Possibly Nintendo has the right idea… (revolution)

[smokehouse]

You know, I was thinking. With all the recent crap about the 360 and the PS3, possibly Nintendo has the right idea this time. Unless something gives, the PS3 is going to be expensive, VERY expensive. Look at these features:

-Blu Ray drive
-DVD drive
-Removable mini HD
-6 ethernet ports
-Blue tooth
-DUAL HDMI outs

This thing is going to cost a mint, no doubt about it. Next we have the 360, which I was fairly sure of until MS announced that they’ll be adding a HDDVD drive in the near future thus screwing over all their first gen buyers. All of this seems like a cluster-F to me.

In comes Nintendo, they announce a fairly simple system, nothing fancy, nothing huge. What it does do is play simple games and what I’ll imagine will be a low price. Hmmm… No HDDVD/Blu Ray garbage, no compatibility issues and a low price. They could be on to something.

[Jumpman Jr.]

Good point... I mean, I allready have half of that stuff on my computer... why would I want to pay for it again on a PS3. I've got high-hopes for the Revolution.
Then again, I've always had high-hopes for Nintendo products. They've never let me down.

[Ernster]

Well usually Nintendo DO have the right idea however their ideas are not what the mass market want...which means:
less popularity > less support > less games > less market share > less users > less people playing their consoles > less fun for people who do own their consoles as there friends own Playstatations instead > no multiplayer action> less fun*1000

............ :(

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Its too soon to say, because Nintendo has been WAY too tightlipped about the whole thing. Nobody has the specs, nobody knows what the controllers look like, and I seriously feel that developers are rapidly loosing intrest in the system altogether.

[smokehouse]

Oh, I know you’re right. I’m just speculating at this point. After their E3 showing I do get a strong impression that Nintendo wants to move sideways in the gaming world where MS and Sony are trying to move up.

On thing that bothers me is the fact that we are still not to a point in the HD age to where there will be a massive amount of 360s and PS3s hooked up to 1080p displays and 5.1 systems. Most gamers won’t care whether it has 5.1 and full blown HD because they don’t have the means to play it anyway. I think Nintendo realizes that. I myself am a HT nut as well as gaming so full blown HD is a good thing to me, but most gamers don’t have HD sets.

[Griking]

Well usually Nintendo DO have the right idea however their ideas are not what the mass market want...which means:
less popularity > less support > less games > less market share > less users > less people playing their consoles > less fun for people who do own their consoles as there friends own Playstatations instead > no multiplayer action> less fun*1000

............ :(

Are these features really what the mass market wants in theirgame consoles or are they what Sony and MS want you to think you want in your next home console? Was everyone really screaming "I WANY MY BLUE RAY PS3" before Sony said that they were packaging it in with the PS3? I sure wasn't. I agree, if you already own these things why be forced to buy them again?

[Leroy]

Ultimately I think Nintendo always has and always will have the right idea when it comes to pure games and gaming. But, as stated before, people are more interested in specifications, hype and numbers rather than the games themselves. I applaud them for sticking to what has always made them a great company and not succumbing to the garbage that is over-polluting the mass gaming market now.

[CrimsonNugget]

Haha, Dreamcast FLASHBACK!

[fpstream]

I think Nintendo is approaching this one wrongly. The other systems still offer gaming, Xbox 360 is a pure gaming machine. And someone said that they already own half the stuff on their computer, I already have all the Nintendo stuff on my computer. Their console online features will need hi-speed internet, and not much people have that. There goes their trump card of download any game. People can do it FREE on their computer. People are afraif of different things, including controllers. Ya, this controller you need 3 people to play, so in encourages comradery. It's kinda like the N64. Nintendo needs to attract new gamers, now keep the threshold of hardcore gamers they already have, they'll always have them.

[tuxedojoe]

I think Nintendo is approaching this one wrongly. The other systems still offer gaming, Xbox 360 is a pure gaming machine. And someone said that they already own half the stuff on their computer, I already have all the Nintendo stuff on my computer. Their console online features will need hi-speed internet, and not much people have that. There goes their trump card of download any game. People can do it FREE on their computer. People are afraif of different things, including controllers. Ya, this controller you need 3 people to play, so in encourages comradery. It's kinda like the N64. Nintendo needs to attract new gamers, now keep the threshold of hardcore gamers they already have, they'll always have them.

