Big mouth Peter Moore said that? The boring big balooka? That is smooth, something I truly would not have expected. Perhaps there is more to this though. After all, Nintendo is currently the second biggest console influence in Japan, not to mention the leading handheld maker, regardless of locale.
Microsoft is having a VERY hard time establishing itself over in Japan. Foreign titles do not sell well because, if memory serves me, they sell non-Japanese made titles in a Foreign designated area of the store. Finally, Japanese gamers definately do not have the same tastes for games as the European and American markets, even though Europeans and Americans DO like Japanese titles well enough. How does a company overcome such a stubborn base? By knocking the biggest company down to size, even if they need to prop up the opposition to do it.
By publicly supporting Nintendo, Microsoft hopes to establish themselves in the eyes of the Japanese gamers. Furthermore, Microsoft is banking on the notion that most people are only going to spend approximately $500-$600 American on consoles per console generation. In order to usurp the large, Sony userbase, Microsoft seems to be appealing to Sony fans to abandon the PS3 and spend the cash instead on the Wii, whose titles like Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Zelda, Wario, etc. for a cheaper cost, AND still be able to afford a 360 and a more traditional, and graphically superior (to the Wii anyways) console. Furthermore, this will undoubtedly open up for subtle cross promotions between Nintendo and Microsoft' s intellectual properties. I thought (and still think) that seeing Master Chief in a Smash Bros. is unlikely, but the odds have increased from virtually nill a year ago.
In short, I think Microsoft is wisely buddying up with Nintendo to grab the average gamers' more limited budgets, and in the process, garner some attention from the Japanese Sony user base. 1MS+1Nintendo=1Sony cost wise, but 2 consoles are greater than one. And remember, there are WAY more people with limited budgets that can barely afford a PS3 than those that can afford all three.
< Message edited by vdig -- 11 May 06 20:34:58 >