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[radioheadrule83]

PSP has verily impressed me with the value pack price! Especially if it translates well in the US and UK. I'm still getting a DS, but does anyone see Nintendo hitting back with the Gameboy name as soon as they can?

 

[Jacobi]

That was my first thought when I saw this news.

 

[RMX]

wait for sales...
I'm not sure PSP will do better than DS

 

[Guns N' Poops]

Wouldn't that be huge consumer deception? But if you don't mind...I know it would piss me off big time.

 

[ManDudeChild]

Such a move would certainly make me think twice about Nintendo products. I'm already hesitant on picking up a DS on launch, as I dont want to find a few months down the line Nintendo's working on a DS SP.

 

[radioheadrule83]

Gameboy is a different brand than DS, so it wouldn't be DS SP would it.

If it was only announced next year, NDS would still have a wealth of play time, even if you were going to drop it for the new machine. Which given how people here argue its so different from PSP would be a bit of a hypocrisy IMO. Of course Nintendo will continue the Gameboy line, my question was regarding when..

 

[ravingloon]

Considering all the rhetoric about how the future of Nintendo's success lies in DS, and how it's a precursor to the things they're doing with Revolution, and the massive game developer resources being diverted to it, DS is the next GBA. I do, however, think it was smart of Nintendo to not name it Gameboy with the PSP around the corner. This way if it gets it's ass kicked, they can always say it was never the GBA successor... even though it truly is.

 

[Baron Aloha]

PSP has verily impressed me with the value pack price! Especially if it translates well in the US and UK. I'm still getting a DS, but does anyone see Nintendo hitting back with the Gameboy name as soon as they can?

I'd be a huge mistake IMO. It would essentially make the DS the 32X of the handheld arena. Quite frankly I think that the DS is a mistake and that they should scrap the whole damn thing or put it on ice for a couple of years. I've been saying that since day one.

I think the DS, even though it has been in development for years, is being rushed to market because Nintendo is afraid that if they are too slow to react then Sony will take their market away from them. This has caused them to panic, act hastily, and not really think things through. Nintendo is in a much better position with the GBA than they were with the SNES in terms of market share. With the GBA they can afford to wait and to plan a suitable response to the PSP. Nintendo should have stuck with the GBA for another 2 years. That probably would have given them enough time for the technology to catch up with the PSP. Like it or not graphics are more important to the average consumer than "innovative" features like the touch screen. This is why the PSP is going to trounce the DS (brand name and graphics...both systems will have good games). If Nintendo waited they could have had good graphics AND innovation.

After the DS fails, Nintendo's entire image when it comes to the handheld arena will be tainted and this will adversely affect consumer confidence as well as developer support. This is not a good thing for the next Gameboy. The GBA2 won't be riding on the wave of the GBAs success...rather...it will be riding on the wave of the DS' failure.

Another thing you have to consider is that with all this new technology these handhelds are becoming more expensive. This has some serious implications for Nintendo because they will no longer be able to release a new handheld every 2-3 years without having major Sega-esqe consequences. People might be willing to shell out $80 every few years but they aren't going to want to shell out $150+ every few years.

GBA came out in 2001, not even 3 and a half years later Nintendo wants another $150 for the DS...and they might get it. But then do they expect people to shell out another $150 for the GBA2 another 3 years down the line? Consumers are gonna say "wait a minute here... Sony is sticking by the PSP but Nintendo keeps releasing new systems. I don't want to have to keep buying new systems. I'll go with the PSP." To me, it really does seem like Sega all over again.

 

[radioheadrule83]

I have a feeling that they will at least mention Gameboy at E3. I think they've been calling DS a third pillar for a reason.

 

[mrklaw]

DS is coming out. Bit late now to cancel, or get all fidgety just because someone dares to compete.

I don't see them being able to release another gameboy anytime soon (12-18 months). Whatever they have said to the specialist press, its a handheld from Nintendo, so people will see it as the successor to GBA:SP.

Either it succeeds, and it becomes the defacto new GBA, or it is a dismal failure, gets canned, and they pretend it was all an experiment and launch a new gameboy soon after.

 

[Screenboy]

We'll see if the DS is the 3rd pillar when Nintendo annouce some new GBA titles.






-SB

 

[Ultra Magnanimous]

Looking into my crystal ball (I'm one quarter gypsie), I predict an early 2006 gba2 announcement with a showcase at E3 and launch for christmas 2006/early 2007.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Gameboy Advance should have been the 32X of the handheld arena. They had to come out with the SP just to fix that crappy screen but the stupid fans still ate it up

 

[RevenantKioku]

Gameboy Advance should have been the 32X of the handheld arena. They had to come out with the SP just to fix that crappy screen but the stupid fans still ate it up

Yeah, all those parents sure are Nintendo fans.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Yeah, all those parents sure are Nintendo fans.

Silly dude I'm talking about fans like me...

I did buy two non-SP GBAs

 

[Do The Mario]

No chance of Nintendo releasing a new handheld so soon after the DS the backlash would be huge!!!

I am already a Nintendo fan on the Edge! This would just push me over!


Still I think that Zelda MC should’ve been a launch DS title!! Would have helped the DS have a decent launch!

