N-Banter Edition 6: A Dual Screen Mistake?
Edition: March 11, 2004
Two minds...one site. Two motives...one goal. Two editors...one conversation. You have now entered a dimension unlike any other. This is N-Banter.
In this edition Jeff and Glen discuss Nintendos newest system, the Nintendo DS (Dual Screen). Is the system truly a third pillar? Can they handle the development strain? Is it the right move to make? These questions and more discussed in this edition of N-Banter.
Jeff: SoNintendo recently announced this mystery system weve all been wondering about. Aptly named the Nintendo DS, it appears to have dual screens as well. Any thoughts Mr. Glen?
Glen: I have a feeling Nintendo's development studios are already spreading themselves too thin. Throwing yet another system into the fold might not be the wisest of actions.
Jeff: I think Nintendo knows its limits. If it has decided to develop a new system then it will expand its development resources in whatever ways necessary to support it. Chances are that it has been developing DS games for some time now.
Glen: Are you sure about that? Perhaps Nintendo is hoping the Nintendo DS will catch on so that it can phase out the Game Boy Advance. Even if it doesn't catch on though, it won't negatively impact Nintendo too much. I just don't know if something like this is suited for a portable. I mean, I can understand a "screen within a screen" on a television, but on a handheldthats a different story.
Jeff: Did the Virtual Boy really hurt Nintendo (all in all)? I dont think it did. Not that Im trying to imply that the Nintendo DS (NDS) will turn out to be a failure like the Virtual Boy. I think it is quite a unique concept and I am happy Nintendo is taking the risk of launching it.
Glen: Well, that's kind of difficult to tell. Remember that Gunpei Yokoi left Nintendo because of the Virtual Boy's failure. I believe he helped create the Wonderswan portable after that.
Jeff: Yeah, I believe he did before he passed away a few years back.
Glen: Who knows how history could have changed if he had not made the Virtual Boy. Perhaps he would still be alive, still working at Nintendo. Perhaps he would have created something even bigger than the Game Boy.
Jeff: That is entirely hypothetical.
Glen: Of course, but its still something to think about. I wonder who came up with the idea for the Nintendo DS. There's so much we don't know about it yet. It's difficult to speculate.
Jeff: To get back to your comments about spreading too thin, Nintendo has been supporting the GBA fairly well. It remains their most profitable system. I cannot believe that they would willingly allocate resources away from it, especially with the upcoming competition for the handheld.
Glen: Then where are the resources going to come from? The new Tokyo studio? They need that for their home console. From EAD to Intelligent Systems to Silicon Knights, nearly all of Nintendos developers have their hands full.
Jeff: Well maybe they are making new resources. Nintendo is very capable. Intelligent Systems has created the majority of Nintendo's best GBA games by the way.
Glen: Yes, but acquiring more and more development studios makes things difficult to manage. Look what happened to Left Field and Rare. I mean, are we going to force Miyamoto to oversee all these games? He's only one man.
Jeff: Rare was never really a strong part of Nintendo. Nintendo always gave Rare a lot more freedom than other developers. However, as for Left Field...Who knows.
Glen: Yes, but they were extremely valuable to Nintendo.
Jeff: Were being the key word.
Glen: Neither the Super Nintendo or the Nintendo 64 would have had their success without Rare. Games like Donkey Kong Country and Goldeneye 007 helped define the two systems. However, Rare grew too large during the N64 generation, which is when the relationship began falling apart.
Jeff: Is Grabbed by the Ghoulies something Nintendo needed? Star Fox Adventures? Not really Nintendo only owned half of Rare anyway. Nintendo dumped Rare because Rare has reached the end of its relevance (in my opinion). Nintendo gave Rare development (GCN) kits before almost anyone else. Rare couldnt produce a single title for the GameCubes launch and it took them another whole year to even finish one game. What did we get for all the delays? Star Fox Adventures, a total Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time rip-off with pretty graphics, but little soul. Nintendo was wise to part ways with them.
Glen: Anyways, it's better for Nintendo to not have too many development studios under itself. It makes things difficult to manage.
Jeff: Who says that a Nintendo system can only survive if it has tons of Nintendo games anyway? If the system has a few quality third party offerings things could go nicely. The whole problem with Nintendo's current position is the lack of interest, by gamers, in third party offerings. I can guarantee that they are working to make this less of an issue in the future.
