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Nintendo President On Future Of Gaming
Thanks to IGN Cube for their summary of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's keynote speech at the 2003 Tokyo Game Show. Interestingly, Iwata suggested that "...gamers are getting older and tastes are becoming more sophisticated", but didn't necessarily see that as a good thing for industry growth, "because gamers might buy fewer games due to longer play value and a desire to play only software with very high production values." He also remained unconvinced that convergence of functionality for game consoles was the right path, saying: "Although PS2 was a sales success because it had a DVD player function, it troubled me that we had moved to a hardware where the sole function wasn't playing games" and concluded: "It is imperative that a game machine is easy to use for anyone. I don't agree that multi-function hardware is the only answer."
For example, a three-volume RPG that has a good storyline and length well beyond that of the average RPG -- relying, of course, on cutscenes and size of 'world' rather than things like the 20-second summons in FF7 or popping up an enemy every seven steps.
The game mechanics and storyline would have to be really good, there would have to be much more techniques/characteristics/equipment to gather, and they'd need to pay careful attention to make sure your character doesn't become too powerful too early (nothing sucks the fun out of a game like that; adjustable difficulty inside the game would be helpful). Make the game something where you can easily save, too, to make it less frustrating for gamers that don't have an hour to kill trying to get to a save point.
Gamers are changing, and perhaps the business should change with them instead of churning out the same old thing. Nintendo's been burned trying out new strategies, of course, but they also made a big score when they went from playing cards to video games. One has to innovate to stay relevant, and not stick with cartridges in a world of plastic discs.
Doesn't "...gamers are getting older and tastes are becoming more sophisticated" disagree with ""It is imperative that a game machine is easy to use for anyone"? Which is it?
How about we put it this way: "A game machine should not be unnecessarily complicated."
Older gamers don't buy fewer games because they want longer play value or high production values. They buy fewer games because they're ADULTS, with spouses and kids and houses and cars and jobs and all the other shackles of adulthood. If you can only squeeze in 3 or four hours a week of game playing time, one game will last you quite a while. And you're much less likely to tolerate a bad/boring/indifferent game.
I am NOT a man!
I am a free number!
Despite the fact that Nintendo aren't going so well in America with this current generation of consoles, they're just about the only company really willing to innovate. Microsoft especially has never innovated a damn thing in their life, and Xbox is no exception, they just milk some done-to-death idea over and over, only with a bigger budget and a bigger hype machine. Meanwhile Nintendo is the only company still around that's willing to take risks. If they can't survive against the all-powerful force that is crappy MS hype, I wouldn't be looking forward to gaming's co-called "future" under Microsoft anyway (just wait for Halo XP, killer title in 2007).
Nintendo defines the Future of gaming. Who else do you think the future of Gaming is? Huh? Microsoft? Whoa, Halo 2! Sony? Great, a freaking camera where you can play "wash the window".
Seriously, Nintendo is the only company still innovating.
"Although PS2 was a sales success because it had a DVD player function,
Ummm... No. PS2 was a sales success because of the titles offered at launch and the solid reputation as a platform garnered by PS1. Backwards compatibility with PS1 titles and great design didn't hurt either. But to say that its success stems from the fact that it has a DVD player is silly.
And if Iwata doesn't dig DVD players in his game systems, he really is going to choke on the PS3:
If Sony's aspirations succeed, then the Playstation 3 will not be a pure video game console, but rather measure the amount of milk left in the fridge, record TV programs to hard-disk, automatically download new software, perform Tera-flop operations and a variety of other things. In short, if one can automate, computerize, network or electrify a process, then the PS3 should be able to take on the task. From SPReporter article.
And in the same vien (and in his same sentence,) if Iwata is a little put off by "hardware where the sole function wasn't playing games," then he's obviously not a big fan of mods, and throwing away a great customer base.
He used the example that cell phones that play games use up battery power quickly, having a direct impact on the cell phone's core functionality.
And what's next? Refrigerators that dispense water and ice (thus reducing storage space and impacting core functionality,) autos with navigation systems (thus reducing the core map storage functionality of your glove box,) computers that play DVDs (thus reducing the core functionality of your adding machine)??? Yes, Iwata. This maddness MUST END!
Iwata drew parallels between the current state of the gaming industry and the decline in popularity of the shooting and fighting game genres.
No doubt there. Shooters are certainly on the way out. Hardly anyone is making them anymore.
He cited Pokemon, a franchise that has sold more than 10 million GBA games worldwide, as one exception to the rule and seemed to indicate that the industry needs more titles like that.
No question. If Microsoft and Sony would only, then perhaps they could have a glut of non-selling consoles, too!
He once more stressed the pitfalls of online gaming and the problems of subscription networks, and then pointed to new Pokemon games for the GBA as alternatives to Internet play.
Pokemon for the GBA as an alternative to Internet play??? Is this guy for real???
Iwata is out of touch.
Does speling count?
"Although PS2 was a sales success because it had a DVD player function, it troubled me that we had moved to a hardware where the sole function wasn't playing games" and concluded: "It is imperative that a game machine is easy to use for anyone. I don't agree that multi-function hardware is the only answer."
