GDC: Nintendo

[casper]

Satoru Iwata will give his keynote today at 10:30am PST regarding the future of Nintendo. It's widely expected that he will unveil the Internet gaming capabilities of the DS as well as announce details - finally - about the Revolution.

There were interviews today with Reggie Fils-Aime, NOA's marketing exec, with regards to what can be expected from Iwata's keynote and also general thoughts on Nintendo's current situation and their future expectations.

Snippets from IGN: http://cube.ign.com/articles/594/594834p2.html

IGNcube: Nintendo previously stated that Mario 128 could be a GameCube title, and then it suggested that it might instead be for Revolution. Is Mario 128 for GameCube or Revolution?

Reggie: We're going to answer that question at E3. You know, we at Nintendo are probably waffling back and forth on what's the best thing to do. Legend of Zelda is going to be on GameCube. We're going to launch that this holiday. And there's more to come on what happens with Mario 128.

IGNcube: Microsoft and Sony have development kits out there for their next-gen systems. Are Revolution dev kits coming?

Reggie: Yes, they're on their way. We're hard at work providing pre-development tools to key licensees. And again, Mr. Iwata will be talking at length tomorrow at his keynote about our vision for Revolution. Are dev kits going to be on the way? Absolutely. Are dev kits going to be out on the marketplace with enough time to impact great development of software for Revolution? Absolutely. We are right on track for development of Revolution and that's a key message out there. We're not going to be late to the marketplace. We're going to be on time with our competition, which we've pegged as Sony. And certainly getting development kits out there in a reasonable fashion is a big part of making that happen.

IGNcube: Will the DS online network serve as an infrastructure for future online Revolution games?

Reggie: About DS wireless Internet play. Yes, we're going to be making announcements about that tomorrow. And there's going to be a lot of activity that we'll be sharing now through E3 and to the end of this year. We'll be launching wireless enabled games on DS this year. Could that framework be compatible with Revolution? Certainly it could. We'll be talking more about that, again both tomorrow and at E3. But it's very important for your community out there to understand that we see the potential for Internet play for all of our platforms to be a huge opportunity and something that we're going to be driving very aggressively.

Snippets from 1UP: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3138769

1UP: Any comment of what Mr. Iwata's going to say at his keynote speech?

RFA: What I'll tell ya is this. Mr. Iwata, in addition to relating his own personal development experiences, and that is one of the advantages versus our competitors. You know, that head of our company is a developer. He gets it. He knows what the life is like. But in addition to that, yeah we're going to talk about DS, we're gonna talk about wireless Internet gaming. We're gonna talk about that we're committed to it, that we're bringing it to life this year. We're gonna talk about Revolution, in terms of technology partners, we're gonna talk about how we're doing some things to bring it to market in ways that Nintendo hasn't done in the past. We're breaking the mold, we're breaking the mold by having Mr. Iwata do this speech, we're breaking the mold in the way that we're thinking about our next-generation platforms, including DS. And we're also putting out there, for ours fans, the fact that there's some things we could have done better on previous systems. The whole Internet gaming piece, we missed the boat on GameCube. We won't miss the boat in the future.

1UP: But you could say that same thing about past-generation Nintendo systems: That you have the best software. But in the end, it comes down to a lot of brand-power, and your marketing and your image. Everyone could say GameCube has a TON of great games that you can't get anywhere else, and yet the PS2 still kicks its ass in terms of hardware sales, just because it's a cooler, slicker machine. It's a mainstream machine, people get it. It's out there, involved with the entertainment industry in various ways that the GameCube isn't. It's likely the PSP will achieve similar success, because it's a cool, slick machine. And you guys are obviously going for an older audience with the DS, what happens when Sony comes along with this movie-playing machine, this MP3-playing machine, and it outsells you guys, becomes the cool thing to own, and you come in second place in handhelds?

RFA: That's a lot of "ifs" in that question. And frankly a lot of "ifs" I reject. Believe me, my energies are all about how do we continue driving DS? The first 2.5 million are in the bank. Where are the next five million coming from? That's what we're focused on. How do we continue to make sure SP sales are at a strong level so that DS is larger than incremental? How do we make sure that both our brands and our products are perceived much cooler than they have in the past? Absolutely, spending a ton of time on that. And we're doing a lot of things. We're doing some things with the hip-hop community. We're doing some things from a music perspective. So I hear the comment of "Hey, how do you make sure that the Nintendo image gets pushed in a proper way?" So that we're perceived as cool, "with it," "gotta have it," I hear ya. And we're working on it.

