Well, this is these are articles which I found when researching for my article. I dont have links for everything.
Rumor: New Entry in to the Video Game console world, Apple.
Apple. What do you think of them? Well, as it turns out, they might be trying to take a piece of the gaming pie with some sort of console. Joystick.com(
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/03/bl...-game-console/(
is reporting this rumor, and it's interesting.
Now think. Sony has Microsoft. They battle it out with power, don't they? Nintendo has no true compition....unless this happens. Then Apple, also a company that innovates, will more likely have some type of gameplay evolution like the Revolutions. But, heres the scary thing: Apple has the resources to have BOTH power and innovation. What if they do? (I know they wont come this generation...but next-next-gen, maybe). Could be bad for Nintendo.
Heres something else to chew on. What have you noticed about the Revolution? Does the look seem like Nintendo? It actually does fit Nintendo -- but never before have they designed something so slick. But who has? Apple. What does everyone compare the controller too? I have heard it looks liek a cross between an iPod and a TV Remote. Reggie even mentioned Apple as a reason for his marketing tacktics, if you read about that (I did...marketing is AWESOME). I dunno....looking at this rumor, looking back at everything I know about the Revolution, makes me think that maybe Apple has something to do with the Revolution. Maybe they are suppling something....helping...I dunno. But this is just a rumor, some my own theory.
With that, I say good bye!
Blog debate: is Apple making a game console?
Posted Jan 3rd 2006 1:45PM by Christopher Grant
Filed under: Mac
What happens when Apple speculation and video game speculation meet: platform wars of biblical proportions! Under speculation here is whether or not Apple has any interest in reentering the console gaming arena with the expected relaunch of their diminutive Mac mini.
Apple in the News proposed that a redesigned Mac mini could "advance over the game market, a market that Microsoft is trying so fiercely to conquer. With a new mac mini including a killer graphics board, Apple could relatively easily attract a large number of game producing companies."
Our blogeagues over at TUAW responded saying, "Apple hasn't been interested in being in the gaming console market for more than a decade" referring to 1995s ill-fated Apple/Bandai game console, the Pippin. "Apple doesn't need to be in the gaming console market to succeed in creating a successful media center product."
Cathode Tan offered their initial proposal of this very thing from February '05, and a further rebuttal of TUAW's post. They explain: why despite the failure of the Pippin, Apple still has its eyes on the game industry; why ports are necessary for success; and why Apple's attempts need not mirror Microsoft and Sony's war of attrition, but rather Nintendo's struggle for innovation. They also explain why Apple should be considering an entry into the console market: the Xbox can stream video, music, has iPod support, plays games, and is cheaper than a Mac mini; living room boxes should play games; and Apple already appeals to a younger demographic.
Until a new Mac mini is announced (next Monday?) this debate will rage on all across the Internets. We're going to stay out of this debate (we have families you know), but I will say one thing... what if Apple has a hand in Nintendo's Revolution (think Microsoft and the Dreamcast)? The system already looks like it was designed by Cupertino... discuss.
The media's crush on Nintendo
Posted Jan 12th 2006 9:59AM by Vladimir Cole
Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Revolution
Business Week asks a good question: "Jobs & Co. spark something bordering on a lovefest among the press. But as the good times roll, are reporters asking the hard questions?"
Read the article and replace every instance of the word "Apple" with the word "Nintendo" and it still rings true. Like Apple and Harley Davidson, Nintendo can literally bank on tremendous loyalty on the part of their irrationally partisan fanbase. This is a benefit that few product companies are lucky enough to enjoy. It has a lot to do with the fact that many of us were babysat by Nintendo during our formative years.
And yet, falling in love with a company is dangerous. By definition, falling in love with anything--or with anyone--results in a certain inability to perceive flaws, a certain suspension of critical thinking.
