PSX5Central
Playstation/Gaming Discussions => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: pstwo on July 22, 2002, 12:48:39 AM
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http://www.xboxgamers.com/newspro/fullnews.cgi?newsid1027320485,81432,
Tokyo, July 19 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co. is relying on a portly plumber with a water gun to defeat the world\'s richest man.
Today, the world\'s second-largest video-game maker starts selling ``Super Mario Sunshine,\'\' the first version of the series for its GameCube console. The company is betting Mario\'s fans will spurn the rival Xbox, made by Bill Gates\'s Microsoft Corp.
Mario -- created in 1985, the year Gates started selling his Windows computer operating system -- already has fans, while Gates needs to recruit followers for heroes of exclusive Xbox games, analysts say. Nintendo is focused on fending off Microsoft after Sony Corp. pulled clear in the $20 billion industry.
``It\'s granted that `Super Mario Sunshine\' will be a big hit, with sales of probably more than a million copies,\'\' said Nobumasa Morimoto, an analyst at Tokyo-Mitsubishi Securities Co. ``Mario is very popular, especially among kids.\'\'
Kyoto-based Nintendo failed to meet its target of selling 3.8 million GameCubes in the fiscal year ended March 31 after releasing the console in September last year. Microsoft said yesterday it had sold 3.9 million Xbox consoles since its release in November, short of its original 6 million target.
Sony has sold 30 million PlayStation 2s since March 2000.
Nintendo must meet its goal of selling 12 million GameCubes this fiscal year to keep Microsoft at bay, analysts said.
``Xbox is likely to make a serious dent on Nintendo\'s market share,\'\' said Amir Anvarzadeh, an analyst at KBC Financial Products in London. ``The fight for the second place may take its toll on Nintendo\'s profit margins and bank balance.\'\'
Sequels
Nintendo has sold more than 160 million Mario titles worldwide, the company said. The latest Mario game, to be released in the U.S. next month, is the first of a series of sequels that Nintendo will release at regular intervals during the year, the company said in a brochure to retailers.
The company will also set up consoles and big screens at toy stores throughout Japan, allowing users to test the games before they are released.
``This will be a make-or-break year for the GameCube,\'\' Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo\'s chief game designer, told reporters last month. Sales of a video-game console usually peaks in the second year of its release, he said.
Nintendo is also trying to take advantage of its Gameboy Advance hand-held video game, the market leader, when designing games.
``Legend of Zelda GC,\'\' that will debut in December, will allow players to control the action characters, including a pixie called Link, not only with their GameCube controller but also with the Gameboy Advance. That may allow up to four players to take part in the game. It is the latest update of a game that debuted in 1987.
Xbox
While offerings from the Xbox repertoire are mainly versions of action, adventure, sports and shooting games already available on PlayStation 2, Microsoft is also selling exclusive games, including the alien shoot-em-up game ``Halo.\'\'
Gates says he\'ll do what it takes to catch up. At the time of the Xbox\'s release in November, Microsoft said it would spend $500 million in an unspecified period of time to market the Xbox.
As sales fell short of targets, Microsoft said in May it will spend another $2 billion to improve the console and urge game makers to develop more online games for the Xbox\'s Internet debut later this year.
``Super Mario Sunshine\'\' sees Mario interrupting his vacation on a tropical island to vanquish enemies with a backpack water pump. A sequel ``Mario Party\'\' will be released in November. Among other games, ``Starfox Adventure\'\' will follow in September and ``Metroid Prime,\'\' a space-adventure game will be released before the Christmas shopping season.
Nintendo will set up GameCube consoles and screens at 124 stores of Toys \'R\' Us-Japan Ltd. starting today, part of a nationwide campaign to test market the new titles, the company said on its Web site. The move follows Microsoft\'s plans to appoint more retailers to stock the Xbox in Japan. Happinet Corp., the sole distributor of the Xbox in Japan announced the strategy last week.
