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Mario All Grown Up?
Reggie Fils-Aime, frequent spokesperson for Nintendo, has a piece extolling the way in which Nintendo will disrupt the videogaming market with the release of the Revolution. His editorial uses the movie industry as a comparison, and likens the systems of Sony and Microsoft to 'flops'. From the article: "Nintendo's counterpunch is disruption. We've determined that the videogame market is ripe for revival--and we're looking to make it happen by reaching out to the millions of players still on the sidelines, including those over the age of 35. Early moves have been promising. Nintendogs, a game that allows people to train virtual puppies, has doubled the typical percentage of female purchasers, selling 1.5 million copies in about four months. Not bad, given that Nintendo DS hardware is in 4 million hands." Yeah, it's just more advertising claptrap, but the levels of hyperbole they're reaching is sort of breathtaking to behold.
.. Mario's been at those mushrooms again.
Proof by very large bribes. QED.
"Yeah, it's just more advertising claptrap"
In a time where you have other industry elites saying the video game market has topped out (EA), there's no room for growth in MMOG (Richard Garriott), many companies are just going belly up (Atari), Microsoft can't get is product to the street, the PSP is nothing more than a mini-DVD player and one of the major selling points of the PS3 is that it's a HI-DEF DVD player, Nintendo OPENED UP a new market and sold 1.5 million copies of a game to WOMEN in 4 months.
Claptrap? Nah... I think I'd listen to what the guy has to say.
If Nintendo tried to compete with Sony and Microsoft on the same level and with the same features, it would lose. Right now we can just expect familiar game licenses with new and inovative gameplay elements (IE the controller) and updated graphics.
Which is why Nintendogs is doing so well.
If game companies don't grok this, they'll be stuck with FPS that noone wants to play.
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Are we talking about prostitution or video games?
I think the invisible hand of the market has its middle finger extended
--A wise old fart named SC0RN
i can never seem to find a reliable answer to this, but i heard that NES was goign to push out an sdk for the revolution? is this true?
Nobody disputes that Nintendo owns the handheld. It has done so for a long time and at the moment the PSP seems to be a good second runner but not replacing the DS. If anything I think the PSP is increasing the market or perhaps people just have both it certainly is not distracting from the DS sales.
But so what? The gameboy always sold well. It was the 'main' consoles that Nintendo has been having troubles with. So this is like saying, Pokemon GB/GBA sold well so the Playstation 1/2 were a flop.
Oh and then comes the old sales pitch. Simple. Yes, we are going to reach that part of the market that is to dumb to figure out a lightswitch. Someone should really tell marketing people that there will always be people who claim X is to complex and they will buy X the moment it reaches their level of understanding. Problem is you can't. As long as their are people who are confused by revolving doors or even those who push when it says pull you will have people who can't figure out X.
Marketing to them is stupid. Why? Because you are insulting the intelligence of everyone else. Don't believe me? How many of you actually like using dumbed down products with zero options to confuse you? Oh don't get me wrong. They are nice at first, when you are still new and unsure of what to do. And then you move on and want more.
Part of the fun for me in playing a game is learning to play it. I think it is true with any type of game. The basics are simple but as you move on it becomes more and more complex. You can play chess just fine without knowing the more obscure rules like that move where you can switch the king and towers BUT the game will become deeper and more challenging as you learn more.
Same with other games. Say a FPS. A game with no stances is simpler as it saves 1-2 or even 3 buttons to learn BUT having the option makes the game deeper and more challenging.
Oh and as for nintendogz attracting females to play and that being the road to success. Sorry but if women were the road to success the PC would be the top console. The Sims and similar games are dominated by women.
I am not a woman but if I were I would be insulted by this piece. It is effectively saying that women find current games to complex. Taste or a hint they lack the mental capabilities to deal with 12 buttons and 2 joysticks?
The revolutions success and for that matter the success of all consoles will depend on wether it can reach that 'must buy' state. Usually because it is the console that has the 'must buy' game. Will it? So far Nintendo seems very reluctant to actually show games. Or at least I haven't seen any 'must buy' titles announced yet.
