[stressboy]

My guess. I think Nintendo has more of a chance to take back the #2 spot than to actually make it to #1. However, I think things will remain the way they are for a long time.

Personally, I would probably cry if Nintendo stopped making consoles. I still wonder why so many Xbox and Sony fanboys seem to think this would be a good thing.

[Super Mario Fan]

I think that Nintendo might have something up their sleeves that nobody saw coming.

Probably. Maybe. I hope.

But anyways, I think that Nintendo has a lot of potential. They are like that kid in everybody's class that knows what's going on, but isn't paying attention. Then test time comes, and that kid fails. After a few tests, he realizes that he needs to do something about his grade. So if Nintendo starts studying, they can get things right.

I hope you understood the analogy.

[RCM]

Nintendo's marketshare has slipped every home console generation. All you Nintendo fanboys gotta face fact, Nintendo is in trouble. Regardless if PSP "loses" to DS, the PSP will take a chunk of Nintendo's marketshare. That's huge because the way things are looking right now, the Revolution won't be a revolution. Unless something drastic happens, the next console race will center around the Xbox 2 vs. the PS3. Nintendo has failed to change with the times and that has clearly hurt them. I really don't want anyone to "win" the next console race. The industry needs balance and hopefully Microsoft and Nintendo will give it some. As it looks right now though, Nintendo is on its way out of the home console biz. Let's get real Nintendo fanboys.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

I agree with you but I think there is a place for Nintendo in the console market. They furfill a niche Sony and Microsoft don't.

Nintendo could still fulfill that niche as a third party for Microsoft and Sony. It wouldn't be a horrible thing for Nintendo to develop titles for other consoles. I buy Nintendo consoles to play Nintendo games. As long as they make games I don't care where they show up as long as the games are great.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[rarecube]

Seems like Sony is going to win in the poll, with a close second place between Microsoft and Nintendo.

[NintendoMan]

I was on tears when sega confirmed to finish with hardware production.

This is off topic, but if that ever "happens" to Nintendo, I guarantee you I will be in tears. Seriously.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

Regardless of market share, the fact remains that nintendo IS churning out a profit with the gamecube, albeit a minor one, as opposed to Micro$oft and Sony (which can still support their console because of their other markets) are not actually making money off of the CONSOLES. As long as nintendo sees fit and continues to make money, they will be around. Will they win? Not unless they change their attitude. Will we be saying goodbye to them? Not any time soon.

[NintendoMan]

Regardless of market share, the fact remains that nintendo IS churning out a profit with the gamecube, albeit a minor one, as opposed to Micro$oft and Sony (which can still support their console because of their other markets) are not actually making money off of the CONSOLES. As long as nintendo sees fit and continues to make money, they will be around. Will they win? Not unless they change their attitude. Will we be saying goodbye to them? Not any time soon.

Yes, for some reason people think they are just losing money hand over fist!! Sure they are making no where the amount of Sony, and not making as much as MS, but still are gaining a profit.
For some reason people think just because nintendo is not in #1 or #2 place, and if if doesn'thappen this next generation and they are still in 3rd, they are dropping out of the console business. Why in the hell would they do that, even though they are making a profit. Just because there not #1 or #2??

[ghostangelofcky]

Regardless of market share, the fact remains that nintendo IS churning out a profit with the gamecube, albeit a minor one, as opposed to Micro$oft and Sony (which can still support their console because of their other markets) are not actually making money off of the CONSOLES. As long as nintendo sees fit and continues to make money, they will be around. Will they win? Not unless they change their attitude. Will we be saying goodbye to them? Not any time soon.

Yes, for some reason people think they are just losing money hand over fist!! Sure they are making no where the amount of Sony, and not making as much as MS, but still are gaining a profit.
For some reason people think just because nintendo is not in #1 or #2 place, and if if doesn'thappen this next generation and they are still in 3rd, they are dropping out of the console business. Why in the hell would they do that, even though they are making a profit. Just because there not #1 or #2??

because in a way, it sounds the same as the last days of sega

[NintendoMan]

because in a way, it sounds the same as the last days of sega

Yeah, but wasn't SEGA unfortunately losing money like crazy?!