The parting shot in Arik Hesseldahl's piece is particularly spooky in how well it maps to our suggested rereading. We'll change one word, and quote it here: "As great a company as [Nintendo] is -- I'm often as guilty as anyone of falling for the hyperbole -- the pointed, skeptical, analytical, dispassionate, and yes, uncomfortable questions about this unusually influential outfit and its unique, legendary, brilliant, and complicated chief don't get asked often enough. And they should be, more often than they are now. Great companies deserve nothing less."
Got some good questions for Nintendo? Anyone?
[image credit: from "Nintendo et Apple un duo de choc"]
Tony DeRuiter writes: "The release of this new G4 is causing quite a stir in the video game community believe it or not. And not PC gaming, but console gaming. You see, Nintendo's next generation game console, has been rumored to be under the name of Star Cube, and in a cubic shape. Not only that, but seeing as how this Star Cube uses a CPU of the PowerPC architecture, and the fact that many of the development kits are Macintosh based, many have deducted that Apple and Nintendo have formed some sort of partnership. It does seem very odd that two companies have the exact same design idea for their hardware and both are connected in the similarity of their hardware internally. I thought you might be able to dig up some info or just run with this. You can find a whole mess of Star Cube info at places like:" -- Old article concerning Nintendo and apple
he Apple Connection: The Alliance Draft
February 22, 2005
by: Casey Ayers
Disclaimer: The proceeding article is editorial content. The views expressed are those of the author and do not neccessarily reflect the official position of the Advanced Media Network.
There's actually very little distinction between an artist and a scientist or engineer of the highest calibre
They've just been people who pursue different paths but basically are kind of headed to the same goal.
-Steve Jobs
Nintendo's goal is to increase the total number of game players in addition to serving current players. I know you're a fan of the iPod, a device that changed the music world while everyone else was focused on trying to create the perfect CD player. Likewise, Nintendo is paving a new road with new adventures on the horizon
rather than accelerating down the same old path.
-Perrin Kaplan
Something should be brewing. Something should be in the works to defeat the PSP. This certain something probably isnt, but let us entertain the possibility for a little while. The below is a work of fiction, and is not presented as fact or the actual writing of the speculative author. The below is presented as a letter from Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs to Nintendo Corporation, Ltd. President Satoru Iwata. I have dated it March 23, 2005
the day before the US launch of the PSP. I hope you enjoy the below, as it is a path Nintendo and Apple fans alike can truly hope for.
From:
Jobs.Steve@apple.com
Date: 23 March, 2005 2:17 PM
To:
Iwata.Satoru@nintendo.co.jp
CC:
Arakawa@warioworld.com
Kaplan.Perrin@warioworld.com
Subject: A Coming Opportunity
>>>Hello, Mr. Iwata,
I believe that our two corporations have approached a crossroads. We share the fact that our core businesses have diminished through the years, but we have both provided our respective industries with some of the most startling (and most widely cloned) innovations in their histories. Though Apples computer division has certainly picked up speed with the recent release of the Mac mini and the newest Powerbook configuration, nothing can beat the success of a very simple and portable device of ours. Sound familiar? Just like you, sir, we entered the portable (music) market having no idea how huge the success would be. I believe that the success of the Game Boy was much the same for you. And it is your newest portable, the Dual-Screen, which prompts this correspondence.
I believe that we both have something significant to gain from joining hands on the portable entertainment front. Together, we can do what neither of us can separately; Nintendo and Apple, in alliance, can ensure that neither of our respective locks on the portable market are broken by Sony. I am sure that you witnessed Sonys attempt to break into the iPods market share with their latest Walkman. It failed for the same reason any Sony technology fails: Sony required that everything work on their terms, their hardware, and their technology. Consumers are willing to deal with all of these, so long as they dont have to notice it or it makes everything work proportionately easier. The number one flaw in their Walkman re-launch was their insistence that all MP3 files be reconverted into their proprietary format before use. This was a hassle for consumers, and they felt especially irritated by the fact that they just paid several hundred dollars for something that should just work. Thank God for our industrial design team and our coders; its their hard work that made the iPod and iTunes not only so symbiotic but so simple both in tandem and as individual products.