Currency Woes
Nintendo also has to counter the negative impact of the yen\'s recent surge against the dollar, analysts said. The yen\'s rise hurts Nintendo\'s earnings because more than half of the company\'s sales come from the U.S. The company has to take a charge when the value of its dollar-denominated holdings decrease.
In May, Nintendo said it may take a charge of about 10 billion yen in its full-year earnings because the dollar may fall to less than the estimated 130 yen exchange rate. The company forecast a net income of 90 billion yen ($773 million) on sales of 640 billion yen for the full year after the charge.
The yen has already risen 10 percent more than Nintendo\'s estimated level for the dollar and the gain will hurt Nintendo\'s earnings especially in the fiscal first half, analysts said.
``If the yen maintains the current upward trend through September, it will be a serious blow to Nintendo,\'\' said Hirotoshi Murakami, an analyst at Kokusai Securities Co.
The shares of Nintendo rose as much as 220 yen, or 1.4 percent, to 15,550 yen.
Bill will keep on throwing that dice! Where\'s that 7!!!! :D
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ah whell.. I guess this is the mud ring ... so here goes..
NINTENDO AND MICROSOFT HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF TROUNCING SONY - TOGETHER
so give it up already Nintendo.
resistance is futile.
you will be assimilated.
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Gates started selling his Windows computer operating system --
His STOLEN windows that he got from apple. :rolleyes:
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indeed
bill owes his soul to Steven Jobs
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and Apple stole it from Xerox, big deal
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apple purchased the developmental rights for the GUI from xerox after they visited PARC, in fact
bill gates blatantly stole the GUI from apple because he had access to thier prototype systems (he developed software for them, remember?)
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gee, way to throw this thread into a tangent MR Cloud.
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Gees, this article doesn\'t make me too optimistic about the future of Nintendo... I\'m sure it will hold its own against Microsoft and Sony this generation, but the way things are going, a future next gen console from Nintendo seems more and more unlikely...
With all the money Microsoft has and will (or says) be investing, I can\'t see Nintendo competing much longer. :(
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sheesh guys
nintendo isnt going anywhere
watch around xmas time as as nintendo turns up the heat and leaves xbox crying in 3rd place [size = small]while sony eats them both up for breakfast[/size]
:)
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All I know is that I\'d MUCH rather own a Gamecube than X-box.
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All I know is that come christmas time I\'d MUCH rather own a X-box than a Gamecube. ;)
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lol, don\'t you think MS should focus on getting games, instead of just getting developers to make online games?
Online gaming on consoles won\'t sell consoles this generation... at least not many. And when your that pushy about your online crap that companies like EA want nothing to do with you..
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Bozco, exactly what was that comment for?
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Mario was created in 1981, not 1985. gg!
However.. the name Mario was given to him in 1983\'s Mario Bros. Beat th\' geek!
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/me runs away from blade
:o
anyway, I personally can\'t wait for mario, i\'m ordering it tomorow
I still think cube and ps2 are the best combo this generation.
and if you can afford it, add a nice PC to boot for games like Warcraft 3
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Nintendo can survive for a long time with their stranglehold on the handheld market. Too bad the GC has underperformed sales-wise so far, but it will pick up this fall and they should pull away from Xbox (thank god). I would pick up a Gamecube myself, but I hardly have enough time to play my ps2 let alone another console. Long live the big N.
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hehe... hehehehe...
Around Christmas Time, Nintendo will own M$. Mario, Zelda, Metroid... cant compete with those franchises. But X-Box always has Halo, and Halo 2, probably Halo 3, and 4, might as well give them 5,6, and 7, dont stop there because X-Box owners will rejoice when Halo 8, 9, and 10 hit the market. Ok I\'m finished, I made my point about M$\'s lack of franchises.
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Watch out "The One" Billy Gunn, your starting to sound like capcom :D
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This coming holiday season, xbox is guaranteed to own
third place, that is
oops, I forgot about PSone
make it fourth place then
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N will not be around for that long unless they change something.
Everyday kids are being born without any knowledge of when N was good (16bit). To them, Mario, Metroid and Zelda are just games.
