Nintendo HD Console - Page 3

Nice theory, 'cept the 3DS has one analog nub. That leaked prototype, if accurate, has two.

Laser.


Beams.


-vdz


Ok, ok, I knew that sticky detail before posting, but honestly any game devs that even *contemplate* a second thumb stick on this console (FPS or other online dorkpeen trophy collect-a-thons) should immediately bow to their pointer control masters and embrace the awesomeness. RE:4 and MP Trilogy demand it!

But everything else can (and should be able to) use 3DS, the wireless, the buttons and screen, the accelerometer.... Seriously, if after all this rumoring and obvious internal synergies, Cafe and 3DS don't work together, I'll stop posting.


For an entire week. I double pinky swear.

Not that I don't see the fun in speculation, and poring over every detail of "leaked" "prototypes," but historically speaking--did anyone get ANYTHING right about the Wiimote before Nintendo officially unveiled it? This is a fun trip down "This is totally what the new Nintendo system's controller will look like!" lane.

They really had the right idea leaking these vague details

I say this thing is still coming out in 2011, anybody want to give me 4 to 1 odds? I'll put up my $25 to anybodies $100. Seriously.

"I say this thing is still coming out in 2011"

So yesterday Nintendo blatantly tells it's stockholders "Yeah, we've decided to launch a new system in 2012, and it doesn't effect the next 12 month's forecast in the slightest", and you still want to put money on it coming out in 2011?

What the hell is wrong with you?

I love endless speculation based on little-to-no facts! (as if that were in question after my recent posts). I say we start a new 100% false rumor:

Super Wii games won't use discs, Nintendo is moving back to carts- Flash memory based 8-gig cartridges, that look similar big DS carts. Disc drive is only for downloading Wii games to internal memory, which then emulates and upscales the games in HD similar to Dolphin.

Also, this whopper:

It's pretty simple really. Yes, Nintendo had an investors conference, but do you really think that is where they want to make the announcement that the system is coming THIS year? Obviously, they would want to make a huge splash at e3, not at some investor's thing. I think legally, they will be able to get away with it, because they will just later say that at the time of the investors conference their plan was 2012, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they will be able to launch the system this November.

Why am I so adamant that they are launching this November? Well, because Nintendo has already stated that the system will be playable at e3 on the show floor. Not playable behind closed doors to a select few, but playable to the general e3 attendees at large. Also, supposedly there will be 1st party and 3rd party games on the show floor that will be playable.

Why would this huge avalanche of information come out about their new system, and why would they have it playable on the show floor, with not only their games, but 3rd party games as well, if the thing isn't coming out for another 18 months? Doesn't make any sense at all in my book.

Stop the nonsense, they're not going to lie to their owners to hide the truth for a few short weeks. The worst case is that what you suggest would be in violation of Japanese financial laws by not fully disclosing their actual financial projections for the upcoming fiscal year by releasing some fictional data. And at best, if such a thing was legal (Which I highly doubt, although I'm not familiar with Japanese financial laws), it would still be a highly unethical decision to intentionally mislead their shareholders that wouldn't be taken very lightly.

The only way this thing is coming out before May of 2012 is if they make a drastic about face from their current plans as they stand now. They aren't attempting some elaborate smoke & mirrors magic act to hide the truth for a few short weeks. It's nonsense to even suggest such a thing. And don't kid yourself, Sony and Microsoft are certainly well aware of the goings on at Nintendo. If such information was of any crucial importance, Sony and Microsoft aren't going to have to wait for a public announcement to find out about it.

And if you look back at past Nintendo consoles, we've always recieved a stream of information years in advance of release. Has happened with the Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, GameCube, and the Wii. I see no reason to read anything into this current continuation of that tradition.

