Hello Malstrom, hope E3 is providing as much fun and rowdiness for you as it is for me.
Wow, Microsoft really struck out horribly, didn’t they? From your perspective, will they have *any* luck at all bringing their angular 360 Slim to their target demographics? I think the camera has potential, but that selling it without perfect software (like Nintendo) will be a nightmare. Lots of R&D costs that will not be returned…
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None. I am suspecting that the glue that holds the ‘Core’ and ‘Expanded’ Markets together on Wii, and is integral for the Expanded Market being successful in the first place, is Old School value gaming. Mario Kart Wii was a bridge game. It definitely fits in that old school tradition. Mario 5 also definitely fits in that old school tradition. They are both bridge games. Oddly, Nintendo just declared they were bridge games.
None. I am suspecting that the glue that holds the ‘Core’ and ‘Expanded’ Markets together on Wii, and is integral for the Expanded Market being successful in the first place, is Old School value gaming. Mario Kart Wii was a bridge game. It definitely fits in that old school tradition. Mario 5 also definitely fits in that old school tradition. They are both bridge games. Oddly, Nintendo just declared they were bridge games.
But it makes you realize that the early 2d Mario games attracted this early ‘Expanded Audience’ (as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong did) way back in the 80s. That same ‘Expanded Audience’ was playing NES sports games like Golf or Tennis. Wii Sports really replicates those classic old NES games.
There seems to be stronger and stronger evidence that what we call ‘Old School’ games are really the new ‘Expanded Audience’ games. I, myself, fit in the ‘Expanded Audience’ category as I was a gamer that drifted away from Nintendo.
Microsoft cannot understand the Old School values. Neither can Sony. Nintendo has found a monopoly. Neither Microsoft or Sony or any third party can replicate Mario Kart, for example (even though they keep trying). They cannot replicate 2d Mario. The only company that could was Sega, and Sega is no more. If Nintendo keeps true to the Old School values, they will keep the Expanded Audience and people will keep getting excited about their stuff. They won’t end up a N64 again.
I also believe that game quality to reach the Expanded Audience is more demanding than the Core Audience. Making a Core Game is easy for developers because developers are already core gamers. It is making a game they already like, making a game like a movie, etc. But making a game for someone else is much, much harder. With the Kinect route Microsoft took, it appears Microsoft thought ‘lesser quality’ would work because they aren’t really gamers, they are ‘casuals’ which is an inbreed form of gamer. They really believed in the Casual Fallacy.
Nintendo, on the other hand, really seemed to place a lot of eggs in the 3DS basket – but I think they will have an easier sell. Rather than try to sell 3D as a “just like in cinemas” feature that takes a *lot* of money, time and looking into and learning the tech, Nintendo is selling a “first step” in 3D that not only is optional and upgrades old games, but offers 3D photos. It’s nothing mindblowing, but it won’t be expensive and it will be an automatically attractive feature for lots of people.
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How do we know it isn’t mindblowing? We would need to see it for ourselves. But the nature of the games they have announced for 3DS leaves me impressed. That is some terrific value in the early software they are offering.
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How do we know it isn’t mindblowing? We would need to see it for ourselves. But the nature of the games they have announced for 3DS leaves me impressed. That is some terrific value in the early software they are offering.
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But Zelda… Wow, Link – the scorpions has eyes in its claws! Do you think that’s the weak spot, Link? Perhaps if you stab it in the eye, you can defeat it!
They seem to have forgotten that Zelda is about experiencing Hyrule and exploring it, learning about why its important to defend but not having to talk a lot with NPCs (before TP, exchanges with NPC was much faster, optional and charming) or going through a lot of dialog.
