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You remember GameBoy? The handheld that basically created the handheld market. Recently we have heard much less from Nintendo of the GameBoy line and more of the DS line. Some may argue that both can not exist in the same marketplace because they are basically the same. Some have even implied that GBA is the end of that line, I beg to differ.

It would be arrogant for Nintendo not to upgrade their handheld lineup in 2008. Graphics have come along way and their are some new technologies that can be implemented into their handhelds. But hold on, the DS still has alot of life in it. It would be stupid for Nintendo to take away the current DS and replace it with another device. Why? Because developers continue to work on projects for the DS and they will continue to announce new projects. So what is Nintendo suppose to do? Should they leave everything like it is and not improve the DS with a successor or should they release a new DS when the first is still popular. And might I add that there isnt much more you could add to the DS to improve it other that graphics.

That’s where the Game Boy line comes out. We know that the GBA line up should die this year or early next year at the latest. We also know that the DS hardware cost will decrease, as allways. So Nintendo will likely pull something like last time around with DS being a improved ‘addition’ to the newly created ‘three pillars’. I see the DS taking GBAs spot in the next year as the new GameBoy rolls out. It is a sensible move by droping the DS price down to $99 and the new GB to something similar to the current DS price or a bit higher.

I myself see something similar to the PSP in the future of the GB lineup. It will allow for games that were not able to be produced well on the DS platform. Im talking about games like Super Smash Bros., Metroid Prime, and others. Sure they can be achieved on the DS but with 2 small screens it doesnt seem logical. One big screen would make more sense for alot of games. Don’t get me wrong I love my DSlite, but I think that Nintendo could bring back the gameboy line and make the DS specifically for certain games.

This would make alot more sense because DS is marketed more towards casual gamers and not many would go for such a pricy item for entertain (so a price drop would be beneficial), while gamers are willing to spend the cash to get what we want. So ultimetly Nintendo could open up the DS to a bigger market while cashing in on something new for the gaming market.

So who know will Nintendo bring back the GameBoy brand, only time will tell. But signs point to it expecially since the Wii launched with a similar objective.

What is your take on this?

 I registered for it with my hotmail account and my paypal account. Then I keep checking my inbox for confirmation. Nothing. And I have attempted to  login using the apprication. But it says that the name and passwords are incorrect.

Could someone help?

technorati tags:Second, Life, Game, Problem, Support, Gaming

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 N64 was a great console sure it doesnt offer you online play, 1080p or a disc drive. But the games were great. Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Bros., Diddy Kong Racing and many more. Just wanted to post a bit of news on it seeing that I dont play it much anymore.

  Nintendo to this date continues to deliver. I know the GameCube was a disappointment to me and others. But other than that Nintendo has done itself well. They have ALWAYS been profitable. You cant really say the same thing about how PS and XBOX impact Sony and Microsoft.

technorati tags:N64, Nintendo

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So today, I have to decide my future to some extent. And I have ton of questions to answer in less that 12 hours.

Should I drop Biology?
Should I take Law or American History?
What kind of Career am I going to take?
What will I ultimetly take in Grade 12?
Which University will I be going to?

Basically I’ve come to this decision (It took a week, but here it goes):

Physics
Chemistry
Biology
English
Math
Law
Cisco
Accounting

And I know Im going to work like mad if I want to get 80’s. Yes, 80’s. Just started considering Accounting and it’s like recommended Grade 12 Grades high 80’s or low 90’s. WOW, I’m not going to have much fun for the next two years.

Hopefully, some of these classes are interesting.

Average projections are showing that there is very much a shift in the market, and Sony’s outlook doesn’t look to good for 2007. Wii and 360 average projections show that they will be able to carry a stable sales rate through 2007. The market leader of the past 2 generation have been Sony prior to that it had been Nintendo. The Wii was no doubt a smash success at launch. The media has been all over the Wii, and just the other day Dr. Phil gave a Wii to everyone in the audience. Nintendo sure has reached out of the typically gamer spectrum.

There have been many projections by analysts and I have averaged the projections to get these numbers. These are just rough guesses, but analysts typically are not to far of with their projections.

Average projections show that Nintendo should sell about 13 Million in a years time. This would beat how many Xbox 360s were sold within a year (about 8 Million). It however will not beat the projected XBOX 360 sales which is set to be at 17 Million in Q4 2007. This is to be expected though because Halo 3 may make its launch in 2007. Nintendo also has a couple of franchises to be released in 2007, most notably Metroid Prime, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros and Project H.A.M.M.E.R.

The news is unfortunately not as good for Sony, at least in 2007. It appears that most analyst expect PS3 sales to do horribly during 2007 with the average projections at about 7.5 Million. But analysis seem to think that PS3 sales will reach higher sales in 2008 and 2009. This maybe due to adoption of HD by most Americans by the year 2009. One analyst seems to even suggest that PS3 will beat XBOX 360 by a whopping 60 Million. But this analyst also suggest that Wii sales will total 23.3 Million in total. Which seems very different that what others expect. But some reports show that PS3 will flop, so really there is no telling.

Most reports indicate that the sales of these consoles will be very different than the last generation where PS2 dominated. The final result seems that all sales will not vary as much as the last generation and that each company should have sold at least 30 Million consoles at the end.

Keep in mind that these are measured by patterns, launch and other aspects. These should not be taken too seriously, but just for a ball park figure of what to expect next year. And if you don’t already know, the attach rate of games per console is suppose to be much less this time around.

UPDATE 1: These projection figures include the number of console sold before 2007 as well. This is the reason why Xbox 360 is far ahead of the others.

While iTunes is the leader of the online music marketplace, it has lost revenue over the last year. This has been revealed in the most resent study conducted by Forrester Research (link).

There is a reason for this drop however. I believe that the reason is because the iTunes Store hasnt really evolved with the times. Sure, it has TV shows and movies now. But has the music that is available at the iTunes Store? Not much, if any. Have the competitors done anything innovative? Some have, most haven’t.

Well heres a list of what iTunes could have.

1) Option of high quality files for a premium price (15% higher)
2) Inclusion of lyrics with purchased songs
3) Ability for iTunes program to say the name of the song, artist and album in a pre recorded voice, when playing (with option to turn off).
4) Top 100 songs should have an increased price ($1.09).
5) Allow users to listen to longer samples of songs (1 minute aatleast)
6) Make deal with record companies to release albums for download ahead of usual Tuesday release date at retail. (user required to pay more however)
7) Ability to download song upto 3 times each by paying once (for those with Family PC, Personal PC and/or Laptop)

Well… thats all. But drop a comment if you could think of additions to this post. Apple better act soon before they lose ground to retail and competitors.