Nintendo To Release New Console

[monkspider]

Someone mentioned Conker, to me that always seemed like the ultimate kids game, despite the relatively mature rating that it was given. After all, who else but kids would find fart and poop jokes amusing?

Conversely, Mario and Zelda are in a way great adult games. Little kids don't like them because they think they are too "kiddie" and they want to play something "cool" like Mortal Kombat or something. On the other hand, us older kids like Mario and Zelda since they have great gameplay, and we can remember the older incarnations of the franchises.

[Asher]

Little kids don't like them because they think they are too "kiddie" and they want to play something "cool" like Mortal Kombat or something. On the other hand, us older kids like Mario and Zelda since they have great gameplay, and we can remember the older incarnations of the franchises.

Little kids prefer Mario to Mortal Kombat, then once they hit around 10 they try to be cool with the GTA3 and Mortal Kombat games.

But the last sentence there is the most important: we can remember the older incarnations of the franchises.

Nintendo's built its business around nostalgia. From their retro logo to constantly rehashing the same franchises. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but games like Super Mario Sunshine would CERTAINLY have gotten way lower reviews had it been "Dr. Muto's Great Adventure" -- a no-name franchise platformer.

And that's part of the main problem of Nintendo gaining marketshare. Newer gamers don't remember the old games, all they saw was a purple cube with games like "Luigi's Mansion" being huge hits, and subsequently "Super Mario Sunshine" with slogans like "Clean good, dirty bad!" with the lamest commercials I've ever seen. It's no surprise Nintendo is having trouble compared to MS and Sony.

Nintendo's ditched the whole "Gaming Giants" stuff they tried to pull in 2002, since they thought that was their trump card, and it turned out to be far less effective than they thought...

[Asher]

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=mergersNews&storyID=2106108

Microsoft, Vivendi in video game talks - analyst
Fri January 24, 2003 12:30 PM ET
LOS ANGELES, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Investment bank Investec said on Friday that it believed Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O was in talks with French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal V.N about buying Vivendi's video game business for as much as $2 billion.
A spokeswoman for Vivendi Universal's game unit declined to comment. A Microsoft spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment.

Jeff Van Rhee, Investec's director of enterprise software research, told Reuters he had received indications a deal was in the works. "There was some pretty actionable data that said something had just happened and things were heating up pretty quickly," he said.

Speculation has been rampant for months on the fate of Vivendi Universal Games, which publishes well-known PC titles like "WarCraft" and "Diablo" and games based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" books.

The division, which is strongest in PC games but also has significant console game operations, has been reported at various times in the last year to be either up for sale or in preparations for an initial public offering.

Sources told Reuters in mid-December that Vivendi had had at least preliminary conversations about the potential for a deal with Microsoft, Sony Corp. 6758.T and Electronic Arts Inc. ERTS.O .

Van Rhee, in his note, reiterated past speculation that Vivendi has been seeking a price of anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion for the games unit. Most financial analysts have characterized the lower end of that range as more likely.

Microsoft, which bought British games developer Rare for $375 million cash in September, has said it would be most interested in acquiring game developers that could add to its internal product efforts rather than a full-fledged publisher.

One of the main criticisms of the company's Xbox video game console has been the lack of internally produced hit titles, though the company did find success with the military action game "Halo" in 2001 and 2002.

A number of video game companies have warned that their results for the December quarter would be weaker than previously expected as retailers became more conservative in their ordering, only taking large quantities of titles with proven hit potential.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news_story.php?id=85976

MICROSOFT TO BUY VIVENDI?

Fevered speculation points to a shock swoop by Bill Gates's company, with an announcement imminent

19:25 If insider speculation is to be believed, Microsoft has bought US publisher Vivendi, with an announcement to that effect due soon. Take a deep breath and reflect on the implications of that, if true.
Half-Life 2, Warcraft, Counter-Strike, Crash, Spyro, Lord of the Rings... Vivendi has an enormous portfolio boasting some of the biggest titles on all formats, and it would be an ultra-smart move on Microsoft's part to snap them up. Such a buyout, of course, would come at a terrifically high price, making the 365 million acquisition of Rare look like peanuts. But if anyone has the necessary funds, it's Microsoft.

Rumours regarding potential buyout targets for Microsoft are nothing new, of course, and have been spreading for months, with the likes of Sega and Capcom both mentioned in dispatches. However, talk of the Microsoft/Vivendi deal seems far more serious, with one insider suggesting the buyout could be confirmed as early as Friday.

