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How Nintendo Could Win It All 245

Posted by Zonk from the roll-it-like-a-katamari dept.
ElFozzie writes "In a huge piece on mobile gaming, Pocket Gamer reports on the latest battles in the handheld console market and reveals why Nintendo might just have the right strategy to win this war. From the article: 'Let's go back the beginning, the games. It's all about the games, Nintendo's faithful fans will argue, and the DS has great, mad and unique games where the PSP so far has, at best, competent-to-very-good PS2-lite fare. Yes, but it's not that simple. See, I was there in the mid '90s playing the genre-defining Mario 64 and the breathtaking Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, perhaps the two greatest games of their generation, on the Nintendo 64. And I remember Sony going on to win that war, and PlayStation becoming the de facto shorthand for 'video games'."
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How Nintendo Could Win It All More

How Nintendo Could Win It All

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  • Heck.... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by caffeinatedOnline ( 926067 ) on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @11:25AM (#15524279) Homepage
    With the way the Nintendo is marketing the Wii, they just might win the console war as well. Now mind you, I am not a Nintendo fan, haven't owned a system by them since the N64. I was one of those people standing out in line in the bitter cold when the 360 launched so I could have a chance to buy one. Now it sits in my entertainment system to occasionally be turned on to watch a DVD or smack down my wife/friends in a friendly game of DOA. It is all speculation on my part, but I will be buying a Wii as soon as I can, and can see it being used often, definitely more often then the 360. It is something that my 2 year old can play, my wife can play, my friends can play, and something that I would want to play. Throw in all the back catalog titles, and it might be used more then the cable box.
    • I'm in the same boat, (except I don't yet own a 360)... I'm entirely certain I will purchase a Wii close to launch, if not on launch. I'm typically not that kind of person. I'm an avid gamer, and I love what hi-def, next-gen brings to the table, but if I can get nearly the entire back-catalogue of NES, SuperNES and N64 games as well as get the cool new games designed to utilize the Wii's strange capabilities... that's what gaming is all about! The reason all of us got into gaming in the first place, was

      • Re:Heck.... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by AugstWest ( 79042 ) on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @11:55AM (#15524588)
        Well, I've got the whole media center thing, and I've got all of the NES/SNES content playable, as well as MAME and Intellivision and ColecoVision and just about any other console you can imagine. It's all on my old XBox, and it works flawlessly. DVD player? Yup. Media Center? Yup. DivX/XVid/AVI/MPG/MP4/RM content? Yup.

        It's the single greatest device I've ever bought, and Microsoft had nothing to do with its greatness. Hell, they try to prevent it.

    • Re:Heck.... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by apoc06 ( 853263 ) on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @11:42AM (#15524451)
      I feel like I'm the only nay-sayer here, but I love and hate the hype behind the wii's virtual console.

      It's great to be able to have instant access to nintendo's full first party backcatalog, a few third party games, and the sega and TG-16 stuff, but then what? Personally, I've had access to those for years now. They are great for a few hours, but not worth spending money buying. Worse yet, most of us have grown up buying nintendo games. Ultimately, some titles will have to be bought all over again. They are using the iTunes example for video games, however iTunes always had the ability to import your current CD collection. If I have a cartridge copy of Super Mario 64 and I want to play it on my wii, I dont want to have to pay $10-20 to buy it again.

      Until nintendo comes up with some way to allow games already bought by a user to be provided free, or imported onto the wii, I feel like it's a black mark on an otherwise wonderful idea.
      • I don't expect them to really do it, but I sure would like to see a cartridge reader accessory (one per cartridge type would be fine), like how the N64 had the ability to read GameBoy cartridges. The real problem would be non-savvy users getting angry when a cartridge doesn't work, either because the contacts are dirty or because it does something weird that the emulator gets wrong.

        It would be really sad if the primary reason they didn't do it was because someone might turn it into a generic cartridge dum

        • The SNES had the ability to read GameBoy cardridges (including GBC) first. I should know, I had the adapter.

