Triangulating the Revolution launch date

[score]

From Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com):

As it turns out, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has told Nikkei Business that the Nintendo Revolution would be coming "after April" of 2006, and that the company was going to try and tackle an international launch (Nintendo Japan has the details in Japanese). You may recall that Nintendo attempted to launch North America and Japan nearly simultaneously when it debuted the Nintendo DS, but then it took several months to get it into the hands of gamers in Europe. The Micro was launched in an even tighter window, from September 13th in Japan and North America a week later, to Europe, which will launch on November 4.

It's expected that Nintendo will launch first in Japan, and Satoru Iwata's comments lead me to believe that this will happen in May or June, which should put the console in North America anywhere from a week to two months later. North America could be first, but I'm ascribed to the theory that the DS launch worked out the way it did because of the way holiday shopping starts in the US.

Read More (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051024-5474.html)

[Twigz'N'Berries]

If this is true, it would hurt the PS3 the most. Japan, is pretty much lost to the 360...they just haven't excepted it yet. However, if the PS3 and the Revolution hit Japan about the same time, it will be very interesting to watch. The DS is crushing the PS3 in Japan...partially due to its lower costs. If Nintendo's Revolution hits about the same time as PS3, then it may be a case of history repeating itself. Sony generally charges the Japanese top yen when compared to the US when it comes to consoles. If it was going to be expensive here, it will definitely cost a bundle there. If Nintendo undercuts them substantially in Japan, then the console wars will have evened out by a long shot. If Japanese dev see they have a large enough base for the Revolution, then they will be less inclined to fork over the large base costs for the development of PS3 games. They will go with the less expensive to design for Revolution. MS will be ecstatic even if 360 bombs in Japan, but Sony loses major marketshare to Nintendo. With almost a year under their belt in the US, and some true next gen titles hitting shelves around the PS3 US launch, MS may very well be in the driver seat.
However, if PS3 can deliver games that are the visual quality of the trailers they have been cranking out, then MS is doomed to be lapsed by the years end (unless their true next gen titles can match them).
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a153/TyroneBiggumz/smilingchick.gifSmile...only 29 days left til launch!

[mister_slim]

If they go for a summer or fall launch, I can see them pulling off a worldwide simultanous launch. It should be interesting seeing how the 360 launch goes.

[TrackZero]

I think pushing the window forward is a smart idea, especially during the quiet summer months when it's easier to scoop up sales.

Edit: Hey, why is everyone else orange except for me? ;(

[mister_slim]

Look out, it's probably contagious.