Nintendo recently released statements about being in no rush to produce an upgraded Wii console and a policy of delaying hardware releases until software support is in place. It was also suggested that the next versions of Zelda and Metroid Prime for the Wii would not be arriving any time soon.
With no sign of Zelda or Metroid this year the PS3 looks set to capitalise. The Wii simply doesn’t have enough RPG and ‘Action’ titles to sustain gamers’ interest in what looks more and more like a family platform. The release of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers has done little to help and larger developers don’t appear to be supporting the Wii with major titles.
It’s all very well to say wait for the software but it’s unclear where the software is going to come from. Zelda: Twilight Princess remains pretty much the top title on the Wii years after its release, because few games of comparable quality have appeared. This is a real pity, as evidenced by the sales of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which show that major Wii titles can be profitable.
Improving PlayStation 3 prices
Perhaps Nintendo have a surprise in store. If so they’re keeping it well under wraps, as they’ve been far from shy about promoting ‘Zelda 2′ long before anyone gets to see the game. At present it seems likely that Nintendo are going to push gamers into the arms of Sony and Microsoft.
The PS3 appears to be in an entirely different position. It has an extensive catalogue of excellent RPGs, the processing power to deliver the best console graphics around, a soon to arrive motion controller and a now mature second hand software market.
The Wii may seem to be pretty much on hold but Nintendo have already taken their first step towards meeting the challenge presented by the new tablet or ‘slate’ systems in the pipeline from Microsoft, Google and Apple.
Amazon UK expects to ship from 5th March
The DS XL, with a fold-over casing that includes two 10.6 cm/ 4.2” screens, indicates that Nintendo do not intend to miss out on the handheld/ touch market. The XL doesn’t match our preference for ‘full sized’ tablets but it was interesting to hear Nintendo acknowledge that the XL aims to deliver more shared gaming.
The XL’s feature list includes a web browser, support for better graphics and a choice of touch pens. Taken together these features go a long way towards setting out what Nintendo has in mind for the touch/ pen tablet market. The XL’s screen is just large enough for functional internet browsing, the cost of offering somewhat better graphics won’t be too high and adult users can use the new, thicker pen more easily.
Looks like US buyers should wait for the larger screen
It looks like Nintendo intends to grab a share of the touch tablet market by merging leisure and personal computing functions to appeal to puzzle/ leisure gamers. At the £149.99 price point shown on Amazon UK the XL should make a lot of money. The question will be where Nintendo go from there.
Within a couple of years cheaper ‘slates’, the back catalogue of PC software that runs on the them, the PC and iPhone software under development, and the iStore model may make an XL look slow and short on features. A future XXL, (to hopefully unite the screens), could help but it seems likely Nintendo will have to do more.
A combined 10” touch tablet come console with HDMI connections, motion add-ons and half-a-dozen intense RPGs would probably do the trick. However, we won’t be holding our breath while we wait for such a device to appear.
