The Backwards Compatibility Enigma

The recent talk about the looming next generation of consoles have brought up a topic that has led to heated discussions. It involves the ability to play games one already owns on a new system that is being released. Many have gone on record saying that if the new systems are not capable of playing older games then they will not bother purchasing them. We all know how that will turn out, but for the sake of argument, let's say that's true. I want to quickly go over the backwards compatibility discussion and state that it shouldn't matter whether or not it's available in upcoming systems.

1. If you have the games, keep the system

There's this false assumption that with every iteration of a new console, the big three companies MUST put backwards compatibility in it. I think what most of these gamers forget is that backwards compatibility is a luxury, not a standard for consoles. Think about it. To my knowledge, the PS2 was the first console to really allow gamers to play games from the previous generation. We never had that with the transition to other consoles like the NES to SNES, the Genesis to Saturn, SNES to Gamecube, etc. You could argue that handhelds for the most part has been able to do that, but there's iterations there where that isn't true.

The problem is, most companies hear consumers complain about the price. In their effort to make the systems cheaper, they have to cut out parts of the system. If gamers are concerned about playing old games, shouldn't they have the system for those games already? If not, why get rid of it since there shouldn't be any guarantee the new system can play them? Companies are not held to any obligation to keep old system hardware in a new hardware iteration. This isn't anything new, and has happened for quite some time. The transition from VHS to DVD. Cassette tapes to Cd's. This is just going to be another transition where they held on to the ability to do it for a while, but it's time to phase that option out. Gamers need to get over it and keep the system they want those games on or realize that companies need money to function. One of their ways to capitalize on this idea, is by offering new methods to pay for old games.

2. Collections and Classics

There's been an influx of video games coming both digitally and retail involving the purchasing of old video games from previous generations. For example, you can purchase old Final Fantasy games on PSN from the PS1 Classics part of the store. If you enjoyed games like God of War or Devil May Cry, both have had HD collections of past games on a disc. Gamers who've already played these games see it as a money grab from them, but they forget there's new gamers who have never experienced these games. If anyone should be buying these, it's those gamers. Not the smitten ones.

This is yet another reason why the companies will keep the systems from having backwards compatibility. Why allow them to play old owned games from systems they didn't feel were worth keeping around when they can release them again to be purchased? Final Fantasy 4 is the perfect example of this as it's released on practically everything. It's become such a staple for a console/handheld that it should be mentioned up there with the likes of Ridge Racer and it being a release day game.

It's easy for them to make money off of love for old games. Add in something like achievements or better graphics in parts (not all, even) of the game, and it's likely to still sell. That will be one benefit the companies see in phasing out backwards compatibility and offering these games again for not only cheap, but slightly better versions of the game graphically.


3. Forced to Buy

Customers have this warped sense of logic when it comes to re-release of old games. They believe that if a company removes backwards compatibility and releases the game digitally or on disc, then they MUST purchase the game. Customers apparently have all free-will stripped from their souls when companies do this, because they have no choice but to purchase these games they release.

It's all utter nonsense as the companies aren't forcing gamers to purchase anything. Just because they don't allow the game to be played on a new system and are releasing it in new formats doesn't mean it's the only way to play it now. If you have the game, go play it on the system it was created for. This selfish and ridiculous belief that the game you own is unplayable now and the new release is the only method to experience it is possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

It's one thing to dislike the company for removing something you felt was a bonus, but it's something else entirely for an idiotic notion that it's the only way to play the game now. These gamers need to rethink what they say before they spout these imaginary realities of how consumerism works.


4. It's a Bonus

I have to reiterate this. These console developers are not obligated by any means to incorporate ways to play old games. The consoles are being created to play new experiences with possible means to play older games. If those means are to repurchase the games, then so be it. That is their decision to make. If consumers don't like it, they have other means to play the games. Either by the console the game was created for or emulation. The first option would be preferred, but some games I can't really frown on by using the latter.

