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Nintendo Admits They May 'Lose Some Purists'
njkid1 writes "GameDaily has up their full E3 interview with Nintendo of America's George Harrison, SVP of Marketing and Corporate Communications. Harrison talks about the move of the company's sales and marketing force, acknowledges that Nintendo may 'lose some purists' while attempting to broaden the audience, and he doesn't rule out a Wii revision: 'It's interesting, console hardware has always historically been on a sort of fixed, sequential pattern almost every five to six years and it takes you about five years to develop a new piece of console hardware. The handhelds and portables, like Game Boy and now DS, we've always been continuously innovating, and whenever we feel like it's time or have an upgrade, we'll do it, whether it's an improved screen for the handheld or slimmed down like the DS Lite - those types of things. So it's not out of the question on Wii, but we're not even to our second holiday yet, so it's kind of premature to talk about any revisions to the hardware itself.'"
Until I played them.
Now Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time are considered all-time classics, even by 'purists', even by old hands like me. Should Mario have stayed true to his 2D roots to satisfy purists? Should Zelda have stayed top-down? Certainly not. Purism of that kind leads to stagnation; while the occasional throwback like New SMB is wonderful, games have to evolve or become stale.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
"like the one where you're on the balance board doing the hula-hoop on the board and trying to see how many you can catch and keep going."
I don't know what kind of hula-hoop Harrison's been using, but there's usually no catching involved where I come from...
If you lose 100,000 purists but gain 50,000,000 new customers, then I'd say the tradeoff is a pretty good deal!
That being said, I haven't seen any sign of the Nintendo faithful ditching Nintendo. Everyone who was going to leave already left during the Gamecube generation. Now some of those players are coming back, and some of them are ranting about how they're "too grown up" for Nintendo now. I imagine that Nintendo will just shrug its shoulders and move on. They're creating a large enough NEW market that they don't need to worry about a vocal minority.
Personally, I tend to laugh at the "grown up" comments. What's "grown up"? Sex, violence, disturbing imagery, and online play that lets you swear at each other? I'm not really sure why any adult would want to exclusively subject themselves to such content, but that is their choice. It just doesn't make the "kiddie" argument against Nintendo any stronger.
When people use the term "too old" for something, they usually mean that the item in question can no longer support the person (e.g. a playground) or that it does not challenge the person at a level commiserate with their age. (e.g. Leapfrog Leapster) Thus the only argument I could see is that the storylines are too simplistic to hold an adult's attention. Which would be a good argument if we were talking about My Little Ponies. But half the games don't actually have storylines (e.g. Excite Truck, Metal Slug, Smash Bros., Strikers) and the majority of the remainder are anything but insulting. (e.g. Zelda, Super Paper Mario, Metroid, Red Steel, etc.)
The truth is that the Wii simply does not appeal to some people, regardless of the excuses they make up. Whether they used to be or not, these people are NOT Nintendo's customers any longer. Nintendo would be foolish to try and chase them around when the truth is that these customers are better satisfied elsewhere.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Who doesn't like to play with their wii? I've got two co-workers who have them now and they often invite me over to play with their wii. I have yet to take them up on the offer as I'm concerned that playing with your wii excessively may lead to carpal-tunnel so I'm going to wait to see if it becomes an issue now that everyone is playing with their wiis all the time. Maybe a medical study after a year or two. I wouldn't be surprised if it's unsafe to play with your wii more than 3 or 4 hours a day. Future wiis may need to come with a warning sticker. Something like "Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that playing with your wii excessively can cause carpal tunnel, tennis elbow and blindness." So for me at least the Jury is still out on the wii and whether it's really the best at what it does (Although the market appears to have decided that it is.)
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I've been wondering this myself. If they're not quite as focused on the purists, but still deliver good games for gamers, then what's the problem?
They can make a lot more cash getting three casual games that everyone will play out the door rather than beating their brains out over what the gaming gurus want in one extra purist title.
