Australia Infected
DS VERSES PSP PART 7
The PSP has launched, for $399 regular retail price, with a case and 32 megabyte memory stick. Half a year after Japan, it's finally here. But you know what? It's nothing to worry about.
The DS is currently selling about four times as much as the PSP in Japan. In the United States, I will sadly admit that the PSP is slightly leading the DS in sales. But don't forget, the GBA SP is still selling strongly, and together, Nintendo is still easily dominating the handheld market. So what do you think will happen here in Australia? Lets see.
PSP's screwed. Period.
Though many may not realise, the DS isn't Nintendo's strongest selling console, it's the GameBoy. It was the Gameboy that has dominated the handheld gaming market for over 20 years. It was the Gameboy who kicked Atari, Sega, Bandai and many others out of competition. The PSP's powerful, more powerful than the GBASP. The Sega Gamegear was a LOT more powerful than the chunky Gameboy. The Bandai Wonderswan had better graphics and a slimmer design than the Gameboy Pocket. The Atari console was the first handheld to every have a colour screen.
But you know what? THEY ALL GOT HAMMERED. Nintendo is the king of consoles, formerly both home and handhelds, now currently focusing the majority of their sales on the handhelds. The PSP is simply another obsticle the Nintendo must get past, simply another enemy Nintendo must defeat, like they have done so many times in the past.
In the next few days, I'm sure you'll see many sony fanboys showing off their brand new PSP's. Let them have their fun. Soon they will realise the purchase was a mistake, that Sony should never have dared to take on a market 95% dominated by the Big N. They the PSP will fall under the wrath of the almighty Gameboy and Developers System (DS, not dual screen btw).
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Nintendo Needs You
DS VERSES PSP PART 6
One day left until the PSP is released, if you're still planning to get one, now is the time to think it through and decide. Should you stay loyal to Niintendo, or purchase the seemingly more attractive Sony console? Now is the time to remember what each has done for you, and will do for you in the future.
Remember back to the days of the Game and Watch. I'm sure everyone has at least ONE game and Watch system. I have Egg Egg Egg, a game where the objective is to catch the falling eggs with a hat. Very simple, the console only had 4 buttons to control the direction of the hat. That thing gave me hours of fun. I used to play it over and over, attempting to obtain a higher score. That Game and watch is worth about $300 on eBay today, look it up if you don't believe me, though I will be keeping it for a collection.
Remember the days of the NES and SNES. Many gamers (like me) had a UFO or Game Doctor, SNES emulators which allowed you to download and play SNES games through floppy disks. Zelda: Link to the Past, Bomberman 1-5, Street Fighter SNES, Mario All Stars and Super Famicom Wars (later known as Advance Wars) were some of my favourite titles. I used to play on my SNES every day after school. SNES was awesome. It had great graphics for its time, and tonnes of games, and more could be downloaded off the net.
The point I'm trying to make is this. Nintendo have provided each and every one of us with enjoyment in the past, with every console they release. Whether it be the SNES, N64, GBA... heck, even the Virtual boy. Do you guys seroiously think it is appropriate to "dump" Nintendo just because Sony brings out a better marketed console?
I grew up with Nintendo. I've owned their systems and played their games my whole life. I love my Gamecube, often play my DS, am eagerly anticipating the GB Micro, and can't wait for the full unveiling of the Revolution. Nintendo is the only gaming company that cares about its gamers. They are the only company that will refund a whole DS if you find a single dead pixel. They are the only company who's president is a gamer at heart. I hate Sony for stealing Nintendo's ideas, for taking over Nintendo's market, for giving Nintendo a kiddie image. I hate Sony supporters, but I hate Sony supporters who were former Nintendo fans even more. People should realise that Nintendo always releases quality consoles, innovative ideas, and "kick az" game titles. They need to have more trust in Big N, not spring to another company once Nintendo seem to have "lost their edge". People like that do not deserve to be N-gamers (actually, they deserve to be shot :P). A true Nintendo fan should stick with Nintendo all the way, they should always purchase their consoles and enjoy their games, if Nintendo seems kiddie or not, it doesn't matter. You know the kind of gamer I am talking about.
They call us fanboys. People who are "in love with their games", who will "never grow up". And yet it is the fanboys who are the most important to Nintendo. Nintendo has the most loyal fans, gamers who will stick with Nintendo "to the end" (lol). And because of this Nintendo will always be around. They cannot be kicked off the market like Sega, they cannot be beaten by Microsoft OR Sony. Fanboys, this is the reason how Nintendo, being the smallest and poorest company out of the three, still manages to SELL MORE THAN SONY AND MICROSOFT COMBINED.
Seriousgamer007 was right about one thing, Nintendo is nothing without its fans. Look at MS and Sony gamers. So many PS2 owners are going to buy an Xbox 360, and many Xbox owners are getting a PS3. These so called "fans" are worthless (sorry). They will betray their company in a second.
So think about it. What do you treasure more? A company you grew up with, or an attractive looking PSP catalogue? Remember that you (and many others) make up Nintendo. Ninty needs you, and you need Ninty.
PS: Heh heh, sorry for sounding like a serious gamer 007, please note that the above post is intended for the Nintendo fan (boys?) who visit my blog. Thanks.
DS VERSES PSP PART 6
One day left until the PSP is released, if you're still planning to get one, now is the time to think it through and decide. Should you stay loyal to Niintendo, or purchase the seemingly more attractive Sony console? Now is the time to remember what each has done for you, and will do for you in the future.
Remember back to the days of the Game and Watch. I'm sure everyone has at least ONE game and Watch system. I have Egg Egg Egg, a game where the objective is to catch the falling eggs with a hat. Very simple, the console only had 4 buttons to control the direction of the hat. That thing gave me hours of fun. I used to play it over and over, attempting to obtain a higher score. That Game and watch is worth about $300 on eBay today, look it up if you don't believe me, though I will be keeping it for a collection.
Remember the days of the NES and SNES. Many gamers (like me) had a UFO or Game Doctor, SNES emulators which allowed you to download and play SNES games through floppy disks. Zelda: Link to the Past, Bomberman 1-5, Street Fighter SNES, Mario All Stars and Super Famicom Wars (later known as Advance Wars) were some of my favourite titles. I used to play on my SNES every day after school. SNES was awesome. It had great graphics for its time, and tonnes of games, and more could be downloaded off the net.
The point I'm trying to make is this. Nintendo have provided each and every one of us with enjoyment in the past, with every console they release. Whether it be the SNES, N64, GBA... heck, even the Virtual boy. Do you guys seroiously think it is appropriate to "dump" Nintendo just because Sony brings out a better marketed console?
I grew up with Nintendo. I've owned their systems and played their games my whole life. I love my Gamecube, often play my DS, am eagerly anticipating the GB Micro, and can't wait for the full unveiling of the Revolution. Nintendo is the only gaming company that cares about its gamers. They are the only company that will refund a whole DS if you find a single dead pixel. They are the only company who's president is a gamer at heart. I hate Sony for stealing Nintendo's ideas, for taking over Nintendo's market, for giving Nintendo a kiddie image. I hate Sony supporters, but I hate Sony supporters who were former Nintendo fans even more. People should realise that Nintendo always releases quality consoles, innovative ideas, and "kick az" game titles. They need to have more trust in Big N, not spring to another company once Nintendo seem to have "lost their edge". People like that do not deserve to be N-gamers (actually, they deserve to be shot :P). A true Nintendo fan should stick with Nintendo all the way, they should always purchase their consoles and enjoy their games, if Nintendo seems kiddie or not, it doesn't matter. You know the kind of gamer I am talking about.
They call us fanboys. People who are "in love with their games", who will "never grow up". And yet it is the fanboys who are the most important to Nintendo. Nintendo has the most loyal fans, gamers who will stick with Nintendo "to the end" (lol). And because of this Nintendo will always be around. They cannot be kicked off the market like Sega, they cannot be beaten by Microsoft OR Sony. Fanboys, this is the reason how Nintendo, being the smallest and poorest company out of the three, still manages to SELL MORE THAN SONY AND MICROSOFT COMBINED.
Seriousgamer007 was right about one thing, Nintendo is nothing without its fans. Look at MS and Sony gamers. So many PS2 owners are going to buy an Xbox 360, and many Xbox owners are getting a PS3. These so called "fans" are worthless (sorry). They will betray their company in a second.
So think about it. What do you treasure more? A company you grew up with, or an attractive looking PSP catalogue? Remember that you (and many others) make up Nintendo. Ninty needs you, and you need Ninty.
PS: Heh heh, sorry for sounding like a serious gamer 007, please note that the above post is intended for the Nintendo fan (boys?) who visit my blog. Thanks.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Numbers Never Lie!
DS VERSES PSP PART 5
Here are the latest hardware sales statistics in Japan, in order for each list:
Platform:
Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, GameBoy Advance SP, GameCube, GameBoy Advance, Xbox
Sales:
80,945
33,292
23,923
16,721
3,960
822
263
There, you can clearly see how the DS is REALLY comparing to the PSP. Actually, it sold more than the PS2, PSP and Xbox combined. The Nintendo Developer's System is amazing, isn't it? Satoru Iwata san is a genious. The DS has brought a gaming revolution to the portable industry (before you argue, look at stats above!). It has the ability to attract non gamers into the gaming world (eg girls :P, with titles like Nintendogs. Or adults, who want to stay in touch with free VOIP, or a cheap alternative to a PDA, Portable DVD player, or GPS system.).
So why did Nintendo create the GB Micro, after harvesting such an innovative system? Simple, to EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF GAMING (quote from Leipzig speech). Nintendo want to attract gamers with different preferences, gamers who prefer the more portable, cheaper, stylish consoles will be appealed by the Micro. Gamers who want innovation and game play will go to the DS. There are rumours on a GB Evolution, for power and graphics/Xbox crazed gamers, this will close the gap on the PSP, but nothing has been confirmed.
Here is an animation I found, someone had managed to "capture the moment".
lol, very funny, but this basically explains the fight between the PSP and the DS. Sony are using "cheapo" tactics, the gain support of the media and retailers, and attack the DS by using excuses such as Nintendo being kiddie, and the DS being a kid's system. The PSP's flaws and cons are hidden from the public eye, the drawbacks (like price and crappy battery life) are hushed, so to give Sony's first Portable at least SOME advantages over the DS. But do some research, check statistics, and the truth can be found. I've done all of the above, and came to a conclusion... PSP SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... excuse me...
DS VERSES PSP PART 5
Here are the latest hardware sales statistics in Japan, in order for each list:
Platform:
Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, GameBoy Advance SP, GameCube, GameBoy Advance, Xbox
Sales:
80,945
33,292
23,923
16,721
3,960
822
263
There, you can clearly see how the DS is REALLY comparing to the PSP. Actually, it sold more than the PS2, PSP and Xbox combined. The Nintendo Developer's System is amazing, isn't it? Satoru Iwata san is a genious. The DS has brought a gaming revolution to the portable industry (before you argue, look at stats above!). It has the ability to attract non gamers into the gaming world (eg girls :P, with titles like Nintendogs. Or adults, who want to stay in touch with free VOIP, or a cheap alternative to a PDA, Portable DVD player, or GPS system.).
So why did Nintendo create the GB Micro, after harvesting such an innovative system? Simple, to EXPAND THE DEFINITION OF GAMING (quote from Leipzig speech). Nintendo want to attract gamers with different preferences, gamers who prefer the more portable, cheaper, stylish consoles will be appealed by the Micro. Gamers who want innovation and game play will go to the DS. There are rumours on a GB Evolution, for power and graphics/Xbox crazed gamers, this will close the gap on the PSP, but nothing has been confirmed.
Here is an animation I found, someone had managed to "capture the moment".
lol, very funny, but this basically explains the fight between the PSP and the DS. Sony are using "cheapo" tactics, the gain support of the media and retailers, and attack the DS by using excuses such as Nintendo being kiddie, and the DS being a kid's system. The PSP's flaws and cons are hidden from the public eye, the drawbacks (like price and crappy battery life) are hushed, so to give Sony's first Portable at least SOME advantages over the DS. But do some research, check statistics, and the truth can be found. I've done all of the above, and came to a conclusion... PSP SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... excuse me...
Saturday, August 27, 2005
No Chance, Go Home Kenny
DS VERSES PSP PART 4
I guess the title isn't very appropriate, seeing as the DS is selling about 4 times as much as the PSP in Japan. It even tops the Xbox, PS2, PSP and other nintendo sales PUT TOGETHER. So Ken doesn't have much of a home to go to... oh well, you deserve it.
Currently in Australia, there are three Nintendo handhelds selling. The GBA, GBASP, and NDS. The GB Micro will be release in November for $149, so that'll be 4 consoles that can play GBA games. Four consoles selling at the same time. 4 verses 1 (the PSP). Seems like overkill, doesn't it? Well kind of, but each has its own advantage over the others.
GBA: Price, and comfortable grip. I often find the original GBA easier to hold than the SP, it's design gives an easy view of the screen while being played, and you can pick one up for around 50 bucks nowadays.
