Side note: Nintendo wasn't sued because their rumble technology works differently, and was developed in house. Immersion has a patent on a specific method of providing rumble feedback, not just rumble feedback in general.
On a side note to your side note, I really hope that when Nintendo starts work on the successor to the DS, they pay a visit to Immersion and license their haptic touchscreen technology.
I think their days in business are numbered unless they learn how to make a profit while letting the code be free, preferably under the GPL.
Considering that they are able to make a decent profit while retaining their code, why would they want to re-learn a new business model and then maybe have a chance of making a profit?
Are you honestly trying to use Digg as a source? (Seeing as how that was the first link that popped up, and seemingly the only relevent one on the first page of links.)
Why don't you give us an actual source, rather than asking others to do footwork to bolster your (apparently made-up) point?
If Zelda:TP was too dark and murky, I'm wondering if you adjusted your display properly when the game displayed the brightness calibration tool. I know that on my television, I need to up the gamma a bit when playing that particular game.
It is hard to play a game five hours straight with such repetitive motion, and the "extra" movements and misses from the Wiimote can kill you in pressure situations.
I have to disagree with you a bit on the controller thing, though. I can't imagine not using a split controller for marathon sessions now that I've been spoiled by the Wiimote+Nunchuk combo (especially in Zelda). I was rarely ever able to really get comfortable for long (4+ hours) sessions with a Dual Shock or Gamecube controller, but I've had a couple of times playing Zelda or Godfather where I spent 6+ hours playing without even realizing it.
Admittedly, a game like RE4 where you have to make constant use of the pointer functionality might wear you out after a bit, but I see that as much-needed exercise.
The success of the Wii will have a much smaller impact on the future of the PS3 (or even the 360) then you assume. The Wii is "winning" by going after a COMPLETELY different market than either of the other two.
That might be how the advertising efforts are perceived, but according to reports, only 10% of current Wii owners did not own one of the previous-gen consoles (either lapsed gamers or non-gamers). The rest are "regular" gamers. Most likely, they owned a GameCube last time around, but there are several folks who are keeping their PS2 around (or replacing it with a slim) and added a Wii to their gaming stable.
How exactly would it backfire? The fact that the system is in that household in the first place significantly increases the chance that the household will buy another game. If the console isn't in usage, customers will go to find a new game, not just box up the system.
Nintendo sells the console at a profit, so they're already ahead on the balance sheet. Even if a customer only buys one game, they've still made money off of them.
If third-parties aren't smart enough to study the market and expect to sell millions of copies by default, then they have only themselves to blame. Especially if the title is a sloppy, hacked-together mess like many "cash-in" titles tend to be.
After Nintendo's very... different... press conference, you may be wondering what's going on.
What's going on is that you witnessed an actual press conference, aimed at the main stream media, as opposed to an enthusiast-oriented hypefest. Nintendo saw the retooling of E3 as an opportunity to return to its intended roots, put on a show, and got their message out to those who needed to hear it. The point of the press event is to build up hype among retailers and the major press, which means communicating your vision, supporting your position, and giving them something to remember. This wasn't about abandoning gamers, hardcore, traditional, or otherwise.
Nintendo knows that the hardcore gamers get their news from Kotaku, NeoGAF, IGN, or other websites and internet fora. The diehards are the ones who are checking Smash Brothers Dojo daily to keep up with the new updates. The fanboys already check obsessively to keep up with breaking news on what is going to be available. They don't need to be the only ones attended to. Right after the conference concluded, Nintendo's E3 site went active, with new trailers for all the major upcoming releases and with lists of upcoming releases. The fans knew where to find it all, and didn't need for it to be shown on stage. And if they had any lingering questions, the round table session was devoted to fielding questions for and from the hardcore crowd.
That's not to say the enthusiasts were ignored. The first thirty to forty minutes of the event was dedicated to showing off the upcoming AAA titles for the benefit of the fans. They revealed that three major releases (Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy, and Smash Brothers Brawl) are all coming out this year, with Mario Kart soon to follow. The announced that EA's entire sports lineup will be online, and that Medal of Honor will support 32 player online matches. They showed that they were specifically working with third-parties on accessory support to enhance gameplay options.
Nintendo then shifted focus and aimed straight for the USA Todays and WSJs out there with the last twenty minutes or so. They brought out the new IP with the broad appeal that is in line with their market strategy, becaues that was the ideal moment to make it known to the world. And they succeeded spectacularly in that the major newpapers were talking about Wii Fit instead of Killzone 2 or Halo 3.
Nintendo isn't abandoning the enthusiast market. What they are doing is making a conscious effort not to abandon the people who might become gaming enthusiasts, given the right gateway.