[ghostangelofcky]

because in a way, it sounds the same as the last days of sega

Yeah, but wasn't SEGA unfortunately losing money like crazy?!

Yes, from what I've read, and like you said Nintendo is still pulling a profit, it just seems they have been declining lower and lower over the past few years. Sega would get a good idea for a console and it would start out decent enough then fall, Sega CD, Saturn, DC. But they also did better in Japan, just like Nintendo.

The thing that's bothering me about Nintendo is the Gameboy. That sounds more like Sega than anything. In the past few years they keep tossing out new models all the time, hell the Gameboy color wasn't that old when the Gameboy Advance came out, then the SP, then the DS, and now they've anounced the Gameboy Advance 2, it just seems like they are tossing out every idea that comes around instead of making a good solid system and sticking to it, like they use to. ie Org Gameboy

The other thing that kinda bothers me is what's with Nintendo puting "Limited Edition" on almost everything, Plat GCN, multiple GBA SP's, when there not, they are sold for months and months. That just seems like a marketing ploy more than anything, just seems like bad business.

Don't get me wrong, I love Nintendo, it was my first and fav, it just seems like they are grabing at straws lately, and in all honesty, I wonder if it would be to far fetched to say that in 4-5 years we will be playing Metriod on the PS3 and nintendo will just be a software developer, just like Sega.

[petewhitley]

Here's (http://home.rgv.rr.com/nicodemus/n5.gif) a supposed (looks real ...) scan of an article in the upcoming issue of Game Informer. Read the bit about the Revolution and it's completely touch-screen controller. If that's accurate info, sounds like a gamble. How exactly would the backwards-compatibility fit into that? Would you need to plug a GameCube controller in to get accurate Z-button and analog-stick performance? The lack of any tactile feedback would take some getting used to. Could be inaccurate, but it's interesting nonetheless (and less of a "revolution" now that the DS is using similar technology).

Edit: the more I think about it, the more I think it's either fake or inaccurate, simply because it's an incredibly stupid idea.

[Push Upstairs]

For some reason people think just because nintendo is not in #1 or #2 place, and if if doesn'thappen this next generation and they are still in 3rd, they are dropping out of the console business. Why in the hell would they do that, even though they are making a profit. Just because there not #1 or #2??

Other than thier public image....more important is the fact that even though Nintendo is making a profit, MS & Sony can still outspend Nintendo on anything.

What scares me is that if Nintendo screws up bad they have nothing to fall back on to sustain themselves..sure we have the gameboy and whatnot...but if the PSP whoops the DS/GBA2's ass what does Nintendo have left?

But i really do hope Nintendo the best and i hope the monkeys that have been throwing out all this wasteful ideas (You heard me E-Reader) have been canned in favor of some smarter ideas.

And i also hope they drop this "port" thing they have been doing. There was a time when this company could have three seperate systems on the market and still crank out quality games for each. What happened to *THAT* company?

[Anthony1]

stuborness and pride has ruined Nintendo. I've been down with the from the beginning, but ultimately, they've dug their own damn hole and fell into it.


It started with the Nintendo 64 and the arrogant and stupid and stuburn decision to go with a cartridge based medium. That was the beginning of the end for them.


Then with GameCube, they shit on their loyal fan base by giving them a crappy ass game posing as a Mario classic. Mario Sunshine sucked. Sorry, but that game sucks. And that is coming from somebody that absolutely loves Mario to death. I consider Super Mario World to be possibly the greatest game ever made. Mario 64 was also an incredible accomplishment. Super Mario Bros. 3 was a incredible revolution in platforming.


But Mario Sunshine blew cheese as far as I was concerned. What a freaking let down. I was expecting Nintendo to take Mario to the next level, and I get a game that basically could have been done on the N64 and a game that isn't anywhere as good as Mario 64.


