Nintendo

Has it finally happened? Has Sony finally found the solution to its year-long Playstation 3 problem? It certainly looks that way.

According to the company, Sony has cut its software development kit prices in half to $10,250 in North America, $8,600 in Japan and $11,250 in Europe. And while this may not mean much to some, to me it indicates a startling change of course by a company that had heretofore lost sight of what is important in this generation.

And although I've beaten on Sony quite a bit on Digital Home, this change in policy -- namely, price reduction -- could spell trouble for both Microsoft and Nintendo.… Read more

An analyst at Pacific Coast Securities made waves today when he claimed that the next iteration of the Nintendo DS is complete. According to the analyst, the new DS "is thinner (it has no GBA port), has onboard storage, and larger screens."

He went on to claim that Nintendo has no plan of releasing the new version "until sales begin to tail off in all three major geographies."

Wow. So does that mean we will never see another Nintendo DS? Because as far as I can tell, there is no sign of tapering sales and people are running to stores just to have different colors.

Regardless of whether you're a PlayStation zealot or even a Sega fanboy who can't find it in yourself to buy a Nintendo product, you must admit that Nintendo has been incredibly successful with its DS. And if you ask me, sales will continue to be strong and each update will compound growth until one thing finally happens--the Nintendo DS will become the most successful gaming device of all time.… Read more

Yesterday, GameSpot reported that Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson says Nintendo is gearing up to release a redesigned DS. Apparently, Wilson's "contacts" have told him that a new DS is complete. This redesigned DS, Wilson says, is slimmer than the current DS Lite, includes onboard memory, and features a larger screen. More interestingly, this new DS doesn't have a slot for Game Boy Advance games.

Call me a skeptic, because I'm pretty darn skeptical about this theory. Wilson seems to be straddling the line between "short-term prediction an industry analyst pulled out of … Read more

If you've been following the world of video games, you've probably come across an interesting piece from Team Xbox that claims a new update to the Xbox 360 will allow us to download old Xbox games.

And while I think this is a smart move on Microsoft's part -- everyone seems to want to play old games -- I just can't see how it would benefit the company that much.

According to reports, the first wave of available games will include Halo, Fable, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Burnout 3. Interestingly enough, these games were also some of the more popular titles released for Microsoft's former console, which leads me to believe Microsoft is looking to turn this into a PR victory after the first month of downloads. After all, would anyone really download Kabuki Warriors for just one more thrill?

Regardless, Microsoft may be showing its hand too early. Simply put, I just don't think anyone wants to download games that were released five years ago and hold little value. More than anything, I think people want to download games that came out a decade ago to go back to the good ol' days and finally come to the realization that some of the best games ever released really did come out then.… Read more

After a huge Virtual Console release last week, Nintendo has released three games you may not remember. Besides, you'll be playing Super Mario Galaxy all this week anyway.

I don't use the word "shindig" often, but Nintendo definitely threw a shindig last night at the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Center to commemorate the launch of Super Mario Galaxy. Dozens of Nintendo fans lined up Sunday evening to attend the store's prerelease event, an outdoor party on the Rockefeller Center plaza with a DJ, a laser light show, and a Velcro wall ride. It was like my dream Bar Mitzvah.

Mario was in attendance, of course. The giant red and blue plumber worked the crowd and let everyone know exactly whose party it was. … Read more

Earlier this week, Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's CEO, pointed out the perils of maintaining the status quo in console cycles. According to Iwata, the current state of the industry where hardware is replaced by its successor in just four years is a blunder that Nintendo will not commit.

Instead, Iwata argued that new consoles should be replaced when a major shift in entertainment arrives or all avenues for innovation have been exhausted.

While I can see where Iwata is coming from, I think he misses an important point. Sure, new technologies should govern the arrival of new consoles, but what about the business implications of a 10-year console cycle? It may work for Nintendo, which has two successful hardware options on the market and does well with its first-party software, but what about Sony and Microsoft?

Sad as it is, Iwata is dreaming. From the perspective of hardware manufacturers, new console releases mean a jump in revenue and unique opportunities for growth.… Read more

It's time for a caveat-laden confession. Around the office I'm known (unfairly) as a Nintendo fanboy. I got my Wii around 10 months ago, and to date I'm still satisfied with my purchase. That said, for the last two months, the Wii has lied fallow while my Xbox 360 got the bulk of my attention. Nintendo's little white box indeed collected a thin layer of dust while I played Bioshock, Oblivion, and Portal.

The Wii has been going through a pretty stiff dry spell. Besides occasional hits like Metroid Prime 3 and Super Paper Mario, Wii … Read more