Nintendo Gets Desperate, Slashes 3DS Price

Nintendo has had a rough couple of months. Its Wii home console is effectively dead, long abandoned by third party developers of any worth. The Wii’s replacement, the Wii U, is a long way out from release and still needs many questions answered to become appealing for consumers. Finally, Nintendo’s experimental sequel to the incredibly successful DS handheld, the 3DS, had a disappointing launch in most markets.

Now, in a desperate attempt to increase sales, Nintendo has dropped the price of their new handheld by $80, only four months after release. Originally released at $250, the 3DS was Nintendo’s most expensive handheld ever, matching the Wii’s launch price and dwarfing its current ticket price of $149. A lot of consumers, including myself, felt that was a lot to ask for a product with questionable 3D and an anemic launch catalog. Even after the launch of the 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time, I’ve had a hard time justifying this price tag. But this is a pretty staggering price drop that only shows how poorly the 3DS is selling. Most game systems see price drops a year after launch and even then only dips of fifty or so dollars.

So the question is, will consumers bite at $170? Maybe. At $170 I could now consider the 3DS if good software arrives, but that day is still off. The 3DS needs stronger games from third parties in order to compete. After this holiday season we may see that needed strength return but until then I can only sit and wait. I sold my DS Lite back in 2008 because I found myself never using it. Since then, the iPhone has reintroduced me to mobile gaming and having a high quality dedicated machine is something I would love, if the software was there.

For those of you who dropped the full $250, luck for you Nintendo is aware of your woes. You are now a Nintendo Ambassador — part of a new rewards program that recognizes you as an early adopter and entitles you to 20 free NES and Gameboy games from the 3DS eShop. It’s a good consolation I must admit.

Nintendo needs a win. The 3DS’s dwindled sales and desperate price drop are evidence of that sad fact.

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The Wii is Dead! (And Other Challenges for Nintendo)

So we’ve had a few days to digest Nintendo’s announcement of its new home console: the Wii U.  Rotten names aside, the big focus of the console is, again, in the controller more than the processing machine.  Instead of a motion sensing and IR tracking remote, this time the controller is more akin to a tablet PC with a 6.2″ WVGA touch screen, camera, accelerometer, and internal processing along with the usual cadre of buttons needed for interaction.  There are TONS of questions that remain about the Wii U and chances are Nintendo won’t answer them until later next year.  That’s a long way from now, so what can possibly tide us over until then?  What about Nintendo’s current console, the Wii?

E3 2011: Nintendo

It’s a shame that I’m following this standard format in my titles for all the E3 press conferences because they lack a bit of creativity that I’d like to have in my titles. It’s even worse for this post in particular because I’m not able to convey my enthusiasm for the showing by Nintendo this afternoon. Nintendo has this great way of constantly kicking ass at E3. Even if later on we complain about the products they show, the is this weird aura of hype and wonder after a Nintendo press event. Last year it was the 3DS that stole the show and this year Nintendo dropped their next major console and great new games. Let’s run through what we saw.

First up, Nintendo’s master game design Shigeru Miyamoto came on stage to talk about the evolution of the Zelda series in its 25 years. A full orchestra accompanied Miyamoto and his translator as they announced a series of concerts based around Zelda music. I’m very excited for that. Miyamoto also announced that 3 Legend of Zelda titles will be released this year: Link’s Awakening as downloadable title on the 3DS’s new Virtual Console; the Ocarina of Time 3DS remake with upgraded graphics and new features; and Skyward Sword for the Wii. There were no further demonstrations of these games (in fact there were no game demos at all during the conference), which is a shame because I want to see how Skyward Sword is coming along. Skyward Sword was the only Wii game discussed at the conference. Face it folks, the Wii is dead.

A Glimpse of the Wii 2?

IGN seems to be far more interested in Nintendo’s next home console – the Wii successor known as Project Cafe – than most other video game outlets.  They seem to be putting this enthusiasm to good use though as the Nintendo team does some interesting experiments regarding the new console.  One of these experiments includes a very interesting attempt to build a machine on the same level as Nintendo’s purported specifications.  IGN seems to have some pretty trusted sources and so they are sticking by the specifications they have published, including a triple-core IBM CPU, AMD R700 derived GPU, and about 1GB of RAM.

