Official Nintendo Q1 (April-June) 2008 Financials Thread

My argument for why I think Microsoft and Sony will both pursue hardware that is at least a modicum more powerful than Nintendo's is the following: because if all three console makers release equivalent systems in the aftermath of this generation, I simply don't see how Nintendo doesn't make even greater strides. Remember that I'm not saying Microsoft and Sony are looking to abandon the casual gamer - on the contrary - I just think they wouldn't want to put themselves on a playing field where hardware ceases to be a differentiator whatsoever, and suddenly it's just up to marketing, first-party title appeal, and console relative install base. The console 'wars' are littered with dramatic reversals gen-to-gen, but given equal weighting across all categories, truly I think next gen more than most Nintendo would go in with a very strong advantage.

I believe that Sony and Microsoft will take much less expense-related risks in the next-gen as well (as posts of mine in the Next Gen Technology threads illustrate), but I do think that they will try to stay ahead of Nintendo, and to the extent they can, dance the tech-lead dance with each other as well.

Ninny has a Wii2 issue: Developer ability. Look at the growing pains devs have had, and now imagine most of Ninny's internal staff effectively taken a multi-year hiatus from attacking such throny issues.
 
That's the problem with bias though. You can't even think reasonably when you have it. You just simply state that everyone else has inferior taste and so what they like doesn't matter because it's bad. Where does that get you? It gets you nowhere at all.

That's just silly. As human beings, we all have bias. That's just the way we're made. Sure, you can fight to overcome your bias, but to pretend to be a paragon of partiality while crying foul over others' bias is wrong.

Take me as example: I'm one of the most biased, opinionated mofos you could ever meet. I don't pretend to be otherwise, however.

Now don't flip a lid because I've disagreed with you yet again :rolleyes: :p ;)
 
Ninny has a Wii2 issue: Developer ability. Look at the growing pains devs have had, and now imagine most of Ninny's internal staff effectively taken a multi-year hiatus from attacking such throny issues.

This is why I suspect Nintendo may not go for a big machine next time around, either. The 'casual' audience clearly care less about graphics than the 'hardcore': the Wii * series sells absurdly well and they look pretty terrible. A small increase, just to add bulletpoints would mean an even cheaper machine, and it'll give Nintendo more room to maneuver if there's a console price war next-gen.

To Carl, I don't think MS and Sony will take a step backwards. For one, they're not going to throw away all the R&D they've already invested in. I think their step won't be very big, though, because I think that one of the things that will become a bigger issue next-gen will be the price of the consoles. I wouldn't be surprised if MS makes a bigger push in that direction than Sony: Sony's CE products have never been exactly cheap, but they supposedly* make it up in value.

* Honestly, I don't know if it's true, nor do I care, I'm just parroting popular perception.
 
This is why I suspect Nintendo may not go for a big machine next time around, either. The 'casual' audience clearly care less about graphics than the 'hardcore': the Wii * series sells absurdly well and they look pretty terrible. A small increase, just to add bulletpoints would mean an even cheaper machine, and it'll give Nintendo more room to maneuver if there's a console price war next-gen.

To Carl, I don't think MS and Sony will take a step backwards. For one, they're not going to throw away all the R&D they've already invested in. I think their step won't be very big, though, because I think that one of the things that will become a bigger issue next-gen will be the price of the consoles. I wouldn't be surprised if MS makes a bigger push in that direction than Sony: Sony's CE products have never been exactly cheap, but they supposedly* make it up in value.

* Honestly, I don't know if it's true, nor do I care, I'm just parroting popular perception.

It would be suicide for Nintendo to implement yet another incremental upgrade as the successor to the Wii. Their low-hanging fruit is to transition to HD.

I look at things this way: a lot of Wii owners are first-time gamers. At some point during this generation they're going to be exposed to a 360/PS3 and they're going to go "wow! that looks amazing! I wish my Wii looked like that..." Not all Wii owners will have this experience, and even among those that do, not all will have this reaction, but I still believe a majority will demand more of Nintendo next gen.
 
It would be suicide for Nintendo to implement yet another incremental upgrade as the successor to the Wii. Their low-hanging fruit is to transition to HD.