1. Microsoft has said themselves that the Xbox 360 will be much more than a gaming box. It will be nowhere near a 'pure gaming machine'

2. When the above poster said he already had most the Xbox 360 on thier computer, they (I assume) were talking about the hardware, not the software.

3. Most people nowadays have broadband. It isn't 1994.

4. You can't legally have Nintendo games on your computer. The revolution will supposedly provide a system for downloading older games (at a price). Look at how successful itunes is. One can easily obtain free mp3's, yet people are paying to download them. Most people like to abide by the law, and therefore I believe that people will fully avail themselves of Nintendo's new service.

5. "Ya, this controller you need 3 people to play" ... What are you talking about with this one?

[Cmtz]

One things for sure. This generation will change gaming as we know it. In a couple of years we might see Nintendo as a software company or they might be at the top of the chain. I myself am very excited about the system itself and the ability to play old games. However, I hope the games come at a small price or no price at all. Actually I would prefer Nintendo give a game or two everytime the person buys a new game for the system. Of course someone will come up with a way to play all the games on the Revolution without having to pay. Those hackers!! LOL

[SkiDragon]

I really doubt that most people have broadband. Where did you get that idea?

[Dahne]

I'm hoping Nintendo comes out on top in the next console wars, and not because Zelda and any number of SNES games still possess a significant portion of my psyche. Okay, not JUST because of that.

See, I buy gaming consoles to play games. If it can play CDs or DVDs too, hey, neat. They're the same format anyway, might as well. But this is just getting out of hand. I don't want a game console to hook up to the Net. I don't want to deal with the fees and the hassle, and besides, I have a PC for that. I don't want to download MP3's on it. I don't want to use it as a TiVo. I don't want to use it to send freakin' vacation pictures to people by email. This is part of the reason I went DS instead of PSP: I want games, not a whole bunch of complicated PC stuff cluttering it up.

Now, I know that, apparently, other people want these things. That's fine. I just hope that there's enough people like me that we can keep a little corner of the industry. You know, out on an island in the Pacific or something. We could make a radio out of a coconut.

[CrimsonNugget]

We could make a radio out of a coconut.
BUT THEN IT WOULDN'T BE A "PURE" COCONUT!

[kevincure]

iTunes is not successful. If you divide the total number of songs sold on iTunes by the number of iPods out there, the number is 7. 7 songs per iPod. Where do iPod users get the rest of their songs? Rips and downloads.

[Captain Wrong]

Nintendo making a "pure" game machine. The others are going to cost a ton, not be focused enough on games, have too many features people don't want, etc., etc. These are all the same things people said before the last gen. No, the PS2 and Xbox didn't cost a ton, yes, both were focused on games, yes, people did in fact want those extra features, etc., etc., etc.

Just an observation that this thread is kind of a throw back to all the stuff people were saying pre-GC, PS2 and Xbox, none of which, in the end, either turned out to be true or helped Nintendo.

[hbkprm]

plays cds
buy add-on for dvds
wireless modem
only first party classic titles come free
reverse compatable with gamecube games
and at a rumored $250 price tag

[ron_burgundy]

that sounds goof to me I hope that Nintendo will come out on top or at least come out with some profit it would make me happy :)

You Stay Classy Digital Press,

Ron

[Humanoid]

Fpstream:

When a console needs an extremely extensive lightsynth, it is not focused on gaming. That simple. Plus, most XBL/ps2 online games require/essentially require broadband.


Anyway, as its been said before, it doesnt really matter what kind of market share nintendo gets, they always get the most profit. Thus, they win.

[Sylentwulf]

Anyway, as its been said before, it doesnt really matter what kind of market share nintendo gets, they always get the most profit. Thus, they win.

Lol, where on earth did you get THIS? You're saying the Gamecube and N64 had a higher profit overall than either of sony's consoles at the time? NOT including the handheld market? And not based on a percentage, I mean total, overall profit from beginning to end cash in pocket amount.

[Humanoid]

Sorry, I didnt mean always, I meant this generation. Remeber: The PSP and the XBOX cost more to produce then they sell it for. There was a whole thread on this with proof, etc if you want to dig it up.