1UP: So why distance yourselves so far from the competiton? Why not move closer in the direction of, say, Sony, and design a system that acknowledges the trends of the time, the technology of the time?

RFA: You know, that's interesting, and this issssss something that probably doesn't interest the gamer all that much, but it certainly interests the financial community, and the fact is that our strategy has been hugely profitable. It is a sound business strategy. Differentiation is a key to success. There's a reason Microsoft loses a shitload of money on every system they sell today. They've gone down a path with no differentiation, so they had to out-power what was out there on the marketplace. You can't do that forever. Versus an innovation strategy certainly works in the long run, and I'll give you a great example: Apple Computer. Five years ago people were writing off Apple Computer. "What are they doing? Why don't they give up their operating system and embrace windows. Get on with life." And then the iPod came, and everyone is saying how damn smart these people are.

1UP: Any clue as to how big Revolution's presence will be at E3?

RFA: Revolution will have a major presence in our presentations, but it will not be accessible on the show floor. It's too early. But there might be some key, selected folks who will have an opportunity to see what we've got going on. I suspect you folks will have some representation. But what we will be doing at E3 this year is sharing our vision for Revolution.

Some good questions (especially from 1UP) and equally some good answers. They've acknowledged faults with their design choices as well as their lack of online support. Nice to hear about Mario 128 and its' possible launch with Revolution.

I’m certainly hoping for Advanced Wars DS online...

 

[mistan]

this sounds oh so good
i hope they get it
but they have always said stuff about them changing and adding third party support and this and that and whatever
but i havent seen anything happen
what happened to nintendo + gamespy making an online service for gc
maybe they moved onto ds or soemthing
but i will be happy to hear about the revolution and i hope they let use see those demos that they will let key ppl see
and since when do nintendo employees cuss so damn much?!?1
i guess they will try anything to get a more "adult" image

 

[PC-Engine]

Thanks for posting that. I'm looking forward to hearing what they have in store. I hope they'll release something about internet browsing using the DS and Palm OS. I've heard that there are already a few software companies that are making internet browsing apps for DS. It would be pretty cool to just drive down a neighborhood street and steal internet bandwidth from homes using WiFi to browse websites, stream audio/video, download files or even post messages to B3D forum on a DS.

 

[StefanS]

1UP: Any clue as to how big Revolution's presence will be at E3?

RFA: Revolution will have a major presence in our presentations, but it will not be accessible on the show floor. It's too early. But there might be some key, selected folks who will have an opportunity to see what we've got going on. I suspect you folks will have some representation. But what we will be doing at E3 this year is sharing our vision for Revolution.

[/quote]

So Ninty's going to show some video and anounce some specs of Revolution, which means we'll going to see an official unveilling later this year (Spaceworld?).
MS is going to be playable on the show floor on E3. Sony might be as well playable on the showfloor...
I am not sure if this is the right strategy...

On Advance Wars:
What will happen with the GCN title? We haven't heard of that in a long while...Might be pushed back to Rev along with online-playability...

 

[mistan]

umm
nintendo's unveiling of the revolution will occur @ E3
and last i chk'd, advanced wars is still a gc title
and i didnt chk to long ago (it was an update w/ new screens)

 

[wazoo]

ps3 will not be playable this year.

MS will own E3 like Sega did in 2000, and nobody will care at the end of the day.

 

[London Geezer]

"I promise you, it is THIS big"

 

[hey69]

love the 1up questions with their in the face aproach

 

[Teasy]

This is a good quote from the same interview at IGN:

IGNcube: Rumor has it that DS will be going online soon. Why does Nintendo believe in an online model for DS, but not for GameCube?


Reggie: As I said during the E3 briefing last year, for DS it's not about online, but "no line," it's about wireless interactive play. And we're committed to wireless interactive play for DS. Mr. Iwata will have some information about that in his keynote speech. In terms of GameCube, I think in fairness we at Nintendo haven't done a great job of providing the Internet capability tools to our developers to create games for GameCube. We need to address that for all of our future systems and we're doing that. In terms of Revolution and its wireless capability, stay tuned -- more to come. We are absolutely committed to the sense of community and the worldwide sense of playing games against each other. We're going to be delivering that on every future system to the best of our ability.

