Slashdot Mirror
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?")
http://www.google.com/search?cache:ts4zl8dxBV4J:ht tp://www.gamesarefun.com/gamesdb/editorial.php?edi torialid=4
fuck the xbox. i mean, sure, the ps2 is underpowered; but the gamecube? YAH RIGHT BIATRCH.
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The article rambled on for a while quoting numbers like a politician trying to wrangle statistics to make a point. It's a lot of hot air, but nobody gives a damn. So let me tell you *WHY* Nintendo's image is shot to hell.
Nintendo is chasing after the wrong market. Street credibility is gained by targeting the age range 15-35. Not 4-10.
Nintendo have well-deserved reputation for making "children's games" - because that's what they've been pushing on the world since the NES first launched. They've absolutely been left behind. Gamers grew up - Nintendo didn't.
I love my Gameboy Advance SP. It's a brilliant piece of hardware. But there's like only four games that I want to play on it: Advance Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics, Chu-Chu Rocket - and Doom. Every other title seems to be aimed squarely at children.
Similar problem on the Gamecube. Sure, so I might be interested in Metroid - but that's it. I couldn't care less about the next Mario or Pokemon. Pikmin was okay for a while, but not something I'd actually want to buy. It's basicly a kids system.
Note that I DON'T CARE if there are actually good games available for the Gamecube. I'm not aware of them. They aren't anywhere on my radar, so they don't exist. Nintendo's marketing is not reaching me. I could name a dozen upcoming games for the Xbox and PS2 that I want to play (Gran Turismo 4 and Halo 2 being the top picks). I couldn't name a single Gamecube title that's coming out in the next year.
Nintendo apologists: It doesn't matter if you're right on technical details of the argument. Image and word of mouth is everything. Sony has the worst hardware - but nobody seems to care because they have the coolest image. Microsoft is second in looks and image, but they don't quite have as widespread appeal. Nintendo has the narrowest market - soccer moms who want a distraction for their kids - but gamers don't care, even if they are second in sales.
Nintendo is like a boring domestic car (Ford) that parents (in their thousands) buy their children as a first vehicle. But teenagers and adults want the Xbox (BMW) and Playstation (Lexus).