State of Nintendo Address (long)
Friday, December 31st, 2004 - 4:34pm
I've been thinking a lot lately about the Nintendo corporation and how they'll fare in the new year and beyond. For, well, ALL OF MY LIFE, Nintendo has been THE company - The only Nintendo system I can't claim to own or have owned is the Virtual Boy. Rob the Robot, the Power Glove, the NES Advantage and Max controllers, the Super Scope, that stupid RAM chip for the N64, the Donkey Kongas... Nintendo in all its iterations have been such a part of my life that it's hard for me to judge them objectively. But, it's important to take stock in the things that are important in your life, and so I'm doing just that.
I've been nervous for Nintendo, you see, for a few years. I own a GameCube and love it, but it seems as if the general target audience for games, which has grown up along with me, didn't take to well to it. "Kiddie" games. No (or very little) online support. Sub-par graphics. With the graphics powerhouse X-Box and the "so many games, one or two is bound to be good" style of the PS2, Nintendo seemed stuck between a rock and hard place. Sure, we'll always have Mario and Zelda, but nostalgic titles alone can't carry a system and a company...
Sure, they still had the GameBoy Advance, and then Nintendo hit a homerun with the SP (taking everything we loved about the GameBoy and offering it in a package that seemed perfect... folding, compact unit, backlight, rechargeable battery... this was what we were waiting for all along...) but a company can't survive based on a handheld unit alone, especially with Sony's entry into the handheld market looming in the future.
Then, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, announced two units at E3 2004 - The Nintendo DS and the aptly named "Revolution". Not enough to sate my worry at the time, but now, we have the DS in our greedy little hands, and must I say, it has breathed new life into my Nintendo-love.
The DS is exactly what Nintendo needs. A unique offering into the handheld market. Where the PSP appears to be simply a handheld version of the PS2, with the exception of the possible mp3 and movie support, the DS offers something new - built-in wireless, dual-screen gaming, a microphone, a backlit touchscreen - the DS offers games that, quite simply, can't be ported to another system. As more and more games filter in, I think we'll see the DS stand the test of time and become one of the greatest handheld units of our time. The PSP has its good points, but the issue is one of uniqueness: yes, I can play Vice City on my PSP on my way to work... but does this unit offer me something that a console doesn't, other than portability? For the DS, the answer to this question is a resounding "yes".
Now, we stand poised and ready for the "Revolution". The early rumors are vague and, well rumors... No D-Pad. From the company that INVENTED the D-Pad. No 'A' or 'B' buttons. Quite simply, Iwata fully intends this unit to be the next step in gaming. Only his own quote sums his intentions fully:
Quote:
"What we need is not a next-generation machine but a next-generation way of playing games. We need to propose a new idea so that the game industry can overcome its current crisis."
I, for one, look forward to what Nintendo has in store for us. Not just (X-Box +1) or (Playstation^X) - Now with better graphics and... umm... better looking GAMES! - but a truly unique, genre-changing machine.
EDITS: I need to learn to proof-read.
XBox Live Gamertag: Warlockbert
Well said Warlock, I completely agree with you. I''m not a Nintendo fanboy by any means, but I respect the heritage and culture that they''ve helped create. Even though Sony is king, Nintendo will always be synonymous to gaming.
Mediocre gaming had something to do with the crash in 82, so I''m all for any kind of innovation (games or hardware) to keep the pulse going. We''ll always have the staple genres, but it''s those fresh experiences that come out of nowhere that really shock and suprise.
XBL/PSN/STEAM/WAR/SPORE/RAPTR
I honestly believe that if the Revolution provides a truly unique gaming experience it had better be easy to program and create games for or it will be a tough sell to publishers who have to view the PS3 and Xbox2 as stronger potential platforms right now.
That said, I hope Nintendo pulls out something fantastic. The Cube was the first system I got and I''m more than happy to support a company that takes chances and pushes real innovation, not just faster video cards and bigger processors. In that sense I think Iwata is right, we''re going to hit the wall if all we have going for the next gen is sexier graphics and better sounds. So much money will have to be thrown into the look of the games we''re going to lose more and more focus on gameplay.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
I''m thinking that with Nintendo''s huge push for wireless connectivity, that''s going to be a key ingredient in the Revolution. LCD screens of various sizes are so cheap to manufacture now, I wouldn''t be suprised to see some imaginative integration.
Just like the Xbox was a testing grounds for MS to eventually control Console/PC/Media Convergence, I think that the DS is a sneak-peak of what we can expect in our homes in 2006.
