So, Nintendo are releasing a new console that is rumored to be slightly more powerful than the PS3? Why is this exciting news? Are we all forgetting that the PS3 has 6/7 year old tech flowing through its circuits. Shouldn’t the Big N, with their billions upon billions of dollars and 25+ years of experience, be aiming to blow the PS3 out of the water, not simply match it!
By all accounts the Wii 2 (or Project Café) is only as powerful as the original Wii should have been. Over the past 5 years Nintendo has conditioned us to believe that things like HD visuals, Digital outputs, a competent online interface and a harddrive that could hold more than half a gigabyte of data are luxury items, when in actuality all of those features should be standard. Yes it would be amazing to see a Zelda game that looks as good as God Of War 3, and I look forward to a future where usernames replace Friend Codes but I am also angry that it has taken this long for it to happen.
On the latest episode of The Co-Op AB Frasier suggested that Microsoft and Sony could easily thwart Nintendo’s attempts to claim graphical supremacy simply by not releasing a new console any time soon. This would theoretically ensure that all third party developers continue to accommodate for the Xbox 360’s ‘limited’ specs and thus, Project Café’s advanced power becomes under-utilized. However I think Sony and Microsoft could do more damage to Nintendo by also releasing new consoles in 2013.Its almost guaranteed that the PS4 and Xbox 720 (god, I hate calling it that!) will both be significantly more powerful than their predecessors. If this is true, Project Café won’t be able to keep up and once again Nintendo will be behind the curve for the second generation in a row. Assuming my timeline is correct, 2014 will pretty much mirror 2009 as top tier developers focus on the cutting edge consoles while either outsourcing the Café version of their games to less capable teams or ignoring Nintendo’s console altogether.
Of course if Project Café’s controller is as revolutionary as the Wii Remote was it could throw my entire theory out the window. Nintendo could be hidding something up their sleeves which essentially re-shapes our entire industry. But until E3 rolls around and we get to see exactly what the successor to the Wii can do, I will remain skeptical.
