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Sticking up for Nintendo
Reader jasoncart wrote in to give us a heads up on an editorial over on Ferrago. In it, the author defends Nintendo from its numerous detractors. From the article: "I love Nintendo and make no apology for it. I admit still that they annoy me like no other company in the gaming world. They can be at times simply utterly frustrating, I know that too well, but how shall I put it? Love is true but comes at a price. It's the one that is closest to you that can hurt you most."
*Applause*
Fanboyism is lame. I have to admit that Nintendo does a good job of designing great games, but they also do allot of bad things and have some gamers that are just average (though no stinkers). Nintendo's biggest failures are, roughly in order:
0. All of the lame censorship starting with the NES.
1. Error-proned front loading NES when Japanese version was top-loading.
2. All of the evil empire crap surrounding Tetris at the time of the NES. Atari *cough* I mean Tengen's version was better.
3. Hell, all of the evil empire crap surrounding the NES and even the Gameboy.
4. Delaying the release of the SNES, allowing Sega to get a few breathes of air.
5. No blood in the first SNES Mortal Kombat, which further allowed the Genesis a little more legitimacy.
6. Virtual Boy: gimmic is not innovation. However, it would be innovative to have stereoscopic in today's world, where 3D can be done right. Make it color the next time around please.
7. Losing Square to Sony.
8. Most stuff related to the N64. A few good games is not enough.
Now Nintendo has had strong successes:
1. Great games and game franchises.
2. NES
3. SNES
4. Gameboy (Pocket, Color, Advance, SP)
Stuck in the past, huh? I'm sorry, but I have enjoyed every single Mario/Zelda/Metroid game that's been released. Each of them have their charm.
The cool thing about Nintendo games using these classic franchises is that almost each iteration introduces a new gameplay mechanic that's not gimmicky, but is actually relevant to the gameplay. That's the thing: with classic franchises, they almost always try to spice it up.
Take the Metroid Prime series (there's 2, so why not call it a series?) for instance. It could have simply been your standard FPS in a power suit. But they actually took everything that made Metroid what it is and converted it to a 3D world full of life and detail. They are easily some the best first-person console games I've ever played. Normally I shy away from FPS on the consoles because of their unnatural feel with a controller. These games were easy to pick up and just start playing.
That's something else Nintendo games are known for. You can just pick up a controller and start playing the game. You don't have to read a 5-pound manual first for all the key-mappings and whatnot. The accessibility of Nintendo games is second to none.
Just because some of their games might have bright colors and happy music does not -- I repeat, NOT -- mean they're just for kids. Super Mario Sunshine had some pretty challenging (in a fun way) moments, as did Mario 64, Super Mario World, and even Mario 3 before that.
Wind Waker was another game that got chastised for its "kiddy" look. If graphics are all you base a game's worth on (DOOM 3, anyone?), then I feel sorry for you. Wind Waker was incredibly fun, despite its cel-shaded look. It was done for a reason, and it fits in perfectly with the theme of the game. Besides, the new Zelda game features a mature Link, which I know I've missed since Ocarina of Time. Hell, since Adventure of Link, for that matter.
The kiddy argument just doesn't fly. I think a lot of people say that because Nintendo is almost synonymous with "growing up". I played the NES growing up, and I still buy every console Nintendo makes. Why? They make great games, and they have yet to let me down in that department, even if they do frustrate the ever-loving piss out of me.
"Apparently so, but suppose you throw a coin enough times. Suppose one day, it lands on its edge."
Amen brother!
(Although they have been a bit better recently, presumably becuase they need at least some European support to keep them ahead of the Xbox worldwide. Well, that and they presumably don't want stores to drop the 'Cube like Dixons and Argos nearly did a while back.)
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
My personal theory is that most Slashdotters (including the editors) grew up in the period when Nintendo ruled the US gaming roost. They therefore view everything Nintendo does through rose tinted glasses. I've pulled that theory out of my arse, so it might be wildly innacurate, and rather unhygenic.
I personally think it's mostly Ninty fanboys that are the most negative about the PSP, becuase it's a real threat to N's last big market. So they attack just about everything on it, before it's even been out (reality check: the price isn't astronomical, the screen's fine, and the batteries last a reasonablish time[1]). Personally I think the DS is basically the GimmickBoy, and I love the way some people are saying it's not a replacement for the GameBoyAdvance. Although I suppose it could be in a Master System / Mega Drive co-existance sort of thing (in the UK, there were new SMS games up to about 1994).
