Bloody Nintendo

KdjaCL

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has given an extensive talk on the state of the industry to the Japan Economic Foundation - including evidence from sales figures which he claims prove that online gaming is not yet an important factor.

Iwata presented sales figures for a PS2 online golf title which failed to match the sales of its offline predecessor (Sony's own Minna no Golf / Everybody's Golf titles, released in the west as Hot Shots Golf) as "proof that customers do not want online games."

According to highlights of his presentation which have been posted online, Iwata told the foundation that "most customers do not wish to pay the extra money for connection to the Internet, and for some customers, connection procedures to the Internet are still not easy."

Alone out of the three major platform holders in the current generation of hardware, Nintendo has been reluctant to commit to online gaming; the company launched a modem and broadband adapter for the console in order to support online titles from other companies, but has not developed any such titles of its own.

With both Sony and Microsoft's future console plans featuring online as a core component, it's still not clear how Nintendo will incorporate connectivity into its next-generation "Revolution" console - if at all.

However, the company has been much more positive about the potential of wireless connectivity for its handheld devices, launching a successful wireless adapter for the Game Boy Advance and integrating both Bluetooth and 802.11b Wireless LAN technologies into the forthcoming Nintendo DS handheld.

Elsewhere in his address to the foundation, Iwata also covered the perception of Nintendo as a company which targets its products largely at the kids market. "Game software should neither be exclusively be targeted at children nor adults," he said. "Instead, we will develop software which anyone can instantly understand."

However, he did acknowledge the growing trend within the industry for creating mature games, adding simply that "at the same time, production of software readily acceptable to adults is worth studying."

Speaking about Nintendo's relationships with third-party companies, Iwata hinted that more development deals with Western developers could be in the pipeline. "We intend to expand tie-ups not only with Japanese companies but also with foreign companies," he said. "We are now holding negotiations with major Western game developers and will be able to conclude a deal by the end of the year if things go smoothly."

He also touched briefly on the subject of Nintendo's ongoing relationship with Bandai - and this time strayed from his usual script on the subject by not directly denying the possibility of a takeover or merger, saying only that "a closer relationship would be beneficial for both sides and it will be nice if the two companies can work together in doing something interesting."

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=55969

FFS they should be leading the pack in console gaming they are the Multliplayer kings, 1st to have 4 pads as standard, 1st to make 4 player games that were good.

kdjac

Retr0gamer

I still don't think that online games are the future. Used to like playing online but got sick of it years ago. I much prefer a single player game or a drunken lan or 4 player game. Nintendo also thinks that charging subscriptions on top of internet charges is a bit too much (have to agree with them there).

However the fact is that on online support will hurt nintendos sales of their consoles as it will be brought up as a negative against them even though the vast majority of gamers don't play games online.

Rnger

You played xbox live KdjaC?

Its woeful

wes

I have to agree with Nintendo. I hate the idea of having to pay to play online games.Much rather have some friends around and have a lan game or something.

rainbow kirby

If they make the multiplayer for Metroid Prime 2 LAN-compatible, that would be amazing...
They've released some games on GC already which would have been amazing online. Imagine 30 player online F-Zero GX. Or (yeah, I know, WarpPipe) Mario Kart: DD. Or SSBM.

KdjaCL

What Kirby said ,mario Golf online Maro kart ,Mario tennis all damn good games but with addded online play they be excellent.


kdjac

BLITZ_Molloy

Less than 10% of console owners bother to hook their machine up to the internet. Contrast this with pretty much 100% of PC gamers.

I don't see online console gaming taking off for another 5+ years, if ever.

Celt

Originally posted by BLITZ_Molloy
Less than 10% of console owners bother to hook their machine up to the internet. Contrast this with pretty much 100% of PC gamers.

I don't see online console gaming taking off for another 5+ years, if ever.

Whats the % on console games that feature internet play compared to PC games?

Or on console penetration in areas lacking high speed internet access compared to PC's?

KdjaCL

Main reason people dont hook is up the games, hands up who would actually kill someone to play PES online?

The games on console that are MP orientated need online play and easy access to play online , like plug phoneline into console and play.

kdjac

monument

Originally posted by BLITZ_Molloy
I don't see online console gaming taking off for another 5+ years, if ever.

That really is the kind of comment that will come back to haunt you.

rainbow kirby

Originally posted by KdjaC
Main reason people dont hook is up the games, hands up who would actually kill someone to play PES online?

PES on Xbox (this autumn) will have Xbox Live support.

KdjaCL

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170816

Its unknown atm and not having an xbox rules me out We2002 is my only way of online play with Epsxe.

kdjac

rainbow kirby

It was in Xbox World last month...

KdjaCL

That was Eurogamer last week and is that the same mag that gave Driver 3 9/10????

kdjac

rainbow kirby

Methinks so... That's what you get for reading what's left lying around in the back room in work!:rolleyes:

Rnger

Originally posted by KdjaC
hands up who would actually kill someone to play PES online?

