The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Long, long ago (well, about 10 years) there was a little something called the Gameboy). I would say that 85% of hard-core gamers would have played on this machine. Back in its day, it was a “must have” for everyone. I think that one of the nice things was, to us and to Nintendo, was that it appealed to girls, as well as it did boys. I think that this was partially to do with the great success of the Gameboy, not just in this country, but worldwide, and the fact that the games weren’t all male related.
As kids of the digital age, I think we all craved about having a portable NES in our hands on those boring car journeys we had. We are wanted to have something to do, but we never dreamed of having something as good as what we have today. Nintendo are not silly, they know what us gamers want. So, come 1988, they released their fantastic new handheld machine, which quenched our thirst for a hand held computer. At last, we could finally say goodbye to those boring journeys and look forward to playing the games like Mario, which would keep us entertained for hours on end.
As the gameboy was a huge success, Nintendo couldn’t help but make another handheld. This was called the Gameboy Pocket. What was new then? Well, surprise, surprise (as Cilla Black would say) this was a hand held that could fit in your pocket, mainly due to the original having the same weight and dimensions of a breeze block. The same thing happened, as before, it was a huge success.
Later on Nintendo found the technology to release another gameboy. The next Gameboy (named Gameboy Colour) would be in full colour. We could finally say goodbye to the black and white gameboys and say hello to the new coloured ones.
Where am I going with this? Well, Nintendo was very lucky to have the GameBoy so well liked by people. Let’s just take a second to look at the Sega GameGear. This had a bigger screen, and it was in colour (unlike the GameBoy original). The only problem was that, despite the fantastic games and Sega’s magic, the machine ate batteries for breakfast with its backlight screen and was far too chunky, being almost twice as big as the gameboy.
And even though Nintendo didn’t upgrade the machine for a long time, people were still buying the original Gameboy, leaving the GameGear to be a bit of a flop really. Now, let’s turn things around. Lets imagine that the GameGear was selling more than the Gameboy, then that would be it for Nintendo with the hand held side of gaming.
This is where we have to feel sorry for companies that didn’t quite get there. Even if their first attempt wasn’t super, if it was selling well then they would make money, and therefore have the money to make a new handheld.
This doesn’t just go for the computer companies, but also for the game companies. If they release a game that sells well, they are obviously going to make sequels.
This is where it starts to leave a sour taste in my mouth.
I wish companies would quit will they are ahead. I would hate to see a company go bankrupt just because they rushed into trying to make another console without putting as much thought as the previous consoles had. Why would they do this? Because money gets the better of them. I’m not saying that computer companies should stop making consoles altogether after they release a console that sells well, just to wait a long time until they release another.
I think this is a good tactic because the longer you keep gamers waiting for a machine, the more they are going to want to get it.
This leaves companies in a hard position. Deep down, they know that if they wait too long to release a console, another company could release theirs and then gamers would get that instead.
Personally, I think that companies should risk it, and wait as long as possible to release their console. I have four reasons for this,
1) It will keep the gamer waiting, therefore making them want it more.
2) The company will have more time designing, making, and just finishing the final touches to the console…everything counts, you know!
3) It would also (and this is very important) give the game developer longer to make the launch titles, making them look and play like they have not been rushed. Also, if a certain developer is having troubles, they know they are not being pushed too fast to make a game.
4) If you wait until rival consoles are released, you may find that people could be disappointed with them, and wait for your one to be released instead.
All these are some pluses in waiting to release a console, but you also have to look at the minuses.
1) As stated before, a company could halt the release too long, resulting in the gamer to look elsewhere for a computer.
2) Argh, I hate this one. HYPE. People are going to be hyped so much about the console because they have been waiting so long, and maybe their expectations have gone too high. This will leave them disappointed with the console, then they are bound to tell their friend that they are disappointed with it, and then the friends are going to think twice about buying one.
I really do think that the decision (when to release the console) is a very important issue with gaming because it could be the key to success or if you do not get it right, the slide to hell. I would hate if the decision was all down to me, wouldn’t you?
Sega decided that they wanted to release their 128-bit console before everyone else’s and just look at what has happened to the Dreamcast. Okay. It made some excellent games, and was loved by thousands but at the end of the day, come March 2002 the Dreamcast will stop producing games for all us Dreamcast owners. Now, let us just think for a moment. If Sega could turn back the clocks, do you think they would have released their console a little latter on?
If you ask me, they would have released it a couple of months either side of the Ps2 launch release, but that’s just a guess.
And maybe if Sega released the Dreamcast later on, it may have been much more successful and we wouldn't be seeing headlines such as “Dreamcast. RIP”. We will just never know though.
So, this is where I would like to ask you if you think companies should release their console before, the same time, or after rival consoles?
Have your say.
Cheers.
As kids of the digital age, I think we all craved about having a portable NES in our hands on those boring car journeys we had. We are wanted to have something to do, but we never dreamed of having something as good as what we have today. Nintendo are not silly, they know what us gamers want. So, come 1988, they released their fantastic new handheld machine, which quenched our thirst for a hand held computer. At last, we could finally say goodbye to those boring journeys and look forward to playing the games like Mario, which would keep us entertained for hours on end.
As the gameboy was a huge success, Nintendo couldn’t help but make another handheld. This was called the Gameboy Pocket. What was new then? Well, surprise, surprise (as Cilla Black would say) this was a hand held that could fit in your pocket, mainly due to the original having the same weight and dimensions of a breeze block. The same thing happened, as before, it was a huge success.
