Next Console’s War Crown belongs to Big N – Nintendo Wii
Console has a very interesting history of its own and how it came to be. First it was arcade games along with commodore 64 and Atari. Subsequently, Nintendo dominated the market with the Super Nintendo and the Game Boy. We are now entering a new era of gaming with Nintendo’s PS3, Xbox360 and Wii, each offering different features for their console in unique ways. From PS3 taking the console crown from Power horse to xbox360 “Xbox Live” the question is what lies ahead for Nintendo’s next console, Wii? Will Nintendo be able to stay in the market? And is it possible for Nintendo to get the upper hand in Giants M$ and Sony’s next Gen console war? I think all of this is possible for three main reasons. Both Sony and Microsoft have not been able to offer anything new in the gaming experience with the exception of the graphical upgrade from previous consoles. They still use the same mechanism to play games using the old button-and-button control system. In addition, both have failed to understand the players on a console. Gamers aren’t asking for a $400 device to have fun gaming, but they want it to be affordable. One of the most important aspects of a console is its software. Xbox was able to use that with games like Halo and Nintendo DS with NintendoDogs. Looking at these three points, there is a strong possibility that Nintendo can come out strong.
One of the key notes about the Next Gen console from Microsoft and Sony is the power of their consoles. It seems that each tried to get on the horse cart to see who had more power. Sony’s PlayStation boss has even gone so far as to say that PS3 can do 120 f/s “to get a rough idea, your eye can only see up to 70 f/s” and also with PS3 the world will transform into a 4D dimension. Believe it or not, that’s an actual statement from Sony PlayStation CEO Ken Kutaragi. This left the question of how the games are really going to be any different. Play while still implementing an old game mechanism that uses chopsticks to play. Nintendo tried to make use of this idea. The graphics can make the games more realistic, but still you live in the polygonal world of games. At this point, Nintendo was trying to experiment with the Gamecube to find a new way to play the game. The idea was that if you have a game where you have to mow your grass, you actually use the controller to mow, or indeed if you have to shoot the ball with the Tennis Stick, you use your hand movement to feed the ball. It was a difficult concept to design the controller for and the technology could never be delivered until three years ago, when a Japanese company came up with motion sensor technology to use motion in the hands to power scrolling on the screen. Nintendo had the idea and now there was the key to unlock it. Thus, the final design was one of the most awkward console controllers ever. Many questioned the accuracy of such a controller and answers were given when one of Time magazine’s reporters was able to play Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princes, where he was actually slashing with sward using the controller and analog stick. One more thing to note about Nintendo is its focus on gameplay that can be seen on the DS (“New Game Machine Driven After Game Boy Advance, aka Dual Screen Nintendo”). DS has proven to be successful and surprisingly has outsold Sony’s PSP (“In which it has vastly superior graphics capabilities”) 4 to 1 and sold over 16 million worldwide. Both PS3 and Xbox have not addressed the game with the exception of superior graphics.
The second issue was the affordability and features of the gaming machines. Microsoft seemed to be able to offer a good price range for its Xbox360 with a Premium package at 399 and a Core package at 299 with the difference being that Premium has a 20GB HD, headset and wireless controllers all for an extra 100. Sony has gone on the record and recently announced that PS3 will come in two bundles, one at US$499.99 and US$599.00. Yes, you heard me right, that’s the price of Sony’s PS3 and why? Because you just get blue ray technology for DVD and who is going to use it? No one. That is simply a price for playing games. The good alternative is Nintendo’s new Wii system for less than US$299 or even cheaper at US$199.99. Nintendo not only provides consumers with a fun and affordable system to play, but they also make very good profits from it.
The third problem and the biggest and most important of all is the software. Sony has strong iterations in that area, but rivals are catching up. M$ is putting out very strong games. On the other hand, Nintendo has surprised many with its new library of games like Red Steels, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princesses, and Sadness. So Nintendo will no longer be BIG with Mario just for kids, but for hardcore gamers alike.
To conclude this long article I must say that there is a bright future for Nintendo and looking at the fact will tell how much Nintendo is ahead of its competitors in understanding the gaming market and gamers alike by delivering a solid system that is fun to play. and affordable with lots of great features like wireless Wi-Fi and retro Nintendo library as well as great games to play.