I'd love to play someone in pes online, as long as theres an irish commuinity or some commuinity im involved in where you get to know the players.

You may as well be playing against the computer if you dont know the person your playing at all.

KdjaCL

get Epsxe and play me


kdjac

monkeyfudge

Yes.... it does prove expensive to put your console online... although the modem came free with the dreamcast, and the online games were free.... ah... chu chu rocket...

I just put my Gamecube online last week as I'm a big Phantasy Star Online fan, the modem cost €60, monthly broadband is €39, Sega charge €30 every 3 months, and a keyboard adapter cost me €15, it certainly all adds up... and then you get online and find that vast majority of players are punk ass american kids who have hacked their characters so they can deal out vast amounts of damage...

alot needs to be sorted out if they expect more people to play online...

RPG games like PSO are the only type of games that I would like to play online... I got sick of FPS games online a long time ago. Strategy games would be good too, but their just aren't enough of them on the consoles.

So far none of the PS2 online games have peaked my interest enough to make me want to buy the modem for it. I was a bit interested in Resident Evil: Outbreak... but they decided to leave out the online option in Europe for some reason...

Deadwing

I have to say i agree with nintendo. Back when i played nothing but my consoles, i couldnt give a shit about playing online because the games were all such excellent single player experiences. Bottom line is, getting a console online is an expensive, annoying pain in the ass.
Consoles=excellent single player, great multi (2-4)players. Pain in the ring to get online and get playing.
PC=Excellent multiplayer, easy to get online and get fragging.
If you want multiplayer, get a pc and a copy of battlefield, and youre set. You want a great single player gaming experience, get a gamecube and a copy of zelda.

monument

Originally posted by Deadwing
If you want multiplayer, get a pc and a copy of battlefield, and youre set.

Better still; just get it when it comes out for PS2 and Xbox, or the Star Wars Battle Front thing, it's fun too.

Once you have BB, an Xbox, and a Live subscription I can’t see the big problem getting just playing – I’ll possible know when I do so?

super_furry

Bottom line is, getting a console online is an expensive, annoying pain in the ass.

Can't agree with that at all. Getting a console for online gaming costs about €1000 less than a PC for the same thing and with Xbox Live at least, it really is just a matter of plug and play. Can't vouch for PS2 online, but with the Xbox it was just a matter of connecting my modem to my console and letting the rest happen automatically.

Xbox Live is brilliant, and given it's big success, it seems that Nintendo could be (again) cutting their nose off to spite their face. They've always been too eager to tell gamers what they want instead of asking them.

Pugsley

I dunno which planet your on super_furry, but I can get a PC on-line for about £300 (that include's actually buying a PC), and to get a PC to play games on-line of the same spec of an X-box for under £500........... so unless microsoft PAY you £500 to get your x-box on-line, it cant possably be £1000 cheaper. Even a £500 PC will get you on-line and run games like far-cry the best.

Dont be at yourself

He's on planet Earth, I'd imagine.

And on planet Earth you cannot (well, most people cannot, and I highly doubt that you can) purchase a PC capable of running today's releases fluidly online for anywhere near the cost of buying an XBox and Live! subscription. A £500 PC is almost three times the price of an XBox, and will struggle with running games. The XBox on the other hand, can run the latest games quite fine, and won't need to be upgraded in 6 months time to run the latest Xbox games.

KdjaCL

Originally posted by Pugsley
I dunno which planet your on super_furry, but I can get a PC on-line for about £300 (that include's actually buying a PC), and to get a PC to play games on-line of the same spec of an X-box for under £500........... so unless microsoft PAY you £500 to get your x-box on-line, it cant possably be £1000 cheaper. Even a £500 PC will get you on-line and run games like far-cry the best.

I`ll take 2.

kdjac

super_furry

If you can get a PC to run games like Far Cry at full spec as you say, for less than €500 then I'll stand corrected, but I don't believe you can. And that's not even taking into account the likes of Doom III or Half-Life II, both of which will be playable on Xbox Live - I can't really see any €500 PC doing that.

Kai

Originally posted by Pugsley
Even a £500 PC will get you on-line and run games like far-cry the best.

:rolleyes:

huge

Originally posted by KdjaC
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=55969

FFS they should be leading the pack in console gaming they are the Multliplayer kings, 1st to have 4 pads as standard, 1st to make 4 player games that were good.

kdjac

nothing new about that they ave been saying that they aint interested in online gaming

eyerer

you could build a decent gaming pc for £500, excluding the monitor, thats a big cost difference between a console and pc, the console just hooks upto a tv you already have

you could spend the bulk of the money on graphics card, cpu, memory and suitable motherboard
a relatively small hard drive would do, a dvd drive for installing games, no need for a second drive or floppy drive
pretty cheap sound card, keyboard, mouse, case, cables

bizmark

I built a second pc for myself cost 560 euro includeing every thing but xp and the monitor....2400xp 256meg of ram geforce fx 5200 it will run far cry just on very low detail so pug isnt to far off the mark tbh

Dont be at yourself

What, a PC that wasn't even top-of-the-range over a year ago, without a monitor, that's just about capable of running today's games for £560?

