Nintendo takes a beating as GameCube pessimism intensifies
Forbes takes a swipe at Nintendo, misses, and falls flat on its face
Financial and technology-focussed newsgroup Forbes has gone on the record to say that Nintendo is about to fail with the GameCube and will end up third behind the Xbox and the PlayStation 2.
Citing the expectation that Nintendo will release titles for the younger gamer, Forbes said, “Though Nintendo is sure to remain the videogame maker of choice for the elementary school set, Microsoft and Sony will split the spoils from the growing--and more lucrative--population of adult gamers.”
We think this is something of a misconception. Most “adult gamers” grew up on, or in, the cutesy colourful world of Nintendo, or at the very least holidayed there at some point. The amazing gameplay offered by Nintendo games will always be a winner with the discerning game player. The trademark cutesy styling of Nintendo games is an appealing point, not something that puts people off. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean we are only interested in gaming that has a sex and violence, or generally adult theme.
“Nintendo's got kid appeal with the lock that Game Boy has on the $1.5 billion portable game market”, continues Forbes. “But Nintendo risks confusing customers with its influx of new products. Fans are sure to flock to the portable Game Boy Advance, but the new product will hurt sales of the old Game Boy. And Nintendo is venturing into risky territory with GameCube, which will likely be mauled by the stylish PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The consoles from Sony and Microsoft have more sophisticated graphics and themes, and appeal to a growing market of late-teen and adult videogame players.”
This is just simply incorrect. For a start, do you know any gamers that will be baffled by the fact that Nintendo is releasing two consoles? One is a much needed update on the Game Boy and one is a next generation home console, something Nintendo must make a success of in order to reassert its dominance on the games industry as a whole.
Also, the GameCube is considerably more powerful that the PlayStation 2. It has a faster processor than the PlayStation 2 and is able to throw around a lot more polygons, with a lot more detail.
Forbes’ interest in the games market is made clear in the opening statement of its GameCube opinion piece. It makes reference to Nintendo’s “…battle to dominate the $6.5 billion videogame market.” As gaming becomes one of the most profitable of all the entertainment sectors it becomes a fair target to agencies like Forbes. Just because games companies are floated on the stock exchange doesn’t make stock exchange commentators on the games industry.
Citing the expectation that Nintendo will release titles for the younger gamer, Forbes said, “Though Nintendo is sure to remain the videogame maker of choice for the elementary school set, Microsoft and Sony will split the spoils from the growing--and more lucrative--population of adult gamers.”
We think this is something of a misconception. Most “adult gamers” grew up on, or in, the cutesy colourful world of Nintendo, or at the very least holidayed there at some point. The amazing gameplay offered by Nintendo games will always be a winner with the discerning game player. The trademark cutesy styling of Nintendo games is an appealing point, not something that puts people off. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean we are only interested in gaming that has a sex and violence, or generally adult theme.
“Nintendo's got kid appeal with the lock that Game Boy has on the $1.5 billion portable game market”, continues Forbes. “But Nintendo risks confusing customers with its influx of new products. Fans are sure to flock to the portable Game Boy Advance, but the new product will hurt sales of the old Game Boy. And Nintendo is venturing into risky territory with GameCube, which will likely be mauled by the stylish PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The consoles from Sony and Microsoft have more sophisticated graphics and themes, and appeal to a growing market of late-teen and adult videogame players.”
This is just simply incorrect. For a start, do you know any gamers that will be baffled by the fact that Nintendo is releasing two consoles? One is a much needed update on the Game Boy and one is a next generation home console, something Nintendo must make a success of in order to reassert its dominance on the games industry as a whole.
Also, the GameCube is considerably more powerful that the PlayStation 2. It has a faster processor than the PlayStation 2 and is able to throw around a lot more polygons, with a lot more detail.
Forbes’ interest in the games market is made clear in the opening statement of its GameCube opinion piece. It makes reference to Nintendo’s “…battle to dominate the $6.5 billion videogame market.” As gaming becomes one of the most profitable of all the entertainment sectors it becomes a fair target to agencies like Forbes. Just because games companies are floated on the stock exchange doesn’t make stock exchange commentators on the games industry.
Companies:
Nintendo
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