Personally my first console was a Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis in North America). I know Nintendo have done some very good games, like Zelda: Ocarine of Time, but I also know they've rereleased some of there games numerous times on different formats (Link's Awakening DS is comming soon I'm sure), their hardware is always the absolute minimum needed to compete, and they screw PAL gamers like no other company still does really.
Then again the PlayStation series have bad build quality, and overstated specs, the Xbox is big heavy and ugly, and Sega mismanaged themselves out of the jaws of victory. Don't get my started about the PC, and the Slashdot PC fanboy crowd...
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Bah, probably rather disjointed and rantish, but hey! It's Slashdot! Sorry about any spellings etc. as well, Firefox doesn't have Safari's nice built in spell checker.
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[1] Remember they're rechargable, it's not like you have to use 6xAA's like a Game Gear. Although it does sound rather short for long trips I suppose.
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
I just wish nintendo would come out with some adult (or at least more mature games). sure, keep the fun graphics and music, but throw in more mature themes.
My favourite things about nintendo (aside from reminding me of my youth with the franchises...) is that yes, I can just pick it up and play for a little while, then turn it off. Sure, some games (final fantasy) require a little more time, but still, you can play it for a couple minutes if you wanna rack up some XP.
I love warioware for that reason. Man, Wario:touched for my DS has provided me so much fun in the last week, my wrist hurts (no, my wrist doesn't hurt from that, wario isn't THAT sexy).
...spike
Ewwwwww, coconut...
You mean like Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil, or the new Zelda?
"Apparently so, but suppose you throw a coin enough times. Suppose one day, it lands on its edge."
I can understand the desire for Nintendo to push for a more adult market, but I sort of view it like this - sometimes in art the more restrictions you put on yourself, the more free you actually become. I think theres a lot to be said for the company keeping its games accessible to most everybody. Most of their games aren't really kiddy in the sense that someone over the age of 12 wouldn't be interested - they just have a pretty decent all ages appeal. They might not always have the best graphics/sound/story even, but they certainly always meet at least a minimum level of gameplay fun. There have been PLENTY of recent XBOX and PS2 games that look great in the glossy magazine pages, and get hyped to death, that turn out to be difficult to control, clumsy, and end up feeling like a chore. Nintendo has been known to take some cool risks too - I remember mario paint being great fun, and something that parents gladly bought for their kids. I know if I had kids and I had a choice at that era I would have much rather gone with the nintendo options, that had some clever fun games that I wouldn't worry about my children dropping some serious time on, instead of just bashing away at Mortal Combat to get a flawless fatality. I also think it's good, from a social point of view, that a company like nintendo is willing to police itself. Vice City, for instance, is a fabulous, great, super-detailed game that is wonderful for adult gamers, but horribly innapropriate for children. Now, I know, and agree, that it is ultimately the parents responsbility to understand the content of the games their children are playing, but I see no problem with a company making a product that parents can feel safe to buy. Parents are terminally unhip, no matter the generation. If a company can convince them that they can be trusted, and never betray that confidence, it's a winning proposition for all involved. I know a lot of couples with young kids who have said as much. I think Nintendo has made a good choice in ducking out of the mature-only market and sticking with what they know, which is great gameplay that most people can enjoy.
"but sony? other than evercrack what harm have they done to the geek open source community?"
I have eight letters to answer that question with:
MPAA
RIAA
And your not guilty of the same thing, calling the DS, gimmickboy? Millions of system sales and a huge lineup of mainstream games in development doesn't seem very gimmicky to me. I've said this before, the reason people bash other systems is because the want the one they chose to buy to succeed and have the most games, and they think bashing the other systems with every insult, rumour, lie, anything will make others think twice about thier choice of system to support. Personally, I'm the type that buys all systems, and has n empty wallet :(
True genius is grasping a situation like a peice of fruit, and peircing it just right so that it drains dry.
Dear Europe:
Got any old Terranigma carts you're willing to part with?
--North America
Why they didnt made a portable gamecube with a miniDVD disk instead?
Because with optical disc drives in a handheld, you have this problem where the drive opens for no reason during game play.
Slashdot... unbiased. Hahahahaha. That's funny... really, really, really funny.
