Nintendo plans new game product (1 Viewer)

[Peter Kim]

Game Boy creator Nintendo said on Thursday it will reveal details of a new game product next year but was coy on details, only saying it will be a surprise.

"We are preparing a new product which will give a fresh surprise to consumers," President Satoru Iwata told a news conference on the video game maker's business strategy.

Full article can be found here:

CNN article

Thoughts on what it might be? I don't think it's the next-gen console, since it was announced that they're working on a 2005-2006 release.

Anyway, they're trying...

 

[Dean Cooper]

Virtual Boy SP!

 

[Peter Kim]

Just read the linked article in Mike's thread:

"We want to hear something new and specific from Nintendo on Thursday to tackle rivalry with Sony," BNP's Tajima said.

'...new and specific from Nintendo on Thursday...'?! I don't think anything specific regarding this issue was discussed.

Anyway, a cursory scan of other sites shows that some believe Nintendo will announce details of their next-console. Which I don't believe does much of anything, since it would only be an announcement, with a release date not until much later (probably 2005). If this 'Thursday' hoopla was all an attempt to diffuse the recent spate of bad news and reinvigorate customer demand/buzz, I think N will fall further into the abyss.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

They need to address the Gamecube situation; not just wait 2.5 years for a successor.

 

[GlenHaag]

Michael,

What would you suggest they do to "save the Gamecube" as many people suggest? The only thing I could think of would be to get an exclusive deal with someone like Rockstar.

My hope is that the new product is their new console and GB. Make the whole console portable from day one. Play your games at home or on the road, anytime. I think that might have been where they were going with the connectivity stuff with the GBA... but that's just a thought. That would compete with Sony directly with the handheld, plus if the specs are right it could compete in the home environment as well. Who knows?

Glen

 

[Kevin Farley]

Not making the drive able to use DVD's was insanity. What the hell were they thinking? So many people bought the PS2 to do double duty as a DVD player. They really shot themselves in the foot on that one. It's always something; using the cartridge system on N64, etc. Not automatically having jacks for the Gameboy on the Gamecube, etc. I hope that they don't go out like Sega. (RIP!)

 

[Morgan Jolley]

They could announce a new console that is BB-online enabled from the get-go, has more HD-type stuff support (5.1, etc.), is still tiny, has GBA connectivity, plays GameCube games, and also has more features that will play better looking/sounding games. Combine that with a low price and they could do some damage.

If that happens. Rumor has it (this rumor is from around E3) that their next console will be out winter 2004.

 

[BrianB]

Rumor has it (this rumor is from around E3) that their next console will be out winter 2004.

So it needs third parties to have development kits & plans for projects real soon now.

 

[Camp]

real soon now.

Yea, like last year.

 

[Dave F]

Sounds like a Super-Ultra Megaton announcement is on the way!

-Dave

 

[Philip_S]

So if Nintendo is going to surprise the world with Gamecube2, or whatever they call it, next year don't they run the risk of being the next Dreamcast?

A year earlier than PS3 & Xbox2, but a year less of hardware power & hype. Sure, they can build up a user base on the expectation that Nintendo fans will rush out to buy the new-NextGen Mario/Zelda/Metroid/etc. just because it's a Nintendo game. But unless they bring something really new to the table, Sony is going to blow right past them again with the PS3

 

[Michael St. Clair]

So if Nintendo is going to surprise the world with Gamecube2, or whatever they call it, next year don't they run the risk of being the next Dreamcast?

Actually, as a whole (worldwide), the Dreamcast was more of a success than the Saturn.

The Dreamcast was not a failure. It was too late more than it was too little. Sega had already lost way too much money at that point; Nintendo is not in the same situation. Sega may have has a shot with Dreamcast if their coffers were rich enough to support it until profitbable.

My advice to Nintendo would be this:

1) Do whatever possible to build good third party support, even if it means spending a ton of cash.
2) Build the online strategy, as quickly as possible. Yes, it's a niche, but it is the growing niche in gaming and you don't want to be left behind. Find whatever weaknesses exist in Sony and Microsoft's platform, and exploit the hell out of them.
3) It may be too late to do 1 and 2 on Gamecube, so get the next system out ASAP.

Of course, the reality of it in terms of hardware design and fabrication/production is that they can't get a new system out as fast as they ought to. They have got to figure out what is possible with the current platform and with the next platform, make a strategy that works with both and start making changes ASAP.

They have their work cut out for them.

If they don't do something, I see very small shelves of Gamecube software in stores a year from now. And a situation could quickly build where gamers won't want to consider another non-portable Nintendo platform.

(again, I'm still not even convinced a third platform can be supported by the market well enough to build momentum for more platforms from the same vendor. Can anybody name when this has happened? If Microsoft keeps growing, Nintendo may have an insurmountable task ahead...but their cash resources and their portable platform may give them a chance to reverse their trend...if they make the right decisions and have a bit of luck)

 

[Morgan Jolley]

So it needs third parties to have development kits & plans for projects real soon now

Part of the aforementioned rumor is that the new console is the reason for such a bad E3 show on Nintendo's side.