Now, I am getting Super Mario Galaxy vibes all over the place. They’ve spent a lot of time on controls and “clever” puzzle solutions, and still we have to wait until 2011. I don’t want “realistic” or “cool” graphics, but they seem to have mixed WW with TP and created something pretty unimpressive – it looks worse than both in the relevant aspects. It looks less detailed and rich than TP, and less expressive and unique than WW. Combat looked gimmicky, not fast and arcadey. All the exploration seemed to require something gimmicky to do first. And don’t get me started on the *horrible* HUD taking up EVEN MORE space than the one from TP! The only step forward was item selection and mid-combat potion drinking.
Zelda was not impressive. If there was any character other than Link being clunkily controlled by Miyamoto, people would have laughed. I don’t give a toss about Goldeneye, either. I don’t think Wii Party can be a bridge title either. Why take Mario out of Mario Party? Why not just have Mario Party with Miis? It would probably be stimulating (and symbolic) for both “hardcore” and “casuals” to have Mario and the others shaking hands and competing with Miis.
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Zelda was definitely the weakest part of the conference. And it wasn’t because of the control interferences they had.
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For the Nintendo people reading this amazing blog, I will tell you the real reason why it held disappointment.
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Content!
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Content! Content Content! I am a broken record on it. But content from the consumer’s eyes is different than the game company or platform holder. In our eyes, content is the adventure.
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How can you tell when game controls are broken? When gamers think about the controls when playing. (They shouldn’t be thinking about the controls at all!) How can you tell when the gameplay is broken? When gamers talk about the gameplay. (Fun games have people play constantly. When gamers are having fun, they never talk about the gameplay. They only talk about the gameplay if the game is not fun.)
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Likewise, I kept asking myself during the Zelda part, “What is this game about?” Yeah, we get that it uses motion controls. But what is the game about? Yes, I know it is Zelda, but what is the game about? What is the adventure? This is why I have someone emailing me thinking that Zelda: Skyward Sword is going to be a puzzle centric game because no content was shown. We are given an impression that the game revolves around using motion plus to open up doors and do other funky things. But is that it? Is the game just sterile with the typical Zelda theme?
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Gamers do not play games, they play adventures. If you ask someone to describe Zelda, they would likely describe the the rich overworld, all the items, the story of Zelda and Ganon, and basically they are trying to communicate the adventure the game illustrates. Just as controls and items are not the core of the Zelda experience, rotating tetrads that fall is not the core of the Tetris experience. (Tetris would not be Tetris without the love of Russia found in its music, in its themes, all throughout.) From a developer’s point of view, they would see Zelda in its ingredients such as gameplay or items or control methods just as a cook sees a fantastic dish in its ingredients. But the consumer does not see a ‘dish’, the consumer sees a meal.
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The Zelda showing failed to excite because Nintendo only showed off the ingredients and did not show off the meal. In prior Zelda show-offs, the reason why video trailers were effective is because they gave a sense of what the meal was. If someone just showed you buns and mayonnaise and talked about how it is different mayonnaise and buns than you have ever seen before, you wouldn’t care. You see only the context of the hamburger instead of some ingredients of it. You would ask, “Where’s the beef?” Where is the content? Does Zelda: Skyward Sword have any content? Is the game an adventure or is it just some linked puzzles with cutscenes in between?
Zelda was definitely the weakest part of the conference. And it wasn’t because of the control interferences they had.
.
For the Nintendo people reading this amazing blog, I will tell you the real reason why it held disappointment.
.
Content!
.
Content! Content Content! I am a broken record on it. But content from the consumer’s eyes is different than the game company or platform holder. In our eyes, content is the adventure.
.
How can you tell when game controls are broken? When gamers think about the controls when playing. (They shouldn’t be thinking about the controls at all!) How can you tell when the gameplay is broken? When gamers talk about the gameplay. (Fun games have people play constantly. When gamers are having fun, they never talk about the gameplay. They only talk about the gameplay if the game is not fun.)
.
Likewise, I kept asking myself during the Zelda part, “What is this game about?” Yeah, we get that it uses motion controls. But what is the game about? Yes, I know it is Zelda, but what is the game about? What is the adventure? This is why I have someone emailing me thinking that Zelda: Skyward Sword is going to be a puzzle centric game because no content was shown. We are given an impression that the game revolves around using motion plus to open up doors and do other funky things. But is that it? Is the game just sterile with the typical Zelda theme?
