Of course, this isn’t entirely their fault, as third-party developers have become deathly afraid of their platforms since the moderate successes of the N64 and the Gamecube, and so Nintendo have had little to rely on except their existing franchises. We’re seeing this again with the Nintendo DS, where new and improved versions of guaranteed sellers (Super Mario 64, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing and the recently announced Tetris) are overshadowing the unique releases (Meteos, Nintendogs) that explicitly take advantage of the platform’s features. Not that there’s anything wrong with releasing a better Mario Kart, but…it’s still Mario Kart. Is that really the limit of their vision?

As always, it’s impossible to predict where these things are going to end up. I’m as excited as anyone to see what the console has to offer beyond the tech demos and the resultant gameplay scenarios conjured by overactive imaginations and the radical redesign of what we’ve come to accept as a controller.

these clothes don’t fit us right

Nintendo’s shrinking set-top console library since the N64 could have used this tactic, but their insistence on using archaic forms of media denied this possibility. Comfortably secure in the handheld market, however, Nintendo has smartly allowed compatibility with Gameboy games on all future versions of their handheld hardware (including the DS). The Gamecube has been home to some fantastic games; perhaps the Revolution will assure enough high-calibre titles for gamers to invest in the platform and realize what they’ve overlooked. According to this press release, the Revolution will also have access to downloadable Nintendo classics from the N64, SNES, and NES, no doubt making up for previous lost opportunities. It is unknown what this is going to cost, though charging $19.99 for a 19 year old game certainly worked for them on the GBA.

Microsoft is taking a different approach with the XBox 360, stating that this new hardware will be “backward-compatible with top-selling Xbox games.” Though what this actually means is anyone’s guess. Microsoft being who they are you could assume this means Halo 1 and 2 and consider the matter closed.

Backwards compatibility is a good trend to continue, because nobody wants to accumulate old hardware just so they can play the classics. It’s also a great way for gamers to educate themselves on a bit of gaming history – there’s nothing more annoying than reviewers falsely proclaiming originality, and consumers being none the wiser. Though all this talk about backward compatibility as a “new” feature makes me wonder where everyone’s been for the last 15 years. Once again I’m back to lamenting the neglect of the PC. Console manufacturers would never admit that’s what they’re trying to emulate, but that’s the way it’s going (and the price is going up to match). Online gaming capabilities, its inherent abilities as a media center, its graphical prowess, backwards compatibility – these are all things that the PC has always done, and has for a long time. I fail to see why marketers insist on labeling consoles as “entertainment” systems, when in fact all they’re selling you is an over-designed computer.

it seems so out of context