          • The SNES wasn't reading the cartridges, the adapter was. The adapter was a nearly complete GameBoy which merely used the SNES as an I/O slave.
            • And there is nothing wrong with that. Components from the 80s and 90s have been combined and miniaturized so many times in the last 5-15 years. Nintendo could easily produce a console today the size of an original game boy that had a multi-purpose slot that accepted NES, GB, SNES, GBA, and N64 games and used a nice simple usb connection for controllers (for which adapters can and have been made to use the original controllers). It would cost MAYBE $100 in components (I could build such a system around a

      • Re:Heck.... (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Chris Burke ( 6130 )
        They are using the iTunes example for video games, however iTunes always had the ability to import your current CD collection.

        And your tape collection? And your vinyl and eight-track collection? Okay, if you had a tape/record/8-track player you could record onto your computer, encode, and then add it, but that requires compatible players and inputs, analgous to owning an older game console which you could just use instead, which brings me to the Wii virtual console:

        How would this work? Without providing
      • dont want to have to pay $10-20 to buy it again.

        Luckily, the price point is $4.99 to $7.99. And, frankly, I'd pay that to play Zelda 2 again; with current gas prices it's cheaper than the trip to the mall alone, let alone the hour or four it takes to track down a copy. And, god forbid I want something rare, like Lolo 3, Nobunaga's Ambition, North and South or what have you.

        There were more than 1200 games in English for the NES alone. Chances are there's something in that back catalog that you haven't alr
    • It is something that my 2 year old can play, my wife can play, my friends can play, and something that I would want to play.

      But is it something the majority of households want to play? The argument of the aricle is that Nintendo will "win." This is your argument too. But in order to do that, you not only need great games that a lot of people want to play, you need great games that a majority (or at least a plurality) of people want to play.

      Looking at the numbers of the last generation, the kind of games
      • The DS has sold around 16-17million DSs; Sony has sold around 16-17million PSPs. So this is no walkover - it's a battle still raging!

        This omits a very important fact. Look up both consoles on Wikipedia, notice under the PSP the number is given as units shipped. Sony always does numbers by what they shipped, vs. Nintendo marking what has sold. So while 17 million PSPs have shipped, how many of those are actually in the hands of consumers?

      • Except that sony has NOT sold 16 million PSPs, they have shipped 16 million PSPs to retailers, which is a very different beast.

        Nintendo, on the other hand, has sold 16 million DS.

  • Some things that will help (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) <jhummel.johnhummel@net> on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @11:26AM (#15524293) Homepage
    I've been talking about this with my wife, who is actually interested in seeing the Wii in action (she's hooked on the Brain Games).

    Some things that I think would help cement Nintendo:

    1. DVD player - I believe word is that the DVD player aspects are a "plug in" - I'm assuming something like the original Xbox codec plug in device to enable DVD playback. Personally, I'd just as soon see it just built in - bite the bullet on the cost, Nintendo, and people will go "Hm - $200, and it plays games *and* my DVD movies", instead of "Hm - $200, but I have to spend another $30 to play movies? Eh."

    2. Push the online gaming. While I'm a single player gaming whore, I still think that online is the way to go. I'm very disappointed that Tecmo is bringing Pangya Golf [pangya.com] to the Wii, but not the online play! Maybe they feel it won't matter much, but I think the difference can be crucial. Nintendo should make it clear in cases like these that online play is to be built in - or the game doesn't get ported. I'm not saying they should make online play when it doesn't exist - but in clear cases like this, but the sucker in.

    3. Advertise, advertise, advertise. Advertise the sports games during Oprah for exercise. Advertise "Red Steel" during "24" and such. Get the word out, and don't just show the game - show how people play it. Let people see that controller until there isn't a person in the world who doesn't go "Oh - that's that Wii thing - looks interesting."

