Nintendo Sizes Up the Competition

Nintendo reminds everyone that Microsoft and Sony aren't the only ones with a next-gen console in the offing. Meow.

Microsoft and Sony may well have command of the public's eye at the moment, but Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan, speaking to IGN, said she believes that the strong traditional support for her company will ensure the success of its next-generation Revolution.

Will Iwata be holding the Revolution controller at TGS?

"No matter how new, flashy, or attractive another system may seem, there's something special about the name Nintendo that will always appeal to gamers of all kinds," Kaplan said.

"Our ability to create entertainment experiences like no other makes us proud. We remain solidly dedicated to the sole art of gaming."

Key to getting ahead - or keeping up, as the case may be - in the next generation is the timing of hardware launches. Kaplan feels that a lot of Sony's success with the PlayStation 2 was due to its launching well ahead of both the GameCube and the Xbox:

"Their early launch date and marketing push along with a solid library of games gave them momentum that they still enjoy today."

It is not, however, clear whether Nintendo is setting itself up for the same situation in the next generation. Microsoft is locked and ready for worldwide deployment of Xbox 360 at the end of the year.

Neither Sony nor Nintendo has been as open about when they'll enter the race. Currently, Sony says it's planning to launch PlayStation 3 in Japan in the first half of 2006 - around the same time Nintendo has in mind for Revolution.

Microsoft's head start won't mean much, thinks Kaplan, especially not in Japan, where the Xbox has yet to crack half a million sales:

"Xbox has no recognition at all in Japan and very few people are aware of or anticipating Xbox [360] at this point."

The comments may seem harsh, but they do echo a recent survey in Japan that saw very little interest in Xbox 360, despite Microsoft's vicious courting of Japanese gamers through securing exclusive games from top Japanese developers.

Nintendo's goal now must surely be to start letting the public in on why the Revolution is, well, revolutionary.

The company has confirmed that we're in for a controller overhaul, but the absence of concrete information has led to guesses that it'll come with anything from a full-face touch-screen to gyroscopes - the holographic projector rumours are probably far-fetched.

The current rumours are that Nintendo is planning to get specific soon.

Company president Satoru Iwata is slated to present the keynote address at next month's Tokyo Game Show in Japan, and the whispers indicate something exciting may came out of his presentation.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games