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On Alleged Anti-Nintendo Sentiment In The Gaming Media
Thanks to GamesAreFun for its editorial discussing Nintendo's skewed portrayal in the news media. The writer argues: "I suppose it's just trendy to bash Nintendo right now, even if the arguments for doing it can be easily ripped apart", and goes on to tackle myths on popularity ("..the GameCube has actually never fallen into third place in the overall worldwide market"), a recent half-year financial loss ("old news now... the first loss they've ever reported since going public in 1962"), and temporary suspension of GameCube production ("do they honestly think Sony or Microsoft keep up peak productions at all times?")
Of course, the conspiracy theorists are going to point out the massive resources of Sony and Microsoft, and how easy it would be for them to buy their own kind of coverage. Can't say I blame them (the theorists, I mean)-there was that dealy with the "Linux has a higher TCO than Windows" study...
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"I agree with the the overall sentiment described in the summary, but I didn't bother reading past the headline. "Quoting" the people you're arguing against using l33tspeak is an extremely weak-minded way of making them look dumb." ;)
That's a pity - you missed out on an extremely interesting and informative piece.
The l33tsp34k headlines in the article are little more than a joke. If you look around, there genuinely are people out there saying "N1NtEdN0 R tEh DUM3D LOL" just like that and expecting to be (and somehow actually being) taken seriously, so it's not like the jokey headlines are far from the truth. The article itself contains nothing but genuine facts and figures to debunk the "Nintendo is doomed" myth (currently) often perpetuated by the media and others who are in denial about Nintendo's true situation, and is actually a far better read than the summary here indicates.
It's also the first in a series of editorials, so there will be more worthwhile reading to follow.
as far as i'm concerned, all gaming systems are worthy of at least being tried, any Hardcore gamer would agree that even the worst designed systems can have some of the best quality games, the problem is when joe blow spends his $150-$200 on a system that has his type of games on it, he often falls for the propaganda behind the system and beleives the system he picked is the best. when i bought my PS2 i became a PS2 fanboy, then i bought an X-Box cheap and started realiseing that in some areas the X-Box does exceed the PS2(other than the obvious graphic capability), but in other ares the PS2 exceeds the X-Box. i made the same discovery when i bought my CG and since then started to understand that if you depend on one system you miss out on the offerings of other systems.
now, granted some people can only afford one system and my only advice to them is to buy the system that has a game selection closest to what you enjoy (ie. GC - fun fantasy style games with a some serious gameplay elements, X-Box - Sports gamer heaven and a desent selection of more Adult-aimed games, PS2 - RPGs and racing games primarily, but its a very well rounded in terms of your selection, mostly sue to its Third Party Support)
from where i sit, there is no best or worst game system. its too bad there are few people that have come to this realisation. in the console war, the only winners are the gamers themselves
P.S. sorry if i went off topic a bit, i'm in a bit of a rant mood
/. is overrun by bed-wetting elitist nerds
let it be known, for anything other than servers, a *nix OS sucks
it isn't easy being a nintendo fan these days. i wish every eb employee would read this and actually read things before speaking out of their ass. you know the "gamecube is underpowered" and the "xbox RoXorS" and other statements that they make, yet have no clue what muti-texturing is, and immediatly believe that xbox has more MHz's so it must be better. They have no clue of the differences in the chips (PPC vs. X86, 32 vs. 64 bit, ect) and like so many others believe what advertisers tell them.
ps. "1337" speek and "xtreme" marketing really need to die. If you wern't using "1337" >8 years ago (and to get by filters) shut your damn mouth, you sound, type, and probably act like a 'tard
Either way, the Internet would be a much better place if every 12-year-old with a nickname ending in 3 digits and having to do with Dragon Ball Z didn't feel a need to jump on sites like Neowin and respond to any console game-related article with "XBOX RULEZ!" and then attach some shiny smiley face to it.
The advocates for consoles/operating systems do the most damage to them in my mind, more than the actual product. You start wondering if any well-adjusted people actually use the product. Thus I'd have to rate the majority of pro/anti-console sentiment as simply the inane banter that makes the Internet go round. The real question is, why do people keep eating it up?
