Post by: NWR_Lindy on October 16, 2005, 03:50:28 PM
Nintendo of America's game counseling hotline, the Nintendo Power Line (425-885-7529), also features news on upcoming games and systems. If you listen to the current version of their news section, you can select an option to hear about the next-generation Revolution console. It features an introduction that contains a very interesting piece of information. Here's a word-for-word transcript:
"As the company with the strongest heritage of innovation, Nintendo moves the bar for all next-gen systems by employing a wide-ranging strategy that will attract more kinds of gamers to more kinds of games. When Nintendo's new console, codenamed Revolution, arrives in the later half of 2006, everyone will discover the meaning of all-access gaming."
We've seen a "Spring 2006" date, and more recently a vague "2006", but this is the first confirmation from Nintendo itself that Revolution will ship in the second half of 2006. We'll have to wait and see if this turns out to be true.
Thanks to Patrick Ross at NintendoNow for the tip!
Post by: Avinash_Tyagi on October 16, 2005, 04:17:01 PM
Post by: zakkiel on October 16, 2005, 04:25:43 PM
Post by: Dirk Temporo on October 16, 2005, 05:58:44 PM
Post by: Djunknown on October 16, 2005, 06:31:10 PM
I'd like to see a fall release, like the N64. There's enough time for the early adopters to get one, and enough time to meet demand for the holidays. Also, they can space out a few game releases.
Its not just Nintendo who was just throwing out vauge dates. I highly doubt the PS3 will make a spring release. It seems there's too much internal struggle going for them to get their stuff together in a relatively short time. But who knows, maybe they'll press foward anyway, and the people will love it...
One thing's for sure: Nintendo can't really afford to launch dead last. They've been marginalized as is with the 'Cube. While publishers start with a clean slate, the public won't.
Post by: Mario on October 16, 2005, 07:13:02 PM
Post by: nickmitch on October 16, 2005, 07:28:52 PM
a Christmas release a good idea, but it might be nice to just have a summer release and then a good holiday line-up.
Post by: Kairon on October 16, 2005, 07:54:52 PM
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: pudu on October 16, 2005, 07:59:16 PM
Pros of releasing later/last:
-Know what you're up against since the compitition has already shown everything
-Both more and better polished release lineup
-Spacing yourself from the competing console releases will give consumers more time to gather more $ (maybe...)
-According to their "AND" stratagy/philosophy, releasing after the other consoles shouldn't make much difference as they will buy a competing console AND the Revolution
-A holiday release could definately up the launch numbers, especially if the Revolution appeals as an impulse buy with it's lower price point and greater accessablility to various types of gamers (and "non-gamers")
-the possiblity as being seen as the best choice since it was released last (hence it is the most "next gen")
Cons of releasing later/last:
-the market will already have 2 more-or-less established next-gen consoles on the market, with the Xbox 360 being around a year old already
-there is a good chance that consumers who only choose one console have already made their purchase and will not be willing to spend more on another console
-some die hard Nintendo fans may switch camps as they grow tired of waiting and as they see what the other consoles have to offer (Ian may discuss how this is another thing they could be doing to screw us big Nintendo fans over by making us wait because they only care about the consumers that aren't fans (or even current gamers) and, therefore, wouldn't care when it is released)
-Nintendo's faultering image and popularity will be damaged even more as time goes on...something that won't make consumers want to wait for the Revolution or even buy it in addition to a console they have already bought
-the greater possibility that by the time it's released competing consoles will have already more-or-less copied their unique controller in one way or another
That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there is a ton more to consider.
Post by: Mario on October 16, 2005, 08:17:32 PM
Quote
-some die hard Nintendo fans may switch camps as they grow tired of waiting and as they see what the other consoles have to offer (Ian may discuss how this is another thing they could be doing to screw us big Nintendo fans over by making us wait because they only care about the consumers that aren't fans (or even current gamers) and, therefore, wouldn't care when it is released)
Twilight Princess should keep everyone busy.
Also, if it launches last Nintendo can pull the "now the REAL next generation of gaming is here!" card.
