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Nintendo - Stodgy, Not-So-Super Mario?

Posted by simoniker on from the coal-left-in-stocking dept.

Thanks to the Washington Post for their article discussing Nintendo's current position in the console wars. Although many of the usual points are discussed (despite Sony and Microsoft's efforts at innovation in online gaming and elsewhere, Nintendo has "...stuck to a philosophy that people who buy and play video games enjoy the familiar and care little for such gimmickry"), the piece also points to possible failure in Nintendo's current tactics ("The company proclaimed that the Game Boy Advance would be a 'Trojan horse' for the GameCube - but that Trojan horse never opened because very few game designers have figured out cool ways to take advantage of that connectivity.") The article ends with an analyst's concern that "...the game console market might be starting to move beyond what Nintendo can deliver."

4 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Man this really gets old... by AvantLegion · · Score: 2, Interesting
    You're not far from the mark. What we're seeing is video gaming getting so large that it can sustain different market players serving different niches.

    Although I think Nintendo's trademark stubborness has led to a number of missed opportunities (failing to take would-be blockbusters like Mario Kart online are among the most recent examples), I think their willingness to serve a certain market will help establish the rules of the industry for years to come.

    No longer does a console have to be everything to everyone to survive. Targeting certain types of gameplay offerings brings certain markets with it - (I don't want to fall into the "Nintendo targets the kids" stereotype, but rather say that the "Nintendo" style of gameplay brings in certain markets, of which kids are a part of).

    That said, there will still be bustling for market position among the competitors. And as every game-playing consumer knows, having watched this console generation's price wars, that kind of capitalistic competition is great for the consumer.

  2. I sense a bit of hypocrisy here... by Gothic_Walrus · · Score: 2, Interesting
    How is it that while people repeatedly blast Nintendo for all of these "rehashes," these games not only get great reviews (up in the 90% range, usually) but also top best sellers lists constantly?

    Just a thought. More Mario isn't always a bad thing.

    --
    Goo goo g'joob.
  3. Re:One flaw I see with the Gamecube by Momomoto · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Am I the only person that sees no internet connectivity as an advantage? I couldn't care less if my console can go online or not.

    What I want is an excellent multiplayer experience that I can share with three other people in the room. Nintendo's games have got this in spades. A game of Mario Party just wouldn't be the same if the people you were playing against weren't in the same room.

    I see nothing wrong with Nintendo forcing us to be social creatures in order to get our multiplayer fix. Let Microsoft and Sony make games that can be played online; the truth of the matter is all the multiplayer games I play are on Nintendo right now, except for Guilty Gear X2 (PS2) and Power Stone 2 (DC).

    --
    "Max, come over here. French-Canadian bean soup. I want to pay. Let them leave me alone." - Dutch Schultz
  4. Re:*sigh* by GaimeGuy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I love you man, will you be my wife? :) Anyways, I'd like to add something about your comment about the currency rates: Nintendo claimed that they lost about 350 million dollars during the first half of the fiscal year due to the increase in the Yen's value. Nintendo PREDICTED that they'd lose about 46 million, I believe. When the figures came in, it was 2 million dollars. Which means without factoring in the change in currency rates, they MADE about $348,000,000 from April through September. Also, two million dollars is pocket change to a company with 8 billion in cash and a couple more in assets.