Nintendo Develops New Home Game Console

2 hours, 25 minutes ago

By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer

TOKYO - Nintendo Co., which dominates the portable video-game machine market, said Wednesday it is developing a new home game console code-named "Revolution" in an apparent attempt to catch up with rival Sony Corp., which makes the PlayStation 2 console.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata refused to give details, saying he feared competitors will steal the plan, but said a prototype, which will be shown next year, will deliver "new ideas" for entertainment and won't be merely a more powerful version of its current Game Cube machine.

Iwata reiterated his view that Nintendo should not follow the strategy of Sony, which is working on a more powerful chip to drive its next home game machine.

He said the gaming industry is reaching a dead end as its past formula for success — dazzling consumers with more sophisticated imagery — no longer works. Game sales have been declining for years in Japan, and growth has been slowing even in the more solid U.S. market, he said.

"What we need is not a next-generation machine but a next-generation way of playing games," Iwata told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. "We need to propose a new idea so that the game industry can overcome its current crisis."

Global sales of the Nintendo Game Cube at 15 million lag behind Sony's PlayStation 2, which dominates the home console market with more than 71 million sold worldwide. U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. had sold nearly 14 million of its Xbox consoles worldwide as of the end of last year.

Nintendo, the Kyoto-based manufacturer behind the Super Mario and Pokemon games, is also facing competition from Sony in handheld game machines, a market Nintendo dominates with its Game Boy Advance.

Sony says it will start selling a portable version of its PlayStation machine later this year in Japan and overseas at a later date.

To counter that threat, Nintendo is planning a new portable game machine for later this year in the United States and Japan. The Nintendo DS, which stands for "dual screen," adds a new twist to its handheld GameBoy Advance by having two color liquid-crystal displays.

That allows players to see a close-up on one monitor and an overall map on the other in some games, or use one as a touch-panel to turn or move figures in other games, as well as relay scribbled messages to another player through a wireless connection.

"Double screens and touch panels are not new technologies," Iwata said. "The idea of using them for a game machine is new."

Takashi Oka, an analyst at UFJ Tsubasa Securities Co. in Tokyo, said Nintendo will likely hold up against the threat from Sony's offerings because of its ability to come up with appealing game software. Sony's PlayStation Portable, nicknamed PSP, will also probably be mostly used to watch video instead of playing games, he said.

"Nintendo's power in creating game software is still going strong," Oka said. "I don't consider the PSP as a game machine so its arrival won't affect Nintendo."

Sony's PlayStation Portable, nicknamed PSP, will also probably be mostly used to watch video instead of playing games, he said.

"Nintendo's power in creating game software is still going strong," Oka said. "I don't consider the PSP as a game machine so its arrival won't affect Nintendo."

Originally posted by Gil Jawetz
What's wrong with these guys? They are battling for second place but they seem to only want to compete with themselves: Dueling portables, dueling consoles. Crazy!

Originally posted by jediwicz
gcadvanced.com just posted an Iwata press conference article. It states pretty much what was said above but it also mentions a Mario Party 6 due later this year-playable without a controller!?!? My brain hurts.

Originally posted by Get Me Coffee
These guys are clowns, do they walk into press conferences wearing clown shoes?

Originally posted by Get Me Coffee
Nintendo is known for making outrageous statements. I recall back in the N64 days Nintendo defending themselves regarding cartridge over CD’s by pointing out that they are in the video game business not MOVIE business and that's why they will not use CD's. These guys are clowns, do they walk into press conferences wearing clown shoes?

Originally posted by UAIOE
I'll believe Nintendo's statement about "making better new games" when they quit recycling all thier NES and SNES games.

Originally posted by UAIOE
I'll believe Nintendo's statement about "making better new games" when they quit recycling all thier NES and SNES games.

Originally posted by PixyJunket
Considering that the only thing CD media offered from a gaming standpoint last generation WAS movies (and cd-quality audio) I don't see the problem with that statement. Also take into consideration the horrifying load times plagued with the first gen CD based systems. From both points, carts were a better idea on a strictly gameplay point of view. Now, of course, the cost of the media (plus the high licensing fees they charged) are what hurt the N64 because that's essentially what caused the 3rd party support to take to Sony and Sega.

Originally posted by PixyJunket
Luigi's Mansion
Pikmin
Metroid Prime
Zelda: Wind Waker
Animal Crossing
Cubivore
F-Zero GX
Custom Robo
Eternal Darkness
Super Smash Bros. Melee recycled

Interesting.

Originally posted by Get Me Coffee
WHAT!?!!? CD were the future then and Nintendo laughed at it! CD's weren't just for music and movies at this point in time.

Originally posted by PixyJunket
How much do you know about game development? I want you to tell me what would prevent Final Fantasy VII from being a cart based game if stripped of it's movies. Oh, and get technical since you seem to know for sure that CDs weren't just for music and movies. Thanks.

Originally posted by Josh Hinkle
I have no problem with it. Metroid Prime is the best game this generation by a LONG shot. You can have innovative game play in the same series, granted that games like MP are the exception to the rule and I too am sick of rehashed sequels (I mean ratchet and clank is great, but do we need a no game with new levels and some new gadges every year?). But Nintendo doesn't need to scrap there franchises to make good games IMO. They just need to continue improving the gameplay.

Originally posted by PixyJunket
Luigi's Mansion
Pikmin
Metroid Prime
Zelda: Wind Waker
Animal Crossing
Cubivore
F-Zero GX
Custom Robo
Eternal Darkness
Super Smash Bros. Melee

Interesting.

Originally posted by CreatureX
Well the fact that Sony gave the PSP a widescreen display, pretty much shows that movie watching (DVD movie ports) will be the main point of the system.