Nintendo Revolution due for world launch in June '06?
By Paul Miller 
posted Oct 27th 2005 9:00AM
posted Oct 27th 2005 9:00AM
Well, since we just hit you with the totally and completely unconfirmed rumor of a
Spring '06 launch for the PS3, we might as well go full
out and throw in another completely unconfirmed date:
Nintendo Revolution in June
of 2006. SPOnG News is reporting this one, and they seem rather confident, claming multiple sources have confirmed the
date. Supposedly, Nintendo is shooting for launching the console in Japan, the United States, and Europe all in June,
with Europe possibly spilling over into July. SPOnG is also pretty confident on $200 for the US launch price, but, just
like pretty much everything in this report, nothing is official.
[Thanks, Alex]
CAn't wait for Mario Revolution!!! 1-UP!!
I WANT Nintendo to do well, but I don't think they'll make the cut.
Sooner release the better. Must have the rev, need the rev.
I'm personally excited about the retro gaiming on this. I don't think Nintendo will be on top competing against the other 2 consoles, but they'll make do. oh, and Zelda!
I can't wait for this thing to come out. But I will, and will pass on the the X360 and PS3. They'll just have to come in 2nd place.
I hope Nintendo gives up on producing consoles after this effort and becomes a full time game publisher (ie Sega), because as a game publisher, with all the classic titles in their lineup, they could easily push EA and the other well none publishers into the #2 spot with the mear mention of their titles being availible on all consoles. Can you imagine Zelda using the full capabilities of the 360 or PS3? They'll always sucessfully sell thier consoles to preteens, but why settle for being the number three console maker (low to no profit business anyway) when you can be the number one Game Publisher (cha ching!). Lets all do the math here.
Christian,
Nintendo have stated they will never be a games only developer, they will always create consoles.
So at least we still have one true gaming company in the business.
1L4M3,
that's almost exactly how I feel. nintendo is the only company who is innovating, the only one who is advancing the medium. There are so many possibilities to be creative and make amazing interactive entertainment, and nintendo seems to be the only one to recognize this. Now, if they could just get some good ID skills and quit making ugly objects... (maybe hire some sony designers???)
Iwata has said that if the revolution doesn't sell more then the gamecube they will consider it a failure. I think if the public rejects the revolution we may very well see Nintendo go the Sega route. Personally I know revolution is the only of the 3 systems I’m going to buy, I need their first party games. In this upcoming generation I think the PC will get most of the major titles ported as developers try to recoup the higher cost.
Christian:
Nintendo made more money than the console divisions of sony / microsoft this generation, even while being in third place.
How many great games has sega released since they went third party ? I honestly can't think of any.
I'm no nintendo fanboy, having never owned any console after the NES, but I have to say that my gameboy/ds has been exponentially more fun to play with than any of the other consoles this generation. Perhaps I'm just not the target market for sony / microsoft though.
Even if the Revolution fails, Nintendo won't go the way of the Sega. Why? Their portable market is still extremely healthy. Plus, they have so much money backing them up, they could probably create two more consoles in a row and still be fine, financially.
Anyway, this launch date sounds about right, considering that developer kits started shipping a bit before TGS (well, supposedly). And seeing as Nintendo has said that the SDK is nearly the same as the GameCube's, that would leave developers with about a year or so of development time for a launch game. Sounds about right.
I believe Nintendo will create quite a stur with it's new system coming out. I believe more people are also going to buy a more affordable system. I mean common, whose going to spend another $400 on a gamesystem that allows you to play the same damn games you could on their last one, but with slightly better graphics.
The Revolution will be a wave of the FUTURE
At $200, Rev is probably going to be the only next-gen console that real people can actually afford to own.
Well, hopefully this rumor is true. 'cause the sooner I get my hands on a Revolution, the better. No doubt with the controllers "mouse-like" control type it will attract some PC Gamers, and the download service will bring back the classic gamers. I doubt the revolution will be a failure. Its been stated before, that if Nintendo Stops making systems, they'll completely stop making games. These other systems cant handle the innovation.
One of my favorite things about the revolution is that it is a GameCube upgrade. Sure it'll have new and exciting stuff, but my game library will not change, and my controllers (2 wavebirds, 4 wired, 4 congos) will all still work and stay in the same location that they are in my entertainment center. I'm going to bring the Revolution home the day it comes out and play punchout. I really cant wait.
