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On June 23,1996, Nintendo finally launched it's eagerly awaited successor to the ageing SNES. The SNES had lasted 6 years and still enjoyed a huge user-base, but a certain Walkman making company was beginning to dominate the scene.
Project Reality (later renamed Ultra 64, later still becoming the Nintendo 64) was dogged with delays - every single time, the ublic, media and retail alike took a deep breath and counted to ten. Was it only me that saw Sony holding up the bank and legging it with the takings? Was Nintendo not awake? Still, come launch day, no-one was complaining. Mario 64 redifined videogaming as Super Mario Bros, had 6 years earlier onthe SNES, and Pilotwings 64 provided an escape that no other game had ever come close to.
Then the problems started. A full 2 months later (what seemed like a lifetime to me), Waverace 64 hit the scene. It was gorgeous, and played like a dream, but then Nintendo has always been able to make great games. The problem lay in the fact that 1 great game every 2 months is only acceptable to the most hardcore of hardcore gamers. Unfortunately (but understandably), Joe Average wasnts to see a decent selection of games, regardless of whether 90% are half-rear-ended cash ins. Thanks Sony. Through a combination of excellent marketing and extremley lax (IE. Non-existent) quality control, Sony flooded the market with 1-:1 ratio of substandard-to-good titles, and still managed to get the public to worship at it's feet. For that I must salute the company.
The years passed, and the ease of developing for PlayStation alonf with Nintendos unattractive licensing fees mean't that few third party developers were willing to commit to the expensive cartridge format. Those that did put the effort in found that breathing space afforded to them was a welcome change from the stale stench of the over-crowded PS market. Dying publisher Acclaim practically re-built it's empire thanks to the Turok series, while Companys such as RARE, DMA Design, Paradigm and Boss Studios showed the world exactly what Nintendos powerhouse was capable of. In the past 2 years, developers such as Factor 5 and Silicon Knights have appeared pretty much out of nowhere and proved once and for all that technically, the N64 can stand head and shoulders above the PS. Sadly, it was all too late.Don't get me wrong, the N64 wasn't a failiure. The hardware and software sales to date are astronomical, but Sony is still the king of the PR castle, and in a world where advertising is everything, thats all that matters.
Nintendo of Japan (NCL) made a lot of money from Game Boy, N64 and Pokémon franchise, but dropping so far when you're used to being so high has got to do something bad to your ego. Like a wounded bear, Nintendo is raging, and God help anyone that stands in their way! Mistakes were made lessons were learned, and now Nintendo is fighting back, not only with the GameCube, but also the Game Boy Advance.
RBS
Project Reality (later renamed Ultra 64, later still becoming the Nintendo 64) was dogged with delays - every single time, the ublic, media and retail alike took a deep breath and counted to ten. Was it only me that saw Sony holding up the bank and legging it with the takings? Was Nintendo not awake? Still, come launch day, no-one was complaining. Mario 64 redifined videogaming as Super Mario Bros, had 6 years earlier onthe SNES, and Pilotwings 64 provided an escape that no other game had ever come close to.
Then the problems started. A full 2 months later (what seemed like a lifetime to me), Waverace 64 hit the scene. It was gorgeous, and played like a dream, but then Nintendo has always been able to make great games. The problem lay in the fact that 1 great game every 2 months is only acceptable to the most hardcore of hardcore gamers. Unfortunately (but understandably), Joe Average wasnts to see a decent selection of games, regardless of whether 90% are half-rear-ended cash ins. Thanks Sony. Through a combination of excellent marketing and extremley lax (IE. Non-existent) quality control, Sony flooded the market with 1-:1 ratio of substandard-to-good titles, and still managed to get the public to worship at it's feet. For that I must salute the company.