If this generation of consoles didn't allow for users to play old games like the original models allowed (which didn't work on 100% of games anyhow), would this still be a problem? Probably. The Internet wasn't really available to everyone in earlier years of gaming, so I'm not sure how loud the outcry is over backwards compatibility between consoles, but I'm sure it was still there. But it's loudest now because it became a reality. But it's something the companies gave their consumers as a bonus and never once did they say they will continue to release consoles with the ability to play older games. We as fans seem to ignore that and expect it. We are greedy, but like to project our greed on companies to make them seem greedier.


5. Fans Do Have a Point...

Companies shot themselves in the foot by showing it's possible. They can't really blame the consumers for wanting something as great as backwards compatibility for new consoles when they showed it's possible to do so. Gamers want a reason to buy a new console and ditch the old one. Why do they want 8 different consoles in their home when they can condense it down to two or three? And why would they want to purchase the same game on different platforms when they already own a copy?

Piracy and emulation is something that a lot of publishers and developers may frown on, but when gamers already own one (or in some cases many) copies of a game, they don't want to purchase it once again. They will go to more extreme measures to play the game especially if they feel cheated by big wigs who don't look at it from their point of view. You take into consideration that some of these games are no longer in print, their copy has stopped working, or any other potential problems, the fallback solution may not rub those looking to sell another copy the right way.

Consumers should be heard. It's their money being spent on games that are changed very little but have the same going price as a brand new game from 15 years ago. If they can purchase a used game off eBay for $5 for the Gamecube, why would they want to then spent $29.99 on the same game for the WiiU especially if there were no changes other than it being put on a different disc format? Fans are not hesitant to verbalize their feelings on the statement, and it's not unreasonable for them to do so either.

As a fan, backwards compatibility is fantastic. It allows me to sell or trade in an old console and buy a new one and reduce the number I have lying around my TV or shoving into the back of my closet. I can spend my money on newer games instead of games I already have in my collection and I also have games to fall back on while newer games are in production. But as someone who also sees the side of the companies, it makes sense for them to take the option off. It lowers the price of the console like most gamers want and gives them the ability to re-release games to not only give the experience to new gamers, but also make money off of anyone who wants to play the game on the new system. However, it is their right to take out backwards compatibility and re-release old games whenever they want. It is their product and they can make it however they choose.

Looking Ahead to E3 2012

This time next week will be one of the most exciting moments in video games to happen this year. Between June 5-7, E3 will be taking place in Los Angeles. Like most people, I will not be there. Instead I'll be paying attention to the various news outlets who will feed us numerous videos and articles prominently featuring important (and not so important) news to come from E3. What I wanted to do was pull a reverse-Mr. Caffeine and look ahead to what E3 more than likely has in store.

*Doodly Doodly Doop*

*Doodly Doodly Doop*

• Sony - After the *ahem* lackluster performance of the Vita, it will be no surprise that most of their press conference will revolve around selling their new handheld system. They will probably show more of the connectivity between the PS3 system and the Vita by showcasing games like Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (which was recently announced for the Vita as well as PS3) and a game we haven't really seen since last year's E3, Ruin (now titled Warriors Lair). Of course I'm sure they'll have PS3 games to show as well including God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us, Dust 514, and LittleBigPlanet Karting. Wouldn't it be nice to see some Grand Theft Auto V footage here? If there's a conference to have it, I'm going to go with Sony. Those expecting a new system announcement...I'm guessing you'll need to hold your breath.

• Microsoft - I think Microsoft has sort of fallen under the radar for E3 this year since most people can really only name Halo 4 as something they will show. Alan Wake was rumored to have a sequel underway, so that's a possibility, along with Forza which seems to be a staple almost every year. It would be no surprise to have Kinect shown for a while with more application uses and games, but I think Microsoft will try and go with exclusive content for the main serving of content. Since the Resident Evil demo was a timed exclusive for the 360, I'm guessing there may be some gameplay footage shown at this conference. And of course, don't count them out of holding out exclusivity for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 as well. New console here? Nope. Hold it just a little longer.

