This is what Sony and Microsoft think we want:
* Super Horsepower
* Super Graphics
* Fancy design
* Ability to play a lot of media types, basically turning this "gaming" console into an all-in-one entertainment machine
* pricing near that of a good computer (well we don't want this)
This is what Nintendo thinks we want:
* Innovating gameplay
* simple, but good design
* Very good graphics
* New gaming concepts, such as their new controller
* a "fair" price
$400-$500 for a gaming console in insane. Why all of the sudden are people willing to pay this? The Revolution (or whatever it will be called) will start well below the prices of competition and offer things that they cannot. One major feature is the ability to play games from all of Nintendo's older consoles, all the way back to the NES. If this is the case, then Nintendo just locked in the market.
They get:
* the "new" players who want fancy graphics
* the "veteran" players who loved their SNES games and sprite graphics
* the "family" players who want a fun system they can play with their kids
* people who have never gamed might start with the idea of a simple controller
With that said, the first of the next-gens hits the stage, the Xbox 360. "Its pretty. Graphics look good. Wait, I think my computer's graphics are about that good.. I think they're better. hmm... I can surf the web on my computer and play FPS's the way their meant to be played. Only $399 for a core system? Yeah I'll pay that! No I won't, that's crazyness. They crash? No way!"
No thanks, Microsoft.
Sony's PS3 is said to be even more powerful than the Xbox360 and have an even more powerful price to match. No thanks. Oh and didn't I hear something about a rootkit? Yeah that's right.
Sony doesn't want their cds copied, cause that's illegal. So I'm Sony and I decide to fight the evil pirates by putting my super secret DRM software on all of my CDs. Then when the even pirates play the CD in their computer I secretly install some software on the machine that phones home and tells me about all of their evil pirate copying actions. Yes, this is perfect. I think I'll borrow some GPL'd software for my super secret evil pirate killer software, but I won't tell anybody. Then somebody noticed.
Does Sony apollogize? Nope. "We didn't do anything wrong, but we'll go ahead and sorta give you clues on how to remove the rootkit, but not good clues, cause we didn't do anything wrong".
No thanks, Sony.
The Revolution will be simply that, a Revolution. A return to good, fun gaming, the kind I remember when I was a teenager. Hey Nintendo, welcome back big buddy. So save your money. Be patient and wait and see what Nintendo offers in their revolution to take back the market from those that are too blind to see what gamer's really want.
solid