Tendo City

Quote:Reports of a redesigned 3DS have been flying around the internet after French website 01net claimed that this new model handheld will "radically tone down" the 3D effect and probably sport a different name.

They also report that the new model will feature twin analogue Circle Pads. As for current 3DS owners, they say that Nintendo engineers are "spending many sleepless nights working on an additional device" that would attach to the console and be sold separately for about $10.

Yet Nintendo told Official Nintendo Magazine this morning that "we do not comment on rumour and speculation."

Meanwhile, Andriasang report that Nintendo will be holding a 3DS event on 13 September ahead of the Tokyo Game Show where the company will be announcing a big title.

So do you think it is nonsense?

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.u...-nintendo/

Quote:Confessions from a Nintendo insider

Wii U : when hardware goes into development hell

As we know, the Wii U is the result of a long engineering and refining process by its secretive R&D labs. But, according to our source, it seems that the final architecture has been rushed through the door, with undesirable consequences. Nintendo’s low cost policy, which has so far allowed the company to surf the tech wave in a distinctively offbeat way, all the while maintaining incredibly high margins, could be about to backfire.

Tethered so far
So far, the Wii U controller’s main chipset - that manages the device’s essential functions, including streaming and wireless – seems inadequate. This chip, described by our source as maybe a tad too cheap, has been the sources of many headaches in recent weeks. So far, the wireless functions simply do not work – at all. There have been so far three different prototypes, and a fourth iteration is expected by select developers at the end of the month.

Developers on the brink
So far, developers are working with a tethered controller: each one is fitted with a small black box with a tethered connection to the main unit. And even then, it still doesn’t work properly. Many developers are feeling lost, their progress impeded by a distinct lack of visibility, their working days paced by the quasi-daily software updates. In those conditions, many feel unable to properly exploit the system’s most innovative and promising features, those very features they haven’t been able to test properly so far.

What about the schedule ?
Ten months before the tentative release date – developers are still expecting a June 2012 release – the fact that Nintendo engineers are still struggling to make this supposedly final architecture function properly is worrisome at best. Could Nintendo have to make radical last-minute changes, and if so, what would be the cost? This unexpected development runs contrary to Nintendo’s reputation for carefully weighing all tech options long before any announcement. Inside the company, there have been talks of a delayed release, with September as a new tentative date. Being three months off-schedule doesn’t seem such a big issue, when compared to a home console’s life cycle. But this is not 2006 anymore. The industry is undergoing a radical mutation, and there is a growing amount of rumors positioning Microsoft’s next system to be unveiled during the 2012 E3 conference, and a relase in short order. If that was to happen, the Wii U would only enjoy a few months of “optimal run” alongside the Xbox 360, which would essentially moot the much-touted ease with which developers can port 360 code for the Wii U. To succeed in its incredibly audacious endeavour, Nintendo will have to walk a very tight rope.

http://www.01net.com/editorial/537918/ni...%282-5%29/

Nintendo's big enough to bounce back from this, but...man.

"Nintendo is doomed" rumors are nothing new these days. I won't believe these ones until, or unless, they're proven.

I mean, just because 01net seems to have it in for Nintendo doesn't mean that they're right, certainly.

I really don't think the 3DS is "dying", it's just likely not going to do as well as the DS. The thing's still selling pretty well, and the price drop is a nice shot in the arm. Really though, it's only enough to make the sales stable until more quality games start popping up on the system. Nintendo made a huge mistake releasing the thing for as much as it did. If the current price had been the launch price, I imagine it would have done much better. Better still if they delayed the system until OOT 3D was done and packed it in. Really though, it needs some big games. Ports of Street Fighter won't cut it. Maybe if Capcom hadn't cancelled Megaman Legends 3... That series had a lot of potential to polish up the rough edges and make it compete with a Zelda title (especially considering Capcom's experience with Zelda titles since MML2).

Nintendo tried to imitate Apple too well. This isn't the "death" of Nintendo as a hardware company. Unless consoles themselves die out in favor of tablets (sorry ABF, PCs are third in this equation for me), Nintendo should still do well. They'll need to really cater to the audience that matters, the "core gamer". I hypothesize that while advertising on daytime TV to non-gamers about what a great "excercise device" the Wii is certainly played a part, it wouldn't have worked at all unless those same non-gamers had gamer relatives and friends who were hyping the system up as well, an assault from all sides. If Nintendo tries this tactic without the added benefit of hardcore gamer word of mouth, I doubt it'll do so well. If Nintendo is going to die, it'll be because they continue to target the casual crowd long after they've moved on to the next fad instead of focusing all their energy into making the next Pikmin (not a sequel, I mean a new IP entirely, it's been a while since Nintendo made one of those).