I'm really excited about the Revolution. As I get older I don't really have the time it takes to play through the longer games on the PS2/3 and XBox. I love having a GBA for quick games on the train / when I'm waiting for something. $200 is the perfect price point especially since it'll play all the Gamecube games and tons of retro titles.
From what I've read, Nintendo can turn a profit without being a market leader, just like they did with the GameCube, because their hardware is consistently cheaper to produce then the competitions. It's rare for Nintendo to sell hardware at a price point where they lose money on each system sale, but that's modus operandi for MS and Sony.
"I think if the public rejects the revolution we may very well see Nintendo go the Sega route."
No, you'll be more likely to see them pull out of the gaming business altogether.
Don't forget, Nintendo does more than make video games, and they've been around since before video games even existed. And the games themselves are not their bread and butter, their franchises and hardware are - I can't see that they'd have much interest in spreading Mario around to other consoles. It'd dilute what they're all about. It'd be like Disney releasing films under the Sony brand name; it just wouldn't make sense for them. If Disney could no longer afford to put animation out under their own banner, they'd just quit doing it. (In fact, that's pretty much what they've done.)
Sega has also not exactly blazed a successful trail for hardware manufacturers to switch to third-party development. They're finally barely profitable, but I can't see how a huge company like Nintendo (which is way bigger than Sega ever was) would want to go from being consistently profitable to several straight years of losses followed by "significant shrinkage" and then a barely eked-out existence. What's the point? If anything, Sega has shown Nintendo what not to do, both in terms of business and creatively.
I don't know if the Revolution will be successful or not. As we've seen with the GameCube, a legion of internet fanboys does not a successful console make. (Though "success" in this case is relative; Nintendo is still the only consistently-profitable hardware maker, a pretty stark contrast to MS's $4 billion in losses on the Xbox.) But it'll be a cold day in hell before Nintendo goes third-party. They'll fold up the company first. But it's more likely they'd just go back to making toys and trading cards.
I agree with iBill. $400 is steep... $200 is nice. I can afford $200, especially considering I can sell my gamecube and get about $40-50 for it. Not to mention that even before I buy the system I already have a nearly 40 game library for it (gamecube games)...
Jeff, I remember when people where saying the exact same thing about what Apple will and won't do and look what will be inside every Apple box 6 months from now. Companies never take the If I cant do it my way, I'll fold the tent and quit attitude, because there's to much money to pass on even when you can't have it your way. Nintendo will likely make a profit on this console, but lets face it, their selling their great titles in a fishbowl of consumers. Sure, the revolution will sell 2 million units and the next version of Zelda will get a 10.0 ranking, but their only going to sell 2 million copies of zelda tops with their mini me market share. Put Zelda out for the XBox 360 and the PS3 and 2 million rises to 12 million copies sold at $49.99. Sure everyone is greatful for Nintendo's innovation and all, but damn that's a lot of missed revenue and a whole lot of gamers waiting on everything Nintendo releases.
Judging from the huge success of the DS, I dont think Nintendo has many worries. Playing the DS now, I can say I dont even CARE about the new XBox or PS3. The gaming isn't changing AT ALL with those systems. The DS is seriously one of the best systems to come out for gaming in such a long time, and if this transfers to the Revolution, I dont think I ever want to see another console that just does typical 3D games. I'm sick of those; I need more from gaming now.
If somehow the Revolution fails, Nintendo wont be going anywhere. They will still continue to make consoles and games. Making Zelda on the 360 or PS3 would be a terrible idea unless the 360 or PS3 brought something new to the table to make the games a bit different.
They will do just fine. I also hope for a spring release. That would be sweet. $200 price tag would be a sure fire winner!!!
If the Revolution were to fail, the GBA and DS market is plenty strong, thankyouverymuch, and you could expect Nintendo to just get out of the TV console business, but not the handheld business. Let's not forget that the #2 console behind the PS/2 is....the Gameboy Advance.
The fact that Nintendo has managed to survive a mistake like the Virtual Boy and remain profitable should be an indication of their business savvy. Sega, since becoming a 3rd-party company, hasn't produced much to be proud of. An endless litany of poorly produced rehash games (which were iterations of existing engines or simple reduxes of old licenses), a couple of gems and a whole load of mediocre.
Why is everyone talking like this COULD fail? I just can't see that happening. I mean... really. How?