GB Micro: Portability. The Micro weighs 2/3rds as much as an iPod mini, and is around the same size as one. It has a sleek, portable design, with fully customisable faceplates, and thje clearest and brightest screen Nintendo ever built into a handheld.
NDS: Innovation. Not only being able to play GBA games, the DS can also of course play its own SD card sized cartridges. The console allows for innovative applications such as Wi-Fi and wireless LAN, movies and music, free VOIP, TV tuning, Linux to use as a PDA, and even a GPS system (being developed).
GBASP: An all-rounder. Quite portable, not that much larger than a Micro with its screen closed. Relatively cheap, only around $80 off EB. And also innovative, though not as much as the DS. The GBA Movie Player allows for movies, music, photo viewing and fc games to be run on the SP. It is no wonder that 78 MILLION units have been sold in 2004, just a hair short of PS2 sales.
DS VERSES PSP PART 4
I guess the title isn't very appropriate, seeing as the DS is selling about 4 times as much as the PSP in Japan. It even tops the Xbox, PS2, PSP and other nintendo sales PUT TOGETHER. So Ken doesn't have much of a home to go to... oh well, you deserve it.
Currently in Australia, there are three Nintendo handhelds selling. The GBA, GBASP, and NDS. The GB Micro will be release in November for $149, so that'll be 4 consoles that can play GBA games. Four consoles selling at the same time. 4 verses 1 (the PSP). Seems like overkill, doesn't it? Well kind of, but each has its own advantage over the others.
GBA: Price, and comfortable grip. I often find the original GBA easier to hold than the SP, it's design gives an easy view of the screen while being played, and you can pick one up for around 50 bucks nowadays.
GB Micro: Portability. The Micro weighs 2/3rds as much as an iPod mini, and is around the same size as one. It has a sleek, portable design, with fully customisable faceplates, and thje clearest and brightest screen Nintendo ever built into a handheld.
NDS: Innovation. Not only being able to play GBA games, the DS can also of course play its own SD card sized cartridges. The console allows for innovative applications such as Wi-Fi and wireless LAN, movies and music, free VOIP, TV tuning, Linux to use as a PDA, and even a GPS system (being developed).
GBASP: An all-rounder. Quite portable, not that much larger than a Micro with its screen closed. Relatively cheap, only around $80 off EB. And also innovative, though not as much as the DS. The GBA Movie Player allows for movies, music, photo viewing and fc games to be run on the SP. It is no wonder that 78 MILLION units have been sold in 2004, just a hair short of PS2 sales.
The War Has Begun
DS VERSES PSP PART 3
That's right, the DS verses PSP war has begun in Australia. Pre-orders have been taken for a while, but it was only in the last few days that advertisements were printed and PSP boxes were stacked in Electronics stores. It almost seems like Sony are rallying their troops, ready to take on a market 95% dominated by Nintendo for the past 25 years.
If you've been reading the catalogues like me, you'd probably have noticed the large, shiny PSP pictures on the front page (with the little "$399" price adjacent to it :D). If you've been tempted to purchase one, I advise you to read the catalogue carefully. Well at least I did, and here's what I've noticed. $400 for a handheld, twice the price of a DS. Games that go up to $80 each. UMD movies for $35, more than double the price of the same movie on a DVD. And absolutely no mention of the PSP's flaws, crappy battery life, or the at-least-5-dead-pixels-or-no-refund "warranty".
That's it for now, I guess if you're rich, buying a PSP, 1gb memory stick, a case and UMD movies are fine. But if not, and you want movie portability... get a portable DVD player for $99 from Dick Smith!!
DS VERSES PSP PART 3
That's right, the DS verses PSP war has begun in Australia. Pre-orders have been taken for a while, but it was only in the last few days that advertisements were printed and PSP boxes were stacked in Electronics stores. It almost seems like Sony are rallying their troops, ready to take on a market 95% dominated by Nintendo for the past 25 years.
If you've been reading the catalogues like me, you'd probably have noticed the large, shiny PSP pictures on the front page (with the little "$399" price adjacent to it :D). If you've been tempted to purchase one, I advise you to read the catalogue carefully. Well at least I did, and here's what I've noticed. $400 for a handheld, twice the price of a DS. Games that go up to $80 each. UMD movies for $35, more than double the price of the same movie on a DVD. And absolutely no mention of the PSP's flaws, crappy battery life, or the at-least-5-dead-pixels-or-no-refund "warranty".
That's it for now, I guess if you're rich, buying a PSP, 1gb memory stick, a case and UMD movies are fine. But if not, and you want movie portability... get a portable DVD player for $99 from Dick Smith!!
Let The Baby Have His Bottle
DS VERSES PSP PART 2
VP Phil Harrison from Sony recently threw a few (new) insults at the Nintendo DS, they are quoted below in another colour:
“The idea of a handheld rivalry with Nintendo is an irrelevance,” he says. “Those formats don’t appear in our planning. It’s not a fair comparison; not fair on them, I should stress. That sounds arrogant, maybe, but it’s the truth”
“With the DS, it’s fair to say that Nintendo stepped out of the technical race and went for a feature differentiation with the touch screen,” Harrison says. “But I fear that it won’t have a lasting impact beyond that of a gimmick - so the long-lasting appeal of the platform is at peril as a direct result of that.”
“Nintendo knows its target audience, because it has really narrowed that down; and it’s pretty much defined by a boy or girl’s ability to admire Pokemon”
If you're a Sony fanboy, you'd be agreeing with his views, right? Lol, this really shows how absolutely CLUELESS Sony is. But I'll let this pass, let the baby have his bottle, let the fanboys feel comforted by their handheld piece of... Sony. Actually... no, I think I'll have to cut him down (this IS a DS verses PSP topic! They attack with insults, now it's Ninty's turn to strike).
Quote 1: If anything is unfair comparison, it's the superiority of Nintendo's handhelds to the PSP. Nintendo have been designing quality handheld consoles over two and a half decades. They are experienced. They know what the public want. They are well known for exclusive 1st party games and unique gaming experiences. Sony on the other hand have little experience in gaming. Their first home console was a beefed up version of the SNES designed by Nintendo, which they "shoved" a CD drive into. What noobs. The size of an average PS1 game is 30mb, a CD originally held 600mb, now 700. Waste of a CD, and a waste of money. Their controller design held many of Nintendo's ideas. The rumble pak, the control stick etc, all first appeared on a Nintendo console.
Sony's experience at handheld gaming is even worse. The PSP is their first attempt at a handheld. They produce an expensive console with useless features. They implement a hard-to-control "control" stick that sticks out of the corner. They use UMDs which have been known to eject without warning. They create a single large screen so the square button becomes faulty. NOOBS. TOTAL NOOBS.
Quote 2. The Nintendo DS sold 4 times more than the PSP in Japan last week, check sales statistics if you don't believe me, or ask me for a link. The DS broke all current records for the fastest selling console back in February, it sold faster than the PS2 did when it was released in Australia. Again, ask me for a link. By the end of March, over 6 million DS units have been shipped to Australia alone, due to shortage of stock (ask for link). Furthermore, the touch screen allows for most of the DS's innovation. People have been creating homebrew applications, such as Linux and a GPS system for use with the touch screen. Official apps, such as DSpeak (DS's voip service), Wi-Fi and wireless LAN, movie and music capabilities etc, also add to the innovation.
Quote 3. The guy knows nothing about Pokemon, or the games currently available for the DS. For you interest, Pokemon is the fastest selling franchise owned by Nintendo (after Mario). Over a hundred million Pokemon games have been sold worldwide. Now I know the anime is corny, but personally I think the games rock. Pokemon Blue was, and is still one of the best RPG's I've ever played.
Currently there are no Pokemon games for the DS. Two new versions, Diamond and Peral, will be released in the near future, but nothing has been confirmed.
I guess Phil just couldn't take it that his $400 handheld was getting whipped in sales by a $200 console, which was supposedly a "kids toy".
DS VERSES PSP PART 2
VP Phil Harrison from Sony recently threw a few (new) insults at the Nintendo DS, they are quoted below in another colour:
“The idea of a handheld rivalry with Nintendo is an irrelevance,” he says. “Those formats don’t appear in our planning. It’s not a fair comparison; not fair on them, I should stress. That sounds arrogant, maybe, but it’s the truth”
“With the DS, it’s fair to say that Nintendo stepped out of the technical race and went for a feature differentiation with the touch screen,” Harrison says. “But I fear that it won’t have a lasting impact beyond that of a gimmick - so the long-lasting appeal of the platform is at peril as a direct result of that.”
“Nintendo knows its target audience, because it has really narrowed that down; and it’s pretty much defined by a boy or girl’s ability to admire Pokemon”
If you're a Sony fanboy, you'd be agreeing with his views, right? Lol, this really shows how absolutely CLUELESS Sony is. But I'll let this pass, let the baby have his bottle, let the fanboys feel comforted by their handheld piece of... Sony. Actually... no, I think I'll have to cut him down (this IS a DS verses PSP topic! They attack with insults, now it's Ninty's turn to strike).
Quote 1: If anything is unfair comparison, it's the superiority of Nintendo's handhelds to the PSP. Nintendo have been designing quality handheld consoles over two and a half decades. They are experienced. They know what the public want. They are well known for exclusive 1st party games and unique gaming experiences. Sony on the other hand have little experience in gaming. Their first home console was a beefed up version of the SNES designed by Nintendo, which they "shoved" a CD drive into. What noobs. The size of an average PS1 game is 30mb, a CD originally held 600mb, now 700. Waste of a CD, and a waste of money. Their controller design held many of Nintendo's ideas. The rumble pak, the control stick etc, all first appeared on a Nintendo console.
Sony's experience at handheld gaming is even worse. The PSP is their first attempt at a handheld. They produce an expensive console with useless features. They implement a hard-to-control "control" stick that sticks out of the corner. They use UMDs which have been known to eject without warning. They create a single large screen so the square button becomes faulty. NOOBS. TOTAL NOOBS.
Quote 2. The Nintendo DS sold 4 times more than the PSP in Japan last week, check sales statistics if you don't believe me, or ask me for a link. The DS broke all current records for the fastest selling console back in February, it sold faster than the PS2 did when it was released in Australia. Again, ask me for a link. By the end of March, over 6 million DS units have been shipped to Australia alone, due to shortage of stock (ask for link). Furthermore, the touch screen allows for most of the DS's innovation. People have been creating homebrew applications, such as Linux and a GPS system for use with the touch screen. Official apps, such as DSpeak (DS's voip service), Wi-Fi and wireless LAN, movie and music capabilities etc, also add to the innovation.
Quote 3. The guy knows nothing about Pokemon, or the games currently available for the DS. For you interest, Pokemon is the fastest selling franchise owned by Nintendo (after Mario). Over a hundred million Pokemon games have been sold worldwide. Now I know the anime is corny, but personally I think the games rock. Pokemon Blue was, and is still one of the best RPG's I've ever played.
Currently there are no Pokemon games for the DS. Two new versions, Diamond and Peral, will be released in the near future, but nothing has been confirmed.
I guess Phil just couldn't take it that his $400 handheld was getting whipped in sales by a $200 console, which was supposedly a "kids toy".
Friday, August 26, 2005
Infection Of Handheld Market
DS VERSES PSP PART 1
As you are probably aware, the Sony PSP will be launched in Australia on the 1st of September. Pre-orders have been taken for a while now, and the system's regular retail price is $399au.
Hopefully most of you here have enough brains no to purchase the console, but in case you dn't, I'll give you guys a last minute run through on why you shouldn't purchase a PSP.
Firstly, it's heck expensive. How long have you been saving for a $400 console? Want to watch movies? SORRY! The 32mb that comes with the console is USELESS for video storage, which means you'll need to buy at least a 1gb memory stick, in other words more money-spending. How much is a 1gb memory stick? Here, at least $250au, totaling $650. You can't afford this much? Neither can I. Why not buy a UMD movie instead? Only about $30 each - oh wait, I forgot, there are hardly any available! I guess you can wait a couple of months for the movie you want to come out, of course.
Secondly. So, you've finally been able to get a movie running. If it's a UMD, remember to hold the PSP carefully so it doesn't pop out! How long is the movie you're playing? 2 hours? Good choice on choosing a short movie to watch, you can actually finish it without having to recharge halfway through! Want to watch LOTR, or Titanic? Remember to bring your charger, and probably an incar adaptor :). Oh, if only you bought a DS instead, then you could have used the GBA Movie Player to:
- Watch 9 hours of movies non-stop
- Run FC games, play music and ebooks
- Save a tonne of cash
Thirdly. You bought the PSP for the games too? They're $80 each by the way.....
Lol, ok I'll drop the criticism thing ;)...
The PSP will hardly have any games, compared to the DS. The DS has backwards compatibility with the GBA, so that's a 750 game boost already. Plus, the DS has many "kik as" titles like Nintendogs, Meteos, Jump Superstars, Mario and Luigi SS 2, Metroid Hunters, Animal Crossing, Advance Wars DS, Mario Kart etc. Many of these games are Wi-Fi enabled, so you can take it out wirelessly with other gamers across the globe.
