Should Nintendo start publishing games on other consoles?

I have had a thought bouncing around my head this past while, and as the title suggests its, ‘Should Nintendo start publishing on other consoles’?  This would consist of Nintendo financing titles to come to the marketplace on their own primary consoles as well as the competitors.

EPIC Games and Unreal Engine 3

EPIC Games is a studio that to me epitomizes a singular studio that has the power to define a console. With their unreal engine tech, its usability and how so many developers license it to make their games on the list of Unreal Engine 3 games clearly show the sheer amount of developers working with the engine and the nature of the games that it is used to develop. With EPIC Games designing their engine for certain hardware it leaves the systems that they do not do this for with the choice, the development studio could try to shoehorn the engine or older versions onto the system that provides a less than ideal result and initiates what could be a costly exercise, or find some other engine. Finding another engine to develop a game on is mostly a non-choice because when its a multi-platform game it seldom works out the best, leaving then the systems without UE compatibility out of a multi-platform IP.

New Nintendo handheld announced next year?

Bloomberg.com have reported on comments by analyst of the Nikki exchange Soichiro Fukuda about Nintendo’s future. One of these specific comments was;

Nintendo may announce a model change for its DS handheld video-game players in June next year, triggering an improvement in the company’s earnings

This can be construed like some reporting outlets have as a DSi like enhancement to the system for a small time gain in sales that happened in similar revisions in the past with both the DSlite and DSi. But as I have personally commentated on I firmly believe this as an expectation of a new handheld device coming from Nintendo to replace the DS. Announced in 2003 and released in 2004 the DS has now been on the market for almost 5 years, if this announcement goes down in June or anytime during 2010 the likely release date will be late 2010 going into 2011 or later, this would mean that the DS has been available of more than 6 years. For comparison sake the Gameboy advance launched in 2001, through 2 redesigns (SP and Micro) the Advance was available on market for 3 years before another device was launched and was available for sale on market up until 2006 if my memory serves me correct.

Ireland 5 Year Tax Holiday!

Well doesn’t that sound like a nirvana! Or so they are trying to convince Real Time Worlds of…

I’m a little late in discussing this but Ireland’s Sir Gerry Robinson at a Global Irish Economic Forum convened in Dublin a few weekends ago urged Ireland’s government to consider actively targeting the thriving games companies in Scotland through a 5 year tax holiday.  A 5 year tax holiday to companies fitting into the games industry would be a huge bait to development studios to locate in Ireland.

Nintendo – Shock and Awe

Well this blog post may be something that a lot of people will wish happen but in true fashion may never.

What does Nintendo need to do to win back the bread and butter of the industry, shock and awe. The bread and butter I refer to is the consumer that purchases more than one game a month, who vocally express themselves insatiably, who go nuts over every title that satisfies their cravings in games.
Now I fully understand that Nintendo do have a large fan base, but the industry knows that the base on the Wii do not pick-up titles to the same extent as on other systems. The core fans of the Wii tend to stick stringently to Nintendo software, they find it hard to stray from this due to years of disrespectful treatment from 3rd parties on Nintendo hardware with poor ports, features missing and down right negligence for quality. Some of this is still true on the Wii even though it is the highest selling console.

So how do Nintendo solve the riddle, well they can’t necessarily solve it like a maths equation all they can do is take steps in the right direction to rectify and attract those who in the early years of the Wii’s lifespan were ignored for the attraction that was the casual expanded audience. I will try to outline the steps that Nintendo should investigate and take measures to attain these goals.

How will PEGI work in the UK?

Video Standards Council and PEGI logo's

Well the simple answer to this is the same as always. The Video Standards Council (VSC) is the body behind which will enforce and have the power to enforce the ban on video games that do not receive a rating for retail. I have contacted the VSC for information and Laurie Hall gave me the following statement;

Michael Pachter – A New Nintendo Lesson

Granted throughout my blog i have mentioned Michael Pachter once or twice, maybe more. But this is due to the fact that he is a representative of the industry, not through development but through his research and analysis work at Wedbush Morgan Securities. As an industry analyst it is Michaels job to know the industry inside out and provide reliable information to his employers as well as their consumers, on the sideline he is an analyst that regulars on GTTV with Geoff Keighley, to provide his unique insight to the future of the industry.

Michael Pachter on GTTV

Motion Plus – Why wasn’t it there from the start?

Well I touched upon this in a previous blog that compared the 3 motion strategies by the 3 console manufacturers Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo had an Iwata Asks section available to view during E3 but it quickly disappeared from the internet but thanks to Nintendo Europe it has resurfaced and can now be read. I have a short extract from the interview that to me is the most important factor within this interview!

Iwata: I suppose the obvious question is: if it offers such huge advantages, why didn’t you use it in the Wii Remote from the very start?
Takamoto: We actually looked into the idea of including a gyro sensor at the very start of the Wii Remote’s development. But the idea was rejected due to issues of both space and cost which attaching a gyro sensor would entail.

UK Government chooses PEGI ratings!

David Yarnton, UK General Manager, Nintendo, said: “The Government has made the right decision. The PEGI age rating system is right for the protection of children as it is designed specifically for games and interactive content.

“As a global company we welcome the decision as mature and intelligent as it works across some 30 international territories.“Rob Cooper, Managing Director, Ubisoft UK, said: “The adoption of PEGI as the rating system for games is a good decision. The PEGI system is future-proof, delivering effective child protection now and in the future. PEGI Online is a key component of the system, ensuring that the government does not have to re-assess the entire system once again in 12 months time.”

New Play Control – Motion, is it the Vital Component?

Nintendo pioneered the move for console manufacturers to rethink control designs with the Wii remote. This was quickly and somewhat unashamedly ripped off my Sony with the Six Axis controller, we have Microsoft heavily hinted to release their new control scheme at E3 (you can read more about this in my previous blog). We have Tony Hawk’s RIDE coming soon for a rumoured $120 that includes a motion sensing board controller which is the only control option. It leaves me thinking, what about the other component of the Wii Remote.