[snake II]

i been on many sites and the rumors suggest that the psx is indeed the next playstation series (ps3) but if the rumors are true to the fact that the true ps3 is delayed to 2006/7, i think sony should not be worried about xbox being established like many people have said, i think nintendo will be the market leader in the next round, they have wanted to be the one after the n64, they learnt their mistakes in that past war with sont and this war with microsoft (sony is out of the question at this time round they have had a head start ) nintendo have said that they wil take a risk with their next console, and by taking a risk you, do things you normally wouldn't so this could mean making their console more of a entertainment unit, e.g dvd/online capabilities out of the ox hard drive etc etc. i dont know but you should take them seriously as microsoft is still new in my eyes, they do want to succedd but i think if sony are taken to the second position spot it would be done by nintendo, never mind what they have done in the past i think they will be more aggressive like sony have been.
what are your views

[CarlB]

I'm not sure Nintendo will even be in the next round, especially if the Sony handheld destroys their profitable Gameboy cashcow. The handheld market has been instrumental in supporting Nintendo, but I haven't been inspired to buy much for my GBA in ages.

If Sony release a true 3D handheld with their marketing prowess I think it could well be 'Game Over' for Nintendo in the hardware arena. Frankly, I think this would be a step in the right direction as the only titles I buy for the GC are the first party titles, and only then because they aren't available elsewhere.

[zoolap]

What ever happens I do hope Nintendo has a console and is one of the three with good catalogue of games. The Cube is my first Nintendo machine, but I have played on previous machines. I have found that the Nintendo specific games like mario to be great fun. Each console seems to have it's strongpoints, so I won't knock any of them. I certainly hope the cube keeps going and that Nintendo do release a kickass machine. With Ati's pc based graphics tech getting better all the time there is promise for the next gen nintendo console which will probably get an ati graphics chip - I really do hope Nintendo keeps going in hardware and software.

I'd like there to be Dolby digital, prog scan pal, vga prog scan, hard disk, ethernet adapter on the next one as well.

[paulMK]

If Nintendo pull out of the hardware side of things it will be a sad day for all.

PaulMK

[Sinzer]

The GBA has some awesome titles coming out for it Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, Advance Wars 2. Of course these will only appeal to RPG/Strategy games players, but then that is what I view my GBA as.

The new Sony handheld will be interesting but I am not sure it will do well, the price will need to be sub 100, and I don't think they can manage that! Plus the game price needs to be 25quid or lower. Most people who play GBA are kids, and most people who buy them are parents.

Plus I bought mine really to play all the SNES games on the move

Nintendo are not out of the race, but I think they have been relegated to the niche market, there is certainly a big enough market for them. Given the global acceptance of games playing, I doubt we will get to the single platform, it would stifle competition too much.

[CarlB]

I agree with everyone here that Nintendo games are great and it is the reason I own a Gamecube and GBA. However, their hardware always seems to suffer either due to poor marketing, consumer awareness (eg. 'kiddie' games) or plain techincal inferiority to the competition.

This is *not* to say that the games they release on said hardware is anyway inferior, only that I rarely see an advantage to owning Nintendo *hardware*. Being a keen gamer I own all three current consoles (plus defunct DC) as I have owned every major platform over the past 20 years, but I don't think there is room for 3 hardware manufacturers in the market. As Sinzer mentioned I think this relegates Ninetendo to a niche market, but my point is that I would prefer them not to be in this niche market and instead be releasing their games on the XBox for example. I could then still enjoy Nintendo software but get rid of one of the consoles sat under my screen.

I realise this may be heresy to some here, but I am not bothered about the hardware at all, it's only a platform. I just wish I had to have less 'platforms' to play all the best games in the current market.

Nintendo should have learned from their mistakes with the N64, but they repeated most of them with the Cube. I'm not knocking it, it's supposed to be a decent console, but they are definitely becoming a niche market company. (with the exception of handhelds)

It'll be interesting to see if they step up to fight against MS for the pure games console market (once Sony focuses on that PSX thing), or if they will be just content to sit where they are for the next round of the console wars. My money's on the latter.

[groundy]

Sticking to the handheld debate for the moment, I can't see Sony or anyone else even making a dent in the GB market. The GB is synonomous with handheld gaming, it has monopolised the industry for almost 15 years now and is responsible to over half a billion game sales alone......that's quite a head-start.

[CarlB]

It's only really similar to the headstart Nintendo and Sega had in the console market before Sony came along. I really think the handheld market is ready for an explosion once Sony makes portable gaming 'cool'.

Like it or loathe it, Sony is the gaming hardware force to be reckoned with these days.

[RL123]

The Sony hype-machine has already started with the PSP. Apparently it will have graphics that put the PS2 to shame

Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it


I'm with Groundy on this one - there's no way the PSP could over-take the Gameboy. It is just too synonymous with handheld gaming.

[groundy]

Originally posted by CarlB
It's only really similar to the headstart Nintendo and Sega had in the console market before Sony came along.

Not really in my opinion. The SNES & Megadrive were long past their sell-by dates when the PS came along. I even got sucked up in the Sony hype machine and bought one. Saying that PS One was great at back then but Sony have proved themselves time and time again that games really don't matter to them - it's money and image with very little content.

The GBA SP has shifted over 24M units since launch so it's clearly still in favour. The real difference though is that it has the full support of every single developer interesting in this market simply because there is nothing else to comptete. Developer support to a new handheld would (I'm sure) be plenty but it would be a long long time, if ever, before reaching the heights of GBA support. Developers go with the majority share - always have always will.

