The Nintendo Death Watch - The New Systems
(Page 5 of 5 )
Now the next-gen systems are coming, and it just doesn't look pretty for Nintendo. The X-Box 360 and PS3 outperform the "Nintendo Revolution" in every meaningful stat. Both systems are faster, with more capabilities, and a larger built in adult audience. Nintendo is again releasing a cute looking gaming unit that will not appeal to the large adult market segment.
Much about the internal configurations of the new system are still unknown, but what is known again shows how far Nintendo is behind the curve. There are several rumored processor speeds, from 1.8GHz to 2.5GHz, both far slower than the 3.2 GHz speed of Sony and X-Box. Very little other than the names of the manufacturers are known, unlike the zealous nature of Sony and Microsoft in regards to showcasing the computing power of the PS3 and X-Box 360. And unlike those two systems, the Revolution will not offer High Definition video output.
The revolution will play both the discs from the Gamecube, and standard DVD game discs. The system will play DVD movie discs after the user makes a yet unknown "internal modification". They are only six years behind the Playstation 2, which could play DVD movies right out of the box.
They are again promoting their latest gimmick; new controllers that will apparently be touch sensitive or contain gyroscopes or something along those lines. They are again going to rely on their brand names like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid to sell the system, saying "Good Games Make a Good System."
Keeping with that line of thinking, Nintendo is taking the next step as far as a system being backwards compatible. Up to this point, Nintendo has never been able to be a backwards compatible system due to using a new game medium in every new system. So Nintendo is going around this problem by making every Nintendo-produced game (not all 3rd party games) in their library available for download directly into the new system. For a fee.
But this is too little too late. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection has heard of the world "Emulator" and "Rom" before. Much like the mp3 ordeal that record labels are coming to terms with now, every Nintendo game ever made is online (illegally) right now, and available for free download (granted that you don't care about downloading ethics).
The truly sad thing is that Nintendo has something special, something Microsoft and Sony would die to have. Most gamers were raised on Nintendo. It has brand recognition like nothing else in the industry. And as any Marketing 101 student will tell you, brand recognition is a powerful thing. It's why Joe Sixpack buys the same bottle of bear, ketchup, toothbrush, and so on over and over and over again. It's not that he wouldn't like brand X more, it's just what he is used to buying, and therefore buys it every time.
Nintendo has that going for it. People might want to buy Nintendo, just like they want to buy GM (buy American!), out of some vague sense of loyalty that has been instilled inside us. However, if the product is not any good, and if you keep getting burned by a company that doesn't learn from their mistakes and doesn't respect the consumer, eventually that customer is going to try brand X. Or in this case, brand X-Box.
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
|
| · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | · | | | | |
|