Sony has had the most underpowered and lowest build quality console for their entire gaming history. The PS1 couldn't push as many polys or texture as well as the N64 could(and the N64 was the first console to support mipmapping), it just wasn't cart based and had enormously larger storage capacity. The PS2 is the lowest powered console of the current generation(yet is priced in the upper tier of console prices), even the Dreamcast, which was released prior to the PS2 generally looks better. For the first time, as they enter into the portable market, Sony has the more powerful console. Of course, having the more powerful handheld console means they also have battery life problems when that power is used.
Sony also doesn't produce many(if any) first/second-party console titles worth noticing. People tend to be more loyal to software publishers and franchises than to platforms. Almost everything decent on Sony's platforms are third party in origin, and you can't count on third parties to produce titles for a platform, as both former SEGA fans and Nintendo fans have learned oh so well.
FF:CC btw, was produced by Square. You also had to have friends(or you could pay the homeless), and a TV, and a house or appt, and have access to 4 handhelds which are more common than the playstation 2, and buy 3 $10 link cables in order to play it 4-player multiplayer. And, it turned out that there was no way in hell they could've done what they did any other way. Nobody made you buy the game, and I doubt you even did.
The DS uses an ARM 7 and an ARM 9, both underclocked for lower power consumption. I don't think the N64 used an ARM processor, much less an ARM 9. IIRC, it used a MIPS processor, and was designed in collaboration with SGI.
If you remember, half the time spent playing any Playstation game seemed to be waiting on shit to load, the best games for it, were imo, good in spite of this, but it happens to piss me off to this day. You don't have visible load times on Nintendo platforms(or on Microsoft's platform), except for shitty ports in the Gamecube era. Maybe you don't care, some of us do.
Nintendo also actually likes to at least break even on their hardware. Many industry analysts are pegging the loss Sony is taking on the PSP at upwards of $250. And the PSP has some problems, we have legitimate concerns about the thing. I would buy it in a heartbeat if it gets released here with Nintendo-level build quality/durability and a 6 hour battery life running at full clip, but that's not going to happen.
The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
The concept of loving a corporation is completely beyond me. It goes beyond fanaticism into zealot territory.
I can't really explain it either - I just love the game. And I didn't like the Sims at all. Animal Crossing has this weird calming effect on me. Nothing is better after a stressful day than some fishing and bug catching in my town. Its kind of like that imaginary place with all the animals on Mister Roger's Neighborhood. For some reason, it just makes me feel like a kid again when I play it. Its just silly and relaxing and has a surprising amount of things you can do (though I wish there was more). And I really love the music.
I have eventually gotten sort of tired of it, and I haven't played it in months. But overall, I think its one of the most played game in my collection. And believe me, that is really saying something.
I'm really looking forward to the DS version. In fact, that is one of the main reasons I was an early adopter for the DS.
This is the kind of story where there's no really interesting comments because the vast majority of Slashdotters are huge Nintendo fans, and any post even mentioning another game console in a positive fashion is likely to be modded down. Anybody opposed to the article will not post because posting in a topic like this is utterly useless. (I mean, people thought that the politics comments were biased... it's nothing to the gaming section.)
Comment: I bought an XBox because the GameCube couldn't play DVDs and I wanted HDTV support.
Reply: You don't need to play DVDs, you have a DVD player which is better and they are cheap anyway! Also you don't need HDTV support because nobody owns a HDTV and even if they do, there are about 3 games on GameCube that kind-of support 480p a little bit if you hit the right code on the menu maybe.
Reply: Mini$haft makes the XBox and they frequently pass the time in their office by impaling children on spikes and sticking their heads outside their corporate headquarters. Even thought the company name is "Microsoft," I type it as "Mini$shaft" because it was clever and funny when I was in third grade, and therefore it's still clever and funny now... right?
Mod: -3 Flamebait.
That's pretty much how it goes down every topic.
Comment of the year
"as far as I know they use linux to code ps2 games didnt you knew that?"
First off, when did Linux become a programming language?
Secondly, what's the point of using open source software when you need to sell your soul to get the SDK? I've tinkered with a lot of homebrewed PS2 software and none of it involved getting Sony's SDK or even "Linux (for PlayStation 2)" as far as I can tell.
"and every geek I know has a soft spot for cool electronics and thats what sony is all about,"
Then I'm correct in assuming you own an HDTV? Either I'm not a geek, or geeks are more interested in fun toys more than they are in "cool electronics." The people who go after "cool electronics" seem to be the ones who slap stickers all over their Honda Civics.