[Super Mario Fan]

and at a rumored $250 price tag

Where'd you hear that? :hmm:

[Sylentwulf]

Sorry, I didnt mean always, I meant this generation. Remeber: The PSP and the XBOX cost more to produce then they sell it for. There was a whole thread on this with proof, etc if you want to dig it up.

Of coursed they do (I'm guessing you meant PS2 since this is consoles?) But the software sales first party, and royalties of third party games obviously MUCH more than makes up for any deficiencies in profits/losses from hardware sales, that's the whole point. Xbox is still at a loss, I won't argue that, but the Ps2 is definitely pulling in more of a profit overall for console hardware/software sales than nintendo is.

[phreak97]

i HOPE nintendo come out on top this time..
when i buy a game console, i want exactly that, a GAME console. i dont want a FREAKING EVERYTHING console.
the revolution is going to be released with a dvd addon as an accessory.. i am never going to buy it..
number of dvds watched by me on both my ps2s combined over two years = 1. who honestly does not have any means of playing dvds aside from on a console?

SkiDragon do you live in a third world country or something?
i live in australia, most expensive internet in the world here. still, over half the people here who call themselves gamers have broadband. i mean seriously, broughdband is on the very edge of becoming outdated here.. we have just had adsl2+ introduced and the number of people talking about making the change is astounding.

i personally hope nintendo do charge a small amount for the classic games downloaded by the revolution.. i am more than happy to give nintendo extra profit. and i find i play a game more if i pay for it. if i download a game with my pc, i rarely get much gaming out of it.

the reason we have not seen the specs of the revolution, is that theres no freaking need for the specs, what the hell do i care if it's got a billion GHz processor or a light speed disc drive. i care if the games are good.
and the reason they are keeping the controller a secret, is that the contollers are the revolution.. all we are allowed to know about them, is that they will revolutionize gaming, but still have all the functionality of the gamecube controller, as the revolution is backwards compatable.
those two pieces of information have had rumours flowing freely around the net, all of which are complete guesses.

i wouldnt be suprised if we dont find out anything about the controllers or hardware in the revolution untill the thing is released.


i personally, knowing the quality of the hardware, dispise sony, and hating microsoft is a given.

[RCM]

Face up to it Nintendo fans, the Rev is Nintendo's last stand in the home. PS3 may be expensive, 360 may be more than the Rev, but that doesn't mean they will be so high that no one will buy.

Look at PSP for a great example of the masses buying a system that's expensive. $250 for a jack of all trades hand held! Amazing.

As for the broadband question earlier in this thread, about 50% of homes has broadband and 10% has HDTV's.

If MS doesn't ship with HD-DVD drives don't expect them to simply upgrade later.

I find it comforting that Nintendo will allow all of its games to be played one console. It's a nice going away gift to loyal consumers like you and me. Unless a real revolution happens, Nintendo as a console maker is history.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[evil_genius]

Nintendo has always rocked. But they still rock because they know to just keep things simple. The gamers will buy their stuff because people love Nintendo and count on them for good classic titles. I love Nintendo and wouldn't want it any other way.

[smork]

Face up to it Nintendo fans, the Rev is Nintendo's last stand in the home. PS3 may be expensive, 360 may be more than the Rev, but that doesn't mean they will be so high that no one will buy.

Look at PSP for a great example of the masses buying a system that's expensive. $250 for a jack of all trades hand held! Amazing.

As for the broadband question earlier in this thread, about 50% of homes has broadband and 10% has HDTV's.

If MS doesn't ship with HD-DVD drives don't expect them to simply upgrade later.

I find it comforting that Nintendo will allow all of its games to be played one console. It's a nice going away gift to loyal consumers like you and me. Unless a real revolution happens, Nintendo as a console maker is history.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

I guess I am at a loss here. If Nintendo still makes a profit on its game console, even if it is 3rd in sales for the next gen, why wouldn't they continue to make consoles? Last I checked Nintendo isn't losing money on the GameCube, and I am sure it's 3rd among current gen.

Staying relevant and profitable in the gaming market just isn't the same as dominating the market - else EA is the only 'successful' publisher out there. Yet somehow Bungie, Treasure, Insomniac, and other smaller houses are beloved by many for their games even though they don't produce 25+ titles a year. Of course, it's not completely the same situation in the hardware arena, but not too dissimilar.

N64 was beaten soundly by sales by Sony, as is GC by Sony and MS. As long as Nintendo makes Revolution-exclusive, and high-quality entires into its popular franchises, attracts at least some 3rd party support, and a functional, reliable console I'm sure they'll pull enough product sales to compete in the next-next gen.

[smokehouse]

If MS doesn't ship with HD-DVD drives don't expect them to simply upgrade later.

This quote was taken from www.Softpedia.com

”According to the statements made by Bill Gates in Japan, Xbox 360, the new gaming console will include HD-DVD drives.

Considering that such a decision would postpone the launching date, Microsoft will equip the initial models with classic DVD drives, and only after the new HD-DVD are ready, the Xbox will incorporate them.”

It’s in black-an-white. MS is going to offer an upgrade later, a very bad move on their part. I guarantee you this means a standard upgrade will be required for all the fist-gen adopters. All this future “upgrade” garbage reminds me of…..gee…..PC gaming. No system to date has required a major hardware upgrade to play current titles and this may be the first. Go figure, first system to require one is a…(drum roll please)…..MICROSOFT PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, welcome to the future of home consoles…the PC upgrade.

This is the very crap I'm talking about.

[FantasiaWHT]

Isn't this the exact same setup that existed heading into the current generation?

PS2 and Xbox including things that weren't widely available otherwise in their hardware and Nintendo focusing on pure gaming at a cheaper price? Why on earth would that lead to a change in the status quo?

Most people didn't have broadband when Xbox came out, now it's close to 40-50%, IIRC. A lot of people were buying their first DVD player when they bought the PS2 as well.

[smokehouse]

Isn't this the exact same setup that existed heading into the current generation?

Not really. Neither HDDVD or Blu Ray exist on a consumer level yet. Everything that was in the Xbox and the PS2 was common, already mass-produced items (save possibly the PS2 processor, something that really hurt the PS2 at first). DVD drives, the chipsets (733 MHz P3 used in the Xbox), Ethernet ports, the list goes on. By the time the PS2 was released, home DVD player had been on the market almost 3 years. Blu Ray will not get the same head start, nor will HDDVD, they won’t be tried and true nor will they be cheap. To add an upgrade or to change the unit later on is a bad idea (360) and to use a brand new media format is not to smart either (PS3). This is something few system have ever done.

-NES, SNES, SMS, Genesis, Neo Geo, TG-16, N64, Jaguar (and others). All cartridge formats, something that had been around for a while.

-Sega CD, Turbo Duo, 3DO, PS1, Saturn, CDi (others as well). All used a CD format. Something that was tried and true as early as 1990.

Of all the system I can think of, only the TG-16 CD add-on and the GD-Rom drive in the DC was something that no other system used at the time when they were released, both did not do well in the long run. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the PS3 and the 360 are going to fail, it’s just that this time, we are treading on new territory. Something that hasn’t been done before. No system ever has been full HD, had true-blue HDMI outs or used Blu Ray or HDDVD.

[RCM]

Face up to it Nintendo fans, the Rev is Nintendo's last stand in the home. PS3 may be expensive, 360 may be more than the Rev, but that doesn't mean they will be so high that no one will buy.

Look at PSP for a great example of the masses buying a system that's expensive. $250 for a jack of all trades hand held! Amazing.

As for the broadband question earlier in this thread, about 50% of homes has broadband and 10% has HDTV's.

If MS doesn't ship with HD-DVD drives don't expect them to simply upgrade later.

I find it comforting that Nintendo will allow all of its games to be played one console. It's a nice going away gift to loyal consumers like you and me. Unless a real revolution happens, Nintendo as a console maker is history.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

I guess I am at a loss here. If Nintendo still makes a profit on its game console, even if it is 3rd in sales for the next gen, why wouldn't they continue to make consoles? Last I checked Nintendo isn't losing money on the GameCube, and I am sure it's 3rd among current gen.

Staying relevant and profitable in the gaming market just isn't the same as dominating the market - else EA is the only 'successful' publisher out there. Yet somehow Bungie, Treasure, Insomniac, and other smaller houses are beloved by many for their games even though they don't produce 25+ titles a year. Of course, it's not completely the same situation in the hardware arena, but not too dissimilar.

N64 was beaten soundly by sales by Sony, as is GC by Sony and MS. As long as Nintendo makes Revolution-exclusive, and high-quality entires into its popular franchises, attracts at least some 3rd party support, and a functional, reliable console I'm sure they'll pull enough product sales to compete in the next-next gen.

Have you seen the figures from last quarter?

Platform holder Nintendo has reported a 78.5 per cent drop in its operating profit for the June quarter, with the firm remaining in the black despite a major shortfall in sales of the Game Boy Advance and GameCube platforms.

It's only getting worst my friend. The DS will not carry the company the same way the Gameboy line has done. The end is near as far Nintendo home consoles unless something major happens.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=10454


It’s in black-an-white. MS is going to offer an upgrade later, a very bad move on their part. I guarantee you this means a standard upgrade will be required for all the fist-gen adopters. All this future “upgrade” garbage reminds me of…..gee…..PC gaming. No system to date has required a major hardware upgrade to play current titles and this may be the first. Go figure, first system to require one is a…(drum roll please)…..MICROSOFT PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, welcome to the future of home consoles…the PC upgrade.

What they say now and do later are 2 different things. I still say they will stick with standard drives. The only way I could possibly see them going HD in mid generation is if they offer the upgrade to existing users for free. I just don't see it happening. We'll see soon enough.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[smork]

Have you seen the figures from last quarter?

Platform holder Nintendo has reported a 78.5 per cent drop in its operating profit for the June quarter, with the firm remaining in the black despite a major shortfall in sales of the Game Boy Advance and GameCube platforms.

It's only getting worst my friend. The DS will not carry the company the same way the Gameboy line has done. The end is near as far Nintendo home consoles unless something major happens.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=10454



Sure, but a 78.5 percent drop in profit does not equal a loss. That same artice you link to points out that most of GC's AAA titles are due to be released in the second half. This combined with the announcement of new hardware (albeit for next year) are sure to have a negative impact upon console sales. That doesn't mean that on the whole Nintendo has lost money for this generation either, even if the GBC/GBA sales have been the bigger profit maker for a while.

I guess I still remain unconvinced that Nintendo needs to dominate the market like it was 1987 in order to continue making consoles. I would think that would fall more in Sony and MS's laps since by and large their signature and exclusive titles aren't as strongly associated with their brands as are Nintendo's core titles.

Of course, this is largely speculation, and it certainly wouldn't hurt Nintendo's fortunes to have an impressive launch for once.

[smokehouse]

I agree about the DS statement. Personally I think the DS a waste of time. Its only saving grace may be Sony’s pushing the PSP as a movie media/player instead of a stand-alone game handheld. As for the GBA mini….that’s a joke and a slap in the face to Nintendo fans, that pissed me off. Re-re-re-release another system, crap idea.

As for MS making the 360 HDDVD in the future, I can’t see why they should either. Possibly they’re trying to make good faith with Toshiba, possibly they feel it will hurt them down the road when the PS3 and the 360 become more affordable, who knows. If I had to put my money somewhere though, I’d say the will make an upgrade sometime in the future and charge you for it. That’s just the way MS works, they always have.

[CrimsonNugget]

Of all the system I can think of, only the TG-16 CD add-on and the GD-Rom drive in the DC was something that no other system used at the time when they were released, both did not do well in the long run. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the PS3 and the 360 are going to fail, it’s just that this time, we are treading on new territory. Something that hasn’t been done before. No system ever has been full HD, had true-blue HDMI outs or used Blu Ray or HDDVD.
GD-ROMs are only CDs with more densely-packed data written in the opposite direction. GD-ROM drives are nothing more than CD drives specially designed to read that data. Some CD-ROM drives on the market can be modified to read GD-ROMs at least partially. Sega wasn't exactly taking a risk by using this format, except by leaving a backdoor in the firmware that let CD-Rs be read...stupid stupid stupid...

ADD: And CD-ROM technology was in circulation well before the TG-16 CD.

[smokehouse]

Yeah but to the best of my knowledge, the TG-16 was the first to use CD (again I could be wrong on this one). Any first has to pave the way for others and the TG-16 CD did just that.

[CrimsonNugget]

Yeah but to the best of my knowledge, the TG-16 was the first to use CD (again I could be wrong on this one). Any first has to pave the way for others and the TG-16 CD did just that.
The first console, sure, but it wasn't among the first mainstream devices.