I don't play my GBA SP either though and have owned GBA's at various points throughout the years,always selling them on when bored.

[CarlB]

Groundy, I totally agree with your points, the Playstation 2 is the most soulless of the current crop of consoles and certainly my least favoured. Sony are clearly driven by image and money, but their dominant position in the console market may give them a fearsome bargaining chip with developers when they release their handheld. I'm not saying this will occur, but when trying to break into a tough market (if I were Sony) I would force developers down a handheld exclusivity model if they wanted a continued license to develop Playstation2 product. Grab the developers going in and strangle Nintendo's grip on the handheld software market.

Perhaps this is overly cynical, but Sony wouldn't throw money at this project unless they had something serious up their sleeve. I can't see them settling for second best when they can use their market stronghold to their advantage.

I'm not saying any of this is good for us as gamers, but I really think Nintendo's naive approach to the market will be tested when they get some handheld competition.

[Sinzer]

I would argue against that point, the PS2 has a great many games for it. In fact if like me you are an RPG fan, it has this market cornered.

It just has a lot of awful titles as well.

On the hardware front, I would hate to see one platform, this would lead to stagnation, technology needs competition to drive the platforms on. Look at Sony now, they have so many sales with the PS2 they are not really overly bothered about getting it's next gen out, whereas MS and Nintendo will be pretty keen to get their new powerful machines on the market.

[CarlB]

I would also hate to see one platform, but I think having two contenders to the throne dilutes the competition somewhat. This then leads to crummy ports using the PS2 as the common denominator, as there is not sufficient time to make good use of the alternative hardware on other (multiple) platforms. If there were one other platform we may be in with a chance, though probably not with some lazy developers.

[Bonesy]

Originally posted by groundy
Not really in my opinion. The SNES & Megadrive were long past their sell-by dates when the PS came along.
The real difference though is that it has the full support of every single developer interesting in this market simply because there is nothing else to comptete.

well, spot any big names on the Nokia N-gage?

I think the GBA is well past its sell-by date, even in it's current form.
I think nintendo are very worried about retaining their market share.

[JamesOD]

The PS2 and GBA are very similar with regards to the amount of dross software on them The bottom line is if the PSP can mimic the graphics of a psone then it will sell more than the GBA all that will happen is we will get ports of titles that the GBA cannot do in this era of mainstream gaming graphics and brand names are KING.

[groundy]

Originally posted by Bonesy
well, spot any big names on the Nokia N-gage?

A couple of big names, even a multitude of big names doesn't guarantee success. If the handheld market branches out into a 3 horse race I would confidently say the N-Gage will be the first to go. The problem with the N-GAGE is identity. Does it want to be a phone or a games machine?

The GBA in my opinion fulfills it's purpose. Handheld gaming doesn't need to provide super-powerful 3D gaming. Using Doom on GBA as an example, it's an awkward playing experience that just doesn't work on such a small screen IMO. Handheld gaming by it's nature is dictated by quick pick-up & play games. I personally don't want to sit down and play a GBA game for hours on end in the same way I would on a proper Console/TV.

In some ways the GBA is a link to the past and is a retro-gaming medium. That's certainly the only reason I own one. So what would a new handheld bring to this market? Flashy 3D graphics and the PS One back catalogue? Who cares!

I'm sure more than a few people would agree that the GBA is well past it's sell by date but the fact of the matter is that it's selling by the million - it's selling more than the PS2 and more than the Gamecube and Xbox combined! The GB/GBA in general is the most successful gaming hardware in history. Breaking that kind of stranglehold will be difficult in the extreme.

[gizlaroc]

I will probably regret saying this but as long as the hardware is good I dont mind one console.

I was gutted when Sega announced they were to become a software Co. but it has turned out better for sega fans I beleive.

I would rather Nintendo spend all there spare funds on software development rather than pumping it into hardware research, as this as we all seem to agreee is where they rock !!!

But, with only one console will the company who has it bother developing a replacement or will we get stuck with it 10 years ???
lets face it it sounds like we are going to have the PS2 for nearly 7 years and sony know that they should be pushing to get the next one out already.

[Zef]

Originally posted by groundy
If the handheld market branches out into a 3 horse race I would confidently say the N-Gage will be the first to go. The problem with the N-GAGE is identity. Does it want to be a phone or a games machine?

It wants to be both and I agree it should be. I would buy one of these for the multi function aspect.

Question -- I dont own a GB so what is the appeal and when do you use one ?.

Im presuming you use it when travelling, holidays etc. so why not have a device that is your phone aswell. I suppose the same could be said for the PDA/Smartphone/Mobile debate. Add MP3 player and a radio and i belive Nokia have got a product...

[gizlaroc]

the appeal to me is a couple of quality titles, mainly rpgs.

and yeah the only time I relly play it is when I travel.

[Sinzer]

Add MP3 player and a radio and i belive Nokia have got a product...

Yeah, as long as they can sort out battery times.

Anyway, it is an interesting idea, but I like my mobile to just be a mobile, I would not want to carry around something the size of a GBA/PDA around with me all the time.

Plus with the cost of it, it will only be a gimmick. Mobile gaming has to be cheap, you don't want to carry around 300quids worth of machine, I know if I break or lose my GBA I can replace it cheaply.

I still don't think they can match the sheer amount of games on the GBA, sure there is a lot of dross, but there is nearly an entire back catalogue of SNES games (the good ones ) and plenty of good ones to keep you busy.

The main factor I believe is that it is cheap and slightly retro