Glen: I'm not saying it can't survive without loads of Nintendo games, but Nintendo needs to prove to developers that it's going to support the system and not throw it in the closet after a year like what happened with the Virtual Boy. Supporting the system will require Nintendo to spend development resources - development resources that would better serve the success of its Game Boy portable and home console. If Nintendo makes partnerships with third parties like its partnerships with Sega, Namco, Capcom, and Square for the GameCube, that would be great. I think that would be the most preferred scenario, but only time will tell.
Jeff: It has already been diverting development resources to the DS for over a year, if not longer (most likely). Nintendo knows that it has to support its systems. For all we know the system could launch with a new Pokemon game. That would give it a nice head start.
Glen: Then you have the issue of the system being labeled kiddie. Nintendo needs a wide variety of software as well as a proper advertising campaign. I hope that after seeing the success of the stylish Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo doesn't pull another purple GameCube on us.
Jeff: It won't. I'm sure that Nintendo is investing heavily in design.
Glen: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it being unveiled at this years E3. Nintendo also needs to bring it to market at an affordable price. The press release said Nintendo intends to release it this year, right?
Jeff: Yup. Q4 2004 from what Ive heard.
Glen: So we have a system that Nintendo wants to release this year, yet it hasnt even contacted game developers. Lets hope this isnt another N64 "Dream Team."
Jeff: Who said that? You can't take a press release literally. If Nintendo plans to unveil a system like this, they have been in talks with developers for quite some time, just as Sony has for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). I know that a number of Japanese developers, like Sega, have had DS Dev kits since last year.
Glen: No one said that. I'm just speculating. Remember though, Sony already has a catalog of games to pull ports from. The NDS will need to have games created from scratch. If developers just port old games, then they wont be taking advantage of the hardware (the dual screen configuration).
Jeff: Ports do not sell a system. Well they can help, but if there is no original content then people will realize it. Just because the PSP bears the PlayStation name doesn't mean that its a shoe-in to hurt or destroy the Game Boy. The Game Boy has faced off against many tough opponents over the years.
Glen: Yes, but the difference between the PSP and past portables is that Sony is making an effort to take market share away from the Game Boy. I mean, it has waited this long, so it must finally be confident enough in its brand name to give it a try. Oh, and no the Game Boy hasn't had any real competition in my eyes.
Jeff: How do you know how long Nintendo has been waiting to launch the DS?
Glen: That is difficult to say. They did have a similar device with their Game & Watch though - two screens, one game. Donkey Kong was one game released for it. The top screen featured Donkey Kong throwing barrels. The bottom screen showed Mario climbing ladders and jumping barrels to reach the top screen.
Jeff: Exactly.
Glen: Nintendo has tooled with the ideas before...so I guess you have a point. It's now really making an effort (or so we hope) at introducing a technologically advanced form of it.
Jeff: Nintendo is not completely ignorant of its own past mistakes. Mr. Iwata has already made great strides to bring Nintendo's image back into the mainstream. Taking risks is a part of business. Sony is taking a huge risk with the PSP. Unlike many, I am not yet convinced that it will pay off. It will be an expensive system that gets low battery life...Those two factors dont bode well for the handheld. .
Glen: Yeah, true.
Jeff: If Nintendo didn't know what it was doing these days then why would it phase out marketing of the indigo GameCube and launch the GBA SP which has pushed the GBA into a whole new class in the eyes of many. This is no last ditch effort for money. Nintendo does not have to launch this extra product. If it is doing so then it must feel very confident about it. In light of this, I have decided to hold back judgment until I see the device in action. Sorry if I sound so adamant, I just think that it is a neat idea and casting it as a failure before anyone has even seen it just doesnt seem right. Its difficult for me to hate or be critical of something I know so little about.
Glen: (Do you need help with the N-Universe profiles?)
Jeff: (why are we talking in parenthesis?)
Glen: (Because this doesn't belong in the N-Banter, heh.)
Jeff: (Oh. Well then I guess we are doing the right thing. If we talk in parenthesis, Im sure Ill remember to take this out while editing. Im not entirely incompetent you know.)
Glen: Anyway, youre right. As it stands now, the Nintendo DS is simply the Nintendo Dreams & Speculation machine. This E3 should prove to be exciting.
Jeff: Indeed.
Don't agree with the positions taken by Jeff or Glen? Want to have your voice heard? Send questions, feedback, or even a bit of ranting to jeff@n-sider.com.