better battery life + brighter screen - 5 pounds of blue/silver plastic = innovation

Reply

i think Nintendo is going a little nutz with the word, and unfortunately Reggie may have slipped a little when he used this word to describe new DS designs.

that being said, i believe the Revolution IS truly innovative.

Reply

If something has improved functionality, it can be considered innovative. I would argue that improved battery life and a brighter screen enhance the DS, and therefore are innovations. The DS Lite is still a DS, true, but the the Rev controller is still a game control.

However, I see your point. The DS Lite as a whole really isn't an innovation over the DS, but it does feature certain novel innovations.

Reply

DS Lite with its added features = innovation.
Skinny PS2 with inability to play all PS2 games != innovation.
:P

Reply

I'm just tired of redesigning. I just bought my DS with a color you only find in Japan, graphite black, this time I'm sticking with it, no trades this time for me.

O'Neill::

Reply

We shouldn't forget that Reggie, while full of wisdom and glory, is a marketing guy.

A card carrying BS'er...

Reply

Reggie is absolutely right. They should be working on the next ds redesign already and another as soon as their done. The concept is called "Brand Energy" and it's why apple went from mearly reinventing the walkman to dominating the portable entertainment market. We're so bombarded with information in this "information age" that corporations need to constantly reinvent to keep their product/service in the consumers vocabulary.
Now-a-days as soon as a big company like this rests on it's laurels, it sinks.
Will it work for nintendo as well as it has been for apple? Time will tell but as things look now, probably not. Every new incarnation of the ipod brought, not just smaller size but, new features. All I want built into it is a way to read ebooks and listen to mp3s at the same time so I don't have to have the gbamp sticking out of

Reply

The story sucked, but it's writing was top notch. Take that!

Reply

O'Neill, not to put too fine a point on it - but you can buy the Graphite DS here in the States. It's only available at Nintendo World in NYC though.

Reply

What makes Apple's iPod innovative? The MP3 player was not an apple idea. It was the entire package that made the iPod so successful. Each new revision of the iPod has improved upon the past but none I would argue was truly revolutionary in itself. The innovation in the entire product experience, combined with the revisions necessary to keep on the cutting edge is what I feel defines innovation. In this case I think Reggie is 100% accurate in his claim and not contradictory. The difference between the innovation of Nintendo Reggie suggests is the somewhat different approach Microsoft and Sony have taken in the past. While the competition is currently driving innovation in all three companies currently, it is different what Nintendo does with its hardware than others. It focuses on how the hardware can improve the experience with the software whereas others don't necessarily follow. While Microsoft and Sony are both creating products that have many purposes, they are so diluted, few truly know what to use their products for. They have shyed away from the concept of the game system and as a result have lost customers. Nintendo realizes it needs to capture the market that has been alienated by the complexity of games and the design of its products now reflect that. This revision has communicated to consumers what it stands for—simplistic yet enjoyable games with style. Nintendo has corrected all of the biggest complaints of DS? Too big, too bulky, not stylish enough, somewhat dull screen lighting, power button in wrong location, is only a game machine. Revision innovation only exists if it reflects what the product stands for in consumers minds and Nintendo has certainly innovated with this revision.

Reply

What is innovative is their tactics that grant them the ability to release the same portable in several iterations and still sell them like mad.

Gonzo is right. If they keep putting remarkable spins on the same product, it keeps its energy and maintains consumer awareness.

Reply

You know when someone's been playing Phoenix Wright too much when.....

Reply

Yeah, a ferrari is just a fancy repackaged model T. Stupid car companies. Why didn't they just make a F430 the first time. Geez.

Reply

redesign can be innovation, like in the controller world. digital joystiqs to digital pads was innovative. digital buttons to analogue buttons was innovative. a folding gameboy that protected itself while using SPACE SAVING technology on the inside, that's innovative. better battery life, brighter screens, ergonomics, those can all be innovated. however, this isn't /that/ big of an innovation. but if something runs the same and uses less, that's as innovative as running more using the same. doing the same and lowering the price, adjusted for inflation, that's also innovative. so cut the guy some slack.
i am personally holding out for another sp-like layout, because that brought the old gameboy layout i loved so much. it was so...innovative.

Reply

I think you're reading too much into the word "innovation". Over-all, Reggie is right. Re-designing the portable systems DOES make them sell more. As much as some people like to whine and complain about it, the majority just goes out and buys the newer version. Sometimes they're trading-in the older version, sometimes the new one is their first.

As for the so-called attacks on "competition", I still agree with Reggie. Look at most remakes of games that get released these days. The large majority of them are poorly done and just wreak of "rush-job". That isn't the case with every new GBA iteration though. Every GBA was well taken care of, and each one shined over the last in its own ways. Unlike those half-assed Mega Man remakes Capcom has been spewing-out lately. And let's not forget how sluggish Final Fantasy Anthologies and Chronicles ran compared to the SNES originals (sluggish even when compared to a high-tech game like FF7 or FF9).

You can't deny that when you hear about a game getting re-released, you pretty-much expect it to be poorly-done. Not the case with GBA, and probably won't be the case with the DSLite.

Reply

Sheesh people. you people bitch and complain because, in reality, you just cant pull this off, but Nintendo can!

if it's redesigned/repacked, still sells like crazy, and adds to the bottom line, then it's innovative.

if it's brand new, but nobody really wants it, and doesn't add to the bottom line, it's not so innovative.

*sarcasm* Why didn't they just release laptops first time around when the PC debuted 30 years ago?! Why didn't apple just release the ipod with video 5 years ago?! *sarcasm* Things just don't always come out like a dream the first time they're made. That's just life! Other industries have been doing this for over a century since the Industrial Revolution started, kids! Make it cheap-attractive-profitable, sell, redesign, repeat.

Let the markets speak for themselves! You people are such whiners! Get over it!

Reply

Preach on,my brothers !
Sometimes it seems like I'm the only one who "gets it" when Nintendo releases a new handheld "update." What I see is this : a year and a half ago, when the original DS was released, they COULD have made something like the Lite, slim and bright. However, it would have been priced at $189, but released in a "bundle" with a screen cleaning cloth and a slipcase for $249, with no price drop in sight. But they didn't. They released something a little chunky, a little dull, with fantastic battery life, and a $149 price tag soon to drop to $129, still making that profit they are so famous for. Now, with improved technology, they can do it better, yet still at an optimal price point. I think this is the signifigant flaw with every single Gameboy/DS competitor to this day. The competition uses the latest greatest technology possible, and disregards all else. Nintendo use the greatest technology available, and then factors in battery life, size, durability, and price point for there intended market. And they overcome every time, and every time some other company tries to compete with the same old failed formula. /rant

Reply

Spelling Nazis, untie! I just misspelled their ^ 0_o

Reply