More and more video games are becoming related to Sony and not N.
From all reports SMS is just M64 with better graphics. With platformers like J&D, Sly, and Blinx that are actually bringing new ideas into the genre, it\'ll be easy for kids to not care. If N still had its magic it would not be getting outsold by MS. MS has no history, no name recognition, no franchises established. For them to be outselling N speaks volumes.
What if Metroid is just another FPS? With Doom, Unreal, Halo and MOH around, how many kids will remember the main character Samus? And will they care as much as we do, who remember the original? I\'m not sure.
I have little doubt that N will have a big Christmas, but what happens after that? They are playing all their chips this christmas. How long will it be until the sequels of these big games come out? With N\'s track record, next generation.
Sega on the other hand is constantly developing new material, while producing sequels to long loved franchises. MS is also trying to develop new franchises. N seems to be out of ideas.
We all read about how close MS was to buying both Sega and Square leading up to E3. If things go terribly for MS this Christmas who here would put it past them to add to their developer portfolio by passing around a few green hats?
Also, what if one or two of these big games turn out to be bad or just average (remember Eternal Darkness?)? N is walking a very fine line. Metroid isn\'t being made by anyone from the original team, early reports suggest SMS may not be the end all and be all of platformers. It could happen.
Just trying to add some perspective.
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Watchdog: I think most children will just play the game that\'s the most fun. (read: Mario Sunshine)
Eternal Darkness isn\'t average.
Bash away, my friend.. bash away.
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I\'m not bashing. I know you love N, and that\'s fine. But my whole point is that to a 6 year old kid, what\'s the difference between Mario and J&D?
Why are you and most everyone here already heralding SMS as the best platformer ever? More and more kids are growing up with a Sony under their television, not a Nintendo. Why are you so sure SMS will be the most fun?
Good or bad, ED didn\'t move the millions of systems it was supposed to.
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Your point holds true.
However.. I think you underestimate Nintendo. You also never, ever look at their bright side.
Your "perspective" is never positive.
6-year-olds account for an extremely small portion of the console market. J&D only came out with one mildly successful game less than a year before Mario Sunshine will debut. Even to young\'sters, Mario is a well-known name anyways. He\'s appeared in multiple games since 2000, among them the top-selling SSBM, and Mario Advance 1/2.
J&D and Mario Sunshine have virtually the same advantage over younger players all-in-all..
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What are the odds a six year old kid is going to buy a console on his own. I doubt a 6 year old kid just has $200 lying around. The parents will buy it for the child, and they will buy the friendly childish looking machine like GCN. They\'ll take one look at PS2 and realize games like DMC, MGS2, etc. are not games a 6 year old should be playing or are capable of playing. Same w/ the XB.
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xbox leads GC in sales in NA only and according to June figures, just barely. Considering the main target audience of GC aren\'t the ones shelling out for the system (as compared to xbox or PS2) it\'s holding it\'s own quite well. Nintendo doesn\'t have to rely on kids to remember the old franchises, for that job it has a generation of brand new parents, aunts and uncles kicking in right about now.
Good point about MS passing out the money hats if things get bleak for xbox this winter. But don\'t discount too much the role nationalism would step in and play if the ugly American decides he\'ll need to buy success rather than proving it\'s warranted. Japanese companies aren\'t necessarily for sale to the highest bidder.
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Let\'s just say that for all practical purposes, no one is going to be out of the console wars by Christmas. Every system has enough games to carry them through.
"The One": Why do you say that there will countless reilliterations of Halo when not a single Halo sequel has came out?
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Watchdog and Heretic both made some good points. Honestly, at times I don\'t know if I should be sceptical or optimistic about Nintendo\'s future. As I said above, I\'m sure the GameCube will do a very nice job this generation, but looking into the future I can\'t help but to be more sceptical than overly excited.
The thing is, the market is growing larger by the day and the people who have made the PSX a success (teenagers + young adults) are coming in at a fast rate. Nintendo aren\'t the guys they once were in this industry and I honestly can\'t see them competing against Microsoft or Sony in the long run (at least where consoles are at stake).
