We Would Like To Play

The situation....I find it very.....nostalgic,

As a not-completely-reformed Nintendo fanboy, I have been quite pleased with their recent success. One million copies of Diamond/Pearl sold in America in five days. Just a fad? Doesn't look like it. 5.84 million Wiis sold thus far. 9.5 million copies of New Super Mario Bros (that is more than Starcraft and Broodwar combined, or more than Halo or Halo 2, or more than either Half-Life). Over 40 million DS units sold, more than 23 million in the last year alone. Yeah, I know you can read linked pages, but it bears repeating. It is times like these when I like to look back at all those people who told me the company was on its last legs and laugh.

Now if only I had the funds to partake of this merriment...and finding the hardware will of course pose a problem. Such is the price of success. As long as the stream of games keeps up and the company has a strong showing come the holidays, the future looks very bright for us Nintendo fans.

Of course it is only a matter of time before hubris takes over and things won't be so cheery. It has already happened to Nintendo, but now it is Sony's turn. Who could have predicted two years ago that Sony's game division would be floundering as much as it is? Once the only bright spot in the company, it lost them $2 billion last year, according to rmcdougall. Ken Kutagari, the father of the Playstation, has stepped down as Sony Computer Entertainment head. It is almost a shame, since Blu-ray does seem to be winning the format war at the moment. Oh well. Sony was king for two generations, it is time to pass the crown.

Five-hundred and ninety-nine US dollars,
Kazuo Hirai