Yet Sony is not a company to make the same mistake twice. They have a new product emerging- one of which you are well aware, one which threatens both of us: the PlayStation Portable. This machine doesnt require any extra encoding and works on their (youve got it- proprietary) Memory Stick format, which many consumers already use in their digital cameras. Though it certainly cant hold the same amount of music as an iPods hard-drive, nor shine a light to even its admittedly-lacking battery life, it does provide competition to the iPod Shuffle, our new flash-based offering from day one. Yet the risk is that Sony will fully utilize their wireless capabilities with the PSP. If they work tirelessly, I have little doubt that they could come up with a rather ingenious system for digital delivery. Files could be downloaded straight to the PSP and its Memory Stick, but the purchase data could be stored in the consumers account, allowing them to keep a full database of purchases on their home computer. This would potentially leave a hole open that Apple would like to close. Obviously, we are working to incorporate wireless technologies with the new iPod designs in testing, but the newest, fifth-generation machines wont be ready until the fall, and the technology wont make it to the iPod Mini until mid-2006.
Music isnt our only concern, though. Apple would eventually like to expand the iTunes storefront to offer movie downloads. Unfortunately, the MPAA is currently not coming to the table for negotiations, but as the sales at iTunes go up (330 million purchases and counting, not including the promotional giveaways from Pepsi and McDonalds), they are slowly beginning to coalesce. By this time, you are wondering how this has anything to do with Nintendo. The answer is quite simple: I propose two Apple-Nintendo co-branded features to be offered on the Dual-Screen.
First, digital delivery of content. Obviously, the first steps would be music via a mobile version of iTunes similar to the Motorola cell phone applications, followed by the ability for Nintendo to provide new game content through the service in a method very similar to Microsofts Xbox Live service. Of course, details of such a business plan are to be worked out later; I only wish to provide an overview of my proposal. However, this is almost an after-effect of my second bid:
Adopt the iPod platform to the DS. Ive been taking a look at the DS from the technical side, and I think this is possible. If I understand it correctly, the DS features both an ARM7 and an ARM9 processor. In case you werent familiar, the iPod also runs on an ARM7 processor. After speaking with our software engineers, theyve told me that at least in theory, it should be possible to emulate an iPod on the DS hardware, and the additional processing support of the ARM9 could open many new doors. The product design would be quite unique and logical. The top screen of the DS would display just as the iPods screen does. The bottom screen, which I believe is the one with touch-capability, would usually illustrate the click wheel found on the most recent iPod iterations. However, our designers have already begun to imagine the possibilities of such a device. As you may remember, Apple released the Newton, a PDA-like device, in the 1990s. While the device certainly had its share of pitfalls, one priceless utility came from it all- Inkwell. Inkwell is Apples handwriting recognition software. Even though it has aged, it remains the best in the industry, far superior to PalmOne and Microsofts offerings. This can also be applied to the DS, allowing users to write in the name of the song or artist or album theyd like to hear. This would bring a brand-new level of efficiency and ease-of-use to the iPod platform and would utilize the touch screen capabilities of the DS thoroughly.
At this point, youre surely asking how all of this can be stored. That option lies largely on the ingenuity of our combined development teams, but Ive come up with two scenarios, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The first, and arguably easiest route is to create a high-density flash chip to be used in the game card slot on the DS. This could range from 512 MB to perhaps 1 GB. All of the iPod software could also be stored on this chip, making the process fairly efficient. However, you are aware of the costs of solid-state memory, and as Im not familiar with your manufacturing process, this may or may not pose a cost issue. The other route Apple has seen as feasible would actually involve a hard drive. Though collaboration would be required to see if this is a workable alternative, I believe that a hard drive could be fitted for the Game Boy Advance slot on the DS. The latest hard drive designs from Toshiba and the like for our iPod mini may be able to fit snugly within a Game Boy Advance-sized cartridge. However, I doubt there would be room left for the software-holding chips, so this system would likely have to utilize the DS game card, as well. If Im not mistaken, the game card is capable of utilizing the GBA slot for peripheral devices, which would make this a possibility.
