I am glad you didn't rant because even this short post made you look foolish. Sony did anything but roll over. This article is only a rumour and you were ready to launch into a tirade over it.
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Nintendo Takes Aim at Apple as 'Enemy of the Future'
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I am glad you didn't rant because even this short post made you look foolish. Sony did anything but roll over. This article is only a rumour and you were ready to launch into a tirade over it.
Unfortunately, the Wii isn't all that far ahead of those other products when you compare it to its competitors. And I say this as a Nintendo fan who sat in the cold on launch day to get a Wii and scoffed at the critics who called it "2 GameCubes duct taped together." I've stuck up for the little guy (Wii) on many occasions. It was a reasonable compromise at the time (new control scheme, old everything else) and my family spent a great many hours of fun on the system. But here we are 3 1/2 years later and all Nintendo has done to improve the system is add a controller clip-on and black plastic? No HD, no true digital surround sound, mountains of shovelware, and a miserable online experience. Geez, you can't even play DVD movies on it, so I still needed a DVD player clogging up my rack. Ever since I picked up a PS3 Slim, I'm over it. The kids have Little Big Planet, the LEGO games, and soon, Mod Nation Racers for family fun. I get Battlefield Bad Company 2, Uncharted 2, etc. I get Blu-ray (and DVD playback, natch), great graphics, awesome sound, solid online play. Sony will soon have its own version of the Wiimote.
My Wii will no longer read discs. It probably just needs a $20 laser replacement, but why bother. We've moved on.
You will be competitive if a) you can design something that is as slick as apple's devices, b) you can make it function powerfully and reliably, c) make it as mobile as iPad and with the ability to store lots of games...
I thought about getting my 5yr old daughter a ds... But then I realized I can buy an iPod touch and give her more FREE apps then she will know what to do with. DS sounds like a huge waste of money.. iPod touch is a 1 time purchase. Not to mention all the kids movies I already have on the computer she can watch. And she won't have to learn a new device because she is already a pro at navigating my iPhone.
Did I invoke the rage of the Oldschool Gamers?
I guess Nintendo has nothing to worry about..............................
Fixed.
Your just making yourself look worse by saying that children's games (aka: Nintendo, according to you), destroyed Sony and the competition.
Spin it all you want
The best Mario RPG yet came out within the last year, so I guess you might dust off your DS and play that.
It's also quite obvious that you don't follow the news and don't really understand the console market. In the console market, you don't release new hardware with new guts and new software every other year. It fragments the user base - which is exactly what Apple does, and I assume it will bite them in the ass as soon as more people realize it. Just having an iDevice isn't good enough, you have to actually check if your particular iDevice is compatible with any given game. That's not how it's supposed to work. And it will get worse with iPhone OS4, which won't run on 1st generation devices for absolutely no valid reason whatsoever. If you bought a DS in 2004, you can still go out and buy the latest and greatest DS game, and you know that it'll run exactly as it's intended to.
Hardware generations in the console market only change every five years. That means completely new hardware and completely new software. Everything released within those five years are revisions, supposed to still do the same with some improvements here and there. Battery capacity, better screens, better speakers, lighter, smaller - stuff like that. The DSi is an oddity in that regard, as it actually has more processing power as well.
BTW, the DSi and DSiXL also ship with a browser. And while I, too, spend a lot more time with my iPhone (because it is a phone), the iDevices don't satisfy my gaming needs. Sure, I like the occasional Plants vs Zombies, but in general, the games lack depth and scope. It's fast food gaming.
So, you think Nintendo needs to get their arses in gear because they have no competition, yet you think Apple are the only ones who can do that? That is fairly laughable.
The only competition Nintendo will get (because after all, the whole gaming industry is dominated by software) are from Sony and Microsoft because they own libraries of IPs and franchises. Apple have nothing except a slew of uninspired indie games and ports from other game systems. That's not how competition forms.
If Apple bought out Sony Computer Entertainment then they might be able to take Nintendo on. At the moment it's a little kid with a peashooter, though with countless peas, trying to take on a fat plumber with a nuclear arsenal.
It seems the history of the 80's just repeats again.
With Apple already wasting half their iPhoneOS keynotes with game stuff the iPhone/iPod will soon be the new Amiga, only known for games and other toy apps. Most people will then get an Android device for "serious work" like they got a Windows PC in the late 80's/early 90's. And in ten years the ratio will be something like 97:3 percent (Android:iPhoneOS) and we will be all writing here how Android sucks because it's hard to use, has tons of bugs, crashes, etc....