XBL/PSN/STEAM/WAR/SPORE/RAPTR
True enough. Though, looking at the titles released for the DS so far, things look promising. Sega, EA, Ubi Soft, Namco, THQ, Activision... and these are just the near-release titles. Hopefully this support continues into the console market as well.
I would look at a new technology as an opportunity to experiment with a facet of gaming that I''d been unable to explore as of yet. I picture the Sega guys sitting around saying ""You mean we can blow on this mic here, and have the correspond to the game? Sweet! There could be a miniature sailboat!""
I''m sure that''s not the way things happen, but that''s how things work in my magical fantasy land where developers and producers care more about creating a good game than creating a profitable one.
XBox Live Gamertag: Warlockbert
I would absolutely love for any of the new systems to have built in wireless networking. Think of how much easier it would be to get things setup when you dragged four xbox''s together with four TV''s if you didn''t have to bother linking them all directly together?
XBLive: Thin J
PSN: Thin_J
I don't imagine master craftsmen leaping away from completed projects and shouting "Done, motherf*ckers! - 1Dgaf
Unfortunately the hand-held market and the home console market are very different. The only consistent is that publishers will make games for whoever sells or has the most potential to sell the most units. I don''t think the next Nintendo product is going to be it but we''ll see, E3 will be very interesting this year.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
I''ve been back and forth on Nintendo for a long time... but I do have to point to Certis''s point that console and handheld markets are VERY different.
The first console I ever owned was an NES. I played the hell out of that thing. Every Mario game had to be mine as soon as it was out. I laughed at the goofy head movement of the people in Tecmo Football. I did it all.
But... next generation... and I had to go with the Genesis. As much as I liked playing the next generation of Mario games and Mario Kart... The appeal of Sonic the Hedgehog was just too much.
Based off of the Genisis... I bought a Game Gear. Yes, I owned a Sega Game Gear... also known as the eater of 6 AA batteries. I went through so many things of batteries that it was just rediculous. CRAZY! But... it was lack luster compared to my console. Admittedly, being backlit was badass... but that only took it so far. Not to mention that attempts to ""add"" things to the Sonic games ended up in having one or two levels that always stopped me and really killed my experience (I don''t think, to this day, that I ever finished the second handheld Sonic game).
So... the next generation approaches... and I have no idea where to go. I''ve enjoyed Nintendo in the past... but it seemed like that was all my friends owned anyway... and the lack of the main flagships kept me from the Saturn... this left me, about 2 years after launch, with the Playstation. And I loved it... but at this time, I was a junior high student, and I caught Pokemon fever. After borrowing my friend''s original gameboy... I was hooked. To this day, I still buy all Nintendo handhelds... even though I''ve moved on to PC gaming entirely for home... but Nintendo has a good idea of what to do with their handhelds. They know that games like Metal Gear probably aren''t going to translate well into a pick up and go type experience... and those games that don''t... and they even encourage (from what I''ve heard, the development of NON-pick up and go genre''s with features that make them a little more easy to play with short amounts of time.
I dunno... I''m curious about the DS... but I think I''m going to give it some time... We''ll see...
"Just remember that sometimes you need to allow problems to just roll like water off of a duckilama's back." ~Reaper
Sadly in the modern era of gaming where Nintendo Flagship titles no longer carry the same weight they once did. Doing something so revolutionary will in fact hurt Nintendo not help them in the next generation.
All publishers now care about the bottom line more than anything else. Cheap Development and ease of cross platform development will drive more titles to the Xbox 2 and PC and PS3 platforms than something potentially from Nintendo that will require major rework in design and coding.
Kudo''s to Nintendo for pushing the envelope and trying something new... lets just hope its something worthwile and something that actually brings something useful to the industry and the gaming platform.
Not Red Hued semi 3D vector graphics....
When you read Nintendo press and get all happy about the possiblities...I read them and see a semi desperate company thats grown more and more detached from the reality of the gaming market and gaming demographics.
Where as other companies have embraced global tastes and designs... Nintendo seems to wrap themselves tighter and tighter with the Japanese Flag all the while plugging their fingers in their ears and screaming tra-la-la-la.
Aint nothing new about the world order..it's been playing since the day they put George Washington on a quarter
85's face the truth you're too dumb.
http://www.myspace.com/armyofthepharaohs
I have no doubt that Revolution bring up a whole lot of new and unique ideas to the table, but besides the traditional Japanese first midnight runs on the stores on the release day, very few people will actually care.
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
Yay for frat boys playing Halo and Madden and such being the focus of the gaming world now... wheeeeeeeeeeeeee...
