Both

Two reasons.

1-Game Boy Advanced is the fastest selling console (and probably most pofitable) in history.

2- Nintendo has yet to have a catastrophic failure of a hardware system (let's ignore the Vboy since it wasn't widely distributed before failure) Keep in mind, that the N64, dispite its seemingly short life and sparse releases, was a highly successful run.

What reason would Nintendo have to stop making hardware?

Speaking of which, Nintendo is the leader of video game hardware innovation. Having enhanced the hardware side of gaming with such firsts as:

the D-pad, portable gaming, cart-based portable gaming, cart based battery backup, magnetic drives, analog stick, rumble feedback, ergnomic controllers, shoulder buttons, barcode readers, magnetic card readers, voice recognition, portable to home console links, external AI (that robot thing for the NES), physicla interractivity: the powerpad, the glove, cartridge based processors, digital imaging, infared and cable portable multiplayer, memory cards in the controller, gyration, 3D displays, builting support for 4 players, and many others I can't think of.

It seems as though each system they release has a new innovation that revolutionizes or at least greatly influences the industry.

I'm not talking about GBA, just the console. And revolutionary is the last word I would use to describe the GCN, as much as I love it.

I've heard rumors that at the Japan Launch, Sega/MS will announce a special edition of VF4 for the X-Box... We'll see if there is anything to that...

Rumors from who? Did your friend tell you that? Did you make it up? If VF4 was in development for XBox, Microsoft sure wouldn't have much to gain by keeping it secret. And if Sega and Microsoft are really that friendly, why is Sega's biggest game coming out on PS2 in the first place?

Ummm, no... I saw it on a website somewhere while surfing... They even mentioned it as nothing but a rumor at this point. I have better things to do than to make up stories.

Are you somehow threatened by Sega realeasing this game to Microsoft? Kind of sounds that way from your very defensive posture here...

a website somewhere...oh. credible.

And I'm not threatened. I'm irritated that you would resort to fabricating something to make a point. Also, it doesn't make sense that an Xbox VF4 port would be kept secret, considering that AM2, the VF4 development team, has already announced Outrun 2 for the Xbox based arcade hardware that hasn't even been built yet.

Did Sony sign Sega to an exclusive deal with VF4 or is it their own decision? I never liked the earlier Virtua Fighter games, so it's no big losss to me. I'm more of a Smash Bros. Melee kind of guy. I'm surprised the Japanese are so bonkers over the game though, I thought they were more interested in Tekken.

Whatever.... Believe what you want... I'm irritated that you would honestly think I would just make something up. If you do a search, maybe you can find the story too. I'd give the link if I stumble across it again...

Oh... here it is...

http://na.sega-asia.com/news/2001/3.shtml

Like I said, I'm not sure of the credibility, especially since they are saying the 2001 show... But, again, I don't make stories up... Take the info there with a grain of salt...

But it is far from impossible that Sega might eventually port the game to X-Box.

You guys should chill out a little bit... Video Games... we're talking about video games. Not politics or religion or abortion. If you guys want to fight, then grab some controllers and virtua fight each other's faces in.

I'm not sure how the "exclusive" deal worked, but all Sega needs to do is call it VF4: Special Edition and they can consider it a different game, thus not violating the "exclusive" deal.

Personally, I really don't care that much. I don't play fighting games too much... I just think considering the number of games that Sega is releasing on ALL the systems, it is ridiculous to say that Sega is favoring PS2 and not confident in the X-Box.

I know. I couldn't care less about what system someone prefers... only when they seem to be spreading potentially false information (Sega hesitant toward Microsoft?), and then acuse ME of lying...

I love the games Sega is bringing to Xbox. To me, it seems like they are favoring the Xbox, but I guess it's all a matter of perception.

I agree. The XBox seems to be getting tons of sequals to great Sega games.[list=1][*]Crazy Taxi 3[*]House of the Dead 3[*]Jet Set Radio Future, sequal to JGR[*]Sega GT2 Online[*]Shenmue 2[*]All the 2K sports series[/list=1]

Not to mention Gunkalkrie and Panzer Dragoon. I'm more than happy with Sega'a support so far.

Exactly, it just depends on what you like. Sega's X-box offerings don't appeal to me at all. The two biggest ones they're getting are Jet Set Future and Shenmue and I hated both of those games.