I hope Nintendo could make a comeback, but I just don't see it.




By the way, you know what other company has become really arrogant and really aloof, thinking they can do no wrong.....

It would be nice to see those assholes get a dash of comeupitance too.

[James]

I have a few questions for James post.



(Katamari Damacy excluded, it was developed by Namco, although a very good game that should be multi platform).

Why should Katamari be excluded?

Katamari Damacy is excluded because I was talking about inovative games by first party companies and Katamari Damacy is developed by a third party company so it doesn't count, but it still is very inovative, I'm a little surprised it came over here at all, we usually get screwed over when it comes to weird very fun Japanese games.



As far as their track record goes their marketing plan is repackaged crap over and over. And if you don’t agree you’ve got no idea what good games are.

Are you talking about nintendo or sony here?

I'm talking about Sony here. Sony is a very uncreative company. To be perfectly honest they are destroying everything that has to do with video games or in other words they don't give a shit about the gamer or the games they supposedly make, their quality control sucks and for some fucked up reason their marketing works?! Thank God Microsoft is here to boot those useless bastards out of the market for good. Never thought I'd be saying that.

[James]

I think MS will lead, Sony will get a bit of humble pie and the Nintendo fanboys will still claim to the death that Nintendo is winning, even as the company announces their withdraw from the home console market.

Why? Well, I think on-line gaming is going to become a bigger and bigger piece of the pie. MS has a nice head start and is frankly doing it pretty well. Sony will still have brand loyality and I expect a lot of exclusives to be system sellers.

Nintendo will continue to do more talking than showing. Again, it's going to be the same song and dance about how they are going to revloutinize the biz, and then they're going to introduce the next equavilent of GBA-GC connectivity. While there may be quality at the Nintendo camp, they continue to fail to recognize it's not 1989 anymore and gamers are different these days. Yes, they actually do want things like on-line play.

And people keep getting hung up on "innovation." Pimpkin may be innovative, but the fact of the matter is, most gamers don't want to play it. Innovation doesn't put a company on top. Having games people want to play does. You can argue 'till the cows come home that Nintendo has the best games or whatever, but until they start getting large quantites of exclusive games that most gamers want to play (think Resident Evil, well, before the PS2 port was announced anyway) they're going to continue preaching to the coverted and losing market share.

It's not too hard to see this principal at work. The Dreamcast was innovative and loaded with quality titles yet it still fell by the wayside because too few of those titles were ones most gamers wanted to play. Like it or not, catering to the masses sells more systems than catering to the hardcore.

Well your handle speaks for itself, i don't even want to begin telling you how much of a short sighted idiot you are. :roll:

[James]

By the way, you know what other company has become really arrogant and really aloof, thinking they can do no wrong.....

It would be nice to see those assholes get a dash of comeupitance too.

Amen to that. LOL

[Jasoco]

It started with the Nintendo 64 and the arrogant and stupid and stuburn decision to go with a cartridge based medium. That was the beginning of the end for them.I think it started more with the cancellation of the Nintendo CD project which practically alienated Sony and gave them the whole idea for competition. To me, that was the day they dropped the ball.

The Cartridge thing was simply the second one. Because it was Square who practically kept Sony up back in the early PSX days. If the 64 had gone CD, Square would probably have done FFVII on the 64 instead.

Those are the two deciding points in Nintendo's history.

And yes, secretly I hope for Sony to have some similar deciding points soon. I really want to see them fall from the top like so many before them.

[Amy Rose]

If the 64 had gone CD, Square would probably have done FFVII on the 64 instead.

FFVII was meant to be on the Nintendo 64, but got canned about 30% of the way through because (obviously) there was absolutely NO WAY that a game that huge was going to fit on a cartridge.

I think Sony is going to come out on top. Like has been said, Xbox only has Halo (and I hate Halo), and the PS2 may have a plethora of crap games, but there is also a plethora of great games, if you can accept change. Kingdom Hearts, Parappa 2, The GT series, Gitaroo Man, Final Fantasy X, all the Dreamcast ports, Klonoa 2, etc. It has the games most gamers want.