Also x 2, it appears the topic heading has been cut in half.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on October 16, 2005, 08:24:29 PM
GET IN OR GET OUT
PLAY IT LOUD
Post by: Arbok on October 16, 2005, 09:17:57 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Professional 666
PLAY IT LOUD
Man, honestly, I had totally forgotten about that slogan from the SNES days... almost makes me wish they would bring it back in an advertisment, if for nothing more than to just turn some heads for those who can recall.
Post by: joeposh on October 16, 2005, 09:22:27 PM
I'd rather wait a few extra months and get a solid launch line up with polished games then suffer through another Gamecube-esque launch (or DS launch for that matter). Coming out of the gate STRONG is vital to the success of this console. Nintendo has a lot of naysayers to win over, and a half assed launch would practically bury the console before it even got a chance to establish itself.
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on October 16, 2005, 09:46:56 PM
Post by: couchmonkey on October 17, 2005, 05:07:51 AM
I think Nintendo needs to be aggressive about getting this system out in a "timely fashion", though. The second half isn't that big of a deal, but I think the system needs to be available in all territories before the end of the year. I agree that a fall release (i.e. September rather than November) would be nice. Nintendo has started to differentiate Rev from the competition, but I think it would still be a huge benefit for them to show everyone - gamers, developers, and retailers - that it's serious about competing. No matter how different Rev is, I believe it is still competing for a lot of the same money as Sony and MS.
Post by: Nile Boogie on October 17, 2005, 05:52:27 AM
Post by: Avinash_Tyagi on October 17, 2005, 05:55:59 AM
Post by: UncleBob on October 17, 2005, 07:20:46 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on October 17, 2005, 07:43:06 AM
No I wouldn't. I agree that they run the risk of having fans jump ship but I doubt they're doing any of this intentionally. I think Nintendo miscalculated something. Either they miscalculated the PS3 launch date, grossly underestimated how much time it would take to get things ready, or they grossly overestimated their own worth and think they can get away with launching last.
I think that launching last is stupid. They're the last place console so people aren't going to wait for them. Launching first would make the most sense so as to establish a stronger foothold when the other much MUCH more anticipated consoles launch. They also are very likely going to release the weakest hardware and it's pretty lame to release the weakest hardware last. Usually people assume the newer the console is the better the hardware is. But then I've never liked this non-gamer strategy either and that's a far bigger risk than launching last. The Rev's a big gamble no matter how you look at it.
They dillydallied way too much with the Rev design. By this years's E3 they should have had some sort of tech demo and the controller and a list of third parties on board. The controller design and courting third parties should have been done a LONG time ago. If they weren't ready for E3, fair enough. I'd rather they wait until they are ready BUT they SHOULD have been ready by then.
I agree that an advantage of launching last is that they could have a better launch lineup. They have to make a good first impression. Launching a few months before the PS3 isn't going to mean squat if the lineup is the sh!ts by the time the PS3 does launch. There's no point launching early if you're not going to launch right. I think having the absolute mother of killer apps at launch is a requirement for the Rev's success. Otherwise they've got a hard sell. Even with a great launch lineup they've got to compete with what will at that point be a year's worth of X360 games. There can be no room for error. The flagship title has to be unanimously praised. Something wishy-washy like Luigi's Mansion where some people like it and some don't would be a total disaster. This remote stuff actually better be the real deal and not just some sparkling innovation to attract attention. Man, I wish Nintendo would just show us a game. That would make it so much easier to feel confortable with the Rev design.
"Karl says: I hope Nintendo's learned from their experience with the DS that if you give the public a less-than-quality starting roster, there'll be quite a backlash."
I wonder about this. The DS has turned out to be quite successful. If anything it might give Nintendo the wrong message: that they can have an incredibly weakass launch and get away with it. What backlash was there really? Me b!tching on the forum isn't backlash to Nintendo. To Nintendo backlash is sh!tty sales which they didn't get. They got away with it because the DS is a portable and because of Nintendo's strong portable reputation people gave them some slack. Plus the PSP turned out to be a total dud glorified movie player. Plus they launched first and had a few months with no competition. They got REAL lucky with the DS and they absolutely cannot think the same thing could happen with the Rev because it won't. They have a DSish launch for the Rev and by March 2007 the thing will be in discount bins.