Honestly, I've just never been a huge Sega fan, even though I loved my dreamcast.

I always prefered Mario games to Sonic ones because the speed limited the gameplay IMO. The sonic adventure games are boring too IMO. And I always hated the Virtua Fighter games. They can't hold a candle to Tekken or Soul Calibur.

The only thing they really have that interests me is their excellent sports series, and that's on all three systems so it doesn't matter. Super Monkey Ball is excellent as well, and I hope the GCN continues to get sega's quirky titles, because next to sports that's what Sega does best IMO.

Funny how the company that made the console that already died is being discussed like it will be the "make or break" for the ones that are still around. I don't think any of them are really gonna go anywhere. Gamecube will probably settle into third and this may even be their last console and they'll just go into making games for other consoles. Microsoft will probably be second fiddle to Sony, but I think Xbox's launch in Japan will make things a bit more clear. All in all - I think all 3 of these systems are probably gonna be around for the next 3-5 years. If anything, out of the three Gamecube has a chance to pitter out, but probably not.

Tekken is bigger than VF in the states. Virtua Fighter is more popular than Tekken in Japan. As for the link, TGS has come and gone. That story is clearly very old, from even before the PS2 version was anounced, and that site has not been updated in months.

That story is nothing more than speculation about an announcement that was not made, at a show that happened months ago. But there WAS a story on, well, a website, so you're not lying. But the source wasn't exactly credible.

And I never said Sega was hesitant toward Microsoft. Sega appears to be following a pretty obvious strategy. The big money games like Virtua Fighter go to PS2. The sports games are multiconsole. The games that skew young go to the Gamecube. And the niche titles from the Dreamcast, such as Jet Set Radio and Shenmue, go to the Xbox, which is the system many gamers who were Dreamcast owners ended up buying.

I think Sega's policy shows a friendly relationship with Microsoft, and some faith that the console will be around for a while in the US, and the Xbox will probably attract some good titles, even though it will never have anything close to PS2's numbers in the US, because a lot of the people who bought Xbox buy a LOT of games.

However, the fact that VF4 is PS2 exclusive shows that Sega is not, as many perceive, "in bed" with Microsoft. XBox has questionable viability in Japan, and Sega is putting their game on the PS2 where the money is, rather than putting it on the XBox to boost Microsoft's chances.

Seriously guys, let's cool off here.

the xbox will not do well in Japan. If anyone really believes it will sell well they are not being realistic. the key for microsoft would be to sell ok numbers and have a steady sales stream. setting themselves up for a future console. the PS2 and followed by the GC will be 1 and 2 in Japan.

if microsoft shows even ok numbers and steady sales they will come out of japan ok.

I can't believe you can say this... you obviously don't know me, and are attacking me directly instead of attacking my comments. I'm surprised that the mods let you get away with such an overt personal attack -- especially when my comments were not console-bashing.

I currently own a PS2, DreamCast, PS1, N64, SNES, NES, Colecovision, and Atari 2600. The consoles I don't own (with the exception of GameCube and X-Box) I emulate. The only reason I don't own a GC or XBox is because money has been a bit tight and I can't find a compelling reason to buy either at this point. I'll probably buy one of them next year, and the other a year after that.

I am not against all of them, I'm personally pulling for PS2, and even though it's not the most powerful system, I have the most hope for it's success.

I compared the XBox to the PC, because under the shell, it basically is a PC. I personally don't think you can be a true gaming addict without a PC and a console system. So, in my eyes, most gamers are going to own a PC and an XBox. Right now my rig has better specs than the XBox does. Theoretically, games should be easy to port over to PC, and they should look better on my PC and be more expandable. I don't anticipate seeing a whole lot of non-PC XBox titles, though I could be proven wrong. And, I think that some gaming is better on a PC than it is on a console. First person shooters, in my opinion, play much better on PC than on any console I've played. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater plays better with a PS2 controller than it does with any standard PC controller -- thats why I have an adapter to use a PS2 controller on my PC. To say that console gaming is always better or PC gaming is always better is exactly the kind of "xxxxx bashing" comment you're railing against.

