Eks
Well-known member
It's 1988. The original NES is at its peak and the Gameboy is just about to drop. Everyone who's anyone is developing games for Nintendo's console. The NES is virtually unstoppable.
Flash forward to 1994. The SNES and Gameboy are now dominating the market. Nintendo has trounced just about every competitor that's attempted to enter the market. Only Sega's Genesis (and Game Gear to an extent) have made a dent in Nintendo's market share.
Back then, Nintendo charged big licensing fees just to make games for their systems. They could make just about any demand of developers and the demand would be met, just to have a game out on the SNES. Gaming was a lot simpler then, too. The games were smaller. There was no online multiplayer. DLC was impossible. Even game development was completely different.
The entire gaming industry was different.
When Sony introduced the original PlayStation, they changed the game entirely. With the introduction of disc-based media, companies could produce bigger games because CDs held vast (for the time) amounts of information and the actual media cost much less than a cartridge. They could spend more on development, less on materials, and they had more room to hold the data.
The Nintendo 64 is very successful, but the PlayStation steals a huge amount of the market. Sega's Saturn flops.
The PS2 brought DVD media into the picture and allowed for even bigger games. The Xbox introduced hard drives and internet gaming. The XBox 360 and PS3 focused more on online gaming and DLC runs rampant. They also added HD gaming, Gamer Points and Trophies and wireless controllers as the standard.
Meanwhile, Nintendo puts out the underpowered GameCube and Wii that have hardly any 3rd-party support. Sure, they still have their flagships like Mario, Link, Samus and Donkey Kong, but it's clear that they're the low man on the totem pole.
One pervasive trend with each Nintendo console has been innovation, not just with more advanced hardware, but with new, game-changing ideas. The NES used joypads instead of joysticks, like the Atari consoles. The SNES added shoulder buttons. The N64 had the analog stick. All of these additions enhanced gaming while also being accessible. (These weren't funky controllers like the Power Glove or Power pad.)
With the GameCube and Wii, they tried to bring innovative ideas, but I don't think they were the game-changers like they were back in the pre-disc era. Actually, I don't know if the GameCube introduced anything innovative. The PlayStation and Xbox had 2 analog sticks that functioned a lot better than the C buttons on the N64 and GameCube.
The Wii has the motion controls, but I don't think hardcore gamers care about any of that. Sony and Microsoft have made similar peripherals, but they haven't sold well. I've seen polls for the Kinect that show only about 1/3 of the people who bought it actually like it. It doesn't sound like an idea that has really enhanced the gaming world. It's just different, not drastically better.
The biggest selling Wii game is the pack-in game, Wii Sports. There are stellar titles like Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Twilight Princess, Smash Bros Brawl and a better-looking Mario Cart, but none of them sell like the simple game that's intended to acclimate us to the primary draw of the Wii - motion controls. Sure, the Wii outsells the Xbox 360 and PS3, but they have Wii bowling tournaments in nursing homes.
Based on this info, it's pretty obvious why the Wii outsells the other consoles - it's cheap and appeals to the bigger, casual gamer market.
I've been playing games for over 30 years, so I'm not exactly what you'd call a casual gamer.
With the Wii U (as if Wii isn't already a horrible name), we get the bulky and goofy Gamepad Pro (or whatever). I guess Nintendo thinks this is a good idea, but don't think that looking away from the screen in a fast-paced game like Black Flag make sense. I also don't wanna lug a controller that's almost the size of the console around. Part of the appeal (and success) of the Wii it's inexpensive, but I seriously doubt we'll ever see a really cheap Wii U, unless they ditch their primary "innovation" that is the Gamepad Pro.
For 2013, 2 of Nintendo's games are contenders for GOTY on most lists - Mario 3D World and A Link Between Worlds. A Link Between Worlds beats a lot of games, including The Last of Us and the best selling game to date, GTA V. Most notably, it wins GOTY on IGN's list. And the REAL kicker? It's a fricken DS game. It doesn't take advantage of heavy-duty hardware. It doesn't make use of silly motion controls. It's a relatively small game, too.
All of this is to get to what I think Nintendo needs to do to survive, and possibly even become top-dog again. They need to get back to their roots. They need to make games like they did 20 years ago. Give us a new, massive side-scrolling Metroid. Give us a new Mario 64, that doesn't rely on the nunchuck. We want A Link to the Past in 720p, not Wind Waker HD. Maybe even stop making home consoles. (Keep the handheld market since they're still killing in that area.) Put out games on Sony or MS's high-end consoles and use the money they would've spent on hardware development on better games. Make games that can be played on the Xbox and give us a portable version we can play on the DS while we're waiting at the DMV.
