Topic: Steven Kent: "Nintendo is like a wonderful old friend who has a drinking problem."

[wandering]

Oh, Steven Kent, how we've missed you.

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Like the old friend with the drinking problem, Nintendo is quick to fess up to old faults. "Yes, we really screwed up using cartridge format on N64. Yes, we did not support GameCube the way we said we would. Yes, we have been hard on third-party publishers in the past. Virtual Boy... oh, what were we thinking?"

And, like the old friend with the drinking problem, Nintendo bows its head after making these confessions and says, "We've learned our lesson."

And maybe Nintendo has learned its lesson. Maybe Nintendo has only learned the right things to say. The jury is out.

The guy obviously knows what he's talking about....but I think, like Billy, he's being a bit sensationalistic here. Not with what I quoted above, actually, (I'm fine with that), but with some of the other stuff he says. I've never felt 'scammed' by Nintendo (except maybe with the Virtual Boy.) I also find it hard to believe Nintendo would start to "run out of new ideas six months down the line." And as for complaining about Nintendo making a profit on the "souped up gamecube" hardware...bleh.

He does make some good points, though. Like about blu-ray, and who he thinks will win the holiday season. He also mentions Mario Galaxy was his favorite game at E3. So, worth a read.  

[BiLdItUp1]

Fact is, Sony has long offered more value and variety, and as we've seen with nearly every console ever, that's the key issue here. That's why we were 'scammed' with the 64 - lack of variety and massive game draughts that neither Sony nor Microsoft ever really handed to us. The chronic delays and broken promises, years later, I'm used to. Most consumers would not put up with that crap though - they need to tighten the ship if they hope to expand.

[BigJim]

Nintendo fessed up to those N64 and GCN problems? I would have liked to have seen that... It would have given me much more confidence knowing they had recognized their old issues.

"Scammed" is a harsh word. I absolutely felt like I got my money's worth out of every system, for sure. (never got a VB so I can't say anything there.) There was some bait and switch, particularly with GCN, which I'll agree with him on. I don't think we'll know for sure, but I wonder if it really had anything to do with the changing of the guard. Things just started going in a different direction when Iwata took over. Their platforms, GBA/GCN, sorta took a hit while they re-wrote their agenda for DS and Wii.

Once the Wii is out, we'll see the "new" Nintendo running on all 4 cylinders. People will either love it or crave for more traditional wares.  

[KnowsNothing]

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First a no-brainer--Microsoft will womp everyone this Christmas.

Perhaps, but I really think the Wii has a huge chance.  Maybe not though.  Let's see why:

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Why is this a no-brainer? Look, Sony and Nintendo are going to come to market with a few hundred thousand consoles to sell.

Oh...

Also:

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Nintendo expects you to spend $249 instead of $199 or possibly $149 to buy a Wii because that game is packed into the box.

The DS COST $149 when it released, and no one complained.  If any of you at any time thought that it would launch at that low price is an idiot.  Any one who complains about it not selling that low is an idiot.  BLEH, IDIASDM

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My biggest problem with PlayStation 3 is not the $600 price, which is frankly more reasonable than the $250 Nintendo is charging for Wii, when you consider what you get for your money.

Time to stop reading!

[UncleBob]

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Originally posted by: KnowsNothing

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First a no-brainer--Microsoft will womp everyone this Christmas.

Perhaps, but I really think the Wii has a huge chance.  Maybe not though.  Let's see why:

PS2 will win (Console wise...)

[Galford]

Once again Steven Kent proves he is the man.  
I guess I agree with that article completely.

[NWR_pap64]

This is A LOT like Billy's editorial...

He makes some good points, but falls badly on others. I mean, the comment about how 600 dollars for the PS3 is reasonable is stupid. What exactly do you get that warrants the 600 dollar price point?

A high end gaming console? The 360 is 300 dollars and 400 dollars, and most of the PS3 launch titles I can get on the 360.

A Blu-ray player? Even HE admits it will flop.

A "computer"? I'm sorry, I can get computers for CHEAP, and chances are they will be able to do more than the PS3.

He is definitely missing a lot of points.

[Mario]

What a non-article. It's not that he makes good or bad points, is that he has NO main point. Or does he? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Let's see. Or should we? No.

EDIT: Ok he DOES Make dumb points.

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"My biggest problem with PlayStation 3 is not the $600 price, which is frankly more reasonable than the $250 Nintendo is charging for Wii, when you consider what you get for your money.

LOL. Considering what you get? People don't factor in the price of the chips and wires and electrical bits when deciding value, they factor in THE EXPERIENCE.

[Spak-Spang]

Here is the thing Steven Kent forgets.  Nintendo is producing many Wiis, and there is a good chance for over 2 million units in the Americas this year and another 2 million units world wide with the production Nintendo has been keeping.  That is more than a few 100 thousand.  