As long as enough decent games with long playtimes are around for the Wii, there's nothing wrong with it having bunches of titles that are something else. "Enough" doesn't necessarily mean more than the older consoles, either. I'm not sure what the threshold is, but I'd bet that Nintendo's marketing department has a decent idea.
Yes. I think they wanted to cause a little extra mayhem ;-)
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
As someone mentioned the other day, games never used to be hundreds of screens of options and thousands of button combinations to press in a specific order to win. They were on the whole pretty simple to play.
Don't get me wrong nethack is hard the first time you play on it (although it's such a good game). But as soon as you look at the controls and figure out that they use the vi commands for movement you can pick up and play - just add more detail into the game as and when you're ready... it goes with you more than the new games seem to.
Mario is an even better example, easy as you like at the start, gets harder... but very much "pick up and play".
The Wii follows from this "pick up and play" idea. That's where the purists should be, not playing these games that you get on the 360 (I went into gamestation and tried to play a game demo they'd got on - I couldn't even figure out how to do anything... there was about 800 context sensitive button combinations before you got to any kind of action... I'd already given up before that happened)
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
Too grown up to play Nintendo? Thats not really true. But I think there's still a social stigma in saying "I'm 35 and I love my nintendo".
### We've already gotten Zelda and Paper Mario games and Mario, Metroid, Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Fire Emblem and more are on the way.
All of those are sequels, many don't even look all that different from their predecessors. What is missing are the completly new non-casual-gamer-only franchises, stuff like StarFox, StuntRaceFX, WaveRace, Pikmin and friends. There simply isn't anything of similar quality around on the Wii or even announced.
Sell it at a lower price so that someone who has different priorities or is not as privileged as you can purchase it?
There's a HUGE market of people who want second-hand game consoles. As long as you keep your kit in operating condition, I wouldn't worry too much about what happens to the old stuff. Simply trade it in at the local GAME for credit toward a new unit and be happy.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
What was the jump from DS to DS Lite? Physically smaller, brighter screen, longer battery life. Great for a portable. Utterly irrelevant for a home console. Nintendo might come out with a smaller Wii, as Sony did with the PS2, but that won't exactly obsolete the old ones. A hardware upgrade is a poor idea; you end up with Wii1 and Wii2 in the market at the same time, and developers who use the capabilities of Wii2 cut themselves off from the already enormous installed base of Wii1.
The obvious Wii upgrade would have to be a software jump: specifically, multimedia. I'm on record from last November as saying that DVD playing doesn't matter to me, because everyone has a DVD player already. I've cooled on that. The Wii is on, it's connected right the hell now, I can't be bothered messing with switches, the damn thing's got a remote control, I want to play a DVD in it. And since the Wii's a device on my wireless network, I'd be awfully happy if it could play video files from my PC over the network. I've an awful lot of anime I'd love to watch on the big screen downstairs. If they'd just get the mplayerhq.hu guys to produce a version for Wii that they could put out for download, that would be just great ;-)
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
The first video game system I ever owned was the original NES. I still vividly remember the first time I ever played one and it's an interest that's stuck with me to this very day. I had all of the games that are generally considered Nintendo classics: Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and a myriad of other games. Eventually I upgraded to an SNES and picked up the 16-bit versions of those games and many others. I never purchased an N64, but some of my friends had them and I got my fix over at their houses, however, I still enjoyed Mario Kart and other SNES games and played them excessively.
The next game system I bought was a PS2, but a while after that I purchased a GameCube to catch up on all the new games that Nintendo had brought out. I eventually picked up an Xbox as well and even a used Dreamcast to complete that generation. I enjoyed all of them for different reasons and like every other generation there were some incredible games that were produced that you couldn't help but enjoy.