To finish off.The Nintendo DS now has movie/music capabilities,Wi-Fi, voice over ip, Linux, a TV tuner, and now an outcoming GPS SYSTEM! Imagine a PDA that can do all that, and play N64 quality games, all for $200 (even less if you look around).
In simple terms, the PSP will not sell. Sure it'll grab about 15-25% of the market, but it'll never gain dominance. With the GBASP still receiving about 30% of the handheld market sales, and the upcoming GB Micro in November, the PSP cannot take over Nintendo's portable territory.
Here is a chart for last weeks console sales, notice the differences in sales of the DS and the PSP.
Now I don't want to sound like a fanboy myself, but the points I stated above are all fact. So here goes... TAKE THAT YOU SONY FANBOYS! PSP SUCKS! GO HOME KEN, AND GET WHIPPED BY NINTENDO THERE INSTEAD!
DS VERSES PSP PART 1
As you are probably aware, the Sony PSP will be launched in Australia on the 1st of September. Pre-orders have been taken for a while now, and the system's regular retail price is $399au.
Hopefully most of you here have enough brains no to purchase the console, but in case you dn't, I'll give you guys a last minute run through on why you shouldn't purchase a PSP.
Firstly, it's heck expensive. How long have you been saving for a $400 console? Want to watch movies? SORRY! The 32mb that comes with the console is USELESS for video storage, which means you'll need to buy at least a 1gb memory stick, in other words more money-spending. How much is a 1gb memory stick? Here, at least $250au, totaling $650. You can't afford this much? Neither can I. Why not buy a UMD movie instead? Only about $30 each - oh wait, I forgot, there are hardly any available! I guess you can wait a couple of months for the movie you want to come out, of course.
Secondly. So, you've finally been able to get a movie running. If it's a UMD, remember to hold the PSP carefully so it doesn't pop out! How long is the movie you're playing? 2 hours? Good choice on choosing a short movie to watch, you can actually finish it without having to recharge halfway through! Want to watch LOTR, or Titanic? Remember to bring your charger, and probably an incar adaptor :). Oh, if only you bought a DS instead, then you could have used the GBA Movie Player to:
- Watch 9 hours of movies non-stop
- Run FC games, play music and ebooks
- Save a tonne of cash
Thirdly. You bought the PSP for the games too? They're $80 each by the way.....
Lol, ok I'll drop the criticism thing ;)...
The PSP will hardly have any games, compared to the DS. The DS has backwards compatibility with the GBA, so that's a 750 game boost already. Plus, the DS has many "kik as" titles like Nintendogs, Meteos, Jump Superstars, Mario and Luigi SS 2, Metroid Hunters, Animal Crossing, Advance Wars DS, Mario Kart etc. Many of these games are Wi-Fi enabled, so you can take it out wirelessly with other gamers across the globe.
To finish off.The Nintendo DS now has movie/music capabilities,Wi-Fi, voice over ip, Linux, a TV tuner, and now an outcoming GPS SYSTEM! Imagine a PDA that can do all that, and play N64 quality games, all for $200 (even less if you look around).
In simple terms, the PSP will not sell. Sure it'll grab about 15-25% of the market, but it'll never gain dominance. With the GBASP still receiving about 30% of the handheld market sales, and the upcoming GB Micro in November, the PSP cannot take over Nintendo's portable territory.
Here is a chart for last weeks console sales, notice the differences in sales of the DS and the PSP.
Now I don't want to sound like a fanboy myself, but the points I stated above are all fact. So here goes... TAKE THAT YOU SONY FANBOYS! PSP SUCKS! GO HOME KEN, AND GET WHIPPED BY NINTENDO THERE INSTEAD!
Meetro Coming for DS... And PSP
Source: Nintendo Insider
A Chicago based Meetroduction, LLC has created the ultimate “breaking the ice” instant messenger program. This new instant messaging application is called Meetro (www.meetro.com) and is created by the team of CEO Paul Bragiel (current CEO of Paragon 5) and President Wendell Davis III (ex-producer of Cave Barn Studios). What makes Meetro a unique instant messenger is that it shows the proximity in miles how far away each user is from your location. Paul Bragiel explains, “Meetro is the new dynamic way to meet people local to you.” Wendell Davis III states, "Meetro makes finding people within walking distance a breeze -- perhaps even a summer breeze." It will cater to people wanting to make friends in their new town and especially targeting college students who are dying to meet new friends (also a great way to procrastinate on that English paper). It allows users to have their picture and taglines, and also allows users to message people on AOL AIM and ICQ (MSN, Yahoo and Jabber are coming soon).
Features of Meetro include:
- Instant Messenger program telling how far users are away from each other in miles.
- Includes taglines, user pictures and an extensive customizable user profile.
- The program has AIM, ICQ support. Yahoo support will come out later this month and MSN will be around the corner. Jabber support coming later.
Source: Nintendo Insider
A Chicago based Meetroduction, LLC has created the ultimate “breaking the ice” instant messenger program. This new instant messaging application is called Meetro (www.meetro.com) and is created by the team of CEO Paul Bragiel (current CEO of Paragon 5) and President Wendell Davis III (ex-producer of Cave Barn Studios). What makes Meetro a unique instant messenger is that it shows the proximity in miles how far away each user is from your location. Paul Bragiel explains, “Meetro is the new dynamic way to meet people local to you.” Wendell Davis III states, "Meetro makes finding people within walking distance a breeze -- perhaps even a summer breeze." It will cater to people wanting to make friends in their new town and especially targeting college students who are dying to meet new friends (also a great way to procrastinate on that English paper). It allows users to have their picture and taglines, and also allows users to message people on AOL AIM and ICQ (MSN, Yahoo and Jabber are coming soon).
Features of Meetro include:
- Instant Messenger program telling how far users are away from each other in miles.
- Includes taglines, user pictures and an extensive customizable user profile.
- The program has AIM, ICQ support. Yahoo support will come out later this month and MSN will be around the corner. Jabber support coming later.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Outcoming DS Games List
Source: Nintendo Insider
Aug. 22: Advance Wars: Dual Strike from Nintendo
Aug. 22: Nintendogs from Nintendo
Aug. 23: Pac n' Roll from Namco
August: Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour from Konami
Sept. 19: Tak: The Great Juju Challenge from THQ
Sept. 26: Trace Memory from Nintendo
September: Lunar Dragon Song from Ubisoft
September: Ultimate Spider-Man from Activision
Oct. 17: Scooby-Doo! Unmasked from THQ
Oct. 24: Metroid Prime Pinball from Nintendo
Oct. 24: Real Time Conflict: Shogun Empires from Namco
October: Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects from Electronic Arts
October: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney from Capcom
October: Texas Hold 'Em from Majesco
October: Trauma Center: Under the Knife from Atlus
Nov. 1: SeaWorld: Shamu's Big Adventure from Activision
Nov. 1: The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer from THQ
Nov. 7: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger from THQ
Nov. 9: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from Electronic Arts
Nov. 14: Mario Kart DS from Nintendo
Nov. 28: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time from Nintendo
November: Disney's Kim Possible: Kimmunicator from Buena Vista Games
November: Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 from Atari
November: King Kong from Ubisoft
November: Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team from Capcom
November: Need for Speed: Most Wanted from Electronic Arts
November: Pac-Man World 3 from Namco
November: SBK: Snowboard Kids DS from Atlus
November: Sonic Rush from Sega
November: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe from Buena Vista Games
November: Viewtiful Joe Double Trouble from Capcom
Dec. 5: Animal Crossing from Nintendo
December: Golden Nugget Casino from Majesco
December: Ultimate Card Games from Telegames
Fall: ATV: Quad Frenzy from Majesco
Fall: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow from Konami
Fall: Dig Dug Digging Strike from Namco
Fall: Dragon Booster from Konami
Fall: Frogger: Helmet Chaos from Konami
Fall: Shrek SuperSlam from Activision
Fall: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare from Konami
Fall: The Sims 2 from Electronic Arts
Fall: Tony Hawk (working title) from Activision
Fall: Zoo Tycoon from THQ
Q4: Blades of Thunder 2 from Summitsoft
Q4: Mini RC Rally from Summitsoft
Q4: Texas Hold 'Em Poker Pack from Summitsoft
January: Age of Empires: The Age of Kings from Majesco
January: Bust-A-Move from Majesco
January: Guilty Gear Dust Strikers from Majesco
Q1 2006: Dynasty Warriors (working title) from Koei
Q1 2006: Metroid Prime Hunters from Nintendo
Q1 2006: Ultimate Brain Games from Telegames
Early 2006: Nicktoons Unite! from THQ
A list for GBA/GB Micro and Gamecube's outcoming games are available at Nintendo Insider.
Source: Nintendo Insider
Aug. 22: Advance Wars: Dual Strike from Nintendo
Aug. 22: Nintendogs from Nintendo
Aug. 23: Pac n' Roll from Namco
August: Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour from Konami
Sept. 19: Tak: The Great Juju Challenge from THQ
Sept. 26: Trace Memory from Nintendo
September: Lunar Dragon Song from Ubisoft
September: Ultimate Spider-Man from Activision
Oct. 17: Scooby-Doo! Unmasked from THQ
Oct. 24: Metroid Prime Pinball from Nintendo
Oct. 24: Real Time Conflict: Shogun Empires from Namco
October: Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects from Electronic Arts
October: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney from Capcom
October: Texas Hold 'Em from Majesco
October: Trauma Center: Under the Knife from Atlus
Nov. 1: SeaWorld: Shamu's Big Adventure from Activision
Nov. 1: The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer from THQ
Nov. 7: SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger from THQ
Nov. 9: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from Electronic Arts
Nov. 14: Mario Kart DS from Nintendo
Nov. 28: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time from Nintendo
November: Disney's Kim Possible: Kimmunicator from Buena Vista Games
November: Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 from Atari
November: King Kong from Ubisoft
November: Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team from Capcom
November: Need for Speed: Most Wanted from Electronic Arts
November: Pac-Man World 3 from Namco
November: SBK: Snowboard Kids DS from Atlus
November: Sonic Rush from Sega
November: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe from Buena Vista Games
November: Viewtiful Joe Double Trouble from Capcom
Dec. 5: Animal Crossing from Nintendo
December: Golden Nugget Casino from Majesco
December: Ultimate Card Games from Telegames
Fall: ATV: Quad Frenzy from Majesco
Fall: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow from Konami
Fall: Dig Dug Digging Strike from Namco
Fall: Dragon Booster from Konami
Fall: Frogger: Helmet Chaos from Konami
Fall: Shrek SuperSlam from Activision
Fall: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare from Konami
Fall: The Sims 2 from Electronic Arts
Fall: Tony Hawk (working title) from Activision
Fall: Zoo Tycoon from THQ
Q4: Blades of Thunder 2 from Summitsoft
Q4: Mini RC Rally from Summitsoft
Q4: Texas Hold 'Em Poker Pack from Summitsoft
January: Age of Empires: The Age of Kings from Majesco
January: Bust-A-Move from Majesco
January: Guilty Gear Dust Strikers from Majesco
Q1 2006: Dynasty Warriors (working title) from Koei
Q1 2006: Metroid Prime Hunters from Nintendo
Q1 2006: Ultimate Brain Games from Telegames
Early 2006: Nicktoons Unite! from THQ
A list for GBA/GB Micro and Gamecube's outcoming games are available at Nintendo Insider.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Tonnes of Information On DS Wi-Fi
Source: portables.p-nintendo.com/articles/I-89-2.html
Puissance Nintendo had the chance to interview Jim Merrick, here is the summarised version of the interview, for the full interview, click on the link in the source above.
-As Nintendo has stated before, you won't have to pay to play their 1st party DS games online.-Nintendo's WCS will be free for 3rd party publishers to use. They have the option of charging if they desire. They will own their own network-infrastructure. Use of the matchmaking service will be free.-Everyone will have a kind of buddy list. You'll be able to add people you know in the "real world," of course, as well as people you only know online.
-There are a few parameters you can set to fine-tune who you play against online. You could choose to only play against people you know (on your friends list), or you could choose to only play with people in a certain area (European players only, for instance), or you could choose to only play against players of a certain skill level. Basically, Nintendo wants you to be able to choose however you want to compete online.
-Each DS user is uniquely identified in the system. Adding people to your buddy list will be kind of like giving someone your cell phone number. Everyone will get a unique "password" of sorts each time they want to send someone a friend invite.
-You can have a separate name or "tag" for each game you play online. Also, you'll be able to pick names that people have used already (if you want to use "Bob," you can, even if someone else used it already). This works because each DS will have a unique userID (which you will never see).-You'll be able to connect your account to nintendo.com (or nintendo-europe.com). Your stats, friends, etc. can be viewed online.
-The Wi-Fi Connection Service will be launching worldwide (a specific date still hasn't been mentioned; though we know it has to be before Mario Kart DS comes out in November).
-Nintendo took way too long to release Animal Crossing (GameCube) in Europe. Even though Animal Crossing DS will be released in Japan and North America before Europe; the release delay won't be as huge as the original's.
-Mario Kart DS will be the first game to use WFC, probably followed by Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and then Animal Crossing DS. There are a number of other games that you will use WFC that haven't been announced yet.
