" The release target date for the next generation console is 2005, early 2006," said a Nintendo sourse. Not so, said Nintendo to reporters. Their system will be delivered when the other systems are.
This is the problem with Nintendo. Back in the pre-dawn of the videogame system, they were the leader. Regardless of any other system out there that was brought into the console arena, the people at Nintendo kept winning and reaping the rewards. Along with the accolades that come from being the best, comes the attitude of being the best.
When Sony Entertainment moved in for the deathblow to the Nintendo console with the Playstation 2, the company panicked and wondered what it did wrong. In the latest Next Gen console wars, the GC has shifted in dead last. Continuing price drops haven't helped at all.
Nintendo has never grown up. With the demands of true to life gaming and a lot of adult interest, Nintendo still holds the kiddie ground of games. They continue to cater to kids, not really realizing that the audience that got them there has grown up. I think, personally, this attitude will see them into the bucket sooner than later.
February 10, 2004, the Japanese press were treated to more confusion. Nintendo did not know when it was going to launch its new machine.
IBM has been contracted to make the next gen console's CPU chip. The chip in question is the Power PC chip, code named Gekko, while ATI won the contract to make the GPU.Ironically, both IBM and ATI have been contracted to provide processor and graphics technologies, respectively, for Microsoft's second-generation Xbox. That makes us wonder if GameCube 2 might well be a rebranded Xbox 2, and certainly the Nintendo spokeswoman's claim that the company's "machine will be ready at the same time as the other new consoles" doesn't contradict that idea. The irony would be good if it was true. Microsoft has decided to strike out on its own for parts, as stated in a previous article.
Unfortunately, there is not a lot ot go on for the next gen console, instead, Nintendo seems to be working harder on the very thibng that brings in boatloads of cash: The Gameboy.
With the PSP release on the horizon, Nintendo has moved to check the other company, trying to protect the most successful console to date. The newest offering from the handheld world is the Gamboy DS (dual screen), that will bring a new look to handheld games. THe interesting thing is that this handheld is realesed so soon, in gaming time, after the Gameboy Advance SD. Nintendo has had us buying the same handheld over and over again in different forms, but now claims that they are focusing in the interconnectivity of their platforms. As seen with Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Nintendo wants to go parapherial crazy and take you along for the ride. But why not? They are playing to their strength, since Nintendo holds to the old standard of not going to third party developers. That has been a fatal flaw for the console maker, since their game library tends to be recycled games, or just new versions of old. There is rarely a reason to celebrate another Mario game.
Nintendo showed this with the release of its 'classic' games, old NES ports on the new system. While making pure profit off games that have already paid out years ago, there is little to drag hardcore gamers to the Nintendo name.
Will this be the end of the Nintendo? Will Nintendo go the way of Sega and fold its hardware production and just concentrate on software? I guess we'll see on release time. "