My Gamecube prediction

[MK-1601]

Proprietary media you say? Just like most solid state formats, then? Which as I have stated previously are comparatively cheap as opposed to GBA carts. Even IQue's portable memory cart is cheaper, despite being far larger and more technologically advanced. And surely if the technology is cheap enough to be reversed engineered and replicated, we shouldn't have to suffer these sorts of prices.

Irrespective of all of this, even if (and if is the word) the market conditions are still not right for for cheap cartridge based gaming media (despite the instances in other fields) then Nintendo shouldn't have chosen the format in the first place. It's simply another way of handing the market to Sony.

Most hardware vendors control through licensing technologies, not through the means of production. Sony can't cap the price of a blank DVD any more than it can hinder the downward spiral of Minidisc.

No, proprietary media as in 'available from one manufacturer'. There are a number of reasons that the GBA uses ROM carts, which should be obvious.

"Most hardware vendors control through licensing technologies, not through the means of production." - Don't really see what your point is. The end result is the same.

[PaB]

Proprietary media you say? Just like most solid state formats, then? Which as I have stated previously are comparatively cheap as opposed to GBA carts. Even IQue's portable memory cart is cheaper, despite being far larger and more technologically advanced. And surely if the technology is cheap enough to be reversed engineered and replicated, we shouldn't have to suffer these sorts of prices.

Nintendo are the only manufacturers of GBA carts. All GBA carts, regardless of publishers are manufactured by Nintendo. THe cost of other carts for other systems is irrelevant.

As for reverse engineering - Due to design patents this would be impossible.

[D-Side]

No, proprietary media as in 'available from one manufacturer'.

There's no such media on the planet. As was previously mentioned, even GBA carts get manufactured by other parties, but illegally. Proprietary as in a specific standard, one whereby all the intellectual properties are controlled by a single party. They might not necessarily control the means of manufacture, as is the case with Sony's 3 1/2" floppy disk format. In this instance, Sony has allowed other providers to produce and sell the format. To date, Nintendo has not considered outsourcing production, which has brought about some interesting legal events in gaming history.

"Most hardware vendors control through licensing technologies, not through the means of production." - Don't really see what your point is. The end result is the same.

Not really. Licensing is simply purchasing information\rights to allow for production. Holding the monopoly on manufacture is bound to raise prices detrimentally and, in some cases, artificially. Whether this is the case with GBA software remains to be seen.