THE LATEST NEWS FROM MARCH 2004

Nintendo envisaged this not as a successor to any existing hardware, but as a “third pillar” in its console strategy. While no images or software announcements accompanied this press release, people were ready to have their say. Vicarious Visions’ CEO Karthik Bala told that it was “too early to make a call on whether DS is going to be successful”, but that strong launch software was needed, “which is going to be tough since most publishers and developers have their 2004 slate figured out”. ’s typical excitement was tempered, worrying that “games will end up being nothing more than RPGs with real-time map screens”, and cautioning that “as Nintendo themselves put it, they’re not