Simple is another way to say dumbed down. Sure there will be players who moan about the good old days when you had all you need was a joystick with 2 buttons but frankly if they were a real market we would have games that meet their needs. We don't. Or rather we do. Old games.
Serious Sam was a move to 'old fashioned' gameplay in the FPS genre. It sold well. Apparently not well enough however as it got only a sequell but no clones. Yes it was hailed as a grand return to the good old days, and then people returned to their complex soldier sims with a hundred buttons that are what we expect today.
Nintendo Revolution may be trying to pull a Apple 1 mouse button move. Even Apple nowadays sells a power mouse with an insane amount of buttons. Simple is good, until you learned it and want more. Fisher Price makes a bright and easy cassette player but I don't see it in to many hifi setups.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Every time I enconter the phrase "polarizing (group1) and (group2)" I think that people really need to play with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaroid
The article says "Not bad, given that Nintendo DS hardware is in 4 million hands."
Maybe they're talking about just one market (seems unusual though, considering the DS and its games are regionless), but many I've sources claim a DS sales figure of at least 13 million units. Which means it's in around 26 million hands.
Didja ever consider that Nintendogs might be good practice before getting the real thing? (Y'know, before the adopter decides the dog is too much of a hassle and drops it off at the shelter but not before letting it run loose so it makes another litter of 20 puppies?)
We've determined that the videogame market is ripe for revival
How can the market be ripe for revival when it's not even dead? Unless if that was meant to read Nintendo's console market. I have seen no signs of Sony's and Microsoft's consoles suffering from lack of sales.
We (gamers) are being sequeled to death...
;)
we all know this... Usually we blow it off by casting the shame towards the genre we don't like as much...or point to the fewer and fewer glimmers of originality.
But this does not stop the truth we all well know.
Something needs to change.
Maybe its the publishers, maybe its the develoupment model/cycle.
Nintendo is trying to change its machine to be able to do something more than push out one polygon/sprite/bit more than its competitors.
Last time they were our saviors (NES)...maybe..just maybe...they are trying to save us again before the industry REALLY needs it.
*NOTE: trying to save us does mean they can still fall on their asses trying, not to mention how much money they made last time they *were* right
What a bunch of cock and bull
;) )
Adult != blood sex and violence.
Tell me, seriously, what any console did to attempt to attain "adulthood" besides those three things.
Show me ONE, ONE 1st party game with a complex plot no pre-teen could understand. Show me growth towards maturity...
All I saw was a bunch of puberty-like masturbation over big boobs, blood by the gallon, and violence.
(*Note: While GTA does have blood, boobs, and violence...it actually has a story, setting, and a POINT to using those three in a very provacative way. And it wasn't a 1st party title
I was explaining to someone (who does not play games) the other day what computer games are about, and since I like FPSs so much, I was explaining FPSs to her. But I felt kind of embarrased because I don't approve of or particularly like shooting things. Shooting things = tired gameplay mechanic. Violence = tired gameplay mechanic.
Compare two different concepts for Nintendogs: 1. raise and train cute puppies, 2. shoot lots of cute puppies. I rest my case, QFD.
Julian
Prolog rules
in these days of gaming that are just re-hashed vesions of previous generation games, we need a bit more innovation. there are a lot of innovative games out there, but they dont seem to be getting the prominence that they deserve. However, most companies seem content to pump out unnecessary-sequel 5, without regards to innovation. it seems even the companies normally renound for innovation are falling under this spell.
even nintendo itself. they have a lot of great titles, but seem to be increasingly padding it out with rehashes of previous stuff. Im a massive fan of mario, but do i really need another version of super mario bros? a game that was amazing on the nes, but why should i buy it on the DS? or the GBA? sure if they do anything new (like they did with mario kart ds) then ill consider it.
i would love to play an completely new mario game on the DS, not one that looks like its just a level redesign (from the few leaked shots ive seen so far). maybe im becoming jaded and looking at the gaming past through rose tinted glasses, but to me it seems that the games industry needs a good swift kick up the behind and get its ideas in shape (and give those designers who actually have loads of good ideas a chance).
Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.
They're not just going after the kiddie market. Some of us don't want or need mature-themed games to have a good time.
I like a good RPG. I've played my share of Final Fantasy and whatnot, but you know what my favorite recent RPG is? Paper Mario. Why? Because it's fun.
Want a pick up and play sports title? It's certainly not Madden. Heck, my dad bought a GameCube for one game after seeing me play Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. He hadn't played a game since he and my mom owned a 2600, and he was winning tourneys inside of an hour.
That being said, the GameCube does have some more mature games, too. Off the top of my head, there's Eternal Darkness, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, and Resident Evil 4.
Take a look at the Nintendo library. The library is age and taste-independant because they aren't going after the "OMG bump mapping!" crowd. They're after the "That was fun, I want that!" crowd.
Gorier != better. More mature != better. More fun == better.
e2 | LJ
I think a pre-teen could understand the story, but I thought ICO was very mature and well thought out. It was a first-party title for the PS2 (assuming I remember correctly).
e2 | LJ
The hell with Mario, I want her!
Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
-kfg
11 year old demographic? I think not. You've got some issues to do with whilst I go play Mario Kart DS, a game that is clearly made for EVERYONE.
A barbie game? That's for 11 year olds. Mario's for everyone. Deal with it or begone.
>"while the other console and game developers have been avidly going after the adult gamer market."
What, you mean the immature teenagers who find sex, guns and violence 'mature'? IMHO, adult gamers are 18 year olds with an immature mind who just need to grow up.
Nintendo aims at everyone; from ages 3 onward and that is a hard thing to do as you cannot please everyone. I think Nintendo described it as 'all access gaming' were anyone can play.
It just annoys me when people think Nintendo are aiming at children, just because they don't make a game were the main character isn't some generic rage filled smart mouth guy holding a big gun. Nintendo are really trying to change themselves this generation. My final point is this; does the Revolution look like some 'fisher price' toy? Really, it isn't aimed at children, but everyone.
because gameplay is weak and games are intimidating and hard to use? It's true in my case. More to the point, previously "hardcore" gamers are, I think, being pushed into the "non-hardcore" camp.
Games are what brought me to the PC from Unix platforms in the late '80s and early '90s (well, games and Linux). I am the ideal market: male, 20s-30s, very technical, able and willing to assemble my own systems and very, shall we say, "intrigued" by ever-faster and sexier hardware.
For a long time before I started with PC games, I was a rabid text-based adventure and Nethack fan. But the graphics and variety of PC platform games were just too sexy to me and by the mid-to-late'90s, I was what I would consider to be a hardcore gamer: SMP, relentless video card upgrades, lots of RAM, RAID for faster level loads, CD changers to play multi-disc games more smoothly, 21" monitor, etc., moving into console platforms, buying just about every game that came out...
But it all tapered off somehow. Games would feel less engrossing, or the keyboard learning curve would be so high that I wouldn't play it after I'd bought it. At first, it was just one or two games that I wasn't bothering to complete, but by the time I had the latest 10 or 15 titles in my hands and a system that could play them all, yet I hadn't finished any of them and found myself preferring to do other things instead, I realized that this gaming thing was becoming a worse investment since I didn't seem to be enjoying it as much... and my game buying tapered off.
In retrospect, though I played a bunch of FPS games all the way through, the games that I find most memorable (and that I still own long after most of my game library has gone the eBay way) are the games that today's "hardcore" gamers ruthlessly mock. I still own Myst, Riven, Zork Nemesis, the Ultima series (including Ultima IX: Ascension), the King's Quest series (including Mask of Eternity), and so on. In short, they're primarily adventure-driven games whose interfaces and schemas are not so complex that one must spend two weeks in "learning curve" mode before actually having any fun.
I have some friends who still game all the latest titles, but I've tried them and they're just not that entertaining. There's nothing for the imagination there. You simply mindlessly flail about on your keyboard with ultra-complex controls while trying to blast things. Rather than being revealed to you through experience, evidence, and events (as was strongly the case with, for example, Myst or Riven), stories are simply told to you in annoying pages-long sessions of reading or long monologues by animated characters that I don't care about and that punctuate the otherwise mindless action.
