22nd September 2003, 1:26 PM
Quote:I don't really know, that's why it sounds confused...
'finally admit'? Huh? Of course the GBA's target market isn't adults! When did I say differently? There is a side market of specific older gamers, but not most mainstream ones... I do think I've said that before... only older Nintendo fans and people who like 2d games would really like GBA games, I'd think.
When I said that the Gameboy was targeted towards kids you tried to deny that.
Quote:Unfortunately, they well might.
Waitaminute... this entire time you've been disagreeing with me on that, and now you're turning around? Wha?
Quote:True. But GBA seems to be aiming slightly older than previous GB's...not enough to make a big difference, though.
Look at how long it took them to decide to release Fire Emblem, a decidedly more mature Nintendo RPG.
Quote:Yeah, yeah... but I still think it was a good decision. It kept piracy off the Cube (there still is very nearly no GC piracy as far as I know), since going through the DVD was a major exploitation... and it also kept the price down. The biggest problems with the Cube, I'd say, were ineffective and not enough marketing and the system design...
That was the number one problem, certainly, but the whole DVD thing certainly didn't help them. It did prevent piracy but it also put them behind Sony and MS.
Quote:I would not say that Nintendo was king of the market. Were they #1? Yes. But it wasn't totally dominant, as there were lots of other platforms out that had fan bases... a very different story from handhelds where the Game Boy has controlled the entire industry since 1989...
During the last few years of the SNES, Nintendo was definitely far ahead of Sega and anyone else, if I remember correctly. The Genesis was the SNES' only competition and Sega really alienated a lot of their fans with the Sega CD and 32X.
Quote:True, the PSP will definitely be a bigger step up than the PSX was from the SNES. And yes, Sony wasn't insanely popular until they got FF...which should be a point for my side! Unless the PSP gets major publishers to move over exclusively and drop the next Nintendo console as well as the GBA, they'll have a pretty hard time taking over...
No no, that's not what I meant. The PlayStation brand itself wasn't popular until FF VII came out, which is why the PS2 sold like mad at launch even though it didn't have one single AAA title available. The PlayStation name today is even more popular than 'Nintendo' was back in the 80's and early 90's. Sony is going to sell PSPs based off the name alone, and I'm certain that they'll have at least one system seller available at or around the time it comes out. All they really need is a new FF or GTA to make everyone want one.
Quote:True, but the GB name is as dominant as ever... maybe more so, with the release of the GBA-SP...
But bigger than the PlayStation name? Hmm, I don't think so.
Quote:Their only chance is if they get some huge exclusive games, keep manufacturers off the next GB, and use their huge marketing machine to gain share... but even then it won't be easy. Nintendo is hardly going to give up its prize possession (handheld control) without a fight...
As Nintendo has shown, their fighting skills aren't as good as Sony's. You can count on Sony having better marketing, plenty of good exclusive games, and at least a few big publishers pledging almost-exclusive support (EA comes to mind).