It should be mentioned that Nintendo also announced a Wario Ware game for GameCube and a new Nintendo Club thing for America and Japan (its like the one already in Europe).

 

[BrianB]

Part of the aforementioned rumor is that the new console is the reason for such a bad E3 show on Nintendo's side.

Again, if they want a machine in consumers hands by Winter 2004, they need development plans, preliminary specs, targets, development kits in third party developers' hands real soon now. And I haven't heard/seen anything like that. Unless they're shooting for a Japanese only release with Japanese only developers or first/second party only, they're already pushing it for a viable launch around that time, repeating mistakes made in the past.

 

[Mike Brogan]

they need development plans, preliminary specs, targets, development kits in third party developers' hands real soon now.

I agree, in fact I think it's already too late if we're talking a new console for '04. According to the article below; EA says they typically need 2 years to develop for a new console, so they'd need to be recieving development sets in the next few months to make a 2005 date. They only mention XBOX and PS2 in the article but I'm sure it goes for GC and other developers as well. I wouldn't put too much faith in the GameCube Advanced rumors for next winter.

EA See Countdown

I think the new product will probably be something to compete with the PSP. I really don't forsee a new Nintendo Console on the horizon, but they need to cement their position in the protable gaming market. That's where their power and money reside. If they lose out on that to SONY they're in trouble. Nintendo is no stranger to innovation so whatever it is they're planning to announce, I'm curious to see it.

 

[Camp]

EA says they typically need 2 years to develop for a new console,

Wow...it takes EA 2 whole years to learn how to port a game from one console to another? Huh.

 

[Philip_S]

I wasn't saying that the Dreamcast was a failure, just that for the majority of people it was easily overlooked. The people who knew and wanted the usual Sega quality picked the system up & bought the games as they came out. For the rest of the world, it was easy to wait a year and pick up the more powerful & more popular PS2.

Nintendo's mouthpieces speak with a lot of rhetoric. For the past year or so, they have repeated that "next time" they will be launching at the same time as Sony and things will be different. But if they're just going to rehash Mario/et al for the launch titles they won't sway anyone from picking up a PS3 when that comes out.

A new Nintendo system, especially one that looks to beat the competition out of the gate, had better be something really special.

 

[Joe Szott]

I don't care what anyone says, big N is behind the 8 ball and now struggling to keep in the game at all. The GBA and SP are fantastic prodcts, but GC is just a total failure. If it had more 3rd party support (or would have more in next year or so) it could have made it, but expecting consumers to wait 3-6 months for the next N game is just a terrible business plan.

My prediction is the same as always: in the next generation you will be playing Mario and Zelda on your PS3 and XBox2 machines, nintendo WILL go Sega. The reasoning here is simple. GBA SP and software sales keep big N afloat right now, what happens when Sony threatens that market in 1-2 years? Do you think big N will still want to prop up a dying console or new launch console while it's bread and butter is being whittled away. No, if they have even an ounce of business sense they will dump consoles althogether and focus on software sales and continued domination in the handheld market. If they try to fight sony on the console side and the handheld side, while also fending off MS' deep pockets, they will cease to exist in the next gen. It's simply a matter of economics.

Those of you who love N and it's games should write to them and tell them to ditch the GC now, as it is only going to get worse for the big N. If you want to keep seeing those great Nintendo titles on consoles, don't let their pride put them out of business completely.

Nothing new really, writting has been on the wall for at least a year to anyone that allows themselves to read it...

 

[David Lee]

but GC is just a total failure

They have sold roughly the same number of consoles [9.4 million or so] as Microsoft. Is the Xbox also a total failure? The Cube has sold less than projected but saying it's a total failure is a bit harsh.

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

I keep hearing that Nintendo needs to improve its third-party support. I believe this is nonsense. The fact of the matter is that Nintendo's third party support for the GameCube has far exceeded the support the N64 received. Granted, that's not hard to do, but look at Romier's post above. Pretty much all of the high-profile, cross-platform games have come out on all three systems, and that includes Nintendo's console. The problem is that people are buying these games for the PS2 and Xbox instead of for the GCN.

The question you all should be asking yourselves is why these games aren't selling as well for the GCN as they are for the PS2 or Xbox. In the case of the PS2, the answer is quite obvious. The PS2 has the largest user base by far out of all three consoles. More hardware sold will naturally lead to bigger software sales.

The tougher question lies with why more people choose to get these games on the Xbox rather than on the GameCube. I won't speak for everyone, but for me, the Xbox versions usually include 480p support (something many third-party GCN games don't), DD 5.1, and possibly online play as well as downloadable content. In short, the Xbox versions often times offer a more complete package than their GameCube counterparts. I suspect that many others feel the same way as me.