A PowerPC chipping inside , a one-armed bandit - loading optical ride , work up - in Wi - Fi and graphics by ATI . That could key most of Apple ’s Macintosh lineup these twenty-four hour period , and it also account , however superficially , Nintendo ’s new Revolution console table , coming to securities industry in 2006 . The comparisons between Nintendo and Apple go beyond ironware , however — both companies seem to have a unplumbed love life for creating an aura of mystery around their production and a sentiency of drama at their unveiling . And both company are not only developers of their own hardware , but publishing firm of the computer software that incline on their platform .

Coming out of Nintendo ’s media briefing on Tuesday , many of my chap gambling journalist voiced their displeasure at Nintendo ’s determination to keep the Revolution ’s system of rules specs under wraps , at least for now . It ’s a rough-cut ailment heard from the information processing system industry press about Apple . Apple is notorious for keeping its computer hardware and package evolution plans mysterious until it ’s darn good and ready to have the Arabian tea out of the bag . They ’ve even been known to litigate against news sources that splatter the bean plant .

Some journos took Nintendo ’s quiet on the Revolution ’s specs as a sign of impuissance — that perhaps Nintendo ’s benchmarks are n’t nearly up to sniff compared to Microsoft ’s extroverted Xbox 360 and Sony ’s unveiling for next class , the PlayStation 3 . Apple has been criticized over the years for release systems that do n’t liken as well on paper to their microcomputer counterparts or put in slower video cards or other components than top - of - the - tune PCs .

It ’s the software

But to hear executives from Nintendo speak , the hardware is n’t as crucial as the software that runs it . That ’s sure a school of thought that Apple has put into practice time and again . The whole of Apple ’s software , operating system and hardware shape agestaltthat ca n’t be easily describe just as a sum of its portion . That ’s what we define as the “ drug user experience , ” and that was the subject matter from Nintendo today : The user experience and the content is what ’s important .

Nintendo is n’t lead the console ironware market in sale , but it does have a redoubtable arsenal of first - political party franchises that are the enviousness of the TV game world : Mario . Donkey Kong . Zelda . Metroid . The company is continuing to leverage these and other popular properties with the new console , of course .

As essential as the user experience is , the development of games is vital to the success of a new platform as well . This extends far than just the bodied real estate of Nintendo itself , but also to third party developer . And with game approaching the budgets of Hollywood movies in some caseful , concerns over development costs have mounted . Nintendo promises developers that creating game for the new Revolution will be simpler , faster and less expensive .

That ’s proficient tidings , if Nintendo can rest true to their word — because bigger budgets do n’t make better secret plan . If anything , big game budgets have the opposite gist — they repress instauration , because the investor have more riding on the crinkle if the games fail , and are less potential to take chance with raw ideas .

Can a Game Boy mix be far behind ?

Despite a substantial initial showing by Sony with its new PlayStation Portable , Nintendo continues to command the portable gambling space . Nintendo hopes it can get that by draw in fresh gamers to the market , and its latest effort to do so seems to take a Thomas Nelson Page from Apple ’s playbook , by making the iPod mini equivalent to the Game Boy : The Game Boy Micro .

Coming out this fall , the Game Boy Micro is 4 x 2 x 0.7 inches , and weighs about 2.8 snow leopard . equip with a directional launch pad , play button and a two - inch liquid crystal display screen , the twist can play all games compatible with Nintendo ’s popular insolent - top Game Boy Advance SP manikin . It does n’t extend any new forward-looking gameplay features or embellishments , but it ’s midget .

Nintendo hopes the new Game Boy Micro will be a stylish lifestyle accessory : “ … it attracts care and positions the range - conscious player as someone on the rationalise boundary of cool , ” read the company in a argument . You ’ll even be capable to corrupt faceplates to customize its facial expression , much in the same way that HP offers removable “ tattoo ” for the iPod .

For what it ’s worth , I doubt Nintendo will be able to duplicate Apple ’s success with the iPod shuffle . Even the smallest Game Boy still needs a display .

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