 

[ravingloon]

Still I think that Zelda MC should’ve been a launch DS title!! Would have helped the DS have a decent launch!

Or they could have at least salvaged it and released the same Nintendo published titles that Japan is getting.

 

[Tritroid]

It's possible they could announce the Gameboy's successor at E3.

By May, the DS will have already been on the market about 6 months, so it's not like the announcement would come right on its heels.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Silly dude I'm talking about fans like me...

I did buy two non-SP GBAs

I'm just saying, the SP is selling like stupid and its not just Nintendrones.
DS continues the family chain of buying the oldest kid the new nintendo handheld and passing the old one to the next child.
Do not ignore this chain.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I'm just saying, the SP is selling like stupid and its not just Nintendrones.
DS continues the family chain of buying the oldest kid the new nintendo handheld and passing the old one to the next child.
Do not ignore this chain.

Okay, I agree with that.

 

[Alcibiades]

the SP is still pretty slick-looking even with DS and PSP coming out...

at $80 it's still got a lot of life left, not to mention how much more it could accomplish with further drops...

I don't know how much it costs Nintendo to manufacture this, but I imagine at some point, they'd be getting a profit off a $50 machine as well...

 

[Do The Mario]

By May, the DS will have already been on the market about 6 months, so it's not like the announcement would come right on its heels.

I hope you’re not serious

Nintendo would loose a ton of money on the DS if this happened
Plus it would piss off Consumers and Developers!!!

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I would still like to hear about the GBA Next at E3

 

[Tritroid]

I hope you’re not serious

Nintendo would loose a ton of money on the DS if this happened
Plus it would piss off Consumers and Developers!!!

I am serious.

And since Nintendo has been saying over and over that the DS is NOT the next installation of the Gameboy name, it would make sense.

But if they're going to announce Revolution at E3, which I think I remember hearing that they were going to, then I doubt the next GB would be announced at the same time. Showcasing the new GB sometime after that though wouldn't surprise me. They usually don't update their consoles without having a GB update coming sometime before or after.

 

[Baron Aloha]

the SP is still pretty slick-looking even with DS and PSP coming out...

at $80 it's still got a lot of life left, not to mention how much more it could accomplish with further drops...

I don't know how much it costs Nintendo to manufacture this, but I imagine at some point, they'd be getting a profit off a $50 machine as well...

I agree. Nintendo should have played their entire hand as far as the GBASP is concerned. They could easily keep it going another 2-3 years and bury the PSP in terms of sales. Then after the 2-3 year time frame, long after the initial impact and hype surrounding the PSP has faded.... BAM! Send a more advanced DS or GBA2 in for the kill.

I agree whole heartedly with Screenboy's comment. If DS really was the third pillar then where are all the new GBA games for next year? It looks to me like almost all 1st and 3rd party GBA support has shifted to the DS. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl on DS pretty much confirms that the DS is the next GB. The argument that the DS is not being called a Gameboy therefore it isn't the next Gameboy is weak as hell. By that same logic the N64 wasn't the successor of the SNES and the Gamecube wasn't the sucessor of the N64!

 

[human5892]

I agree. Nintendo should have played their entire hand as far as the GBASP is concerned. They could easily keep it going another 2-3 years and bury the PSP in terms of sales. Then after the 2-3 year time frame, long after the initial impact and hype surrounding the PSP has faded.... BAM! Send a more advanced DS or GBA2 in for the kill.

The potential problem with this strategy is that if the PSP is an overwhelming success, giving it too much of a lead time might lead to customers moving on from the Game Boy. If the PSP is the only new portable in town for 2-3 years and it's selling like mad, there's less of a chance people are going to care about a new version of a stodgy product that they haven't played in years. At least with the DS, Nintendo is keeping itself fresh in people's minds.

The DS also covers a lot of bases for Nintendo: if it succeeds, its features can be incorporated into a new Game Boy sometime later, OR it can be continued as an actual third pillar. If it fails, Nintendo's still got the SP around to sell, as well as the treasured Game Boy name to fall back on. They buried the Virtual Boy pretty damn effectively -- the same could happen with the DS, should it fail to light a fire in the marketplace.

Without the DS to answer the PSP, Nintendo would have only one line of defense to its portable crown: a product that's been around for a few years now and is worlds away from what the PSP can do. With the DS, they're a bit more fortified in their defenses, and actually have more chances of profitability.

 

[cvxfreak]

This would be a big mistake for Nintendo in the wake of DS and extremely high GBASP sales.

 

[ge-man]

Having looked at the PSP price, I think Nintendo has a huge problem on their hands. I don't think they can lower the price enough to combat the value of the PSP. I'm actually going to side with JC on this one--the DS is now in trouble. I never expected Sony to go that low--the DS would've been fine 50 -100 dollars lower than the PSP. But it's clear that Sony wants to finish Nintendo off for good with that price point.

 

[gofreak]

It won't happen - whatever way you spin it, DS is effectively Nintendo's "gameboy" for the foreseeable future. DS would have to be an obvious, and monumental failure (Virtual Boy proportions), right out of the gate for them to need to announce something new as soon as next E3. It won't be.