I look at things this way: a lot of Wii owners are first-time gamers. At some point during this generation they're going to be exposed to a 360/PS3 and they're going to go "wow! that looks amazing! I wish my Wii looked like that..." Not all Wii owners will have this experience, and even among those that do, not all will have this reaction, but I still believe a majority will demand more of Nintendo next gen.

Well, honestly, I don't agree, but I don't think either of us really has data to back us up. I think it depends far more on price. If HD is widespread by next-gen, then yeah, the Wii will have HD support. But that just means outputting games at 720p; it says nothing about graphics. Already, the best-selling Wii X series has graphics that are WORSE than what the Wii could produce.

If it turns out that Nintendo can sell the slightly-upgraded WiiNext for say, $100 at a profit, will the 'casual' user really be seduced by better graphics at a significantly higher pricepoint?
 
Well, honestly, I don't agree, but I don't think either of us really has data to back us up. I think it depends far more on price. If HD is widespread by next-gen, then yeah, the Wii will have HD support. But that just means outputting games at 720p; it says nothing about graphics. Already, the best-selling Wii X series has graphics that are WORSE than what the Wii could produce.

If it turns out that Nintendo can sell the slightly-upgraded WiiNext for say, $100 at a profit, will the 'casual' user really be seduced by better graphics at a significantly higher pricepoint?

I believe HD is already widespread though, so 2-5 years from now (whenever the next console generation begins) it ought to be even more so.
 
I believe HD is already widespread though, so 2-5 years from now (whenever the next console generation begins) it ought to be even more so.

Maybe patsu can help me, because in the Sony financials thread, or maybe it was the Sony E3 thread he linked to a news item that showed that HDTV adoption in the US is still fairly low.
 
Maybe patsu can help me, because in the Sony financials thread, or maybe it was the Sony E3 thread he linked to a news item that showed that HDTV adoption in the US is still fairly low.

Well now it's a purely semantic argument, i.e. what the definition of "widespread" is. Certainly the majority of TVs in households are not yet HD, but even if we take the most conservative estimate of a 1:5 penetration ratio, that's still several tens of millions of HDTVs out there in the U.S. market already.
 
Well now it's a purely semantic argument, i.e. what the definition of "widespread" is. Certainly the majority of TVs in households are not yet HD, but even if we take the most conservative estimate of a 1:5 penetration ratio, that's still several tens of millions of HDTVs out there in the U.S. market already.

Oh, sure, but the question is whether it'll have enough penetration to matter to the audience Nintendo wants to target. I think by next-gen it will, so we'll see HD Wii. I just don't think Nintendo has any interest in pushing HD adoption, or in making HD games just so they're HD.
 
I'd bet a pretty penny that Nintendo me will do 720p. The delta in cost would be quite minimal around 2012 so I don't see why they wouldn't.

Oh, sure, but the question is whether it'll have enough penetration to matter to the audience Nintendo wants to target. I think by next-gen it will, so we'll see HD Wii. I just don't think Nintendo has any interest in pushing HD adoption, or in making HD games just so they're HD.

Yeah if their market was such that HD penetration was still tiny they wouldn't feel any need to adopt HD.
 
People need to start understanding that "gamer" isn't a word that means anything in and of itself, and should it mean something, it would mean simply one that plays games.

There are plenty of 'gamers' that are drawn to the Wii. That people can't seem to accept that the Wii has appeal to a broader population that they themselves seem to pigeonhole themselves into is something I have trouble cognitizing. I don't own a Wii myself, but nor do I have any sort of malice towards it or need to separate myself from 'lesser' folk that do. It's a system that plays games, and truth be told I've had a lot of fun playing a number of those games. Why is there such resentment towards a console that if anything, has been a godsend to the image (and popularity) of game systems?

Have you ever seen a "Naruto vs Bleach" thread? :LOL: The PS3 vs Xbox 360 vs Wii arguments that mostly pollute forums are no different from the Batman vs Superman vs Spawn arguments that are common. They are irrational, but highly entertaining.
 
Ninny has a Wii2 issue: Developer ability. Look at the growing pains devs have had, and now imagine most of Ninny's internal staff effectively taken a multi-year hiatus from attacking such throny issues.
Nintendo will only enjoy fruits of others' efforts in areas other than the one where they think worth taking a risk such as adopting a new controller. Nintendo can hire any third-party developers to develop their games anyway, Mario Party and Smash Brothers are not developed by internal developers.
 
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