Three Cheers For The Revolution

There have been plenty lining up to point fingers at Nintendo. Many non-believers are sharpening their logic throwing out arguments against the Revolution. Everything from lack of third party support to being just plain wierd have been sited as potential causes for the complete downfall of Nintendo’s home console legacy. Sure, there are many reason why Nintendo’s new console could fail, but there are just as many (and more intriguing) reasons why it could be a smashing success.

Hybrid Cars. It’s hard to turn on the television today without getting bombarded with advertising for hybrid cars. They’re everywhere, and it’s no wonder with the price of gasoline. It may not take ten gallons to power up a home console, but the extra pinch on the wallet is being seen in many marketplaces.

Can the average household income support an extra $1000 every five years for the next next-gen console? Even more importantly will they bother trying this coming generation? Nintendo doesn’t want to find out. They’ve stated that their intent is to make home consoles more affordable. With the price of gas rising everyday, being the most affordable console on the market could make a big difference.

Teens Losing Interest. A recent survey of teen’s shopping behavior reported that “75 percent of teens say their interest in video games is declining and 78 percent indicated they spent less time playing in 2005.” While this could be a result of an industry slump as it prepares for the next generation of consoles, it could also be signs of a bigger problem. People are getting tired of the same old thing.

Nintendo has always been on the fore-front of changes in video games. They continually push the bounds. With the Revolution, they are possibly pushing those bounds further than they ever had. A new innovative approach to video games could very well be the determining factor of this console’s success in the marketplace.

The PowerGlove. The most common argument against Nintedno’s success in the next gen has to be the PowerGlove. For many, Nintendo’s new controller is an eerie reminder of that peripheral from the past. While that reminder may haunt our thoughts, there are plenty of differences.

For starters, the PowerGlove didn’t fail due to poor third party support. It didn’t fail because consumers refused to adopt such an unusual control scheme. No, these were the results of the PowerGlove’s failure. It failed simply because it didn’t work. I can recall using the PowerGlove only once. I played Top Gun, and it was a frustrating experience. I couldn’t get the plane to fly straight, I couldn’t stop firing the machine guns, and worst of all, I would shoot off missiles at random. The PowerGlove simply did not work.

Simply put, if Nintendo’s new controller works and its fun, the Revolution is going to blow the competition out of the water.