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Steamy action as Wii & Zelda get ready to ship
Wii production facilities and employees are in full swing, packaging up what could be your preorder right before your very eyes. Reader CluelessJoe hit us up with some sweet b-roll footage, and we added a bit of a soundtrack to help spice things up, otherwise they would look like mindless drones serving the Queen bee, "BRING ME MY WIIMOTES!" In less than a week those cardboard boxes will be arriving at doorsteps, stores and secret headquarters throughout North America. Will you be getting down with it?[Thanks, CluelessJoe]
All kinds of crazy Wii production
According to some silly subscription-only news service (briefing.com, for the unabashedly curious), Nintendo has completed production of some 2 million units in Q3 alone. Nintendo, remember, had only promised 4 million by the end of the calendar year, and 6 million by fiscal year's end (March 31st). But with all of October and half of November to roll out the units, the figures may jump up even higher. The report claims that Nintendo has at least 7 million planned for Q4 production, and even up to 9 million seems feasible. That's potentially eleven million Wiis by year's end. It seems that the later-than-expected release date of November 19th was not a result of hardware shortages, but rather to give software developers a chance to properly finish their titles. While all these consoles sitting around, having tea and just waiting for the 19th is a nice picture, it's also important that Nintendo maintain the image of must-have and hard to find. It's a delicate balance, to supply the demand and yet seem like you can't ... hopefully, Nintendo can pull it off. [via Joystiq]
Wii production exceeding expectations
Briefing.com reports (subscription only) that, according to UBS, 2 million Wii consoles were completed in Q3 (July-September) to support Nintendo's upcoming Q406 global console launch, beginning November 19th in North America. In addition, "at least 7 mln and potentially as high as 9 mln more units are in the build plan for 4Q06." The report continues, "this production ramp handily exeeds [sic] a publicly announced tgt for 6 mln units to ship by yearend"; however, Nintendo had previously announced plans to ship 6 million units by the end of their fiscal year (ending March 31, 2007) and only 4 million by the end of the calendar year. The language appears to indicate the possibility of building, if not shipping, as many as 11 million Wii consoles by the end of the calendar year!With production exceeding expectations, why release the console so much later than many anticipated, and right on top of the PlayStation 3's November 17th launch? It all comes down to software. While Nintendo may have warehouses full of Wiis, they need a launch lineup and reliable system software to go along with all that stockpiled hardware. But Zelda has to be done ... we would have been happy with just that, promise.
Broadway chip production well underway since July
IBM announced that their custom-designed Broadway chip for the Nintendo Wii has been sitting in Nintendo's hands since July, resting ever-so-silently, poised to strike like a Puma silently stalking its prey. Ron Martino, director of IBM Technology Collaboration Solutions, commented that production fears should be nonexistent as "We have been shipping well within this quarter (July)," and going on further to say that "In fact, we have shipped a significant volume in this quarter." All well and good, but what about you, the one craving the Wii so bad you've been drawing pictures of it in your notebook, perhaps encapsulated by a red heart with a cartoonish arrow sticking through it reading "Nintendo & Chad 4 Ever?" What does it mean for you? First off, don't ask how we've seen your notebook. Second, you should be thinking "Well, if Nintendo had these chips since July, why haven't they been manufacturing Wiis?" That last one, we really don't have an answer for.So would Nintendo go the way Sega did with the Saturn, springing it upon gamers much like that Puma in the first paragraph leaped upon its prey? Probably not, but it makes that event coming on the 14th that much more interesting.
Nintendo says Wii production going smoothly
Earlier this week, rumors started cropping up about possible delays in the production of the Wiimote. Yeah, we know. When those little scamps get together, they're worse than a sewing circle. But Nintendo took the time to answer this one."The reports are entirely rumour and speculation," a rep told GamesIndustry.biz. "I can confirm that the Wii is very much on course for a Q4 release." And we're glad to hear it.
New PSP in production?
An article featured on a Chinese gaming website details how a production company is working on a revised PSP. We've heard the rumors for a long time now, but Sony keeps on denying them. It would be great to see if Sony was simply bluffing... but alas, I don't read the language! So, if any of you Fanboys out there can translate this article, it would be great! Imagine having stars next to your name every time you comment. Wow![Thanks Joe Jordan, Via Go Nintendo]
Start your engines: PS3's are in production
According to certain reports, Asustek Computer has started shipping PlayStation 3's back to Sony in small numbers as the manufacturing process is clearly underway. Two hundred thousand component sets were shipped to Asus in June and over one million are planned for September and October. This means the hardware has finally been ironed out and that they're ready to get things started. Higher volumes are expected in the coming months, so it looks like their projected 2 million unit launch availability will happen after all. However, those units are going to be stretched thin over many a region, and if demand spikes then we could see a shortage before the end. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
DV Guru reviews Montage - Mac screenwriting software
Our pal Ajit Anhony at our sister blog DV Guru has reviewed Montage, a new screenwriting app from Mariner Software, makers of the popular MacJournal. Overall Ajit is satisfied with Montage and sees a bright future for this app in a (finally) growing industry of Final Draft competitors. However, Ajit can't help but compare Montage to his personal favorite, Celtx, especially since Celtx's price of $0 and innovative feature set make it hard to beat.Check out Ajit's review for in-depth details on what this new screenwriting app can offer.