How is it shameful? It shows that he has been working his way up the ladder. Nintendo expects a certain amount of polish and care with their projects, and they're not likely to just hand a major project to a relatively-untested new talent. Aonuma's helmed a couple of projects (under supervision) to prove his worth and now he's earned the right to start directing and producing his own IPs.
If he were talking about something small and simple, like Electroplankton, they'd probably give him the resources to go ahead, but he's probably wanting to create something new and epic (on the order of say, Pikmin), he has to make his case first.
They covered Wii Fit at the very end of their conference so it would make the mainstream media and spur the major retailers into pushing it.
The entire conference up to that point was all about the regular gamers. Nintendo confirmed and dated three major releases (Metroid, Mario Galaxies, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl) for this year, and announced that a fourth would be out early next year. That's the big news for gamers.
Well, much like Guitar Hero [i]borrowed concepts[/i] to Konami's Guitar Freaks, Rock Band is also [i]borrowing concepts[/i] from Konami's Super Session mode from Guitar Freaks, Keyboard Mania, and Drum Mania.
Is this the DS or PSP version? I can't say that I had noticed any seeding issues on the DS version, but then again, when I'm playing PQ I usually just put it into sleep rather than powering down.
Apparently, you don't know a whole lot about what you're talking about.
I hate patent trolls as much as the next person, but I don't think Immersion really qualifies as one. If you check their financials, nearly 60% of their revenue comes from actual product sold, with less than 30% coming from licensing. From their press releases, the licenses appear to be legit, as opposed to SCO-style shakedowns.
Personally, I hope Nintendo calls up Immersion to talk licensing. They've got a pretty nifty tactile feedback system for touchscreens which would be awesome for the next incarnation of the DS.
Three of your examples involve knives and the two gun-related incidents are not in countries where guns are banned. Yes, school violence is everywhere, but the GP asked about school shootings.
Given how SKU-crazy Microsoft already is, why not?
They could just take the Xbox 360 and put it in a shorter, wider (less intimidating) case that comes in pastel pink or turquoise, and rebadge/repurpose it as the family-friendly "FunBox" or "PrettyPonyMachine" or somesuch. The same games would play on both systems, but they can advertise it as a wholly different line with a different marketing thrust.
You don't have to be first, but you do have to be profitable. You'll note that's a common thread between most of the examples you listed - they may have had their rough patches, but they've managed to right the ship and return to being successful.
When your parent company is twelve billion dollars in the hole, your division can't afford to be posting two billion in losses. It doesn't guarantee that you are bound for failure, but it does promise hard times and massive reorganization.
Sony's position is closest to that of Nissan, from the companies that you listed. It took a massive alliance with and basically handing control over to Renault to get Nissan back on track.
You may want to check if your TV has a "game" mode, if you have an HD television. If the TV is trying to scale the signal (or if it's DLP-based), that can introduce enough lag to through off games that rely on precise timing.
Actually, I believe Squeenix said they were not considering downloadable content for Wii titles at the moment. Seeing as how Actraiser was just released as a VC title, I'd say they are interested in the possibilities of the Virtual Console.
Of course, they're certainly not going to let their big cash cows out, so long as they can keep re-releasing them and we keep buying them (like FF1 and FF2 being put out as separate titles for the PSP version.>
And if you re-read the GP's post, you'll see that he never equated all gun-owners with "gun toting maniacs". That would be like calling everyone you disagree with a "liberal".
Some people who are interested in guns are obsessed to an unhealthy and possibly dangerous degree. We all (probably) know people like this. That's who he was referring to.
The Opera zealots are as vocal as they are because they equally (if not more) sick of the attitude of the Firefox ideologues.
They're tired of hearing people proclaim how Firefox is the greatest thing EVAR, when most of the highly-touted "new" features were part of Opera's default install for ages. They're sick of hearing people complain about how Opera used to cost money or used to have advertising and that asking for money to support a company is a bad thing, when the desktop version is free. They get annoyed at how FF users proclaim that Firefox is "truly" free, when that freedom actually only really matters to maybe 5% of the userbase. Most of all, though, Opera users get annoyed because any minor revision to Firefox or random extensions makes the main page at Slashdot by default, while equally (if not more) capable browsers get major news overlooked.
Firefox zealotry is the norm here. Supporters of other browsers have to be vocal, or else they would get little to no exposure.
The cynic in me says that you need to either get more friends, or become more comfortable with having people over.
I, and most of my friends, are over thirty and we have a blast with offline multiplayer. In fact, there would be almost no point to playing games like ExciteTruck or Madden '07 if it were online and had no live human interaction. The face-to-face immediacy of offline multiplayer is the point.
In fact, the neatest thing about Mario Strikers's online is that I can do local multiplayer against online teams. If it were just solo play against random strangers, it would just be the same as playing against an AI that likes to call you random racial epithets.
Slashdot Mirror
With the obvious exceptions of the games with pack-in accessories, such as Boogie and DDR: Hottest Party.
