I do agree with much of what you said. Of course Nintendo made a great business decision and executed it almost flawlessly. They did what was best for them, and they did it rather well -- there's no arguing that.

But let me emphatically say that this is not "just semantics". This is an unprecedented case and it's useful to make things clear. We can always debate semantics later, but let's first establish the actual reality of the situation.

Yes, of course the Wii is a new *product* in the market! Of course it is presented and marketed as such! This is the business reality. It defines the way it's sold, the way it's presented, its next-gen price point for both hardware and software. This is what you see in the media. This is what is reiterated in all those wonderful commercials. This is what you hear Iwata and Reggie say, and yes, this is what shapes public perception.

But that's where the Wii's reality as a "new platform" ends.

Because in actual fact the Wii is a glorified Gamecube: not *like* a glorified Gamecube .. but literally an *actual* glorified Gamecube, with SD cards, WiFi and a new controller.

This is actual technical reality. No semantics. No subjective interpretation. No contextual perception.

Just cold facts. This is what the platform *actually* is.

A platform's reality defines what kinds of things the platform can do. Potentially. Ideally.

A platform's reality is the totality of all expectations that makes me want to invest in this platform instead of that platform. When I shell out my hard earned next-gen cash to invest in a platform I do not merely invest in a piece of plastic. I invest in all those experiences that the platform uniquely enables; both proven and potential, both realised and expected, both current and future.

In their totality these experiences are both what a new platform defines and what it is defined by. This is precisely what REALLY constitutes a platform.

Everything the Wii enables is in the controller, not in the console itself. The console itself, without the controller, is the exact same platform that you already had. The thing is, you can't get the controller without re-purchasing your old console again -- at a new price point.

Of course it's worked great for Nintendo. Best thing they've ever done, possibly, from a business point of view. There are still questions about longevity and future viability of the Wiicube, but in any case the profit margins are so massive that Nintendo has made more than enough money already irrespective of what happens next.

I do have serious doubts about what Nintendo will want to do next though. They probably don't want to create a new platform that will make them less money per unit if they are to keep it reasonably (i.e. competitively) priced. At the same time, they can't offer a true HD platform without radically changing the technology. Furthermore, developing software for such a platform will also be more expensive, further cutting into their profit margins. Nintendo doesn't like that and I'm curious to see their next move.

One thing is certain: motion sensing is not something that can give Nintendo a competitive advantage much longer; it's very cheap to implement and will probably end up being commonplace anyway. Considering they'll have to try something very different next time I'd have to say that the Wii will probably turn out to be the easiest quick-bucks Nintendo will ever make.

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"Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it."
"You must not give the world what it asks for, but what it needs."

-- Dijkstra

I'm afraid I can't agree with that view. It just makes no sense to me and I speak as both a developer and a gamer.

These so called "addons" such as built-in flash memory and SD card slots are trivial, insignificant and of no consequence to the actual Wii experience (for which it has now become popular) other than, perhaps, to enable the whole Virtual Console revenue channel. So, if you're saying that it's ok to repurchase a Gamecube at a next-gen price point because you get to download NES and SNES games for $5-$10 each and store them on SD cards (the primary feature enabled by these so called addons) ... and that somehow this alone makes it a justifiably "brand new platform", then .. well I'll just have to disagree.

The minor tweaks on the actual Gamecube hardware, including the slight overclocking of both CPU and GPU as well as the DVD drive are also of no consequence -- they are completely transparent to the end user and make absolutely no difference in terms of what sort of interactive experiences are enabled by the platform.

To put it very very simply: you could be playing Wii Sports and Wii Play, or any other justifiably motion-controlled game, in exactly the same way on your Gamecube by just having a simple tiny wireless dongle and, of course, the new controller. It would be the exact same experience, no difference whatsoever.

It's that simple. There's nothing more to it.

It's also interesting to note that Nintendo have recently made comments along the lines that "the Wii is not just about motion sensing", which is evidently true considering that the wiimote itself has a quite limited set of legitimate applications and uses before it becomes a gimmick or even a clumsy substitute for existing control methods, as well as the fact that many of the great games on the Wii don't even necessarilly require the use of motion controls in the first place. On the other hand, those games that do utilise the motion controls well are still fun and accessible.

I think a common misconception is that we "gamers" (or "non-nongamers") are just bitching about the Wii not being a large enough leap into next-gen territory.

This isn't true: this is NOT about the Wii being "only" 10 times more powerful than our old Gamecubes (which is what many people assumed and still believe in their fuzzy logic minds), instead of it being 100 times more powerful like the PS3 is compared to the PS2.

The Wii is nowhere near 10 times more powerful. It's not 5 times more powerful either. It's not 3 times more powerful. It's not even twice as powerful.