[SlayerOfFurbies]

i wish you had put an option for just plain no.. i think EA will :evil:

It's only a matter of time till they make a console

[FurinkanianFrood]

It wouldn't be a horrible thing for Nintendo to develop titles for other consoles.


It would be much worse than horrible.

When the DC died I began to hate Sony more than even I am comfortable with.

There should be at least one game console per generation made by companies that actually make good games, not f'ing generalized corporations who decide to f up another market.

That said, I still think that sony is gonna shoot themselves in the foot.

Blu-ray seems like a huge mistake. How is pushing up the cost of the console to allow it to play movies that are barely even gonna be available at launch time help. When the PS2 came out the market was ready to fully embrace DVD. Blu-ray is a shot in the dark.

The Cell chip is BS. Sony has claimed that it is capable of superlinear performance scaling. No matter how much they want it to, 2+2 is not 5, 6, or 37. Expensive. Difficult to utilize it's potential. I don't care what language the DK uses, like hell if game code can be split up into 8 distinct processes efficiently. Balancing tasks evenly between the processes would be up to the programmers still. What good is eight cores if 7 are functioning at half capacity, or less. Even though the timing will be taken care of better in non-assembly code, you can't have a processor calculating things that are dependent on input the player hasn't even made yet. Not everything gets calculated all that often.

I really think that a high price point could lead to the PS3's downfall, but then again, people seem to want the overpriced $250 PSP, with it's weak library and all....

I think this will be easier to see after the PSP launch, and much easier after E3 of course.

People buy stupid $250 dollar phones, so a $400 dollar console may actually be able to sell in these moronic times.

I really do think that all of the above are valid points, so don't think that I just hate Sony (not that I don't). Microsoft doesn't have much in the way of games, but they might be able to use (massive amounts of) money to remedy that, if they don't care about losses early on like they sometimes claim.

Basically it depends on 2 factors:

1. Will Sony goof up?
2. Will MS throw cash around heavily enough?

If the first and the second come to pass: MS
First but not the second: N
Neither: Sony
Second but not the first: Sony

Think about how predictable some of the past console wars have been.... It's not exactly set in stone is it....

Nintendo could end up anywhere.... Consumers are irrational and lack taste, but something could boost Nintendo.

To the actual gamers out there.... This is it.... This is the decisive console war that will decide if real games continue to be made.... For the moment there are real games on PS2, but it seems to be thinning.

If Sony claims the whole market, enjoy the downward monopoly spiral.

And the second crash....
Time flows like a river....
And history repeats....



FFVII was meant to be on the Nintendo 64, but got canned about 30% of the way through because (obviously) there was absolutely NO WAY that a game that huge was going to fit on a cartridge.


Without all the crappy FMV and such it could. People are too easily impressed.
I bought a PSX for FF7 and enjoyed it thoroughly, but it wouldn't have suffered on N64 if Square had programmers who knew what they were doing. Square uses the same simplistic game engines over and over. They didn't want to work. It's all art and no technical prowess.



And yes, secretly I hope for Sony to have some similar deciding points soon. I really want to see them fall from the top like so many before them.


The time may well be at hand....



Unless Nintendo has been hoarding all thier great ideas over the last 10 years and putting them into the "Revolution"...i find it highly unlikely that they will be #1.

As was pointed out, two generations of undesireable systems have hurt thier image and to be perfectly honest, even if everything Revolution related is done *right* that still doesnt mean the gaming public will accept it (see Dreamcast).


As for the first one, not ten years necessarily, but they do hoard ideas at times, and I supect they may have been doing so for the past 5 or so with regards to the home console market.

As for the second, that's why Nintendo will be no 1 only if both Sony and Microsoft trip up..... Possible, however unlikely, and if they both trip up, Nintendo may not need quite as much of a hoard. The N64 didn't really do badly IMO, and the Gamecube did much better than the Saturn did in the US market.