In short, most games aren't fun anymore. The past is full of great games in dead genres. Text- or command-based adventure (i.e. Infocom games, early Sierra games), text-based RPG (Nethack, Rogue, et. al.), graphical adventure (Myst, Riven, Sanitarium, Obsidian, Grim Fandango, a million other amazing titles), action-adventure (Ultima IX: Ascention, Mask of Eternity, Nocturne), action platform/scroller (NOX, Gauntlet, Flashback), strategy (Civilization, Heroes of Might and Magic, Alpha Centauri).
I can't really think of any FPS, pure role-playing, racing, or sports computer games that are at the top of my list... Yet that's all that's on the market today. Compare to 1997, when the shelves were full of imaginative games in many genres. It's as though the improvement in graphics has pushed the "reality" paradigm to the forefront, leaving no room in the marketplace for "fantasy," which is really the only reason I ever played games to begin with. I want to go to other worlds that don't bear too big a resemblance to mine, and to enjoy myself while I'm there (i.e. it shouldn't feel like work).
Instead, today's games have a very high learning curve (trying to learn to play one of them feels like being in school, you can't just pick up as you go, and the controls demand full attention, not leisurely
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
Are you suggesting the market of video games that is acceptable for minors to play as the same as the children's market? Or that all of Nintendo's games are like Pokemon? (In my humble opinion, that is a game for kids)
Am I open minded towards open source, or closed minded towards closed source?
well, you're probably only counting US titles.
A lot of people play Mah Jong and Karate games on DS handhelds in Japan, for example, or sports games which are very popular worldwide - with networked DS fantasy sports teams.
When reading analyses of markets, always ask yourself - which market? US? World? Euro? Japan?
I normally presume we're talking world market.
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Nintendogz did well therefore the PS3 is a flop.
... Problem is you can't.
The PS3 is not mentioned in that article. In fact, no Sony system is.
Maybe you should read the article and realize what the word "flop" was actually being used by the Nintendo rep to describe, instead of just reading the slashdot summary and jumping to conclusions.
In either case, you misunderstand the point being made in the article, which was: Nintendogs is doing well. That's all. The PS3 and PSP don't need to sell well or badly for the fact that Nintendogs is doing well to be important from Nintendo's perspective.
Oh and then comes the old sales pitch. Simple. Yes, we are going to reach that part of the market that is to dumb to figure out a lightswitch.
Well then it sure is odd that all those Game Boy Advances and iPods are selling so well. I wonder who is buying them.
I don't think it's that women find games too complex, I think it's that they find currently offered games:
1. too boring (FPS bang bang bleed bleed no challenge after first time);
2. too involved (takes 30 minutes before it really kicks in, hard to pause, save takes forever);
3. not group-oriented (sure, you can battle faceless opponents worldwide via wifi, but can you play with your neighbors or coworkers at lunch?);
4. too action-oriented not cooperative.
Many studies have shown that most games fail on those counts for women and girls. And last time I checked, they had lots of disposable income to spend on that, instead of on the latest Beach Volleyball game.
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Probably true. The only problem with this is that if dogs are their thing, those 1.5 million people could have adopted real puppies instead and saved them from being put to sleep.
Yeah, but you're assuming they want to:
a. have to clean up after the dog.
b. want the dog to grow up.
c. want to keep the same dog.
d. want to have to drive to the dog park in the pouring rain or snow or the dog gets unruly when they're having to do the laundry and pick up the kids.
Virtual dogs have none of these problems, plus when you have to do something, you just put them on pause. Plus, if you get bored with your German Shepherd puppy, you can buy the Chihuahua version and you've got four new puppies to play with!
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Just listen to the way he talks and is very obvious that he has not grown up.
He may look like an adult, but he is still a teenager at heart.
No, nintendogz is a nice game and it may have sold to women but frankly if Nintendo is betting their future on this then they are doomed.
