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It is very rare for Nintendo to ever admit they're in the S**t but looks like they have done. Speaking to various Japanese publications Iwati of Nintendo fame confirmed that they are struggling to read the "Japanese Market".
It appears Nintendo maybe thrashing Microsoft but they are still suffering badly and the brave attempt to save themselves stems from Iwati's belief that "Consumers don't want flash graphics and better machines". So Enter the DS, Nintendo's big hope, success will mean a saved Nintendo....
"If we are unsuccessful with the Nintendo DS, we may not go bankrupt, but we will be crushed. The next two years will be a really crucial time for Nintendo."
Ah. Naturally with the continuing massacre on peoples wallets by the Pokemon franchise there is little to fear in the bankcrupcy department.
But it looks like the DS is more important than we though.
For the love of God say you are right Nintendo... please be right.
It appears Nintendo maybe thrashing Microsoft but they are still suffering badly and the brave attempt to save themselves stems from Iwati's belief that "Consumers don't want flash graphics and better machines". So Enter the DS, Nintendo's big hope, success will mean a saved Nintendo....
"If we are unsuccessful with the Nintendo DS, we may not go bankrupt, but we will be crushed. The next two years will be a really crucial time for Nintendo."
Ah. Naturally with the continuing massacre on peoples wallets by the Pokemon franchise there is little to fear in the bankcrupcy department.
But it looks like the DS is more important than we though.
For the love of God say you are right Nintendo... please be right.
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Regarding Safediscs points, I dunno... a lot of people bought iPods for ridiculous amounts of money when there are a lot of much cheaper portable mp3 players available. If Sony market the PSP right the cost won't matter, all the gadget-loving business crowds will lap it up. Portable movies, woooh!
And perfect for regular airport usage.
And perfect for regular airport usage.
tphi wrote:
> £150! People won't pay more than that for a small handheld,
> they'll see it as insane.
You mean like buying a GBA SP for £90 when a GC costs a tenner less?
> £150! People won't pay more than that for a small handheld,
> they'll see it as insane.
You mean like buying a GBA SP for £90 when a GC costs a tenner less?
Safedisc_V2 wrote:
An awful lot of damn good stuff I whole heartidly agree with.
An awful lot of damn good stuff I whole heartidly agree with.
We don't know much about how the DS will be played up BUT what I do know is that it is highly possible it will play GBA games.
Dringo wrote:
> Why release a follow up to a console that is still selling more
> consoles than any other?
True, but with the DS starting on it's own (ie. no back catalogue) and with probably less hype than the PSP, I can see it going second to Sony's portable. Put the GBA2 and PSP head to head and the PSP wouldn't stand a chance.
> Why release a follow up to a console that is still selling more
> consoles than any other?
True, but with the DS starting on it's own (ie. no back catalogue) and with probably less hype than the PSP, I can see it going second to Sony's portable. Put the GBA2 and PSP head to head and the PSP wouldn't stand a chance.
Belldandy wrote:
> I can't think of any kind of gaming more casual than gaming on the
> move! Look how popular the dire Nokia first generation mobile phone
> games were? Yet people of all ages wanted the phones with games on -
> which is why most phones and not just Nokia's now include games.
Hmmm, that is possibly one of the most misinformed statements I have ever heard, and sadly exposes something that has been quite apparent throughout this entire ‘discussion’ – Belldandy seems to confuse his ‘opinion’ with what happens in the real world.
Gaming on the move, in terms of a dedicated portable games machine (which the GBA SP, DS and PSP* are) is probably as ‘hardcore’ gaming as you are ever going to get. Do you think the populous as a whole sit on the Tube/bus/whatever playing GBA SP – or any other dedicated handheld device? Well the answer is no. Totally and completely no.
I take a train and tube to work every single weekday, I spend 1 hour on the train and another 30 mins on the tube, I must see 1000’s of people each day – and I think everyone would agree, the train and tube represent the ideal place to play a bit of handheld gaming. You know how many people I have seen with a GBA (or any other type of handheld) in the 2 years I have been doing this – ONE. One person, who had a rather nice blue GBA SP and was playing Metroid – and that was 2 days after the SP’s launch.
One person. That’s it.
You know how many people have iPods, MP3 players or CD player – fecking 100’s – they’ve all got ‘em. And that’s the thing, the masses don’t want to play games when they are travelling, they either listen to music read a book or a paper. Casual gamers just don’t play handheld games.
It really is that simple – and to be honest its pretty obvious if you thin about it. The PS1 (and subsequently the PS2) did so very, very well because as it has already been said, Sony tapped into a section of the market that had never been targeted before – the casual gamer. The gamer who goes down the pub with his mates, then comes back for a game on Pro Evo 3 or something similar.
At the time of the PS1’s launch I worked for a games mag and the amount of time and effort Sony expended in order to appeal to the casual gamer was amazing – they hardly bothered with the hardcore gamers. The specialist press did that job for them – and they already knew that any new console would get lots of interest from hardcore element. They went after the people who had never held a joypad before – do you think the original games that came out for the PS1 were by accident – Tekken and Ridge Racer – bother arcade conversions – easy to get into, nice and simple, don’t require any gaming knowledge and can be played when drunk.
And because of this, Sony didn’t need to take customers from anyone (Nintendo or Sega) because they just created their own, huge user base. And once this was achieved, the PS1 sales went through the roof, all the big devs want to make games for it, which meant the PS1 got all the best games, the big titles and franchises, and that meant….yup you got it….all the hardcore gamers (that hadn’t been tempted at release) brought the machine too.
A casual market for handheld games does not exist.
It was also said by Belldandy that games for mobile phones were (and still are) popular, and as such, proved that this means gaming on the go is mainstream. Unfortunately, the thing is, when people choose a phone, they do so based on what they perceive to be the ‘coolest’ looking phone, and more importantly, one that has the latest gimmick or feature. The ‘must have phone gimmick’ was built-in games, then it was cameras, now it’s video messages…there will always be another gimmick to add to a mobile phone. But this doesn’t mean that people in the main stream want to play games on the go to the extent they will spend £90 (or in the PSP’s case potentially £150+) on a dedicated machine.
And lets say you even got a casual gamer to look at the PSP – how do you think they would react when they realised that the PSP costs more than a PlayStation 2?
Not gonna’ happen is it.
Sure, us gamers don’t mind the fact that it will cost more than a PS2, because we know that playing FF7 on the train is gonna’ be cool as feck. Everyone else on the other hand, will say ‘sod that’, buy themselves another game for their PS2, a couple of new CDs and spend the rest down the pub.
Casual gamers and handhelds just don’t go together. They are at opposite ends of the scale.
And because of this, Sony need to take customers (i.e. us real gamers) away from Nintendo and the GameBoy franchise.
And as Nintendo have found with the PS2, taking customers away from the established market leader is not easy. Not easy at all.
* - I have included the PSP as a games only device as recent reports suggest that at launch, the MP3 and imaging part of the machine will not be included. Meaning that at launch, always the most important time for a new console, it’ll be sold on it’s gaming virtues alone.
> I can't think of any kind of gaming more casual than gaming on the
> move! Look how popular the dire Nokia first generation mobile phone
> games were? Yet people of all ages wanted the phones with games on -
> which is why most phones and not just Nokia's now include games.
Hmmm, that is possibly one of the most misinformed statements I have ever heard, and sadly exposes something that has been quite apparent throughout this entire ‘discussion’ – Belldandy seems to confuse his ‘opinion’ with what happens in the real world.
Gaming on the move, in terms of a dedicated portable games machine (which the GBA SP, DS and PSP* are) is probably as ‘hardcore’ gaming as you are ever going to get. Do you think the populous as a whole sit on the Tube/bus/whatever playing GBA SP – or any other dedicated handheld device? Well the answer is no. Totally and completely no.
I take a train and tube to work every single weekday, I spend 1 hour on the train and another 30 mins on the tube, I must see 1000’s of people each day – and I think everyone would agree, the train and tube represent the ideal place to play a bit of handheld gaming. You know how many people I have seen with a GBA (or any other type of handheld) in the 2 years I have been doing this – ONE. One person, who had a rather nice blue GBA SP and was playing Metroid – and that was 2 days after the SP’s launch.
One person. That’s it.
You know how many people have iPods, MP3 players or CD player – fecking 100’s – they’ve all got ‘em. And that’s the thing, the masses don’t want to play games when they are travelling, they either listen to music read a book or a paper. Casual gamers just don’t play handheld games.
It really is that simple – and to be honest its pretty obvious if you thin about it. The PS1 (and subsequently the PS2) did so very, very well because as it has already been said, Sony tapped into a section of the market that had never been targeted before – the casual gamer. The gamer who goes down the pub with his mates, then comes back for a game on Pro Evo 3 or something similar.