"No offense guys but Nintendo is the Walt Disney of the videogames world"
If Nintendo were Disney, there would be no new games featuring these characters. Instead, they'd be locked in a vault somewhere with Nintendo sueing the crap out of anybody who even mentions their trademarked propeties, and their main source of profit would be from producing games with stories that rip off the public domain. The reason Mario is more recognizable than Mickey Mouse is because Mickey hasn't done anything for the past 50 years or so.
No, in reality we have people complaining that Nintendo is using their old characters in too many new games. Square Enix is the company that wants us to buy Final Fantasy Origins again barely 18 months later. That's Hollywood thinking.
"(in case you didnt knew family games are the ones who make the most money!)"
Which is why the GameCube is trouncing the PlayStation 2 in sales...
" you can even compare them and their business practices to MS at some point."
Which is why the GameCube is trouncing the PlayStation 2 in sales...
Heck, if Nintendo were so similar to MIcrosoft there'd be no point in Gates wanting to buy them. Why "embrace and extend" when you're already there?
"You cringed all over when MS tried to make all windows users pay an annual fee,"
How long ago did the GCN come out? Or the SP?
Again, Sony is the company that seems to be looking for annual fees. Want a PS2 that you can turn off with the remote? Buy a new PS2. Progressive-scan DVD playback? Buy a new PS2. A four-player adapter that works in both PS and PS2 games? Buy a new PS2. It's getting to the point where buying a second PS2 is less a luxury and more an upgrade.
"but you just smiled when Nintendo forced everyone to buy 4 gameboys for a four player game"
Sounds familiar...
Nintendo didn't force anybody to buy four Game Boys because everbody could bring their own, and everybody already owns their own Game Boy.
"when they could have made a cool multiplayer online game instead,"
Instead we got a game with a plot and a storyline, a game without camping, without internet fuckwads, without monthly subscriptions and a game we'll still be able to play in five years. Damn you, Nintendo!
"geek is cool"
War is peace! Freedom is slavery!
Geek is not cool, geek is liking what you like without thinking about whether or not it's cool. Game awards shows on Spike are cool, because they followed all the coolness rules.
"Just to beat some sense to you consider this the DS is a double screened gameboy with a nintendo 64 chip in it. the second screen is a cheap touchscreen from a palm, at the end you are just getting a cheap palm."
On the one hand, you say I'm getting a handheld version of a system I still love. On the other, you say I'm saving money compared to what Palm would be charging for a platform with far fewer games I'd be interested in. Where exactly is the downside in that?
"Why they didnt made a portable gamecube with a mi
If you catch a lot of flack for hearing how nintendo is just for kids, get one of these.
4 1& lsaid=322441
http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?products_id=60
One of the features
- Contains Sound-Chip imitating roar of the chainsaw when vibrates(!)
$_='while(read+STDIN,$_,2048){$a=29;$b=73;$c=142;
Yeah, I've never gotten into those console wars because I don't have loyalty to the systems themselves, but rather the games/franchises on those system.
When I'd already purchased a PS2 and a Gamecube, I got an X-Box simply because of Ninja Gaiden. That's another old franchise from the past that I love, and since I had read a lot of "professional" and player reviews of the game with very positive feedback, I figured it was time to get one. By the time Ninja Gaiden was released, the price had come down a great deal, and the box came with the smaller controllers. I'd say Ninja Gaiden was worth every penny I spent.
Of course, I got a lot of flack from folks insulting me for buying an "X-Cocks" and whatnot, but I really don't care who makes the console. I just like the games. Granted, I have more PS2 and Gamecube games than X-Box games, but if there's a game I want to play that only came out for X-Box (i.e. Ninja Gaiden), then I'm glad I got one. If a game I really want to play comes out for more than one console simultaneously, I tend to get the PS2 or Gamecube version instead of the X-Box version.
"Apparently so, but suppose you throw a coin enough times. Suppose one day, it lands on its edge."
If a game I really want to play comes out for more than one console simultaneously, I tend to get the PS2 or Gamecube version instead of the X-Box version.
Even if the XBox version has better graphics or more features? (Which 95% of the time it does. Except in the cases of Godzilla games.)
I've played Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on all platforms, and I can tell you without a doubt that the XBox version is the best all-around. The controls are superior, the graphics are much superior, and it includes both the original 2D Prince of Persia games as unlockables instead of just the first.