"Just remember that sometimes you need to allow problems to just roll like water off of a duckilama's back." ~Reaper
I''m waiting for something halfway worth playing on the DS. No real desire to play Mario 64 again.
Cool hardware, bring me some games.
WII FRIEND CODE: 6936 4764 8384 6058
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB / PSN: Legion_SB / Steam: legion028 / Twitter: legion
i like the fact nintendo is taking some chances. perhaps desperate but also competitive. nintendo is doing well financially I believe. I mean they are still turning a profit lately whereas Sony is not. Perhaps this is mostly cause of their gameboy and ds stranglehold on the handheld market. but still i don''t believe they are too desperate.
they actually seem to have woken up to some to the realitities of the market place. they know there are 2 other major players now so they''ve got to innovate and compete.
their ds is very obviously being marketing to older audiences based on the ads I''ve seen.
they also, I''ve read, will do more to support 3rd party developers. I think before there were more hurdles to jump thru to be a 3rd party developer for nintendo than other game consoles. nintendo still has a strong stable of unique games too.
i definitely like the possibilities that nintendo will do something more unique than just make the games look better or provide other multimedia features. i really like the fact they are messing with the controller. controllers could definitely be improved upon.
all in all it will be interesting to see what the 3 major console players will bring to the table. tho of course in the end it will come down to the games. a major hit at launch will help sell a console.
""A persons perception of reality ~ is reality!"" and I think what Warlock is trying to get at is that with the Revolution (and the DS to a degree) the focus on Nintendo isn''t to reach the masses with more of the same, but rather to enrich their gaming experience or to change the way people play. I mean c''mon a dual/touch screen handheld that I can hookup to X people to play against in stereo? That''s crazy!
If there''s no D-Pad maybe they''re bringing back the powerglove. That would rock. Just so long as the flagship title isn''t Dance Dance Revolution and the controller of choice is the floormat controller.
If we allow these people to marry, they'll be dancing in the streets, making everyone gay and poking pee-pees together. Do you really want that!? We need to stop this gay madness before it destroys us all! - baggachipz
Har har har. There is no D-Pad and A/B buttons because Revolution will require Nintendo DS as its controller. ""Connectivity""!!!
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
so sad...so true.
I think Nintendo will have the best year of all the platforms this year (2005). Resident Evil 4 and Zelda: Gate of the Realm will kick major ass.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
Dear god trip1eX, use some capital letters so I can read your post!
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
I just wish Nintendo took more chances with their games, and stopped relying so much on their mascots. They''re nearly irrelevant now, thanks to overexposure.
The man wears a bucket of KFC on his head. I wouldn't expect anything less. - Pred
Nintendo takes more chances than any other large company. Look at the games Nintendo has released and compare it to Sony and Microsoft. What is more of a chace, Halo 2 or Animal Crossing. KillZone or Pikmin?
The problem is not that Nintendo relies on their mascots. Sony has released three mascot games in three years. Microsoft is now starting to release a lot of ""franchise"" games because they''re starting to have them. What Nintendo needs to do is release more games with high production values.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
Eye-Toy or Super Mario Sunshine? You can make this argument for anyone by comparing a company''s most-innovative with another company''s least-innovative. It doesn''t make it a sound argument.
WII FRIEND CODE: 6936 4764 8384 6058
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB / PSN: Legion_SB / Steam: legion028 / Twitter: legion
I''m excited by what Revolution could possibly offer, but no totally convinced it will work, from a business standpoint. They need to at least support the control scheme of the other two consoles, or they will be a ''second, maybe third console I buy'' purchase, meaning that it will never get purchased at all. Exclusive titles sell the enthusiasm, but multiplatform games sell the system. I know that, within reason, no matter how amazing the Revolution games are, I don''t want to miss out on all the cool multi-platform games that will be coming out.
"PEACE ON EARTH. GOOD WILL TO MEN. PUBLIC SHELTER. ADMISSION 50¢"
Is the eye-toy innovative? Yes. Has it been utulized by the games released for it? Not really. We are talking about games not hardware. That is why I compared games to games.
Sony and Microsoft haven''t released weird or strange games and haven''t taken any risks (outside of Microsoft getting into the business). Nintendo gets attacked for using their franchise characters while people ignore that Sony is following the EA approach to games, the same franchise, every year. Nintendo then gets attacked for releasing weird games like Animal Crossing, Animal cubed, and Pikmin.
Anyway, gamers want the franchise characters. What are the highest selling games of the season? Halo 2, GTA:SA, PoP, and Metroid.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
AFAIK Eye-Toy can be used by the PS2 version of DDR for the backgrounds.