This isn't 1994, so stop acting like it.
Flash forward to 1994. The SNES and Gameboy are now dominating the market. Nintendo has trounced just about every competitor that's attempted to enter the market. Only Sega's Genesis (and Game Gear to an extent) have made a dent in Nintendo's market share.
Back then, Nintendo charged big licensing fees just to make games for their systems. They could make just about any demand of developers and the demand would be met, just to have a game out on the SNES. Gaming was a lot simpler then, too. The games were smaller. There was no online multiplayer. DLC was impossible. Even game development was completely different.
The entire gaming industry was different.
When Sony introduced the original PlayStation, they changed the game entirely. With the introduction of disc-based media, companies could produce bigger games because CDs held vast (for the time) amounts of information and the actual media cost much less than a cartridge. They could spend more on development, less on materials, and they had more room to hold the data.
The Nintendo 64 is very successful, but the PlayStation steals a huge amount of the market. Sega's Saturn flops.
The PS2 brought DVD media into the picture and allowed for even bigger games. The Xbox introduced hard drives and internet gaming. The XBox 360 and PS3 focused more on online gaming and DLC runs rampant. They also added HD gaming, Gamer Points and Trophies and wireless controllers as the standard.
Meanwhile, Nintendo puts out the underpowered GameCube and Wii that have hardly any 3rd-party support. Sure, they still have their flagships like Mario, Link, Samus and Donkey Kong, but it's clear that they're the low man on the totem pole.
One pervasive trend with each Nintendo console has been innovation, not just with more advanced hardware, but with new, game-changing ideas. The NES used joypads instead of joysticks, like the Atari consoles. The SNES added shoulder buttons. The N64 had the analog stick. All of these additions enhanced gaming while also being accessible. (These weren't funky controllers like the Power Glove or Power pad.)
With the GameCube and Wii, they tried to bring innovative ideas, but I don't think they were the game-changers like they were back in the pre-disc era. Actually, I don't know if the GameCube introduced anything innovative. The PlayStation and Xbox had 2 analog sticks that functioned a lot better than the C buttons on the N64 and GameCube.
The Wii has the motion controls, but I don't think hardcore gamers care about any of that. Sony and Microsoft have made similar peripherals, but they haven't sold well. I've seen polls for the Kinect that show only about 1/3 of the people who bought it actually like it. It doesn't sound like an idea that has really enhanced the gaming world. It's just different, not drastically better.
The biggest selling Wii game is the pack-in game, Wii Sports. There are stellar titles like Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Twilight Princess, Smash Bros Brawl and a better-looking Mario Cart, but none of them sell like the simple game that's intended to acclimate us to the primary draw of the Wii - motion controls. Sure, the Wii outsells the Xbox 360 and PS3, but they have Wii bowling tournaments in nursing homes.
Based on this info, it's pretty obvious why the Wii outsells the other consoles - it's cheap and appeals to the bigger, casual gamer market.
I've been playing games for over 30 years, so I'm not exactly what you'd call a casual gamer.
With the Wii U (as if Wii isn't already a horrible name), we get the bulky and goofy Gamepad Pro (or whatever). I guess Nintendo thinks this is a good idea, but don't think that looking away from the screen in a fast-paced game like Black Flag make sense. I also don't wanna lug a controller that's almost the size of the console around. Part of the appeal (and success) of the Wii it's inexpensive, but I seriously doubt we'll ever see a really cheap Wii U, unless they ditch their primary "innovation" that is the Gamepad Pro.
For 2013, 2 of Nintendo's games are contenders for GOTY on most lists - Mario 3D World and A Link Between Worlds. A Link Between Worlds beats a lot of games, including The Last of Us and the best selling game to date, GTA V. Most notably, it wins GOTY on IGN's list. And the REAL kicker? It's a fricken DS game. It doesn't take advantage of heavy-duty hardware. It doesn't make use of silly motion controls. It's a relatively small game, too.
All of this is to get to what I think Nintendo needs to do to survive, and possibly even become top-dog again. They need to get back to their roots. They need to make games like they did 20 years ago. Give us a new, massive side-scrolling Metroid. Give us a new Mario 64, that doesn't rely on the nunchuck. We want A Link to the Past in 720p, not Wind Waker HD. Maybe even stop making home consoles. (Keep the handheld market since they're still killing in that area.) Put out games on Sony or MS's high-end consoles and use the money they would've spent on hardware development on better games. Make games that can be played on the Xbox and give us a portable version we can play on the DS while we're waiting at the DMV.
This isn't 1994, so stop acting like it.
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