Will Nintendo ever go online?

[zero]

I agree that the Nintendo is Kiddie argument is old and played out, but it's still there and the average consumer still believes it.

The difference between Halo and Halo 2? Absolutely nothing except it's only the second game in the series. And the GTA series has a different story every time and the jump from VC to San Andreas was huge. Mario has been doing the exact same thing since 1986, saving the Princess. Don't get me wrong, Sunshine is one of my favorite games out there (despite the infuriating camera), but to the average consumer...

Regardless, Mario games will always sell, but I don't think they sell systems anymore. But Nintendo isn't alone there, the XBox wouldn't have outlasted the Dreamcast without Halo. However, the XBox had an amazing advertising campaign and Microsoft's money backing it. Thus, it has become the console of the so-called "hardcore gamer."

And is Nintendo making money? Absolutely, thanks to its handheld market, which is about to see real competition for the first time ever. Bottom line, Nintendo's different view on the industry is fine, as long as they still give the average consumer what they want. Refusal to get behind online gaming is foolish, as foolish as Sony refusing four controller ports. The only difference is, Sony is now a juggernaut who can afford a mistake like that. I'm not saying Nintendo is going the way of Sega tomorrow, but the next round is going to be interesting. I think Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot by rushing the next generation of systems.

[Commander Sheepard]

I agree with you about Microsoft shooting itself in the foot. I mean, look AT Sega, for example. They didn't gain a lot by being first to market with the Dreamcast. If anything, that allowed their competitors to counteract any advantage the Dreamcast might have otherwise had. And it's not like X-Box has been out forever. I mean, lord, it's only been a few years. I don't think they've fully explored the power and potential in THIS system, so why rush to get out another one?

As far as Nintendo making money, I'll agree that a large part is thanks to the handheld market. But, if I'm remembering correctly, doesn't Nintendo still make money on any GC sold? I know they did at first, but I'm not sure if they still do due to the recent price cuts. And frankly, it's 3:30, and I'm about to go to bed, so I'm not gonna look tonight. lol

But I'll agree that the next round will go a long, long ways in determining who'll survive and for how long. Apparently there are some unique things being planned for the Big N's next system, including a (rumored) total redesign of the controller to not feature any type of d-pad or a and b buttons. So Nintendo has something up their sleeves, which is nice to know. I would hate to see them go the same way as Sega, as there is still nothing quite like playing a Zelda game on a Nintendo system. Zelda on X-Box 2, or PS3?

[zero]

Well you don't have to worry about Nintendo going Sega. They said the minute the stop making consoles is the minute they stop making games. Now that's easy to say when it's not happening, but Nintendo's word is really the only one you can take when speaking on this hypothetical.

I could see Nintendo's next controller being some sort of touch-screen since they've already explored the technology with the DS. Also can see built-in microphones and other neat little features like that. It could certainly be the hip, slick device they need to re-invent themselves along with another White Zombie ad campaign. Nintendo has always been a great innovator and I'm definitely looking forward to what they have in store for their next system.

And I dunno if they make money, but I do know they're behind XBox in sales and they're both far behind Sony.

[Steveomac]

Even though GC was 3rd in system sells the christmas they came out didnt they make way more money than Xbox? From what I remember GC was making money on everyone sold while Xbox was losing like $100 for every system sold.

[oldskool]

I'm not sure on the accuracy of the figures Stevomac points out, but I'm pretty sure he's right that Nintendo at least broke even with GC sales while Microsoft took a hit on theirs.

And Nintendo NEVER went to CD, they went to their funky mini-discs instead. Not the worst option in the world, and I do enjoy the insanely short load times, but still, open up virtually any game mag that compares, say, Madden, on all three systems and see which one ranks lowest.

Microsoft's confident that an extra year of Xbox2 sales will balance out the opportunity for PS3 and Revolution to counter the innovations.

[SeanDMan]

Mario has been doing the exact same thing since 1986, saving the Princess.

Are you trying to say the jump from GTA: VC to GTA: SA is bigger then the jump from, say, Super Mario World to Super Mario Sunshine?

[Steveomac]

I'm not sure on the accuracy of the figures ether I just remember them talking about it on the screensavers.