It amazes me that Nintendo manages to refer to its proprietary disc DRM strategy as some sort of feature year after year and never gets called on it. When you're using a full size DVD-ROM drive for your games, tossing in movie and CD playback is trivial. It takes hardly any resources to add that and certainly doesn't take away from game production/functionality. But when you desperately, desperately want better DRM in your console, you have to make some sacrifices, like added features.
"...because gamers might buy fewer games due to longer play value and a desire to play only software with very high production values."
And the solution that Nintendo has already used for this, of course, is to implement the e-Reader in its GBA games so that you need to pay $4 or so per pack for new cards just to unlock the features that are in the game that you already paid for, like the extra levels in the newest Super Mario Advance game or the special attacks in Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.
Why do these guys think that giving the customer more bang for their buck is a bad thing? Do they really think that that's the way to defeat the PS2 and PS3, which offer (or will offer) DVD playback, music CD playback, backwards compatibility, games that you don't need to buy peripherals or cards for, and everything else that they can possibly squeeze into your $200 console and $50-$60 games?
"A gamer is someone who would, say, post messages in a Slashdot Games forum to debate the finer points of speech given by a Nintendo executive. =)"
:)
;)
No, because the gamer would be too busy outside playing Boktai until the sun goes down -- at which point they would swap to Disgaea
The person arguing about stuff on Slashdot clearly doesn't have enough games
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
this guy is living in another world. no wonder nintendo is having sales problems. he needs to be replaced asap.
I still and always have loved Nintendo systems and games....but this guy is more out of touch than I could have ever imagined. I can't believe someone in such a high position at one of the world's leading video game company is so clueless about why Sony is doing so well. DVD player? Huh? So your saying they sold 60 million PS2s because it came with crappy DVD playback? I think not. Sony is doing well because they have great 3rd party support, a really strong string of 1st and 2nd party developers and backwards compatibility with PSX games. Not to mention they have ALL of the Japanese RPGs. It seems it's pretty obvious to me that Japanese love their RPGs more than anything. I think there is mabey one RPG for GameCube and it doesn't even use the traditional Final Fantasy formula the Japanese love so much.
I play for a couple of hours on my two days off, and otherwise will run outside on my lunch break to use the sun driver if I happen to be purifying a boss.
;)
:)
Just an hour or two a week is more than enough to charge up the solar battery in the game a lot. Plus, the sun bank will give 12% interest on what you store with them
The sun certainly makes the game more engaging. I like it a lot more than I liked Metal Gear GBC.
And, yea, Disgaea's waiting until I'm in a Tactics mood. I'm replaying Metal Gear Solid in prep for GCN Metal Gear
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
I had that job once. Playing GameBoy would've been noticable, but playing the /. game wasn't ;)
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
and that piglet game, well, it's piglet!
Problem: Piglet's current owner is pro Bono.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Super Mario Bros. 3 was 256 KiB of program and 128 KiB of artwork. By the nature of the MMC3 memory chip and the game program structure it implies, I'm guessing that the program and audio samples took up about 32 KiB, leaving 224 KiB for maps. Divide by the number of maps in the game, and the resulting figure of 2-3 KiB per map seems consistent with the data structure that Nintendo's side-scrolling Mario games seem to use for map storage: 9 bits for (x mod 16, y) and 7 bits for the identity of the object placed there. One of these cards can hold up to at least 5 KB, given that the 5-card e-reader games were originally 24 KiB NES ROMs.
Will I retire or break 10K?
If I buy the cart and the GBA, then I have paid to play what is on the cart.
Not necessarily. A long time ago, Adobe System sold a CD called "Type on Call" that contained several thousand encrypted fonts. Buyers would phone Adobe, give a bank card number, and be given a code to decrypt and install a font family. Such an unlock system would be even easier to enforce nowadays given the DMCA and the EUCD.
Will I retire or break 10K?
And their games don't constantly remind you that you can get added bonuses in your $50 game by paying
I'd like to remind you that a couple Konami PS1 games such as Metal Gear Solid opened up features if you had save files from other Konami games on an accessible memory card.
for a peripheral
What about "online only" maps in PS2 and Xbox games?
or their handheld system
Watch this change as soon as the PSP and the Xboy come out. I spell heavy PS2vo/PSP cross-promotion.
GC-GBA cross-promotion?
A GameCube, an old-style GBA, and a link cable put together cost $180, which is the same as a PS2 or an Xbox.
this doesn't address whether or not they actually NEEDED the cards. Was there really no memory left on the cartridge? Have they already hit the maximum size of a GBA game in such a short time?
There is definitely room to grow in the GBA Game Pak memory size. The GBA can address up to 256 megabits without bankswitching, but in practice, that's no problem (see also UNROM, MMC1, and MMC3 on NES). Current carts are typically 64 megabits, and big ones such as Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance and Golden Sun 2 are 128 megabits. The problem right now is the price of high-density solid-state storage.
The problem Nintendo ran into is causality. Nintendo can't put maps on the Game Pak that it hasn't created yet. Without some sort of media other than the Game Pak, Nintendo can't publish maps that it creates after Game Paks are already in the hands of players. So every few months, Nintendo makes a few new maps, compresses them down to 2 KB each, puts them on e-reader cards, and sells them in Wal-Mart.
Will I retire or break 10K?