And their statement said "we will show a playable model of the new system". For all we know, their playable software is going to be a upscaled version of Skyward Sword running on their new system. Who said anything about multiple games or 3rd party software being shown off at E3? Or WiiHD software of any sort? All they said is it was going to be playable on the show floor. For all we know, they might just be going to show off it's upscaling capabilities of GCN and Wii software if it's backwards compatible. Or perhaps they're just going to be showing off their system interface and things like a new Mii channel. It would certainly be in line with how they slowly revealed the Wii and it's various components over a period of several years.

Well, unless they want to have a totally anticlimactic announcement at their shareholders meeting, they HAVE to.



Funny you mention that, because this is exactly the excuse they'll be using when they announce it for a late November 2011 release at e3.


I never said that MS and Sony wouldn't be aware of this. They have their insider information. What does their knowing about it have to do with anything we are discussing?


Key word in that quote is INFORMATION.

Tell me the last console that had PLAYABLE games, on the show floor, not just first party, but 3rd parties as well, and not playable behind closed doors to a select few elite media outlets and corporate buyers, but playable to the general attendees of the show, and then the console didn't launch until nearly 18 months later. It would be unprecedented.

Also, I've heard a bunch of people speculating that the console will be launched in the Spring of 2012. While an interesting proposition, tell me the last Nintendo home console that launched prior to late August? Oh yeah... that's right..... NONE HAVE. The Super Nintendo launched in Late August 1991, and that was the EARLIEST that any Nintendo home console has launched.

Ok, so let's forget about Nintendo and just think about any video game company launching a home console prior to August.... The only one that I can think of, is the Sega Saturn surprise launch at e3 1995. We all know how well that turned out for Sega... don't we? Obviously, I know that my prediction of it still coming out this November is a HUGE longshot all things considered, but I don't think it's totally impossible, and for some reason, I just have this feeling that it's coming out this year. It might not be entirely logical, but I just feel like it is.. I could be wrong, and I should be wrong, considering the facts, but I just have a sneaky suspicion that Nintendo will drop a bomb on June 7th at about 9:30am pacific time. The bomb will be that the console has now been pushed up from 2012 to late November 2010.

Why do they have to? I have news for you, but they officially revealed this console several days ago and stated that it's coming later in 2012. They DON'T have to lie about a release date and pull some scam on their shareholders for a gaming convention. Your opinion that they're doing so is naive and shows a complete lack of understanding of corporate finance.

In this country, doing what you suggest can now lead to inprisonment for executives, including CEO's, that write off on fradulent financial releases. It simply isn't even a option here and it's ludacris to even suggest it is.


Not going to happen


What other possible reason would there be for doing what you suggest if it wasn't to withhold key information about their plans from their competitors until the last possible moment?

It can't be to excite their consumers because they've already confirmed the console, they've already provided a release window for us, and they've already told us when we can expect to learn more about it.


Are you paying even the slightest bit of attention to what Nintendo has actually said? This is what they stated.

"we will show a playable model of the new system"

Exactly how did you extract from that that we're going to have a range of 1st party and 3rd party titles on the show floor, that it's not going to just be showed behind closed doors, and that it's going to actually be playable to general attendees of the show?


I haven't heard such speculation, everything I've seen is guessing a Fall 2012 release, even before Nintendo officially revealed this system a few days ago and before the rumors started flying a few days before that.

Furthermore, Nintendo themselves have all but ruled such a thing out. They've flat out stated that it isn't coming out during the coming fiscal year. So unless it is released between May 1st and May 31st of 2012, it isn't even going to even be possible to do a spring console launch.


There are others, such as the top performing console of the past console generation which launched in March of 2000 in Japan, as I recall. And the Xbox launched early in the year virtually everywhere outside of North America. And those are just two off the top of my head.

Anthony, I know you mean November 2011 A quick edit makes it clear.

I tend to agree with your optimistic feeling for a 2011 launch. As much as I love the Wii, waiting until 2012 is far too long to replace it. Its momentum is already fading, and the promise of a new console tends to slow sales even more. Nintendo would have to be really out of touch with marketplace reality to think that sales won't fall off a cliff if the wait is prolonged. Even with deep price cuts on the Wii, sales are likely to slow and the margins will plummet at the same time.

