Nintendo Says No to HD Era

Company splits from Sony and Microsoft, saying that it won't support high-definition in the next generation.

Nintendo appears to be making a habit of appearing behind the times. When Xbox and PlayStation 2 supported DVD playback, GameCube owners had to opt for Panasonic's Japan-only (and expensive) Q if they wanted the same, and even the company's next console, Revolution, won't play DVDs without an add-on.

Iwata boosted gameplay and innovation above all at E3

Now, with Microsoft and Sony embracing high-definition video output in their new game machines, Nintendo is holding back again, saying that it isn't planning to support the technology in its enigmatic new machine.

"There currently are no plans for Nintendo Revolution to support high-definition video output," Perrin Kaplan, a vice president at Nintendo's American arm, told GameSpot.

"We have thoroughly considered the best means of video output for the system and are dedicated to delivering the best hardware possible to meet the demands of our consumers."

It looks high-tech, but will it be?

While this might not be an issue in Europe, where high-definition penetration is still low, high-definition TVs are now in 13 per cent of households in America and the figure is rising quickly, and the picture is similar in Japan.

Nintendo has suffered recently with the appearance of being underpowered relative to its competitors - compare, for example, the raw power of DS versus that of PSP.

The evidence is mounting that the company is extracting itself from the technology race and instead focussing on new ways for people to experience games.

While the company has calmed technophiles with talk that Revolution will be significantly more powerful than GameCube, Nintendo has made it clear over the past six months that it has little interest in keeping up with the Joneses.

Instead of transistors and teraflops, Nintendo is banking on its rich past (Revolution will be able to play games from all of Nintendo's past consoles) and Revolution's rumour-beset controller for the future.

Nintendo is also being damaged by poor timing - Microsoft and Sony are farther along in preparations for launching their respective new machines and are revealing more information than Nintendo, which has the unfortunate side effect of making it look ill equipped for the future.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games