• Nintendo - Here's that new console you were wanting: the WiiU. Although most people were looking forward to it last year, there wasn't a whole lot to go off of. I would say we can expect to see a price for the system, to see the system itself, and perhaps...a name change. Mario and Pikmin have already been announced for WiiU so those should be seen, and remember that mention of Smash Brothers last year? Maybe a quick video of that will be shown as well. Then some name drops of games coming out for the system and finally the time period it'll be released. Maybe not an exact day, but I would say "Winter 2012". But before all of that, expect a lot of 3DS games, including ones mentioned last year. Luigi's Mansion seems like a no-brainer along with the New Super Mario Bros. 2 game, but I have a feeling there may also be a new Kirby game in the works and some sort of RPG shown at the conference as well.

• Ubisoft -  What do you honestly think? They have one of the biggest games coming out this year in Assassins Creed 3, so there is no doubt that it will come up for a lengthy amount of time during their press conference. The same with Far Cry 3 which was also shown last year and seems to be another of their core game they want to push. Rayman Legends has recently been announced and the predecessor had time devoted to it last year, so there's a good chance it'll be shown. They also announced Shootmania to be shown at E3, and it seems like something that would find it's way into their conference as well. The crux of their presentation will depend on if they have Mr. Caffeine do the hosting. Despite how terrible he was, I found enjoyment in all of his bombed jokes.

• EA - I would say EA should have a strong appearance at E3 this year. They have Madden 13 to show and all the various updates to the game that seem to be receiving some praise, Crysis 3 which was recently announced with lots of high-tech bow and arrow action, and Medal of Honor may make an appearance with Warfighter. Also, remember that ending of Mass Effect 3 that caused the Internet to implode with hatred? Well, I expect them to show hints of the "true" ending DLC that they said they would make on the fans behalf. With Katy Perry having some sort of The Sims involvement, maybe they'll even treat everyone to a performance by her as well! Oh yeah, and that new SimCity game that they plan to drop on PC's next year. You remember that game right?

Side notes of confirmations, rumors and speculations:

• Skyrim DLC: Dawnguard - It's already been announced and...that's about it. If they want to show gameplay of it (or anything else for that matter), there would be no better time than at E3.
• Epic & Unreal Engine 4 - Epic plans on revealing Unreal Engine 4 and minds will be melted. In so many words, that's what has been promised upon the showing.
• The Last Guardian - I said it last year, and I'll say it this year. Eventually I'll have to be right...right? But after Fumito Ueda's departure from Sony, it may speed up the process. But I didn't add it to Sony's press conference...just in case.
• Overkill & Valve - Earlier this week there was talk of a collaboration between the PAYDAY: The Heist and Left 4 Dead crews. While it may seem early, it would sure be nice to see what kind of collaboration is taking place exactly.
• Kingdom Hearts - Tetsuya Nomura may have put his foot in his mouth by saying Kingdom Hearts is due for another console game. Whether this an HD collection or Kingdom Hearts 3, he may want to do some calisthenics if nothing is mentioned shortly. He said we may know if we finish Dream Drop Distance (releasing in July), but that's soooo far away.
• Just Cause 3 (and 4?) - Well, since Just Cause 4 already has web domains in the works from recent news, that could mean Just Cause 3 is underway. That could mean an appearance next week at E3. Hopefully someone from Eidos parachutes it in.
• Half-Life Episode 3 - You can't have a rumors and speculations section without including this game. No real basis for it...but yeah.

Up until doing this, I was kind of hesitant about E3. This year in general has felt somewhat underwhelming in video games other than an occassional few. The constant push-backs in release dates aren't helping at all with Bioshock: Infinite, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Tomb Raider, etc now shipping in 2013 instead of 2012 have caused me to feel a sense of sadness from how big this year was going to be. In truth, this year still has potential for being a pretty amazing year. There's a lot of games lined up that we know about, but may not think about all the time. Then there's the ones that still haven't been announced. Add in the potential of the WiiU being released by the end of this year and 2012 doesn't look half bad. Sometimes it just takes a list to see that.

E3 Press Conferences

Other than the Sony mishap, there's not much news to talk about is there? So I'm focusing (yet again) on E3 and what to expect from the 3 big press conferences held by Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. So the company with the least amount of news going into E3 is Microsoft, and they are kicking off the show conferences.