I can't imagine they'd willingly face 12 months or more slow starvation. If I were an investor, I'd be clamoring for an accelerated launch. I'd be telling Nintendo to get off its butt and move this thing to pre-Christmas 2011.

Not only that, but as Apple moves closer and closer to the gaming space, Sony and Microsoft aren't the only competitors to worry about. Apple likes to disrupt. It takes a while for it to get ready, but once it gets ready, it comes in with a fully engaged plan, not a one shot wonder. It updates products and features regularly, and outpaces most of its competitors in delivering improved products. Even if those products lag competitors in certain features or specs, the stream is continuous, coherent, and controlled. They release products to replace products that are doing well.

Nintendo's culture will have to be quicker, nimbler, and more aware of change in the marketplace than it is now. If it doesn't see this now, by the time it does, its options will be very narrow. If it keeps the proposed timeline on this new console, Nintendo is being irresponsible to its investors and to its users. If I were an investor I would do all I could to force them to move faster, but I am neither an investor nor a student of Japanese corporate culture.

I am an observer of what Apple has done here in the US and now around the world, and Nintendo needs to shake off its lethargy and get moving now.

Filecat13 said:

"Not only that, but as Apple moves closer and closer to the gaming space, Sony and Microsoft aren't the only competitors to worry about. Apple likes to disrupt. It takes a while for it to get ready, but once it gets ready, it comes in with a fully engaged plan, not a one shot wonder. It updates products and features regularly, and outpaces most of its competitors in delivering improved products. Even if those products lag competitors in certain features or specs, the stream is continuous, coherent, and controlled. They release products to replace products that are doing well."

Interesting that you say this. since many in the investor community believe Apple has been in discussions with Nintendo regarding acquisition, to disrupt the MS and Sony business models.

"Many in the investor community" are obviously suffering from a pretty hefty mental deficiency then.

Obviously, we have differing opinions. So, if it's not going to happen, then certainly the odds of it somehow happening would be a HUGE longshot right? Like 10 to 1 odds ? 20 to 1 odds? 50 to 1 odds? What would be your guess? How big of a longshot is it?



The announcements that we read on Kotaku or IGN or wherever, isn't where the general public at large get their information. Nintendo could make a HUGE splash at e3, by announcing that they are even farther along in the development of the Stream than they had previously anticipated, and they are planning for a late November 2011 launch. I think it would provide a HUGE amount of excitement, but maybe that's just me...

Also, I seriously doubt that this is the specific way that Nintendo wanted any of this information to leak out. Unfortunately, the cat got out of the bag and Nintendo had to say "something", but this is not the ideal way in which they wanted this information disseminated.




I'm not talking specifically about everything that Nintendo has stated publicly. There have been some off the record comments that have leaked out that suggest that certain companies have had their development kits for longer than anyone might have imagined, and that there will be playable games on the actual e3 show floor, not only 1st party, but 3rd party as well.


https://twitter.com/#!/jimreilly/sta...48527677648896

In this quote, he say's that he's not sure if they will be playable, but I heard somewhere else that they will be, but can't track down where I originally heard that. Is it an unconfirmed rumor? Yes. Still, I find it very interesting that development teams have had their kits for MONTHS already.

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/sources...-wii-successor



I'm only discussing launches in the USA. Launches in other territories, especially Japan, isn't really applicable.

I can't believe you are still arguing this point. They said it will be released this year. I don't understand the constant need for something "more," like they must impress you with some surprise bonus. They do not owe you anything. It is a product. They will sell it. You might buy it.

Huh ?


I'm not sure who you're addressing. Regardless, me and Leo are simply arguing back and forth about whether or not the Stream, or whatever it ends up being called, will be released this year. It's nothing to get your panties in a bunch about. It's just another forum debate, and one of us is going to be right, and one of us is going to be wrong. As simple as that. Nothing to get all upset over.