With Apple already wasting half their iPhoneOS keynotes with game stuff the iPhone/iPod will soon be the new Amiga, only known for games and other toy apps. Most people will then get an Android device for "serious work" like they got a Windows PC in the late 80's/early 90's. And in ten years the ratio will be something like 97:3 percent (Android:iPhoneOS) and we will be all writing here how Android sucks because it's hard to use, has tons of bugs, crashes, etc....
The best Mario RPG yet came out within the last year, so I guess you might dust off your DS and play that.
It's also quite obvious that you don't follow the news and don't really understand the console market. --- SEriously? And by what means do you base this ridiculous comment? I may not be like some who do nothing except stare at their ocmputer screens the whole day, every day, but I do keep up with the markets...
In the console market, you don't release new hardware with new guts and new software every other year. It fragments the user base - which is exactly what Apple does, and I assume it will bite them in the ass as soon as more people realize it. Just having an iDevice isn't good enough, you have to actually check if your particular iDevice is compatible with any given game. That's not how it's supposed to work. And it will get worse with iPhone OS4, which won't run on 1st generation devices for absolutely no valid reason whatsoever. If you bought a DS in 2004, you can still go out and buy the latest and greatest DS game, and you know that it'll run exactly as it's intended to.
Hardware generations in the console market only change every five years. That means completely new hardware and completely new software. Everything released within those five years are revisions, supposed to still do the same with some improvements here and there. Battery capacity, better screens, better speakers, lighter, smaller - stuff like that. The DSi is an oddity in that regard, as it actually has more processing power as well.
BTW, the DSi and DSiXL also ship with a browser. And while I, too, spend a lot more time with my iPhone (because it is a phone), the iDevices don't satisfy my gaming needs. Sure, I like the occasional Plants vs Zombies, but in general, the games lack depth and scope. It's fast food gaming.
I know perfectly well that new hardware has increments of 4-5 years... you are wrong in assuming I don't keep up with the news. What I was saying was that the DS has been out for 4 years and all they have done is make the screens bigger without improving the graphics. And if you call that thing it has a browser, then you are out of your mind. The touch screen compared with the iPod/iPhone's is a joke. Sure its ok but its nothing comparatively... having to use a stylus to press each letter on the screen keyboard? Lol. That's just funny and time consuming and frustrating....
And I agree, the iPod and iPhone aren't hard core gaming devices... but with the graphics of the DS... its fine for mario and zelda but for anything else I don't think so.
I just thought it was funny that they just released the DSi and less than a year later they came out with DSiXL. Why even bother with the DSi? Its like they said "oh, we should have made screens bigger, lets create a new device w bigger screens so that everyone who bought DSi has obsolete hardware". Really? Why? It just doesn't make sense why they didnt think about the bigger screens in the first place.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with you that the DS is more of a gaming device. I just expect more out of Nintendo to step up their game.... I mean they came out with the gameboy micro to replace the GBA, and you saw how big of a hit that was... not.
And I didn't bother trying any other game on the DS because it costs $35-40 now a days and for free I can download a new app. I guess mobile gaming isn't my thing anymore; I'd rather pick up my Wiimote and play mario galaxy again. But the Wii is another issue.......... they should have done an update like the DSi with the Wii.... instead they change the plastic cover. REally Nintendo? Really? Wow.
Its obvious you underestimate apple. Are they not the ones threatening Nintendo, one of the most well-established gaming companies since the 80's??? I would think they are doing SOMETHING right to be able to do this in less than 3 years with one device. And Apple isn't in the console market, they are in the computer market. If they waited 4 years to release a newer version of the iPod Touch, then the previous version would be so outdated it wouldn't even be fully. Its only been 3 years since the first, and they already aren't supporting it for 4.0. Same with iPhone. So I can't see them taking the iPod and moving it from computer market to console market, because it isn't a game console, its a mini-computer, which is something the DS will NEVER be. Computers hardware is obsolete upon release because they are already creating newer, faster, better hardware.
People love Nintendo. I hope nobody here forgets that. Nintendo is entirely about gaming and making the most fun and unique games that most of us will ever play. Super Mario Galaxy is a prime example of turning game design upside down. Nintendo's entry point is in children with the DS and Wii and has expanded into being a gaming system that absolutely every family member can enjoy together. That's really something else. In addition, the gamers of my generation grew up with Nintendo and continue to play it to this day. So what if the games don't look as realistic as the latest gen games on PS3; gameplay supersedes high-res graphics any day from my perspective.