Source: portables.p-nintendo.com/articles/I-89-2.html
Puissance Nintendo had the chance to interview Jim Merrick, here is the summarised version of the interview, for the full interview, click on the link in the source above.
-As Nintendo has stated before, you won't have to pay to play their 1st party DS games online.-Nintendo's WCS will be free for 3rd party publishers to use. They have the option of charging if they desire. They will own their own network-infrastructure. Use of the matchmaking service will be free.-Everyone will have a kind of buddy list. You'll be able to add people you know in the "real world," of course, as well as people you only know online.
-There are a few parameters you can set to fine-tune who you play against online. You could choose to only play against people you know (on your friends list), or you could choose to only play with people in a certain area (European players only, for instance), or you could choose to only play against players of a certain skill level. Basically, Nintendo wants you to be able to choose however you want to compete online.
-Each DS user is uniquely identified in the system. Adding people to your buddy list will be kind of like giving someone your cell phone number. Everyone will get a unique "password" of sorts each time they want to send someone a friend invite.
-You can have a separate name or "tag" for each game you play online. Also, you'll be able to pick names that people have used already (if you want to use "Bob," you can, even if someone else used it already). This works because each DS will have a unique userID (which you will never see).-You'll be able to connect your account to nintendo.com (or nintendo-europe.com). Your stats, friends, etc. can be viewed online.
-The Wi-Fi Connection Service will be launching worldwide (a specific date still hasn't been mentioned; though we know it has to be before Mario Kart DS comes out in November).
-Nintendo took way too long to release Animal Crossing (GameCube) in Europe. Even though Animal Crossing DS will be released in Japan and North America before Europe; the release delay won't be as huge as the original's.
-Mario Kart DS will be the first game to use WFC, probably followed by Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and then Animal Crossing DS. There are a number of other games that you will use WFC that haven't been announced yet.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Satoru Whips Ken and Bill!
Not physically, sorry ;). Here are the latest console sales statistics, direct from Nintendo Insider. The DS sold more than PS2, PSP, Xbox, and every other console combined. Also, the GBASP was only 2% off the PSP sales, and hopefully Nintendo's Gameboy Advance can make a comeback and overtake the PSP after the GB Micro is released. Anyway...
Please note, the article is not written by me, but Johnathan Coley of Nintendo Insider:
The new Nintendo DS release Jump Superstars, along with a new red DS, sent DS sales through the roof in Japan during the week of August 8th through the 14th. Overall, the over 100,000 DS sales accounted for 54% of all systems sold during the week, and even the Game Boy Advance SP saw an interesting upsurge to nearly 20,000 units.
The #1 DS title Jump Superstars overall saw an impressive 220,912 sales, or approximately 70% sell-through. The #2 title, Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 for PlayStation 2, also made another good showing in its second week with 102,048 sales. A lot of older Nintendo titles saw a boost this week with the new DS color. In the #3 spot was Nintendo's DS game Gentle Brain Exercises, a June 30th release, which saw an over 150% increase from last week with 46,873 sales. At #4 is Sega's June 23rd Game Boy Advance release The King of Beetle Mushiking: Greatest Champion with 36,309 sales, and at #5 is the GameCube title Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, in its second week with 34,108 sales.
The only other Nintendo title on the list was the May 19th DS release DS Brain Training for Adults with 30,518 sales at #7. Also notably, a PSP game did appear on the top 10 -- a Gundam title at #8 with 28,460 sales.
The high DS sales this week further widen the DS' lead over the PlayStation Portable in lifetime to date sales, as the DS now leads the PSP by 1,269,153 sales.
Not physically, sorry ;). Here are the latest console sales statistics, direct from Nintendo Insider. The DS sold more than PS2, PSP, Xbox, and every other console combined. Also, the GBASP was only 2% off the PSP sales, and hopefully Nintendo's Gameboy Advance can make a comeback and overtake the PSP after the GB Micro is released. Anyway...
Please note, the article is not written by me, but Johnathan Coley of Nintendo Insider:
The new Nintendo DS release Jump Superstars, along with a new red DS, sent DS sales through the roof in Japan during the week of August 8th through the 14th. Overall, the over 100,000 DS sales accounted for 54% of all systems sold during the week, and even the Game Boy Advance SP saw an interesting upsurge to nearly 20,000 units.
The #1 DS title Jump Superstars overall saw an impressive 220,912 sales, or approximately 70% sell-through. The #2 title, Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 for PlayStation 2, also made another good showing in its second week with 102,048 sales. A lot of older Nintendo titles saw a boost this week with the new DS color. In the #3 spot was Nintendo's DS game Gentle Brain Exercises, a June 30th release, which saw an over 150% increase from last week with 46,873 sales. At #4 is Sega's June 23rd Game Boy Advance release The King of Beetle Mushiking: Greatest Champion with 36,309 sales, and at #5 is the GameCube title Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, in its second week with 34,108 sales.
The only other Nintendo title on the list was the May 19th DS release DS Brain Training for Adults with 30,518 sales at #7. Also notably, a PSP game did appear on the top 10 -- a Gundam title at #8 with 28,460 sales.
The high DS sales this week further widen the DS' lead over the PlayStation Portable in lifetime to date sales, as the DS now leads the PSP by 1,269,153 sales.
More News On Micro
Source: Nintendo Australia
Nintendo is pleased to introduce the Game Boy micro. We have taken the widely successful Game Boy Advance SP, retooled it and added a dash of chic. The result? The Game Boy micro system, quite simply the smallest and sleekest Game Boy product that Nintendo has ever created.
The Game Boy micro will be available across Australia on November 3rd 2005, for a suggested retail price of $149.95. The Game Boy micro will be available in five colours at launch. The Platinum silver version will be available everywhere, with four other special colours being individually released through specific retailers. Other than the standard face plate, every unit sold will come with an alternative face plate that can be used to switch the style of your unit.
It's thinner than a mobile phone, as attractive as an MP3 player and as fun as a Game Boy.The metallic Game Boy micro measures a mere 10cm wide, 5cm tall and 1.75cm deep, allowing it to sit comfortably alongside today's coolest tech gear. Amazingly, it weighs less than 80 grams, or about the weight of 80 paper clips. Yet Game Boy micro has the same processing power and plays the same games as Game Boy Advance SP models, complete with standard face controls and gleaming shoulder and Start/Select buttons that literally shine.
With Game Boy micro, everyone plays in style. The removable face plate gives owners the option to customise the look of their systems again and again with new colours and designs. Most notably, its 5cm backlit screen shines with incredible power, rendering games in startling clarity with fantastic colours on the best screen ever developed for a Nintendo handheld.
"Game Boy micro is really going to appeal to the image-conscious gamers. This is a unit that anyone will be comfortable pulling out at a bus stop, in a train or at the cafe,” says Rose Lappin, Director of Sales and Marketing. "Its so seductively small that once you fit one in your jeans pocket, you will hardly notice it’s there."
Game Boy micro represents the latest evolution in the image of the Game Boy Advance line, but it is not a successor to any current system. Game Boy micro will sell alongside the Game Boy Advance SP. The system comes with a built-in, rechargeable lithium-ion battery and supports standard headphones.
The Game Boy micro will have a suggested retail price of $149.95.
Source: Nintendo Australia
Nintendo is pleased to introduce the Game Boy micro. We have taken the widely successful Game Boy Advance SP, retooled it and added a dash of chic. The result? The Game Boy micro system, quite simply the smallest and sleekest Game Boy product that Nintendo has ever created.
The Game Boy micro will be available across Australia on November 3rd 2005, for a suggested retail price of $149.95. The Game Boy micro will be available in five colours at launch. The Platinum silver version will be available everywhere, with four other special colours being individually released through specific retailers. Other than the standard face plate, every unit sold will come with an alternative face plate that can be used to switch the style of your unit.
It's thinner than a mobile phone, as attractive as an MP3 player and as fun as a Game Boy.The metallic Game Boy micro measures a mere 10cm wide, 5cm tall and 1.75cm deep, allowing it to sit comfortably alongside today's coolest tech gear. Amazingly, it weighs less than 80 grams, or about the weight of 80 paper clips. Yet Game Boy micro has the same processing power and plays the same games as Game Boy Advance SP models, complete with standard face controls and gleaming shoulder and Start/Select buttons that literally shine.
With Game Boy micro, everyone plays in style. The removable face plate gives owners the option to customise the look of their systems again and again with new colours and designs. Most notably, its 5cm backlit screen shines with incredible power, rendering games in startling clarity with fantastic colours on the best screen ever developed for a Nintendo handheld.
"Game Boy micro is really going to appeal to the image-conscious gamers. This is a unit that anyone will be comfortable pulling out at a bus stop, in a train or at the cafe,” says Rose Lappin, Director of Sales and Marketing. "Its so seductively small that once you fit one in your jeans pocket, you will hardly notice it’s there."
Game Boy micro represents the latest evolution in the image of the Game Boy Advance line, but it is not a successor to any current system. Game Boy micro will sell alongside the Game Boy Advance SP. The system comes with a built-in, rechargeable lithium-ion battery and supports standard headphones.
The Game Boy micro will have a suggested retail price of $149.95.
New Nintendo DS Colours
The Nintendo DS will be available in two new colours, starting 24th of September this year. On September 22nd Cosmic Blue and Mystic Pink will join the original Platinum coloured Nintendo DS. “We are delighted to offer consumers a range of colour options. The release of Nintendo DS in February this year has strengthened Nintendo’s hand held business and we expect the release of Cosmic Blue and Mystic Pink to continue this growth” says Rose Lappin, Director of Sales and Marketing.
The Nintendo DS will be available in two new colours, starting 24th of September this year. On September 22nd Cosmic Blue and Mystic Pink will join the original Platinum coloured Nintendo DS. “We are delighted to offer consumers a range of colour options. The release of Nintendo DS in February this year has strengthened Nintendo’s hand held business and we expect the release of Cosmic Blue and Mystic Pink to continue this growth” says Rose Lappin, Director of Sales and Marketing.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
It's Gameboy Micro!
Only a hair larger, and two thirds the weight, of an iPod mini. The GB Micro offers the clearest, brightest screen we've ever put into a handheld. With an adjustable screen brightness, and fully customisable face plates, it's not new technology, but it is, a whole new look.
- Reggie at e3
The Gameboy Micro, sucessor to the GBASP, has been officially given a release date (for the U.S) of September 19th 2005. The actual price of the console has not yet been released, but I suspect it will cost less than the DS, around the same as the current GBASP.
Although many people would think the Micro to be a mistake by Nintendo (why sell a comparatively weak console with the PSP around?), in my opinion releasing the Micro is clever marketing. Just look at the iPod and iPod mini. Why buy a mini that isn't all that smaller in size to the original iPod, holds about a tenth as much, for almost the same price? Yet the mini has been very popular, still selling rapidly today. Plus, the DS and GBASP together are more than enough to hold back PSP sales (actually DS alone is selling twice as much as PSP in Japan), and the Micro will finish the PSP off (IMO only, please don't comment on this).
Only a hair larger, and two thirds the weight, of an iPod mini. The GB Micro offers the clearest, brightest screen we've ever put into a handheld. With an adjustable screen brightness, and fully customisable face plates, it's not new technology, but it is, a whole new look.
- Reggie at e3
The Gameboy Micro, sucessor to the GBASP, has been officially given a release date (for the U.S) of September 19th 2005. The actual price of the console has not yet been released, but I suspect it will cost less than the DS, around the same as the current GBASP.
Although many people would think the Micro to be a mistake by Nintendo (why sell a comparatively weak console with the PSP around?), in my opinion releasing the Micro is clever marketing. Just look at the iPod and iPod mini. Why buy a mini that isn't all that smaller in size to the original iPod, holds about a tenth as much, for almost the same price? Yet the mini has been very popular, still selling rapidly today. Plus, the DS and GBASP together are more than enough to hold back PSP sales (actually DS alone is selling twice as much as PSP in Japan), and the Micro will finish the PSP off (IMO only, please don't comment on this).
Zelda Delayed
Source: IGN
August 16, 2005 - Nintendo announced this morning that its anticipated new adventure game, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, has been delayed. The title, formerly scheduled to debut this November around the world, has since been postponed to 2006 so that the developer can continue to make the game better.
Source: IGN
August 16, 2005 - Nintendo announced this morning that its anticipated new adventure game, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, has been delayed. The title, formerly scheduled to debut this November around the world, has since been postponed to 2006 so that the developer can continue to make the game better.
"After much discussion, the Zelda development team has requested extra time to add new levels, more depth and even higher quality to Zelda: Twilight Princess," said Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan. "Consequently, we're announcing a new global launch in 2006, after the conclusion of this fiscal year (March 31). We'll provide a specific date at a later point in time. While this may come as a disappointment to many eager fans, it will absolutely enrich the game and make it a multi-million seller."
Twilight Princess, developed by Nintendo and directed by Majora's Mask overseer Eiji Aonuma, was previously set to be the company's big holiday game. In fact, analysts expected the game to be Nintendo's single greatest deterrent to consumers potentially interested in Microsoft's next-generation console, Xbox 360, which is set for a November launch. The delay leaves Nintendo without a major holiday release on GameCube.
