Slashdot Mirror
Nintendo, Miyamoto Preview 2004 Releases
Thanks to Cube Europe for its article discussing forthcoming Nintendo products for 2004, including insight from Shigeru Miyamoto on his in-progress games. The information, sourced from Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK, "states that Metroid Prime 2, Geist, Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green will all be released in Europe before the end of the year", meaning a U.S. release for these games are also likely during 2004. Miyamoto is fairly guarded about his current projects, which also include Pikmin 2, and comments on the continued mystery behind the next Mario title: "With Mario 128 I have been challenging many unprecedented things, not found in existing video games... [and] prone to lose their freshness or to be imitated once they go public." Which Nintendo products are you most looking forward to this year?
Why the hell Nintendo isn't doing more with the Pokemon franchise than a few spin off titles and RPG's for the Gameboy Advance?
I'm a game developer, and let me tell you, if I could develop a game for that franchise, I'd develop a full 3D action RPG. Imagine if you will, Hyrule Field in Zelda Ocarina of Time. Remember walking around that as Link? Well why not as Ash, with Pikachu following faithfully at your side? The Cube can handle much more detailed outdoor environments than Zelda could. With proper level design, one could explore fields, woods, towns, and caves, battling and capturing Pokemon. One possiblity would be to have a system whereby you target a Pokemon just as Link targetted his enemies, and press a button to toss a specific pokemon into battle against it. Battles could then progress in a style similar to Pokemon Stadium, or perhaps a realtime or timer-based battle system could be created. Pokemon attacks, timer ticks down, you have 10 seconds to make a selection or it recovers from it's previous attack and attacks again.
What is stopping them from doing this??? This would be exactly the sort of game which would put them back on the map. A game with the depth and fun of the RPG, but with the great graphics and awe inspiring environments of a third person game.
They already have all the characters modeled and animated. What are they waiting for? Mario Sunshine shows that they could model the sorts of towns that are featured throughout the Pokemon anime very well. They already have battle systems worked out, the strengths of the various attacks. It seems trivial for them to do, and would have been a perfect way to put the Gamecube on top way back when. I thought when they developed Pokemon Stadium that it was leading up to this but the N64 came and went. Could they really be that shortsighted that they can't see what a great game Pokemon would make in 3D? They need something major to give Pokemon new life, and more limited 2D RPG's ain't gonna do it.
Ninendo would have to be fools not to have this kind of title for the next system. They need something fresh and new. Something expansive and grand. Something that takes games to the next level of detail and interactivity. A world teeming with life and filled with combat and adventure would be perfect.