Nintendo Unveils New Game Boy Device
Nintendo Co . Ltd. on Tuesday unveiled a smaller version of its portable Game Boy videogame player and said its next-generation home console will be released in 2006.
The Japanese videogame company said the new Game Boy Micro -- a lightweight gadget not much bigger than a cellphone -- has the same processing power and plays the same games as the company's Game Boy Advance SP. But the Micro measures just four inches by two inches and is less than an inch thick.
The company said the Game Boy Micro will be released in the fall but didn't specific a sale price. The move comes after Sony Corp. has challenged Nintendo's dominance of the hand-held game market with the U.S. release of PlayStation Portable earlier this year.
At the Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Nintendo also took the wraps off its new game console, code-named Revolution. The company said the slim, black box is expected to go on sale in 2006, though it didn't provide a name, date or expected price. Nintendo also said it is testing a variety of colors.
That launch will be months after Microsoft Corp. releases the Xbox 360, its next-generation videogame console. It may also trail Sony, which said Monday it plans to begin selling its next home console, the PlayStation 3, in the spring of 2006.
Nintendo, the creator of the Super Mario Brothers and Zelda titles, said the Revolution will be able to play games from its current GameCube machine as well as have Internet access to titles dating back to Nintendo's original machine, the NES, released in 1985.
Unlike Microsoft and Sony, whose new game consoles are powerful machines that can play movies and download music, Nintendo's next console will focus on gaming rather than multimedia capabilities. Owners of the Revolution will have to buy an add-on unit to play movie DVDs.
The system will include 512 megabytes of internal flash memory, wireless controllers, two USB 2.0 ports and built-in Wi-Fi access to play games online. It will run a microprocessor developed with International Business Machines Corp. and a graphics chip from ATI Technologies Inc.
The industry has high hopes for the new machines. Last year, U.S. videogame industry sales, including hardware and software, declined 1% to $9.9 billion, according to NPD Group Inc. New console introductions in years past have resulted in sharp sales increases: In 2001, the year Microsoft introduced the Xbox and one year after Sony launched PlayStation 2, videogame industry sales in the U.S. shot up 43% to $9.3 billion.
任天堂揭开新一代游戏机的面纱
任天堂公司(Nintendo Co.)周二推出了新款便携式Game Boy视频游戏机，并表示其新一代家用游戏机将于2006年上市。
任天堂表示，名为Game Boy Micro的新款游戏机在运算能力以及运行的游戏方面与Game Boy Advance SP相同。但Micro长度为4英寸，宽度为2英寸，厚度不到1英寸，体积比手机大不了多少。
任天堂表示，Game Boy Micro将于今年秋季上市，但没有透露具体的售价。
在洛杉矶举办的电子娱乐博览会(Electronics Entertainment Expo)上，任天堂还揭开了代号为“Revolution”的新一代游戏机的部分面纱。任天堂表示，新一代游戏机将于2006年上市，但仍保留了一丝神秘感──没有透露产品的正式名称、具体的上市日期以及参考售价。
从这个时间表来看，任天堂新一代游戏机的上市时间比微软(Microsoft Corp.)的Xbox 360要晚上几个月，而且，比定于2006年春季上市的索尼(Sony) PlayStation 3或许也要滞后。
任天堂表示，Revolution游戏机将兼容GameCube的游戏。
微软和索尼的新一代游戏机功能强大，可以播放电影和下载音乐。与它们不同的是，任天堂的新一代游戏机将专注于游戏，而非多媒体功能。不过，只要购买一个额外的设备，Revolution也可播放DVD影片。
Revolution拥有512兆的内置闪存，无线手柄，2个USB 2.0标准的接口和内置无线保真(Wi-Fi)游戏接口。