In the epic adventure, a 17-year-old Link travels across a gritty, realistic world and is able to move into an alternate dark land called the Twilight Realm, where he transforms into a wolf. Twilight Princess won a number of considerations by critics when it was presented in playable form at the Electronics Entertainment Expo. However, even then, members of the development team hinted in interviews that they would have to work overtime in order to meet a holiday release.
Speaking with IGN, Kaplan elaborated on the delay of the new Zelda. She explained that Nintendo has not yet committed to a new release date for the game, except to say that it would arrive sometime after March 2006. "But it will be worth the wait," she added.
Asked whether Nintendo would launch any previously unannounced GameCube titles this holiday to stand in for Zelda, Kaplan pointed to already-shown software.
"Of course, we don't suggest that any game can replace the unique nature of Zelda. However, GameCube owners have an excellent lineup of new games from which to choose, including Battalion Wars, Mario Super Baseball, Fire Emblem, Super Mario Strikers, Pokemon XD, and a host of great new games from third party publishers," the Nintendo executive stated. "Add to this a plethora of great DS games, the launch of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and several Wi-Fi games (Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing DS, etc.), plus the launch of Micro (which will be hot!), and there is a lot for consumers to choose from."
With Twilight Princess being pushed in 2006, some Nintendo fans are wondering if the game might ultimately be killed for GameCube and instead repositioned as a launch title for Revolution, the Big N's next-generation platform. Revolution is set to launch sometime in the second half of 2006, according to sources. According to Kaplan, though, the game is still scheduled to ship for GameCube.
"In effect, because of the backward compatibility built into Revolution, every GameCube game also will be a Revolution title," she said. "But we feel a commitment to the GameCube owners who've been patiently awaiting this new Zelda title, and don't want to force them to wait and buy a brand new system in order to play the game."
Kaplan dismissed the notion that the delay of Zelda would put Nintendo in a tricky situation as GameCube owners decide whether or not to stick with the system or purchase Microsoft's new console this November.
"I think we are talking two different things here," she said. "Those who love Zelda will be thrilled when it arrives, and we believe will still want to purchase it even though the wait might have been a disappointment."
The Nintendo spokesperson also had a message for GameCube owners deflated by this latest delay. "Our message is that we understand what a disappointment this is solely because we know people are eager to play Zelda," she said. "The philosophy of 'quality-first' still lives within Nintendo and it's something we won't compromise on. When Zelda game arrives, we hope to hear that players are thrilled with it and believe the wait was worth it. We think it will be."
Nintendo has released seven new screenshots of the game in motion. Readers are directed to our images section for new shots of Link exploring a populated town and manipulating the snow as the wolf.
Friday, August 12, 2005
More News On The Revolution Soon!
The information below was found on a German gaming website, hopefully they are correct. This is great news:
Nintendo has announced that they will reveal more information about their next gen console, the Nintendo Revolution at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany.
At the opening press day at wednesday 17 august, at 10.30 am, Nintendo will have a press conference entitled 'Expand the Definition of Gaming', which will last for 30 minutes.
What Nintendo will exactly show or tell is not known yet, but as Hyrule will be visiting the Leipzig Games Convention, we will be sure to keep you up-to-date on everything Nintendo announces...
It's a short article, but now we know Nintendo have more to reveal of the Revolution. I doubt there'd be much though, since Nintendo would want the most fans to watch the unveiling, and they will do so in the U.S or Japan, I'm hoping the upcoming TGS (Tokyo Game Show).
By the way, the word "On" in the title isn't a clue to any speculation, I spell all the words in my titles in caps -_-.
The information below was found on a German gaming website, hopefully they are correct. This is great news:
Nintendo has announced that they will reveal more information about their next gen console, the Nintendo Revolution at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany.
At the opening press day at wednesday 17 august, at 10.30 am, Nintendo will have a press conference entitled 'Expand the Definition of Gaming', which will last for 30 minutes.
What Nintendo will exactly show or tell is not known yet, but as Hyrule will be visiting the Leipzig Games Convention, we will be sure to keep you up-to-date on everything Nintendo announces...
It's a short article, but now we know Nintendo have more to reveal of the Revolution. I doubt there'd be much though, since Nintendo would want the most fans to watch the unveiling, and they will do so in the U.S or Japan, I'm hoping the upcoming TGS (Tokyo Game Show).
By the way, the word "On" in the title isn't a clue to any speculation, I spell all the words in my titles in caps -_-.
Latest Sales Statistics
Source: Nintendo Insider
(Please note: article written by Johnathan Coley of Nintendo Insider, not me)
Sales in Japan for the week of August 1st through August 7th were again through the roof - 191.40% of the weekly average. Once again, the Nintendo DS is the top system in Japan (sales for a new DS color will show up on next week's charts), with the GameCube selling a bit more than usual (though not by much) thanks to a Pokemon XD GameCube bundle.
But Pokemon didn't reach the top spot -- that award goes to Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 for PlayStation 2, which had a whopping 573,847 sales. Square-Enix's Grandia III for PlayStation 2 was in second with 121,935 sales, while Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness was in third with 103,080 sales.
Fouth through seventh place are all PlayStation 2 games -- Banpresto's Summon Night EX Thesis: Yoake no Tsubasa (95,487), Banpresto's Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 (52,649), From Software's Armored Core: Last Raven (49,203) and SCE's Bleach: Erabareshi Tamashii (41,736). But Nintendo made a showing at the end, with the June 30th DS release Gentle Brain Exercises at #8 (28,291), Sega's June 23rd GBA release The King of Beetle Mushiking: Greatest Champion at #9 (25,247), and Konami's new Power Pocket Koushien for Nintendo DS at #10 (21,525).
Jump Superstars for Nintendo DS released August 8th (with pre-sales over 200,000), along with a new Nintendo DS color, so next week's charts should be very interesting.
Source: Nintendo Insider
(Please note: article written by Johnathan Coley of Nintendo Insider, not me)
Sales in Japan for the week of August 1st through August 7th were again through the roof - 191.40% of the weekly average. Once again, the Nintendo DS is the top system in Japan (sales for a new DS color will show up on next week's charts), with the GameCube selling a bit more than usual (though not by much) thanks to a Pokemon XD GameCube bundle.
But Pokemon didn't reach the top spot -- that award goes to Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 for PlayStation 2, which had a whopping 573,847 sales. Square-Enix's Grandia III for PlayStation 2 was in second with 121,935 sales, while Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness was in third with 103,080 sales.
Fouth through seventh place are all PlayStation 2 games -- Banpresto's Summon Night EX Thesis: Yoake no Tsubasa (95,487), Banpresto's Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 (52,649), From Software's Armored Core: Last Raven (49,203) and SCE's Bleach: Erabareshi Tamashii (41,736). But Nintendo made a showing at the end, with the June 30th DS release Gentle Brain Exercises at #8 (28,291), Sega's June 23rd GBA release The King of Beetle Mushiking: Greatest Champion at #9 (25,247), and Konami's new Power Pocket Koushien for Nintendo DS at #10 (21,525).
Jump Superstars for Nintendo DS released August 8th (with pre-sales over 200,000), along with a new Nintendo DS color, so next week's charts should be very interesting.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
PSP To Interfere With Nintendo's Market?
Of course not, fellow Nintendo gamers can relax. As you probably know, the Sony Playstation Portable will be released on September the first in Australia, for a cost of $429 Australian dollars. Many gamers believe that the PSP is the way to go, that the PSP is the console which will give Sony dominance in the portable gaming market. If you're one of those people, allow me to tell you that YOU'RE WRONG, VERY WRONG.
Firstly, here's some old info on how the Nintendo DS went in terms of sales in Australia. Simply, it has sold like water. When it was first released, the DS grabbed the title of the fastest selling gaming console ever, here's the article:
Biggest weekly launch figure on record
Australia, Melbourne, March 2nd 2005 After it first week on sale the Nintendo DS has broken all current Australian launch sales records* for fastest selling console.
From Thursday 24th February to close of business Sunday 27th February the Nintendo DS sold through a staggering 19191** units to consumers eager to touch the future of gaming.
Nintendo Australia also reports that Super Mario 64 DS and WarioWare<: Touched! were the two highest selling games across all formats.
We are ecstatic at the success the Nintendo DS has shown during this launch period. This is a huge result and we are delighted with it, says Rose Lappin, Director of Sales and Marketing, Nintendo Australia. We look forward to continuing the drive with some strong titles still due for launch and the great support we have received from both retailers and third party publishers.
This momentum is sure to continue with a strong lineup of quality first and third party titles still to come. Titles like Project Rubd, Polariumn and Pokémon Dash from Nintendo, along with Rayman. DS and Tom Clancy Splinter Cell Chaos Theory from Ubisoft, Robots from Vivendi Universal and The URBZ: Sims in The City and Need for Speed Underground 2 from Electronics Arts.
With such a positive initial reaction and such brilliant and innovative games to come, Nintendo Australia expects this sales trend to continue.
Nintendo DS continues to sell at a rapid rate globally, with Nintendo on track to meet its objective of a 6 million unit ship figure by the end of March 2005.
As you can see, the DS sold almost TWENTY THOUSAND units in its first 3 days of launch, and had 6 MILLION UNITS shipped to Australia at the end of March, Australia has a population of about 20 million, so that's over 1 in 4.
But then again, the DS and PSP cannot be fairly compared since the PSP will not be around for another fortnight. So lets take a look at sales in Japan, where Sony's console has already been selling for months. Here are some recent sales statistics:
Now this is laughable, the PSP is selling less than half as much as the DS, which is selling more than the PS2. The gap between the GBASP and PSP is much closer than the gap between the PSP and DS. And this is only Japan, where the DS DIDN"T sell like crazy when released, I can guarantee the differences will be greater here in Australia.
Now of course, there will always be a few clueless Sony fanboys who will blindly stumble into Sony's deathtrap of a console. Well annoying fanboys, read this before you go and have fun with your little PSPs next month. Why is Sony's PSP a deathtrap? I'll explain below.
Firstly, and obviously, the DS has many more features. There are two screens, one a touch screen, voice recognition, wireless multiplayer, Wi-Fi internet play, backwards compatibility, surround sound, more durible game cartridges and a better design. The DS's design allows room for two screens, and fairly large speakers, and still keep the console a compact and portable one. I'm sure you are aware of the PSP's flaws, especially with the popping UMDs and defected square button. Plus, the PSP's screen is unpretected when the console isn't being played, and is free to be scratched, while the DS snaps shut after use to protect both screens. There could be dead pixels, and Sony won't refund or exchange the console unless 5 or more dead pixels are found, while Nintendo will refund the DS if you see a single dead pixel (during warranty period of course).
There has been many cases where the UMD pops out if the console is twisted into a certain position. And problems with the square button include the game not responding to a button, the button not bouncing back after press, and the button being harder to press than usual. Next flaw, the control stick, or shall I say, stud. I've read many complaints about the stud being bent in a bad position when the PSP's being carried around.
Another advantage the DS has over the PSP is innovation. People are developing a Linux OS for the DS (dslinux.org) so it can run as a PDA. Imagine a PDA that has two large screens and can play N64 quality games, for less than $200.
A further advantage is the DS's movie playing capabilities, there's the Play-Yan, or the unofficial movie player. The movie player plays compressed movie and music files straight off a compact flash card. As you know, CF cards cost half as much as the PSP's memory sticks, and the movies are only about 1/4 the size of the original video file. This is a much smarter alternative for the PSP's movie playing capabilities, where memory sticks are expensive, and UMD movies cost even morer than DVDs. Plus there is the problem with the battery life, the DS can play 9 hours of movies non-stop, while the PSP can't do half as much. The movie player can also play basically any media file, while the PSP can only play a few types.
But even after knowing all this, some people (cough* Alex) still believe the PSP to be the better choice? If you're one of them, mind telling me WHY? Is it because of the PSP's larger screen? Well the DS has TWO 3 inch screens compared to the PSP's 4.5 inch, and so they're exactly the same size, trust me I've measured my DS with Sum's PSP. More games? Lol no, the DS's backwards compatibility with GBA games already gives it a 700 game boost at release. Plus there are over 100 games in development for Nintendo's latest portable.
So it's the graphics? Is that it? Well in case you didn't know, Nintendo's Game Boy haas had many opponents in the past, all who offered better graphics and power in their consoles. Two examples are the Bandai's Wonderswan and Sega's Game Gear. As you can see these consoles barely scratched the Game Boy sales, and have now ceased to sell. The Game Gear had GBA quality graphics, and it was the first portable console to have colour. It was up against the old, fat Game Boy with a 2 inch black and white screen. It got hammered.
Alright, so maybe Sony's a smarter company than Bandai and Sega. But even so, the diferrence between the power of the DS and the PSP is only very marginal. The DS is a very powerful system, comparing to it's predecessor, the SP. The Nintendo 64 was 3 times more powerful as the PS1 (processor wise), and the DS could play games in better quality than the Nintendo 64. Nintendo have proved again and again that graphics are all that important, but some ignorant companies like Sony have dismissed the point.