IGN’s comparable machine was built from an AMD Athlon II X3, a triple core CPU running at 3.2Ghz but dropping the L3 cache of the Phenom II.  Comparing an x86 AMD chip to a PowerPC IBM chip is kind of an apples to oranges comparison, but in the world of cross-platform game engines and easier development tools, differing ISAs may not be a huge difference.  The larger difference will be in architectural advantages AMD has over IBM’s chip.  Out-of-order processing is the big advantage of AMD’s chip over the PPE that we believe the Wii 2 is using, though IBM’s solution does have multithreading.  Again, lots of architectural differences make any clear comparison very difficult.  Still, kudos to IGN for trying to get the core count and clock speed right.

Graphics for IGN’s makeshift Wii 2 comes from an AMD HD4850, based on the R700 design.  We can only hope that Nintendo will use something as powerful as the HD4850, since an “R700” GPU is pretty vague and while any model from that core generation would be more powerful than the Wii’s current GPU, only the top of the line from that series would be worthy of being “next generation.”  RAM is 2GB, though IGN believes Project Cafe will only have around 1GB, so the additional memory takes into account the overhead from the Windows OS.

IGN’s findings seemed to show that this machine can play every game an Xbox 360 can at equal or higher settings.  It even handles Crysis 2 on “very high” settings at 1080p will good frame rates.  Some games look about the same and some look a little better but nothing looks any worse.  Is this “next generation” worthy?  Eh, not really, but it’s nice.  And as IGN reminds us, games built for the actual system will be able to leverage its hardware to a much higher potential than PC hardware can.  Game consoles have always had the advantage of more specialized SDKs and minimal OS overhead, which allows for games to use hardware with better efficiency and for better results.

But hey, don’t take my word for it, watch the video:

Checked out a 3DS Today

Finally got a chance to check out the 3DS for myself at a Best Buy today.  I must say the device is far more elegant and solid when you hold it in your hands.  As for the 3D display, I can say it does work after 2 seconds of adjustment and some fine-tuning of the 3D slider.  Playing a demo of Pilot Wings 3D showed off nice use of depth perception and the strong controls of the analog nub.  3D depth is less jumping out at you than more like depth into the screen, which is an important distinction.  While the 3D works, I really can’t say that it added much to the game, but maybe that’s because Pilot Wings 3D is just kind of boring.  Still, it’s a sharp looking piece of hardware and it works.  I’ll be keeping an eye on the 3DS for a bit longer.

Round 6: Nintendo Confirms Wii Successor for 2012

I’m not digging Nintendo’s new way of announcing hardware.  Last year Nintendo unceremoniously announced the 3DS with a simple press release before the full unveiling at E3. While the handheld device was still very well received, there was a lack of surprise which would have been nice.  Yet again, Nintendo is bowing to media pressure and has announced that they are developing the successor to the Wii console for a 2012 launch, with the promise of a full showing at E3.  While the element of surprise may be gone, it’s still exciting to get solid confirmation that Nintendo is getting a new system underway.

I’ve already beaten to death the possibilities for a new Nintendo console in terms of the technical specifications and features.  There’s not much we can do but wait and see what Nintendo unveils at the summer trade expo.  The only new information I can comment on is this little tidbit from Nintendo CEO Iwata that the console will not have 3D stereoscopic display because 3DTV penetration rates are too low (he said the same thing about HDTVs, remember?).  Iwata says instead his company is focusing on taking the console in a whole new direction.  This is raising some major red flags for me because it means Nintendo is trying to out innovate itself.

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda: The Future of Nintendo’s Console Strategy

After my recent rant decrying the Wii as a failure, I’m sure I’ve pissed off many a Nintendo fan. Let me assure you that’s not my intention. I still love Nintendo as a fantastic game company that simply needs to step its hardware game up. Nintendo needs to compete in the modern electronics market and that requires them to be more accommodating to consumer expectations of the day. So with rumors erupting that Nintendo will soon launch a new console before or at E3, there’s no way I won’t join in on the speculation. Yes, this will be a specs post, but we’ll also weigh the culture of Nintendo’s next console as well.

So, what exactly is going to run this thing? Nintendo has established that it is perfectly fine with selling a low power, high margin machine. Regardless, most rumors state that the new console will support HD graphics and is either “as powerful as”, “slightly more powerfully than” or “significantly more powerful than” the 360 and PS3. Picking the first option would make economic sense for Nintendo, since the company could use commodity IBM parts and easily achieve parity with Microsoft and Sony.  A “slightly more powerful” system could allow for increased efficiency or higher memory capacity in order to overcome some deficiencies in current systems. And of course there is the final option which could see Nintendo try to hit parity with today’s highest end machines (don’t hold your breath). Most chances are that we’ll see something in between “slight” and “significant” performance increases if Nintendo plays their cards right. No console in 2011 could be sold at an affordable price and still have equal specs to today’s strongest gaming rigs.

The Rise and Fall of the Wii

I can still remember the giddy nature with which I counted down the days to the release of the Nintendo Wii back in 2006.  Sure, the name was stupid, but this was going to be the console that changed it all.  Finally games could get back to focusing on gameplay and not graphics.  Motion control would be the final frontier in-game control, allowing for unprecedented levels of interaction and immersion.  It would be cheap, it would be awesome.  And for over a year after launch, the glow of the Wii remained in effect.  Stock was constantly depleted, whole new segments of gamers were arising as Nintendo pushed into the casual audience, the best iterations of Nintendo’s franchises launched full force on the console – dazzling us with Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  And Nintendo?  Well they reaped the benefits.  They demolished the competition in sales and profits, they became a media-darling in the US and Japan.  Nintendo had by all intents and purposes, won this generation of the console war.

But I believe the Wii was ultimately a failure.  As grand as the sales were and as strong as the hype was for a long time, here we stand in 2011 and the Wii has been largely irrelevant for the better part of 2 years.  We’ve come to understand the Wii as “that console” while the 360 and PS3 are “this generation”.  The Wii excluded itself from the console war but at the same time excluded itself from the mainstream.  Third parties have been lack luster throughout the Wii’s lifespan, and “lazy” was an excuse that could only hold up for so long.  What was the last non-Nintendo game on the Wii we really craved?  Hell, what was the last Nintendo game that we really craved?  I can’t think of much since Super Mario Galaxy 2 that has really captured my attention as a piece of software that I want.

So, About the 3DS…

In case you missed it, sunday our long journey to the US release of the Nintendo 3DS finally come to an end.  The system has launched, the games are out, the reviews are in, and predictably the lines are long.  Nintendo has had a pretty successful launch by all accounts.  No major problems, the system is working, a spatter of 16 launch titles of varying quality.  So why am I not excited?  Why don’t I really care?  It’s been such a long odyssey waiting for the damn system and I’ve posted at least 5 articles on the freaking thing, so why has my enthusiasm diminished?  I’ve been thinking long and hard about it and I think I’ve figured it out now.

Throughout reading reviews from a vast array of sites ranging from tech sites like ArsTechnica and Gizmodo, gaming sites like IGN and Joystiq, and even mainstream sources like The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, one thing has become quite clear: the 3D works….. sometimes.  The parallax barrier is designed as such that it does work as advertised, but some games don’t use the feature well at all and while the depth slider can allow for good adjustment on the fly, moving even a little bit messes up the illusion, causing headaches.  You CANT have the one feature that makes or breaks your device work sometimes.  It needs to be reliable or don’t have it at all.

You know, it’s strange because we often think about Nintendo as the company that moves slowly with technology, when that’s really not the case.  Nintendo was the first to usher in analog control, motion control, touch controls, and now stereoscopic 3D graphics.  Nintendo is a great company for innovating with new and interesting technology to enhance the way we play games.  That is most certainly and undeniably true: Nintendo has been one of the greatest innovating forces ever in the history of video games.  But they still miss the mark.  Because with every innovation the company makes, they completely miss what the rest of the market introduces and makes essential to gaming.  When Nintendo goes to analog control, Sony starts using CDs.  When Nintendo starts using touch controls, Apple revolutionizes how we access our content.  Nintendo introduces motion controls but completely misses the boat on HD graphics and the next generation of online infrastructures.  And now with the 3DS, Nintendo has brought 3D gaming but seems to have forgotten about the 5 years of software development in the mobile space.