    We'll have to see what happens, but Nintendo could take back a lot of market. So far, I'd say their making a lot of the right moves.
    • I'm not sure the ability to play DVD's makes any difference at all anymore. When you can buy an entire player from your local drugstore for $20 (on sale), I really don't think folks are going to avoid the Wii because it doesn't play DVD's right out of the box.

      If 99.9% of the homes that will buy a Wii already have a DVD player, isn't it to everybody's advantage to not have to pay the licensing fees for yet another player?

      SirWired
      • How many people want both a DVD player and a Wii on their entertainment unit?

        Sure - I could go buy a $30 DVD player, but now I've got two pieces of electronics cluttering my home. Nintendo could offer to clear some of that up. Lord knows, most people I know want less electronics, not more.
    • I personally disagree with the built in dvd player. Who doesn't have one right now?

      As for those who want it to be the media center... the Wii isn't about that. It's small enough to just fit into a nook among the rest of your media center. And besides, you could spend under $50 to get yourself a dvd player if needed. For the XBOX and PS2 (and the XBOX360 and PS3) it might have been necessary since the size of the thing might have prevented easily fitting in both the console AND the dvd player.

      As for me, I al
    • DVD player!? are you fucking kidding!?

      why tax EVERYONE for such a non-feature?

      who has a DVD collection but not a DVD player? who likes the idea of buying DVDs but hasn't bothered to get one yet? who can't buy a DVD player for about 10 big macs anyway? who thinks DVD playback is actually worth writing on the box, let alone comprimising an entire "it's all about fun games" business strategy and marketing campaign over?

      omg. you're so wrong.
    • Seriously, I dont think anyone cares about dvd playback anymore. Sure it was nice with the xbox, but hell by that time dvd players were becoming so cheap it was not a big deal
    • Speculation about the DVD player attachment follows:

      Nintendo has said before the DVD player will be an attachment, which has made some people think it will be an entire external drive that plugs in. My theory is that there is a reason for this. Gamecube discs spin backwards from DVDs and CDs. This is one reason why almost no one has pirate Gamecube discs. Since the Wii is backwards compatible, it too will probably spin backwards for at least Gamecube discs and possible Wii ones as well. Accordingly, I think

      • Actually no, the Wii ships with a DVD player but it can not play DVD movies out of the box, Nintendo has stated that you'll need a (separately sold) dongle to play DVD movies on your Wii so as not to increase the base price of the unit.

      • If that's the case, they can just use a bidirectional drive, like they would've had to do for the Panasonic Q.

    • 1. DVD player - I believe word is that the DVD player aspects are a "plug in" - I'm assuming something like the original Xbox codec plug in device to enable DVD playback. Personally, I'd just as soon see it just built in - bite the bullet on the cost, Nintendo, and people will go "Hm - $200, and it plays games *and* my DVD movies", instead of "Hm - $200, but I have to spend another $30 to play movies? Eh."

      Who's waiting for the Wii to come out to get a DVD player? Who is interested in the Wii is going to

    • 1. DVD player

      DVD players started becoming ubiquitous six years ago. Everyone has one already. And anyone who doesn't have one can pick one up for $30. Adding DVD playback functionality won't be much of an added incentive. Nintendo is smart to leave that out.
    • You couldnt be more wrong.

      1. DVD player -

      Everyone has one. Noone cares if their videogame system can play dvds or not.

      2. Push the online gaming. -

      Less then 10% of videogame players play games online, and even then, do you really want to deal with the immature, smack-talking, swearing, "give me my chocolate milk, bitch!" crowd? Nintendo is focusing on people having fun, together in the house, as per the previews. It will probably have some online play, but the online component will likely be used more for

    • . DVD player - I believe word is that the DVD player aspects are a "plug in" - I'm assuming something like the original Xbox codec plug in device to enable DVD playback. Personally, I'd just as soon see it just built in - bite the bullet on the cost,

      Actually, that was one of the bigger reasons why Sony got ahead in the console wars, but it's a moot point now, as anyone who wants one can get it new for less than $50. Anyways I am fairly certain that it does anyways. The competitive bonus for Wii is that

    • Mod me down for agreeing with the DVD point, but I think its a decent idea. Remember, not everyone likes a million devices haning off thier TV, or even has 16 video inputs on thier TV. Adding DVD playback frees up a set of video inputs and saves space by the TV, which can really help in some some of the closets they call dorm rooms.
    • 1. DVD player

      Who does not have a DVD player yet? This is nearly useless, and against Nintendo's purist "this is a game console for playing games" design.

