You say you wanna Revolution....
Apr 29, 2006 23:41:37 GMT -5
Post by ringsyde on Apr 29, 2006 23:41:37 GMT -5
Chris, to answer your question about a $400-$500 box being more economically sound, my answer is a resounding YES. I speak with the gaming community (both the purchasing and developing side) virtually every day (and I happen to be a member of said community, so I have a little license here), and the undiluted mantra is that these people felt that the more affordable Gamecube was a waste of money because of the long wait between games, the lack of variety and features, and lately, the Zelda fiasco (now delayed for the third time-THIS YEAR!). Many of the last two years' new PS2 and X-Box owners are Gamecube traders (feel free to look this up, or you can call your local Gamestop, EB Games or Game Crazy to verify). It seems that if the $100 system has 1-3 games per year that interest, and the $400 system has 5-10, DVD capability and online service, the $100 system suddenly seems like a waste of money. Of course, the customers could be wrong.
Also, let's be clear; the name Wii isn't turning people away. What the name implies about the product and the focus is. I don't necessarily agree, but I do listen to gamers and developers, and they are making no bones about this. I happen to agree that rumbling, konga-beating and controller waving are cool, but they are no replacement for sports, rpg and action games that come from outside the Nintendo development house.
Knapik, the DS Lite is outselling everything in Japan. Not too long ago, the Backstreet Boys outsold every major recording artist of the past three decades. How many people reading this have a full Backstreet Boys collection? How many are waiting for the next BB album? Please don't read this as an insult; I mean to suggest that a sales stranglehold in one region at one time does not make you dominant. As far as Nintendo is concerned, it makes you a home-based product in a culturally traditional arena.
I love when Nintendo fans assume the rest of the world is in some sort of robotic FPS/Fighter/rpg/insert trend here mode, and therefore doesn't "get it". Frankly, I play Madden, Smackdown and NBA 2K6. I'm also playing what I (and many others) believe to be the Game of the Year: Elder Scrolls Oblivion. I don't currently own an FPS, and aside from Call of Duty 360, GoldenEye and the Halo series, I generally don't play them. I play these games because they tap into my interests, they challenge me or they allow me to relax. Frankly, with the exception of Animal Crossing, the dramatic change of Metroid (to an FPS format, oddly) and Nintendogs, Nintenedo has done nothing "revolutionary" enough to inspire me. I'm also guilty of enjoying tournaments and gaming sessions with lots of friends handy. Super Smash Brothers, Mario Party and Mario Kart don't quite pack 'em in like Madden and Halo, and they haven't been much of a draw around the Williams compund since N64 (nearly a decade ago, I believe).
I'll grant you DS Lite sales are phenominal in Japan, but Gamecube unit and software sales around the world suggest that many people still aren't feeling the diversity.
I just re-read my USA Today Snapshot from November 2005, and the recent NPD purchasing trends perspectus which both suggest clearly that I am TERRIBLY CORRECT about Nintendo and the latest trend in the gaming industry. Perhaps Reggie Phils Ames, the big gun at Nintendo's American Corporate office best supports my claim when he says "We aren't trying to be Sony and Microsoft and try to dominate the industry; we make games for our fans and we do Nintendo - traditional and fun." All of the above say Nintendo is playing it safe by creating products their niche will recognize and support. With a bit of strategy and luck, the outer sphere will talk about it enough to generate some additional interest.
Need more proof of how important the overwhelming DS Lite sales are to the world audience? Call EVERY videogame store in America today, and see if and when you can pre-order one, how many have been pre-ordered and when it will be available. May 15th is coming pretty quickly, and as of today, the big videogame stores are declining to presell it because interest is " . . . virtually non-existent". They also mention "We got burned on the Gameboy Micro, and we're sitting on a mountain of SP's, Sp Backlights and Gamecubes; we have to be convinced." The last qoute comes from a pretty big wheel inside the merged EB/Gamestop company, and it was echoed by the Wal Mart chief of purchasing who was sitting right beside him.
