Nintendo makes it case for emerging from No. 3 in the console wars

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Let the battle for the digital den begin _ again. <br/><br/>Nintendo Co. on Tuesday was the last of the three major video game console makers to preview its next-generation system, called

Tuesday, May 17th 2005, 4:08 pm

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Let the battle for the digital den begin _ again.

Nintendo Co. on Tuesday was the last of the three major video game console makers to preview its next-generation system, called Revolution. The Japanese company had a tiny surprise, too.

Revolution will face stiff competition from Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 as the manufacturers vie to attract a more diverse audience with products that serve as digital entertainment hubs instead of just serving up video games.

After years of promiting their existing consoles with big-budget games, the three companies touted sleek new technology this week on the eve of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, an annual industry meeting that begins Wednesday.

The ability to play older games on existing systems was addressed by all three makers, with backward compatibility meaning owners of the new systems will be able to play games for the existing Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2.

Nintendo went a step further, announcing Tuesday to applause and cheers that Revolution's built-in wireless Internet will provide downloadable access to the thousands of games in company's 20-year-old library, going back to the original Nintendo Entertainment System.

Saturo Iwata, Nintendo's president, did not provide many details on the Revolution but he showed an enthusiastic audience a black prototype box with a blue, front-loading disc drive as well as a picture of several possible color schemes, ranging from silver to bright yellow.

He said the final box will be about the size of a stack of three DVD cases.

Details on Revolution's high-tech innards were less specific than what is being provided by Microsoft and Sony.

Aside from the included Wi-Fi networking, the Revolution will have wireless controllers, two USB 2.0 ports and slots for DS memory cards. Nintendo did not say anything about the processor or graphics chips that will be used to power the machine, other than that they are being developed by IBM Corp. and ATI Technologies Inc.

``This is the console where the big idea can prevail over big budgets,'' Iwata said.

With Xbox 360 and PS3, meanwhile, snazzy technology able to deliver cinema-quality graphics and sound has been the center attraction.

Xbox 360 will have three speedy processors and custom graphics chip from ATI, a removable 20-gigabyte hard drive and wireless capability for cable-free access to the company's Xbox Live online multiplayer service.

PS3 is to boast Cell processors, jointly developed by Sony with IBM and Toshiba Corp., that are purportedly 10 times faster than current generation computer processors.

In 2004, the PlayStation 2 led the U.S. console wars with 43 percent of the market, according to Jupiter Research. The original Xbox was a distant No. 2 with 19 percent, followed by Nintendo's GameCube at 14 percent. The remainder included handheld game systems.

Nintendo's surprise announcement was a tiny redesigned Game Boy Advance called Micro, available this fall for an undisclosed price. The silver device, about the size of an iPod Mini, is a redesign and doesn't offer any new technology, officials said.

``This is just another kind of edgy element that we're adding to the mix,'' Nintendo of America spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan said.

New types of interactivity were the main thrust of Nintendo's hopes to broaden the $10 billion U.S. game market.

``Electroplankton'' for Nintendo's DS handheld lets gamers manipulate fish and other sea creatures to create rhythmic sound effects and music. ``Nintendogs,'' already available in Japan, employs the DS' microphone as you shout orders to get your digital pup to do tricks like sit and roll over.

Prices on the new systems have not been announced. The Xbox 360 will be the first to go to market around Thanksgiving, followed by the PS3 next spring and the Revolution sometime next year.