      2. Push the online gaming.

      This seems obvious, but online gaming is not really a big deal for consoles. PCs lend themselves towards it because you can't properly do anything multiplayer in the same room on a 19" monitor that's sitting up on a desk. There is an entirely different social dynamic going on with the last few Nintendos: playing in the same fucking
  • Sony won the last two rounds because it did better than what Nintendo did traditionally. Nintendo has smartly identified that innovation in gameplay will compell users to their platform, not just raw hardware specs. I think Sony will play a close second to Nintendo, although I am a die-hard Sony PS2 and PSP fan, I am very much looking forward to buying my Wii and integrating it with my newly purchased DS.

    Even my wife likes the DS and wants a Wii. And she hates most videogames.
    • Sony won the last two rounds because it did better than what Nintendo did traditionally.

      Namely, attract the best third-party game publishers in the world -- the Konamis, the Capcoms, the EAs, the Rares.

      Regardless of how fun or innovative the Wii's control scheme is, if the only good titles available for it continue to be first-party, Nintendo will not emerge on top. At this point, it's still too early to say.
       
      • Why I think Nintendo will re-emerge as a leader of the video game console "war" is because they will sell the crap out of the console, parents and people looking to guard their pocketbook will see the Wii as a great alternative to the PS3 and XBox 360. The ability to give people a more intuitive interface to play games will be a big drawing point when grandmas get their hands on it. When the sales numbers are in by Christmas, the 3rd parties will see that investing in a very popular platform to develop ga
      • At this point, it's still too early to say.

        The officially announced games [wiinintendo.net] include Ubisoft, Activision, EA, Square Enix, Sega, and Konami. Capcom and others have announced titles [wikipedia.org] for later.

        This does not mean it isn't too early to say nevertheless, but Nintenco IMHO has a good chance.
  • Well, Nintendo seems to be going for the strategy, where you get other people than your normal gaming bunch interested. The DS seems to have done this on its part, so I'm expecting some more with the Wii.

    I've definetly got my money on Nintendo this time around. I mean, I see no reason why PS3 and/or X-Box won't make lots of money catering to the gaming crowd, but Nintendo will bee the one emerging victorious from under a humongous pile of money.

  • Not really... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Zebai ( 979227 )
    Actually I find the large assortment of Nintendo games available to be substandard junk. (Including the N64 and the new DS) there are a few great games for the systems, most of them available from Nintendo themself like Zelda, Mario, Nintendo Dogs, and other Nintendo produced titles. However the bread and butter of any console success is the popularity of 3rd party tittles, as this is what brings most of the money the console makers. Now lets take a look at the "good" titles of this new ds New Super Ma
    • why drop cartridges? so we can have no battery life like the PSP?

      Nintendo's whole philosophy is that game size isn't important, the fun is. I agree, if you don't then just spend your money elsewhere.

      Nintendo is doing fine. unlike Sony and MS they actually make a profit on their games. And I find them the most enjoyable.

    • Thid-party support is getting better (Score:5, Insightful)

      by LKM ( 227954 ) on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @11:54AM (#15524571)
      most of them available from Nintendo themself like Zelda, Mario, Nintendo Dogs, and other Nintendo produced titles.

      The title is not "Nintendo Dogs". It's Nintendogs. Had you ever actually played it, you'd know this.