1. Microsoft - The Underdog

On June 6th, at 10am, Microsoft will be taking the stage for their conference. And truthfully...nobody really knows what to expect. The obvious thing will be Kinect games and going from the rumblings around the web, they will try to bring in some fans with some core games. Child of Eden is a good possibility with it's release being the following week and I'll go so far as to say a Dance Central 2 after the critical acclaim it received the previous year. I would also expect them to discuss a lot of features that they are talking about for it and an idea of when to see those.

Expect new features for the X-Box like they do yearly. With the acquisition of Skype, that has to be included in the conference somewhere and how that will be brought into the system. New avatar stuff comes about every year with some sort of app that nobody really cares about but Microsoft will include anyways.

I would expect to hear something Halo related, whether it be a new game but it seems more likely for a re-release of a previous game. I've heard a lot of the original being the re-release, but I could see them go the Sony route and re-release the first two games on a collection disc ala God of War, Tomb Raider, etc. The recent news of the Alan Wake downloadable makes that a possibility of something to be shown and I would say it's a safe bet that a Forza is also in the works. Gears of War 3 is a given since that is coming out this year. Oh, and expect a tease of the summer sales they tend to do with the new arcade games to come out. They also normally announce some sort of exclusive with a game like Call of Duty and the map packs, so with the new Modern Warfare coming out, exclusivity with new DLC for that.

Lastly will be a price cut. In fact, I'll say it here. Price cut on all console systems, not just X-Box. I would say Kinect as well, but with the success of it still selling, if a price cut is in the works it will probably wait until Winter for the Christmas rush. Speaking of Kinect, also expect them to continually praise it's success until you hear crickets and snores from the audience. We've heard the same "Kinect is the fastest selling..." discussion since it's release, we don't need it taking up valuable time at the press conference that's supposed to intrigue people for the future.

Unless Microsoft has something hidden behind a big curtain this year, this press conference will be a dud. Kinect will be a big focus since it's the only thing close to a "new system" that they have to compete with Sony and Nintendo's new systems. They need to show games though, not just for Kinect, but for the console as well. They shouldn't rely heavily on 3rd party games to carry their system this year, because the other two consoles are releasing a ton of system exclusive content. They need to WOW with Kinect and they have to get gamers psyched up for future 360-exclusive releases if they even want people to remember they were there this E3.


2. Sony - Winning People Back

The past couple months have NOT been kind to Sony. If the Geohot mess wasn't bad enough, the hackers last month certainly was. So this E3 conference is a major event for Sony especially so soon after the new PSN arrives and the "Welcome Back Program" looms in the future. Which leads me into what will happen on June 6th at 5pm...

Do they address it, or don't they? Part of me thinks they want to move on and try to just impress the hell out of everybody in an attempt to make them forget. It's been discussed pretty extensively the past few weeks and will be for the next two at least. But...it's the elephant in the room. The big fat elephant they have dancing on their projection screen while they try to sell us on the NGP. They have to address it. An apology will be made I'm sure and I think they will also reiterate how important their consumers security is and they will then go into detail about the situation and what they have done to make it better. I also don't expect us to see the "Welcome Back Package" until E3 or maybe slightly after just so they can bring it up as a "see...we care!" way to finish that topic.

I'm sure the Playstation Phone...Xperia Play...whatever it's called will also be talked about. Most people won't care, but I'm sure there will be a few minutes just for this phone and what it can do.

But...the NGP will be the big thing for Sony. We'll get to see it running with games like Uncharted and Wipeout and they let us know all the specs and details about the system and even the release date, price, and list of games. If they don't, they are foolish. They may discuss the PSP and how they plan on improving that with the NGP, but I see a decent portion of the conference being devoted to this new handheld with cheap shots thrown at Nintendo about gimmicky 3D (before they go into their 3D Playstation games and televisions part of the show).

Then out come the games. Twisted Metal was the big reveal last year, so I'm not expecting that to be the finale but it's expected to have something at the conference. The same with Resistance 3, Uncharted 3, The Last Guardian, Dark Souls (maybe), the upcoming Final Fantasy and some news on more collections such as the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus one and probably show us what that looks like cleaned up. The finale, in my mind, has to be The Last Guardian. People have wanted more on that game than any other the past few years and it's time it came out. I'm calling it now...Gameplay will be shown and a release date will be given.

