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Interviewing the Gamemakers (Day 1)
All this week, Next Generation is interviewing some of the folks behind the industry's big players. In collaboration with Edge Magazine, they have Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto talking about the future of the gaming industry. From that article: "I think that by the end of the last year, DS was selling very well to all kinds of people - ladies in their 20s, people in their 50s - and for many of them the DS was the very first games console they had ever purchased in their lives. And actually, many people in the industry and in Nintendo thought that maybe these newcomers to the gaming world would be only interested in the games like Brain Training, that maybe they would not be purchasing any more games afterwards. However, the fact of the matter is that they are now buying a lot of the so-called traditional games, including Super Mario 64, so that was a big surprise for us." Additional interviewees below if you Read More.
I'm encouraged by the fact that Nintendo seems to be going about this the right way: getting people genuinley interested in video games by introducing them to the titles that have broad appeal and are easy to play. Gradually, these people become aware that, "hey, there are more games out there that look fun that AREN'T about puppies or Sudoku. I'll give them a whirl!"
So Nintendo's not trying to force gaming upon the world, but is instead showing people that, surprise surprise, games are fun, opening the door for them to buy more games. (If they're Nintendo games, and the company happens to make massive profits, so be it.)
Maybe I'm just an optimist, but perhaps one day, saying that you're a gamer will be a taboo no more. Perhaps one day it will be as blasé as telling someone you enjoy movies or television. No more shall the scorn of the world fall upon the shoulders of the gaming culture! Throw off thy shackles, Hallelujah!
Nintendo gets a +5, Brilliant for this one.
No, Mr. Green. Communism is just a red herring.
How many of the peripherals shown at E3 (remote/nunchuck, classic, lightgun, etc.) will be in the box when Wii ships???
What with the hype and the fanboys running on overdrive lately, it's nice to see somebody in the industry giving props to competitors, not to mention being a spokesman for the videogame industry who takes the first word in that term more seriously than the latter. Classy guy.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
Back in the Genesis/SNES days, the cover of EGM would praise the amazing "Mode 7 Graphics" of the newest game. And yes, graphics were important back then. Look at atn Atari game like "Adventure." I simply never enjoyed those horrible games where you moves 1 of 4 directions and pressed 1 button (I was born in 1979, so I also sorta missed the whole Atari craze anyway). If you look at some of the best games now, it's innovation that's leading the way. Graphics are great, and sweet 1080 HD graphics are amazing, but without gameplay, they do little for me (I won't be a gameplay snob - if you like graphics most, that's fine too). Take a look at Nintendo's new offerings here. Seriously... kudos to them for taking a page from Apple and, "Thinking Different."
Look at atn Atari game like "Adventure." I simply never enjoyed those horrible games where you moves 1 of 4 directions and pressed 1 button
Oooh. That's it! You just wait until I get my yellow arrow and show you my EIGHT DIRECTIONS of LETHAL POWER, BITCH!
Well, it's also that graphics are not special anymore. There are plenty of games that look really pretty out there. In order to stand above the crowd of pretty looking mediocre games, you have to do more.