This stuff wouldn't exist if people didn't pay for it, but the fact is that there are people dumb enough to buy this (Or cheat codes, uniforms, etc.), this will only make the problem worse.
Even people that don't know anything about video games know what "Nintendo" means, and to many people "Nintendo" means 'video games in general.' Mothers and fathers always bought their kid the new "Nintendo thing they wanted." Their kid kept wanting the new machines, so they had to be somewhat fun. Now Nintendo is targetting that person that wants a little distraction and relief during their busy day; not a complicated fighting game or a long-winded RPG, but a simple (And somewhat meaty) distraction. And it's working.
My mom came home early from work because she felt a little sick, she's up in bed. When I came home, what did she have next to her? Her DS. That sounds like what I did when I was sick, I'd play games. That's cool.
The whole "Zune-to-Zune" sharing thing seems like a gimmick. I also have a Nintendo DS, and I've never kept it in "Standby mode" and met anybody. I have arranged with friends to play against them, but it was always planned. Unless a large number of people own Zunes and there are a sizable number of people within the range of the Zune wi-fi thing, there's a slim chance you'll happen to bump into someone and listen to the song that will change your life. If you go through the trouble of meeting up with someone to listen to their music, just put the album on a flash-drive or a portable hard drive.
Maybe it will make ignorent consumers think "Hey, this is the same P2P thing that Napster got busted for. I am so "on the edge!"", which might result in sales numbers.
But hey, competition is good for the iPod. I'm interested to see how it will do (After all, the iPod isn't exactly 'feature heavy' either).
I study Japanese, and I have been to the point where I can enjoy playing text-heavy Japanese games, but I am limited to Japanese ROMs on my computer at this point. Not that I don't mind ROMs (There are lots of really good classic games), but sometimes I want to play the Japanese version of a game before it comes out in English because (1) I can play it before everyone else and (2) I can write it off as "language study." The only problem with this is the whole region-setting for consoles, which I can only bypass by modding my console, which is a mess I don't want to get into. The fact that the Wii is region free might have sealed the deal with me (Provided I play the Wii and it's not total crap).
Nintendo did something else right, yay.
I forsee myself as being the exact demographic that Nintendo wants. People that don't have the time to play lots and lots of games, but still need something to distract them every now and then. People like me (Or at least me, I can't speak for others) don't necessarly want to spend a load of money on something that HAS to be cutting edge to find a nice distraction from studying, work, etc. But rather something that provides a nice distraction, is fun to play and isn't overly complex (Unless I want it to be, like an RPG or something). I bought a DS and I love it. Yesterday during a study break I played Electroplankton (More or less a musical toy than a game), and for about 15 minutes I put on my headphones and I was in a nice fun little zone of happy. It was fun, and after the 15 minutes were up I went back to studying. I could have played it longer if I wanted, but I chose not to, and in a little dose like that I was perfectly happy.
Will the Wii take a similar approach? I realize that the success of the DS doesn't mean the Wii will be successful, but if Nintendo can provide people like me with a nice little distraction that refreshes me, then I think I know where I'll be spending my money. (And if I don't buy a Wii, there are lots of old PS2 games I never played, and they are going into the bargin bin once the new consoles roll around).
Either way, I will find myself a distraction. If Nintendo does things right (And I test a Wii), they'll have me too.
Slashdot Mirror
This stuff wouldn't exist if people didn't pay for it, but the fact is that there are people dumb enough to buy this (Or cheat codes, uniforms, etc.), this will only make the problem worse.
Even people that don't know anything about video games know what "Nintendo" means, and to many people "Nintendo" means 'video games in general.' Mothers and fathers always bought their kid the new "Nintendo thing they wanted." Their kid kept wanting the new machines, so they had to be somewhat fun. Now Nintendo is targetting that person that wants a little distraction and relief during their busy day; not a complicated fighting game or a long-winded RPG, but a simple (And somewhat meaty) distraction. And it's working. My mom came home early from work because she felt a little sick, she's up in bed. When I came home, what did she have next to her? Her DS. That sounds like what I did when I was sick, I'd play games. That's cool.
The whole "Zune-to-Zune" sharing thing seems like a gimmick. I also have a Nintendo DS, and I've never kept it in "Standby mode" and met anybody. I have arranged with friends to play against them, but it was always planned. Unless a large number of people own Zunes and there are a sizable number of people within the range of the Zune wi-fi thing, there's a slim chance you'll happen to bump into someone and listen to the song that will change your life. If you go through the trouble of meeting up with someone to listen to their music, just put the album on a flash-drive or a portable hard drive. Maybe it will make ignorent consumers think "Hey, this is the same P2P thing that Napster got busted for. I am so "on the edge!"", which might result in sales numbers. But hey, competition is good for the iPod. I'm interested to see how it will do (After all, the iPod isn't exactly 'feature heavy' either).
I study Japanese, and I have been to the point where I can enjoy playing text-heavy Japanese games, but I am limited to Japanese ROMs on my computer at this point. Not that I don't mind ROMs (There are lots of really good classic games), but sometimes I want to play the Japanese version of a game before it comes out in English because (1) I can play it before everyone else and (2) I can write it off as "language study." The only problem with this is the whole region-setting for consoles, which I can only bypass by modding my console, which is a mess I don't want to get into. The fact that the Wii is region free might have sealed the deal with me (Provided I play the Wii and it's not total crap). Nintendo did something else right, yay.
I forsee myself as being the exact demographic that Nintendo wants. People that don't have the time to play lots and lots of games, but still need something to distract them every now and then. People like me (Or at least me, I can't speak for others) don't necessarly want to spend a load of money on something that HAS to be cutting edge to find a nice distraction from studying, work, etc. But rather something that provides a nice distraction, is fun to play and isn't overly complex (Unless I want it to be, like an RPG or something). I bought a DS and I love it. Yesterday during a study break I played Electroplankton (More or less a musical toy than a game), and for about 15 minutes I put on my headphones and I was in a nice fun little zone of happy. It was fun, and after the 15 minutes were up I went back to studying. I could have played it longer if I wanted, but I chose not to, and in a little dose like that I was perfectly happy. Will the Wii take a similar approach? I realize that the success of the DS doesn't mean the Wii will be successful, but if Nintendo can provide people like me with a nice little distraction that refreshes me, then I think I know where I'll be spending my money. (And if I don't buy a Wii, there are lots of old PS2 games I never played, and they are going into the bargin bin once the new consoles roll around). Either way, I will find myself a distraction. If Nintendo does things right (And I test a Wii), they'll have me too.