Reported as big news all over, Nintendo wants to focus on games, rather than hardware.
Today, Nintendo went public with a sentiment that many have thought would come sooner or later: that today's consoles are as powerul as they need to be, and the company want's to focus on compelling software, and not having the most powerful hardware platform.
It's something that many have seen coming, as digital high-definition televisions are not making in-roads fast enough to really push today's three top consoles to their limits. Aside from some small graphics features, the Playstation 2, Xbox, and GameCube all offer comparable gaming experiences and similar graphic quality. Only enthusiasts can tell the differences reliably.
Nintendo's new stance is coming up with new and original software and expanding upon their existing franchises. This was emphasised at E3 this year with their "Game Giants" mantra, resulting in Game Boy Advance and GameCube versions of Mario, Zelda, and Metroid titles.
The new and innovative titles were of particular emphasis today, as Nintendo's new President Satoru Iwata (replacing the retired Hiroshi Yamauchi) said, "We can't be optimistic about the game market. No matter what great product you come up with, people get bored."
So what will happen if Nintendo (and Sony, Microsoft) can't deliver on original game experiences, and rely on better hardware? "The effort to produce machines with better technology has reached its limit," Iwata said. "If things continue, they may lead to the decline of the entire game industry."