Xbox Live tag Gorilla800lbs
Not to mention SEGA has developed a game that uses it now. Well, it''s more a series of mini-games packaged together, but whatever...
"Just remember that sometimes you need to allow problems to just roll like water off of a duckilama's back." ~Reaper
I have it. After about an hour you get a headache. But it is kinda neat in it''s own right I suppose.
"Thanks, KrazyTaco, thanks. I'd put it in your pooper too." -Mex
"Krazy, I love the fact that you exist." -Vector
"Oh, KrazyTaco, you fulfill all my wishes." -pneuman
xboxlive= KrazyTacoFO
I have no problem with their franchise games. Even though i don''t get as excited about them as I use to, they are still solid, fun titles. Like Ulairi said, Nintendo just need to release more of the high profile, quality games. I get excited about and buy about 3 Nintendo games a year. Actually I think I only bought 1 game for my Cube last year. Compare that to about 10 for my Xbox.
"Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin
I would argue that the GameCube, PS2, and Xbox, all feature about the same number of ""must buy"" games. Where the PS2 and Xbox have done a lot better is by featuring more games that are worth renting and that cater to more people.
Nintendo needs to do a better job there.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
Nintendo does take a modicum of chances but they are often given way to much credit for taking chances when instead they are just making bad business decisions. Granted hind sight is 20/20. Are Pimkin and Animal Crossing taking any more chances then Halo 2 and Killzone?? Not really when you realize that Nintendo is playing to there hardcore fanbase in Japan while MS and Sony are playing to much larger fanbases outside of Japan. Guru summed it up with his comment in regards to Nintendo being being to Nationalist/Japan centric. Japan is no longer the center of the gaming universe its just one of the growing number of galaxies and it seems that Nintendo is just now realizing this.
As for this gen''s hardware innovations MS forced the console broadband revolution and negated the need for memory cards and Sony followed suite. Nintendo did little to nothin on a practical scale this gen thus the big promises for what we all hope will live up to its name...The Revolution.
It better be good though because its make or break with a name like that.
I don''t know what teh Big N is cooking up but we all know they aren''t willing to lose money on a console so its not going to be earth shattering tech.
The biggest problem Nintendo faces is a an audience of gamers that matures faster and faster every gen. They are stuck on there superb high polish but losing luster characters and have yet to create anything that has truly grabbed truly mindshare of current gamers. I am not sure iof they are poised to either. Metriod 1&2 the inlcusion of Link in Soul Caliber 2 were great starts and the videos of the new Zelda point in the right direction.
As for the must own games .....ist arguable based on preference alone. You might have a great arguement based on first party titles only. But I can''t even get ESPN 2K5 on the GC and I play MA 1&2, Halo 1&2 Crimson Skies and others more then my GC games. Again it can be written off as preference though....but I am looking forward to just to name a few Pariah, Advent Rising, Jade Empire, Oddworlds Strangers Wrath, Unreal 2, Conkers and the list goes on. Where as on Gamecube I will dabble with RE4 and Zelda.
Find me at... http://www.playmoreconsoles.com/
Gamertag: NeoStyx & NeoCell
Yeah, the mixture of the Cube''s lack of DVD playback and no online play, and I was pretty much already thinking it would be DOA... still a little surprised it''s lasted this long, in all honesty.
"Just remember that sometimes you need to allow problems to just roll like water off of a duckilama's back." ~Reaper
And yet you completely missed the point. The point was that you were comparing the most niche innovative games of Nintendo''s to the franchise stalwarts of others. You were making completely meaningless inequal comparisons.
I can claim that the Miami Dolphins are better than the New England Patriots because, well, Jason Taylor or Kevin Faulk? Of course, that would be idiotic because it isn''t an equal comparison. Such were your comparisons.
WII FRIEND CODE: 6936 4764 8384 6058
Gaming / PC Tech Blog: www.blastprocessing.net
Xbox Live: Legion SB / PSN: Legion_SB / Steam: legion028 / Twitter: legion
Lack of online play is a huge loss. I don''t think DVD playback would make any difference with most people owning dvd players. Not using the standard dvd medium for storage, that hurt.
No, I wasn''t. Let''s go with Zelda that was a HUGE risk. Much bigger risk than Halo 2 or GTA or any other big franchise released this generation. Shall we go on? Metroid Prime is another example of a big risk. Taking a popular franchise and turning into a first person game. Not a first person shooter (standard shooter) but an adventure game played in the first person. Nintendo takes risks but they use their stable of characters to package the risks to reduce the chance of failure.
Will people pick more more copies of a specific game because Link is in it? Yes. Is that bad? No.
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988