The most elegant facet of the plan is music delivery. I was pleased to see you recently announced plans to bring your Mario Kart, Smash Bros. and Animal Crossing games online on the DS using its 802.11B, or Wi-Fi, capabilities. I must admit we have been tinkering with the Dual-Screens wireless capabilities behind the scenes, and I was happy to find that you use a standard version of 802.11B, as opposed to your proprietary NLAN for short-range use. This standard 802.11B would allow for easy connectivity between the DS and an OS X/Airport-equipped Macintosh. Using the same Wi-Fi capabilities you recently outlined, music could be wirelessly delivered to the DS using the encryption methods we perfected with the Airport Express AirTunes design. As such, a quick, easy delivery solution is already widely available. This would also allow for the purchase of music on the fly; consumers could buy music from the iTunes Music Store and download it wirelessly to their DS away from home. They could later synchronize the files with their home PC using the same 802.11b configuration.
At this point youre surely asking why this is beneficial to Nintendo as well as Apple. First of all, we are willing to incur all of the costs of software development. We only ask your assistance in exploring storage options. This solution, combined with your own Wi-Fi strategy, will make the Dual-Screen far more appealing when compared with the Sony machine. The iTunes/iPod brand has already been well entrenched into American culture, and it is also seen as one of the coolest products on the market. The association between the iPod and the Dual-Screen can only serve to accentuate the profile of the Dual-Screen brand. We see a DS-iPod solution as a way to reach lower-end consumers, or to serve as a secondary system for pre-existing iPod owners. This psychology fits well with your current pricing strategy, and will keep the costs low, hopefully between $79 and $129 USD. In addition, I would like to expand this cooperative relationship in the future, allowing the Dual-Screen to have the same connectivity with either a computer or your next console as the PSP will enjoy.
Time is of the essence, Mr. Iwata. The PSPs American launch is tomorrow, and while your latest announcements will keep the DS at a healthy advantage in the short-term, I fear that the PSP may gain ground as we approach the next few years and the new home consoles that will come with them. The DS-iPod collaboration can only serve to bolster your machine in the eyes of the consumer. And in the future, I believe Apple and Nintendo should explore more cooperative efforts. Apple would be very willing to help soothe out synchronization between your V-Pocket Dual-Screen organizer software and the wide range of organizing programs found on both Macs and Windows platforms. With PalmOnes withdrawal of OS X support in the past few months, we have worked hard to provide new synchronizing solutions to keep reliant customers, and this would be easily adapted to your work on V-Pocket. Also, it is all too perfect that your current home system, the Gamecube, runs on an IBM PowerPC chip similar to those found in Macintosh computers. Friends of mine at IBM have told me that your company is considering dual-G5 processor architecture for the Revolution, and Apple would like to help with that.
The iPod has integrated the Apple brand into consumers pockets, as the iMac integrated us into the offices and dens of America, but we would like to expand that to apply throughout consumers entire homes. I daresay our designers have come up with some rather ingenious applications for your console that could inarguably put it at the top. HD-quality, wireless streaming of video via H.264 and 802.11N/G/B, the ability to play games online wirelessly, remote desktop operation, wireless gyroscopic control capabilities and emotion and voice-recognition programming are just a few of the many areas our companies should cooperate on. Aside from that, I would be honored to direct the iPods team of designers to collaborate with your employees to give the Revolution the look to match its power. Together, we would make a strong team, indeed. Apple would gain ground in the home computer market, and ensure its hold on the portable music industry. Nintendo would strike a hearty blow to Sonys PSP, and ensure its victory in the current portable skirmish, as well as reinvent itself as a far fiercer opponent for Sony and Microsoft in the next console generation. Our motto is Think Different. I believe that Nintendo has always held to the same philosophy and will continue to in the future, and that is why I would be truly pleased if you accepted Apples offer.
Thank You.
Steve Jobs
Apple Computer, Inc.