Not sure where the OP lives, though. Do Wii games run that much in Canada?
On a side note to your side note, I really hope that when Nintendo starts work on the successor to the DS, they pay a visit to Immersion and license their haptic touchscreen technology.
Considering that they are able to make a decent profit while retaining their code, why would they want to re-learn a new business model and then maybe have a chance of making a profit?
Are you honestly trying to use Digg as a source? (Seeing as how that was the first link that popped up, and seemingly the only relevent one on the first page of links.)
Why don't you give us an actual source, rather than asking others to do footwork to bolster your (apparently made-up) point?
If Zelda:TP was too dark and murky, I'm wondering if you adjusted your display properly when the game displayed the brightness calibration tool. I know that on my television, I need to up the gamma a bit when playing that particular game.
It is hard to play a game five hours straight with such repetitive motion, and the "extra" movements and misses from the Wiimote can kill you in pressure situations.I have to disagree with you a bit on the controller thing, though. I can't imagine not using a split controller for marathon sessions now that I've been spoiled by the Wiimote+Nunchuk combo (especially in Zelda). I was rarely ever able to really get comfortable for long (4+ hours) sessions with a Dual Shock or Gamecube controller, but I've had a couple of times playing Zelda or Godfather where I spent 6+ hours playing without even realizing it.
Admittedly, a game like RE4 where you have to make constant use of the pointer functionality might wear you out after a bit, but I see that as much-needed exercise.
That might be how the advertising efforts are perceived, but according to reports, only 10% of current Wii owners did not own one of the previous-gen consoles (either lapsed gamers or non-gamers). The rest are "regular" gamers. Most likely, they owned a GameCube last time around, but there are several folks who are keeping their PS2 around (or replacing it with a slim) and added a Wii to their gaming stable.
How exactly would it backfire? The fact that the system is in that household in the first place significantly increases the chance that the household will buy another game. If the console isn't in usage, customers will go to find a new game, not just box up the system.
Nintendo sells the console at a profit, so they're already ahead on the balance sheet. Even if a customer only buys one game, they've still made money off of them.
If third-parties aren't smart enough to study the market and expect to sell millions of copies by default, then they have only themselves to blame. Especially if the title is a sloppy, hacked-together mess like many "cash-in" titles tend to be.
What's going on is that you witnessed an actual press conference, aimed at the main stream media, as opposed to an enthusiast-oriented hypefest. Nintendo saw the retooling of E3 as an opportunity to return to its intended roots, put on a show, and got their message out to those who needed to hear it. The point of the press event is to build up hype among retailers and the major press, which means communicating your vision, supporting your position, and giving them something to remember. This wasn't about abandoning gamers, hardcore, traditional, or otherwise.
Nintendo knows that the hardcore gamers get their news from Kotaku, NeoGAF, IGN, or other websites and internet fora. The diehards are the ones who are checking Smash Brothers Dojo daily to keep up with the new updates. The fanboys already check obsessively to keep up with breaking news on what is going to be available. They don't need to be the only ones attended to. Right after the conference concluded, Nintendo's E3 site went active, with new trailers for all the major upcoming releases and with lists of upcoming releases. The fans knew where to find it all, and didn't need for it to be shown on stage. And if they had any lingering questions, the round table session was devoted to fielding questions for and from the hardcore crowd.
That's not to say the enthusiasts were ignored. The first thirty to forty minutes of the event was dedicated to showing off the upcoming AAA titles for the benefit of the fans. They revealed that three major releases (Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy, and Smash Brothers Brawl) are all coming out this year, with Mario Kart soon to follow. The announced that EA's entire sports lineup will be online, and that Medal of Honor will support 32 player online matches. They showed that they were specifically working with third-parties on accessory support to enhance gameplay options.
Nintendo then shifted focus and aimed straight for the USA Todays and WSJs out there with the last twenty minutes or so. They brought out the new IP with the broad appeal that is in line with their market strategy, becaues that was the ideal moment to make it known to the world. And they succeeded spectacularly in that the major newpapers were talking about Wii Fit instead of Killzone 2 or Halo 3.
Nintendo isn't abandoning the enthusiast market. What they are doing is making a conscious effort not to abandon the people who might become gaming enthusiasts, given the right gateway.
How is it shameful? It shows that he has been working his way up the ladder. Nintendo expects a certain amount of polish and care with their projects, and they're not likely to just hand a major project to a relatively-untested new talent. Aonuma's helmed a couple of projects (under supervision) to prove his worth and now he's earned the right to start directing and producing his own IPs.
If he were talking about something small and simple, like Electroplankton, they'd probably give him the resources to go ahead, but he's probably wanting to create something new and epic (on the order of say, Pikmin), he has to make his case first.