I think you missed both the point of my post AND the original post. It seems to claim that selling 1.5 million games on a handheld is going to doom the PS3 and 360. I claim bullshit. You lap it up.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
IMHO, adult gamers are 18 year olds with an immature mind who just need to grow up.
OK, why?
Over 18 (well over)
Pay bills on time
No credit card debt
Married
Employed, shows up to work on time, gets good reviews (and no, not at McDonald's, I'm a senior software engineer)
Avid reader
Gamer
So, other than games, how am I not grown up and immature?
Why is it that when you believe something it's an opinion, but when I believe something it's a manifesto?
Nintendo is behind the times... Right...
How many console staples were first implimented by Nintendo? Just in control schemes: Directional Pad, shoulder buttons, rumble packs, analog sticks, touch screens, and soon motion sensors. Yup, they're a follower all right.
As for being the 'kiddy console' you can't be further from reality. Nintendo appears to be looking at the big picture, and offering stuff for everyone. Including the 'adult' demographic. Or is Resident Evil as kiddy game? Seems to me that MS and Sony have a bit of tunnel vision on their market. They're aiming at a very specific demographic: The adolescent male. (These are the kids who are old enough to have some income, and young enough to consider 'kiddy' games a threat to their masculinity)
The rest of us are quite excited to try something new that isn't another WW2 FPS.
I think he is referring to the 'adult gamer' demographic that require sex and/or gratuitous violence for a game to be good. The kind of teenagers who feel playing a Mario game would bring their heterosexuality into question.
The rest of us (who are actually adults) are an entirely different category.
Just FYI, Xbox has never really targeted adolescent, it's been for adults from day 1. Of course, teens are going to want to play it, but that's not who Microsoft makes games for and that's not who they market the console to.
Sony, I think, tries to be all things to all people. I look at it more this way: Nintendo - Family Friendly, Xbox - Adult, Sony - Little of both.
Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. Spyro the Dragon came out on Xbox, and Resident Evil 4 came out on Gamecube. But for the most part, that's how it lines up.
Comment of the year
I wonder how big that demographic actually is. Of the people that I know that are gamers, I can think of only one that fits that, and that may be borderline (won't play Wind Waker because of the "kiddie" graphics). Everyone else is happy playing a good game, violent or not.
Nintendo is behind the time, while they've been creating just about every new console gameplay element for the last 15 years or so, both hardware-wise (single digital directional pad, rumble, analog stick, shoulder buttons, ...) or game-wise?
"The way we can tell it's C# instead of Haskell is because it's nine lines instead of two." -- wadler
Drop in Halo 2 and hop on Xbox Live. You'll HEAR the little bastards. (It's evil)
Remember, these are basically kids who have very little financial responsibility (High school, still live at home) but probably have some income from a part time job. They have money to burn, and an excess of time. It's a ripe demographic, but I think it's being saturated.
Also, I think the industry is partially to blame for the excess of 'Adult' titles out there. There is still a general assumption that video games are a kids thing, and the developers want to change that. They want the shake the 'kiddie' label, and the easiest way to make something 'adult' is to add graphic violence and/or boobies. (Keep in mind that this doesn't apply to all developers, it's just a generalization)
Not quite what I meant. There are those out there that think violence is the be all and end all of a game. How many adult gamers (not high schoolers) are in that demographic, relatively speaking? In my experience, it's less than 5% of adult gamers that fit that. Of course, this is in people I personally know and interact with offline, so YMMV.
Less than 20% of games coming out are "M", so I wouldn't call it an excess. An excess of negative publicity for sure.
I don't think people realize what kind of games the revolution is going to offer.
:) I want to see what this cooking game idea looks like. :)
I mean it hinted at a lot of things to come...
1. Conduct your own orchastra/symphony.
2. Cook food. Chop up food quickly... ect.
3. Cool sword fights.
4. More natural type of baseball bat swing.
A real revolution? Yup.
Beat Trauma Center: Under the Knife. Then you can come back and tell me that Nintendo's interface designs are for retards, if you really want to. In fact, I defy you to even beat Pac-Pix.
I agree, most people lose sight of that :-)
There are lots of casual or semi-casual gamers out there that only have time for a short game, or want a fun, not-so-complex game.