Post by: couchmonkey on October 17, 2005, 08:54:46 AM
With the Rev, that kind of strategy would be a very bad idea, so I agree that Nintendo should aim for quality rather than an early launch, but of course both would be better. Revolution will need a rock-solid game that proves the new concept, like Super Mario 64 did for the N64. Revolution needs needs to hit people with it's full potential right from day one. The DS failed at this (at least for me) because it didn't have a game of Super Mario 64s calibre to impress me. I bought the system with Wario Ware and Feel the Magic which are both good games and both made full use of the features, but they didn't provide a "complete" experience - you could play them and still not know if the touch screen was good for anything more than mini-games. Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt was encouraging in this respect, but it was still just a short demo.
So yeah, it would be better to have a great launch lineup in November than to launch in April with crud, but I hope Nintendo is putting an effort in to do better than November, and I feel that it should have been ready to launch sooner in the first place.
Post by: mantidor on October 17, 2005, 09:37:22 AM
The really good thing about launching last is they can see how the 360 does, and seeing if the gaming audience is really ok with just graphical improvements for a very huge price, that way the can predict how the ps3 and rev will perform an change strategies accordingly.
Post by: ShyGuy on October 17, 2005, 10:57:31 AM
It may take a few months to get a feel for how well 360 is doing, plus I don't think they will have any software droughts, if they have a lean month ahead, MS will pass out a money hat to some PC game manufacturer to port his title to the 360.
Also, who else thinks the Revolution will have a simultaneous Japan/US launch? or at least very close.
Post by: Ian Sane on October 17, 2005, 11:24:46 AM
Maybe. They sort of did that with the DS. But that was a problem because a lot of games that should have been ready for the North American launch weren't. I think Nintendo should try to have a good Japanese launch and a good North American launch and space the launches according to how well they can achieve that goal.
Post by: Kairon on October 17, 2005, 11:30:54 AM
But aside from that, A big factor in how the rev launch date plays out is when the PS3 launches. Worse case scenario is if PS3 launches spring, and rev launches fall 06. This would mean that Nintendo sortof couldn't even make their publicly stated goal of "launching at the same time as our competition." But if the PS3 launches at the same time as the Rev, or even after the Rev, then Nintendo will actually come out ok in comparison.
Of course, the X360 will be going gangbusters. All they have to do is time the Halo 3 release with the launch of their competitors and they're gonna be flying high. Even with the delays, you know that Microsoft will delay Halo 3 just so that it can be released when a competitor launches.
Anyways, Nintendo launching "not first" isn't materially crippling if they really intend to be the "second" console in every gamers room. There's still the matter of proving that they're worth a "second console" buy, but since Nintendo's already assuming that hardcore gamers have the X360 or PS3, then a later launch doesn't amterially damage that goal.
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: 31 Flavas on October 17, 2005, 01:44:35 PM
QuoteI'll make sure to save this quote.
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
They have a DSish launch for the Rev and by March 2007 the thing will be in discount bins.
Post by: wandering on October 17, 2005, 10:50:40 PM
With that said - there's no gaurantee that the REV will launch last. Remember that it could still launch in summer (July and August are summer months, you know) and the PS3 could still launch later (there's actually a rumor that it'll be delayed into 2007).
Quote
Originally posted by: IaSane
They got REAL lucky with the DS and they absolutely cannot think the same thing could happen with the Rev because it won't.
See, now, I think the only reason you say that is because you aren't satisfied with the DS personally. I don't see the Ds's success luck - I see it as Nintendo looking at Sony's strategy with the PSP, and coming up with a good strategy to counter, and having that strategy work. An expensive, unproven new gaming system doesn't get phenominal sales just because of blind luck.
Post by: Caillan on October 17, 2005, 11:19:07 PM
Quote
See, now, I think the only reason you say that is because you aren't satisfied with the DS personally.
I think he's saying that because even though Sony screwed up, they now have a portion of the handheld market which they didn't before. A portion which Nintendo has lost. The DS is currently strong but it spent a long period with nothing and Sony could have been hitting hard then instead of screwing around with UMD. Nintendo will not be launching the Revolution early, as they have with the DS. We know they're on the back foot because they previously said that they'd be the first to launch, but that's gone out the window now. Of course this means they cannot have a 6-month period without any really good releases. Even if the PS3 ends up launching later, the 360 will still be almost a year ahead.