At the time of the PS1’s launch I worked for a games mag and the amount of time and effort Sony expended in order to appeal to the casual gamer was amazing – they hardly bothered with the hardcore gamers. The specialist press did that job for them – and they already knew that any new console would get lots of interest from hardcore element. They went after the people who had never held a joypad before – do you think the original games that came out for the PS1 were by accident – Tekken and Ridge Racer – bother arcade conversions – easy to get into, nice and simple, don’t require any gaming knowledge and can be played when drunk.
And because of this, Sony didn’t need to take customers from anyone (Nintendo or Sega) because they just created their own, huge user base. And once this was achieved, the PS1 sales went through the roof, all the big devs want to make games for it, which meant the PS1 got all the best games, the big titles and franchises, and that meant….yup you got it….all the hardcore gamers (that hadn’t been tempted at release) brought the machine too.
A casual market for handheld games does not exist.
It was also said by Belldandy that games for mobile phones were (and still are) popular, and as such, proved that this means gaming on the go is mainstream. Unfortunately, the thing is, when people choose a phone, they do so based on what they perceive to be the ‘coolest’ looking phone, and more importantly, one that has the latest gimmick or feature. The ‘must have phone gimmick’ was built-in games, then it was cameras, now it’s video messages…there will always be another gimmick to add to a mobile phone. But this doesn’t mean that people in the main stream want to play games on the go to the extent they will spend £90 (or in the PSP’s case potentially £150+) on a dedicated machine.
And lets say you even got a casual gamer to look at the PSP – how do you think they would react when they realised that the PSP costs more than a PlayStation 2?
Not gonna’ happen is it.
Sure, us gamers don’t mind the fact that it will cost more than a PS2, because we know that playing FF7 on the train is gonna’ be cool as feck. Everyone else on the other hand, will say ‘sod that’, buy themselves another game for their PS2, a couple of new CDs and spend the rest down the pub.
Casual gamers and handhelds just don’t go together. They are at opposite ends of the scale.
And because of this, Sony need to take customers (i.e. us real gamers) away from Nintendo and the GameBoy franchise.
And as Nintendo have found with the PS2, taking customers away from the established market leader is not easy. Not easy at all.
* - I have included the PSP as a games only device as recent reports suggest that at launch, the MP3 and imaging part of the machine will not be included. Meaning that at launch, always the most important time for a new console, it’ll be sold on it’s gaming virtues alone.
tphi wrote:
>
> Why on earth is the DS and PSP getting a (kind of) simultaneous
> release? Why not the GBA2 and PSP??
Why release a follow up to a console that is still selling more consoles than any other?
The GBA2 will be released in time but the GBA is doing just too well for Nintendo to give up on it...
When the PSP is released Nintendo could cut the price, release a major game and that might be enough.
The DS maybe another attempt to defeat it all. I'm sure Nintendo have set aside some money for this.
>
> Why on earth is the DS and PSP getting a (kind of) simultaneous
> release? Why not the GBA2 and PSP??
Why release a follow up to a console that is still selling more consoles than any other?
The GBA2 will be released in time but the GBA is doing just too well for Nintendo to give up on it...
When the PSP is released Nintendo could cut the price, release a major game and that might be enough.
The DS maybe another attempt to defeat it all. I'm sure Nintendo have set aside some money for this.
Dringo wrote:
> So £199.99 it is then.
Hmm.. thats less than was originally announced, but I still think it's too high a price for a handheld to sell.
Look all three major consoles now - all availiable for under £150! People won't pay more than that for a small handheld, they'll see it as insane.
> So £199.99 it is then.
Hmm.. thats less than was originally announced, but I still think it's too high a price for a handheld to sell.
Look all three major consoles now - all availiable for under £150! People won't pay more than that for a small handheld, they'll see it as insane.
Belldandy wrote:
> You know what, we'll just wait until the DS and PSP go head to head
> and see what happens. I hope Nintendo haven't bet the bank on the
> DS...
They most probably have, as they see it so important.
Why on earth is the DS and PSP getting a (kind of) simultaneous release? Why not the GBA2 and PSP??
> You know what, we'll just wait until the DS and PSP go head to head
> and see what happens. I hope Nintendo haven't bet the bank on the
> DS...
They most probably have, as they see it so important.
Why on earth is the DS and PSP getting a (kind of) simultaneous release? Why not the GBA2 and PSP??
You know what, we'll just wait until the DS and PSP go head to head and see what happens. I hope Nintendo haven't bet the bank on the DS...
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