While I love RPGs and complex strategy games, I find myself playing shorter games or distractions - like a sports game for example - most of the time.
And the GameCube is wonderful for multiplayer. A friend of mine owns all 3 major consoles, but when we gather, if we do play a console, it's a game of Mario Kart / Mario Tennis / Mario Party , or a sports game ( Winning Eleven is all the rage here, and the only non-GameCube game in the list ).
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
About 4 millions sold in the US (Reggie works at NOA) and each DS in only one hand as the other holds the stylus to pet the Nintendog.
Some of us don't want or need mature-themed games to have a good time.
I think one of the problems is the degredation of the term "mature". I very much enjoy mature games. The problem is that most people associate "mature" with "lots of blood and blowing shit up". In fact, to me most of these games are very immature because they substitute depth with "shiny, blood, explosions, boobies".
Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
Most of the control schemes you mention were "invented" before nintendo got to them. Dont get me wrong, Nintendo is my favourite of the big 3, but they dont really invent control schemes. Make them popular, perhaps, but aren't the "first to impliment". If anything, the arcade market is (or, at least, was) the innovator.
The only example I really think is needed to prove Nintendo's widespread appeal should be quite obvious. Ocarina of Time had something for everyone: A fairly good story, lots of exploring, easy but enjoyable combat (the boss battle in the Shadow Temple was insanely fun), and the game explained enough that the younger crowd could understand what was going on. Ignoring the fact that Navi was the most irritating sidekick known to mankind, the rest of the game was absolutely outstanding from start to finish.
Moving to a non-Nintendo example of a more "mature" game that didn't require copious amounts of blood would be Freelancer. It was somewhat open ended, also had a decent plot (not the best, but enjoyable), and there was a lot to do between major story points. The game was easy to play without insulting your intelligence, and if you find a good server online, it's actually a lot of fun to get 5 or 6 people together and do some mercenary or trade runs (having to protect the one guy hauling a crapload of moneymaking goods through extremely hostile territory while trusting that whatever friend is hauling the goods isn't gonna do something stupid, like run off and get killed, makes for some intense gameplay).
Either way, the point remains as the previous poster stated. Games don't have to have gallons of blood, giant breasts, or be horrifically violent to be "mature." Shadow of the Colossus is a mature game more for it's dark atmosphere and moral ambiguity than any amount of violence. Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit to those on the other side of the pond) has elements that would bore younger gamers because there's not enough "action". It all goes to show that too many people equate "mature" games with things that children shouldn't be allowed to see, rather than gameplay that engages the individual on a level where being older and wiser is an advantage.
"So after all this, you make my case for me. To end this stalemate, you must die..."
Just in control schemes: Directional Pad, shoulder buttons, rumble packs, analog sticks, touch screens, and soon motion sensors.
I recall using a motion sensor controller with the NES back in the 80's.
Don't forget the POWERGLOVE!
From TFA: "Despite dramatic gains in graphical realism in four generations of console platforms"
Gen 1: Arari
Gen 2: Master System / NES
Gen 3: Genesis / SNES
Gen 4: Playstation / Dreamcast
Gen 4.5: N64 - You KNOW it!
Gen 5: PS2 / Xbox / Gamecube
Gen 6: Xbox 360 (its out now... aint it?)
should it be 6 (or perhaps 7 if you count the graphical increases within the N64) generations of console platforms????
----- Concentrate on promoting more than demoting.
Well someone beat me to mentioning Ico, which blows away anything Nintendo ever made; Sony's had a couple of other things released through SCE that were good. Sega had Shenmue. Microsoft had Crimson Skies and Halo 1 and 2 (yes, half of you hated it, but it did try for an adult market).
But why are you limiting it to first party games? This guy was boosting Nintendo as a game developer, not a console developer; I'm judging them as a game developer. There are many, many studios that have released adult-themed games, even if your premise was correct and Sony and Microsoft haven't, why would they care as long as there are third party developers willing to do it?
Eternal Darkness
The url/comic really speaks for itself.