The years passed, and the ease of developing for PlayStation alonf with Nintendos unattractive licensing fees mean't that few third party developers were willing to commit to the expensive cartridge format. Those that did put the effort in found that breathing space afforded to them was a welcome change from the stale stench of the over-crowded PS market. Dying publisher Acclaim practically re-built it's empire thanks to the Turok series, while Companys such as RARE, DMA Design, Paradigm and Boss Studios showed the world exactly what Nintendos powerhouse was capable of. In the past 2 years, developers such as Factor 5 and Silicon Knights have appeared pretty much out of nowhere and proved once and for all that technically, the N64 can stand head and shoulders above the PS. Sadly, it was all too late.Don't get me wrong, the N64 wasn't a failiure. The hardware and software sales to date are astronomical, but Sony is still the king of the PR castle, and in a world where advertising is everything, thats all that matters.
Nintendo of Japan (NCL) made a lot of money from Game Boy, N64 and Pokémon franchise, but dropping so far when you're used to being so high has got to do something bad to your ego. Like a wounded bear, Nintendo is raging, and God help anyone that stands in their way! Mistakes were made lessons were learned, and now Nintendo is fighting back, not only with the GameCube, but also the Game Boy Advance.
RBS
FantasyMeister wrote:
...and that is an impartial judgement. Honest...
Yes I would rather have guessed! But the fact that you have admitted to it will hopefully lower the sentance!
The Game
...and that is an impartial judgement. Honest...
Yes I would rather have guessed! But the fact that you have admitted to it will hopefully lower the sentance!
The Game
I dont think that launching after the PS2 means there launching late again... Lanching before the PS2 didnt do the Dreamcast much good! :)
Although Nintendo... in Europe at elast... seem to be dodging around trying to miss the X-Box release date... trying to figure out wether the XBox will be delayed... and that they should launch this year,,, or to wait and launch next year,,,? :)
Although Nintendo... in Europe at elast... seem to be dodging around trying to miss the X-Box release date... trying to figure out wether the XBox will be delayed... and that they should launch this year,,, or to wait and launch next year,,,? :)
Yes, but....
They've done it again though, haven't they? Brought it out after Sony's PS2 instead of before it. Brought it out at the same time as the X-Box to boot, (no pun intended,) (oh, allright, it was a pun).
So this time, as well as being late on the scene, they launch roughly the same time as one of the biggest companies in the world. Which theoretically should knock their sales back by about 50%. (In reality yes, many Nintendo fans exist therefore many Nintendo fans will by the GC, therefore sales will probably be about 75% of what they could actually expect without X-Box on the scene.)
And the FM prediction: Sony launch the PS3 18 months after the GC launch.
I think Nintendo really need their GBA to work, or they could be in serious trouble, and that is an impartial judgement. Honest.
They've done it again though, haven't they? Brought it out after Sony's PS2 instead of before it. Brought it out at the same time as the X-Box to boot, (no pun intended,) (oh, allright, it was a pun).
So this time, as well as being late on the scene, they launch roughly the same time as one of the biggest companies in the world. Which theoretically should knock their sales back by about 50%. (In reality yes, many Nintendo fans exist therefore many Nintendo fans will by the GC, therefore sales will probably be about 75% of what they could actually expect without X-Box on the scene.)
And the FM prediction: Sony launch the PS3 18 months after the GC launch.
I think Nintendo really need their GBA to work, or they could be in serious trouble, and that is an impartial judgement. Honest.
On June 23,1996, Nintendo finally launched it's eagerly awaited successor to the ageing SNES. The SNES had lasted 6 years and still enjoyed a huge user-base, but a certain Walkman making company was beginning to dominate the scene.
Project Reality (later renamed Ultra 64, later still becoming the Nintendo 64) was dogged with delays - every single time, the ublic, media and retail alike took a deep breath and counted to ten. Was it only me that saw Sony holding up the bank and legging it with the takings? Was Nintendo not awake? Still, come launch day, no-one was complaining. Mario 64 redifined videogaming as Super Mario Bros, had 6 years earlier onthe SNES, and Pilotwings 64 provided an escape that no other game had ever come close to.
Then the problems started. A full 2 months later (what seemed like a lifetime to me), Waverace 64 hit the scene. It was gorgeous, and played like a dream, but then Nintendo has always been able to make great games. The problem lay in the fact that 1 great game every 2 months is only acceptable to the most hardcore of hardcore gamers. Unfortunately (but understandably), Joe Average wasnts to see a decent selection of games, regardless of whether 90% are half-rear-ended cash ins. Thanks Sony. Through a combination of excellent marketing and extremley lax (IE. Non-existent) quality control, Sony flooded the market with 1-:1 ratio of substandard-to-good titles, and still managed to get the public to worship at it's feet. For that I must salute the company.
The years passed, and the ease of developing for PlayStation alonf with Nintendos unattractive licensing fees mean't that few third party developers were willing to commit to the expensive cartridge format. Those that did put the effort in found that breathing space afforded to them was a welcome change from the stale stench of the over-crowded PS market. Dying publisher Acclaim practically re-built it's empire thanks to the Turok series, while Companys such as RARE, DMA Design, Paradigm and Boss Studios showed the world exactly what Nintendos powerhouse was capable of. In the past 2 years, developers such as Factor 5 and Silicon Knights have appeared pretty much out of nowhere and proved once and for all that technically, the N64 can stand head and shoulders above the PS. Sadly, it was all too late.Don't get me wrong, the N64 wasn't a failiure. The hardware and software sales to date are astronomical, but Sony is still the king of the PR castle, and in a world where advertising is everything, thats all that matters.
Nintendo of Japan (NCL) made a lot of money from Game Boy, N64 and Pokémon franchise, but dropping so far when you're used to being so high has got to do something bad to your ego. Like a wounded bear, Nintendo is raging, and God help anyone that stands in their way! Mistakes were made lessons were learned, and now Nintendo is fighting back, not only with the GameCube, but also the Game Boy Advance.
RBS
Project Reality (later renamed Ultra 64, later still becoming the Nintendo 64) was dogged with delays - every single time, the ublic, media and retail alike took a deep breath and counted to ten. Was it only me that saw Sony holding up the bank and legging it with the takings? Was Nintendo not awake? Still, come launch day, no-one was complaining. Mario 64 redifined videogaming as Super Mario Bros, had 6 years earlier onthe SNES, and Pilotwings 64 provided an escape that no other game had ever come close to.
Then the problems started. A full 2 months later (what seemed like a lifetime to me), Waverace 64 hit the scene. It was gorgeous, and played like a dream, but then Nintendo has always been able to make great games. The problem lay in the fact that 1 great game every 2 months is only acceptable to the most hardcore of hardcore gamers. Unfortunately (but understandably), Joe Average wasnts to see a decent selection of games, regardless of whether 90% are half-rear-ended cash ins. Thanks Sony. Through a combination of excellent marketing and extremley lax (IE. Non-existent) quality control, Sony flooded the market with 1-:1 ratio of substandard-to-good titles, and still managed to get the public to worship at it's feet. For that I must salute the company.
The years passed, and the ease of developing for PlayStation alonf with Nintendos unattractive licensing fees mean't that few third party developers were willing to commit to the expensive cartridge format. Those that did put the effort in found that breathing space afforded to them was a welcome change from the stale stench of the over-crowded PS market. Dying publisher Acclaim practically re-built it's empire thanks to the Turok series, while Companys such as RARE, DMA Design, Paradigm and Boss Studios showed the world exactly what Nintendos powerhouse was capable of. In the past 2 years, developers such as Factor 5 and Silicon Knights have appeared pretty much out of nowhere and proved once and for all that technically, the N64 can stand head and shoulders above the PS. Sadly, it was all too late.Don't get me wrong, the N64 wasn't a failiure. The hardware and software sales to date are astronomical, but Sony is still the king of the PR castle, and in a world where advertising is everything, thats all that matters.
Nintendo of Japan (NCL) made a lot of money from Game Boy, N64 and Pokémon franchise, but dropping so far when you're used to being so high has got to do something bad to your ego. Like a wounded bear, Nintendo is raging, and God help anyone that stands in their way! Mistakes were made lessons were learned, and now Nintendo is fighting back, not only with the GameCube, but also the Game Boy Advance.
RBS