| padib said: Next thing you know they'll be asking for gold-plated controllers. Really Rpruett, is this what you're judging Nintendo's decision-making on? Blu-ray playback is a very debatable feature and the need is not certain. The only thing this could have offered extra was streaming HD to the controller, then again SD movie streaming to the controller is fine for most people and Nintendo platforms offer Netflix. Add to this that many people already have Blu-ray, especially those that really care about it, especially Playstation customers. Customers claiming this to be a reason for not buying the system don't actually care about its games and its appeal to gamers in the first place, but are looking for side-features and cutting-edge appeal. I don't believe Nintendo is interested in that demographic as a purchasing force, since they're mainly a gaming company not a gadget company. Having said that, this is a community that Nintendo needs to manage as they are 1) vocal and 2) aggressive. Their influence is not a negligible factor in their market. It'll be interesting to see if this feat is even possible, that is, to follow internal philosophies like keeping costs to a minimum, and keeping the naysayers quiet. Or, maybe their current approach works: just ignore them. Hopefully over time customers will stop listening to them too. |
I am judging Nintendo's decision making on a habitual course of action in regards to overall consumer base. Blu-Ray playback is not a very debatable feature anymore than online gaming is a debatable feature or Netflix on the console is debatable, or adding video screens to your controller is debatable. None of these are 'necessary items' in any tangible way.
Many people still don't have Blu-Ray. It's not a matter of 'care' it's a matter of price and seeing the reason to upgrade this takes time. Nintendo could do this for essentially a song and a dance but seem intent on specifically removing it.
People who purchase a console care about it's games and it's overall appeal to them, period. Just like any product, people want the most value and features for the cost associated. I don't believe the cost would be even remotely higher by incorporating DVD, or Blu-Ray playback. It's simply a baffling choice with no logical premise in it (Except maybe trying to fight piracy).
This is my point, Nintendo has neglected many of the core who own the 360/PS3 by making baffling design choices that almost specifically remove things that could easily, cheaply be incorporated. In the past, I could even give them somewhat of a pass for this as they really flubbed with N64 and cartridges. Gamecube was more of the same. Currently though, they have the top selling console right now and have plenty of money and opportunities to catch up with a 'This' gen equivalent console (Not the 1.5 Gamecube type of console that the Wii represented).
In my eyes they would do several things by this, they have the window to capitalize early adopters (Many of which who originally purchased the 360) and get a strangehold on the market before either competitor can establish itself. They also by making a comparable product to competitors in terms of feature sets and atleast being on the same wavelength in terms of power could guarantee full third party support which is really all they need to detract people from the Sony MS camp. Nintendo just needs to accomodate to all varieties of gamers better and they've really dropped the ball in this regard for years.
The core consumers that own PS3s/360s aren't going anywhere and Nintendo would be absolutely foolish to avoid or hide from this group like they have been doing. Nintendo needs to learn to transition as a business and keep their core values intact while re-incorporating the people they have lost along the years. By doing this, I don't think Sony or MS could stop them on a generation to generation basis.