      Now lets take a look at the "good" titles of this new ds New Super Mario Bros Nintendo Dogs Metroid Hunters Animal Crossing Castlevania Mario & Luigi Partners in Time Mario Kart DS Get the point? most of these hit titles are directly produced by Nintendo itself.

      Castlevania isn't a Nintendo game. Why don't we talk about the awesome DS games from third-party developers? You've already mentioned Castlevania, but there's also Meteos, Sonic Rush, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Sk8land (at last a fresh Tony Hawk's game), Viewtiful Joe, Feel the Magic, Pac Pix or Trauma Center. Nintendo had trouble with third-party support on the N64 and on the Cube, but on the DS, it's changing, and they're investing a lot to get third-parties on board with the Wii.

      Although I must admit that I do not care too much. It's great having third-party support, but I'd buy a Wii if only Nintendo made games for it: They're always top notch and a lot of fun.

      • ### You've already mentioned Castlevania, but there's also Meteos, Sonic Rush, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Sk8land (at last a fresh Tony Hawk's game),

        While those are fine games, there is the throuble that not every third party games is as good as 'Castlevania', just look at NfS:Most Wanted or Burnout for the DS, those games are horrible, they look like junk and they play like junk. While the DS is a good bit away from the power of the PSP, there is really no excuse for releasing games in such a terrible

        • there is the throuble that not every third party games is as good as 'Castlevania', just look at NfS:Most Wanted or Burnout for the DS, those games are horrible, they look like junk and they play like junk.

          True. But there are some points to consider:

          1. This is true for all consoles to a certain extent. It's worse with some consoles than with others, but look at the Dreamcast: This is the console that probably had one of the highest percentages of awesome games, but there are still games like WWF Royal Rum
    • Let's look at an independent source, like metacritic's DS game ranking. I see a bunch of 3rd party games that scored over 80:

      Castlevania DS - Konami
      Osu Tatakae Ouendan - Inis
      Meteos - Q Entertainment
      Tony Hawk - Vicarious Visions
      Sonic Rush - Sega
      Trauma Center - Atlus
      Jump Superstars - Ganbarian
      Phoenix Wright - Capcom
      Age of Empires -Digital Eclipse

      Not all that bad IMO, given that, IIRC, all of those came out in the last 12 months.

    • I dont know about some of you but I've beat almost every nintendo DS title in less than a week. It took me 2 days to beat the new Super Mario Bros, and i was playing at my spare time at work (spent 3rd day unlocking secret levels).

      For someone who complains about Nintendo a lot, you've sure spent plenty of time playing their games.
    • It really can't be held against Nintendo if the 3rd parties can't make hit games. Sony doesn't have much in the way of hit 1st party games, and Microsoft has a few, but they wouldn't if they weren't buying up development studios left and right. So what if Nintendo is responsible for most of thier own profits?

      Give up cartriges? They did, see the Gamecube. Those are discs. As far as portable goes, mechanical media is a joke. Load times on handhelds are a huge detractor from the product. Think about it,

    • Now this new console is going to be hard to predict, the new controller style is so new and quite innovative that it might create an entirely new market of games that wasnt previously available. And the most important thing is to DROP CARTRIDGES

      The DS doesn't use cardridges, it uses solid-state memory (read: mini-SD based cards).

      And solid-state is much fucking better than disk-based solutions for handhelds: no vibrations, much lower power consumption, no shock issues.

