TornadoCreator said:
You need to brush up on your console history. Sega Saturn released earlier than originally planned specifically to beat PSOne to release, meaning many of the games 3rd party developers where planning as release titles where now not going to be out until a few months after the Saturn released. This angered many of the developers and confused customers who where expecting an add on for the Mega Drive followed by a successor console the following year. What we got was only 5 months with the 32X as the Saturn was rushed forwards, third parties and even Sega themselves abandoned the 32X, getting only 37 games in it's less than 6 month lifespan before it was discontinued. This pissed off people who bought it especially as the Sega Saturn had nothing to show for it because there where no games out for it yet; so consumers felt uneasy buying another console from Sega so soon after, knowing how happy they are to drop poorly performing hardware. People knew to be uneasy about Sega rushing because they forced the Saturn out so quickly that it released in Japan before the 32X had released in Europe... which is just insane. The Sega Saturn was a blunder because it was rushed forwards for an early release. It is an example of EXACTLY what was said. "There is no example of an early launch killing consumer confidence" - Yes there is, I just gave you one. Be gracious and admit when you're wrong; being stubborn helps no-one especially when everyone reading here could google it themselves and see that I'm right here. |
No, the "early" launch of Saturn did not kill consumer confidence. Consumers new about it long before 32X was released, and it was long after Genesis had enjoyed a healthy life. Saturn was killed by Playstation, plain and simple. The 32X accessory was a complete blunder, but everyone was fully aware that Saturn was coming.
I think we need to clarify launching "early" and "cutting a generation short". In previous discussion when you (and most others) said "early", you were referring to "cutting the generation short". Now you are simply referring to "early" as in "launching a system before it is ready". Nintendo did this with Wii U, and you could argue that was a mistake. You can argue launching Saturn without a lot of games was a mistake. However, in neither case was the life of previous product cut short. Genesis had a good life, 32X was meant to be a same-gen cheaper alternative to Saturn and Wii U launched well after Wii.
On topic, the proposed new Nintendo Console is not inteded to launch before it is "ready". It would, presumably launch with a fully functional OS, the best versions of AAA multiplats and "definitive editions" of great Wii U titles. I'd like to see it also have an exclusive or two. But the assuption is that it launches when it is ready to launch.
So would launching a system so soon after Wii U hurt consumer confidence? Highly unlikely, as it has never happened before. Nintendo fanboys will buy it because they buy everything Nintendo, and non-fanboys weren't buying Wii U anyway. Launching earlier than the standard 5 year gap from the predecessor has worked extremely well for Genesis, XBox360 and Nintendo DS, all of whom sold dramatically more than the previous machine. There is not a single example of a console that launched less than 5 years after the predecessor and did worse. That is fact. And that is all.