Technically, the very first Metal Gear was released on the MSX, which was a Microsoft-directed PC standard (sort of a predecessor to the 3D0).
They covered Wii Fit at the very end of their conference so it would make the mainstream media and spur the major retailers into pushing it.
The entire conference up to that point was all about the regular gamers. Nintendo confirmed and dated three major releases (Metroid, Mario Galaxies, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl) for this year, and announced that a fourth would be out early next year. That's the big news for gamers.
Well, much like Guitar Hero [i]borrowed concepts[/i] to Konami's Guitar Freaks, Rock Band is also [i]borrowing concepts[/i] from Konami's Super Session mode from Guitar Freaks, Keyboard Mania, and Drum Mania.
Just so you know, Foxconn is also building the PS3.
In fact, Foxconn was unable to ramp up Wii production because they thought it would be more profitable to reserve the extra lines for the PS3.
Is this the DS or PSP version? I can't say that I had noticed any seeding issues on the DS version, but then again, when I'm playing PQ I usually just put it into sleep rather than powering down.
Apparently, you don't know a whole lot about what you're talking about.
I hate patent trolls as much as the next person, but I don't think Immersion really qualifies as one. If you check their financials, nearly 60% of their revenue comes from actual product sold, with less than 30% coming from licensing. From their press releases, the licenses appear to be legit, as opposed to SCO-style shakedowns.
Personally, I hope Nintendo calls up Immersion to talk licensing. They've got a pretty nifty tactile feedback system for touchscreens which would be awesome for the next incarnation of the DS.
Three of your examples involve knives and the two gun-related incidents are not in countries where guns are banned. Yes, school violence is everywhere, but the GP asked about school shootings.
Given how SKU-crazy Microsoft already is, why not?
They could just take the Xbox 360 and put it in a shorter, wider (less intimidating) case that comes in pastel pink or turquoise, and rebadge/repurpose it as the family-friendly "FunBox" or "PrettyPonyMachine" or somesuch. The same games would play on both systems, but they can advertise it as a wholly different line with a different marketing thrust.
You don't have to be first, but you do have to be profitable. You'll note that's a common thread between most of the examples you listed - they may have had their rough patches, but they've managed to right the ship and return to being successful.
When your parent company is twelve billion dollars in the hole, your division can't afford to be posting two billion in losses. It doesn't guarantee that you are bound for failure, but it does promise hard times and massive reorganization.
Sony's position is closest to that of Nissan, from the companies that you listed. It took a massive alliance with and basically handing control over to Renault to get Nissan back on track.
There's nothing quite like sitting down with the kids for a friendly game of XXXenophile!
You may want to check if your TV has a "game" mode, if you have an HD television. If the TV is trying to scale the signal (or if it's DLP-based), that can introduce enough lag to through off games that rely on precise timing.
Actually, I believe Squeenix said they were not considering downloadable content for Wii titles at the moment. Seeing as how Actraiser was just released as a VC title, I'd say they are interested in the possibilities of the Virtual Console.
Of course, they're certainly not going to let their big cash cows out, so long as they can keep re-releasing them and we keep buying them (like FF1 and FF2 being put out as separate titles for the PSP version.>
And if you re-read the GP's post, you'll see that he never equated all gun-owners with "gun toting maniacs". That would be like calling everyone you disagree with a "liberal".
Some people who are interested in guns are obsessed to an unhealthy and possibly dangerous degree. We all (probably) know people like this. That's who he was referring to.
The Opera zealots are as vocal as they are because they equally (if not more) sick of the attitude of the Firefox ideologues.
They're tired of hearing people proclaim how Firefox is the greatest thing EVAR, when most of the highly-touted "new" features were part of Opera's default install for ages. They're sick of hearing people complain about how Opera used to cost money or used to have advertising and that asking for money to support a company is a bad thing, when the desktop version is free. They get annoyed at how FF users proclaim that Firefox is "truly" free, when that freedom actually only really matters to maybe 5% of the userbase. Most of all, though, Opera users get annoyed because any minor revision to Firefox or random extensions makes the main page at Slashdot by default, while equally (if not more) capable browsers get major news overlooked.
Firefox zealotry is the norm here. Supporters of other browsers have to be vocal, or else they would get little to no exposure.
You might want to check Nintendo's own Investor Relations page, which has full English versions of all their reports.
The cynic in me says that you need to either get more friends, or become more comfortable with having people over.
I, and most of my friends, are over thirty and we have a blast with offline multiplayer. In fact, there would be almost no point to playing games like ExciteTruck or Madden '07 if it were online and had no live human interaction. The face-to-face immediacy of offline multiplayer is the point.
In fact, the neatest thing about Mario Strikers's online is that I can do local multiplayer against online teams. If it were just solo play against random strangers, it would just be the same as playing against an AI that likes to call you random racial epithets.