He didn't say that because he isn't satisfied with the DS personally, he said it because the DS did not have a good launch. And because the Revolution needs one.
Post by: Kairon on October 18, 2005, 05:42:41 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Caillan
I think he's saying that because even though Sony screwed up, they now have a portion of the handheld market which they didn't before. A portion which Nintendo has lost.
I don't know, but when you control 90% of the portable market, there's no where to go but down.
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: NotSoStu on October 18, 2005, 06:41:16 AM
That said, the casual gamer market just doesn't give a scheisse about Nintendo anymore. Nintendo needs to show everybody that this controller is worth waiting for. And they've done a very bad job of it so far. They've only shown demos of it in use to a select portion of the media. Even I - Somebody who has never owned a console not made by Nintendo - am considering buying an X360 (If PD0 is any good).
It's just a really bad situation that Nintendo is in. And they need to get out of it. How? Simple. Prove to everybody that this controller will not be a "g-i-m-m-i-c-k" (to quote PSP fanboys), but something amazing. Something that'll make you wonder how you ever lived without it. And the best way to do that would be to make tech demos for the public to watch. Hell, I'd be happy just watching Metroid Prime Echoes be played with the controller, frankly.
Post by: Ian Sane on October 18, 2005, 08:08:45 AM
What strategy was this? Having only a PORT as the sole first party launch game? Having less games several months in than the PSP had AT LAUNCH? The first six months or so of the DS were the absolute SH!TS. Easily the worst six months for a new Nintendo system ever with the exception of the Virtual Boy. That's not a strategy, that's a fluke. They have since deserved their lead but those first six months were scary. That "strategy" would never work for the Rev. They're on thin ice in the console market and can't afford to have a weak launch or to have games people have to "get" in order to like. There has to be no excuses or apologies. It has to seem almost perfect.
It's doable if they've had something really special planned for the remote from the get-go. If it's a "real" idea and not just some last minute "we need to be innovative, think of something" idea then they should be fine.
Post by: Kairon on October 18, 2005, 11:01:13 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Stu L Tissimus
Let's face it: The DS launch was extremely weak. I'd rather wait for quality games then have crap right now. (I'm looking at you, EA!)
That said, the casual gamer market just doesn't give a scheisse about Nintendo anymore. Nintendo needs to show everybody that this controller is worth waiting for. And they've done a very bad job of it so far. They've only shown demos of it in use to a select portion of the media. Even I - Somebody who has never owned a console not made by Nintendo - am considering buying an X360 (If PD0 is any good).
It's just a really bad situation that Nintendo is in. And they need to get out of it. How? Simple. Prove to everybody that this controller will not be a "g-i-m-m-i-c-k" (to quote PSP fanboys), but something amazing. Something that'll make you wonder how you ever lived without it. And the best way to do that would be to make tech demos for the public to watch. Hell, I'd be happy just watching Metroid Prime Echoes be played with the controller, frankly.
The real pickle is...
What if, in order to convince people that the Controller was really something that was a must-have, they needed more development time and launched late so they were really solid when they came on the scene?
Put another way, what if the DS launched after the PSP, but with a better line-up? Or what if Nintendo had delayed the DS an entire year, launching it an entire year after the PSP with Mario Kart
S?This issue doesn't have stable ground to determine where the optimum point is between early launch vs. solid launch. The Saturn and Dreamcast launched early and failed. The PSX launched a year or more before the N64 and had horrible games for two years, but it succeeded. The DS launched early with a weak line-up but the sense is that it is holding it's own versus the PSP rather admirably.
Heck, maybe this whole "launch obsession" is a moot point. It's follow-through that matters. The GC had a drought, the N64 had no third parties. Sega just fell flat on its face. The PSP is sort of faltering now not because of anything to do with its launch, but because Sony's idea of follow-through is to compete head-to-head with ipod video and concentrate more on media than on games.
Maybe launch, important as it is, simply pales in comparison to what comes after the launch: sustainability?
