Nintendo Slams Copycat Sony
- Thread starter Ben-Nice
- Start date
There have indeed been a couple of titanic flip-flops from the Sony camp of late!expletive said:Phill Harrison is getting in a naughty habit of condemning strategies and then adopting them though isnt he Shifty?
I think Acert's point good though. You present an idea and then get feedback. If after tooting dual HDMI as a feature the response is 'what on earth are Sony thinking about, that's a stupid idea!' you know it's safe to drop it and save yourself some cash, unless it's part of your official strategy. Which, expecting people to have 2 TVs available, is quite a risky strategy IMO.
I'd rather companies (and individuals) change their mind based on reevaluation than stick stubbornly to a course of action for fear of what people think of changing your mind. It be nicer still if they admitted to having a bad idea or seeing someone else do it better and duplicating, but that's not the world of PR
.To be fair on Sony, though they have made some daft statements regards 'opposition's tactics' and then 'copying' them, they have also admitted at times when the opposition have done it right and they're following. Both Live! and Wiimote have been given credit as setting a trend for Sony to follow. And if companies didn't follow their rivals, there'd only be iTunes and no others, there'd only be one OS and no others, there'd only be one car manufacturer...
Your post makes way too much sense.Bouncing Zabaglione Bros. said:
What the people who are arguing this particular "issue" want to hear has nothing to do with logical business and marketing decisions.
They want soap-opera drama with all the Manichaeism and moustache twisting, flat top hats wearing, maniacally laughing evil doers perpetrating some random villainy that it brings.
Additionally, as a side note, I think the amount of interest gathered by this type of events (Which should be considered as non-event by any reasonable "journalist") is quite interesting from a sociological standpoint, if only because they're symptomatic of the video gaming industry of now.
While I concede that I'm not surprised nor shocked by the reaction of some of the most avid supporters, given that most of their actions are driven by nothing but their emotions; I also have to admit that I'm still surprised to see how juvenile and basic the video gaming press is in this day and age. I know that they have to cater to their crowd as some of them say, though.
It's interesting to see that some folks are trying to propose something "more serious" for their coverage of the industry, like MCV, Next-Gen, Edge, etc... But then again it's really a hit & miss kind of deal for all of theses. For instance, this write up of MCV here has no purpose other than to report, as is, with no further analyse, only a morsel of the words some executive said in order to fuel some more what is a pointless debate at best. I mean, what is there to discuss seriously? Sony's lack of personality? If Sony was a teenager kid it might be an interesting topic, I agree, but as a large CE company that is also in the entertainment business, I don't think that incorporating new trends, pushed by others, to its products is something new or anything surprising.
And if a writer wanted to point out how poor and unworthy Sony's decision was in this case, in the absolute, a well written editorial on the subject could be interesting since it could ignite some thoughts and sociological debates on a wider scale.
But no, all we're left with is poorly expressed claims from executives and developers worded in a sensationalistic manner.
Anyway, maybe one day the Video Gaming crowd would prefer a more qualitative approach of journalism over the actual insipid template used by virtually all the Gaming media out there.
Or maybe not...
scooby_dooby
Legend
Acert93 said:
My sentiments exactly. sure they did, so what? who cares? Suck it up Nintendo, and the Sony guys gotta quit with the denial.
scooby_dooby
Legend
Hardknock said:Nintendo comes out with the 'dpad' on the NES ----> Everyone copies
Nintendo comes out with shoulder buttons on the SNES ---> Everyone copies (including Sony with the PS1 controller)
Nintendo comes out with analog stick for N64 ----> Sony Comes out with Dual Analog stick PS1 controller
Nintendo releases 'rumble pack' for N64 ----> Sony builds rumble into each controller
Historically when it comes to control schemes Nintendo has always been the innovator and everyone else follows suit.
Got to give credit where credit is due
The man speaks the truth. Nintendo might not invent the stuff, but they sure as hell make it mainstream.
Off Topic
The control Nintendo had over the production and the extremely high margins made with the sales of cartridges are the main reasons that explain why the N64 was not CD based.
Piracy had very little to with it, really. Since they could have opted for a proprietary optical media, if they wanted to.Acert93 said:
The control Nintendo had over the production and the extremely high margins made with the sales of cartridges are the main reasons that explain why the N64 was not CD based.