I don't need to go toe-to-toe. I did that with N64 (which, to my dismay, fell far short of Sony's dominance) and the Gamecube (number three in the last-gen console war with the gap getting bigger each day). I suspect we'll see the same result when this is all done. If I'm wrong, feel free to let fly. One last note: PS3 promissories (because no one is doing pre-sales yet) are currently tracked at 2.2 million - currently that's 11 times more than the Wii. Clearly, someone DOES care.
Also, let's be clear; the name Wii isn't turning people away. What the name implies about the product and the focus is. I don't necessarily agree, but I do listen to gamers and developers, and they are making no bones about this. I happen to agree that rumbling, konga-beating and controller waving are cool, but they are no replacement for sports, rpg and action games that come from outside the Nintendo development house.
Knapik, the DS Lite is outselling everything in Japan. Not too long ago, the Backstreet Boys outsold every major recording artist of the past three decades. How many people reading this have a full Backstreet Boys collection? How many are waiting for the next BB album? Please don't read this as an insult; I mean to suggest that a sales stranglehold in one region at one time does not make you dominant. As far as Nintendo is concerned, it makes you a home-based product in a culturally traditional arena.
I love when Nintendo fans assume the rest of the world is in some sort of robotic FPS/Fighter/rpg/insert trend here mode, and therefore doesn't "get it". Frankly, I play Madden, Smackdown and NBA 2K6. I'm also playing what I (and many others) believe to be the Game of the Year: Elder Scrolls Oblivion. I don't currently own an FPS, and aside from Call of Duty 360, GoldenEye and the Halo series, I generally don't play them. I play these games because they tap into my interests, they challenge me or they allow me to relax. Frankly, with the exception of Animal Crossing, the dramatic change of Metroid (to an FPS format, oddly) and Nintendogs, Nintenedo has done nothing "revolutionary" enough to inspire me. I'm also guilty of enjoying tournaments and gaming sessions with lots of friends handy. Super Smash Brothers, Mario Party and Mario Kart don't quite pack 'em in like Madden and Halo, and they haven't been much of a draw around the Williams compund since N64 (nearly a decade ago, I believe).
I'll grant you DS Lite sales are phenominal in Japan, but Gamecube unit and software sales around the world suggest that many people still aren't feeling the diversity.
I just re-read my USA Today Snapshot from November 2005, and the recent NPD purchasing trends perspectus which both suggest clearly that I am TERRIBLY CORRECT about Nintendo and the latest trend in the gaming industry. Perhaps Reggie Phils Ames, the big gun at Nintendo's American Corporate office best supports my claim when he says "We aren't trying to be Sony and Microsoft and try to dominate the industry; we make games for our fans and we do Nintendo - traditional and fun." All of the above say Nintendo is playing it safe by creating products their niche will recognize and support. With a bit of strategy and luck, the outer sphere will talk about it enough to generate some additional interest.
Need more proof of how important the overwhelming DS Lite sales are to the world audience? Call EVERY videogame store in America today, and see if and when you can pre-order one, how many have been pre-ordered and when it will be available. May 15th is coming pretty quickly, and as of today, the big videogame stores are declining to presell it because interest is " . . . virtually non-existent". They also mention "We got burned on the Gameboy Micro, and we're sitting on a mountain of SP's, Sp Backlights and Gamecubes; we have to be convinced." The last qoute comes from a pretty big wheel inside the merged EB/Gamestop company, and it was echoed by the Wal Mart chief of purchasing who was sitting right beside him.
I don't need to go toe-to-toe. I did that with N64 (which, to my dismay, fell far short of Sony's dominance) and the Gamecube (number three in the last-gen console war with the gap getting bigger each day). I suspect we'll see the same result when this is all done. If I'm wrong, feel free to let fly. One last note: PS3 promissories (because no one is doing pre-sales yet) are currently tracked at 2.2 million - currently that's 11 times more than the Wii. Clearly, someone DOES care.