No, this is about the Wii being the exact same Gamecube that we already have ... only with a new controller, basically! Take away the wiimote and all you're left with is a glorified Gamecube -- literally. Vice versa, add the wiimote and its software to any other platform (including the Gamecube) and you ought to get *at least* the exact same experience and appeal.

One may also argue that a PS3 is no good if its games are just glorified versions of PS2 games -- and this would be absolutely true. However the PS3 as a hardware platform is completely different and vastly superior to the PS2 and, as a platform, it can enable completely different or at least vastly superior kinds of interactive experiences assuming developers make use of those capabilities.

Sadly, the same can't be said about the Wii as a plaftorm, but it could be said partly about the wiimote as a controller. The problem is that we have effectively accepted to re-purchase the same Gamecube that we already have, at a nextgen price point, just to get that new controller! (which by the way is quite cheap to make and built from off-the-shelf components). A controller does not a new platform make, nor does it ever justify buying the same hardware again at a premium price.

At the very least, this should be something to bitch about a lot more than merely losing PS2 compatibility in order to get such a significant (and possibly crucial) price cut.

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"Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it."
"You must not give the world what it asks for, but what it needs."

-- Dijkstra

Again, it CAN be argued that the Wii is a new console, as all those add-ons - built-in wireless networking, standard memory card slots, built-in storage memory, ability to accept full-size DVDs, more system memory, etc., constitute a radical enough change that you can't reasonably expect the old system to accomodate them without a clunky add-on. It IS essentially a slightly improved GameCube, so it's less of next gen jump than any of the other systems technologically (core), but it is still inherently different. There would be no easy or elegant way to make an add-on for the GameCube that did the same things, and you'd still have the problem I described earlier with the haves and have nots. And Nintendo releasing the one-off, Wii-fit, is not the same thing, just like Sony releasing the Eye Toy is not the same thing. They're not standard on the platform, so no more than a handful of games will ever be designed to take specific advantage of them. That's the problem with them. The only way to introduce a new paradigm is to create an entirely new platform where the standard rules can be re-written, rules that every developer can count on 100% of the time. We can always take issue though with how far these companies should go with new systems (whether it's too far or not enough), but it's hard to deny the actual NEED for a new system if there are enough fundamental changes or differences that the very existence of a new platform creates.

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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
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Hold your horses!
In a Wall Street Journal news article (link requires subscription to WSJ!) a remarkable statement bij Jack Tretton got my attention. Jack Tratton is one of the topdogs in Sony Computer Entertainment by the way. He says that production costs actually are not decreasing drastically by removing backwards-compatibility for PS2 games in the new 40Gb unit, but it will lower the threshold to buy PS3 games. Compared to the enormous PS2 library the PS3 library is still rather pale in comparison. What is also said is that PS2 BC won't be missed because most PS3-owners also have a PS2. Yes we've heard that before. Besides, the PS2 doesn't produce a great picture on most new LCD screens so an upscaling PS3 for PS2 games might be a better solution for people with HD/HDReady screens. So the PS2 for PS2 games might not be as good a solution to keep playing PS2 games as Jack wants us to believe.
So this whole BC removal is only to decrease PS2 games and to increase revenues from PS3 game sales in the long run. It is not lowering production costs of the PS3 with any significance. So no direct financial gain for Sony. It is funny that Sony is still suffering from its previously hugely successful console and wants to artificially enhance PS3 game sales. This feels to me like a screw-over the customers thing, don't like it one bit.

Theoretically it still might be possible to retrofit BC - but I don't see that happening anytime soon. The step-up from PSX to PS2 was huge but the step-up from PS2 to PS3 is lukewarm at best. The releases out for the console are still lacking 'the killer app'. That Gran Turismo HD demo is just horrible and plain wrong, doesn't feel like a real Gran Turismo at all.
So if you want BC on a PS3 you need to get one of those 60Gb versions and supplies are dwindling.

Kotaku - Sonys problems start at the top!
Kotaku - SONY BC removal not to reduce costs!

Editor / Pixelator - Armchair Arcade, Inc.

Mark, very well said. I agree, it "sucks" (as in, it's an unfortunate set of circumstances that lead to this decision -- as opposed to it being an unashamed attempt to outright scam their loyal customers) but I too hope a 100% software solution will emerge at some point anyway.

I would assume the 40gb model also uses the same standard 2.5in SATA-II drives so it should be relatively easy and cheap to upgrade to a much larger hard drive later on -- but do double check just to make sure.

By the way, that'd be $399 for the 40gb model .. not $499 ... right ? It's $499 for the 80gb "backwards compatible" model if I'm not mistaken, though I don't know if they bundle any games in with that.

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"Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it."
"You must not give the world what it asks for, but what it needs."

-- Dijkstra