Chicken fried butter sticks? Do
That's funny, because most of the people I know who own XBoxen are under 20. Older gamers tend to use PC setups for the things the XBox offers. If Microsoft is targeting a mature demographic, an all-in-one box sure seems like a weird way to do that.
*claps* good answer! /family feud
To be fair while Nintendo have made good use of control schemes the games, or at least the games best known have become reeeeeaaaly stagnant.
Dont get me wrong perhaps the Gamecube has a load of fantastic original titles but as someone who doesnt own a gamecube and am therefore gaining my opinion off the general marketing. The only games I really know for the past Nintendo systems pretty much consist of Mario, Zelda, Metroid and Donkey Kong.
First game I got with my DS. Mario 64. Most highly rated game on the DS Mario cart.
Id be willing to put money on the Revolution having not only versions of those four games on it but they will be the most well known and probably highly rated.
This isnt a bad thing when you consider reeling in the gamers youve always had. I know for a fact that there are very few really poor Mario games. Some are down right brilliant.
It is a bad thing for what Nintendo are proposing on doing. Taking on new players.
See my mum (as my usual test subject for those outside the industry.) also doesnt know much about Nintendo consoles and what games does she recognise. Mario, Zelda, Metroid and Donkey Kong. She also knows that she doesnt like playing them in there previous incarnations.
So while Nintendo might well come up with a brilliant new controller they may well shoot themselves in the foot with the very thing that is written to use it. As technophobes who are skeptical that this controller is going to make console gaming great for them, the normies (as I like to call my parents, family guy refrence ahoy.) will see the same old titles and thatll be enough for them to never even bother picking it up in the first place.
Then again if they make revolutiondogs theyll definately have the normies interested.
Well someone beat me to mentioning Ico, which blows away anything Nintendo ever made...
Now why'd you have to go and say something like that?
I'm as likely to sing the praises of Ico as anyone, but "blows away anything Nintendo ever made" is simply not true.
Ico is a certain kind of game. It has a thoughtful, intelligent outlook, features real characters, and is grand storytelling in a mode that puts the likes of Final Fantasy to shame. And, if you look at it only from those perspectives, perhaps you could say it is better than any of Nintendo's releases.
But games are more than Ico. For all of Ico's strengths, it is possible to make a great game that is nothing like Ico, in all the ways Ico is great. Robotron: 2084, for example, has no storytelling, no real characters, and is rather simple, but it is a GREAT GAME. Thus, it is possible for Nintendo to make games the equal or surpassing Ico without even challenging it in the ways it is great.
And it just so happens that Nintendo DOES have a series that carries some elements of Ico: the 3D versions of the Zelda series, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and Wind Waker, each have a surprising thoughtful story, and interesting characterization, in places.
Having already demonstrated that you don't have to be anything like Ico to be better than it, I won't attempt to pose the question of whether its storytelling is better or worse. (It's probably a little worse, since Zelda games all carry at least a nominal non-linear aspect, which makes it a lot harder to tell a tight story.) But characters in those Zelda games tend to have, in my opinion, a lot more romance in their souls than those in most RPGs, and tend to be a lot more interesting as well.
(The most interesting character in Wind Waker, by the way, is arguably Ganon, who for the first time is given motivations beyond just wanting to conquer everyone.)
While GTA does have blood, boobs, and violence...it actually has a story, setting, and a POINT to using those three in a very provacative way.
Then why did I always lose interest in the story of the GTA games right around the time I became able to turn it into Crazy Taxi?
That's a second party title at best, as it was developerd by Silicon Knights, not Nintendo.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Personally, i would go for the shooting of puppies
Ganon, who for the first time is given motivations beyond just wanting to conquer everyone
and KATANAS!
Because you weren't looking for a sandbox title that allows you to stray from the main plot and do whatever you want until you feel like moving on...you wanted something where you were forced to go through the main story and only the main story
Mr. T carries a postage stamp in his wallet at all times on the back is a list of all the fools he doesn't pity
yeah, the Powerglove and the U-Force both had motion sensor technology. So did Sega's Activator, IIRC- but that thing never worked well.