Now before anyone bashes on me, hear me out first:
During the PSX days, the N64 wasn\'t selling very well at all in Japan and infact the only market which rivaled the PSX one was the North American I believe. Now with Xbox out and competing very well, I expect to see Nintendo loose a big share of their market. They might hold a strong second with GameCube until the end on a worldwide scale, but compared to last generation I could be a huge drawback. Also, Microsoft is here to stay. And there\'s more at stake than just the money cake. With that in mind, we can expect Microsoft to deal out those moneyhats if we like it or not - it will happen, that I am more than sure of.
Rumours are already letting assume that Nintendo isn\'t thinking about another installment after GameCube. If they loose their marketshare (or a big deal of it) this generation, I fear they won\'t make a next console and just concentrate on their handhelds. One damn good reason is the market changing:
the future buyers aren\'t necessarely those that want a game-only console, but more an entertainment system or setup-box. Sure there will be always those hardcore gamers, but I\'m speaking about the masses here. Nintendo doesn\'t have the necessary resources to just go out and make the next super console with networking, dvd and what not - they have to rely on other allies such as Matsushita and others to do so. So what I\'m really getting at, is that the market is changing and it doesn\'t seem to be going Nintendo\'s way.
Of course, if GameCube proves me wrong and does very well - then I\'m sure they\'ll be back. If not though and the scenario Watchdog\'s refering to comes true, then I wouldn\'t hold my breath of them being back next gen.
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Originally posted by nonamer
The One": Why do you say that there will countless reilliterations of Halo when not a single Halo sequel has came out?
exactly, yet X-Box fanboys have been raving about a sequel because PC(which has been confirmed now) is getting the first one.
The point is, and will be for quite a while, M$ is low on franchises they are almost inexistent. Look at nintendo, in their first system, they had Mario, Zelda, DK, and Metroid, all of which will most likely come to the cube.
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The fact of the matter is, and Seven alluded to it, N doesn\'t have the capital to compete with Sony or MS. Their game studios are too small, and their vision is narrow. MS and Sony are too big, too powerful, too rich.
I wouldn\'t be surprised at all if N focusses on handhelds, and becomes 3rd party, much like Sega.
You can also bet on this: MS is well aware of their numbers in Japan, and they already have a solution. TGS we\'ll find out. Could the long rumoured Enix/MS partnership become a reality? The Sega/Square rumour? Who knows? But one thing I do know is that MS will do something.
N looks at their sales, but what can they do? They don\'t have the money to do anything major. They have to hope that their 1st party will do it for them. It didn\'t do it for the N64, I\'m not sure it\'ll work with the GC either.
We went through this denial with Sega too. Thier DC came out, put up a valiant fight, had the best games anywhere, but it failed. Is this situation any different from N\'s?
Billy...
inexistent isn\'t a word
MS decided to build franchises not buy them--that doesn\'t happen in one year. Those N franchises didn\'t all start with the release of the NES during it\'s first year--they weren\'t even all on the NES. So I ask you, how long did it take N to establish franchises? Want to rethink anything?
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Uh oh, Watch...
You just gave mm some ammo to fire at the XBox fans.
"TGS we\'ll find out. "
It wasn\'t long ago when mm would fire off "Wait until E3".
:P
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hehe, you\'re probably right Ashford; think it\'s too late to edit my post? :)
Fact is, I don\'t even know when TGS is, nor do I care. The future of xbox is secure enough. Beyond that, the numbers are for fools and xbox execs (here I\'ll beat you guys to it: aren\'t they the same people?). I just want to play games, give me Unreal, Mechassault and Contra and I\'ll be happy until at least this time next year.
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Watchdog: Just please, stop debating about Nintendo since ya know their situation. I don\'t know Sony\'s, thus I don\'t make bold claims like "Nintendo doesn\'t have the money". Nintendo has more cash money than Sony does.
This is only one example.
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"Is this [Sega] situation any different from N\'s?"
In one word. Yes.