That's not how it works guy. Nintendo has already told INVESTORS it is not coming out this year. Sure they could go back and change it, but the people who literally OWN THE COMPANY and make business plans based on Nintendo's projections of revenue have been told it's coming out in 2012.

The investors are more important than fanboys and websites. They could literally be sued by investors if it turns out that Nintendo was lying to them about this stuff. And no, just saying "we decided to change our plans" is not good enough.

If Nintendo was going to release this thing in 2011 we would've heard about it at this time last year. End of story.

I love it when someone throws the fanboy card! It always adds so much to the discussion. In game console and computer and smartphone discussions it's considered by some to trump all else.

What if the statement were this:

The investors are more important than consumers and market share.

Or

The investors are more important than customers and profit.

Would a company that realized it could and should accelerate its product launch also be at risk from investor lawsuits because it realized it had a strategic need to get to market sooner to protect its sales, market share, and profits?

This query isn't just about Nintendo, but investor-held companies in general, so we can move away from the fanboy comments. I know some companies have been sued for failing to meet launch dates or failing to hit revenue targets that investors thought they should. (I usually think those investors get what they deserve, BTW.) But has a company been sued for releasing a product early and increasing sales and profit?

Sure, if they announce a new product for next year and release it next week instead, that might cause a furor. But six months from now? Nine months from now? Or are some investors literally counting the days, and if it's not 365, then the company lied?

Why would launching the system in December 2011 be helpful for Nintendo? Why would it "increase profits"?

It gives them less time to make games (look at the 3DS lineup to see why this is bad). It gives them less time to roll out the marketing. It gets them less time to finalize hardware and get it out there. All the meanwhile they are going to be competing against Sony and MS' old ass systems.

If Sony and MS were running new hardware out in 2011 and Nintendo was waiting until 2012 I could see the disadvantage. But here I'm just not seeing it, especially since, no matter what people on the internet are saying, the Wii is still selling really well. Better than the PS3 at least.

Well, it just depends on whether or not Nintendo is believing Microsoft's posturing, regarding their followup to the Xbox 360. All the hints that have been dropped here and there regarding Microsoft's next console, suggest that November 2013 would be the absolute earliest, which means that if Nintendo waits till November 2012, they have a full year all to themselves, which is a huge advantage.

The thing is, it's unknown whether or not the "no new console coming anytime soon" talk from Microsoft is legit, or a total ruse. I'm sure Nintendo has their inside sources at Microsoft that should give them some indication about the real reality of it. Still, a miscalculation on Nintendo's part would be pretty devastating to their early adopter potential. Although it's a longshot, Microsoft could easily have a top secret console that will be revealed very early in 2012, and released that same year. Isn't that how it happened with the Xbox 360? Was anybody aware of anything in regards to the existence of the Xbox 360 in 2004? If my memory serves me, I don't remember hearing anything at all about a Xbox 360 in 2004. I do however remember hearing a bunch of rumors in very early 2005.

So, it isn't completely out of the realm of reality for Microsoft to shock the gaming world with an announcement of a console in very early 2012, for release that same year. That is exactly what happened in 2005. If that were to be the case, then Nintendo would get screwed in a way, because they wouldn't have November 2012 all to themselves. They would have to share the spotlight with a brand new Xbox console. Also, with Nintendo going a bit more towards the hardcore side of things, with a more powerful system, they wouldn't necessarily get the early adopter gadget geeks that like super-high end stuff. Microsoft would likely have a more technologically advanced architecture for their system, and even early adopters don't have $800 just burning holes in their pockets ($399 for each system, possibly).

Again, all of this is a very unlikely scenario, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility. Right now it would seem crazy, but I could easily see a scenario in which all of this could happen. Nintendo has to account for the same possibilities, which would then make November of this year much more attractive, because it would absolutely GUARANTEE them a full year all to themselves. Also, if the next Xbox doesn't come out the following year, then Nintendo gets two full years all to itself, which would give it a HUGE headstart for the next cycle. First Movers Advantage is only an advantage if you're indeed a "first" mover.

