No Simultaneous Worldwide Launch for Revolution

Looks like Iwata’s continuing his “We do things exactly opposite to you” Revolution crusade in another aspect: The launch of the console itself.

In his words: “We don’t think it’s necessary to do the simultaneous worldwide launch simply because others are doing this”.

Simultaneous launches have proved problematic ever since last year’s Xbox 360 Christmas disaster, when US citizens tore each other apart over Microsoft’s console, paying up to two times the MSRP on shady eBay auctions, while at the same time the 360 quietly sat on Japanese shelves, completely unattractive to the audience over there.  

The Revolution is still targeted for a 2006 release. It remains to be seen if Nintendo will be able to handle the launch (or in Sony’s case even the release date) more smoothly than their competitors.

Oh wait, didn’t Iwata also say they aren’t competing anyways?

Looks like Iwata’s continuing his “We do things exactly opposite to you” Revolution crusade in another aspect: The launch of the console itself.

In his words: “We don’t think it’s necessary to do the simultaneous worldwide launch simply because others are doing this”.

Simultaneous launches have proved problematic ever since last year’s Xbox 360 Christmas disaster, when US citizens tore each other apart over Microsoft’s console, paying up to two times the MSRP on shady eBay auctions, while at the same time the 360 quietly sat on Japanese shelves, completely unattractive to the audience over there.  

The Revolution is still targeted for a 2006 release. It remains to be seen if Nintendo will be able to handle the launch (or in Sony’s case even the release date) more smoothly than their competitors.

Oh wait, didn’t Iwata also say they aren’t competing anyways?