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Artimus on October 18, 2005, 11:30:46 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
What strategy was this? Having only a PORT as the sole first party launch game? Having less games several months in than the PSP had AT LAUNCH? The first six months or so of the DS were the absolute SH!TS. Easily the worst six months for a new Nintendo system ever with the exception of the Virtual Boy. That's not a strategy, that's a fluke. They have since deserved their lead but those first six months were scary. That "strategy" would never work for the Rev. They're on thin ice in the console market and can't afford to have a weak launch or to have games people have to "get" in order to like. There has to be no excuses or apologies. It has to seem almost perfect.
Wrong. If there was no PSP the DS would've launched in June like the GBA had with Kirby and Meteos as well as the previously released games. The strategy was releasing it before those games were ready to counter-act the PSP. And it DID work. The system outsold the PSP in both Japan and North America and has continued to do so. Did it fall behind a bit in the winter? Yes. But it's come back, and that early launch has helped it basically win Japan.
You say they made a mistake and let Sony take the handheld market. You really think if Nintendo had waited to launch the DS in June the PSP would have sold worse? Surely not. They cannot just make games be done, it wasn't a choice not to finish more games for the DS launch. It wasn't like "Oh we could but who cares?" It wasn't a matter of money or effort. The choice was to launch with fewer games ahead of the PSP or more games after. They chose fewer and earlier, and it's worked. Plain and simple.
EDIT: I should've read Kairon's post before making this one. But 'our' point still stands!
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on October 18, 2005, 12:10:34 PM
Post by: Ian Sane on October 18, 2005, 12:25:13 PM
By the time the Cube and Xbox came out the PS2 had major games like Gran Turismo 3, Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid 2 (and of course GTA3 though no one really knew how big of a hit that would end up being). So yeah they launched earlier but they had some really major titles released in time to combat the competition and they had more games released than both consoles combined. The DS had less games in total than the whole PSP launch and they didn't have any of their killer games released by then. They basically had the same crummy launch lineup and WarioWare Touched. That's not even close to the PS2 lineup in late 2001. It was a fluke. They should have got creamed but didn't because Sony overcharged and concentrated too much on movies. Maybe launching early was their strategy but the execution of it was HORRIBLE and they would be murdered if they did something like that with the Rev.
Plus it's so obvious that there was initially no plans from NCL for the DS to launch in North America in 2004 because the lineup was absolutely horrible. NOA rushed the thing to release to get it out for Christmas. The "strategy" was more of a backpeddle to compensate for NCL living in a box and completely ignoring North America in their plans.
Post by: Hostile Creation on October 18, 2005, 12:53:45 PM
Post by: Artimus on October 18, 2005, 01:01:35 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"What sorta worked for PS2, sorta worked for DS."
By the time the Cube and Xbox came out the PS2 had major games like Gran Turismo 3, Devil May Cry and Metal Gear Solid 2 (and of course GTA3 though no one really knew how big of a hit that would end up being). So yeah they launched earlier but they had some really major titles released in time to combat the competition and they had more games released than both consoles combined. The DS had less games in total than the whole PSP launch and they didn't have any of their killer games released by then. They basically had the same crummy launch lineup and WarioWare Touched. That's not even close to the PS2 lineup in late 2001. It was a fluke. They should have got creamed but didn't because Sony overcharged and concentrated too much on movies. Maybe launching early was their strategy but the execution of it was HORRIBLE and they would be murdered if they did something like that with the Rev.
Plus it's so obvious that there was initially no plans from NCL for the DS to launch in North America in 2004 because the lineup was absolutely horrible. NOA rushed the thing to release to get it out for Christmas. The "strategy" was more of a backpeddle to compensate for NCL living in a box and completely ignoring North America in their plans.
Hardly...Those games were developed in Japanese and had to be converted to English. You act as if NCL has some evil ahtred of making customers happy and does all they could. The DS game were not all ready for the launch time chosen. But they chose it to counter-act the PSP and it WORKED. The DS is ahead and shows no signs of stopping. You cnanot deny this. Yet you insist on saying it was a fluke, when what happened is exactly what they attempted to make happen.
Post by: Ian Sane on October 18, 2005, 01:55:19 PM
Just because the end result was the same doesn't mean it was a good plan. Sometimes sh!tty plans work out due to good luck just like how sometimes great plans fail because of bad luck.
