Topic: Surprises from Nintendo in the Future

[WindyMan]

No more GameCube Mario games, an "unconventional" new product, PSP rumors, possible early hardware lanuches, and much more!

Chris Morris, a columnist for CNN Money, has written up an article outlining Nintendo's possible plans for the near future.  With the recent GC price cut to $99, and the resulting sales surge, many believe that this is Nintendo's time to get back in the game.

However, there might not be another Mario game in the Cube's future.  After a relatively disappointing Super Mario Sunshine, people expecting a true follow up (or that "Mario 128") might not get it.  George Harrison told Morris in his article that a new Mario game for the system might be possible, but it's not a sure thing at all.

One thing that is for sure, we probably won't be seeing Nintendo launch its next-gen hardware before Sony or Microsoft will launch theirs.  Nintendo is working to meet them at launch, not beat them, says Morris.

Additionally, Nintendo probably isn't going to be producing a new piece of hardware to compete with the new PSP system.  That doesn't mean they aren't looking at Sony's unit carefully, because Nintendo is considering it to be a threat to the Game Boy empire, and is treating it as such.

Finally, a surprise is in store for us in the spring of next year:

In August, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said the company was working on an "unconventional" game product that would be introduced in early 2004.

Is it hardware? Is it software? Harrison said even he didn't know what the company had in mind. ("You can beat me, but I don't know!" is what he actually said.)

For the original article, click here and read all about it.

[cubedcinder128]

Oy gevalt... I'll be spitting mad if that article does indeed tell the truth about no more Mario games for GC.

I'm not surprised to hear, however, that Nintendo probably won't make a GBA2 to combat against PSP. They should do what they did during the SNES days... insert special chips inside games that give the GBA extra potential while its rivals make the new hardware. Much like in games like Star Fox and Donkey Kong Country.

It's cost-saving measures like that which helped the SNES gain an edge around the mid-90s. I don't see why the strategy wouldn't work for GBA.

[The Omen]

What is this new product going to be?  If its not the next console or GB, i have no idea what theyre thinking.

[Pale]

I think there are two possibilities...  True VR going past what Sony plans to do with the Eye Toy....  Or both systems will be bundled together next gen for one amazing low price...

[vudu]

no way would nintendo bundle the next gameboy with the next home console.  it would kill the sale far too much for those who are only interested in one of the two.

[Olpus]

Maybe they are developing a somewhat Virtual Boy Advance?

[Landark]

for some reason i feel its going to be something like SEGA TV .

[Pale]

Quote
Originally posted by: kingvudu
no way would nintendo bundle the next gameboy with the next home console.  it would kill the sale far too much for those who are only interested in one of the two.

See, i think the connectivity kick their on is what is going to cause this.  Each system is going to be integral to the other systems performance.  The price point is going to be great.  Say 200 at launch for both systems.  All games will start taking connectivity to the next level.  Picture a Gameboy game that has certain parts that you have to play on the TV, (with the outstanding performance and quality of the home system), and then certain parts you can play on the road.  In fact, picture not ever distingusing between what is a home console game and what is a portable game.  Both can be played in a certain way in both places.

Well thats what I want anyway.  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

MEGATON!!

COS-PLAY, BANZAI!

[jasonditz]

They're not doing a new Mario, they're not doing a new GB, they're not going to be first to launch a new console.

And then the shocking revelation that they're working on something that'll be available in Spring 2004.

If I was a shareholder in Nintendo corporation I'd be majorly pissed. Mario 128 would be an enormous moneymaker. Why the hell not do it?

I'm not too impressed with the announcement of a new unconventional product. Last time they did that we got Boktai, do we really want a gimmicky game that we can only play on a nice day?

[jasonditz]

And no way have they got the balls to release another VR system. The VB debauchle should've scared them straight in that regard.

[vudu]

Quote
The price point is going to be great. Say 200 at launch for both systems.

both the gamecube and the gameboy advance are selling for $100 apiece.  (duh)

how is nintendo going to manage to release both the next home console and the next handheld console for $200?  we'll be lucky if the n5 retails for $200 by itself.