If Nintendo sold that many Wiis I would say Nintendo will have cut Microsofts lead in overall market close to half, even with upcoming Christmas sales...and I actually believe my above figures could be under-estimates than over estimates.

[Smash_Brother]

This guy is so full of sh*t his morning routine must involve a septic pump.

[wandering]

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What a non-article. It's not that he makes good or bad points, is that he has NO main point. Or does he? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Let's see. Or should we? No.

His main point is that he thinks the Xbox 360 will win the console war (or at least the 2006 holiday season war) because the Xbox has a head-start, while Sony has blu-ray and Nintendo has a bad history.

The problem with his commentary on the Wii is that he starts with a good premise - the Wii might not do well because the N64 and GameCube didn't - but then backs it up with bullcrap points. I will cut him some slack because I think every writer does this from time to time. Hell, I did it when I backed up my point about him having some good points by pointing out that his point about which console would win this holiday season was a good point. point.

[IceCold]

He doesn't take into account the worldwide market - the 360 is treading water in Japan, and isn't doing much better in Europe. With Nintendo's shipping estimates, by next spring the Wii will probably be quite close to the 360 in terms of sales. It's not like the 360 is doing well, either.. it's on pace with the ORIGINAL Xbox, and even in North America it's behind the PS2 in terms of sales.

[Kairon]

*shrug*

I've read worse. Understandably, there are cynical, traditional, tech-centric, hardcore gamers out there who view Nintendo with skepticism because Nintendo refuses to play ball with their edgy, expensive, and bleeding-edge worldview.

This is not a bad thing, per se. Their views are understandable and rational. All they lack is a taste for kool-aid and a little faith.

I wonder if there were people like this when Apple revealed the iMac?

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Smash_Brother]

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Originally posted by: Kairon I wonder if there were people like this when Apple revealed the iMac?

If I recall correctly, both the iMac and iPod were met with immense skepticism.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: BiLdItUp1
Fact is, Sony has long offered more value and variety, and as we've seen with nearly every console ever, that's the key issue here. That's why we were 'scammed' with the 64 - lack of variety and massive game draughts that neither Sony nor Microsoft ever really handed to us. The chronic delays and broken promises, years later, I'm used to. Most consumers would not put up with that crap though - they need to tighten the ship if they hope to expand.

Perhaps I'm wrong here but I recall a massive drought of games for PS2 at launch (well of GOOD games) and quite a few months into its existance. In regards to article, I really hate the value argument because value can be derived from more than the cost of what is in something but what you get out of it, with gaming it would be the experiences you get. I kind of think of it in the terms of movies, let's say you get two movies with equal budgets, and they both cost 9$ to see them, one is a terrible experience the other is amazing, would you say you say the bad one is of equal value to the great one? If you use the logic that value is derived from what the cost of the product was to produce and the materials used, then you would have to say you got equal value.

[Mario]

That movie analogy is great, i'm gonna steal that from you in the future.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Thanks Mario, I do think this generation really emphasizes that point, because previous generations the systems basically offered similar experiences (except for the great Nintendo game here and there) while with the Wii you are getting a whole different one with the new controller. Maybe you aren't getting the most out of your money when it comes to hardware and built in software (though Wii isn't naked in that department) but you are when it comes to how you experience the games. Nintendo is trying differentiate themselves from the other game systems, and that form of business usually does not produce "cheap" prices.

[Ceric]

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Originally posted by: BigJim
Nintendo fessed up to those N64 and GCN problems? I would have liked to have seen that... It would have given me much more confident knowing they had recognized their old issues.

"Scammed" is a harsh word. I absolutely felt like I got my money's worth out of every system, for sure. (never got a VB so I can't say anything there.) There was some bait and switch, particularly with GCN, which I'll agree with him on. I don't think we'll know for sure, but I wonder if it really had anything to do with the changing of the guard. Things just started going in a different direction when Iwata took over. Their platforms, GBA/GCN, sorta took a hit while they re-wrote their agenda for DS and Wii.

Once the Wii is out, we'll see the "new" Nintendo running on all 4 cylinders. People will either love it or crave for more traditional wares.

I wanted to come to the VB defense right away.  I'll finish the topic in a bit.  To its credit.  I enjoyed a larger percentage of games on the VB then anyother console period.  Grant it there wasn't that many games and I played almost all of them.  Hated the Ergonomics but loved the Games.  Thats why I would love to see the VB games on the VC.  Even if they weren't there cool stereotopic selfs.

Edit:

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Originally posted by: KnowsNothing

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First a no-brainer--Microsoft will womp everyone this Christmas.

Perhaps, but I really think the Wii has a huge chance.  Maybe not though.  Let's see why:

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Why is this a no-brainer? Look, Sony and Nintendo are going to come to market with a few hundred thousand consoles to sell.

Oh...
Wow, has this guy been living under a rock.  Nintendo has plan for a Million here.  They state as much.