Furthermore, an email from Universal was accidentally sent out to developers last week stating that all work on GBA titles should be suspended. The email was promptly recalled and branded an error, but could it be that this was in some way tied in with this alleged deal?

We contacted Vivendi for comment and a spokesperson told us: "We've heard all sorts of rumours over the past months - Activision, EA and many more. They'd all like to get their hands on Blizzard. I guess Microsoft are one of the few companies that has enough money."

A Microsoft spokesperson would only state: "This is a rumour and we do not comment on rumours."

If the rumours prove true, this will be a huge boost for Microsoft's soaring Xbox console, providing it with a broad spectrum of big-name games that would either appear as Xbox lead or as Xbox exclusives outright.

[Drake Tungsten]

From their retro logo to constantly rehashing the same franchises.

I don't understand your accusations of Nintendo "rehashing" old franchises. Nintendo almost always reinvents their old franchises, redefining genres in the process (Metroid Prime, Mario 64, Zelda: OoT). That's why Mario Sunshine was seen as a disappointment, despite being a superb game. It didn't change the world in the way Mario 64 did, which disappointed some. It's tough to be Nintendo; you have the greatest track record in the history of gaming to live up to.

[Asher]

According to GameRankings.com, Blizzard's track record is better than Nintendo's in terms of average game reviews.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Asher
According to GameRankings.com, Blizzard's track record is better than Nintendo's in terms of average game reviews.

Blizzard's track record is better than a lot of companies (console or PC) in terms of average game reviews.

[Drake Tungsten]

According to GameRankings.com, Blizzard's track record is better than Nintendo's in terms of average game reviews.

First, how is this relevant? I don't think I ever mentioned Blizzard or implied that they make bad games.

Second, while GameRankings is an excellent site, it is hardly a good tool for analyzing Nintendo's track record. There aren't many reviews of NES and SNES games on GameRankings...

[Asher]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
First, how is this relevant? I don't think I ever mentioned Blizzard or implied that they make bad games.

Well you did say Nintendo's was the greatest...which implies no one is greater...

Second, while GameRankings is an excellent site, it is hardly a good indicator of a company's track record. There aren't many reviews of NES and SNES games on GameRankings...

That's true I guess, but there's also not many reviews of Blizzard's early console games on GameRankings either.

[Drake Tungsten]

Well you did say Nintendo's was the greatest...which implies no one is greater...

No company has created as many successful franchises as Nintendo. No company has had as large an effect on console gaming. Can you even imagine where gaming would be without Nintendo? That's why they're the best...

[Az]

note how Asher will now introduce blizzard into his gaming discussions.

coincidence? I think not.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
No company has created as many successful franchises as Nintendo. No company has had as large an effect on console gaming. Can you even imagine where gaming would be without Nintendo? That's why they're the best...

No company has lost marketshare so much, so fast.

note how Asher will now introduce blizzard into his gaming discussions.

coincidence? I think not.

You're right, it's not a coincidence, because it's completely relevant...

[Drake Tungsten]

coincidence? I think not.

It sure didn't take him long did it? The deal hasn't even been done yet and Blizzard is already synonymous with the Xbox...

[Asher]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten


It sure didn't take him long did it? The deal hasn't even been done yet and Blizzard is already synonymous with the Xbox...

I never even mentioned Xbox and Blizzard in the same sentence in this thread.

It's just that, according to GameRankings, Blizzard is #1 and Nintendo #2. Which kinda puts into doubt a comment saying they're the "greatest" when thousands of reviews rank them as "second greatest".

Microsoft also ranks higher than Sony when it comes to games.

[Drake Tungsten]

No company has lost marketshare so much, so fast.

Completely false. Atari and Sega went down the tubes much faster. Try to stick to the facts, please.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
Completely false. Atari and Sega went down the tubes much faster. Try to stick to the facts, please.

This is actually not completely false.

Atari died with the video game crash, and couldn't get back on its feet. Totally different situation. Nintendo died during a boom.

Sega also didn't lose marketshare as fast as Nintendo has, they were just burdened with huge debts while Nintendo had huge amounts of cash, which causes Sega to leave the business.

When they withdrew from the console market they had a 20% marketshare in the US. Nintendo's sitting at 14% right now...