Last November I decided to camp out in front of a Wal-Mart and freeze my ass off so that I could get a Wii on launch day. After playing some of the latest incarnations of games (Zelda) and seeing what's in store for others (Mario, Metroid) I don't feel any differently about them than those old classics I played on the NES and SNES. As someone who's grown up around these Nintendo franchises I don't understand how people who claim to be long time fans can be disappointed in the Wii or the latest versions of their old favorites. I'm wondering if they really ever played and enjoyed these games or if their tastes have simply changed over the years. If you want bleeding edge graphics in your games, I suppose that's fine, but please don't try to pass yourself off as a purist if that's what you really want.
I'm quite glad that I grew up experiencing those games so that if I go back to play them today I'm not turned off by the lack of powerful graphics like some people are today. As cool as the graphical powerhouses that games such as Crysis and others like it with brilliant graphics are, will they ever be able to claim the same level of interest as Pac-Man ever commanded?
I don't think that purist should be confused with graphics whore, or whatever term would be most appropriate. I would think that purists play games to enjoy games, whether they're made using 8-bit sprites or ray traced using the powerful hardware we'll likely see in the future.
Revised Wii == "Re-Wii"?!
org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg
I think there's something called WiiCR that's supposed to be a Media Center Server for the Wii. Can't say I've used it, but was planning on looking into it and setting it up. Or perhaps you might find your anime fix on crunchyroll, as those videos will play on the Wii Opera browser like youtube.
the cake is a lie
I'm not sure about "too grown up", but I'm sure lots of people who used to play will say, "I have too much going on and too many responsibilities to spend time doing that". Other hobbies might win out over gaming, or people, sadly, might have too little time for any hobbies at all.
Does it include those retarded "hardcore" tournament players for Super Smash Bros. that demand you only ever use Final Destination, no items, and only allow half the roster? If so, I would like to say that not only do I hope the door hits their ass on the way out, but it also knocks them on their face.
The obvious Wii upgrade would have to be a software jump: specifically, multimedia. I'm on record from last November as saying that DVD playing doesn't matter to me, because everyone has a DVD player already. I've cooled on that. The Wii is on, it's connected right the hell now, I can't be bothered messing with switches, the damn thing's got a remote control, I want to play a DVD in it.
:)
Making an assumption on the context behind your original argument, can I reword it this way so you aren't technically flip-flopping^W^W changing your mind?
"The presence or absence of DVD playing isn't going to drive Wii sales because everyone already has a DVD player, but once you've got a Wii it sure would be nice if it did play DVDs."
The enemies of Democracy are
Isn't he the dipshit who yammered about the superiority of the N64's cartridge format and dismissed Final Fantasy 7 as a slow and tedious game nobody would want to play? ...And before the Nintendo fanboys jump me...I own a Wii. I like my Wii. It cost less than $500 and it still works a few months after purchase, which I think puts it leaps and bounds ahead of Sony and Microsoft. But the fact remains that George Harrison is a moron.
Namco announced the sequel of Tales of Symphonia as a Wii exclusive. Do we -really- need anything else? That justifies the console right there for me.
The DS is a three-year-old system. The first year was lackluster and easily skipped. The second year was when the first major swell of good games arrived. The third year was when it became a household name and stomped the competition soundly back into the hole from which they crawled.
The Wii will be only slightly different; it became a household name sooner. The first year is still going to be lackluster. The second year and beyond will be good. The competition may not be as fully stomped as the DS's competition, but there will be boot marks and other evidence of kicking.
### However, there are upcoming titles that people seem to conveniently forget, such as Endless Ocean.
Which is a sequel to a sequel of a PS2 game called EverBlue, its still one of the more interesting games on the Wii, but not exactly of system-seller quality.
and yet you praise Nethack because all you have to do is
I agree with you though. Anyone off the street, so to speak, should be able to pick up a new game and figure out most of the controls within a few minutes of messing around with it. In fact, figuring the control scheme out should be part of the charm, not a horrifying ordeal.
Read Pynchon.
I would like to hear less from Nintendo about what kind of gamers will or will not enjoy their games, and more about when they are actually going to start releasing some serious titles for the Wii. A glance at their Australian release schedule (where I happen to live), for example, suggest that precious little in the way of non-franchise, serious games is coming this year.
