Against expectations, US games players have proved remarkably attached to their old 16-bit consoles. Paradoxically, this may prove good news for Nintendo Co Ltd, the first of the Japanese majors that dominate the business to go 64-bit – it has been taking a hammering on the news that its 64-bit Ultra 64 console will now launch in Japan in April. But Sega Enterprises Ltd is also under a cloud because its 32-bit Saturn appears to be being trounced in the market by Sony Corp’s Playstation. The $300 Saturn machine has apparently proved a little pricey for some consumers’ pockets and been compared unfavourably with the Playstation. Though it is generally thought this Christmas will be 16-bits’ last big-selling season, the few developers that have stayed the distance and are still writing 16-bit software will face a bumper Christmas, according to the Wall Street Journal. Overall, though the Journal reports that industry sales are expected to drop 13% this year from 1994 levels.
Yoshi’s Island
It reports that a recent survey by research firm Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co discovered that just over half of console-owning homes planned to buy as many or more 16-bit games in the next year as in the last. So 16-bit games and machines should account for 70% of the coming year’s estimated $3,850m US sales. This is despite the fact that only around 50 new 16-bit games are expected to be released over the 12 months, which means that a few lucky Nintendo developers should see sales well in excess of 1m. December 4 saw Nintendo launch Donkey Kong Country 2, sequel to the game that managed to sell 7m worldwide. This follows hard on the heals of Mortal Kombat III and Super Mario World: Yoshi’s Island. All together Nintendo is reported to be sinking $30m into the marketing campaign for these offerings. Sega hasn’t abandoned the 16-bit market – its Vectorman game is being backed by a $12m promotion. But Tom Kalinske, president of Sega America, admitted to the Journal: I think we didn’t make enough Genesis machines. Nintendo seems to have managed the trick of turning adversity into potential triumph. Sales of 16-bit games should hold up enough to keep turnover at a reasonable level until early spring – what happens after that depends on how well the 64-bit Ultra goes down. If it proves irresistible – and Nintendo looks to be planning to sell each one it makes at a loss in order to popularise the thing and build a market quickly for 64-bit games. An earnest of just how good the graphics are is that when it formally launched the thing earlier this month, it was forced into hot denials that it was simply showing a cardboard replica and that a Silicon Graphics Inc workstation was rendering all the stunning pictures.