Anyway, to sum it up. The PSP won't have a chance to gain dominance in sales in Australia. The DS is selling madly, and Nintendo are still manufacturing games for the GBA SP. Plus, with the anticipated GB Micro due to be released at the end of the year, and the Xbox 360's launch at around the same time, Sony should just pack up and leave.
If you're a Playstation fanatic and have been offended by my comments, sorry, but I'd like to hear you prove me wrong. If there's anything I've said that you disagree with, please feel free to give me an email, I'll even post it up here in the blog for others to hear your opinions :), and for others to see me cut you down in my reply ;).
Of course not, fellow Nintendo gamers can relax. As you probably know, the Sony Playstation Portable will be released on September the first in Australia, for a cost of $429 Australian dollars. Many gamers believe that the PSP is the way to go, that the PSP is the console which will give Sony dominance in the portable gaming market. If you're one of those people, allow me to tell you that YOU'RE WRONG, VERY WRONG.
Firstly, here's some old info on how the Nintendo DS went in terms of sales in Australia. Simply, it has sold like water. When it was first released, the DS grabbed the title of the fastest selling gaming console ever, here's the article:
Biggest weekly launch figure on record
Australia, Melbourne, March 2nd 2005 After it first week on sale the Nintendo DS has broken all current Australian launch sales records* for fastest selling console.
From Thursday 24th February to close of business Sunday 27th February the Nintendo DS sold through a staggering 19191** units to consumers eager to touch the future of gaming.
Nintendo Australia also reports that Super Mario 64 DS and WarioWare<: Touched! were the two highest selling games across all formats.
We are ecstatic at the success the Nintendo DS has shown during this launch period. This is a huge result and we are delighted with it, says Rose Lappin, Director of Sales and Marketing, Nintendo Australia. We look forward to continuing the drive with some strong titles still due for launch and the great support we have received from both retailers and third party publishers.
This momentum is sure to continue with a strong lineup of quality first and third party titles still to come. Titles like Project Rubd, Polariumn and Pokémon Dash from Nintendo, along with Rayman. DS and Tom Clancy Splinter Cell Chaos Theory from Ubisoft, Robots from Vivendi Universal and The URBZ: Sims in The City and Need for Speed Underground 2 from Electronics Arts.
With such a positive initial reaction and such brilliant and innovative games to come, Nintendo Australia expects this sales trend to continue.
Nintendo DS continues to sell at a rapid rate globally, with Nintendo on track to meet its objective of a 6 million unit ship figure by the end of March 2005.
As you can see, the DS sold almost TWENTY THOUSAND units in its first 3 days of launch, and had 6 MILLION UNITS shipped to Australia at the end of March, Australia has a population of about 20 million, so that's over 1 in 4.
But then again, the DS and PSP cannot be fairly compared since the PSP will not be around for another fortnight. So lets take a look at sales in Japan, where Sony's console has already been selling for months. Here are some recent sales statistics:
Now this is laughable, the PSP is selling less than half as much as the DS, which is selling more than the PS2. The gap between the GBASP and PSP is much closer than the gap between the PSP and DS. And this is only Japan, where the DS DIDN"T sell like crazy when released, I can guarantee the differences will be greater here in Australia.
Now of course, there will always be a few clueless Sony fanboys who will blindly stumble into Sony's deathtrap of a console. Well annoying fanboys, read this before you go and have fun with your little PSPs next month. Why is Sony's PSP a deathtrap? I'll explain below.
Firstly, and obviously, the DS has many more features. There are two screens, one a touch screen, voice recognition, wireless multiplayer, Wi-Fi internet play, backwards compatibility, surround sound, more durible game cartridges and a better design. The DS's design allows room for two screens, and fairly large speakers, and still keep the console a compact and portable one. I'm sure you are aware of the PSP's flaws, especially with the popping UMDs and defected square button. Plus, the PSP's screen is unpretected when the console isn't being played, and is free to be scratched, while the DS snaps shut after use to protect both screens. There could be dead pixels, and Sony won't refund or exchange the console unless 5 or more dead pixels are found, while Nintendo will refund the DS if you see a single dead pixel (during warranty period of course).
There has been many cases where the UMD pops out if the console is twisted into a certain position. And problems with the square button include the game not responding to a button, the button not bouncing back after press, and the button being harder to press than usual. Next flaw, the control stick, or shall I say, stud. I've read many complaints about the stud being bent in a bad position when the PSP's being carried around.
Another advantage the DS has over the PSP is innovation. People are developing a Linux OS for the DS (dslinux.org) so it can run as a PDA. Imagine a PDA that has two large screens and can play N64 quality games, for less than $200.
A further advantage is the DS's movie playing capabilities, there's the Play-Yan, or the unofficial movie player. The movie player plays compressed movie and music files straight off a compact flash card. As you know, CF cards cost half as much as the PSP's memory sticks, and the movies are only about 1/4 the size of the original video file. This is a much smarter alternative for the PSP's movie playing capabilities, where memory sticks are expensive, and UMD movies cost even morer than DVDs. Plus there is the problem with the battery life, the DS can play 9 hours of movies non-stop, while the PSP can't do half as much. The movie player can also play basically any media file, while the PSP can only play a few types.
But even after knowing all this, some people (cough* Alex) still believe the PSP to be the better choice? If you're one of them, mind telling me WHY? Is it because of the PSP's larger screen? Well the DS has TWO 3 inch screens compared to the PSP's 4.5 inch, and so they're exactly the same size, trust me I've measured my DS with Sum's PSP. More games? Lol no, the DS's backwards compatibility with GBA games already gives it a 700 game boost at release. Plus there are over 100 games in development for Nintendo's latest portable.
So it's the graphics? Is that it? Well in case you didn't know, Nintendo's Game Boy haas had many opponents in the past, all who offered better graphics and power in their consoles. Two examples are the Bandai's Wonderswan and Sega's Game Gear. As you can see these consoles barely scratched the Game Boy sales, and have now ceased to sell. The Game Gear had GBA quality graphics, and it was the first portable console to have colour. It was up against the old, fat Game Boy with a 2 inch black and white screen. It got hammered.
Alright, so maybe Sony's a smarter company than Bandai and Sega. But even so, the diferrence between the power of the DS and the PSP is only very marginal. The DS is a very powerful system, comparing to it's predecessor, the SP. The Nintendo 64 was 3 times more powerful as the PS1 (processor wise), and the DS could play games in better quality than the Nintendo 64. Nintendo have proved again and again that graphics are all that important, but some ignorant companies like Sony have dismissed the point.
Anyway, to sum it up. The PSP won't have a chance to gain dominance in sales in Australia. The DS is selling madly, and Nintendo are still manufacturing games for the GBA SP. Plus, with the anticipated GB Micro due to be released at the end of the year, and the Xbox 360's launch at around the same time, Sony should just pack up and leave.
If you're a Playstation fanatic and have been offended by my comments, sorry, but I'd like to hear you prove me wrong. If there's anything I've said that you disagree with, please feel free to give me an email, I'll even post it up here in the blog for others to hear your opinions :), and for others to see me cut you down in my reply ;).
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Revolution, The Return Of The King?
I've been reading some older reviews and listening to interviews concerning Nintendo next generation console, the Revolution. This post isn't any news on the system, sorry to get your hopes up. I just decided to be a bit like serious gamer (seriousgamer007.blogspot.com), and give you some info (of my own) on the Revolution. Here is my theory: The Revolution is BIG... not physically, it's tiny.
Firstly, here are some quotes made by the president of Big N, Satoru Iwata himself.
"The word DIFFERENT defines our approach for Nintendo's next system"
"Better technology is good, but NOT ENOUGH. Today's consoles already offer fairly photo-realistc expressions, and simply beefing up those graphics will not let most of us see a difference. For both game creators and game players, a new machine needs to do MUCH MORE"
"I want you to know that Nintendo is working on its next system, and that system will create a GAMING REVOLUTION"
"When the impact of the next home machines come (PS3 & 360), our Revolution will be there"
"The time when horsepower alone made an important difference is over"
"We must concentrate on creating new unprecidented gaming experiences, something no other machine has delivered before"
"When you see it, you will be excited, because you will experience a gaming REVOLUTION"
I have that last quote on my wallpaper, next to a pic of Satoru :P. These quotes were from Iwata's speech about the Revolution at e3 2004. That was the time when the Gamecube was losing in sales, and people began to dismiss Nintendo's home console as a threat. and yet the Nintendo president makes these bold statements. If he was lieing, it would be the end for Nintendo (for home consoles anyway, they're still holding 78% of the portable market, even after the release of the PSP).
I don't remember Nintendo ever boasting about their consoles in the past. For example Sony boasted the power of the PS1, the N64 turned out to be 3 times as powerful. They boasted about PS2's power, it was less than half as powerful in terms of graphics and processor compared to the Gamecube. They boasted about the PSP, and the DS is selling over twice as much in Japan. And now they're boasting about the PS3's power.
Anyway, back to the topic. Nintendo really must have some big ideas up their sleeve on their Revolution. They are boasting more, and being as secretive as ever. now lets see what we know about the Revolution. It has inbuilt out of the box Wi-Fi, and wireless online play will be free. It can download 20 years of past Nintendo games for a small fee, or with offers. It will have 512 megabytes of flash memory to sotre downloaded games. It has Gamecube controller and memory card ports on the side, for backwards compatibility. The console is about the size of 3 DVD cases, that's more or less the same size as the slimline PS2, while the 360 is almost as large as the Xbox, and PS3 is even bigger (and has grilling capabilities). And we know it will not support high definition.
And for the controller: We know they are wireless. We know they will have inbuilt gyroscopes to sense motion. We know they hold the Revolutionary feature of the system, and we know they are Nintendo's secret weapon which got the Nintendo President so excited.
In my opinion, the Revolution is already very cool, even without the Revolutionary feature. I'd already buy this console over the PS3 and Xbox 360, Smash Bros online with a wireless controller would rule :D. And Nintendo's saved the best till last, hopefully the controller's secret will be revealed soon... the Revolution will own.
In the words of serious gamer, BELIEVE, Nintendo will deliever!
;)
I've been reading some older reviews and listening to interviews concerning Nintendo next generation console, the Revolution. This post isn't any news on the system, sorry to get your hopes up. I just decided to be a bit like serious gamer (seriousgamer007.blogspot.com), and give you some info (of my own) on the Revolution. Here is my theory: The Revolution is BIG... not physically, it's tiny.
Firstly, here are some quotes made by the president of Big N, Satoru Iwata himself.
"The word DIFFERENT defines our approach for Nintendo's next system"
"Better technology is good, but NOT ENOUGH. Today's consoles already offer fairly photo-realistc expressions, and simply beefing up those graphics will not let most of us see a difference. For both game creators and game players, a new machine needs to do MUCH MORE"
"I want you to know that Nintendo is working on its next system, and that system will create a GAMING REVOLUTION"
"When the impact of the next home machines come (PS3 & 360), our Revolution will be there"
"The time when horsepower alone made an important difference is over"
"We must concentrate on creating new unprecidented gaming experiences, something no other machine has delivered before"
"When you see it, you will be excited, because you will experience a gaming REVOLUTION"
I have that last quote on my wallpaper, next to a pic of Satoru :P. These quotes were from Iwata's speech about the Revolution at e3 2004. That was the time when the Gamecube was losing in sales, and people began to dismiss Nintendo's home console as a threat. and yet the Nintendo president makes these bold statements. If he was lieing, it would be the end for Nintendo (for home consoles anyway, they're still holding 78% of the portable market, even after the release of the PSP).
I don't remember Nintendo ever boasting about their consoles in the past. For example Sony boasted the power of the PS1, the N64 turned out to be 3 times as powerful. They boasted about PS2's power, it was less than half as powerful in terms of graphics and processor compared to the Gamecube. They boasted about the PSP, and the DS is selling over twice as much in Japan. And now they're boasting about the PS3's power.
Anyway, back to the topic. Nintendo really must have some big ideas up their sleeve on their Revolution. They are boasting more, and being as secretive as ever. now lets see what we know about the Revolution. It has inbuilt out of the box Wi-Fi, and wireless online play will be free. It can download 20 years of past Nintendo games for a small fee, or with offers. It will have 512 megabytes of flash memory to sotre downloaded games. It has Gamecube controller and memory card ports on the side, for backwards compatibility. The console is about the size of 3 DVD cases, that's more or less the same size as the slimline PS2, while the 360 is almost as large as the Xbox, and PS3 is even bigger (and has grilling capabilities). And we know it will not support high definition.
And for the controller: We know they are wireless. We know they will have inbuilt gyroscopes to sense motion. We know they hold the Revolutionary feature of the system, and we know they are Nintendo's secret weapon which got the Nintendo President so excited.
In my opinion, the Revolution is already very cool, even without the Revolutionary feature. I'd already buy this console over the PS3 and Xbox 360, Smash Bros online with a wireless controller would rule :D. And Nintendo's saved the best till last, hopefully the controller's secret will be revealed soon... the Revolution will own.
In the words of serious gamer, BELIEVE, Nintendo will deliever!
