Nintendo’s Take on Next-Gen Power

A GN staffer recently received a form letter from Nintendo in response to an inquiry regarding the relative power level of the Revolution in relation to other consoles. The letter reads: Our competitors would have you believe that the next generation of gaming will be solely defined by high definition graphics. High definition graphics look fantastic, but come at a price. To shine, high definition games must be played on high definition televisions, which aren’t cheap. Games with high definition graphics are expensive to develop because they must be developed in both standard and high definition formats. Those development costs are passed on to you in the form of more expensive software. Finally, playing games with high definition graphics requires a system with loads of RAM and costly high-end graphics chips, both of which make it prohibitively expensive for most consumers. Sharper graphics are certainly part of the next generation. We know that games for the Revolution will look brilliant whether played on a standard television or on a high definition television. However, is that all there is to next-generation gaming? We feel that sharper graphics should be combined with a new way to interface with the game itself. Our controller is a sharp departure from the current standard, to be sure, but it will provide a level of interactivity you can’t get currently. We believe in providing a single system that can play not only the previous generation’s titles, but also games from a massive library built over 20 years of creating innovative and exciting games. We also believe in providing a complete wireless online experience right out of the box. Nintendo has created a gaming system that is sleek and compact in size, powers up quickly with minimal load times, makes game development easy and fast, is easy to use, and is affordable for everyone. We are confident that gamers and non-gamers alike will support the truly next-generation experience only Nintendo can provide. Once you have a chance to play games on the Revolution, we think you’ll agree! Nintendo of America This falls in line with what many predict will be Nintendo™s attitude towards the future of gaming: as graphics rapidly approach photorealism, and gaming reaches a point at which graphical innovation will gradually slow, it will be gaming innovation that drives sales. Nintendo certainly doesn™t deny the fact that their console will be comparatively puny compared to the Xbox 360, and certainly to the PlayStation 3, and that they will depend on alternatives to graphical and computing power to ensure success of their next-gen offering.