That's pretty far off to me!

bizmark

and to get a PC to play games on-line of the same spec of an X-box for under £500

He didnt mention top of the range games he said get a pc of the same spec of an xbox for under 500 euro and you could xbox is basicly a 700mhz pc so hes right in his own way

Dont be at yourself

Either you're entirely missing the point, or you're trying to make me cry. Stop it!

bizmark

I like makeing people cry muhaha

Your right of course a 500 euro full pc system wouldnt be able to play xbox spec games now stop crying you big girl

BLITZ_Molloy

Originally posted by BLITZ_Molloy
Less than 10% of console owners bother to hook their machine up to the internet. Contrast this with pretty much 100% of PC gamers.

I don't see online console gaming taking off for another 5+ years, if ever.

That comment will come back to haunt me? Hah.. this isn't the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. I was just expressing an opinion.

What I'm trying to say is almost 100% of PC users have an internet connection. It's about so much more than games. An unconnected PC is almost useless in this day and age.

I see this taking a very long time to catch on. If you take any mainstream PC game 100% of the players have online capability yet only 10% of them ever actually use it. And far, far less will end up playing regularly. Very few games can sustain good online communities.

Then you take consoles. Very few people are going to go out and string a phoneline out to their console. Especially when there's some cost involved.

XBox Live was a minor success but they didn't subsidise the **** out of it and gave away subscriptions. They advertised and promoted it an incredible amount too. But the market isn't ready. Microsoft are even admitting that by getting rid of the harddrive in the XBox2. It's a nice idea but it's very costly, and incredibly risky for developers.

The PC is generally a better platform for online stuff. Everybody has internet connections. There are communities that generate content. The games can be constantly changed and enhanced without having to release a sequel. And yet not that many PC developers are making money from pure online games. If that's the case on the PC then the console has a very long way to go.

5 years.. at least.

l3rian

pc multiplayer gaming is the best

computer ai sucks

DiscoStu

Originally posted by BLITZ_Molloy
I see this taking a very long time to catch on. If you take any mainstream PC game 100% of the players have online capability yet only 10% of them ever actually use it. And far, far less will end up playing regularly. Very few games can sustain good online communities.

tell that to the guy who is 150000th on the project gotham racing 2 leaderboard.

monument

That comment will come back to haunt me? Hah.. this isn't the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. I was just expressing an opinion.

As in, I don’t agree with what you’re saying, and I think the original comment I quoted is the type that will some day be quoted again. It’s not like I actually was thinking it would really haunt you, or keep you up all night.

It's about so much more than games.

Sony, and, to a more obvious extent, Microsoft agree with you (although they sometimes clam not to) .

An unconnected PC is almost useless in this day and age

No it’s not, just in gaming terms, there’s a wealth of brilliantly entertaining single player games.

Single player games must be dead?... oh, no, wait a second... you said only 10% of PC gamers use the online capability... so according to your stats the other 90 have almost useless PCs. :dunno:

I see this taking a very long time to catch on. If you take any mainstream PC game 100% of the players have online capability yet only 10% of them ever actually use it. And far, far less will end up playing regularly.

1) How many PC, PS2, Xbox, etc gamers are there?
2) What's the crossover?
3) When did 100% of PC players go online?
4) Where do you get your stats from?

How long it'll take to catch on depends on a lot, but mostly if, or when, Sony pushes it right - or when, or if, MS fires more money at it.

Very few games can sustain good online communities.

If that is true, publishers love it, it means people move on to different or better games, in doing so buying more games.

XBox Live was a minor success

Xbox Live is not dead so, I’m thing you mean it is a minor success so far. In such a case, a lot of people said they would never get as far as they have, and MS have in no way finished.

The update to the most raved about Xbox game, Halo, will push Live further up the success ladder. Microsoft are promising a marketing campaign at a scale never seen before for a game... Live play will be somewhat a element of the campaign.


The games can be constantly changed and enhanced without having to release a sequel.

Early examples, as seen on Bill’s console - he has the t-shirt to prove it.

And yet not that many PC developers are making money from pure online games.

PC developers? I usually call them ‘game developers’, most of them (I hope) want to make good games.

To me saying a game maker is a ‘PC developer’ would be like saying the Pixies are now an iTunes band just because they have an exclusive piece of work with iTunes.

Or something similar if the main film studios or music (publishers) each owned different formats films or music is distributed on… actually in business terms that’s quite a good idea, I can just about imagine Sony releasing films and music from their labels or studios only on their hardware… maybe the PSP is the first step? …possible not.

-end of rants-