• 14Jul 09

  Wiiplayone presents: The State of Nintendo

  Quick note: This post is completly unbiased. When I wrote this article, it wasn't meant to favor Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony.

  Nintendo has had some good things. For example, I'm mostly surprised the Wii surpassed the Xbox 360 and PS3 sales. But Nintendo also has an impressive list of improvments I think need to be made, and that I'd like to share with you. It's not just with their games and stuff, but it's how they really handle buisness as I see it. So, here it is.

  
  What's right with Nintendo

  Well, Nintendo hasn't been all bad. They've had some good things happen. They seem to sort of want to cater to the hardcore audience, and I think they've been doing that in the best way they can, for the most part. Seriously, with Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the way, you've got to wonder what else they're doing over there.

  Nintendo also seems to have a nail on the casual audience, which is actually a good thing for their casual games. While I doubt some of their "hardcore" games, they've got some decent casual games. And whenever they seem to try to make another, it usually works pretty well. Most of their casual games seem to get average scores, so I can't deny that MOST of THEIR CASUAL titles are actually decent.

  What's wrong with Nintendo

  Remember Brain Age? Yeah, that old game that's over 3 years old? I find it surprising that Nintendo is actually still advertising that game. Yes, that is right folks. Nintendo is running commercials that advertise Brain Age. Not Brain Age II, but the ORIGINAL Brain Age. Can you really even remember finding the original Brain Age in stores anymore? I find that a little annoying. That's almost like Sony advertising the original Killzone. You know, who would do that when Killzone 2 was out?

  Nintendo almost seems stuck to the casual audience. They keep talking about expanding the audience and stuff, which they seem to do with casual games, and I sit and question why they can't just stick with the audience they have. If half the "audience" doesn't want to play video games, then why would you design games just for them? Sony and Microsoft seem fine with the audience they have, which is less than that of Nintendo, so why does Nintendo intend to expand the audience? Why do they need to develop more casual games than hardcore? If you took away Nintendo's casual audience, I bet you'd find a few ten million of them still there. It wouldn't kill Nintendo to shift most of their development to hardcore games. So I'm left wondering why don't they do this?

  Lastly, I think Nintendo is much of a bragger. Their most recent press conferences involved Reggie bragging a lot, which isn't really what we look for in a press conference. They seem to talk a lot about games they've previously developed. Just look at the State of the Union feature by Gamespot, and look at Cammie's statement. "It's also a positive that games are becoming more social. People are playing together now more than ever before, and that includes individuals playing in the same room and those who are getting together online in games like Mario Kart Wii." Yeah, right. She just had to say a random game name. I just played Mario Kart Wii online today, and any room I got in had less than 8 players, which doesn't really round to getting together online in games, if you ask me. So really, why are they bragging so much about games that are over a year old? Also, see this. "no one bought a Wii Remote to sit and hold it; they wanted to join in playing Wii Sports." Yeah, they clearly bough a Wii Remote JUST so they could play Wii Sports. That's why I bought my Wii. What, is that a problem or something? Nintendo, Nintendo, Nintendo.

  Where I see Nintendo in 5 years

  I'm no wizard. I can't be absolutly sure on what will happen in 5 years, especially for one individual company. Especially for Nintendo. But I can guess there will be a new system out on the market by Nintendo. Hopefully, they learn from their mistakes. I'd like to see a system with HD, since Nintendo really needs to try that, but we'll see. Hey, maybe there will be no Nintendo in 5 years. Let's just wait and see.

  So in conclusion...

  I think Nintendo is a good company meaning good. They are trying to get people into gaming because they think everybody will game, and they probably have good will in doing that. But they need to see the world for what it is. They need to see what they're up against, and see what their customers want, and adjust what they do accordingly. I like Nintendo, and I like the Wii and the idea behind it, but there are some major holes that I think need to be fixed. I'm not sure if they will be fixed. Heck, I doubt Nintendo will put consideration into things like this. But this is my opinion, and I'd like to make it clear.

  • Posted Jul 14, 2009 7:57 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 6Jul 09

  I might leave Gamespot

  Yep, it's true. I am thinking about what many other users have already decided. I am thinking about leaving Gamespot, in part. You know, I've only been here for a little more than a year and a half, but I've already seen Gamespot go downhill ever since I've joined. This is just to make it clear. Gamespot, I may leave. Something has to be done with this site. It's just lost so much of it's touch that it used to have. I mean, it's one thing to lose a few important editors. But it's another to lose them and turn the site upsidedown. In other words, this doesn't have anything to do with the Gerstmanngate and all of the people who quit Gamespot. This has to do with what the site has turned into ever since then, which I don't put upon the community. I put this one upon Gamespot themselves. It could be anybody's fault. The editors, the producers, the technicians, or the managers., I don't know who. But for some reason, or because of some people, the site has been messed up in many ways, almost all of which could've been prevented.

  I'll post more information later, as well as my official decision on leaving Gamespot.

  • Posted Jul 6, 2009 10:17 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 2Jun 09

  Why the Nintendo Press Confrence was bad

  Remember last year when Nintendo dissappointed us with all the kiddy titles and such? Well, I too, was hoping for some actual hardcore games this year. Unfortunatly, Nintendo failed again, not because they were missing hardcore titles, but now because of the lack of announcements. I'll admit, Super Mario Galaxy 2 WAS A HUGE SURPRISE. I didn't see that coming, and New Super Mario Bros for the Wii was unexpected too,but that was mostlyit.

  So what did Nintendo do to fill in the rest of the hour and 20 minutes? Mainly, they just started bragging, even though they really don't deserve the bragging rights. Financially, they did good. But who really cares about Mario Kart Wii anymore? Seriously, they started going on about these old games,and I think I even saw a mention of Super Mario Sunshine for theGamecube. Most of the show was also filled in with games already announced. They just talked about Wii Fit Plus and stuff, and The Conduit, and it was boring for the most part. Not all games shown have already been announced, but Nintendo failed us again this year.

  I mean, I'm not expecting any (many)violent M rated games, but I expected, or at least wanted, for Nintendo to try something new. I mean, come on. It's been about how long since THEY'VE rolled out a new and popular character or series. They've gotta get off the casual train and try some new stuff. I mean, maybe GTA for the Wii? And if they can't get Rockstar to do that, how about they make their own rip-off of GTA for the Wii?

  I am just upset with Nintendo. Why? In a short summary, it's because THEY DON'T GET IT. Nobody important watching this is a casual player. They're at least somewhat hardcore. Nintendo is failing to deliver that. They need to stop and deliver. If they can't, they might as well make a new system or something. And I mean NEW and more NEXT-GENERATION. I'm not very happy with them right now. I'll admit, they have their moments, and they definetly did this year at E3, but not enough.

  • Posted Jun 2, 2009 6:27 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
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