The History of Nintendo Part 3

In 2003, Game Boy Advance SP was released and sold over 41 million units. And in 2005, Game Boy Micro was released, selling 2 million. Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, and Game Boy Micro were all the same except that Game Boy Advance SP and Game Boy Micro had brighter screens and a rechargeable battery.

Plus, Game Boy Micro did not have the ability to play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, Game Boy Micro marked the 20th Anniversary of Nintendo gaming, it was marked as the second failure in Nintendo's history and as the last of the Game Boy line.

In 2001, Nintendo released the Nintendo GameCube. Dolphin was its codename during development. This was the first Nintendo console to have a CD-drive. It has sold about 22 million consoles. In it's current lifespan, it had more then 500 games and the best-selling game was Super Smash Bros. Melee. By this time Xbox and Playstation 2 were released and Nintendo was losing really badly. Also, in 2002, Satoru Iwata become the forth and current president of Nintendo.

And then, Nintendo DS (Nitro as it's codename) came in 2004, around the same time as Playstation Portable (or PSP). The DS was unique for the double screens, touch-screen, and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The DS was selling more then PSP. This was Nintendo's turning point and also marked the end of Sony's popularity.

And then in 2006, Nintendo released the Wii (Revolution as it's codename). It was unique for its motion control, use of Mii's, the ability to play NES, SNES, N64, Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx16, and Sega Master System games, and advanced Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The best-selling game is Wii Sports (which is included with the console). Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 were released by then and could not stop the Wii in terms of sales once. In fact it's selling more then both of them combined! And everyone now thinks that Ninendo DS and Wii have already won this generation's console war. 2006 also marks the release of the Nintendo DS lite, a slimmer, lighter, smaller version of the console.

Wow. That's all lot of info. Of course there is more but I won't go that far. Now, currently, where does Nintendo stand? Well...

Nintendo right now is the current leader of the console war (portable and non-portable) in terms of overall sales up to this point (Microsoft is second and Sony is last). In terms of monthly sales, Nintendo is still the victor (Microsoft and Sony are both fighting for second). As of June 30, there are 29.62 million Wii's and 77.54 Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS lites combined worldwide. Nintendo GameCube's lifespan is still continuing but no games will be released.

There are currently (ether released or are going to be released) 273 Wii games and 340 Nintendo DS games released as of September 21, 2008 in the Americas. As of that same date, there are 27 released WiiWare games (WiiWare is a downloadable service that lets you play games without using a disk at all) and there are 1134 Virtual Console games available for Wii (There are 366 VC games for Japan, 253 games for the Americas, 252 for Europe, 237 for Australia, and 26 for South Korea).

Currently there is the head president, Satoru Iwata. He is also the president of Nintendo of Japan in Kyoto, Japan. The president of Nintendo of America, which is in Atlanta, Georgia (Nintendo Atlanta) and North Blend, Washington (Nintendo North Blend) is Reggie Fils-Amie. Nintendo of Canada's president is Ron Bertram. Nintendo of Canada's headquarters is in Richmond, British Colombia and a distribution centre is in Toronto, Ontario. Nintendo of Europe's president is Satoru Shibata. Nintendo of Europe is located in Großostheim, Germany. Nintendo of Australia's president is Rose Lappin and it's location is in Victoria, Australia. Nintendo iQue of China's president (and co-founder of iQue) is Dr. Wei Yen. It is located at Beijing, China. There is also Nintendo of Korea.

Now the future of Nintendo (It won't take more then a few sentences).
Nintendo is currently developing WiiSpeak, Wii MotionPlus, and the SD Card Menu. WiiSpeak is a microphone for Wii that allows players to talk to each other. Wii MotionPlus is an peripheral for Wii that lets players use 1:1 gameplay: meaning that any sudden movements of your body will be converted into moves.

Well, that's all. If you have any questions about ANYTHING Nintendo please don't hesitate to post it as a comment or e-mail me. I may not give you all of the answers, but I will try to give at least some it as much as possible.

Have a nice day.