Discouraging for a Nintendo fan...

[Tracer]

I think Nintendo is putting the cart before the horse. They're pushing innovation in hardware and then saying to the devs 'okay, now use it.' What they really should be doing it approaching developers and saying 'what can't you do because of current hardware?' what features do you want and need to go past your current limitations for the next console generation?'

That would have been great, it would have ended up exactly like the Xbox (which is what MS did in designing the system, according to Takahashi in "Opening The Xbox."

[LOL]

But, you notice - it wasn't until the N64 came along, and Nintendo put an analog stick onto their controller, that people suddenly realized how good of an idea that would be.

You really think people didn't think that they wanted a way to do 3D control after making their character run in 8 stock directions in all of these 3D games?

That's the Nintendo that used to be awesome and knew what the future of games would be. The Nintendo now is awkwardly trying to force unnecessary innovations on people that don't seem to push anything forward. The DS's touch screen is an awesome idea that everyone can like, but Nintendo's problem is that they're using it as a gimmick or the main gameplay idea for everything they make on the DS. Just leave the touch screen to menu navigation and other necessary uses that come up during development or brainstorming, don't make it a necessary use by force.

The Xbox put in a hard drive, ethernet port and a well thought-out online plan for console games. Those are forward-thinking, innovative ideas. The ideas Nintendo have been coming up with are just lame and gimmicky and do nothing to move games forward as much as it just puts a huge stop sign in front of progress.

In the end, if Sony ends up copying your idea, you know you're on the right track. Really. They did this with the hard drive and online adapter from the Xbox, but they haven't copied anything Nintendo has done since the analog stick and rumble.

[Drewbacca]

I agree. But I mean... if Nintendo can't find ways to make the dual screen useable outside of a handful of games what chance are 3rd parties going to have?

[Yoshi]

That would have been great, it would have ended up exactly like the Xbox (which is what MS did in designing the system, according to Takahashi in "Opening The Xbox."

Except that MS then blew off an entire continent and, thus, lost almost every major franchise.

[Clash!]

I don't think they wanted to blow off an entire continet. The fact that the Japanese won't play an Xbox because of the shape of the system proves how stupid they are for fashion.

[Drewbacca]

The industrial design of the Xbox is pretty ugly though. it's not hideous but it's hardly breathtaking.

[Clash!]

Yeah it is ugly, but would that stop you from buying one if the games coming out for it looked awesome?

[Vasteel]

Really though, isn't the whole 'what can we do with new hardware' bit a little played when these same dev's can't seem to come close to wringing the most out of what they've already got?

[gamevet]

Except that MS then blew off an entire continent and, thus, lost almost every major franchise.

The Xbox could have been as small as the GC and it wouldn't have made a difference. They are loyal to their products and it's very hard for an American product to make headway there.

I remember watching CNN and they had a story about one American company, that found a way to make an impact there. It was a guy making bicycles, from high tech parts (Graphite).

[negitoro]

The Xbox could have been as small as the GC and it wouldn't have made a difference. They are loyal to their products and it's very hard for an American product to make headway there.

I remember watching CNN and they had a story about one American company, that found a way to make an impact there. It was a guy making bicycles, from high tech parts (Graphite).

I don't necessary think that's true. I really think that Xbox marketed itself wrongly and really failed to work in the confines of the Japanese market.

Japanese people are not as xenophobic as some people might think. I mean they love their European brands, they watch Hollywood movies, they eat American-style fast food, etc. They merely failed to present themselves in a way that endear themselves to the Japanese public in any way.

The fact their library was very Western-centric probably didn't help either. That started the whole vicious cycle of Bad Japanese Games => Low Japanese Sales => Less Big Developers => Bad Japanese Games...