The only reason I think that XBox is going to hang on, is because time and time again Microsoft has shown that it does not mind throwing money down a pit to increase market share tomorrow. It takes a monumental failure for a long period of time before they start pulling funding. And, even if Nintendo has 8 billion in the bank, which is no small amount of change, it's nearly chump change for a company like Microsoft. That's about a tenth of Bill Gates' personal wealth alone. Microsoft reported earnings of 6.46 billion for just the first quarter of last year. Nintendo posted only 535 million through september. Microsoft can quite literally outspend Nintendo right into the ground and never miss the money. They play in a totally different league. It would be like you trying to outbid Michael Jordan on ebay for a one-of-a-kind item you both want.

In the end, I think Sony has the critical 12-30 market locked up tightly, and Microsoft will outspend everyone in the quest to gain market share. I think Nintendo will drop making consoles, much as Sega did, rather than compete with the two giants that are Microsoft and Sony. I imagine Nintendo clinging to it's handheld market and making software for other systems rather than chasing down XBox and PS2 and possibly endangering the whole company.

ein, very nicely put. I don't think that was a personal attack on you, but rather he misconstrued your comments.

The reason an Xbox is so attractive is it offers a lot of gaming for a decent price compared to a computer. I'd rather drop $300 on a console than $300 on a video card. The console gives me 5.1 sound, viewable on my bigscreen tv, multiplayer (online) access, a DVD player, and other things. It's a real nice package for a good price.

Xbox also has some leverage over the PC market in that they can program specifically for the Xbox rig and not worry as much about compatibility. It's a great system for someone who isn't interested in dropping bucket loads of money on the hottest PC rig in the market, only to have it outdated within 6 months. I have a 750 mhz computer, and I can play games like The Sims, and other non-3d heavy games on it, no sweat. The Xbox is getting both the best PS2 games (which are being enhanced), and the best PC games, along with their own great original games that you won't see on either.

I agree with you completely about Nintendo's future. They have a cashcow in the handheld market, but they've been doing progressively worse with consoles since the N64. We should see a Coke/Pepsi market in the next generation.

Microsoft is big, but their ability at this point, to pour money down this venture, is questionable. If they really were able to buy the video games market, they could just eat another $200 in losses per unit, and dump XBoxes into the market at $99. Everyone would buy one. They'd sell all they could manufacture through June at least, and when the smoke cleared, they'd almost certainly lead the PS2.

At this price, Microsoft would be able to compete not only with Gamecube for Christmas sales, but also with Game Boy. And once the base was installed, the developers simply wouldn't be able to ignore it.

This would have cost about $300 million on the 1.5 million launch systems, or about $900 million, if they had tripled their launch sales. Isn't a billion dollars mere chicken feed to corporate behemoth Microsoft? Even if they had sold 20 million units while losing the same amount on each console (highly unlikely), they still would have been out less than $5 billion, which, as many point out, is a mere fraction of Gates's personal worth

This would certainly be in keeping with Microsoft's past actions, especially their conquest of Netscape, in which they took over the browser market by creating a competing product, and then giving it away for free.

If they really planned to enter the games market with that strategy, they would have had to have taken bigger losses on the XBox, to get it into more homes. The $300 price point really shows that, in fact, Microsoft is not interested in pouring billions down the XBox toilet, or, at least, that their investors will not tolerate that kind of business at this juncture. Microsoft intends to turn a profit on the XBox by 2004. Their investors demand it. Thus, their spending is governed by that limitation.

If they get to the point where they will not be able to turn a profit on the XBox, based on their strategy so far, it seems they would more likely cut their losses than try to keep it floating artificially by pouring more and more money into it.

What evidence is there, based on Microsoft's actions, that they are willing to lose money in the long term on the XBox?

I don't think any company, ever will come out with a plan to intentionally lose money on a product no matter what it is. Maybe if it use as a tax shelter, but come on, I don't think microsoft plans to keep losing money. It will take time to get over development costs for the system, but given a few years there is really no evidence that indicates they will lose money. I thought about getting the Xbox, but the only thing that really held me back was the fact that no American supported system has ever succeeded in the market place. Developers do, but never the system itself. I do think xbox is in a good position because its made by microsoft, but Sony is a entertainment giant and might be able to get more lucrative licenses in the long run. It probably is too early to tell, but I would not mind seeing some sales figures if anyone has a link.