Regardless of what was planned and what wasn't and whether or not it worked the DS launch "strategy" WILL NOT work for the Rev. No way could a last place console succeed with a sh!tty launch followed by a big game drought. So it's important that Nintendo knows that and doesn't think they can do the same thing and have it work.
Post by: Kairon on October 18, 2005, 02:04:13 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"Yet you insist on saying it was a fluke, when what happened is exactly what they attempted to make happen."
Just because the end result was the same doesn't mean it was a good plan. Sometimes sh!tty plans work out due to good luck just like how sometimes great plans fail because of bad luck.
Regardless of what was planned and what wasn't and whether or not it worked the DS launch "strategy" WILL NOT work for the Rev. No way could a last place console succeed with a sh!tty launch followed by a big game drought. So it's important that Nintendo knows that and doesn't think they can do the same thing and have it work.
But what if they could launch the Rev 3-6 months before the PS3? Would that make up for a less-quality line-up or is a weak line-up a bad idea anyway you slice it? I mean, the PSX had an immensely weak line-up until sometime around the N64 came out.
ANYWAYS, this is all really moot. I doubt anyone believes that Nintendo will willingly compromise their line-up with the REV to beat Sony to the market. And I also doubt that Nintendo can make killer apps appear out of thin air with a wave of their *ahem* magic wand.
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Artimus on October 18, 2005, 02:45:53 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"Yet you insist on saying it was a fluke, when what happened is exactly what they attempted to make happen."
Just because the end result was the same doesn't mean it was a good plan. Sometimes sh!tty plans work out due to good luck just like how sometimes great plans fail because of bad luck.
Regardless of what was planned and what wasn't and whether or not it worked the DS launch "strategy" WILL NOT work for the Rev. No way could a last place console succeed with a sh!tty launch followed by a big game drought. So it's important that Nintendo knows that and doesn't think they can do the same thing and have it work.
...you make no sense?
They had two options and the one they went with worked! Do you think the other option would've worked better? Their plan worked, that's all there is to it.
And why on earth would you assume that's what they're doing with the Rev!? This enitre thread is devoted to the fact they'll be launching next summer or later. If they were repeating the same mistake they'd be launching before Sony did regardless of games. There is no indication of this.
Post by: Avinash_Tyagi on October 18, 2005, 04:23:33 PM
Post by: wandering on October 19, 2005, 06:38:43 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
The first six months or so of the DS were the absolute SH!TS. Easily the worst six months for a new Nintendo system ever with the exception of the Virtual Boy.
I completley disagree with this statement.
....VB Mario Tennis was way better than any of the DS's launch games.
Quote
Just because the end result was the same doesn't mean it was a good plan. Sometimes sh!tty plans work out due to good luck just like how sometimes great plans fail because of bad luck.
I think saying the DS got lucky is like looking at a man who, upon checking the weather and seeing a sunny forcast, and looking outside and seeing nary a cloud in the sky, decides to go to work without an umbrella... and saying " he just got lucky and missed getting wet by a fluke".
With that said, I actually agree with you that Nintendo needs to a much better job with the Revolution, because the compeition is steeper. And I agree that having a good launch line-up would be very good idea.
...although, perhaps, not entirely necessary... because, on the other other hand, history has shown that having a good launch lineup is not strictly necessary for success. As other people have pointed out, both the PS2 and the DS had mediocre launch lineups and both succeeded entirely on strength of concept.
Regardless, Nintendo is probably in better position to have a slam-dunk launch with the REV because, unlike the DS, which was rushed, Nintendo's been preparing for the REV for a long time. So I'm not really worried.
Quote
They should have got creamed but didn't because Sony overcharged and concentrated too much on movies.
...Sony did the same thing with the PS2....
Quote
Maybe launching early was their strategy but the execution of it was HORRIBLE and they would be murdered if they did something like that with the Rev.
I disagree. Somewhat mediocre launch lineup aside, they did a boatload of things right: from executing off a killer advertising campaingn, to getting lots of demo units in stores, to beautifying the system after it's initial showing, to getting good third party support from the very beginning, etc.