How COULD the Revolution fail?
1) Be third in marketshare (check)
2) Produce a system that pales in gameplay and graphics to the competition (if no high-def support and underpowered - check)
3) Have a gimmicky control (perhaps its another power glove and nobody knows because nobody has actually used it in an actual game AND if it requires different casings to be useful - check)
4) Have limited 3rd party developer support (check)
5) Charge an excessive amount to download old games (do people realize that Xbox Live Arcade will allow for the downloading of old games AND they are upgraded to high-def or you can play them in their original mode for $5-7)
You asked how the Revulsion could fail, so I laid out some reasons why it would fail. Personally, I think Nintendo will be a failure in this next-gen if Iwata considers sales less than the Gamecube a failure. Nintendo's business should be handhelds. If they aren't careful, they might lose that market space just like they did consoles. Eventually the PSP will have some high quality games for it and be affordable (or some later revision of it). In the Console Wars, the PS3 will probably win, but the 360 will be a close second because of its online services which even allow for indie game development and publishing to Xbox Live Arcade. The Revolution will be a distant third (1/2 to 3/4 the sales of the Gamecube), unless the controller is a revolution, but it seems far closer to an expensive gimmick requiring different casings and add-ons to be effective and useful.
From a developer ...
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051027-5489.html
ouch.
You mean 2 million at launch, right, Christian?
nostradamus, don't feel bad when your predictions prove wrong, the original never got it right either.
Investors seem excited by Nintendo's hardware announcements. I think NTDOY will hit $20 in the next 5 years. In fact, I'll go one step further and predict it hits $20 within 18 months after the next Gameboy is announced.
>>From a developer ...
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051027-5489.html
ouch._> of course not, you only read the red text...
First of all, he's an XBOX 360 game designer, he's not going to condone other platforms, second of all have you seen his games? They're "pretty" but have about as much innovation in them as any other shooter out there, almost none.
All in all, I'm still waiting for the Rev games to be shown, but I'm sure they won't be too bad >_> after all, NGC had great games, just not a lot of them.
I dont like the cube because the best output it gives is through svideo and 2 channel rca audio is crap. I hope the rev has built in optical output.
The best video output is through component cables. http://store.nintendo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&langId=-1¤cy=USD&ignoreCrumbs=N&crumb1=&crumb1Ignore=&crumb2=%253CA%2BHREF%253D%2522javascript%253APassOn%2528%2527X%2527%252C%2B%2527ChooseView%2527%252C%2527%2527%252C%2B%2527%2527%2529%253B%2522%253ENintendo%2BGameCube%253C%252FA%253E&crumb2Ignore=&crumb3=%253CA%2BHREF%253D%2522javascript%253APassOn%2528%2527C%2527%252C%2B%2527CategoryDisplay%2527%252C%252744009%2527%252C%2B%2527N%2527%2529%253B%2522%253EParts%2B%2526%2BAccessories%253C%252FA%253E&crumb3Ignore=&translateFrom=%C8%C9%C7&translateTo=EEC&usrSearchText=&searchText=&selSrchType=&page=&view=&productId=63594&categoryId=44009&lastAction=ProductDisplay&orderTotal=null
I think This will be the only console Im getting, Reason One ZELDA reason two Im not shellin gout 499 dollars.
I read on a respected game site that this news actually was a confirmed statement from Nintendo.
I don't know if anyone has heard about it yet, since it's still pretty fresh. Go to this link and read what the Big N is doing! I'm so disappointed. And you'll find out why after you read the article.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=6872
I see the early release date of the Xbox 360 as an act of desperation. Even I admit to having the feeling of buying the Xbox 360 just because it's out first. They're hoping for our impatience to get the better of ourselves. It's a great console over all but that huge brick that every advertisement seems to 'forget' about is an enormous turn off. I want a console thats affordable, portable and powerful. This is why I feel Nintendo is going to win this round. Now many say that their controller will be the death of them but I laugh at them for their ignorance. Whats more desireable than a controller than can be held with one hand, one that is wireless AND is responsive to movement?! nothing that's what. All these consoles keep boasting about their 8 usb ports and HD capabilities but they forget what gaming is all about. It's not about the latest technology because if it was, all consoles would be is a computer in a box with an "x" on it, hint, hint. The level of interaction that the Nintendo revolution will bring will surely bring Nintendo to the top of this round.