Comment of the year
but sony? other than evercrack what harm have they done to the geek open source community?
Slashdot is a lot more than the open source community. They did release a PS2 version of Linux, but they still made sure to keep their own proprietary layer running beneath it, which was missing the point.
The people who don't like Sony do it because:
A. They are a huge company and it's very easy to hate them (even rightfully) for that, and
B. They have worse games, on the average, than Nintendo.
Do not underestimate the importance of point B! Sony has good games, true. Even some great ones -- GTA, Ico, Katamari Damarcy. They're certainly ahead of Microsoft in this regard now. But they still have catching up to do with Nintendo.
Also... well, this is probably just me, but I kind of get a slimy feeling when I see a commercial for a game called "Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal." Say what you want about Nintendo, but you never get the feeling that they're pandering to their audience. (Well, except maybe in the case of the Mario Party games.)
I personally think it's mostly Ninty fanboys that are the most negative about the PSP, becuase it's a real threat to N's last big market.
There is probably some truth to this, but a lot of people attack the DS as well, and for similar reasons.
Gimmicks *can* make a system successful, if they prove to be more than just gimmicks. The jury's still out on whether developers can make effective use of that microphone and touchscreen. Jam with the Band looks like it could be something truly unique and beautiful....
You make a good point, and that's not one of my set-in-stone rules, mind. If one version offers more incentive to purchase it over its sister ports, then I'll buy it.
"Apparently so, but suppose you throw a coin enough times. Suppose one day, it lands on its edge."
The concept of loving a corporation is completely beyond me. It goes beyond fanaticism into zealot territory.
But Nintendo fans don't actually love the corporation. They love its games.
It's actually something of a tightrope for the company. Stop making excellent games, desecrate the memory of Mario and Samus and Link, do them a disservice, and fans (such as are left) will abandon the big-N in droves. This comes out of Nintendo's internal developer culture. That, there, is Nintendo's corporate strength.
Take a moment to note that the Mario series, despite the relatively-lackluster response with which Mario Sunshine was met, is still in much better shape than Crash Bandicoot, which some thought, once upon a time, could be actually a legitimate rival for the rubbery plumber.
From the article:
Which is more mature - GTA San Andreas or Animal Crossing? I bet that nearly every single one of you would say GTA but I disagree with all of you. Yes, even you. Animal Crossing is a far more mature game in many ways.
This is the most insightful thing in the article (which contains some errors -- Nintendo didn't develop the Power Glove, it was just available for their system).
The definition of maturity has become somewhat clouded, what with the MPAA's and the ESRB's ludicrous rating systems. They have caused people to equate violent and sexual content with maturity, which is foolish.
The point of those systems isn't to say that these elements are mature, but that the viewer/player should be of at least this maturity level before being exposed to them. Which itself is awfully condesending to the consumer, but is at least less stupid than the common assumption.
Maturity is not what kinds of objectionable content you put in your work. It is an outlook, a way of being sure of yourself despite what you see, a tendency to look out for others before yourself, the ability to behave rationally, respectfully, thoughtfully. Judge it this way, and I can name thirty-year-olds who might not be considered worthy of playing Grand Theft Auto.
But Animal Crossing rewards all those attributes listed above, while many things in the GTA games, despite all their considerable design strengths, do much to tear them down.
And that is why it's a much more mature game, cartoon animals and all, than GTA.
I suggest a truce.
PSP fanboys stop calling the DS "kiddie," "virtual boy," "a gimmick," and "ugly," and we DS fans will stop harassing the PSP about its "load times," "battery life," "price," and "defects."
Oh, I competely agree with everything you say. But doesn't that just beautifully describe the current status of the human race?
"When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
I'm in.
Light is filtering down from above. Would you like to use DIVE?
Woooosh!
That is the sound of the entire point of my post passing far over your head where you will never grasp it. Apparently.
For the record, I *do* own both an XBox and a Gamecube, but that has NOTHING to do with what I posted. Read it again.