Later on Nintendo found the technology to release another gameboy. The next Gameboy (named Gameboy Colour) would be in full colour. We could finally say goodbye to the black and white gameboys and say hello to the new coloured ones.
Where am I going with this? Well, Nintendo was very lucky to have the GameBoy so well liked by people. Let’s just take a second to look at the Sega GameGear. This had a bigger screen, and it was in colour (unlike the GameBoy original). The only problem was that, despite the fantastic games and Sega’s magic, the machine ate batteries for breakfast with its backlight screen and was far too chunky, being almost twice as big as the gameboy.
And even though Nintendo didn’t upgrade the machine for a long time, people were still buying the original Gameboy, leaving the GameGear to be a bit of a flop really. Now, let’s turn things around. Lets imagine that the GameGear was selling more than the Gameboy, then that would be it for Nintendo with the hand held side of gaming.
This is where we have to feel sorry for companies that didn’t quite get there. Even if their first attempt wasn’t super, if it was selling well then they would make money, and therefore have the money to make a new handheld.
This doesn’t just go for the computer companies, but also for the game companies. If they release a game that sells well, they are obviously going to make sequels.
This is where it starts to leave a sour taste in my mouth.
I wish companies would quit will they are ahead. I would hate to see a company go bankrupt just because they rushed into trying to make another console without putting as much thought as the previous consoles had. Why would they do this? Because money gets the better of them. I’m not saying that computer companies should stop making consoles altogether after they release a console that sells well, just to wait a long time until they release another.
I think this is a good tactic because the longer you keep gamers waiting for a machine, the more they are going to want to get it.
This leaves companies in a hard position. Deep down, they know that if they wait too long to release a console, another company could release theirs and then gamers would get that instead.
Personally, I think that companies should risk it, and wait as long as possible to release their console. I have four reasons for this,
1) It will keep the gamer waiting, therefore making them want it more.
2) The company will have more time designing, making, and just finishing the final touches to the console…everything counts, you know!
3) It would also (and this is very important) give the game developer longer to make the launch titles, making them look and play like they have not been rushed. Also, if a certain developer is having troubles, they know they are not being pushed too fast to make a game.
4) If you wait until rival consoles are released, you may find that people could be disappointed with them, and wait for your one to be released instead.
All these are some pluses in waiting to release a console, but you also have to look at the minuses.
1) As stated before, a company could halt the release too long, resulting in the gamer to look elsewhere for a computer.
2) Argh, I hate this one. HYPE. People are going to be hyped so much about the console because they have been waiting so long, and maybe their expectations have gone too high. This will leave them disappointed with the console, then they are bound to tell their friend that they are disappointed with it, and then the friends are going to think twice about buying one.
I really do think that the decision (when to release the console) is a very important issue with gaming because it could be the key to success or if you do not get it right, the slide to hell. I would hate if the decision was all down to me, wouldn’t you?
Sega decided that they wanted to release their 128-bit console before everyone else’s and just look at what has happened to the Dreamcast. Okay. It made some excellent games, and was loved by thousands but at the end of the day, come March 2002 the Dreamcast will stop producing games for all us Dreamcast owners. Now, let us just think for a moment. If Sega could turn back the clocks, do you think they would have released their console a little latter on?
If you ask me, they would have released it a couple of months either side of the Ps2 launch release, but that’s just a guess.
And maybe if Sega released the Dreamcast later on, it may have been much more successful and we wouldn't be seeing headlines such as “Dreamcast. RIP”. We will just never know though.
So, this is where I would like to ask you if you think companies should release their console before, the same time, or after rival consoles?
Have your say.
Cheers.
Page:
Someone already won for this day.
Mine are no better, so I can`t really talk. All I can say is that in my opinion, it would be great to visit ukgames, and discover a few topics that have never been thought of before.
At the moment, most topics are just gradual to improvements to older topics. As more is known, tiny additions are made to the same old story. Perhaps these new additions could be kept seperately rather than lumped in with the whole lot again. Maybe.
Anyway, everybody else seemed to enjoy your topic, so its probably just me being grouchy. So, good luck, and I hope you win gameaday for it. Though I found it a tad biased (and the stuff above) it was very well written, so good luck!
At the moment, most topics are just gradual to improvements to older topics. As more is known, tiny additions are made to the same old story. Perhaps these new additions could be kept seperately rather than lumped in with the whole lot again. Maybe.
Anyway, everybody else seemed to enjoy your topic, so its probably just me being grouchy. So, good luck, and I hope you win gameaday for it. Though I found it a tad biased (and the stuff above) it was very well written, so good luck!
Maybe some day you could give me some tips to improve my topics then?
Not quite what I meant, but its a bit better. Still, I have to admit the writing is good in both, though the story it tells isn`t what I`m interested in anymore.
Here we go ssxpro!
Here we have a thread which was fine until regulars turned it into a chatter post!! If i believed in whipping you would all be sentenced without trial!!
I can get them for £30 now. Local store still has a few around, gathering dust,and a pile of games. But, as I said, they may be out again soon as new...
Mentioning Game Gear's, it is nearly a year today since I killed it :-(
I set voltage on adapter to high and burnt all the wires inside :)
I set voltage on adapter to high and burnt all the wires inside :)
Page: