Tendo City

As usual, they say very, very little... nothing new that I can see.

Oh, and I think it's bizarre that they're saying that wireless-only online for a home console will actually manage to get a bigger market than current-gen online multiplayer... but that's just the start of the problems with this paragraph.

Quote:BIZ: For the last few years, Nintendo has essentially ignored the online market. However, now with the Wi-Fi Connection for DS and Revolution Nintendo seems to be embracing online gaming. Why the change of heart?

BL: Well, it's something that we've always recognized, that online gaming was a direction that we would go in. It just didn't make sense for GameCube, and I think a lot of people would agree with that. You know there wasn't a lot of money to be made, if any. The majority was still playing offline vs. online. It just sounded cool and everybody liked the idea of [online games], but I think now in this next generation we're certainly at a point where it is making more sense, especially with the idea of Wi-Fi and particularly on the handheld side. It's the perfect next step on the handheld side, so for Nintendo DS introducing our first Wi-Fi enabled games later this year is very exciting... and then what we do on DS, how we structure it, from that standpoint will kind of carry over into what we do with Revolution.

Ack. I guess they're referring to 'it wasn't free... but I just see so many things wrong with this paragraph... I don't know where to start. "it sounded cool and people liked the idea but it wasn't practical"? Um... what world are you living in, Nintendo? Not this one, for sure... you can say "it was not a potential moneymaker", but "it's not popular" or something... that's a lie, plain and simple.

I mean, sure, most softcore gamers aren't playing online. And Nintendo is trying its best to attract softcore gamers. But hardcore gamers are at least half of the market, and they're on the whole quite interested in online... at least, once they try it... and coming from a PC gaming perspective, where some form of long-range (direct IP (modem), online, LAN/with a spoofer, etc...) has been required in all multiplayer games released since about 1996 (you could argue for 1995, even...)... it's just insane.

As for the wireless thing... this is a static console. It attaches to a television. There is no advantage to it being wireless-only. That only alienates a big chunk of the market... oh, doesn't that also make it broadband-only? Also a bad idea, in the US... I know X-Box Live has gone that route, but Nintendo criticized them for that and most PC games at least allow modem connections, if not good speed while using them.

Quote:BIZ: Can you talk about why Nintendo decided to go with the DVD format for the Revolution and not a proprietary Nintendo format like you did with GameCube?

BL: Actually, it's a 12-cm optical disc so there will be some proprietary element to that... piracy is a big issue in our industry... so it's similar to what we did on GameCube. But also recognize that the bigger format is important and we also built the system to be backwards compatible so it will accept both the 8-cm GameCube discs and the larger discs for Revolution.

I expected so, Nintendo wants to combat piracy...

Wi-Fi only doesn't necessarily make it broadband only, we had a wireless network in our house for years before we finally got broadband, but it certainly does limit the amount of people who can play online for the Revolution. I would like to see Nintendo release their own wireless router that is incredibly simple to set up that they could sell to people who want to go online with the Revolution. I actually wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo did this since they are always looking for new ways to make money.

Routers ARE simple to set up. They are pretty much plug & play.

Quote:I would like to see Nintendo release their own wireless router that is incredibly simple to set up that they could sell to people who want to go online with the Revolution.

That would be a good idea, actually...

Dark Jaguar Wrote:Routers ARE simple to set up. They are pretty much plug & play.

Yeah, for people who know even a little about computers they are easy to set up. Most computer users would have no idea what to do to set up a wireless router, though. I could see Nintendo releasing one with just a simple, colorful page of instructions that has simple-to-understand directions on setting it up. This would forgo the more technical instruction books most routers come with. I pretty much have in mind a router for the parent that has no idea about technology and is just buying a Revolution for their kid. We hate to admit it, but Nintendo's main market is kids so they need to keep the kids and their parents happy. Hardcore gamers aren't going to buy a Nintendo router since they will buy a higher quality one or have one already.

I just don't think wireless home networks are as common as Nintendo implies with statements like that one there... so yeah, they should do something.

What setup? Most routers, wireless ones too, that I've used are LITERALLY plug in and play. That is, you can just turn on stuff and instantly log in. A lot come with installation disks, but you NEVER need those, and I prefer not to use them.

But there is one issue now that I think about it. Most routers have to be "logged into" via the standard router address (192.168.1.1, or some varient) if you want to ALTER anything. It's usually good to go, yes, but sometimes it needs to be altered. Nintendo CAN'T simplify the options people have without alienating a LOT of configurations out there, and most routers actually do have wizards built into that page that are as simple as they can realistically be, but Nintendo does need to have a web browser of some sort that lets you go to that page without using a computer. Most people have them, but something like that would be appreciated. Now, by doing this, they would have to let you put in custom IPs to reach the page (some of them are different, like they are .0.1 at the end or something), and it would have to support very basic stuff like hyperlinks, basic text including formatting, and basic static image support. Now, by default doing that would also let you surf the net with limited support, but that's hardly a bad thing.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/26/...26595.html

Yet another interview annoyingly short on the details...