;)
Metroid Prime 3 Details
Source: IGN
(please note: This article taken from IGN.com, and is not written by me)
Nintendo showcased a brief glimpse of Metroid Prime 3, the next installment in the popular franchise, during last May's Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. But the company's quick video of the game revealed next to nothing and it has remained silent on the subject ever since.
But some news on the anticipated Revolution-bound sequel is finally starting to hit. Nintendo's official Metroid series site, Luminoth Temple, recently conducted an interview with MP3 developer Retro Studios. Although details on the game were still scarce, some interesting factoids were nevertheless confirmed.
Retro acknowledged that Metroid Prime 3 would bring the trilogy to an end. "The plot of Prime 3 is about closure, told against the backdrop of an epic struggle," Retro revealed.
Once more, Samus Aran's adventure will take place in first-person mode. "We don't plan on using a third-person camera for the times when Samus is in a suit," the company confirmed.
The mysterious material Phazon will again play an integral role in the adventure. Aran will this time battle Metroid enemies and other, completely new threats, according to the studio.
The game will be enhanced by way of Nintendo's new controller for Revolution. "We plan on taking advantage of a number of new features in the Revolution, including the controller," the developer said.
Although Nintendo has downplayed the raw processing power of Revolution, saying that it has designed the console to be small, quiet and affordable, Retro seems confident that it will be able to take the franchise to new visual heights. "The 'engine' [we developed] underwent drastic improvements between Metroid Prime 1 and 2, and will see even more between 2 and 3," the company stated. "Our engineers are a very talented and dedicated bunch, and they're constantly looking for ways to make our games run smoother with more detail."
Music production on the game has yet to begin, but Retro confirmed that famed composer Kenji Yamamoto, responsible for the moody music in the first two games, will be returning for Prime 3. "We hope to take the music into some new directions for this title, and there's no doubt Mr. Yamamoto is going to relish the challenge," it said.
And finally, good news for fans of Andrew Jones, the talented Retro Studios artist who created some of the compelling concept art that helped define the game's style and ambience. Though recent rumors suggest he left the company, Retro confirmed that he is, in fact, lending his talents to the new project.
Metroid Prime 3 is set for to hit Revolution sometime in 2006. Stay tuned for more as it develops.
Source: IGN
(please note: This article taken from IGN.com, and is not written by me)
Nintendo showcased a brief glimpse of Metroid Prime 3, the next installment in the popular franchise, during last May's Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. But the company's quick video of the game revealed next to nothing and it has remained silent on the subject ever since.
But some news on the anticipated Revolution-bound sequel is finally starting to hit. Nintendo's official Metroid series site, Luminoth Temple, recently conducted an interview with MP3 developer Retro Studios. Although details on the game were still scarce, some interesting factoids were nevertheless confirmed.
Retro acknowledged that Metroid Prime 3 would bring the trilogy to an end. "The plot of Prime 3 is about closure, told against the backdrop of an epic struggle," Retro revealed.
Once more, Samus Aran's adventure will take place in first-person mode. "We don't plan on using a third-person camera for the times when Samus is in a suit," the company confirmed.
The mysterious material Phazon will again play an integral role in the adventure. Aran will this time battle Metroid enemies and other, completely new threats, according to the studio.
The game will be enhanced by way of Nintendo's new controller for Revolution. "We plan on taking advantage of a number of new features in the Revolution, including the controller," the developer said.
Although Nintendo has downplayed the raw processing power of Revolution, saying that it has designed the console to be small, quiet and affordable, Retro seems confident that it will be able to take the franchise to new visual heights. "The 'engine' [we developed] underwent drastic improvements between Metroid Prime 1 and 2, and will see even more between 2 and 3," the company stated. "Our engineers are a very talented and dedicated bunch, and they're constantly looking for ways to make our games run smoother with more detail."
Music production on the game has yet to begin, but Retro confirmed that famed composer Kenji Yamamoto, responsible for the moody music in the first two games, will be returning for Prime 3. "We hope to take the music into some new directions for this title, and there's no doubt Mr. Yamamoto is going to relish the challenge," it said.
And finally, good news for fans of Andrew Jones, the talented Retro Studios artist who created some of the compelling concept art that helped define the game's style and ambience. Though recent rumors suggest he left the company, Retro confirmed that he is, in fact, lending his talents to the new project.
Metroid Prime 3 is set for to hit Revolution sometime in 2006. Stay tuned for more as it develops.
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
Nintendo's long-anticipated next installment in the Pokemon series, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, is now available in Japan.
Pokemon XD seems to follow in the footsteps of its Colosseum-based predecessors, serving up a Pocket Monster-themed storyline that's more or less there to connect the battles. Gamers become a Pokemon trainer and journey through a futuristic landscape filled with the critters. The graphical presentation seems marginally improved over previous Poke-outings, and like Pokemon Colloseum for the Gamecube, the game music owns :P!
Nintendo's long-anticipated next installment in the Pokemon series, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, is now available in Japan.
Pokemon XD seems to follow in the footsteps of its Colosseum-based predecessors, serving up a Pocket Monster-themed storyline that's more or less there to connect the battles. Gamers become a Pokemon trainer and journey through a futuristic landscape filled with the critters. The graphical presentation seems marginally improved over previous Poke-outings, and like Pokemon Colloseum for the Gamecube, the game music owns :P!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Top 25 GCN Games Of All Time
"Released in November of 2001, the GameCube is home to some of the most addictive games of the past four years. Don't be fooled by the itty-bitty form factor: there's a lot of big fun locked away in there, particularly when it comes to multiplayer throwdowns. After a lot of internal debate GameSpy is pleased to list the picks for the Top 25 GameCube Games of All-Time."
Gamespy has released it's list for the top 25 Gamecube games that are currently available. The list with game information is available at:
http://cube.gamespy.com/articles/639/639689p1.html
Here are the top 25 according to the lis (in order):
1. Resident Evil 4
2. The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker
3. Metroid Prime
4. Super Smash Bros Melee
5. Soul Calibur 2
6. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
7. Beyond Good And Evil
8. Mario Kart: Double Dash
9. Viewtiful Joe
10. Super Mario Sunshine
11. Super Monkey Ball 2
12. Animal Crossing
13. Metroid Prime 2 Echoes
14. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
15. Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II (requires GC Broadband Adaptor for online play)
16. Pikmin 2
17. F-Zero GX
18. The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition
19. SSX 3
20. The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures
21. Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II
22. NBA Street Vol. 2
23. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
24. Resident Evil Remake
25. Ikaruga
Personally, I reckon there are many games missing on the list that deserve a place in the top 25. Some I can think of are Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Tales Of Symphonia, Bloody Roar: Primal Fury, Cel Damage, Mario Power Tennis, Timesplitters 2 and Future Perfect, and Donkey Konga. Certainly I'd give these games a higher rating than Zelda Four Swords (which offers GBA graphics on the Gamecube, and Zelda: Collector's Edition, which was basically an N64 game on the Gamecube -_-.
"Released in November of 2001, the GameCube is home to some of the most addictive games of the past four years. Don't be fooled by the itty-bitty form factor: there's a lot of big fun locked away in there, particularly when it comes to multiplayer throwdowns. After a lot of internal debate GameSpy is pleased to list the picks for the Top 25 GameCube Games of All-Time."
Gamespy has released it's list for the top 25 Gamecube games that are currently available. The list with game information is available at:
http://cube.gamespy.com/articles/639/639689p1.html
Here are the top 25 according to the lis (in order):
1. Resident Evil 4
2. The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker
3. Metroid Prime
4. Super Smash Bros Melee
5. Soul Calibur 2
6. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
7. Beyond Good And Evil
8. Mario Kart: Double Dash
9. Viewtiful Joe
10. Super Mario Sunshine
11. Super Monkey Ball 2
12. Animal Crossing
13. Metroid Prime 2 Echoes
14. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
15. Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II (requires GC Broadband Adaptor for online play)
16. Pikmin 2
17. F-Zero GX
18. The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition
19. SSX 3
20. The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures
21. Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II
22. NBA Street Vol. 2
23. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
24. Resident Evil Remake
25. Ikaruga
Personally, I reckon there are many games missing on the list that deserve a place in the top 25. Some I can think of are Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Tales Of Symphonia, Bloody Roar: Primal Fury, Cel Damage, Mario Power Tennis, Timesplitters 2 and Future Perfect, and Donkey Konga. Certainly I'd give these games a higher rating than Zelda Four Swords (which offers GBA graphics on the Gamecube, and Zelda: Collector's Edition, which was basically an N64 game on the Gamecube -_-.
Icarus Revolution promos
Here´s two promo screens for an alleged ´Icarus´ game for Revolution, being developed by Capcom. These look very professional. Also, dropping the word ´Kid´ from the title would go along with current Nintendo strategy. Zelda is getting darker and more grown up. Even Mario was said to become more mature, I seem to recall.
I got these screens from RevoGaming, though. And I am hesitant about that source, to say the least. They did get them from some forum, though.
Here´s what they had to say about the images:
"An image has surfaced on various internet forums that is supposedly some sort of artwork for the rumoured Kid Icarus Nintendo Revolution game. (...)
The image portrays a more mature, realistic and gritty Icarus, who has dropped the 'Kid' name as well as the theme. Although the image is probably a fake, it is interesting that it bears the same glowing Nintendo logo as many of the supposed Nintendo Revolution advertisements."
Here´s two promo screens for an alleged ´Icarus´ game for Revolution, being developed by Capcom. These look very professional. Also, dropping the word ´Kid´ from the title would go along with current Nintendo strategy. Zelda is getting darker and more grown up. Even Mario was said to become more mature, I seem to recall.
I got these screens from RevoGaming, though. And I am hesitant about that source, to say the least. They did get them from some forum, though.
Here´s what they had to say about the images:
"An image has surfaced on various internet forums that is supposedly some sort of artwork for the rumoured Kid Icarus Nintendo Revolution game. (...)
The image portrays a more mature, realistic and gritty Icarus, who has dropped the 'Kid' name as well as the theme. Although the image is probably a fake, it is interesting that it bears the same glowing Nintendo logo as many of the supposed Nintendo Revolution advertisements."
Monday, August 08, 2005
Wi-Fi On DS Very Soon
When Nintendo first released its much-anticipated handheld game device, the DS, last year, it excitedly promoted many things about it. The dual screens, for example. The stylus. The fact that it was released before Sony's PSP.
But one thing it didn't talk too much about was that the DS has built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, and in fact one of the basic DS games, "Pictochat," incorporates that feature so that many players can play together wirelessly when in close proximity.
But even as Nintendo was staying largely quiet about Wi-Fi on the DS, a lot of other people were thinking about it. Hackers, for example, were busy racing against each other to try to find ways to let people not only play wirelessly, but also play across the Internet.
Then a group of young geeks from Los Angeles decided to put the Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS and the PS through their paces. Among many more mundane things they tried: playing games wirelessly from car to car, or even from subway car to subway car, they also found they could play "Super Mario Brothers" while falling from the sky (people played Mario 64 DS while parachuting, DS was also the first console to reach the top of mt. Everest, although this is old news).
Nintendo has finally decided to promote the DS' Wi-Fi features. So the company has a commercial, "The Sad, Agonizing Tale of Bhuvan Ganguly," playing in movie theaters these days which, while not entirely straightforward, nonetheless is all about pushing Wi-Fi on the DS.
The commercial is available for viewing here (although it's over a week old, and ANY decent Nintendo fan should have already seen it :P).
When Nintendo first released its much-anticipated handheld game device, the DS, last year, it excitedly promoted many things about it. The dual screens, for example. The stylus. The fact that it was released before Sony's PSP.
But one thing it didn't talk too much about was that the DS has built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, and in fact one of the basic DS games, "Pictochat," incorporates that feature so that many players can play together wirelessly when in close proximity.
But even as Nintendo was staying largely quiet about Wi-Fi on the DS, a lot of other people were thinking about it. Hackers, for example, were busy racing against each other to try to find ways to let people not only play wirelessly, but also play across the Internet.
Then a group of young geeks from Los Angeles decided to put the Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS and the PS through their paces. Among many more mundane things they tried: playing games wirelessly from car to car, or even from subway car to subway car, they also found they could play "Super Mario Brothers" while falling from the sky (people played Mario 64 DS while parachuting, DS was also the first console to reach the top of mt. Everest, although this is old news).
Nintendo has finally decided to promote the DS' Wi-Fi features. So the company has a commercial, "The Sad, Agonizing Tale of Bhuvan Ganguly," playing in movie theaters these days which, while not entirely straightforward, nonetheless is all about pushing Wi-Fi on the DS.
The commercial is available for viewing here (although it's over a week old, and ANY decent Nintendo fan should have already seen it :P).
"People Are Threatening to Kill Me"
Source: Nintendo Insider, article by Johnathan Coley
(Note: Not written by me, this article is sourced from nintendoinsider.com)
After an ardent media blitz, taking aim at Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and other games, one Miami-based attorney, Jack Thompson, is now calling on two Democratic senators and the FBI to investigate threats against his life, which he says prove video games make people want to murder others.
Further, Thompson is now taking aim at video games journalists everywhere. In a letter to Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), the attorney claimed, "None of the "video game media" will report that the gamers are threatening to kill me, although I have asked them to report this phenomenon, as it reveals the validity of the above two points.