They may also have undisclosed ways of dealing with the PSP. Hard to say....



because in a way, it sounds the same as the last days of sega


Did people really say that Sega was making a profit near the end? That's pretty out there.

Nintendo is still one of the top game publishers in Japan by sales volume. Unless the PSP completely murders their portables (I doubt it), they should be able to survive, though they could run into serious trouble.

Sega never managed to sell huge volumes of their console games in Japan, though they made a killing in the arcades for some time.

[hydr0x]

I hope Nintendo could make a comeback, but I just don't see it.

see, that's what some people don't seem to realize, they are already working on their comeback, and with success

every single one of your points was right up to the GC launch and SMS but you seem to be missing one thing that happened as far as i can tell:

Nintendo has already changed!!

some people here still have the Nintendo of 2002 in their minds and i agree with them, THAT Nintendo would be down soon most likely... but as far as i can tell and see, Nintendo today ain't what it was in 2002. Their leaders have changed, and with them their opinions. They are handling a whole bunch of issues better than the years before and honestly i haven't seen a single big mistake they made since around Holiday 2003, other than forgetting to bring out news after last years E3 which Fils-Aime admitted recently (i'm leaving out a possible GBA2 here because that's just a rumour)
In Fact, they have made some really smart moves since then, the DS is a huge success (no matter how good the PSP will do), Resident Evil 4 is a huge success and Zelda is going to be HUGE (just look at how people reacted to the 2 trailers).

all of this makes me think that Nintendo has already surpassed the downpoint and has already started to climb again, sure, slowly, but the change has already happened imho (no doubt they still have a lot to learn but that's just normal with new leaders)

if there's anyone in here who thinks Nintendo has been doing worse in 2004-2005 than in 1995-2002 please show me any facts to prove that (and don't come up with Nintendo losing money Q1 2004 or whenever it was, that's a result from the -2003 behaviour, you can't blame the "new Nintendo" for that)

[thegreatescape]

w00t, a fanboi orgy >_>

No online plan for gamecube = starting from scratch next gen or (*gasp*) not going online at all. THAT is why nintendo will stay in 3rd next gen, compared to microsoft and sony who already have established and tested online services. It might not seem like much now, but being flaccid in the online bed is going to cost nintendo more than they think.

[FurinkanianFrood]

No online plan for gamecube = starting from scratch next gen or (*gasp*) not going online at all. THAT is why nintendo will stay in 3rd next gen, compared to microsoft and sony who already have established and tested online services. It might not seem like much now, but being flaccid in the online bed is going to cost nintendo more than they think.

1. Why are people so convinced Sony won't goof up. I can't say that it will, but how do people know that it won't. There are some potential pitfalls. Blu-ray is far from the sure thing DVD was when PS2 showed up, and is the market ready for it? It smells like Betamax to me. It will increase costs quite a bit. We still don't know how much difficulty developers may have adjusting to the funky hardware. If the system is $400 versus two $200 systems it could be in trouble. If Sony delays the system to allow a lower price point they would be %^&*& by MS in the mean time.

2. Nintendo may be able to put together online play fairly quickly. A workable scheme for such a thing can be developed in advance, especially now that Nintendo can learn from what others have done with online services. It's really not that complex that they couldn't prepare ahead of time and have a service rollout relatively quickly. Also, they appear to want to use the DS as a testing ground for online features.

In my opinion, the most likely result is MS in the lead..... I just don't think that anything can be assumed yet is all. Until recently console races were not all that predictable. The last generation may have been an anomaly.

