Chittagong said:
See, this is exactly the point Datawhore, myself and a couple of others were trying to make in the earlier Revolution HD discussion.
By providing SD only Nintendo can ensure that they need a lower spec processor to push graphics that are indistinguishable from Xbox 360 and PS3 games
when played from a SD screen.
It's a very bold bet on HD not becoming truly massmarket or a key selling point. If it pays off, Nintendo's gains are:
- Smaller size of device (less cooling)
- Lower power consumption
- Cheaper pricepoint
- More affordable development
Three out of four they have said explicitly in an interview - remember those odd power consumption comments from Iwata.
However, there is indeed a very real risk of HD becoming a real image burden even if it's not truly massmarket adopted - especially as Sony and MS push it hard - a bit like the lack of CD-ROM in N64, but in a smaller scale.
This risktaking is very Nintendo-like. Think of what Yamauchi said about the Nintendo DS gamble - "If it succeeds, we rise to heaven. If it fails, we sink to hell." Although in this case, Nintendo doesn't have a 98% market share to loose, so they should be even more willing to take a big risk.
All that said, yes I'm pissed as hell that I won't be playing Revolution in HD from my 42" plasma. The controller better be the best thing ever for me to consider it.
You're one of my favorite posters.
Anyways...Sony is a HUGE electronics company and MS is super rich...no matter what Nintendo does it'll always look inferior to the mainstream. Nintendo could confirm HDTV tomorrow and that *might* improve mindshare by showing that they're competitive, but deep down, most mainstreamers would still would consider it inferior to Sony & MS's HiDef efforts...so...what's the point? To try to convince people that Revolution (a system from a smaller company competing against two world giants) is a powerful machine when the mass market & mass media STILL believe PS2 is more powerful than GCN?
Even if HDTV were confirmed tomorrow, casuals wouldn't take notice and hardcore naysayers would then try to look for a different "weakness" in Revolution like saying it's too small to be powerful enough or that it's (still unrevealed) controller will be a gimmick, bla bla bla, so continues the hate.
Like Drinky Crow says...if HDTV gaming is ALL you want in a next generation game machine, BUY A PS3! There's this new thing call an *option* out there, and if those options are so much better than Nintendo, why waste time hatin' on Nintendo when you could be playing the alternative "greatness" from Sony or MS?
Me, personally, I'm glad the Revolution LOOKS more serious (unlike GCN, which was pretty much considered a toy before it even launched) and I'm glad that Nintendo is going the NDS route and trying to give us new ways to play games. I can't afford an HDTV, nor do I consider higher definition the sole reason from jumping from one generation to the next. This goes for games AND movies...and I'm tired of companies trying to sell themselves on that one meager selling point just to get me to buy a shiny new over-priced boob-tube. I want an HDTV, but right now, I can't afford it. Yeah, it'll be nice if the system I own takes advantage of higher definition resolutions when/if I get an HDTV, but I think right now, this early in the game, Sony & MS are using it as a CRUTCH to sell their monsters.
So it comes down to this...Who's crutch are you leaning on: Sony & MS's better HiDef graphics or Nintendo's new gameplay interface?