"The attorney is no stranger to controversy. According to the encyclopedia Wikipedia, after losing to Janet Reno for the office of Dade County State Attorney in 1988, Thompson claimed the future United States Attorney General was a "closet lesbian suffering from various mental disorders as side effects of Parkinson's medication," and that she was "being blackmailed by the Mafia.
"The attorney is most notorious for his suits on video games publishers, however, claiming that video games were responsible for the Columbine High School massacre and the Washington Sniper, and filing suits against video games publishers after various shootings and deaths in the past. He has also compared Doug Lowenstein of the Entertainment Software Association to Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler and Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in interviews with CBS and Electronic Gaming Monthly.
But after a July 2005 media blitz against publishers for games such as The Sims 2, Gran Theft Auto: San Andreas and killer7 (in which controversy abounded as well - the attorney claimed San Andreas allowed players to rape and kill pregnant women and children, and that the Sims 2 was a "pedophile training tool"), he's now asking the FBI to investigate threats against his life, and is attacking the video games media for a supposed blacklist of his claims.
Source: Nintendo Insider, article by Johnathan Coley
(Note: Not written by me, this article is sourced from nintendoinsider.com)
After an ardent media blitz, taking aim at Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and other games, one Miami-based attorney, Jack Thompson, is now calling on two Democratic senators and the FBI to investigate threats against his life, which he says prove video games make people want to murder others.
Further, Thompson is now taking aim at video games journalists everywhere. In a letter to Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), the attorney claimed, "None of the "video game media" will report that the gamers are threatening to kill me, although I have asked them to report this phenomenon, as it reveals the validity of the above two points.
"The attorney is no stranger to controversy. According to the encyclopedia Wikipedia, after losing to Janet Reno for the office of Dade County State Attorney in 1988, Thompson claimed the future United States Attorney General was a "closet lesbian suffering from various mental disorders as side effects of Parkinson's medication," and that she was "being blackmailed by the Mafia.
"The attorney is most notorious for his suits on video games publishers, however, claiming that video games were responsible for the Columbine High School massacre and the Washington Sniper, and filing suits against video games publishers after various shootings and deaths in the past. He has also compared Doug Lowenstein of the Entertainment Software Association to Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler and Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in interviews with CBS and Electronic Gaming Monthly.
But after a July 2005 media blitz against publishers for games such as The Sims 2, Gran Theft Auto: San Andreas and killer7 (in which controversy abounded as well - the attorney claimed San Andreas allowed players to rape and kill pregnant women and children, and that the Sims 2 was a "pedophile training tool"), he's now asking the FBI to investigate threats against his life, and is attacking the video games media for a supposed blacklist of his claims.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
New Console Wars Statistics
Source: Nintendo Insider, post by Johnathan Coley
Sales for the week of July 25th through 31st in Japan reached an amazing 174.92% of the weekly average, with one PlayStation 2 title selling over 470,000 units. However, this couldn't stop the Nintendo DS' streak in Japan, as the system was still on top, selling over 10,000 more units than the PlayStation 2.
Banpresto's Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 for PlayStation 2 was the big #1 seller (470,003 units), and the next five titles in the top 10 were also brand new PS2 games - Sega's Let's make professional baseball teams! 3 (58,230), Aruze's RPG Shadow Hearts: From the New World (51,829), Genki's KAIDO: Touge no Densetsu (51,512), Tecmo's Zero -Shisei no Koe- (38,617) and D3 Publisher's SIMPLE 2000 Series Vol.81: The Earth Defense Forces 2 (36,604). At #7 was Konami's brand new Boktai 3 for Game Boy Advance with 36,339 sales, and besides Konami's #8 Magister Negi Magi 2 for PlayStation 2 (35,378), the #9 and #10 titles were also on Nintendo systems - Nintendo's popular June 30th release, Gentle Brain Exercises for Nintendo DS (31,772), and Sega's even more popular June 23rd release, The King of Beetle Mushiking: Greatest Champion (30,726). Gentle Brain Exercises has now sold over 250,000 units in Japan, and Mushiking has over lifetime 400,000 sales.
In the much hyped Nintendo DS vs. PlayStation Portable sales race in Japan, the Nintendo DS continues to build a comfortable lead, as you can see in the above graph. Overall, the Nintendo DS has sold 1,168,064 more units than PlayStation Portable. Though the 2005-only numbers are much closer (the DS has sold 154,720 more), the DS has now topped the PSP for nearly twenty weeks.
Source: Nintendo Insider, post by Johnathan Coley
Sales for the week of July 25th through 31st in Japan reached an amazing 174.92% of the weekly average, with one PlayStation 2 title selling over 470,000 units. However, this couldn't stop the Nintendo DS' streak in Japan, as the system was still on top, selling over 10,000 more units than the PlayStation 2.
Banpresto's Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 for PlayStation 2 was the big #1 seller (470,003 units), and the next five titles in the top 10 were also brand new PS2 games - Sega's Let's make professional baseball teams! 3 (58,230), Aruze's RPG Shadow Hearts: From the New World (51,829), Genki's KAIDO: Touge no Densetsu (51,512), Tecmo's Zero -Shisei no Koe- (38,617) and D3 Publisher's SIMPLE 2000 Series Vol.81: The Earth Defense Forces 2 (36,604). At #7 was Konami's brand new Boktai 3 for Game Boy Advance with 36,339 sales, and besides Konami's #8 Magister Negi Magi 2 for PlayStation 2 (35,378), the #9 and #10 titles were also on Nintendo systems - Nintendo's popular June 30th release, Gentle Brain Exercises for Nintendo DS (31,772), and Sega's even more popular June 23rd release, The King of Beetle Mushiking: Greatest Champion (30,726). Gentle Brain Exercises has now sold over 250,000 units in Japan, and Mushiking has over lifetime 400,000 sales.
In the much hyped Nintendo DS vs. PlayStation Portable sales race in Japan, the Nintendo DS continues to build a comfortable lead, as you can see in the above graph. Overall, the Nintendo DS has sold 1,168,064 more units than PlayStation Portable. Though the 2005-only numbers are much closer (the DS has sold 154,720 more), the DS has now topped the PSP for nearly twenty weeks.
More Visor Speculation
I believe that, after doing some researching, a visor for the Revolution could be more likely than you think. The stuff below is my own speculation (please don't laugh, I know it's far fetched, but I haven't given up on the On :).
Ok firstly, why didn't Nintendo show the controller at e3? When asked, they said that they didn't want other companies copying their idea. This (probably) means that just by LOOKING at the Revolution's controller, you would get a pretty good idea of what the system's Revolutionary feature is. There must be something with the controller, that when you take a glance at it, you'd think "Oh, so THAT'S what the Revolution can do!" This could quite possibly mean a visor, plus an additional wireless controller with inbuilt gyroscopes. Only the controller and no visor? If that were the case, Microsoft and Sony can already copy the idea. It doesn't take long to find some speculation about gyroscopic controllers on the net, they could easily take the idea and claim it their own (as Ninty hasn't revealed anything), but it is clear they gyroscopic controllers do not appeal to them for PS3 and 360.
Nintendo also said that the controller wasn't finished, another reason for its absence at e3. But they haven't finialised the console either. They could have done the same thing with the controller: show it, but not reveal the specs. The development for the Revolution began shortly after the launch of the Gamecube, that was over 3 years ago, surely Nintendo have some kind of concept for the controller developed. Again, this means that just by revealing the design of the controller gives away too much information about the system.
Next thing, when Reggie dismissed the On video as a fake, he didn't dismiss the idea of a headset. Remember president Iwata telling us to "look to the internet" for more clues on the Revolution? He was obviously trying to generate hype (and has been sucessful), making every Nintendo fan speculate and pass rumours around the net. Now if the Revo didn't have a visor, shouldn't Reggie openly state it at e3? He shouldn't want nintendo fans to be heading in the wrong direction with the speculation, cause then many will be expecting too much from the Revo, and will be disappointed at the real thing. With him not dismissing the visor idea, it could mean that the actual revolution has something BETTER than a 3d visor (which I seriously doubt), or it DOES have a visor.
Now, Miyamoto did say that the Revolution controllers will be wireless, and there are clearly no ports on the console for controllers (except for the side ports for the GC). So the idea of a headset is virtually impossible. That is what I thought until I realised - this is kinda stupid - the visor doesn't have to be wireless. Only the controllers are wireless, the visor could connect to a power source when it's used, and the problem of the battery being drained too quickly is eliminated.
Last thing, yes, I know that eMagin's latest stereoscopic visor costs $899 U.S, and there's no way that nintendo could squash the price down enough for the Revolution to be a "cheap and affordable console". But what if they dump the console (sell at a loss) like MS did with the Xbox. I reckon Ninty can probably lower the price by $100-$200 to produce, and then sell at a loss? I know this sounds crazy, but Nintendo has billions of dollars in reserve (7 billion according to seriousgamer007), they can afford to take the loss. If this happens, then Xbox360 and PS3 are COMPLETELY OUT OF THE COMPETITION. There's no way they can compete with a console like that. Sure a few loyal fans will still purchase those systems, but it will still be a massive blow to Sony and MS's sales, and with Nintendo back in dominance, maybe Ninty can make up the loss through the downloading games, Revo games, and the Revolution console. Nintendo will also still be receiving a large amount of profit from the GBASP DS and GB Micro sales. They should be able to make up for the losses, and I believe that if MS and Sony see their console getting whipped by the Revolution, will surely "chuck a Dreamcast" and cease selling, thus giving Nintendo all the marketshare. Then when hardware costs drop, Nintendo beign making a profit again.
Sounds far-fetched? I don't really believe it either ;).
I believe that, after doing some researching, a visor for the Revolution could be more likely than you think. The stuff below is my own speculation (please don't laugh, I know it's far fetched, but I haven't given up on the On :).
Ok firstly, why didn't Nintendo show the controller at e3? When asked, they said that they didn't want other companies copying their idea. This (probably) means that just by LOOKING at the Revolution's controller, you would get a pretty good idea of what the system's Revolutionary feature is. There must be something with the controller, that when you take a glance at it, you'd think "Oh, so THAT'S what the Revolution can do!" This could quite possibly mean a visor, plus an additional wireless controller with inbuilt gyroscopes. Only the controller and no visor? If that were the case, Microsoft and Sony can already copy the idea. It doesn't take long to find some speculation about gyroscopic controllers on the net, they could easily take the idea and claim it their own (as Ninty hasn't revealed anything), but it is clear they gyroscopic controllers do not appeal to them for PS3 and 360.
Nintendo also said that the controller wasn't finished, another reason for its absence at e3. But they haven't finialised the console either. They could have done the same thing with the controller: show it, but not reveal the specs. The development for the Revolution began shortly after the launch of the Gamecube, that was over 3 years ago, surely Nintendo have some kind of concept for the controller developed. Again, this means that just by revealing the design of the controller gives away too much information about the system.
Next thing, when Reggie dismissed the On video as a fake, he didn't dismiss the idea of a headset. Remember president Iwata telling us to "look to the internet" for more clues on the Revolution? He was obviously trying to generate hype (and has been sucessful), making every Nintendo fan speculate and pass rumours around the net. Now if the Revo didn't have a visor, shouldn't Reggie openly state it at e3? He shouldn't want nintendo fans to be heading in the wrong direction with the speculation, cause then many will be expecting too much from the Revo, and will be disappointed at the real thing. With him not dismissing the visor idea, it could mean that the actual revolution has something BETTER than a 3d visor (which I seriously doubt), or it DOES have a visor.
Now, Miyamoto did say that the Revolution controllers will be wireless, and there are clearly no ports on the console for controllers (except for the side ports for the GC). So the idea of a headset is virtually impossible. That is what I thought until I realised - this is kinda stupid - the visor doesn't have to be wireless. Only the controllers are wireless, the visor could connect to a power source when it's used, and the problem of the battery being drained too quickly is eliminated.
Last thing, yes, I know that eMagin's latest stereoscopic visor costs $899 U.S, and there's no way that nintendo could squash the price down enough for the Revolution to be a "cheap and affordable console". But what if they dump the console (sell at a loss) like MS did with the Xbox. I reckon Ninty can probably lower the price by $100-$200 to produce, and then sell at a loss? I know this sounds crazy, but Nintendo has billions of dollars in reserve (7 billion according to seriousgamer007), they can afford to take the loss. If this happens, then Xbox360 and PS3 are COMPLETELY OUT OF THE COMPETITION. There's no way they can compete with a console like that. Sure a few loyal fans will still purchase those systems, but it will still be a massive blow to Sony and MS's sales, and with Nintendo back in dominance, maybe Ninty can make up the loss through the downloading games, Revo games, and the Revolution console. Nintendo will also still be receiving a large amount of profit from the GBASP DS and GB Micro sales. They should be able to make up for the losses, and I believe that if MS and Sony see their console getting whipped by the Revolution, will surely "chuck a Dreamcast" and cease selling, thus giving Nintendo all the marketshare. Then when hardware costs drop, Nintendo beign making a profit again.
Sounds far-fetched? I don't really believe it either ;).
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