Casey Ayers is the Editorial Content Director for AMN. This article marks the last edition of Advanced Analysis for DSA as changes in AMN's editorial format begin to take place. Look for Casey's work on GCA and DSA alternately in the first and third weeks of the month in his new column The Inside Track with Casey Ayers starting in March.
Nintendo and Apple find common ground
By Peter Cohen
A PowerPC chip inside, a slot-loading optical drive, built-in Wi-Fi and graphics by ATI. That could describe most of Apples Macintosh lineup these days, and it also describes, however superficially, Nintendos new Revolution console, coming to market in 2006. The comparisons between Nintendo and Apple go beyond hardware, however both companies seem to have a profound love for creating an aura of mystery around their products and a sense of drama at their unveiling. And both companies are not only developers of their own hardware, but publishers of the software that runs on their platform.
Coming out of Nintendos media briefing on Tuesday, many of my fellow gaming journalists voiced their displeasure at Nintendos decision to keep the Revolutions system specs under wraps, at least for now. Its a common complaint heard from the computer industry press about Apple. Apple is notorious for keeping its hardware and software development plans secret until its darn good and ready to let the cat out of the bag. Theyve even been known to litigate against news sources that spill the beans.
Some journos took Nintendos silence on the Revolutions specs as a sign of weakness that perhaps Nintendos benchmarks arent nearly up to snuff compared to Microsofts forthcoming Xbox 360 and Sonys entry for next year, the PlayStation 3. Apple has been criticized over the years for releasing systems that dont compare as well on paper to their PC counterparts or installing slower video cards or other components than top-of-the-line PCs.
Its the software
But to hear executives from Nintendo speak, the hardware isnt as important as the software that runs it. Thats certainly a philosophy that Apple has put into practice time and again. The whole of Apples software, operating system and hardware form a gestalt that cant be easily described just as a sum of its parts. Thats what we define as the user experience, and that was the message from Nintendo today: The user experience and the content is whats important.
Nintendo isnt leading the console hardware market in sales, but it does have a formidable arsenal of first-party franchises that are the envy of the video game world: Mario. Donkey Kong. Zelda. Metroid. The company is continuing to leverage these and other popular properties with the new console, of course.
As crucial as the user experience is, the development of games is vital to the success of a new platform as well. This extends farther than just the corporate real estate of Nintendo itself, but also to third party developers. And with games approaching the budgets of Hollywood movies in some cases, concerns over development costs have mounted. Nintendo promises developers that creating games for the new Revolution will be simpler, faster and less expensive.
Thats good news, if Nintendo can stay true to their word because bigger budgets dont make better games. If anything, big game budgets have the opposite effect they stifle innovation, because the investors have more riding on the line if the games fail, and are less likely to take chances with new ideas.
Can a Game Boy shuffle be far behind?
Despite a strong initial showing by Sony with its new PlayStation Portable, Nintendo continues to dominate the portable gaming space. Nintendo hopes it can sustain that by attracting new gamers to the market, and its latest effort to do so seems to take a page from Apples playbook, by making the iPod mini equivalent to the Game Boy: The Game Boy Micro.
Coming out this fall, the Game Boy Micro is 4 x 2 x 0.7 inches, and weighs about 2.8 ounces. Equipped with a directional pad, play buttons and a two-inch LCD screen, the device can play all games compatible with Nintendos popular flip-top Game Boy Advance SP model. It doesnt offer any new innovative gameplay features or embellishments, but its tiny.
Nintendo hopes the new Game Boy Micro will be a fashionable lifestyle accessory:
it attracts attention and positions the image-conscious player as someone on the cutting edge of cool, said the company in a statement. Youll even be able to buy faceplates to customize its look, much in the same way that HP offers removable tattoos for the iPod.
For what its worth, I doubt Nintendo will be able to duplicate Apples success with the iPod shuffle. Even the smallest Game Boy still needs a display.
I think it was only messed up on the website though, so it doesn't bother me so much.
