[Akumajou]

No the "next gen" is not going to start in 2012 and Nintendo is not going to announce a console before Microsoft or Sony.

The Nintendo Wii has not hit critical price points and game developers have not really made as much games as they did back in the PS2 days.

Call of Duty is not an indicative title to demonstrate the technical limitations of the Wii hardware, it is not even current gen technology for a 3d engine in the HD consoles.

Any company that tries to push a console jump in 2012 or even 2013 is either going to epic fail or just go bankrupt as the current technology is useless for a console jump and game developers and the games are not really trying to go forward or just complain about costly dev tech.

It only makes sense that since Wii is the EASIEST console to dev games on that devs are allowed flex their muscle and make the games that they think they can make, just getting new hardware is a useless thought unless I put on my Microsoft PC glasses.

[Squilliam]

Originally Posted by Akumajou

No the "next gen" is not going to start in 2012 and Nintendo is not going to announce a console before Microsoft or Sony.

The Nintendo Wii has not hit critical price points and game developers have not really made as much games as they did back in the PS2 days.

Whats a critical price point?

How does the number of games have any bearing? If the Xbox and Gamecube waited to reach that statistic there would only be a PS3 currently.

Any company that tries to push a console jump in 2012 or even 2013 is either going to epic fail or just go bankrupt as the current technology is useless for a console jump and game developers and the games are not really trying to go forward or just complain about costly dev tech.

The current generation technology is useless for a console jump? What basis is there to even state that?

It only makes sense that since Wii is the EASIEST console to dev games on that devs are allowed flex their muscle and make the games that they think they can make, just getting new hardware is a useless thought unless I put on my Microsoft PC glasses.

What says that the Wii is the easiest? I haven't seen developers praising how easy it is to make Wii games infact the only console to have that praise is the Xbox 360. They didn't say it was easy, they praised the tools for making the development process easier.

[wco81]

Here's my though process:

1. iPad can run a game with Infinity Blade like graphics.
2. iPad 2 may be able to render an Infinity Blade like graphics in 1080p and output it to an HDTV. That should be better than what the Wii can produce and may look comparable to PS3/360 graphics to the untrained eye.
3. iPad 2 sells 1 to 2 million units a month like the iPad. By the end of the year, there will be 15 million units with HDMI output? Some big games developers may dip their toes and try to make bigger games, with controller support.
4. iPad 3 a year from now will close the gap even more with PS3/360. So people who spent $500 or more for an iPad or other tablet may conclude, why would I spend another $200-300 for a PS3/360 for games? iPad games won't be as good as PS3/360 but they may be good enough on a device I already own.

There are a lot of ifs there but mobile gaming has come a long way in a short time. As these devices become more prominent, a lot of people may have to choose between a mobile device and a console in a given year, just as many may have chosen a smart phone over a handheld gaming device recently.

As tablets become more capable, we may see more people making similar decisions.

Of course, one of these days, we're going to get the next generation of consoles and they'll push the bar way above. Yet, the tablets which launch before or right after the next gen consoles launch may be capable of decent HD graphics and draw enough developer support to be a viable choice for many people.

I'd like to see a next-gen console sooner than later (though not if it's a modest jump like what is being discussed for Nintendo if they came out next year). But honestly, if a tablet launched in 2012 or early 2013 is putting out good 1080p graphics (of course everyone has different criteria for what is "good" graphically) and has a couple of key publishers on board, I might hold off on the console at launch in favor of the tablet, which will do a lot of other things besides gaming (so will next-gen consoles, in all likelihood).

[lilbroK]

Originally Posted by Akumajou

No the "next gen" is not going to start in 2012 and Nintendo is not going to announce a console before Microsoft or Sony.

The Nintendo Wii has not hit critical price points and game developers have not really made as much games as they did back in the PS2 days.

Call of Duty is not an indicative title to demonstrate the technical limitations of the Wii hardware, it is not even current gen technology for a 3d engine in the HD consoles.

Any company that tries to push a console jump in 2012 or even 2013 is either going to epic fail or just go bankrupt as the current technology is useless for a console jump and game developers and the games are not really trying to go forward or just complain about costly dev tech.

It only makes sense that since Wii is the EASIEST console to dev games on that devs are allowed flex their muscle and make the games that they think they can make, just getting new hardware is a useless thought unless I put on my Microsoft PC glasses.

I can't say easiest but it is defintely the cheapest to produce for.

I don't see any new consoles coming out in 2012. The company that is most likely to drop a new console next would be Microsoft giving that theirs is the oldest and most problem filled. It should be easy to keep compatibility with games and hardware add-ons as well since the design of the devices has not reached a point of inefficiency.

[MarkoIt]

I think that the earthquake and the nuclear disaster might also effect next-generation plan from both Nintendo and Sony. It will have a large hit on the economy.

[Akumajou]

Originally Posted by Squilliam

Whats a critical price point?

How does the number of games have any bearing? If the Xbox and Gamecube waited to reach that statistic there would only be a PS3 currently.

The price point going south to $150 or eventually $130 and finally $99 where even the most critical penny pinchers won't think twice and sales numbers spike along the road reguarding those who still have not purchased a current Wii console.

That is not true, Sony's PlayStation 2 came out almost a year an a half AFTER Sega made their move during a time when both companies had no clue what Microsoft was really up to.

