The Nintendo Indifference? 94
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a new Nintendojo editorial entitled 'The Nintendo Indifference' This noticably bitter editorial on the state of the Big N begins: "I bought my GameCube with the expectation of the delivery of the promise of innovation, and you failed to deliver. Worst of all, I don't forget. Because of your misleading statements, it's time for a reckoning, Nintendo. You owe me." Has Nintendo really "failed to be innovative as a first party developer for their console", or did the writer of this editorial just get out of bed on the wrong side?
blech (Score:5, Insightful)
He was saying to the audience in attendance that the Nintendo Difference for the GameCube was that their would be no "Mega Sequels," only innovative games like Pikmin.
What developer doesn't make extravagant, exuberant claims at an E3 press conference?
He goes on and makes some interesting comments about Mario Sunshine, but then he makes this comment:
Secondly, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind 'Wanker'.
C'mon, how old are we? You have to resort to name-calling to get your point across?
The whole thing is pure dreck, I can't believe the ravings of an immature, name-callling child makes the news.
Mike
If that "essay" had been posted on /. (Score:5, Insightful)
Its claims are absolutely ludicrous. Mario Sunshine has a worse camera than Mario 64? Wind Waker is identical to Ocarina? Games like Smash Brothers that made dramatic and substantial improvements on their originals aren't worth putting out? Sequels that expand on popular and fun ideas are bad? These are just stupid ideas, made no smarter by his "witty" retitling of games to be "Wind Wanker" and "Mario Squirt-Gun", or his claiming that Miyamoto would "wet himself" if a game contained real violence. (News flash: Miyamoto was a producer on Eternal Darkness, one of three games actually praised by the ranter)
God, you have no idea how depressed I am that the buzz story on Nintendo is "the company is doomed". The company is only doomed because of the arbitrary perception that it is doomed. Its consoles are profitable, its games reliably top "best of year lists", and it has a sizable installed fanbase. It's only assholes like this that are going to kill what is, in my opinion, the only company still reliably putting out games that remotely resemble the hobby I grew up on.
Hm. That "essay" appears to have pissed me off more than I thought. I guess I'll go find some more Shines until I calm down.
I don't think we need to waste another moment (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Just Like GBA? (Score:3, Insightful)
Failing on all fronts (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't get me wrong; I own a Gamecube and I like a lot of Nintendo games. I own a SNES and an N64 as well. He's right that Mario Sunshine is a weak re-tread of Mario 64 though - its a fun game in its own right but it lacks the innovation, imagination and sheer fun of Mario 64. I've heard that Sunshine is based on re-worked N64DD code and I think that makes a lot of sense - its basically a stop-gap rather than a true sequel. The Wind Waker suffers from similar flaws; its got an innovative graphical style but beneath that it plays like Ocarina of Time with a boat tacked on - much like the tacked-on squirt-gun in Mario Sunshine. Given how clunky the water-based combat is and how dull the treasure-seeking is, its hard to see what the sailing really adds to the game. At its core The Wind Waker is about puzzle dungeons, just like any Zelda game, but its dungeons are less interesting and much easier than those we've seen before and it doesn't really add anything new to the mix. Even the titular 'Wind Waker' is essentially just the Ocarina of Time by a new name.
I think ultimately Nintendo's problem is this: innovation is its major selling point. Sony has a massive catalogue of games, including many fantastic new ideas and many great sequels and Microsoft have enough money to buy up anything that Sony overlooks - so if Nintendo wants to compete it needs not just a few good games, but some really unmissible ones. Currently the Gamecube is struggling to outdo the N64; how can it hope to compete with next-generation offerings?
What do you consider innovative? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I love it when ignoramuses write articles (Score:3, Insightful)
I think Metroid Prime has been the best game on the GC thus far. I played it all the way through almost non stop. Every time I put the game down it was all I could think about it so I'd have to go back to it and play some more. I was worried that the controls would feel akward being that it's first person; but the learning curve is small and once you get use to it, it plays very well.
Too bad there wasn't a deathmatch mode for Metroid Prime via that broadband adapter that the GC has.
Re:Just another troll (Score:2, Insightful)
I think that may be why the GC looks so good to me, as well. Hell, I didn't even have an SNES, I went straight from NES to Turbo Grafx-16 and the Genesis, and then took a few years away from console gaming (mostly my teenage years) to come back for the PS1 when FFVII came out (though I played quite a bit of Killer Instinct and Mario Kart on my roommate's SNES in college).
GameCube Has Many High Quality Titles (Score:3, Insightful)
What is interesting is analyzing all of the data concerning quality titles the individual console makers have produced. Here [gametab.com] is the page listing the top GC games (those with greater than 85% average reviews). As you can see Nintendo has released (including third party titles) 16 titles which have been very well received by the reviewing wing of the games industry. In contrast the PC industry released 27 games with similar press fanfare, the PS2 released 28 games, and the XBox 18.
The GameCube has the smallest number of quality titles but if you factor in GameboyAdvance games the total rises to 29. And indeed if you are buying a GC soon it will come with the GameBoy TV adapter so you can play all your Nintendo games for $150 for the unit. The GameCube has always been cheaper than the other systems and that is a major selling point for it.
If you look at the top rated games [gametab.com] you'll see 3 GameCube games in the top 10. The GameCube is producing very high quality games but it is getting hurt because third party developers are not supporting it as well (they create and optimize the game for the PS2 and then release that game for the XBox/GC hardware which is much more powerful). Also, the PS2/PC controls the highly acclaimed GTA series which has a solid hold on the Top 10 games.
I'm not saying that Nintendo is not to blame for many of the woes felt by GC owners. I'm just saying it is possibly the best console to own (it's cheap and has a number of stellar 1st party titles not available elsewhere). Nintendo and Microsoft might have lost to Sony in this battle, but Nintendo is still very aggressive in their future plans and they have a stranglehold on the portable gaming market. The next round of consoles will be very interesting and with exclusivity contracts from the likes of RockStar Games (GTA) and Square (Final Fantasy) being expired soon or renegotiated frequently it is possible that Nintendo's next console will be able to compete on the same level as the PS3 and XBOX2.
In the meantime I will be playing Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime and Wind Waker. And (unfortunately) waiting for Mario Kart, F-zero, etc. for the GameCube.
My biggest beef with Nintendo is that it took nearly 2 or more years to get many of their 1st party sequels made. There's no real excuse for any of that. They should have been launch titles or at least released in 2002.
Some good points... (Score:3, Insightful)
1. Pikmin is beautiful, and a wonderful way to pass the time when home sick from work.
2. Animal Crossing, while looking like an N64 game, really takes the whole "Sims" thing to a new level.
3. Metroid Prime is the tighest FPS I've ever played, and I've played them since Pathways into Darkness [earthlink.net].
4. And, to top all of them off, The Wind Waker is just an amazing game and is close to perfect. Yes, it does play like Ocarina, but it is Ocarina's sequel - I should hope it feels similar, at least.
I could go on: Eternal Darkness, Lost Kingdoms, Lost Kingoms II, oh, and while it made its first home on the Japanese DC, the great Ikagura cannot be overlooked.
And what do we GC'ers have to look forward to? Pikmin 2, F-Zero GX, Resident Evil 4, Viewtiful Joe, and Giftpia, just to name a few. When one considers that the typical console owner buys, tops, four or five titles for the console, I think the GC is in great shape (lord knows I own a small fortune's worth).
I just don't think the argument is fully with merit. If this were English 101 I would have to make him redo the essay. If this were a /. post I would have to mod him down -1 Troll.