For every great, generation-defining innovation makes, Nintendo forgets about meeting consumers with the features considered common place.  Friend codes is a great example.  Nintendo has thrown players a bone with finally giving you a single code for your machine, used across games.  That and assigning a Mii as your avatar is about it.  There’s no way to look up friends, no interactive plaza for finding friends, no way to look up players by name.  Linking to friends still requires you to get their friend code from them through other channels than Nintendo’s own system.  Why does Nintendo, as ArsTechnica put it, fear a social planet?  Why do they constantly provide a framework but fail to flesh it out?  In a world where mobile devices are capable of innumerable operations for our daily lives, why does Nintendo offer a pedometer and….uh…. Bueller?

The same goes for hardware.  Some choices from Nintendo seem frustratingly short-sighted.  In a post-iPhone world where multi-touch is ubiquitous, why is the 3DS touch screen still stylus-based, resistive affair?  Why are the cameras so god awful and the software nothing more than a quick diversion that will attract a toddler for an afternoon?  Why is the battery life so atrocious?

I think the problem is that Nintendo continues to try to out innovate themselves and now it has approached gimmick levels.  The 3DS has only proved that 3D gaming is possible, not that its necessary or inherently better.  The quality of a game should be in its design, narrative, content, and gameplay.  Not how it is presented or the type of input used.  Adam Sessler’s most recent “Sessler Soapbox” weighed the same issue because he too has had a serious loss of enthusiasm towards the 3DS.  In his belief – which I agree with – Nintendo has made the game industry think that it needs to change the way we play, but not what we play.  Move and Kinect and the Wiimote are just replacements for existing systems, but these controller types have at best proven marginally more immersive than a gamepad or at worst vastly underused and poorly executed.  We can’t have such a wild range of quality in the most basic way we interact with our games (the same is true for the 3DS display).  Why do we feel the need to change how we play when we continue to watch movies and read books the way we have for the past century?

Nintendo wants you to believe that they are placing the games before the technology, but that’s just not the case.  They still care about the hardware before the game, just not the processing silicon.  Nintendo is willing to recycle old games as long as you control it (or view it) differently.  Pilot Wings Resort is a barebones, phony flight simulator with nothing particularly exciting happening.  Ocarina of Time will be a remake of a great game, but that’s really it.  These games don’t feel even remotely as inspired in their design as Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect or Minecraft.  These games push the medium forward in a variety of aspects, and they do it just fine with existing inputs and display technologies.

So the 3DS might be a good gaming machine and great games will most certainly arrive on the system.  But the 3DS sets a bad precedent of leveraging gimmicks before truly inspired game design and incomplete experiences.  Here’s hoping the 3DS Lite brings major software improvements and better battery life to boot.

Apple’s Pulling a Nintendo

With the unveiling on the iPad 2, Apple made it clear that they were not concerned with technical parity against their competitors.

This is worth repeating. It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology is not enough. It’s tech married with the liberal arts and the humanities. Nowhere is that more true than in the post-PC products. Our competitors are looking at this like it’s the next PC market. That is not the right approach to this. These are pos-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC, more intuitive…. The hardware and software need to intertwine more than they do on a PC. We think we’re on the right path with this. – Steve Jobs

While the iPad is for all intents and purposes technically comparable against the latest and greatest from Motorola and other emerging tablet manufacturers, we can’t really be sure.  Ideally, this shouldn’t matter.  What hardware the tablet uses should be secondary to the experience of the software and hardware meshing together.  Ideally.  In reality its good to have specs fleshed out for our devices.  Not just to satiate techie desires, but because analysts and pundits and even prospective developers should know what they are dealing with in its entirety.  I mean, it’s not going to be hard to peg the iPad 2’s specs, that will happen pretty quickly after the release.  But why does Apple play this game of cat and mouse with us?  Lauding the supposed power of the A5 chip but shrouding its exact abilities in secrecy?  It’s contradictory and obnoxious.