      And just so you know, Sony's UMDs s

      • Yes, the DS uses SD cards with a slightly bigger form factor (heck even the form itself is almost identical) the funny thing is, for now they are a tad to expensive to be a full blown cd replacement but in 1-2 years time I can see some old cd based games or new cd based content being 1:1 ported to that thing. The DS is an amazing litte machine in its way, it is absolute bare minumum hardwarewise (processorwise) but with a connectivity almost like a dream come true.
    • Ahem, the DS is an exceptionally bad example if you name a console lacking third party titles. The sony lineup of Sega is excellent, then there is project rub, Castlevania DS is one of the best in the series, you have another code, and rayman ds and advance wars. I would say none of these titles is subpar as for the point and click adventure category there is another one coming out soon which will be film noir style... I would say the ds is a console with a good mixed lineup and now that the thing really

  • That's a statistic I'd like to see expounded... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by lpangelrob ( 714473 ) on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @11:32AM (#15524346)
    In tie-ratio terms (for 2006 only)... DS owners are buying 3.5 pieces of software for every DS in Japan, while PSP owners are only buying an average of 1.2 each.

    How does this work? Assuming a reasonable bell curve, I'm sure there are PSP owners in Japan with 8 games... what do the people that buy 0 or 1 games do with their PSP? Did the UMD format take off in Japan when I wasn't looking? What's going on?

  • A practical breaking of the mold (Score:4, Insightful)

    by unconfused1 ( 173222 ) on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @12:04PM (#15524672) Homepage
    Nintendo is finally breaking the mold in a practical way. Is the use of gyros in controllers new? Is the use of a remote control new? Is the use of wireless controllers, or networked games new? All of these are clearly "NO" answers. So, what is different?

    Nintendo is making a very simple and approachable system, that is still elegant and versatile. Plus the departure from the two-handed, all-in-one controller that perpetuates games that are more about button-mashing then much else is a nice touch. The Wii's Wii-mote (remote) gives the player quite a bit more interactivity with the games, but still is simple enough to pick up with little prior knowledge of how to use it.

    Clever and fun games is a big aspect of it too. A lot of PS2 and Xbox/Xbox360 games require a huge time investment, and can't easily be put down whenever the player would like without hurting progress. Obviously I'm speaking in general...and don't wish to get in an argument of which specific games I'm picking on. To be fair, there are a few games on Nintendo's platforms that have poor save-points.

    CHEAPER. This is a huge one. Having a nice gaming system that provides fun and distraction, and is simple and elegant, but is also cheaper than everyone else is a big deal to me and most people. The Xbox360 decent system at $500 and the PS3 at $600 is pricey...especially with games for $60-70. At this point I would start to question why I just wouldn't by a Windows computer. So, $200-250 is pretty affordable, especially keeping titles at $50.

    I love Nintendo's commitment to simple, elegant, and inexpensive systems...with clever and fun distractions and games. I'm happy they haven't gotten sucked into the contest that Sony and Microsoft are in with their systems.

  • Far reaching implications (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Dr. Eggman ( 932300 ) on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @12:13PM (#15524741)
    A Nintendo victory would have far reaching implications, well beyond just the console video games market imho. As a former SEGA fanboy (that part of me died the sad day SEGA announced they were leaving hardware) I have no love for Sony; nothing would please me more than to see blue ray fall flat on its face. Nintendo's current position in the 7th generation battle warms the cockles of my heart. As I see it, Sony has a lot riding on the success of the PS3. Significatly, they're main reasoning for including blue ray on the PS3 was to beat out HD DVD in the biggest advantage HD DVD had over blue ray, price point. That means a floundering PS3 hurts blue ray's chances against HD DVD, as well as (coupled with sliding UMD sales and a PSP encountering a far harsher market than expected,) forming as sort of trifecta of interrelated market failings. If demand for blue ray is less than expected, that could easliy translate back to less PS3 sales.

    What's better is that this has implications for the other side of HD DVD and Microsoft's game console. We know that Microsoft will offer an HD DVD accessory, and while that may not be sufficient reason to buy an XBox 360, it will be advanced leverage for HD DVD in convincing any current XBox 360 owner to buy the HD DVD accessory over an excessivly expensive stand alone blue ray player or the still more expensive PS3 for its blue ray capabilities; at last count ~1.5million or so people world wide.