Sony's PS3 plans where obviously accellerated and pressured to lauch years before the desired time frame also combine the rampant piracy that was and is still being battled, there is just no proof that Sony would have made a foolish decision to lauch before both Nintendo and Microsoft, specially Microsoft, unless it happened in real life it goes against the grain.

The current generation technology is useless for a console jump? What basis is there to even state that?

The answer is simple, the economy and people or customer's behaviour with reguards to the current gen console launch and the fact that Nintendo (or any console company) enjoyed their absolute best years when they had alot of 3rd parties making games years into the life cycle.

The current gen tech is useless because it does not add anything usefull over the console tech in use and the unpredictability of customers simply making a not buying decision or the economy issues that exist today that were not as prevalent as when the current gen consoles were being planned for development and lauch.

Sure if I worked at a company that was desperate to get a contract to sell my CPUs or GPUs for Nintendo to rush out another console next year, I would obviously be telling you lies like zomg its the greatest thing since slice bread but the fact that the current console market leader is simply proving that its not about graphics or super advanced complex tech should tell you a hint.

What says that the Wii is the easiest? I haven't seen developers praising how easy it is to make Wii games infact the only console to have that praise is the Xbox 360. They didn't say it was easy, they praised the tools for making the development process easier.

Of course they are not going to praise like the glowing press does the Xbox 360 yet despite that the Nintendo Wii only has ONE CPU core for processing and a graphics chip that has less complex architecture than Microsoft or PS3 not to mention that the Wii's dev tool maturity is currently in its 5th year. The Wii is very much capable but it depends on the developer's decisions.

It has the simplest hardware set up and limitations, and simplest dev tools for a traditional game console in the current gen. Don't take this the wrong way but any dev making excuses about Wii games is simply making excuses not games.

BTW I do not even own a Wii, I missed out on the Red Wii I was going to buy, I'll get one definetly though.

Originally Posted by lilbroK

I can't say easiest but it is defintely the cheapest to produce for.

I don't see any new consoles coming out in 2012. The company that is most likely to drop a new console next would be Microsoft giving that theirs is the oldest and most problem filled. It should be easy to keep compatibility with games and hardware add-ons as well since the design of the devices has not reached a point of inefficiency.

Another layer, its cheaper due to the less complex nature of the console, that is not to say that complex games (within limitations) cannot be made, again its up to the developer.

But you are right unless Microsoft who have the deepest pockets reguardless what they do, make a new console there is no rush to make a jump.

Originally Posted by MarkoIt

I think that the earthquake and the nuclear disaster might also effect next-generation plan from both Nintendo and Sony. It will have a large hit on the economy.

I hope the situation improves in Japan and help gets to the affected areas, so much human loss and there is just no telling yet how much its going to affect future developments.

[Squilliam]

Originally Posted by Akumajou

The price point going south to $150 or eventually $130 and finally $99 where even the most critical penny pinchers won't think twice and sales numbers spike along the road reguarding those who still have not purchased a current Wii console.

The Wii costs $179 in stores, how much cheaper does it really need to get? It's doubtful they'll make much money if they dropped the price another $50 and certainly the low grade customers which would buy at that price who haven't been tempted yet will do little to make up for the shortfall.

The answer is simple, the economy and people or customer's behaviour with reguards to the current gen console launch and the fact that Nintendo (or any console company) enjoyed their absolute best years when they had alot of 3rd parties making games years into the life cycle.

I can't decide what you're trying to say there.

The current gen tech is useless because it does not add anything usefull over the console tech in use and the unpredictability of customers simply making a not buying decision or the economy issues that exist today that were not as prevalent as when the current gen consoles were being planned for development and lauch.

You say again that it doesn't add anything useful? It's as useful for a 600M transistor console to replace a 100M transistor console as it is for a 2B transistor console to replace a 600M transistor console. The main difference has always been performance between console generations and the performance difference will be no different than any previous generation bar the first.

Sure if I worked at a company that was desperate to get a contract to sell my CPUs or GPUs for Nintendo to rush out another console next year, I would obviously be telling you lies like zomg its the greatest thing since slice bread but the fact that the current console market leader is simply proving that its not about graphics or super advanced complex tech should tell you a hint.

The current market leader which will likely get passed in yearly sales by one or more graphically superior consoles? That same market leader who's big innovation for the next handheld was graphics display? That one?

[Cyan]

Originally Posted by MarkoIt

I think that the earthquake and the nuclear disaster might also effect next-generation plan from both Nintendo and Sony. It will have a large hit on the economy.

I think so. But sadly, that's the situation of the country right now. The PS3 and 360 can still hold a candle against the PCs but the Wii looks totally unbalanced. Once the novelty worn off, they are not that entertaining anymore, except for the few games Nintendo genuises produce from time to time.

Wii is a console of the PS2 era and that fact is taking its toll. It was a console that moved the console market and technology forward, innovation wise, but its cycle has ended.

This is the HD era, the power of the system limits developers but also the lack of proper patching if there's a serious bug, the lack of features like playing a darn video at a decent framerate, etc, are serious limitations these days.

Wii changed the market and probably created new gamers but those gamers are also evolving and maybe want new things, not necessarily original as the Wii, but actually versatile.