"Nintendo makes kiddie games"
and of course gabe from penny arcade said it best when referring to wind waker...
"...these guys think that Zelda is a game for kids. Well only KIDS would care that a game looks like it is for kids. It's like when you are 14 and your mom wants to get a picture of you on the merry go round with your little sister but you don't want to get on because it's for kids. Eventually you grow out of that phase and you can appreciate just having fun whether it be on the back of an undulating wooden horse or in front of a cell shaded video game."
I thought the article was well written. However, calling the media any one thing sounds remarkably like the political camps in the United States saying that the media is exactly opposite of whatever political persuasion they're coming from. "The media is completely liberal!" cries Rush Limbaugh and, well, Fox News. "It's completely conservative!" cries (shouts, perhaps) Howard Dean, or Michael Moore.
So it comes as no surprise that there's an article saying there's bias against the Gamecube, when this is probably not true as most of the console gaming press have chosen a Gamecube for their game of the year for the last two or three years. I have no doubt that Microsoft could very well prove anti-Microsoft bias in the media, especially in the beginning of its lifespan. Anyone remember why Halo surprised everyone? It was because the press generally trashed it from E3 onward. No doubt Sony, too, has had its moments, also particularly in the beginning of the PSX or PS2 cycle lifespan.
As my dad used to say when I whined about my little brother getting something I felt I ought to have, "Cry me a river." You'll always be able to find a bias in the press, because the press is as varied as the community it serves. Duh. I could probably find bias in the gaming media against flossing teeth. Which would be kind of gross, but probably true.
If there's a bias in the media, it's because Microsoft is an American company, and knows how to work the American press. Surprise. Sam Altersitz has no problem claiming Japanese sales number in his article, thus opening his table of study to Japan. But I see absolutely no mention of the Japanese press whatsoever, and while I've probably read as much Japanese press as Altersitz, which is to say none, I'm inclined to believe that Microsoft would be highly justified in claiming in that the Japanese press is extremely anti-Microsoft. Why? Because Microsoft has absolutely no idea how to "press" the Japanese. So why is it a shock that Nintendo, which always seems to be off a wavelength in relation to the American press anyway, is worse at convincing particularly the mainstream press that it is "winning" the console war?
Either way, it doesn't matter. I appreciate the amount of thought and time and research that Sam put into the article, but the answer to why the press seems slanted is obvious. It is, but it's also slanted for the Gamecube as much it is against it, it's just so varied that it's easy to say it's for or against anything. And if there is a slant, that slant doesn't take into consideration the Japanese press nor the obvious advantage Microsoft has in home turf.
Guess what, pal?
Do you even know what CAUSED the loss?
A surprisingly strong yen devalued Nintendo's off-shore accounts, offsetting whatever sales they had with a huge conversion loss. Nintendo has billions (YES, B) in the bank, and I don't mean Yen. When you can generate a quarterly loss through devalued currency, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Look at the Canadian buck. It's surprisingly strong nowadays.
In 2003 alone, Nintendo made $330 million.
Counting combined sales, Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire was the #1 selling title (#2/3 if not, giving the title to the PS2 version of Madden)
Don't assume anything. Nintendo's still doing better than you think.
It's not the console I despise, it's the company and their practices.
Microsoft has a well developed reputation of being greedy and disheartening. They have no intention of making a profit until 2006 at the earliest. Until then, they just want market share at the expense of quality. I believe it was Seamus Blackley himself that said MS was creating an artificial economy by paying developers exorbitant amounts of cash BEFORE a game's release as incentives to develop. Ever wonder why Xbox games have so many bonuses? You really think they couldn't fit Prince of Persia 2 onto a PS2 or Cube disc? Come on!
Of course, we all remember the early Xbox flash cartoon making fun of Nintendo, don't we?
Sony has other issues, from their artificially high prices to their shoddy equipment to their pompous attitude. Do you know ANYONE with a broken PS2? I think we all do. And it's not just because of the selling rate. If it was, there'd be a lot less PS2s in the shop. Go to Gamestop and ask what the ratio of broken PS2s is to Xbox/Cube consoles.
