[hey69]

May 27th by Johnny Minkley

Nintendo’s GameCube successor looks certain to be the final major next-generation platform to launch in all territories – with sources close to the Japanese giant suggesting the system will not hit PAL territories until Spring 2007.

And with Nintendo’s new Game Boy Micro set for a global roll-out later this year, retail is anticipating a price cut for SP, as the new handheld comes to market.

With Xbox 360 out later this year and PS3 slated by Sony for a spring ’06 launch, Nintendo refused to be drawn on its own timings during last week’s pre-E3 conference call.

But speaking to MCV after the event, a senior Nintendo source outlined the company’s current thinking. “Revolution will launch towards the end of next year,” the source said. “We’re currently looking at mirroring the DS strategy, so Revolution would release in the US first in November, closely followed by Japan – then we’re looking at March 2007 for PAL territories.”

Meanwhile, while Nintendo also refused to be drawn on pricing for its Game Boy Micro system, retail sources at the show said they had been briefed on what to expect.

“We’ve been told Micro will be priced between SP and DS,” said one leading specialist boss. “We also expect SP to reduce in price to accommodate it.”



/www.mcvuk.com

[Qroach]

That would certainly be a launch after Ms and sony (in other words last). was there any doubt really? They have done that with every console since the NES.

[PC-Engine]

Hehe I was right, fall of 2006 for Revolution. 8)

Hopefully they use that extra time for 65nm process tech and some performance extras thrown in for good measure.

Now since the SP is currently $80 and will get a price decrease, GBu should be around $80 when it launches. I was hoping it would be $50, but oh well. :P

[Kolgar]

I guess their timing doesn't really matter much, given they don't seem to be competing directly against Sony or MS anymore.

The only real detriment is, the fans have to wait longer.

[Evil_Cloud]

That will take longer than I was hoping for, but it is a 5-year cycle for Europe (2002 - 2007)... Guess I'll import a Japanese one and buy an European shortly after.

[Nightz]

They never learn. They should be taking notes from Microsoft and release near simultaneously. Its amzing Nintendo has been making consoles for 20 years and they still havent learnt how to allocate their resources for a simultaneous worldwide launch.

[mckmas8808]

Well I just Nintendo will just have to loss more market share. :? As long as they profit thats all that matters.
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Starcraft Ii Replay

[Kolgar]

Originally Posted by Nightz

They never learn. They should be taking notes from Microsoft and release near simultaneously. Its amzing Nintendo has been making consoles for 20 years and they still havent learnt how to allocate their resources for a simultaneous worldwide launch.

Maybe they have learned something.

It seems abundantly clear to me that the #1 reason Nintendo is in business is to sell its own games. Were this not true, it would have done more than just pay lip service to the "we're courting third parties" line these past two (N64 and GC) generations.

Given this fact, they're probably doing exactly what they need to do with Revolution.

They're not competing directly with Sony and Microsoft. Revolution won't be a next-gen console like PS3 and Xbox360. It will be a box for which and through which they can sell their own games, including their entire back catalog of titles.

With Sony and Microsoft both competing for essentially the same customers, Nintendo's found there's a wide-open space for Revolution as a first console for its core audience and potentially a second console for PS3 and Xbox owners.

With such a content overlap between PS3 and Xbox, Nintendo probably figures there's little need for owners of one system to buy the other. But with Revolution - a box that delivers some of the richest history that videogaming has to offer - that might very well appeal to people who've already bought one of the other game boxes.

It's actually a fairly bold and brilliant move for them. If it works, they could make money on a scale they haven't seen since the NES days.

So I don't really see a need for Nintendo to launch before Sony and Microsoft. It's offering something different from those companies, so it can release the system on its own schedule.