...and then they bid adieu (Nintendo to exit from hardware business)

[dorikyasu]

If what Nintendo said in the article really meant that they want to extend the life of the console as long as they could (like Bahn speculated), I'm all for it.
I don't have problem with getting shiny new hardware once in a while, but I'd rather see a game system reaching its full potential (GameBoy & NeoGeo for example) software-wise, instead of getting forced to phase out prematurely just because it isn't the "state-of-the-art" hardware anymore.
That's just my opinion, though...

[Brotherman]

I don't think this one means they are leaving the hardware industry. I think it just means they aren't going to just go out and make GC 2 because everyone else wants to make one.

In another thread it was already mentioned, Nintendo believes that the faster hardware improvements of these consoles (ie. smaller predicted life cycles) because of the focus of technology would eventually kill the market.

Many people were have said themselves they don't want to buy consoles to upgrade them and they want them to last a descent number of years. If the lifecycles too short, then casual gamers will just stop buying new systems. It will become too much of an investment for those who don't think of gaming as anything important.

Depending on how things play out, Nintendo's approach may be the right one.

Don't get worried just because they said they would focus on software. Microsoft said the same thing a while ago. In the end we'll just have to see what the future holds.

[Melf]

Nothing else can be done with hardware?

Back in 1896, a man once said "everything that can be invented has been invented".

Take that as you will...

[SearchManX]

Various things like the lighting effects in the tech demo Doom 3, or hair and clothing that animates like hair and clothing, or even bodies that don't end up half in a wall when they fall down, are all places where improvement could be made.

Bodies that go through walls is attributed to lazy programming, not hardware power. Collision detection can be improved upon if not for rushed game development cycles. And I'm sure we can get nicer graphics out of Playstation or Jaguar, it's just that it takes a long time to fully explore the tools and figure out techniques to save memory usage and stuff like that.

-Search

[rezo]

nack in 1896, a man once said "everything that can be invented has been invented".

thats been said every year I think.

I agree with Brotherman's post, and I think that, when Iwata(?) said

"The effort to produce machines with better technology has reached its limit"

, I don't think that he said this with the idea that they had actually reached a limit(even though thats what it actually says. x_X)

rather, I think he means that, the advancements in console technology, at this point, would be done for the sake of advancing technology, and not for providing the developers with something they're missing. There are benefits to more powerful systems, but as they become more powerful, the benefits become more and more arbitrary. . . that may be the frustration he's expressing. But then, he's not a developer, so I don't know.

[bahn]

Originally posted by dorikyasu
If what Nintendo said in the article really meant that they want to extend the life of the console as long as they could (like Bahn speculated), I'm all for it.
I don't have problem with getting shiny new hardware once in a while, but I'd rather see a game system reaching its full potential (GameBoy & NeoGeo for example) software-wise, instead of getting forced to phase out prematurely just because it isn't the "state-of-the-art" hardware anymore.
That's just my opinion, though...

Um...I didn't speculate - I said the speculation came from another forum member at Gamespot. All I did was make a thread title in accord with ppl's assumptions.

[Cheebs]

It was hot yesterday. My Cube was playing Wave Race. I almost broke my TV by trying to jump into it.

"Damnit!" I said. "I wish there were some way to tell the difference between todays consoles at the very theoretical limit of graphic rendering capabilities and reality!".

It's gettin' hard I tell ya...

[Ranji]

I think you're all being too optimistic.

Let me quote from the article: "Yamauchi, 74, who is stepping down after five decades at the company's helm, said that developing games has grown too time-consuming and expensive. Nintendo hopes to come up with profitable games more quickly without compromising on their appeal, he said."

An alternative explanation for this piece is that not only will Nintendo cease devoting resources towards developing a new console in the near future, but that they will also find ways to cut back on software as well. This sounds to me like a recipe for churning out look-alike sequels and titles using similar game engines, with priority given to gameplay with mass appeal as opposed to graphics. This latter possibility isn't something to mourn over, but still, the picture is rather mixed.

And then: "In the latest fiscal year ended in March, Nintendo posted a profit of 106 billion yen ($849 million), up 10% from the previous year, on a 20% rise in sales."

Apparently these profit margins are still not enough. This is typical of corporations across all industries today, however. And seeing as how Nintendo's the smallest of the the three surviving console developers, it shouldn't be surprising that they're taking such a strategy before Sony or MS.

[Yoshi]

Originally posted by Melf
Nothing else can be done with hardware?

Back in 1896, a man once said "everything that can be invented has been invented".

Take that as you will...

Don't forget Bill Gates saying that there's no way we'll ever need more than 64K of RAM.

[RedTerrier]

Originally posted by Chibi Nappa
It was hot yesterday. My Cube was playing Wave Race. I almost broke my TV by trying to jump into it.

"Damnit!" I said. "I wish there were some way to tell the difference between todays consoles at the very theoretical limit of graphic rendering capabilities and reality!".

It's gettin' hard I tell ya...

*pant* I agree, there's plenty of room for improvement, I don't think that Nintendo would be so foolish as to totally drop all hardware development and say "this is as good as it gets".