In two words. Hell Yes!
Everyone but the most die hard Sega fan expected the DC to go belly up and the result of that expectation is the reality soon followed. Had Sega not started DC banking on borrowed money it\'s life span might have easily been extended another year or two. With a few glaring exceptions no one else feels the GC is doomed to the same fate as DC. It seems most gamers expect Nintendo will move along quite steadily this generation, whether we care if they do or not.
Big N\'s balance sheet was fat on day one of the GC launch, they\'re only in danger of a hostile takeover, nothing more. Granted N\'s future for their next console doesn\'t look at all good but the same could easily be said for xbox2, I don\'t care how badly MS wants to stay in the game. The next round will be brutal...
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I looked for a couple minutes but couldn\'t find the article. It was something about Nintendo\'s tightwire act in terms of their financial situation. I\'m almost positive it was in Rueters, but I can\'t find it. It didn\'t paint a very promising picture should things go badly with the GC.
It basically said if things go poorly with the GC, it will find itself where Sega found itself before the release of the Dreamcast. It also creditied their handheld dominance as a key factor in their continued existence in the hardware business.
I don\'t make this stuff up.
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game boy + pokemon saved nintendo
for once (*gasp*), im with this guy /\\
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That\'s actually twice, mm. :)
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That can\'t be mm...
He didn\'t exploit the "TGS we\'ll find out. " comment...
:P
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like I said, Mario, DK, Zelda, and Metroid were all on NES, and pre-1990(maybe not metroid). Pokemon was a 1997 hit, and lives on now. M$ has the money, Big N has the Franchises. Franchises own at christmas time, always.
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:evil: NINTENDO WILL BE ASSIMILATED :evil:
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I\'m convinced Billy can\'t read.
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I\'m convinced Watchdog is mentally challenged.
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I guess he\'s earning his masters in English at one of those \'special\' schools..?
wasnt sure exactly what Watchdog was studying.. forgive me..
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Heh, I\'ve already graduated from one of those special schools. :)
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Eh? Jak and Daxter brought new ideas to the platform genre? I\'ve heard it all!
And this whole philosphy that Nintendo will die because six year olds don\'t remember the SNES is rubbish. Their parents remember these consoles. And anyways, if this was the case, then companies like Disney, Cartoon Network and etc would stand no choice. There is always a younger market and if no on is catering to it, \'cept for one company, than that company will always be around.
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Originally posted by Living-In-Clip
Eh? Jak and Daxter brought new ideas to the platform genre? I\'ve heard it all!
And this whole philosphy that Nintendo will die because six year olds don\'t remember the SNES is rubbish. Their parents remember these consoles. And anyways, if this was the case, then companies like Disney, Cartoon Network and etc would stand no choice. There is always a younger market and if no on is catering to it, \'cept for one company, than that company will always be around.
The thing is, Nintendo isn\'t the only one who\'s caterging to that market anymore. Sony, while primarely targeting an older one, has the games that actually rival the ones from Nintendo aswell. As Watchdog mentioned; who will distinguish Mario from say Jak and Daxter in the future?
And besides, the market is changing. I know a crap load of young kids that are little die hard Sony fanboys just because it\'s the next cool thing. From what I\'m seeing over here, Nintendo is loosing their young audiance when it comes to consoles - it\'s the older ones that actually appreciate Nintendo for what they are and overlook the image that\'s turning more and more young kids away. Kids are beginning to grow up with other games these days - not Mario. At least in Europe and America that is.
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_________
And this whole philosphy that Nintendo will die because six year olds don\'t remember the SNES is rubbish. Their parents remember these consoles.
________
And they are buying PS2s. Is there a point there? If they remember, they don\'t care, because PS2 is running away with every market.
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hrmmmm... I don\'t think our generation is old enough to have kids just yet =\\
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How much would it cost for Bill Gates to just buy Nintendo ?
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they already *supposedly* tried and they got laughed at
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Ah whell, when Nintendo starts hemiraging cash, they\'ll be laughing with Microsoft :)