SolidSnakex said:
It is relevant because Nintendo doesn't have the same standing in the console realm as they do with handhelds. With the DS they were going to get alot of 3rd party support because it was a new a Nintendo handheld. As we've seen with the GC, they don't get that same respect in the console world anymore.
Anymore? So now and forever Nintendo is doomed in the console space?
I'm not going to compare NDS or other Nintendo portables to Revolution's success, but I will say the main thing that hurt GCN was Nintendo's image. Nintendo presented a fun alternative to the PlayStation standerd while ignoring the MS threat. Many were dissappointed by the GCN unveiling and I garauntee that the initial bases for GCN & X-BOX fans were:
A) GCN: people who were happy with buying another Nintendo onsole after N64
&
B) X-BOX: people who were very dissappointed by GCN's unveiling and were swept up by the more serious looking X-BOX unveiling
There's other factors, and I'm not lumping all GCN or X-BOX buyers into this category, but their initial base were made up of N64 owners who were split down the middle depending on how they perceived the GCN & X-BOX's initial unveilings. Under Yamauchi, Nintendo STILL ignored MS...and with a bad image plus a badly played out "different" approach Nintendo's perceived value was very poor. From then on, Nintendo has sorta had to "ride out" the GCN 'cos they're stuck with it pretty much. They still keep many GCN owners happy, but there's little they can do to change the image and their industry perception.
However, while I know console loyalty does factor in from generation to generation, how does this forever effect Nintendo's standing in the console space? It doesn't IMO. By the time Revolution launches, GCN will be out of the public eyes...that's bad in one way, but good in others. However, something that's different is the fact that there will be ALOT of people on the fence about the system, unlike the GCN which was perceived (before it even launched) as the kiddy console. People who thought as such already made up their mind that they were never gonna buy a purple lunchbox with a fisher price controller regardless of it's content. Games sell systems, and content drives hardware, but kick-ass games can only carry a purple cube so far in most people's eyes...seriously. Revolution though, I'm getting the feeling that (while alot were dissappointed in Nintendo) there's many out there who are at least interested in it. GCN was love it or hate it before it even released...Revolution is more of a "I at least wanna try it out".
I'm not saying that the console's appearance or unveiling is gonna dictate the outcome of how well it does, but already Revolution has a WAY better standing than GCN did when it was unveiled. The Revolution looks way more serious, way more adult and just generally 10 times more attractive than the GCN (I didn't mind the GCN's design, but most did). More serious design...check!
Then Nintendo, from the beginning of the GCN unveiling, has tried to sell that what they were doing was "different". But their difference was taken in a bad light in almost every regard. The GCN controller looked different, and despite being comfy, it got thumbs down for the most part. The connectivity was labelled from the beginning as a gimmick. Nintendo's games were also pinned as bad too (TWW, Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, Metroid Prime, etc.) just 'cos of they were different. Add to that no online, smaller discs & no DVD and it's a wonder Nintendo's "difference" didn't kill them. The Revolution's "difference" is in it's interface...out of the box. Not something Nintendo may roll out later on half-assed, not something that only a couple of games might take advantage of...this is something truly different. People will KNOW the difference before the system even launches. Nintendo has been searching for this "difference" so as to show that they're not the same as the competition...they're executed their differences POORLY with GCN, but with Revolution, they're executing it VERY WELL so far, despite how radical it is. The Nintendo difference...check!
They've shown us the hardware, the interface...so what's next? Some would say specs, some would say the name. but most would say the games. Nintendo fans have shouted about Nintendo's innovation until they've been blue in the face, but the world doesn't really care until they show the games that actually show the benifit of the innovations. Nintendo is already doing a better job in showing the system and it's controller than they did with GCN...they've shown that "Nintendo Difference". They're more aware who their competitiors are this time (Yamauchi ignored MS altogether, remember). They've generated alot of hype (as they've always done) despite the GCN's poor performance AND without even showing a single game yet. I've talked in the past of how they've (in recent years) tactically played down things and then BAM come out with a surprize. I seriously doubt they'd wait all this time to show games to only have them looking slightly better than what's already on the GCN. If that were the case I think they would've shown them by now, but they're saving them for last...most of us thought they'd save the "revolution" (the interface) for last, but it's actually the games. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the launch period for Revolution is going to be the same as the NES launch period with TONS of content straight from Nintendo themselves to try to sell the system as hard as they can. Iwata has said this before: third parties won't follow us unless we have a large enough userbase, which we must build ourselves. NDS has shown us, Nintendo can still come up with new ideas and can still sell a system in the face of tough competiton (remember, alot of you thought NDS was Virtual Boy 2).
Nintendo's #1 problem in the console market is still their image, but they've already done alot to fix that just by what they've unveiled of the Revolution so far. I think their PR, advertising, representation & branding still need alot of improvement to help fix their image...but that's alot easier to do now that they're following & experimenting in industry standerd practices (DVD, usb, WiFi, online gaming, multimedia, SD cards, etc.), showing their "Nintendo Difference" in a better way, creating a serious looking/non-kiddy shell design, looking to expand the market in dirrections/ways the competion haven't, milking nostalgia with the downloads, etc. Basically, I think if they name the system "NES V" they've created better branding for the Nintendo name right there, while showing that this is their fifth console and that they're looking at retruning to the greatness of the NES era.