[Ian Sane]

This new product in 2004 is nothing new.  I believe it's been discussed before.

The general rule of Nintendo is that everything they make is about 100 times lamer than how great and innovative they say it is.  Don't expect anything significant or you'll be disappointed when they announce a microphone for a new Hey You! Pikachu game.  I'm going to have low expectations going in so I don't get burned like the million other times I've been let down by hype.

Of course whenever I try that I never hold out and end up hyping myself up the day before. *Sigh*

[TooShort]

  One thing that I have learned as a Nintendo fan is that their comments aimed at exciting their fans are usually over hyped and they rarely ever back them up with substance.  It's possible that they will reveal their new system, but most likely not. In fact, it will probably be some kind of product, like Donkey Konga, that is aimed at a very small niche market. Most likely no one will want it. I warn all of you not to get your hopes up, they will most likely be dashed in the end.  

[Pale]

Quote
Originally posted by: kingvudu

Quote
The price point is going to be great. Say 200 at launch for both systems.

both the gamecube and the gameboy advance are selling for $100 apiece.  (duh)

how is nintendo going to manage to release both the next home console and the next handheld console for $200?  we'll be lucky if the n5 retails for $200 by itself.

Uhmm...the key work in my thing was.... LAUNCH!  I don't think they are gonna launch the new nintendo at 100 dollars...as you said later in your post....

Thanks for the duh.

[dafunkk12]

Nintendo TV?  Would be a great way to give people cheap access to new games/demos and such, but lest Nintendo suddenly change its mind about not wanting to cater to the elite few with broadband connections (cable lines are still solely operated by the cable company, unlike deregulated phonelines with DSL), that doesn't seem like a possibility at all.

[Round Eye]

Nintendo will announce their long awaited Online Strategy.

[PIAC]

Quote
Originally posted by: jasonditz
If I was a shareholder in Nintendo corporation I'd be majorly pissed. Mario 128 would be an enormous moneymaker. Why the hell not do it?

I'm not too impressed with the announcement of a new unconventional product. Last time they did that we got Boktai, do we really want a gimmicky game that we can only play on a nice day?

...launch it on N5? that would seem quite logical, just look at the n64 launch with Mario 64, it's not rocket science.

you can play boktai during the night, didn't you read any info on the game? -__- you collect solar energy and store it in energy banks for later use. as for the 2004 unconventional product, don't expect anything as Ian Sane said, it's better to just let it happen, it may be something really awsome, it may be something reletivly simple and only apealing to a small group, either way best to just wait for the announcement.

donkey konga looks awsome btw

[Kulock]

It's a physical product they're working on, Round Eye. But I think they'll be doing that too, since they pulled back Pikmin II, and as it's been pointed out, they've been very quiet about announcing new games in the past few months.

I'm surprised it's specificially not a new GB, because I thought it might be the next GB integrating that new screen developed by Sharp, the type that can fake up to a meter of depth? Wouldn't that kick for a portable system? It would make the most sense to develop it into a new GBA, but knowing Nintendo, they'll build it into a seperate product no one will want. All well.

The thing that bugs me most is that they're saying it's likely Super Mario 128 (not that 100's Marios thing, it's obvious the two projects having the same name is coincidence, because of the way a working title is typically assigned), a game that was supposedly in the works simultaneously with Sunshine (that's what they _said_, anyway), that people were expecting last E3, may not even show up until 2005? Give me a bloody BREAK. OK, Miyamoto or whomever's got this revolutionary idea (didn't we hear about that last time for Sunshine? It was such a big deal, they couldn't show off the water pack's hover feature...), what was to be Mario 128 can't or won't be completed until the new system. Fine. They can make SOMETHING for the meantime. Just a filler title, something gamers might find enjoyable, that still keeps Mario in people's minds. It could be as simple as making a 2.5D platformer, quite a lot like Melee. Some old school level designs and tricks, some nice graphics, decent music, it wouldn't be _the_ hit, but it'd probably do decent business, and fans would be complaining a LOT less. They could do up a project like that with a moderately small staff (heck, chuck it on to HAL, I _love_ how they handled SMB, versus how NCL's handled them lately), eight to ten months, they'd have it in time for 2004 Christmas. And it wouldn't spoil people's appetites for the next "huge" Mario game, since that wouldn't show up until mid-2005 at the earliest.