By that logic, Microsoft could release a new system next week! What would Nintendo do then?

I think all indications are is that MS really is serious about not wanting to release a new system anytime soon. Sales really picked up after the redesign and Kinect is doing well. Unless the system bottoms out between now and the end of the year, there's really no reason to think MS is in a hurry here. Especially given the fact that their strategy has clearly shifted since 2005 (and that's something that I don't think many Xbox fans/gamers have realized).

And you have to account for the fact that releasing early has disadvantages - it cannibalizes the 3DS (which has a really great lineup coming out), it's less time to get the marketing out there, it's less time to get the games ready.

Well rumor has it the next system will have 8GB of flash memory and that is it. I think this is a huge mistake on their part. This will limit what we can download to the system. I hope they up this. It did say they will allow SD storage, but they should just put enough in from the get go to avoid this as a must. Oh well, not much longer until we get some real info.

I love rumors, and it may have flash memory only (no HDD to save on moving parts, power use and points of failure), but that can't be true- maybe Ninty includes an 8GB SD card with the system like the 3DS (they come with a 2GB card, right? I still don't own one), but 8GB is suicide. I have a 16gb SD card in my Wii, and that's nearly full - so I'm 16GB in by way of a dozen or less WiiWare games (<43MB each, friends), save states, maybe 20 demos/VC games and a couple of GH albums and assorted downloads.

8GB total for the system, even with SD card support will be laughable and beyond stupid. Might as well incorporate "Super Friend Codes" (now with 64 characters!), and 720i graphics via S-Video output.

Basically, I don't buy it (Please let me be right, Nintendo?...)

-vdz

I know that's just a rumor, but default 8GB storage does sound pretty Nintendo-y. But someone who knows things, please explain to me why it'd be bad to use high-capacity SD cards for storage instead of big ol' hard drives? Slow loading times or something?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love for Nintendo to actually deliver a new console with modern specs, but it'd also be great to design a system that wouldn't be such a storage hog in the first place. I replaced the 40GB hard drive in my PS3 eventually, but that's only because seemingly every goddamn game requires a 4GB+ install, and I'm nowhere close to filling up the 320GB that sits in there now.

Is it possible that the 8GB is active memory for whatever is currently being played off a proprietary game-memory card, and all downloads/saves/map packs/"wiiware"/etc. will be cloud-based?

I believe SDHC only goes up to 32 gigs, and I doubt they're very cheap (A quick search seems to suggest they're in the $60-$80 range).

So that's 40 gigs after a purchase of a relatively expensive accessory. Not a heck of a whole lot of space in an era where things several times that size on HD consoles are increasingly viewed as cramped.

For someone hoping Nintendo is going to embrace modern technology, it's a bit of a disappointment if true. Heck, every original Xbox years ago shipped with 8 gigs of onboard memory two generations removed from this coming one.

I suppose I wouldn't be shocked knowing how conservative Nintendo is. But in light with all the rumors we're hearing, it's hard to imagine Nintendo skimping on onboard memory with an amount more in line with 2004/2005 than a next generation console in 2012.

Never underestimate Nintendo's ability to under deliver from a tech standpoint. I will honestly be amazed if this Nintendo console will match or beat the Xbox 1's audio capabilities. (5.1 dolby digital in game) Seems like they are allergic to 5.1 or 7.1 discrete. If it has lossless 7.1 like the PS3, I'll probably keel over and die of a heart attack right on the spot...


Surely it will have a usb port on it... right? Then we can buy an external HDD for it. I would think..

What the hell are you talking about? Nintendo has not had a low-tech console until the Wii. Sony was awlays the one with the inferior techs, which were worse than N64 and Gamecube.

Web - The lesson to be learned here is to never try to argue with Anthony on any sort of logic front. Just add him to your ignore list and move on.