What you propose is a gaming Broadsheet to rival the gaming Tabloids. I don't suppose anyone would believe there's a market for it. It's got to be easier to associate people who control little bouncing men, gun-wielding mass-murdering heroes, sword-swinging goblin hackers and singing munchkinites with absence of deep thought and considered opinions, than to try to reconcile those activities with well written literature and carefully reasoned arguments. And for proof you only need look at the average gaming forum, no? Hardly bastions of intelligent debate and balanced discussion. One could argue that the smarter gamers are just not being heard, as they won't hang around the average gaming forum for just those reasons (that's how I ended up migrating here), but without any visible presence, there is no visible market.Vysez said:
To be fair, there are some reasonable sites. I think Eurogamer gets a decent balance of humourous quips and considered opinions. Not sure how their news coverage is, but I don't associate them with mindless-pap articles. But then I'm not a close follower.
Acert93 said:Well, someone needs to balance out the hyping of features (dual HDMI 1080p) that never make it into production
Not that this is bad PR, but I get the idea that part of last years PR one-upping was also seeing what would sink or float with consumers and developers. Do you want dual HDMI? Do you want 3 ethernet ports? Do you like the boomerang?
Anyhow, what is effective PR without sniping and poo-pooing on the competition?
The decision not to include a dual HDMI was reported months ago. In 2005. Its not something new.
E3 was only the confirmation
Hardknock said:Nintendo comes out with the 'dpad' on the NES ----> Everyone copies
Nintendo comes out with shoulder buttons on the SNES ---> Everyone copies (including Sony with the PS1 controller)
Nintendo comes out with analog stick for N64 ----> Sony Comes out with Dual Analog stick PS1 controller
Nintendo releases 'rumble pack' for N64 ----> Sony builds rumble into each controller
Historically when it comes to control schemes Nintendo has always been the innovator and everyone else follows suit.
Got to give credit where credit is due
Was the Nights controller released before or after the N64?
BTW. The N64 controller may have have been the first to have an analog stick but it was the worst controller I ve ever held
scooby_dooby
Legend
Vysez said:
Nope, but it did make the analog stick an integral part of mainstream console controls, which was quickly adopted by everyone else, their dog, and their sister's cousin (that's your cousin too!).
Oops, check this out. Vysez was correct, even the analog stick/nub was done before.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fb/Vectrex.jpg/750px-Vectrex.jpg
But I guess Nintendo introduced these things when they were more practical and feasible.
Also to add to my list earlier, Ninendo was the first to have expansion ports on the actual controller (DC, Xbox copied) and the first with 4 built-in controller ports if I'm not mistaken?
Correct me if I'm wrong
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fb/Vectrex.jpg/750px-Vectrex.jpg
But I guess Nintendo introduced these things when they were more practical and feasible.
Also to add to my list earlier, Ninendo was the first to have expansion ports on the actual controller (DC, Xbox copied) and the first with 4 built-in controller ports if I'm not mistaken?
Correct me if I'm wrong
Vysez said:
1 - Isn't a CD a lot cheaper to produce than a cartridge (hence, higher profit margin) ?
I mean, even when PSOne/PSX was just a near future console, most magazines already had CD's on their covers, and during the N64 era, there were several reports of a clandestine, full-scale factory of pirated cartridges for that console located somewhere in mainland China;
2 - I thought Nintendo had the current console production handled through Matsushita/Panasonic...
ok thanksHardknock said:
scooby_dooby said:
I think Sony did a better job at making the analog stick mainstream. The N64 controller wasnt confortable at all, and the analog stick was way too sensitve. I couldnt find the analog stick a good idea because the controller's design didnt give me the chance to. The controller was painful for my hands as a whole
It wasnt until Sony put it on the PS controller which was more comfortable that I begun to understand the usefulness of the analog stick Nintendo was trying to depict with the N64.
Also the introduction of 2 analog sticks brought some new possibilities in gaming too. RC Copter and Ape Escape were some good examples.
Who was the first btw to present the analog stick btw?
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NANOTEC said:
No, as I explained this to you before. The Vectrex uses potentiometers. I should know, I have one right here on my desk and have looked into repairing it (an old spring went bad).
Now, MOST games used it as purely a digital interface but at least one game DID use it as an analog device.
So yes, Nintendo copied Vectrex who probably copied Computer Joystick makers (Wico perhaps?) who copied sticks from jet fighters who copied yadda yadda yadda.
In reality, it's very difficult to nail down just who started what because we're looking through a very limited subset of knowledge.