If you take that list and remove everything that's a console download, a "classic" of some sort, a weird Japanese/manga game, a silly film tie-in, or an established Nintendo franchise (honestly, I didn't think Metroid Prime was anything more than a reasonable shooter with a frustrating control scheme myself), there's precious little to get excited about.
Where are any of the following?
- 'serious' baseball game
- 'serious' tennis game
- 'serious' bowling game
- decent sword fighting games
- a cricket game
- lightgun style shooters
- ordinary first person shooters
- adventure games - for the first time mouse-driven adventures are a serious option on a console
- the oft-rumoured light sabre Star Wars game????
Until we start seeing something, anything, new of interest other than the big franchise games (Smash Bros, Mario, Metroid, Zelda) then Nintendo can talk about who it is and isn't appealing to as much as it likes, but in reality it's wasting a golden opportunity to capitalise on the best console launch it's had since the SNES.
Read Pynchon.
Harrison swallowed his gag reflex, as he hunched over the scene of tragedy. Kick marks were found all over the body, pieces of blackened skin jutted out like sharp knives, and the intestines had been ruthlessly crushed. Looking closer at one of the slim, rectangular kick marks, Harrison was now sure of the chain of events. There could be no doubt: they had thought they'd made a toy for children and adults alike, but they had created a monster.
Harrison stood up. The PS3 at his feet would play no more. Who would be the next victim?
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
You're just asking for it, huh? Okay: HEDWIG DIES!!! :-)
I think this is one of these weird posts from the past. Probably some kind of /. wormhole or something?
There's a gamecube homebrew program that plays DVDs... here.
As for the second, try Weezo, here.
You can add me as "foe" now.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
Why, will you insult me in the future? Even so, I don't do this childish "foe" thing. I don't need to single people out, I hate everyone equally :-)
nah, I'm not going to spoil any of the actual events in the book. especially if you're obsessed enough to worry about hedwig.
Awesome. I wish someone with mod points would read this (and mod appropriately).
I am quite pissed about the Manhunt 2 fiasco and I don't even want to buy the game...but I want it released FOR ADULTS. Am I a purist when it comes to censorship? YES, I AM!!! Do I think that avoiding a showdown with the US Congress over Manhunt 2 or other AO games is part of Nintendo's strategy to expand the Wii market? Absolutely. Is the hardcore gaming market turned off by Nintendo's expansion? Not one bit...but I think many will remain pissed over not having AO titles available on the Wii (or any other console, for that matter).
They can't look past the horsepower of the CPU, or the polygon numbers, and seem to think that if something isn't the biggest and the baddest, then its not worth having.
So many Wii games are about gameplay; sweet, simple, pick up and have fun gameplay. The controls are innovative and the Mii concept is pure genius. How cool is it to play a game where you, yes you, are the character on-screen? I had a quick flick through my Mii roster - more than half of them are female, from friends and relatives who've come round and asked to have a go. First thing I do, to get them used to the controls, is have them build themselves a Mii. 10 minutes later, they've become accustomed to the controls, they have an avatar that they'll recognise instantly and they can get into the games because the Wii Sports controls are very straight-forward. So far, everybody who's had a go has left intending to acquire a Wii in the near future, or as soon as they could find one for sale.
For decades, the games industry has been talking about increasing their audience by making games that would appeal to females. Unfortunately, their attempts to do this seemed to involve ponies, and standard controls, not realising that those self-same controls were often the problem. Now, due to the Mii and the Wiimote, loads more people are trying their hand at gaming - people who've never shown the slightest interest in a computer or console before. Actually, I think that might be a large part of the problem - when the mundanes start getting into something that geeks had seen as uniquely their own for a long time, maybe it loses some of its geek chic, and is disparaged by the 'hardcore' as a result.
The bird in Ninja Gaiden one one of the last levels. You had to some how swing your sword at a perfect time to kill it and actually make the jump. Fortunately it didn't force me to start the game over just had to go back a couple of levels when you were out of guys.