.
Gamers do not play games, they play adventures. If you ask someone to describe Zelda, they would likely describe the the rich overworld, all the items, the story of Zelda and Ganon, and basically they are trying to communicate the adventure the game illustrates. Just as controls and items are not the core of the Zelda experience, rotating tetrads that fall is not the core of the Tetris experience. (Tetris would not be Tetris without the love of Russia found in its music, in its themes, all throughout.) From a developer’s point of view, they would see Zelda in its ingredients such as gameplay or items or control methods just as a cook sees a fantastic dish in its ingredients. But the consumer does not see a ‘dish’, the consumer sees a meal.
.
The Zelda showing failed to excite because Nintendo only showed off the ingredients and did not show off the meal. In prior Zelda show-offs, the reason why video trailers were effective is because they gave a sense of what the meal was. If someone just showed you buns and mayonnaise and talked about how it is different mayonnaise and buns than you have ever seen before, you wouldn’t care. You see only the context of the hamburger instead of some ingredients of it. You would ask, “Where’s the beef?” Where is the content? Does Zelda: Skyward Sword have any content? Is the game an adventure or is it just some linked puzzles with cutscenes in between?
But the rest of the conference was pretty much a triumph. Just off the top of my head, Retro Studios seemed to understand DKC, Kirby looked really stimulating, Other M looks exciting (but I agree they’ve missed what Metroid is about – it’s brand misuse) ad Kid Icarus looked magnificent.
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I thought Other M looked bad. But then again, I’ve always thought Other M looked bad. My view probably is not the best to ask about Other M. But if you notice how the trailer tried to emphasize the gameplay parts rather than the cutscenes. I think Nintendo suspects there might be trouble with that title.
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Kid Icarus looked very interesting. I very much cannot wait to learn more about it. However, I despise the voice acting of Pit. It is horrible. I want an option to turn it off. It would be a shame if voice acting ruins the Kid Icarus revival.
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What I find most interesting about Kid Icarus is how fast the combat is. In the post E3 interview, the main dev dude for it said he had to make combat on land and air which sounds very interesting. But in all things, I need to see more about it.
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But God, that voice acting…
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I thought Other M looked bad. But then again, I’ve always thought Other M looked bad. My view probably is not the best to ask about Other M. But if you notice how the trailer tried to emphasize the gameplay parts rather than the cutscenes. I think Nintendo suspects there might be trouble with that title.
.
Kid Icarus looked very interesting. I very much cannot wait to learn more about it. However, I despise the voice acting of Pit. It is horrible. I want an option to turn it off. It would be a shame if voice acting ruins the Kid Icarus revival.
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What I find most interesting about Kid Icarus is how fast the combat is. In the post E3 interview, the main dev dude for it said he had to make combat on land and air which sounds very interesting. But in all things, I need to see more about it.
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But God, that voice acting…
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But I think Zelda is heading downhill, based on my gut instinct. They don’t understand why people play Zelda games, and instead focus on controlling Link and solving puzzles in “novel” ways. If you don’t get what you expect from a brand, the brand’s attraction and positive associations disappear. The focus on mechanics and “novelties” from the DS games (I don’t like using the word “gameplay” – it makes no sense to me and is a lazy umbrella term) seems to be moving over to stationary Zeldas. A real shame.
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But, I am losing cohesion and brevity, and you must be getting tons of email.
But, I am losing cohesion and brevity, and you must be getting tons of email.
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What do you think?
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Zelda is in decline. I am more excited over that Ocarina of Time for 3DS and I do not even like Ocarina of Time! But I understand the tremendous value that Ocarina of Time has. It is a time tested game. And Ocarina has content. The game is an adventure. Since I haven’t completed it, maybe a handheld version of it might lend me to bother finishing it.