Sony has the potential to be the big show. Nintendo has all eyes on them for their new console reveal, so Sony will have to put the effort in to divert the attention their way. If they do it correctly, and Nintendo fails to impress, Sony has this one in the bag. The PSP was a disappointment (let's not even mention the GO), so a big focus will be on promoting the NGP and they have to have it a decent price to compete with the 3DS regardless of what it can do. They need to acknowledge the recent hackings if only to get it out of the way especially since people are wanting to hear Sony discuss it. And finally, show us that extensive PS3 exclusive list of games to expect that people often overlook for the X-Box's piddly exclusives.

3. Nintendo - All or Nothing

The day everyone is waiting for is June 7th. At 9 in the morning, Nintendo takes the stage with big expectations and hopeful explanations.Their conference will be divided into 3 sections: 3DS, Wii, and Cafe'. Now, will the 3DS go before or after the Wii? It is just their handheld system and they tend to get less love at press conferences than consoles, but with the Wii dying, I can see the 3DS going second. However, if they want to promote the Cafe' right (and depending if they have games to show), they will show the Wii THEN Cafe' if only to show the major differences between the systems.

The 3DS has sold well, but not to Nintendo's liking. They will address this and show how they plan on improving this. So...bring out the 3DS games. The list of games that came out last year will have footage for this year along with seeing what that Super Mario Bros title tease is all about. They know one of the major downfalls of the 3DS was the lack of games so they want to prove everyone wrong and show that it wasn't wrong for them to purchase this system. Zelda, Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros 3 (?), the e-shop, and more will be discussed in this portion of the conference. Oh. Price drop for the handheld as well and maybe a new iteration by the end of the year.

The Wii is dying, but not quite dead. They will still show games that will be coming out this year, similar to what they did last year with games like Donkey Kong, Kirby, etc. Games we weren't expecting, but will see for the Wii shall be announced that will come out before the year's end and of course the one we do know about: Skyward Sword. The problem is, again, the Wii is on it's last legs. Other than some new game announcements and a price decrease, there's not much going for this system this E3. If anything, it's just to help propel the new system to the fanbase.

The big announcement of E3! PROJECT CAFE! The mysteries will be unveiled. What will it look like!? The the hell is the deal with the controller!? Are the graphics really better!? These questions and more will all be answered. This is what everyone wants to know and see at E3. Nintendo can win back a large portion of the hardcore gamers they lost with the Wii, or they can utterly disappoint everyone with a lackluster system that barely competes with the current gen of consoles. What happens here will help dictate the pace of the next generation of consoles. Sony and Microsoft are definately keeping an eye on this console and if it looks like it will be a beast, it could cause them to speed up towards their next system as well. I'm not sure exactly what Nintendo will show, but if they are shooting for the core audience I would expect big name developers to be mentioned, maybe some video of what games will look like, and the hardware itself at the very least. They may hold off on showing the controller, but since it's not as big of a departure that the wiimote was, I don't see them keeping that a secret.

Nintendo's conference will be the most interesting. This is the one people are looking forward to but can Nintendo show enough leading up to the reveal of Project Cafe to interest people? The console itself may show too much or too little and like any reveal can cause some ripples in the fandom. The 3DS didn't get the greatest reception upon it's reveal, it wasn't until people had it in their hands before it really took off. This console could be the same. If Nintendo has a lackluster showing for Project Cafe, the rest of their show will be scoffed at. The 3DS is to help people feel better about their purchase, the Wii is to bide the time until the new console, and the Cafe is supposed to have people excited for the future. If Cafe' is disliked, nobody will care about the Wii releases since those are dying out anyways and the 3DS is just a handheld so it's not held up to the same standards of a console and that news will play 2nd fiddle anyways.