[VideoGamerX]

I don't think I stand alone when I say that was a mighty disappointing comment from Nintendo. I really wanted a Mario 128 for GameCube, and instead they want to horde it away for a console that I haven't bought yet. Then they follow it up by saying they aren't trying to beat the other companies to launch. The nail in the coffin is that they acknowledge the PSP (rumor-ware as far as I see it, I'll believe it when it's on the shelf) as a threat to the Gameboy empire. Whoopty-freakin-doo... I view flesh-eating space microbes as a threat to humanity, but that says nothing about how I plan to deal with them.

Nintendo needs to release Mario 128 for GameCube. I'd release it as a cross-console generation game -  it plays on the Nintendo GameCube but looks far better with richer textures on the N5. There'd be insentive to a) buy the game and b) buy the new Nintendo so it looks a lot better. That's just my idea, though. It's a little like the PS1 games played on a PS2 idea but it takes it to a much higher level.

[jasonditz]

Quote
Originally posted by: PIAC

Quote
Originally posted by: jasonditz
If I was a shareholder in Nintendo corporation I'd be majorly pissed. Mario 128 would be an enormous moneymaker. Why the hell not do it?

I'm not too impressed with the announcement of a new unconventional product. Last time they did that we got Boktai, do we really want a gimmicky game that we can only play on a nice day?

...launch it on N5? that would seem quite logical, just look at the n64 launch with Mario 64, it's not rocket science.

Surely you're not holding the N64 up as an example of the right way to launch a console.

At any rate, the N5 is 2 years or more away. The cube is finally starting to sell well at its new price, why start to abandon it?

Quote
you can play boktai during the night, didn't you read any info on the game? -__- you collect solar energy and store it in energy banks for later use. as for the 2004 unconventional product, don't expect anything as Ian Sane said, it's better to just let it happen, it may be something really awsome, it may be something reletivly simple and only apealing to a small group, either way best to just wait for the announcement.

donkey konga looks awsome btw

Yeah, but the problem is we don't all live in San Deigo. Some of us live places where we're looking at several months of winter just after launch. I don't know about you, but I'd just as soon not have to wander around in the snow collecting sunlight.

[Ian Sane]

"Surely you're not holding the N64 up as an example of the right way to launch a console."

The N64 was a huge success at launch.  It didn't really start getting smoked by the PSX until a year later when everyone realized each game was released like 3 months apart.

However Super Mario 64 wasn't just insanely successful because it was a Mario title.  The real reason it was such a system seller was because at the time no game was like it.  It was easily the most amazing 3D game of all time when it was released.  Nintendo can't mimic that sort of breakthrough so a Mario title alone won't ensure a successful N5 launch.  But it will help.  In my opinion the whole reason the Cube hasn't done very well is because Nintendo released a game that could be beaten in a weekend as their big launch title and then released nothing for six months.  While a Mario launch title doesn't guarantee success it will likely prevent total failure.  At the very least it would be a title with some meat to it that people could play for months if they have to.

[PIAC]

no i don't think the n64 was a stellar launch, but mario 64 saved it from ultimate death and sold as one of the best games on the console

:\ forgot about that part, well i guess that would be pretty annoying

[CaseyRyback]

I hope its an online plan and its Smash Bros. online as a launch title

HAL has spent forever making the crap that was Kirby's Air Ride, so hopefully Smash Bros. online was being worked on

[jasonditz]

I know something that'd be unconventional from a Nintendo perspective. How about a real Pokemon game for the cube?