The intellivision had an 8 way D-pad (shaped like a disc) in 1979, long before the NES or the game & watch made use of one. The atari 5200 had analog sticks back in 1982. I've been playing simple but addictive touchscreen games at the bar for half a decade now.
Nintendo didn't innovate these things, but they DID take these things and adapt them WELL for console use.
Nintendo hopes to gain the 35+ market, their spokesperson says so. ( I think its more they need to capture the 20+ market).
Then he goes on about Nintendogs, a game squarely marketed for juvenile girls.
I am all up for the new Revolution, hoping Nintendo will put their money where their mouth is, but I have no doubts that the new Revolution will cater to children with derivative Mario Party titles that will make novel use of the new motion based controller system. Nintendo has not yet focused on adult gaming, and one can only hope that Nintendo is finally realizing that adult gamers are making up a larger market with disposable income.
To say Sony and Microsoft failed suggest that Nintendo is trying to downplay the fact they have been underdogs in an industry that almost passed them buy. Without catering to an adult market, Nintendo allowed their once near 90% marketshare to slip to less then 20%.
We will see what Nintendo's goal is with the new Revolution. But I am sure that the first 6 Nintendo titles will be based on a Mario, Luigi, Wario, Kirby, Zelda, Metroid, or Nintendogs franchise. Probably throw in a Resident Evil just to say they are not entirely a G rated company. The rest of the release titles by 3rd party companies will be party based novelty games that make generous use of the remote controller. But, NONE of the games will cater to the adult market.
The only thing Nintendo has going for them in the Revolution is support for their entire backlibrary (hopefully this feature won't be dropped). Adult players will probably pick up the Revolution for nostalgic reasons, playing old favourites once again.
Only time will tell if Nintendo has any real plans to cater to the adult marketplace, but I doubt it.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
You're right. Animal Crossing sucked.
Actually, I love Animal Crossing. There's just something about being able to talk in Animalese and the parodies of human society are immensely funny.
Now, I haven't checked out the sequel, I admit.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Do you live in Ontario? By law, a lease is not allowed to prohibit you from owning pets except under the following conditions:
1. The pet causes undue damage to the property
2. The pet can reasonably be considered dangerous
3. Other residents of the property are allergic to the pet
Know your rights, and stand up for them. We had a property management company try to tell us that we couldn't have a dishwasher, and that we're not allowed to store flammable substances in our apartment. What a joke.
It may look like I'm doing nothing, but I'm actively waiting for my problems to go away.
--Scott Adams
Ocarina of Time was one of the best games ever made. It had enjoyable mechanics, many places to explore, good puzzles, and an epic storyline. I bought the game "for my son" when he was three years old. My son and I played that game after school/work for hours on end. He loved it intensely and I enjoyed it as well.
The "eyeball monster" scared the crap out of him, so he handed the controller off to me when he got there, but for the most part, he played the game himself...
It was Ocarina of Time that got my son interested in reading. He was always asking me to tell him what the words were on the screen, but since I was not always available, it gave him an impetus to learn to read himself. That game is directly responsible for my son being the top reader in his class now.
The puzzles stimulated his problem skills. He is always the first one in his class with the answer to any problem posed.
Hm... now I do not remember why I went off on this tangent. I am sure there was a reason, but I do not recall now. Sorry.
strike
"Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
Yes, yes, and katanas.
Wait, didn't his Giant Ultra Mega Pig form in Ocarina of Time have weapons like those?
Ah, incorrect sir! It was because I find the sandbox game is a lot more interesting in Grand Theft Auto than the story. Doing my own thing is awesome in those games. Following an annoying narrative about gang warfare or corrupt cops or the pornography industry or the mob or whatever is, to me at least, considerably less awesome.
re:"Stupid knows no political thought."
I've been prone to generalizing the granola set because of my proximity to Berkely. I'll admit it. However - I've yet to see a GOP member tie themselves to a tree or participate in an animal liberation exercise, so for the sake of splitting hairs I'll defend my choice of sterotype in this literary-fart of an instance.
Notice I didn't mention 'invent' anywhere in my post.
Nintendo made them work really well, and they became standards after that.