Invigoration Through Revolution

Nintendo reiterates that the Revolution will be a console for the masses.

If the wacky controller hasn't convinced you that Nintendo is planning a major break from Sony and Microsoft in the next generation, perhaps Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime will.

Fils-Aime spoke at an investor meeting this week about the company's dedication to bringing in new gamers - a matter of vital importance, according to the company - and how the company's systems will be pushed out to an ever-wider, non-traditional audience.

"If we cannot expand the market," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was quoted as saying, "all we can do is wait for the industry to slowly die."

Hyperbolic though Iwata's comments may be, the idea is a big reason for the designs of both the DS and Nintendo's next-gen console, codenamed Revolution. The approach seems to be working.

The DS is outselling Sony's PSP globally, with the 6 million DSs sold piling slightly higher than the 4.2 million PSPs.

What's more impressive is that Nintendo has managed to not only outdo its rival but it has managed to invigorate women and non-traditional game buyers with atypical games such as its puppy simulator, Nintendogs.

Nintendo's biggest problem has been to convince outside game makers to take a chance with different types of games. The DS's varied library of games is proof that there are companies willing to stretch beyond their bailiwick.

It's looking promising for the Revolution too. While it's a given that Nintendo's top creators are already toiling on new experiences that use the 3D-sensing wand controller, it's heartening for Nintendo that EA, the world's largest publisher, has given the new stick the OK.

"It's a brilliant controller," an EA spokesperson was quoted as saying, "and as usual we can credit Nintendo with being innovative and neat and fresh and fun."

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games