Comment of the year
While I really don't mind you putting down that one guy and probably agree with some of your points...what's the deal with the whole HDTV thing? Just because I like having a fantastic picture you think I put stickers on my car? How are they even slightly related? HDTV is cool technology, it is the future of television. Putting stickers on your car to make it look cooler or faster...that's idiotic and has nothing to do with technology. I don't know if you are bitter because you can't afford the technology or if you just are more interested in playing video games than technology in generel...whatever the case may be, don't try to lump people in some group and insult them because they own or enjoy a certain piece of technology. You come off as ignorant as the post you were countering.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
I don't think you have any clue why people hate Sony. They hate it because it is a huge company? That's not a reason to hate something. Their may be some things that they do as a huge company...like anti-comeptition things...but that isn't because of their size, it is because of their business practices. And point B...what the hell? I mean, comparing game quality is one thing, but comparing the average of all the games is absolutely daft. Both have good games...PS2 has more games, so even if you argue the average game of PS2 is worse than that of Nintnendo, there are so many more games, that could mean there are more good games for the PS2 than Nintendo. I am not going to claim that since I have not played every game on both consoles and I doubt you have either. Any one who hates Sony or hates Nintendo are fools. Someone got it right earlier when they said the people who post nasty things about the other console are people who don't own the other console and want to discourage others from getting it. It is just ignorance. If you get a slimy feeling based on a pun in the TITLE of a game, well, then just don't buy it. I mean, of all the dumb things to complain about. If you object to the content of some game, say GTA, then don't buy that either. There are no good reasons to hate either...I own all the consoles and enjoy them all. If you can't afford to do that, that's fine, but there is no need to bash the others..just enjoy the good games you do have access to, because they all have good games.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
PART ONE: Big Companies.
I don't think you have any clue why people hate Sony. They hate it because it is a huge company? That's not a reason to hate something.
That depends on who you ask. Big companies are the source of a lot of the problems we face as a culture these days, centering the power of many into the hands of a few.
Their may be some things that they do as a huge company...like anti-comeptition things...but that isn't because of their size, it is because of their business practices.
And, increasingly these days, those business practices are how they got big in the first place. Further, big companies, by throwing their tremendous bulk around, often *must* resort to questionable legal practices as the price of doing business. Like how, if you refuse to do something about trademark abuses, you face the possibility of losing the trademark, and the bigger you are, the wider the sphere you must police. That little thing is the reason why it's a bad idea to start as self-named restaurant if your name happens to be "McDonald."
The act of lobbying Congress, likewise, also picks up sinister undertones when gigantic corporations get involved with it. Do you think Disney would have been able to get their Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act passed if they weren't bloody gigantic? From a business standpoint it was a wise investment, but from a social standpoint it was sucky in a way few other things are. The claim that big companies *should not* have any kind of conscience in their operation makes them dangerous, dangerous things.
This is why I said that a basic attitude of hating big companies can be prudent. Which is not to say one should go the AdBusters route, but that once an organization hits a certain size, people should start turning on their skepticism filter in regards to them.
Of course Nintendo themselves are not tiny. This is largely a digression away from the Sony/Nintendo portable battle into bigger things.
PART TWO: Sony vs. Nintendo
Both have good games...PS2 has more games, so even if you argue the average game of PS2 is worse than that of Nintnendo, there are so many more games, that could mean there are more good games for the PS2 than Nintendo.
"Could be" still doesn't mean "is." Average game quality is relevant because most people don't take the time to find out about a game before buying it, and so the better average quality, the better chance they'll have something they enjoy.
But also remember, the glut of crappy games was one of the factors that contributed to the video game crash back in 1983. It does indeed tear down the good games, slightly, when a bad one is released.
I used the average quality as a shorthand description of the overall quality of the consoles' respective libraries. Overall, Nintendo consoles simply have better games, though it is difficult to make a direct comparasion because a number of the Gamecube's best releases this time are genre defiers (Metroid Prime, Super Monkey Ball, Eternal Darkness).
If you only count the best on each console against the best on the other it is difficult to argue in Sony's favor, at least that's how I see it. Maybe that would have been a better way to express my point.
I am not going to claim that since I have not played every game on both consoles and I doubt you have either.
But I read web reviews, and I've played a lot of games.
I've beaten, by my estimates, over 300 games, those that can be beaten, and played hundreds more, dating back to the Atari 2600 days. After a while, you can sort of tell from the buzz around a game as to whether it'll be worth playing or not. This sense is not infallible, of course, but it works most of the time.
When a review for a game takes pains to talk about how sharp the graphics look but fails to describe gameplay, or uses words, to draw from a recent awards ceremony, like "Slammin," it doesn't take a genius to see that, re