If I can't appreciate the company, I can't enjoy their product. Now, leave me be while I bid on the Pokemon PT Cruiser with all the proceeds going to the Starlight Foundation.
Blatant bias against them in the mainstream media? Check.
Produce high quality hardware with excellent design? Check.
Described as "doomed" year after year? Check.
Still have billions in cash reserves? Check.
Not enough software? Check.
Always being trolled by moronic Microsoft fanboys? Check.
It's obvious, Nintendo are the Apple of video games.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
Now that video games are more than niche market and Sony, Microsoft and your mom are interesting in getting a piece of the action, they're going to bash the guy that tries to stay true to their previous success.
Everyone calls Nintendo a kiddy company b/c they don't get the games where you blow cops and everyday citizens apart. (Not that there's anything wrong w/ that.) But they make some of the best adventure/platform/plain ol' fun not overly complex games I can think of.
I told my non-gamer friend to get a Gamecube, here's why: He can still get Madden and other EA Sports games, Tony Hawk games, plus the born again classics of Zelda, Metroid, Mario Games. He's played Xbox/PS2 since and says he'd still rather be playing his Gamecube.
No sig for you!!
I'm 28, and am quite happy with my GameCube and PS2. I don't really care much for FPS, and really don't see your logic in apparently claiming that all people over 10 are primarily interested in FPS. The fact that THE must have title for the Xbox is a FPS is perhaps my #2 or #3 reason for being completly underwhelmed by Microsoft's console.
I've played some FPSs at work on PC (Counterstrike, some version of Doom, Battlefield 1942) and i've tried out a few FPSs on consoles, and i can't figure why anyone would ever choose consoles as their FPS vehicle of choice, regardless of how much or how little they were interested in the genre.
As for "most of the games listed as great games for the PS2 and GameCube are available for Dreamcast," care to back that up? Out of the thirty odd games i listed for GameCube earlier in this dicusion, i seriously doubt more than 10% or 20% are available on Dreamcast, which hardly qualifies as "most." In fact the only ones i can think of right now are Skies of Arcadia and Ikuraga, but go ahead, prove me wrong.
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Actually, I'd say it's the lack of RPGs more than the lack of FPSs which hurts the older market. As an older gamer myself, I can say that after playing games for 17 years I get bored of the same old repackaged stuff over and over again, and thus I had more or less lost interest in Halo before it came out. Regardless, GameCube does have the multiplatform FPSs (I know people who own Time Spitters 2) so it's just lacking in unique FPSs...as much as any FPS these days is "unique"....
Xbox has several system killers, KOTOR, NHL:2k4,HALO.
KotOR: I already mentioned how from my understanding the PC version is just plain better. Why bother with the XBox version?
NHL:2k4: Multiplatform. Yet another sports game. Umm...how does this make the XBox stand out? I mean there's a reason I didn't include PoP:SoT or BG&E for any of the lists I made.
Halo: my distain for the lack of innovation asside, I'd certainly want to catch up with Half-Life first since that's supposed to be a considerably better FPS.
Despite this the other systems have clung to life
If by "clung to life" you mean "consistently outsell the XBox worldwide" then yes.
And the Dreamcast is a good system, yes, though most of these games aren't DC ports actually. On the GameCube list I made there's...Skies of Arcadia: Legends, though from what I hear the remake is done considerably better than the original. You can count Soul Calibur 2 as well I guess (just because SC1 is supposed to be rather similar). However, a good half of the games I listed are Nintendo-made and thus could never appear on the Dreamcast. From the PS2 list I posted there's...Grandia 2. Again, about four titles I listed for the PS2 are SquarEnix or Sony-made titles, and most of the others are niche RPGs which will likely never be remade for another system.
If you're looking for a system that's nothing but ports/games that were subsequently ported elsewhere it's the XBox. If you have a good PC you can already buy most noteworthy XBox games (Halo, KotOR, Morrowind, PoP:SoT...) well barring the console ports which come from the PS2 mostly (like GTA, and various sports games).