Apple products are still pretty expensive for parents to purchase for their children. To be honest, most games on Apple devices are for the "mobile users". The use simple gameplay gimmicks and that's it. Not to say that their approaches aren't unique, but there is a big difference in terms of the scope and depth of most games released on an Apple device. The iPhone or iPod touch is a great device for 5 minute gaming. The DS on the other hand is great for 30 minute - 1 hour gaming.
Apple products are still pretty expensive for parents to purchase for their children. To be honest, most games on Apple devices are for the "mobile users". The use simple gameplay gimmicks and that's it. Not to say that their approaches aren't unique, but there is a big difference in terms of the scope and depth of most games released on an Apple device. The iPhone or iPod touch is a great device for 5 minute gaming. The DS on the other hand is great for 30 minute - 1 hour gaming.
1.) The DS came out in 2004, that's six years.
2.) Improving the graphics would require a different GPU, which would require new software (the same is true for the much proposed "WiiHD"). If an "improved DS" doesn't play the existing DS library, it's not a DS anymore. That's how console generations work. The games simply don't work like PC, Mac or iPhone games. They are not running on top of an operating system that abstracts the hardware. Any substantial changes to the hardware and the games stop working. It's a lot more efficient and stable, but also a lot less flexible.
3.) DSi does handwriting recognition. And it actually works, believe it or not. That doesn't mean it's better suited for surfing the web, it's actually serviceable at best, but that wasn't the point. Also, a stylus based touchscreen is better suited for games, as it's more precise and doesn't block your vision, so that comparison is moot. I kinda expect the 3DS to use a capacitative oleophobic multitouch screen, but still come with a stylus for games that require speed and precision.
Yeah, you obviously haven't played all that many DS games so far. Especially considering that there are a lot of DS games that look a lot better, technically and artistically, than Mario or Zelda. It's also completely irrelevant, or else the PSP, 360 or PS3 would be much more successful, no?
You don't seem to get point. The DSi XL was never intended or marketed as a successor to the DSi and it doesn't render the DSi obsolete. Both models are still manufactured, sold, and advertised, and there's absolutely no difference in functionality either. Nintendo simply offers a choice: Do you prefer portability or a bigger screen? It's up to you. The XL is targeted more at older people (50+), people with bad eyesight and people who usually only play their DS at home. This is not even remotely close to Apples iDevice iterations which actually do render previous versions obsolete (especially considering that Apple outright stops supporting older devices after only three years for no technical reason).
Hardly. And you gave the explanation yourself:
See?
Never? Of course they have before.
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr, Mario Bros, and Popeye come to mind...
You can use a pen or finger, the original DS came with a strap that had a thumb protector thingy on the the end of it. You're not limited to just a pen. Hell I just threw 160 hours into Pokemon Heart Gold using just the dpad and my fingers.
It's fine that you don't think so. But for the 160 million or so DS owners it is enough. For the quarter of a million people last month who bought a DS it is enough.
You're wrong if you think that graphics are important to a game. Last gen the PS2 "won" the console war, yet its graphics were a lot worse than the Gamecube and Xbox, the Gameboy obliterated its 12 competitors and it could only display 4 shades of grey.
The DSi XL is targeted at older players. It is not a replacement for a DSi. All the marketing for the DSi XL in the UK is aimed at older people, you even get free Brain Training with it. Whereas the DSi advertising is aimed at younger people.
The GB Micro was not meant as a replacement, they even removed classic GB compatibility from it. Around that time they updated the GBA SP with a backlight (instead of frontlight). That was the main GBA. The Micro was released to mark the 20th anniversary of the GB and was released (almost) beside the DS. It was never intended to carry the GBA line on since Nintendo shifted to their new system.
Everyone laughed at Microsoft when they entered the video game market and now look at them. All you need is a company with billions of dollars. Apple is worth billions and they have the marketing savvy and quality products to dominate any field they enter into. They're not the second coming, but you have to admit that they know how to sell and in the end this is all that matters.
Apple owns the rights to devices that everyone carries on their person most of the time regardless of their age, race, or sexual orientation. A multifunctional device that can fulfill 1,000s of needs. Don't get me wrong. People love Nintendo's consoles, but they're gaming specific devices. They do little else well. The games are fantastic, especially Nintendo's first-party stuff, but developers will and already have started migrating to other mobile devices. The PSP is finally becoming a contender and the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad with their versatility and portability will be next.
Even Matt Cassimasina (sp?), the beloved IGN.com Nintendo commentator, has jumped ship to help Apple with their quality control. It's just a matter of time and pressure now.