"Why first generation Apple products suck"
Gundeep Hora at CoolTechZone has taken a critical eye to what some consider are Apple's recent and rocky 1st generation product launches. The article utilizes two examples - the iPod nano scratch issue and MacBook heat complaints - to illustrate what Gundeep argues is Apple's faulty process of releasing products and then reacting to serious flaws when the public outcry spreads across enough blogs and petition sites.Whether you're already hastily typing a comment to flame Gundeep or you have one of those aforementioned petitions already open in a separate tab, Gundeep has written an interesting piece that I think could strike a deeper chord if he used a find/replace command to swap the word 'Apple' with 'the computing industry as a whole'. Similar criticism of Apple's 1st generation production quality crops up on the web every couple of months like clockwork, and I think it's because there is an unusually high level of expectation surrounding their products. I'm not saying Gundeep's criticism is misplaced; quite the contrary: my first Mac ever was the 1st generation of 12" PowerBooks (867 MHz baby!) and I had to go through four of them to get one that didn't overheat or have a hard drive that choked itself to death within hours of bringing it home. To make matters worse, the Apple Store, including its snotty manager, treated me only slightly better than that sticky stuff you try to scrape off the bottom of your shoe. My next Mac experience was the 1st gen 15" Aluminum PowerBook that was a part of the 'white spots' debacle - case in point: I feel Gundeep's pain, but Apple isn't the only computer and electronics company to exhibit these kinds of mass production complications. Other computer makers have had to recall batteries and entire batches of one computer model or another. Dell recently had to replace some faulty displays, and I can't remember which mobile phone company's batteries are exploding this week.To wrap this all up: Apple sets the bar high with their unique design and flashy marketing, and because of that, I think their customers and the media at large simply hop on board for the honeymoon each and every time the company whips out a shiny new toy. Criticism like Gundeep's seems to appear when the fantasy inevitably hits speed-bumps that are simple facts of life and mass production. In the end Apple is a company, like any other, that is susceptible to hardware defects, firmware botches and software hiccups. Then the conversation turns to products, quality and accountability of the industry as a whole - but I think that discussion might be better suited for a different post. Granted, none of these issues are any fun when you're the one stuck with the bad apple (yes, a pun), but sensationalizing the situation isn't going to solve anything. Keeping a level head, however, and understanding that 1st gen hardware can sometimes be a gamble - no matter who it's from - just might save a few headaches, and perhaps then you won't need to sign that petition after all.
Sharp & Corning expand LCD production
After stumbling in the race to dominate LCDs due to a lack of production capacity, it appears Sharp is doing something about it. Corning has announced plans to expand an existing plant later this year, as well as an agreement to supply Sharp with 40" LCD screens. Also of note is that they are calling these new screens the most "environmentally-friendly" LCD glass on the market.The flat panel market continues the go big or go home trend, but have we seen the 32" LCD for $799 yet? (Actually, it appears there are a few.)
Behind the scenes of filming "The Office" in HD
Even though tonight's episode of The Office is a rerun, you can get some more info on the world of Jim, Michael, Pam & Dwight in this article posted earlier this month. The Production Manager and Director of Photography go a bit into what it takes to shoot and produce each episode of the show. As some of our commenters continually remind us, in Europe the TV shows have long been in widescreen, and that was part of the reason they kept shooting it that way for the show here (you hear that Scrubs?).[Via DV Guru]
The daily grind: when playing turns into work
There's an interesting back-and-forth discussion over at Terra Nova on the subject of gameplay and labour; as the boundaries between work and play become blurred, what are the issues and where will the trend lead? Unless you're a pro gamer or gold farmer, playing games is unlikely to net you any real-world salary, and yet many of us log into MMOs to continue our "daily grind". A serious commitment to World of Warcraft, for example, can leave one with a raid schedule more gruelling than a day job. The boundary blurs elsewhere, too, when you carry out a complicated task in-game that you couldn't do in real life. The difference is that by playing a game, you have control over what you do, rather than relinquishing the reins to an employer. Perhaps this will lead to higher self-employment and entrepreneurship amongst gamers--certainly worlds like Second Life let you work in-game for real cash. A warning, though--once the game becomes a job, the roles may reverse, leaving real life as the fun distraction.
iMacs cost $898 to make?
MacSlash has come across a report from analyst firm iSuppli that claims the materials used to build the latest Intel iMac cost Apple roughly $898. This includes an estimated price of $265/Intel Dual Core chip, which is based on prices from Intel's site that are $294/chip in orders of 1000. The estimate, however, does not include other elements such as the mouse, keyboard or advertising. I won't regurgitate the rest of the price breakdown though, so check it out for yourself.While I'm no professional analyst, most of the pricing in that report sounds just a little bit high to me. I'm sure Apple is *probably* buying Dual Core chips in batches that are slightly larger than 1000, and $265/chip sounds nuts. Heck, a computer that costs $898 in mere parts (nevermind designing, building, advertising, shipping, etc) that sells for only $1299 sounds pretty nuts to me too, even for a company like Apple who could probably benefit from news like this hitting the streets.Just in case this report is right, though: that is one expensive computer, and one heck of an expensive chip. Here's hoping this big transition is ultimately worth it.
Samsung begins shipping LCD screens from new production line
Samsung announced today that they have begun shipping 36" and 40" LCD panels off of their second seventh gneration production line, claiming they now have two lines actually producing volume before any of their competitors are shipping from their 7G lines at all. Sound like a dig at LG? Yeah just a little bit.They claim this will give them the lead in producing TV's in the 40 & 46" sizes, and keep LCD's dominant over PDP in sales #'s for 2006.
