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The Nintendo Indifference?
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a new Nintendojo editorial entitled 'The Nintendo Indifference' This noticably bitter editorial on the state of the Big N begins: "I bought my GameCube with the expectation of the delivery of the promise of innovation, and you failed to deliver. Worst of all, I don't forget. Because of your misleading statements, it's time for a reckoning, Nintendo. You owe me." Has Nintendo really "failed to be innovative as a first party developer for their console", or did the writer of this editorial just get out of bed on the wrong side?
While he makes some valid points, it's hard to take this guy seriously. His ranting and raving is almost as bad as some of the trolls that lurk around slashdot.
He was saying to the audience in attendance that the Nintendo Difference for the GameCube was that their would be no "Mega Sequels," only innovative games like Pikmin.
What developer doesn't make extravagant, exuberant claims at an E3 press conference?
He goes on and makes some interesting comments about Mario Sunshine, but then he makes this comment:
Secondly, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind 'Wanker'.
C'mon, how old are we? You have to resort to name-calling to get your point across?
The whole thing is pure dreck, I can't believe the ravings of an immature, name-callling child makes the news.
Mike
What more do I have to say? Those were two great games, that were also very inavative. What is this guy looking for? Oddities like "Mr. Mosquito"? Yes Nintendo has lots of sequels, but if you look at E3 this year that's just about all there is.
What is there for the XBox or PS2 that's so innovative? I already mentioned "Mr. Mosquito", there is that new game for the PS2 that uses a camera, and Ico was very innovative in many ways. The XBox had... um... I'm not quite sure. MechAssault was somewhat unseen on consoles. I'm sure there are a few more but let's face it, none of the consoles has a ton of innovative games.
So where are they? The PC gets lots of odd games, although they aren't often very big. What does get a ton of games? The GBA. WarioWare Inc (I'm playing this now, it's fantastic), HamHam Heartbreak is sorta unique, it just gets lots of stuff.
All that said, what's so bad about sequels? I'm looking forward to Pikmin 2. There are many sequels that I'm looking forward to. The "sequels suck" thing is just more generalizations that come from games like "SofaSalesmen Tycoon" and "Army Men 312". Many games have sequels done to death, but many are great. I can't wait for Advanced Wars 2 either.
So in short, Nintendo is doing a very good job. Shut up and go find a good game if you want one instead of waiting for the next big thing. Mario Sunshine was no Mario 64, but it was still a pretty good game. Zelda, on the other hand, was simply fantastic. I don't mind sequels if they are well done and top rate.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Anyway, the guys fails to look at the fact that the concentration of original games is higher than that of the other systems.
He calls Mario Sunshine a crappier version of Mario 64... what the hell? Sunshine is a great game, and has a cool angle to it. I mean, c'mon, how many games do you see that have you spray the enemies with water and clean up sludge?
Wind Waker is another great game. I'm perplexed as to how he feels it is the same as OoT or MM... neither had sailing, the enemy AI was levels below WW, no droppable weapons, I could go on for a while.
Metroid Prime. So its a sequel. Its a brilliantly executed sequel. The only "fps" I'll ever play on a console.
As stated, Animal Crossing and Pikmin stand on their own.
How does a guy who writes an article like this get posted to slashdot? Seriously. Even my "Hopefully this will lead to more truly innovative and quality titles like Splinter Cell, Nascar: Dirt to Daytona and Burnout 2..."
If you think those games are innovative there is something seriously wrong with you. Of the three Burnout 2 is probably the most so, and only in it's awesome crashing action.
Nintendo makes the most innovative and fun video games in the world, they always have. So, slashdot, if you're going to continue posting quality stuff like this why not post some of the shit that I write when I'm bored and sleepy?
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
It would be moderated down to -1 Flamebait instantly.
Its claims are absolutely ludicrous. Mario Sunshine has a worse camera than Mario 64? Wind Waker is identical to Ocarina? Games like Smash Brothers that made dramatic and substantial improvements on their originals aren't worth putting out? Sequels that expand on popular and fun ideas are bad? These are just stupid ideas, made no smarter by his "witty" retitling of games to be "Wind Wanker" and "Mario Squirt-Gun", or his claiming that Miyamoto would "wet himself" if a game contained real violence. (News flash: Miyamoto was a producer on Eternal Darkness, one of three games actually praised by the ranter)
God, you have no idea how depressed I am that the buzz story on Nintendo is "the company is doomed". The company is only doomed because of the arbitrary perception that it is doomed. Its consoles are profitable, its games reliably top "best of year lists", and it has a sizable installed fanbase. It's only assholes like this that are going to kill what is, in my opinion, the only company still reliably putting out games that remotely resemble the hobby I grew up on.
Hm. That "essay" appears to have pissed me off more than I thought. I guess I'll go find some more Shines until I calm down.
Philip Sandifer's academic website
Frankly, I think Nintendo is the only innovative game maker left in business today. We had a lengthy discussion on /. the other day on this very topic.. Nintendo, time and again, is the innovator in this industry. As we've seen with Apple (the innovator in the PC industry) they've carved out quite a profitable niche in the marketplace, which is where Nintendo may find itself.
Nintendo, like Apple, has some very innovative games, does things nobody else does, but is later copied by everyone else in the industry :). I love my Xbox by and large it's generic crap that I'm playing on it :). The games look great, but I have yet to find a game that immerses me like the Nintendo titles.
On the Gamecube alone, you have great first party titles like Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Zelda, Mario Sunshine, etc. etc. Nintendo knows how to make a great video game, and the Gamecube is by far the best canvas they've ever had to express their innovative approach to video games.
All one needs to do is just play Zelda Wind Waker for an hour or two to see just how amazing these people are. It's just an astounding game.
www.lonseidman.com