    What does this have to do with Nintendo? Alot. As we know, Microsoft and Nintendo's systems together are still projected to be cheaper than the PS3 alone. This affects those who would buy as second console most of all. Rather than PS3, persons primarily concerned with gaming may choose Xbox 360 as their second console, adding to the number of persons who would find it logical to buy into HD DVD once they have HDTV (I assume that those concerned with games have a lower probability of owning HDTV than other concerned groups.) A resounding victory for Nintendo could bolster Microsoft sales into or tied with PS3 in second, effectivly neutralizing the blue ray PS3 advantage and instead giving an even better advantage to HD DVD. Even a minor victory could create an deadlocked tied between the three, yet still give some advantage to HD DVD.

    Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are not only the warriors of the next console wars, but indeed key figures in a greater battle unparalleled in its depth compared to any battle before it, that I would call The Great Home Entertainment War!
  • I recently bought a used N64, Super Mario 64, Zelda Ocarina and Majora's mask, rumble pack, and console memory expansion to ensure that I can replay these in the future. At used prices ($35 for the N64 console and controller, similar pricing for the games) this was cheap insurance against the kid moving out of the house and selling/losing/destroying the original N64 we all first played these on. And I agree that Super Mario 64 was quite a leap from everything before it at the time.
    • Haha, I had some friends in from out of town a while back and one of them brought an N64 and 3 controllers. We needed one more, so off to the local used game store...

      No controllers. The only one they had was packaged with the whole damn console. $25. They told me that the controllers usually run $15 anyway. I had some store credit.

      I'm now the proud owner of an N64, again. Heh.

      They're friggin' cheaper than lots of new movies on DVD. It's great.
      • N64 and 3 controllers. We needed one more

        So what were you playing? Super Mario Kart, or GoldenEye?

        Those prices match what I've seen in southern Arizona in the past. At those prices, however, too bad you can't network N64's together for some enhanced action.

        • Perfect Dark in the Goldeneye levels (mostly the Complex).

          "Hunt the Raptor" in Turok:Rage Wars (2-3 players, 1-2 raptors (with AI set to highest difficulty), in a specific level [the Temple, IIRC], lots of fun.

          BattleTanx. Not as fun as I'd remembered.

  • too many metaphors (Score:3, Insightful)

    by kisrael ( 134664 ) on Tuesday June 13, 2006 @12:54PM (#15525148) Homepage
    Nevertheless, for the first time since 1996, Sony looks to be fire-fighting, and not quite in control of the battleground. Not only is the shoe on Sony's foot, the company is on the back foot. Nintendo has its chance.

    Wow. That's too many metaphors.
    Fire-fighting
    battleground
    shoe on foot
    competitor on back foot

  • And I remember Sony going on to win that war, and PlayStation becoming the de facto shorthand for 'video games'.

    Well, that's odd, because I don't. Here in the UK, my experience is that the N64 and the Playstation were about equally ubiquitous. 'Playing Nintendo' was synonymous for playing a console game. N64s were pretty much everywhere.

    And certainly, from what I've seen, the N64 was far more desirable --- no moving parts! Silent! Solid! No delicate, easily-scratchable disks! No load times! No fiddly s

    • Apparently so. Everyone I knew (except one) had a Playstation and not a Nintendo 64. The only Nintendo 64 games we'd sit around and play were Goldeneye and the Mario Cart game. I'm not even sure if he owned any more Nintendo 64 games than that. I think, collectively, we spent more time playing the fishing game (with the rod controller) on the Playstation than we did on the Nintendo 64.
  • Anyone who believes that the PSP and DS sales are "roughly equal" doesn't know enough about the situation to write an article about it.
  • I thought what you wanted to do as a business was produce a profit and continue to expand. That's the understanding I got from both normal day-to-day life, and the first-year economics classes that were required for my degree.

    So why does Nintendo, which is a business first, have to "win" some kind of ideology war? Isn't this really more about people who attach sentimental feelings to something? Perhaps it's because some had been swept up in the "console war" marketting Sega used 17 years ago, and which M

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