Also:

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Nintendo expects you to spend $249 instead of $199 or possibly $149 to buy a Wii because that game is packed into the box.

The DS COST $149 when it released, and no one complained.  If any of you at any time thought that it would launch at that low price is an idiot.  Any one who complains about it not selling that low is an idiot.  BLEH, IDIASDM
lol, if the person was a forum member I point him to how I always pushed for the $249.99 price.  Thats a bargain in my mind before we got the channels.  With the channels even more so.  It cost money to develope unique technology.  It doesn't go down in price like Mainstream does

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My biggest problem with PlayStation 3 is not the $600 price, which is frankly more reasonable than the $250 Nintendo is charging for Wii, when you consider what you get for your money.

Time to stop reading!
Agree, but I have to read it first.  I bet you he doesn't have Hoover flags and its all thanks to Sony.  There is nothing in what I'm looking for in the gaming segment that would warrant me to spend more than $400 for a PS3.  At $400 for the Premium Super PS3 then Maybe I could agree with that statement... Maybe...Still unlikely with all the lack of refinement the system has...

NVM.  I'm not going to read the article after reading those quotes.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Yeah for Ceric defending the Virtual Boy, I too love the system and recently bought some more games for it. If it wasn't for the headaches it would have been the perfect system, and even today I find it an impressive machine visually, definately a one of a kind machine.

[mantidor]

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Originally posted by: Mario
What a non-article. It's not that he makes good or bad points, is that he has NO main point. Or does he? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Let's see. Or should we? No.

Its a blog, a.k.a excuse to rant about things that would look unprofessional in a real article.

I do think the wii is not cheap at all, but the ps3 price is ludicrous in any context whatsoever, its ok if you have your issues with the price Nintendo gave but don't try to extend that argument into "the ps3 is cheap", because is just dumb.

[Magik]

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Originally posted by: VGrevolution


Perhaps I'm wrong here but I recall a massive drought of games for PS2 at launch (well of GOOD games) and quite a few months into its existance.

That may be true, but after that initial drought, the PS2 had a consistent, if not ever increasing supply of games, a lot of good games btw, which the GC never had.

The GC had drought after drought and is currently in its biggest drought of games ever with Resident Evil 4 being the last big title.

As for the article, some good points and some bad points.  He needs to fact-check the amount of Wiis available cause its more than a few thousand units.

When it comes to 'value' for money, its all subjective really.

[GoldenPhoenix]

GC is virtually a dead system so I'm not sure it is fair to call this a drought, actually the GC early on had a pretty steady supply of good games at least more so than the N64 (not sure if you meant the GC did not have good games or was referring to the drought). My main point though was that PS2 did have a massive drought in the beginning as did Microsoft with Xbox 360, so it isn't fair to say that Sony and MS are immune to the "drought" statement.  

[couchmonkey]

PS3 Price: I don't think it's that bad, especially since they added HDMI to the $500 model.  I think that's the model to get.  That said, I agree that arguments that the PS3 price is better for "what you get" are stupid.  The price is still much higher than the Wii price, and that's all that matters.

GameCube drought: It's true that the system is basically dead, but this is a chronic problem for Nintendo since the Super NES days, and the company not only made it worse by pushing back and cancelling games (Super Paper Mario, Zelda, DK Bongo Blast), but it also made the Wii launch date later than it really has to be.  It's a very annoying habit of Nintendo's, and if I didn't need every last dollar for Wii, I'd have purchased a PS2 by now.

Xbox 360: It's interesting, I'm seeing a lot of people pushing 360 since Sony started screwing up.  I think they're missing the point.  They can't believe Wii could be as huge as it is going to be, so they go with the machine that seems to have it the most "together".  
The problem is 360 sales aren't even that high so far, and that's not just in Japan.  As a recent study quoted by Nintendo suggested, DS has been responsible for almost all of the industry growth in North America this year - or maybe it was worldwide, but either way the point is that 360 is making a very small impression on the industry so far.
Of course, I have to agree that 360 will have the biggest sales this Christmas and it's going to look strong through next year because it has the biggest game lineup, but in the long run I feel more and more like Nintendo is going to run away with this generation.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Perhaps the reason for Nintendo releasing the Wii so late is because 3rd parties like Ubi Soft needed more time to polish their games? That wouuld be a good enough reason for me and I would not be surprised if that was a relatively big factor in the descision to have it come out the 21 of November. In regards to Nintendo and droughts, we have to realize that after the SNES generation 3rd parties started to move away from Nintendo and Nintendo along with Rare were the only ones trying really making games at any consistent rate so it isn't like Nintendo didn't try. Also I would rather have an amazing game than 20 "OK" games .

[Smash_Brother]

The DS was responsible for worldwide growth.

Subtract the DS and analysts would be arguing that gaming is DYING and it would be hard to counter that point since the numbers are indeed on their side.