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Nintendo's Boss On Western Partnerships, Online
Matt writes "It seems Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has once again spoken out, in a talk to the Japan Economic Foundation, and GameCube Advanced has the highlights. Iwata downplays online gaming, citing the example of a PS2 golf sim which outsold its online counterpart [is this Minna No Golf Online, aka Hot Shots Golf Fore!, versus its prequel?] Also, Iwata speaks about Nintendo working with other non-Japanese companies (saying 'We are now holding negotiations with major Western game developers and will be able to conclude a deal by the end of the year if things go smoothly'), and about takeover speculation regarding Bandai [vague talk of 'a closer relationship'.] In addition, he warned again that the status quo in videogames is in jeopardy... 'We are facing a critical situation, in which the number of game players will decrease unless we change tack', Iwata said."
As long as Nintendo wants to make games for a younger audience, offline games should be okay. Kids can amuse themselves with
For the gamer who enjoys true competition and high replay value, however, there is no substitute for the online experience. Starcraft, Counterstrike, Doom III, etc., are examples of this. Other types of online games, such as MMORPGs, allow for a dynamic and social feel that no offline game can authentically replicate.
On the other hand, a well-made online game tends to have a huge replay lifespan. Perhaps that is why Nintendo is hestitant to embrace them?
More observant gamers will note that Nintendo has already tried online since the Famicom (term for Japanese ver. of NES) even before the Internet was in common use! Not only that, I'm gonna quote some stats: In Japan, the sales for Final Fantasy XI (online MMORPG) were around 100,000 aka dismal. In Japan. Final Fantasy games have a near-cult following in japan. Nintendo knows Online Play tanks. If you have to pay for online, it's not gonna be popular. And, if XBOX LIVE (EVIL XOBX in reverse) is the only reason XBOX sold a single console, then I guess that the year before XBOX LIVE came out that no one even touched the things. I bought the XBOX since it looked good at the time (although I wanna gamecube now) and played DVDs too.
I know, all of us here in Slashdot, would find it difficult to believe, but the majority of people who buys games, are playing them off-line. Blizzard for example, who sells millions of units per game, has stated repeatly that only a small fraction of it's player base ever goes online with their games. Although that fraction turns out to be a couple of hundred-thousand players, it's still a small portion of the over-all pie.
With the recent series of MMORPG cancellations, like Ultima X: Odyssey, Warhammer Online, Mythica, and several others, it is no secret that companies are re-evaluating what kind of profit an online game can generate. It is not the easy cash cow that developement houses came to believe it to be.