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Mario's Revenge?

Posted by michael on from the jumping-over-barrels,-saving-the-princess dept.

Cringely's column this week covers the console industry - he predicts that Mario will rise from the dead to pummel both the hedgehog and the bandicoot.

2 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Where's the punch? by jrennie · · Score: 3

    That article was a cool mini-history of the past 15 years of the gaming world, but it didn't much live up to its title. Sony won its seat as top dog by making game development easy and by promoting PS1 games. With PS2, "the emphasis was on the platform, not the titles." Also, according to Robert, game companies are losing money. My questions:

    - Is emphasizing the platform really such a terrible thing when the platform is the best thing out there?
    - What game companies are losing money? Could this have anything to do with the supply of PS2s being not totally smooth? Such problems usually plague a new system. The game companies will be making money soon enough.

    And finally...

    - How are MS and Nintendo going to "open a can of whoop-ass on Sony's empire?"

    Nintendo has been promoting games and developers like it. That doesn't mean that it will instantly become a success. Being as good as the PS2 won't convince millions of gamers to switch. Also, Nintendo did a good job of beating a half-dead opponent (Atari), but their performance against other contenders (Sega, Sony) has been less than stellar. Nintendo can attract the younger crowd with Mario and Pokemon, but they don't have the bait to attract the elders.

    And then there's MS, which has great experience with PC games, but none with console/video games. Will the XBox venture work for MS? Not likely.

    When was the last time MS did something right on their first try? Anyone remember actually Word 1 or IE 1? MS learns quickly and improves upon their past mistakes, but it usually takes a while for them to catch on. First impressions mean a lot in the gaming industry. Also, MS relies on its dominance, and intimate knowledge of the OS for its success. If the XBox successfully makes it out of the gate w/o major hiccups, we're likely to see some cool games from MS. However, the XBox won't get far without help from 3rd party developers. What would Nintendo have been without Capcom and SquareSoft? MS is notoriously bad at working well with others; MS loves having total control. MS will probably put together a nice game development platform, but I can see them ticking off a lot of developers through licensing agreements and payment arrangements. If they don't make it easy and simple like Sony did for the PS1, they'll end up being the only supporters of the XBox game library. Even if you do hate Sony, don't put your bets on MS "revolutionizing" the video game industry.

    Sony may not have a strangle-hold on the video gaming world, but they have solid footing which isn't likely to crumble soon. And, with the current field of contenders as it is, they'll have to make some serious mistakes before falling from their perch.

    Jason

  2. Probably not going to happen by BIGJIMSLATE · · Score: 4

    I'm sorry, but Nintendo will NOT be taking Sony's top spot, whether we like it or not (M$ does have a chance though).

    Why? Because the majority of Nintendo's games are still marketed at the 6-12 age group. For every Goldeneye and Conker, there's 50 Pokemon and Hot Wheels games.

    And Microsoft? Well, they still have to win over the Japanese market, which will be about as touch as trying to win back the people pissed off about their "conceptual artwork" (read: photoshopped screenshots).

    Plus, there's one company neither Nintendo or Microsoft has, and has determined the top console three times in a row. Squaresoft. Now, look at past history; Squaresoft was with Nintendo on the NES and the NES sold well, Squaresoft was with Nintendo on the SNES and the SNES sold well, Squaresoft was with Sony on the PSX and the PSX sold VERY well. Now, Squaresoft is already making at LEAST three games at this point for the PS2 (Final Fantasy X, XI, and XII are all in development, not to mention REMAKES of Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX for the PS2), and it looks like the Sony will come out on top. Plus, Nintendo's president bashing Square a month ago pretty much secured Nintendo a plot in the graveyard populated by 3DO, CD-I, and Atari.

    And its not just Squaresoft. Nintendo pretty much ignored the RPG market with the N64, with only one REAL RPG being released (Zelda is NOT an RPG). Paper Mario, the "sequel" to Squaresoft's Mario RPG is not only original and fun, but it reminded me how much Nintendo ignored the RPG crowd.

    Also, dvd playback will NOT be an option on the Game Cube, and Nintendo has said that they'll market this as a gaming-only machine. Well, that rules out the CASUAL gamers, who would rather buy a gaming unit WITH dvd playback instead of two seperate machines. Not a good move on Nintendo's part, especially since I know people who were sold on the PS2 simply because of the dvd playback.

    Plus, I've had the luxery of playing the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo since its Japanese release. And I can honestly say that this is one game that could sell PS2s by itsself (and this is a DEMO!). What's Nintendo going to fire back with, Pokemon Snap 3?! *Ooh...I'd rather be taking virtual pictures of a wild Pikachu than guiding Solid Snake through kick ass top secret missions in one of the most immersive console games ever* Ugh.

    The Game Cube WILL find some popularity, even if for no reason other than the option of hooking up our Game Boy Advances to. But, as far as Nintendo reclaiming the console throne? Not going to happen. So, aside from some games like Luigi's Mansion, Nintendo is going to have to work DAMN hard to win back the hardcore gamers who were left with only about seven good games for the N64.