I couldn't agree with you more. Now let's throw a few things out there. These are just concepts so don't slam them straight out.
Apple TV software could open up to App Store style purchases allowing a new, more open standard gaming console based around a central unit and third party accessories. I say 'software' and 'central unit' as this may be a separate unit as currently sold and/or embedded within televisions (under licensing arrangements) in the same manner as Samsung's 'Internet TV' (LG the obvious place to start as they make Apple screens).
This could be momentus. With this AND the potential the Apple TV has in the TV subscription markets it could be unbelievable.
While on the topic of Apple TV I believe this product could benefit the most from Apple's new server farm investments for cloud products (MobileMe). Putting your movies and music in the cloud could mean embedding the device in TVs and other set top boxes with minimal local storage required is possible. Huge market here. Essentially turning the console environment into more of an embedded service rather than that of just a stand alone unit.
This won't happen tomorrow though. What should happen tomorrow for the Apple TV includes 1080p support, Safari, Twitter, Address Book, Direct Access to playback media from MobileMe. I also think that until the aforementioned revolution happens with this unit Apple should allow external storage as the storage is currently limiting heavy movie purchases in some instances.
Steve Jobs in 2011: One more thing...The Apple TV is no longer a hobby
People on these boards still laugh at MS, as if XBox was some sort of disaster. It isn't, but it did take deep pockets to make it what it is.
The Xbox was out 2 years before the PS3 and is only 5.3 million systems away from it. The PS3 is expected to overtake in a year. The original Xbox was also tied for last place with the Gamecube. So they haven't actually had a good time. The Xbox division also loses Microsoft money and they also had huge software support (DirectX) prior to the original Xbox launch.
And they still had trouble.
The PSP always was a contender. In the global sales it surpassed everything else that had competed against Nintendo, just not Nintendo.
Which software developers are migrating? All I'm seeing are big budget, AAA games from Capcom, Konami, Nintendo, SCEE, Namco, Square on the DS and PSP.
What the iPod/iPhone does is lower the floor for letting smaller developers who (for whatever reason) don't release PC/Mac games. It doesn't stop the Monster Hunters, Metal Gear Solids, Mario, Metroids, Zeldas, Loco Rocos, Advance Wars, Pokemon, Grand Theft Autos from being developed for dedicated and better gaming devices.
You're right, and Apple's got 'em. About $40+ billion and growing, give or take. EA, Sega, Capcom, and a host of other game console-specific developers have already made games for the iPhone OS. I think in some cases they're having trouble wrapping their heads around games that use a multi-touch interface. It's the same thing with DS development that involves touchscreen only games. Traditional gameplay doesn't always translate well. This is why we're seeing more puzzle, driving, strategy, and experimental games. The Wii caused this disruption as well with the Wii Remote, but their competitors have caught up now. I hope they have some great new tech to push the market even further. I love Nintendo, Apple, and video games in general. I hope we all benefit from this increase in competition. This is the beauty of capitalism at work. It's brutal, but it produces results. One last thing on my seemingly endless tangent. The future of games is not only tied up with multi-touch interfaces, but augmented reality. Slap a camera on the iPad and your world becomes the gaming world. The company that can capitalize on that will be the next leader in gaming. Mark my words.
Having this guy won't effect in any kind of way the quality of game apps that are published through the AppStore. Apple doesn't do quality control on apps. They don't have standards in that department for developers. The most this guy will do is help in highlighting the best of the bunch. (Which by the way... my latest indie game Ace Omicron was noted in the "New and Noteworthy" section of the iPad AppStore... Woohoo!)
I always though that Nintendo's dismissive stance on the iPhone and iPod Touches seemed kind of arrogant and misinformed. (especially since that take so many design cues from them.) I am glad to see them finally change that, though it was probably with the coming of the iPad and it's bigger screen real estate.
Traditionally, Nintendo has always geared their products toward kids, though with the Wii and DS, they were able to expand that. I wonder if this thing with Apple will affect their strategies at all.
Traditionally, Nintendo has always geared their products toward kids, though with the Wii and DS, they were able to expand that. I wonder if this thing with Apple will affect their strategies at all.
Apple has them, but they have traditionally looked down on gaming. I wonder how much they are willing to spend on something that suddenly seems like a great market opportunity for them but that their instinctive reaction is to sneer at.
You beat me to it. Also not too many people know that Mario started before the NES...
MMMM this makes me want to get out my Atari and play it for hours.