Industry
Ubisoft plays the politician
Ubisoft is in a great position now. They were quick to recognize the potential in the Wii and got a gob of games out for it in time for launch. A bit too quick, however, as many of the games lacked the polish and finish of some of the more robust Wii titles to date. Seriously, I think Far Cry didn’t even have an intro screen. It just started you off in level 2. Regardless, they made bank off...
Nintendo’s Harrison: Console lifecycles? Peshaw!
A smidgen of a tidbit of a morsel from Game|Life’s interview with Nintendo of America’s George Harrison reveals that the Wii could be disrupting more than just software libraries. The 5-year life cycle, commonly accepted by many in the industry as standard across all consoles from all time, could be next. WN: In five years, where do you see the Wii? In the US.
Nintendo media day: The gaming press gets left behind
Did anyone else get the impression that Nintendo’s big media day was kind of like one of those meaningless photo ops that politicians do these days just because they “have to?” (bear with me, I’ve been sunning it in the Outer Banks for the past week and I’m playing Infendo catch up today). From Game|Life: One longtime mainstream journalist who I spoke to was really di...
Monday Thoughts: The Reggilution/The Miyamoto-verse.
There was a question posed this weekend on Infendo radio of who has had more of an impact on Nintendo, Reggie or Miyamoto. My initial answer was that since being hired in 2003 Reggie has been the driving force for the rebirth of Nintendo and is the reason I am here so for me Reggie is the impact player at Nintendo. So a day goes by and I am watching my girlfriend play Super Paper Mario. I ask her ...
Reggie tells NY Times it’s good to be on top
Reggie talks Nintendo dominance in speaking with the New York Times during the company’s media summit this past week… “Only twice has one company simultaneously had the No. 1 new hardware console, the No. 1 portable console, the No. 1-selling game and been the No. 1 overall software publisher. The first time was Nintendo in the ’80s. The second time is Nintendo now.” Ever b...
A Nintendo fanboy reflects on a press release
Blake’s already posted a few thoughts on Nintendo’s dominance of North America today, but I thought I’d cut and paste the first paragraph of Nintendo’s press release on the news, and then reflect on it with unabashed love and admiration. “Already riding a streak as America’s No. 1 seller of video game consoles, No. 1 seller of portable game systems and No. 1 pub...
The myth of the hardcore gamer
Ok, OK. There are certainly hardcore gamers out there, but there’s a point to made in here somewhere. The point is that for Nintendo, the phrase “hardcore gamer” is about as relevant to their bottom line as tube socks. Microsoft themed tube socks. It’s irrelevant to Nintendo because I seriously doubt Reggie or Miyamoto or Iwata sit around big stuffy conference rooms sweatin...
PS3 “too big,” but Wii’s challenge is just right
Kick, punch, it’s all in your mind… PaRappa the Rapper anyone? I only ask because NanaOn-Sha boss Masaya Matsuura spoke to Gamendustry.biz recently and said his company was planning a simple little “one-button” Wii title. Why the Wii? Because the PS3 is a developer’s minefield and the Xbox 360 has an AC adapter the size of my apartment (I paraphrase a tad, but he real...
Is the Wiimote a Trojan horse for developers?
People talk and talk some more about how the Wiimote is the part of the Wii that is revolutionizing gaming, but what if it isn’t? What if it was something less obvious, yet completely obvious at the same time? Take it away, Kyoshi Shin (of Japan’s International Game Developers’ Association: Kyoshi Shin of Japan’s International Game Developers’ Association was less pos...
The Wii: A new challenge for third party developers
This news from GameIndustry.biz is right up my alley: an analyst calling out lazy third party developers for producing utter schlock for, or bypassing entirely, the Wii. In response to comments made by Todd Mitchell of Kaufman Bros. Equity Research, IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon basically smacks the man around the room for appeasing developers that lack the ability to innovate (of which, IMO, there ar...
Nintendo will win the console war, say Gamepro and IDC
Through a terrifyingly complex algorithm, Gamepro has reached the conclusion that the consoles that sell more units ultimately will have sold more units than others. Huh! This conclusion was reached via hard data and line graphs, so think twice before you question their logic. To me, predicting the Wii’s success this late in the game is like calling a horse race after one of the competitors ...
Nintendo’s wild success = bad news for big name publishers?
There are rumblings today in the investors arena that Nintendo’s wild success is going to be bad for video game publishers. From Seeking Alpha: The DS and the Wii are taking the video game industry by storm. Both appear to be bringing new gamers into the market. However, this may not be a positive dynamic for the major video game publishers. Nintendo has not only increased the size of the ma...