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Skyward Sword looks like exactly what I suspected the Zelda Wii was going to be. It is nothing more than the Old Zelda Formula, the Aonuma Formula, but with motion plus controls. And motion plus controls are going to make ‘new puzzles’. Oh boring. Zelda is not about puzzles! And at the end of the trailer, we see Link fly like Peter Pan. Now, I know that is in there not for any content reasons, not to expand the Zelda mythos, but because Aonuma is making games for his son.
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This is why I think the Zelda AFTER Skyward Sword is going to be a restoration of Zelda. Skyward Sword was too far in development to make the necessary changes. I was hoping they would ‘dump’ this game out this year (I’m sure Nintendo was unhappy about me using the term ‘dump’ haha) and get it out of the way, but they want to ‘work on it more’.
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One thing I know for sure is that Skyward Sword will not be the Zelda that becomes mainstream. In the past, Mario was the big thing. Next up was Zelda. With 2d Mario, Mario has somewhat returned to his former glory. But what about Zelda? The people who play Zelda today are not new Zelda fans. They are OLD Zelda fans. They are Ocarina of Time fans or LTTP fans or earlier.
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I think the major concern that every Zelda fan is concerned about is what condition is the overworld in? What is it like? Is the overworld a rich environment or is it going to be static and empty?
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What do you think?
.
Zelda is in decline. I am more excited over that Ocarina of Time for 3DS and I do not even like Ocarina of Time! But I understand the tremendous value that Ocarina of Time has. It is a time tested game. And Ocarina has content. The game is an adventure. Since I haven’t completed it, maybe a handheld version of it might lend me to bother finishing it.
.
Skyward Sword looks like exactly what I suspected the Zelda Wii was going to be. It is nothing more than the Old Zelda Formula, the Aonuma Formula, but with motion plus controls. And motion plus controls are going to make ‘new puzzles’. Oh boring. Zelda is not about puzzles! And at the end of the trailer, we see Link fly like Peter Pan. Now, I know that is in there not for any content reasons, not to expand the Zelda mythos, but because Aonuma is making games for his son.
.
This is why I think the Zelda AFTER Skyward Sword is going to be a restoration of Zelda. Skyward Sword was too far in development to make the necessary changes. I was hoping they would ‘dump’ this game out this year (I’m sure Nintendo was unhappy about me using the term ‘dump’ haha) and get it out of the way, but they want to ‘work on it more’.
.
One thing I know for sure is that Skyward Sword will not be the Zelda that becomes mainstream. In the past, Mario was the big thing. Next up was Zelda. With 2d Mario, Mario has somewhat returned to his former glory. But what about Zelda? The people who play Zelda today are not new Zelda fans. They are OLD Zelda fans. They are Ocarina of Time fans or LTTP fans or earlier.
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I think the major concern that every Zelda fan is concerned about is what condition is the overworld in? What is it like? Is the overworld a rich environment or is it going to be static and empty?
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As usual, thanks for making interesting posts and showing how business and marketing not only is relevant, but worthy of interest and study.
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And I make no money for it, alas! But, at the very least, when Nintendo goes off the reservation I can write fun things on the blog. Imagine if we could have done this fifteen years ago. “Nintendo, WTF you doing with that Virtual Boy? And that N64 controller with its three prongs! I do not have 3 hands! And where is my 2d Mario for the N64?” If we backwards engineer our typical consumer reactions, we might be able to provide Nintendo a compass so they can get back on the reservation. But they did pretty well this E3.
And I make no money for it, alas! But, at the very least, when Nintendo goes off the reservation I can write fun things on the blog. Imagine if we could have done this fifteen years ago. “Nintendo, WTF you doing with that Virtual Boy? And that N64 controller with its three prongs! I do not have 3 hands! And where is my 2d Mario for the N64?” If we backwards engineer our typical consumer reactions, we might be able to provide Nintendo a compass so they can get back on the reservation. But they did pretty well this E3.
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