I don't think that Nintendo will be forced to go the way of Sega, unless the PSP is way more successful than sanity allows me to believe at the moment.[/quote]

[hydr0x]

w00t, a fanboi orgy >_>

No online plan for gamecube = starting from scratch next gen or (*gasp*) not going online at all. THAT is why nintendo will stay in 3rd next gen, compared to microsoft and sony who already have established and tested online services. It might not seem like much now, but being flaccid in the online bed is going to cost nintendo more than they think.

aah, i see, a fanboy-screamer, and a 1337 one too

please point me to a single statement in this topic that fits the definition of fanboy, i couldn't find one

about your online argument

1) the Revolution will have WiFi, 100% sure, with WiFi Internet is just a software question, the hardware is there

2) trust me, setting up a working Multiplayer System ain't THAT difficult, especially in this case for various reasons:

- they have far over a year left to develop it in advance
- they can test mp systems with the DS
- they have seen what Sony and MS did wrong (not too much though, which clearly shows how easy it is in fact to set up something like this)

and a general thing: Network Gaming Systems are not very hard to program, it's just hard to build up the capacaties fast enough (look at first weeks of every Blizzard Game to see those problems)

of course, all of this doesn't mean the Revolution will have a fantastic online gaming system or whatever, a project like this can always be fucked up, but it means there's not a single reason to think Nintendo won't be able to do it if they want

[hezeuschrist]

I really think the best part of this entire thread is the "Microsoft really doesn't have the games." YOU don't play Halo. 2.4 million people played Halo 2 within a day of it's release, and Xbox Live handled it near FLAWLESSLY. If you don't think that's some kind of amazing feat for a first round console contender, I don't know what is. World of Warcraft couldn't handle 270,000 people in a day, and still has issues. I realize not all 2.4 million day 1 sales of Halo 2 were taken online, but far more than 10% of them were.

Please please, continue to go on about how great the Dreamcast is and then go to say that microsoft sucks and doesn't have any games when Sega supports Microsoft with plenty of exclusives.

If you like video games of any kind, and can't find the worth in owning an Xbox, PS2, or GC, then you're not playing games for the games. Every system has a handful of titles for EVERYONE, and Xbox Live is hands down the best online gaming experience if you're in it for the games. Tons of great, pickup and play arcadey type games with Live support.

If you wanna miss out on it that's fine and no ones stopping you, but just because you choose to ignore a bunch of great titles doesn't mean they don't exist and it certainly doesn't mean they aren't going to get sequels next round. They are a factor no matter how much you dislike them.

[Push Upstairs]

The N64 didn't really do badly IMO, and the Gamecube did much better than the Saturn did in the US market.

Nintendo might have made money on those things, but Nintendo being Nintendo hurt thier image...especially by going the Pokemon route.

Nintendo has an uphil battle for them, not only do they have to make a great system, deliver on thier hype and promises that the system will be so great, but they will also have fix thier generally thought of "kiddie" image.

And no, releasing a handful of "M" rated games doesn't automatically make your system more "adult". If Sony releases a handful of childrens games does that mean thier system will suddenly been seen as "kiddie"? I don't think so.



They may also have undisclosed ways of dealing with the PSP. Hard to say....

Hopefully its not slapping together another DS-like system. I'm sorry, but i cannot drop this feeling that the DS was "rushed" to market for some reason.

The other thing with the DS is that now stuff is being released for it that makes it *MORE* than a game system...nothing really wrong with that except that a DS being a PDA or whatever is welcomed, yet the thought using an XBOX or PS2 as a DVD player makes some people pissy. :hmm:

[Anthony1]

It started with the Nintendo 64 and the arrogant and stupid and stuburn decision to go with a cartridge based medium. That was the beginning of the end for them.I think it started more with the cancellation of the Nintendo CD project which practically alienated Sony and gave them the whole idea for competition. To me, that was the day they dropped the ball.

The Cartridge thing was simply the second one. Because it was Square who practically kept Sony up back in the early PSX days. If the 64 had gone CD, Square would probably have done FFVII on the 64 instead.

Those are the two deciding points in Nintendo's history.

And yes, secretly I hope for Sony to have some similar deciding points soon. I really want to see them fall from the top like so many before them.






You know what, you are absolutely right. It did start with the whole SNES CD fiasco. When they showed up at that news conference and they said they had a partnership with Phillips instead of Sony, and Sony was left wondering what they hell had happened.

That is exactly when it started. The beginning of the end for the big N.