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On Stemming Nintendo's Exclusive Game Drought
Thanks to Nintendojo for its editorial discussing ways to help Nintendo increase the amount of GameCube-only titles it releases. The writer notes that "...it is all too apparent that Nintendo's exclusive games lineup is very thin at the moment", and suggests one of many possible solutions: "Nintendo must figure out a way to increase the [development] capacity of Retro Studios and/or Silicon Knights. These companies must have as much depth [in amount of releases] as Rare had at the latter part of its life." How would you like to see Nintendo partnering to release more high-quality GameCube-only games?
The SNES, regarded by some as the greatest Nintendo system of all time, delivered what the Cube could not--plenty of games. But it doesn't stop there. Nintendo didn't just bust a Sony and release a bunch of games uglier than the hunchback of Notre Dame himself. No. There was quality too. Quality and quantity--a combination that couldn't be stopped. How did Nintendo manage to get so many exclusive games on the SNES that were filled with quality?
If modern consoles were still 16 bit we would have plenty of games!
The problem today is that with technology being as advanced as it is, game development takes longer. Not to mention games are getting more complicated and A LOT of emphasis is placed on the graphics of a game (and cinema scenes), adding to developement time. Despite all of this, consumers expect games to be churned out in the same amount of time as they were 10 years ago.
Though Nintendo may not be putting out as many first party titles each year as it did in the past, they've all been top notch in my opinion, like they always have.
I wish people would stop with the Apple analogy. Apple makes over a grand on a computer while Nintendo sells a console for less than the price of an outdated iPod. Trying to compare the financial depth both companies have is practically absurd.