Topic: Consoles
Microsoft Sees Strong Xbox One X Pre-orders, Discontinues Xbox One Sales (Aug 25, 2017)
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Nintendo Announces Super NES Classic Edition, Another Mini Console (Jun 26, 2017)
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★ Microsoft Debuts Xbox One X, “Smallest” and “Most Powerful” Xbox, at ES (Jun 12, 2017)
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Nintendo Sells 2.74m Switch Units in First Month (Apr 27, 2017)
In case there was any doubt, Nintendo has a hit on its hands with the Switch, its hybrid console/portable gaming system. It sold 2.74m units in the first month after launch, which is apparently roughly the same number that the earlier Wii U sold in its first year, and 20% of total sales to date of the Wii U. That’s not hugely surprising – reviews were mostly decent, the device has been out of stock off and on since it debuted, and the company had already upped its production. That was enough to generate almost exactly a billion dollars in revenue, or a little over 20% of the company’s entire revenue for the fiscal year which ended last month. The company’s forecast for the new financial year, which ends next March, is 10 million unit sales. Remarkably, Nintendo has sold ever so slightly more copies of the Zelda game that’s the standout title for the device at launch than of the console itself, which might just be a reflection of those supply constraints. In total, Nintendo appears to have sold around twice as many software units as hardware units in the Switch category, suggesting that people have bought an average of two games from Nintendo for every console. Together with Nintendo’s belated push into mobile gaming, it’s doing pretty well at the moment, though that mobile push is still generating much less revenue – the category which includes smartphone gaming only generated around $200 million in revenue for the year.
via CNBC
Nintendo Kills off NES Mini but May be Working on SNES Mini (Apr 19, 2017)
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Microsoft Reveals Xbox Scorpio’s Impressive Specs – Kotaku (Apr 6, 2017)
This is an interesting strategy for Microsoft, which is releasing specs but not many more details for the next generation Xbox, which is codenamed Scorpio. On paper at least, it’ll be more powerful than its major competitor, the Sony Playstation 4 Pro, in several departments, but the consensus among gaming blogs seems to be that what Xbox needs isn’t so much better hardware as better software, or in other words more compelling games. This is where the Sony console has taken the lead in the current generation, and where it continues to do quite a bit better than the Xbox for now. It’s possible that the better hardware might spark better games from developers keen to push the limits, but Microsoft will obviously have to work hard and directly to get more developers and more titles on board. For now, this spec release by itself does little to tell us how the next-generation Xbox will do.
via Kotaku
Nintendo to Double Production of Switch Console – WSJ (Mar 17, 2017)
Another sign that the Switch is a hit, despite some fairly mixed initial reviews: Nintendo is reportedly doubling its production run for the console from eight to sixteen million, which would put it on pace to match the initial sales of the Wii, and well ahead of Wii U sales. It should also help prompt more game makers to produce titles for the console, which is a good thing since lack of games was one of the big criticisms at launch. That will, of course, take time, so it’s not an instant fix by any means, but it looks like Nintendo finally has another hardware hit on its hands after a tough few years. Alongside a long-awaited push into mobile gaming, that could mean a good period of growth for Nintendo is coming, assuming they learn the lessons from their Super Mario Run launch.
via WSJ
Nintendo Switch Reviews Suggest Excitement About Model, Less About Actual Performance and Games Available (Mar 1, 2017)
The review embargo for the new Nintendo Switch console seems to have lifted overnight, and the reviews that have resulted are mostly pretty mixed. There’s quite a bit of excitement for the concept and some of the execution, but every review I’ve read so far highlights hardware bugs, performance lags, frustrations with Bluetooth and cramped controllers, and especially a lack of games at launch. It appears that Nintendo mostly allowed reviewers to demo one game – a pretty good new Zelda title – and a package of mini games called 1-2-Switch which seems mostly intended to show off various game modes rather than provide hours of entertainment. As such, this seems like an in-betweener for Nintendo – neither the big hit the Wii and DS were, nor the obvious flop the Wii U was. In time, it’s possible that software updates and more games will push it over into the hit category, but it certainly doesn’t look like it’s there yet. All this is, of course, interesting in the context of Nintendo’s simultaneous push into mobile gaming through smartphones, which has also been a mixed bag so far.
via Ars Technica (lots more on Techmeme)
Hands-on with Nintendo Switch: Jack of all trades, master of some | Ars Technica (Jan 14, 2017)
This early review pours some cold water on the enthusiasm that’s generally met the launch of the Switch. The lack of games, controllers which are awkward in some configurations and games, underpowered hardware for the console mode, and other issues are highlighted here. It feels as though Nintendo decided to get the Switch out the door as quickly as possible rather than waiting the usual long period from launch to release so as to allow more games to be ready – so far, the reaction I’m seeing to that paucity of games is pretty negative, so we’ll see how this works out for Nintendo over time. There seems to have been decent pre-order interest, but we’ll have to see how those early buyers actually like the devices when they get them.
via Hands-on with Nintendo Switch: Jack of all trades, master of some | Ars Technica
The Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3rd for $299 – The Verge (Jan 12, 2017)
The Nintendo Switch was unveiled a while back with a very effective promo video and a few other details, but price and some other details were not announced at that time. We now have price, specs, and a few other tidbits from Nintendo, and it looks like it’s going to be by far Nintendo’s most popular gaming device in quite some time. It has some weird quirks – relatively low resolution on the screen, very short controller cables, and so on – but most users will put up with those. This device is also another flavor of mobile gaming from Nintendo alongside its recent mobile app releases, so in some ways Nintendo is hedging its bets here, which is a smart move – its mobile apps have been popular, but it’s not clear yet that they’re the basis for a long-term sustainable business for Nintendo.
via The Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3rd for $299 – The Verge