It is coming. We are just a few weeks away and most things are pure speculation at this point. News tends to be pretty dead up until E3 (unless smaller devs want to get SOME mention before the wave of news hits), but with what's coming up, can everything deliver? There's a lot of hope for what's coming out in Sony and Nintendo's camp, and Microsoft has people scratching their heads. But if last year was any indication, anything can happen. It is coming. We are just a few weeks away...

Why Nintendo SHOULD have the edge in the console wars

This generation of console sales was pretty one sided with Nintendo dominating in the sales charts. They successfully pulled in the casual consumer with their motion controller, despite weak software sales due to lack of third party support. With Project Cafe on the horizon, that should all change. And if it does, Nintendo is truly a force to be reckoned with...IF...they learn from their mistakes and take advantage of everything they have.

1. Strong Back Catalogue:

Between the three companies, only Nintendo and Sony have the right to say they can pull out games from a vault and sell it to users. Sony is somewhat doing this well with their PS1 classics on the PSN store, the problem being that most of the games people want are being released in Japan, but not so much everywhere else. That seems to changing a bit with recent releases of Parasite Eve, Suikoden, and Chrono Trigger being an upcoming release.

Nintendo on the other hand have the Virtual Console. With almost 30 years of games under their belt, the VC should be packed full of games that nostalgia has us banging on the door for. The problem Nintendo faces is basically ignoring any and all online support they could have had for the Wii and forgetting to market these games that people could want. Nostalgia is a great way to bring in sales, especially if that nostalgia is relatively cheap to put on the system, easy to get to and a cheap enough price that gamers can't shrug off. Nintendo will need to use their back catalogue to the best of their ability to bring in side sales but they need to also market the products as well as Xbox Live instead of what they did with the Wii.


2. The Best First Party and Exclusive Support

Remember that nostalgia thing I just talked about? It's an even bigger component here. Because on no other console will you see Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Kirby, or Pokemon. People grew up with these games. And whether Nintendo decides to do another successful game to capitalize on that nostalgia in the same vein that Super Mario Brothers Wii did or do a fresh new game like Donkey Kong Country Returns; it's these games and characters that intrigue players. If Project Cafe does indeed bring back the hardcore gamer, these will be one reason why. None of these games require a deep knowledge of each respective world. It's jump in and play. Which is more than most first party/exclusive games can say on the 360 or PS3. And like I said, I don't see any of these franchises jumping ship to another console. But Nintendo has featured Sonic in Super Smash Brothers and the same with Solid Snake. Notice however that some games that were at one time exclusive, such as Metal Gear Solid and Mass Effect, are now going multi-console. So again, to reiterate my point, Nintendo has first party exclusive games that will NOT be going to a different console. And if Project Cafe puts up the sales numbers that the Wii did, it will be even more incentive for various developers to jump onto the Nintendo console. Whether it big time companies like Activision or the low-on-the-totem-pole Indie developers, they all want money. And there is more chance for money where there is a bigger install base with people who will buy their product. Which again, Nintendo will have if they bring back the hardcore gamers.


3. Learn from Microsoft and Sony

Virtual Console. DSIware. Wiiware. Friend Code. If anyone knows what these are, they also know these are complete failures on Nintendo's part. Despite the Wii having the most sales, it's not motion controlling that has had the biggest impact on gaming this generation, it's the online component. Nintendo can not flounder in this department again with the upcoming console. They don't even need to do anything revolutionary, just get an online system going that WORKS. They need to know how to market games correctly that they are trying to sell online, they need to find an easier way to get some sort of online gaming network going, and they definitely need to keep the music they have for their various shops. Say what you want about their virtual stores, but their music beats out Sony and Microsoft's hands down.


