ihatefatkatz said: I don't see the problem or the point of contentious with what was said |
I can help you out there. There are two facets to the current paradigm of understanding Nintendo executives on VGChartz: Nintendo are either a) dissing their competition or b) insulting their fanbase. Once you know that, you're good to go!
I don't see a problem with this, either, and you'll see this kind of thinking in any industry. Competitors learn from what their rivals do, and incorporate ideas from competitor's products. The sooner that information is available, the sooner a competitor can incorporate those ideas. Often the three different console manufacturers will be working in similar areas, such as motion controls, but one company (Nintendo in this case) proves the idea has market potential first and then the others follow. It's why Sony have spent so much time and effort developing PSN, for example, in response to Xbox Live. It's why the PS1 ended up incorporating rumble and analog controls, forms of control that had been established on the N64. I'd also imagine Iwata isn't just thinking of Sony and Microsoft, here. Nintendo are already (to some extent) competing with platforms like iOS and Android, and if they're going for a cross-system networked platform, then rivals outside of the console industry could keep a very close eye on Nintendo. After all, the DS's mass-market success was all the proof Apple needed to push ahead with their own touch-screen ideas.
It's not an unreasonable or objectionable stance. Any company in any competitive field will keep ideas under wraps to avoid their competitors learning what it is. There'll be other reasons behind NX not being revealed, such as not wanting to harm Wii U/3DS sales, and the simple fact software is likely at a very early stage of development, but this suggests Nintendo know what the key concepts behind NX are, and they don't want to risk anyone else finding out about those concepts at such an early stage. It gives competitors time to adjust to what Nintendo are going to do, and that's the last thing Nintendo want.