 

[Evil_Cloud]

Great to hear they'll embrace online gameplay.

 

[strat_ax]

I’m certainly hoping for Advanced Wars DS online...

LOL, I have officemates who are eager to have this game online. Damn game will now take over our breaks and lunches! Oh well, hope they make the announcement...ahh the anticipation.

 

[see colon]

In terms of Revolution and its wireless capability, stay tuned -- more to come.

wireless? out of the box for a home system?

 

[Evil_Cloud]

In terms of Revolution and its wireless capability, stay tuned -- more to come.

wireless? out of the box for a home system?

Certainly seems that way.

GameCube is portable to a certain extend, perhaps they are building further on this concept?

 

[j^aws]

In terms of Revolution and its wireless capability, stay tuned -- more to come.

wireless? out of the box for a home system?

A faint glimmer of hope for a wireless/lightweight VR goggle!

 

[StefanS]

In terms of Revolution and its wireless capability, stay tuned -- more to come.

wireless? out of the box for a home system?

Well, the rumour said it'd feature a wireless networking capability and would detect other Revolution consoles in the neighbourhood.

 

[Refreshment]

At this time theres no info, since the speech havent started.

But im getting the feeling SPACEWORLD will be back this year.

Is just a prediction. The reason is that it appears Nintendo wont show the Revolution in playable form at E3.

What do you think?

 

[Iron Tiger]

umm
nintendo's unveiling of the revolution will occur @ E3
and last i chk'd, advanced wars is still a gc title
and i didnt chk to long ago (it was an update w/ new screens)

But the PS3 won't be playable at E3, and Reggie pretty much confirmed that the Revolution is scheduled to launch around the same time as the PS3. Kinda sucks that we'll have to wait so long, but it improves the chances that it'll outpower the Xenon.

 

[j^aws]

umm
nintendo's unveiling of the revolution will occur @ E3
and last i chk'd, advanced wars is still a gc title
and i didnt chk to long ago (it was an update w/ new screens)

But the PS3 won't be playable at E3, and Reggie pretty much confirmed that the Revolution is scheduled to launch around the same time as the PS3. Kinda sucks that we'll have to wait so long, but it improves the chances that it'll outpower the Xenon.

I'm guessing it'll be launched after PS3 becuase,

IGNcube: Microsoft and Sony have development kits out there for their next-gen systems. Are Revolution dev kits coming?

Reggie: Yes, they're on their way....

The kits look like the last ones out the door...

 

[casper]

Some updates from 1UP.com on Iwata's keynote:

Revolution: Iwata announced that Revolution will feature built-in Wi-Fi protocols, which will allow users around the world to connect with one another wirelessly. Revolution???s technological heart, a processing chip developed with IBM and code-named "Broadway," and a graphics chip set from ATI code-named "Hollywood," are being designed to deliver game experiences not possible to date.

"We???re excited to be developing the graphics chip set for Revolution, which continues our longstanding relationship with Nintendo," says Dave Orton, ATI Technologies Inc.???s president and chief executive officer. "As the leading graphics provider, ATI is committed to delivering exceptional visual performance that enables consumers to interact with new and visually compelling digital worlds. ATI is proud to support Nintendo???s innovative contributions to gaming."

Nintendo DS: Iwata announced that the Wi-Fi protocol for Nintendo DS will provide users with a link to other players across the country or around the world. Once the service begins later this year, Nintendo DS users will be able to connect to the service wirelessly at Wi-Fi hot spots, whether they???re at home, in a hotel or at a coffee shop. As one of several Wi-Fi games, Nintendo???s in-house development team is creating a new Animal Crossing game for global Wi-Fi play.

On the keynote stage, Iwata also took part in a spontaneous eight-player wireless contest of Mario Kart DS to demonstrate the local area network capabilities of Nintendo DS. He added that shipments of the DS game system have now surpassed 4 million units to North America and Japan in the 16 weeks since launch. With the system set to debut in thousands of stores across Europe within hours of his address, that number will approach 6 million units shipped by the end of March.

More here: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3138770

 

[casper]

New Legend of Zelda trailer here: http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/thelegendofzelda/media.html