4. Do not worry about the console specs

So rumor is that Project Cafe has more power than the Xbox and PS3. Fine. But as the 360 and PS3 have shown, specs aren't everything. Although the PS3 should be producing better looking games...it really doesn't. There is only a handful of games that I could use as examples for the PS3 being above the 360 in terms of power. So if Nintendo has the "better" console, fantastic. But in the long run it doesn't mean much, especially if you take a look at their track record. Nintendo is not about up-to-date tech. They use older tech for cheaper cost. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. For the good, it makes for cheaper consoles. I'm sure everyone remembers the "new" tech that Sony released that was the PS3. $700 I believe? Too much for an average gamer. It wouldn't be until years later that their price dropped enough for the consumer base to rise to be a contender for the 360. So even if Microsoft and Sony released a console in the next few years, it will probably be more expensive than the Nintendo console's release price, and definitely more expensive than the Nintendo console will be upon the new 360/PS3 console release. The bad would simply be an outdated system the minute the new Xbox or Playstation console is released. So with this almost Dreamcast approach to release a console between generations, Nintendo may actually be making a smart business decision with the release of this console.

5. Backwards Compatibility

More rumors about Project Cafe claims it will also be able to play Wii games and possibly Gamecube games. If this is true, this is something that should also be advertised. Despite the hardcore gamers Snively Whiplash way of thinking (a foolproof plan it is not) that they are the only consumer base Nintendo should worry about, the truth of the matter is that the casual base is quite important still. If they include backwards compatibility, they have a chance of bringing back casual gamers on top of hardcore ones bumping up their sales and keeping the casuals away from Sony and Microsoft. So I would expect the controllers that were purchased for the Wii to still work for some games which would also avoid the alienation of Wii owners.

Remember, Sony and Microsoft both received a bit of backlash when their compatibility was removed from consoles. Microsoft technically did not remove it I believe, but it only allows certain first gen Xbox games to be played. Sony did remove it fully in later PS3 hardware. If Nintendo keeps backwards compatibility, still releases games for the Wii, their Wii software sales will probably increase as well too. Especially if they release older games such as Mario Galaxy or Super Smash Bros Wii that the detracted hardcore gamers never got to play in the first place. So while the Wii may eventually die off, Nintendo could still squeeze out sales from the Wii software and even get more sales for it post-Wii than they did present-Wii.

6. Innovation

Nintendo has done quite a bit for gaming. There has been negative response such as the Virtual Boy and there has been lukewarm response such as motion controls, and there has been positive response like the Game Boy. Say what you will about some Nintendo products, but they can normally put SOMETHING different out there. Some are thinking that the controller may be this type of innovation with it's touch screen and what that could mean for potential games, and some are thinking they could take a step beyond what failed with the Gamecube and find a way to link games between the handheld systems and the console itself. With next to nothing known about the new console, these are the only two real possibilities. Remember, 3D was originally thought of on the Gamecube as well, and the same with motion gaming. Both fell through and showed up in later forms. The link between the GBA (I believe it was) and the Gamecube was also something that never quite worked out. However, with the number of handheld love growing since the release of the DS's all the way to the 3DS, there's a chance that these handhelds may not be required, but can give players more incentive to own both the handheld and console for exclusive gameplay.


7. Third party and indie developers

And the straw that broke the camels back for Nintendo. The only thing that worked for the Wii were first party games or acutal party games. The Wii was not the console for third party developers and very weak for independent devs as well. Any ports from consoles were done poorly and it got to the point where no developers other than first party were worth supporting on the Wii. Project Cafe is already said to be correcting that with Rockstar already being mentioned as a developer for the console. So with Nintendo being the company with the best selling first party games, the third party games now appearing on the new console, and the other consoles finding themselves with fewer and fewer exclusives, Nintendo may be riding high with games upon the release of Project Cafe.


Depending on who you ask, the console wars boil down to two things. The fans will say that the winner of the console wars is the one that gets played the most. The companies themselves would say the sales are what matter the most. If Nintendo takes the proper steps, they can win both sides of the argument and make the next generation of consoles for Sony and Microsoft to be embarrassments. I don't think this will be the case since Nintendo tends to hold back leaving room for the other companies to improve on what Nintendo should do. The possibility is there, however, and if Nintendo wants to put an end to these console wars they need to look past the boardroom and at the fans. We know what we want.

Project Cafe - The Router of the Future

With the recent rumor and announcement of Project Cafe, the upcoming system from Nintendo, "leaks" of pictures have started to hit the web. Although the system is supposed to do everything but butter your toast, the look and design doesn't make the specs seem so plausible.

and a slightly different "SNK Handheld" controller look: