Revolution release date, price by end of 2005

[A-Team]

Nintendo's Satoru Iwata will break his silence before the year is out on more Revolution details.

Before we ring in the New Year, Iwata will disclose the price, launch date, and more details on Nintendo's "Revolution" console. In an attempt to bring simplicity and great gameplay to life, Nintendo has managed to work up quite a bit of outside criticism from not only Microsoft and Sony, but its fans as well.

Although the future of Nintendo remains on the rocks, Iwata is promising to "create games for people who haven't played games but are curious about them" and feels as though the company has "pursued" powerful graphics as long as they could; a lesson that was learned once GameCube sales began trailing behind a seemingly less powerful PlayStation 2. Aside from the graphics power behind the "Revolution" console, Nintendo has stated that it will also include Wi-Fi connectivity, backwards compatibility for GameCube games, and an optional upgrade for DVD playback.

The article also indicates that the Game Boy Micro won't replace the GBA SP and confirms that production costs will be higher for the Micro than the GBA SP.

Reuters: Nintendo to give 'Revolution' details by yearend (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050520/tc_nm/tech_gameexpo_nintendo_dc)

[*Legion*]

An announcement about... a future announcement.

Whee.

[A-Team]

The Micro better not cost more than the GBA SP.

An announcement about... a future announcement.

Whee.
Iwata tends to be good at keeping his word, but he'll probably end up waiting until December to say anything about it.

[Bushido]

Its actually a time machine

[Phades]

Although the future of Nintendo remains on the rocks, Iwata is promising to "create games for people who haven't played games but are curious about them" and feels as though the company has "pursued" powerful graphics as long as they could; a lesson that was learned once GameCube sales began trailing behind a seemingly less powerful PlayStation 2.
]

He's right there. Graphics wasn't the reason that Nintendo lost to the PS2. That's as simple as image, number of games, and eventual online support, all areas where Nintendo is lacking. We know that Nintendo has learned their lesson about online support (from what they've said). I'm not so sure they've learned the other lessons. From that first quote, I'm still concerned.

[bapenguin]

Its actually a time machine

I already said before that the secret component to the revolution is a flux capacitor. You don't actually download the NES era games, you get sent back in time to play them!

[TrackZero]

"The article also indicates that the Game Boy Micro won't replace the GBA SP and confirms that production costs will be higher for the Micro than the GBA SP."

I still really just don't get it with that Micro thing. What a complete waste of time. They should be focusing their energies on the DS/revolution.

[joruussuun]

I already said before that the secret component to the revolution is a flux capacitor. You don't actually download the NES era games, you get sent back in time to play them!

Great... my electric bill is already high enough without adding 1.21 gigawatts everytime I wanna play some game from my childhood!
:D

[ezzkmo]

will it come with a delorean?

[A-Team]

He's right there. Graphics wasn't the reason that Nintendo lost to the PS2. That's as simple as image, number of games, and eventual online support, all areas where Nintendo is lacking. We know that Nintendo has learned their lesson about online support (from what they've said). I'm not so sure they've learned the other lessons. From that first quote, I'm still concerned.
One of Nintendo's biggest mistakes was not adapting a CD-based cartridge system. The second of those mistakes being Nintendo's attempt to stab piracy in the eye by going with their own "mini disc" format.

What I'm getting it at is maybe the "Revolution" will patch up the very holes that helped boost rival sales while still providing a unique approach to the $10+ billion gaming market.

[dr_qwandry]

I got it, the secret to the revolution is....






an empty case

[A-Team]

I got it, the secret to the revolution is....






an empty case
No, that's what Sony's sec... :eek:

Just kidding.

[Hellstorm]

will it come with a delorean?
No, there is a Mr. Fusion port on the back.

[TrackZero]

I'm sure it will make them a TON of money in japan, and it will probably make a lot of money here from the kind of people who waste money on ipod minis. I'm sure nintendo likes making money, so I dont see why its a waste of their time. Just because we don't want to buy it doesn't mean it wont sell. There are a lot of people out there who aren't us.

Yeah, I suppose it's more targeted towards the Japanese market. Though the product idea apparently came out of Nintendo of America (Reggie claimed it came from his group in an interview on G4 yesterday), so I suppose they're going for that iPod shuffle factor. But you're right, definitely not for us.

[Rirath]

With every word from Nintendo I'm starting to feel more and more like they don't care less about actual gamers anymore. They want people who aren't gamers, are easy as heck to impress, and don't know or care about the difference between an actual game and some silly tech demo.

I guess all the old school Nintendo fans are suppose to be happy with the countless remakes of old games. Oh well, bring on Zelda.

[mister_slim]

One of Nintendo's biggest mistakes was not adapting a CD-based cartridge system. The second of those mistakes being Nintendo's attempt to stab piracy in the eye by going with their own "mini disc" format.
How is the mini disc a mistake? Access times are better, there aren't GC games on every streetcorner, and manufacturing costs occasionally double to maybe 50c.

Are all those 'gamers' who don't like Nintendo's direction the same 'gamers' that are arguing over whether or not Nintendogs and Electroplankton are games?

[Furious Wang]

Secret's already out. The Revolution controller:

http://gurno.com/adam/images/updated_controller.jpg

[A-Team]

How is the mini disc a mistake? Access times are better, there aren't GC games on every streetcorner, and manufacturing costs occasionally double to maybe 50c.

Are all those 'gamers' who don't like Nintendo's direction the same 'gamers' that are arguing over whether or not Nintendogs and Electroplankton are games?
First, let me point out that people love convenience. During a time when the DVD was seeing substantial market growth, competitors like Sony were able to take advantage of this by offering a good that easily outweighed itself in price when compared to your run-of-the-mill DVD player. By choosing to go with the GameCube Game Disc, Nintendo put itself out of contention to gain any of those customers because it didn't appeal in the same manner that the PlayStation 2 did. Sure, we could argue that the PlayStation 2 didn't actually sell more because it was capable of reading DVD's, but we'd only be lying to ourselves.

The point I was trying to make was that Nintendo has made a few faulty mistakes in its time that have left long-term scars on the company's consumer base. With the ability to read DVD's and play games (online and offline), the PlayStation 2 was able to attract more business, bring in more investors, and slip a few more developers / publishers under its belt.

Does that make Nintendo any worse of a company in my eyes? No. Does it help explain why we're not seeing a higher degree of third-party support for the "Revolution"? In many ways, I'd have to say yes. Gamers, enthusiasts, and even your run-of-the-mill consumers don't have to like the road that Nintendo takes to know what they want. On the other hand, they need to be assured that the purchase being made is the right one based off of individualized wants and needs; two key lists of information that help us to eliminate substitutes and pick the product that best fits our taste.

To answer your last question: possibly. Given the number of choices available to a gamer anymore, whether it be consoles or games, it'd be hard for me to deny that people try to convince themselves and others that buying X is a bad idea because of Y.

The problem gets worse when people go as far as to blame certain events in the past (like my blaming Nintendo for lowered developer support due to a substantial gain in business by Sony) for things that occur later on. Gamers may get the impression that Nintendo is trying to be innovative by releasing games like Nintendogs because they're desperate for money due to declining third-party support. Obviously they (and myself) face the possibility of committing post hoc fallacy, but that doesn't really mean much when someone has their mind dead set on believing something.

Hopefully all of that makes sense.

[mister_slim]

The DVD player was obviously helpful to the PS2's launch, and thus their third-party support, but that was a matter of timing. What percentage of Xbox owners have the remote? Would it be worth it to Nintendo to pay the license fees for DVD playing to please that portion of the audience? I don't know. I wonder if the cost to MS of putting a broadband modem in every Xbox has been recouped.

It will be interesting to see how the new Zelda will impact goodwill towards Nintendo. It will probably drive GC sales up a bit, and those new owners will discover a mature library filled with quality games at good prices. Could give them a good headstart toward the Revolution.

[A-Team]

The DVD player was obviously helpful to the PS2's launch, and thus their third-party support, but that was a matter of timing. What percentage of Xbox owners have the remote? Would it be worth it to Nintendo to pay the license fees for DVD playing to please that portion of the audience? I don't know. I wonder if the cost to MS of putting a broadband modem in every Xbox has been recouped.

It will be interesting to see how the new Zelda will impact goodwill towards Nintendo. It will probably drive GC sales up a bit, and those new owners will discover a mature library filled with quality games at good prices. Could give them a good headstart toward the Revolution.
Thanks to the Revolution, we may finally get an answer to at least one of your questions. It's unfortunate that the module to play back DVDs is going to be sold separately, but that goes back to what you were saying about the licensing fees.

You bring up a good point with Twilight Princess. Unit sales have been adequate enough to keep Nintendo above water with the GameCube, but they could easily leap out of the water with this one if they're able to get it out there before the Xbox 360 frenzy sets in. An October release would guarantee widespread availability before consumers take to the malls during Thanksgiving (which would really help Cube sales) and it would give the rest of us something to do for awhile. :D

[TrackZero]

The DVD player was obviously helpful to the PS2's launch, and thus their third-party support, but that was a matter of timing. What percentage of Xbox owners have the remote? Would it be worth it to Nintendo to pay the license fees for DVD playing to please that portion of the audience? I don't know. I wonder if the cost to MS of putting a broadband modem in every Xbox has been recouped.

It will be interesting to see how the new Zelda will impact goodwill towards Nintendo. It will probably drive GC sales up a bit, and those new owners will discover a mature library filled with quality games at good prices. Could give them a good headstart toward the Revolution.

Hrm, just about everyone I know has the Xbox remote. You don't? It's like, $20 canadian ($10-15 U.S. I'm sure).

[mister_slim]

Hrm, just about everyone I know has the Xbox remote. You don't? It's like, $20 canadian ($10-15 U.S. I'm sure).
Well, I have two other DVD players available, and I rarely watch movies. Actually, the only people I know with the remote are the people who don't own a PS2

A Twilight Princess frenzy, with the DS game library getting the big guns, could make for an interesting Christmas. I doubt MS is going to have enough 360s for launch, which will probably be intentional, and the GC, DS and PSP are the most likely replacements.