My email account gets jammed during E3. Don’t expect much from me during this time. There is usually too much news going on that I need to talk about anyway.
I am finishing up the end of this site. Many years ago, since people were not making the games I wanted to see made, I thought, “Fine, I will make them myself.” Since Nintendo’s new direction, I thought I didn’t have to make them any longer. But I wonder if I completed my projects, I would probably be a millionaire by now.
But on the other hand, perhaps I no longer have to make those games. When I wrap up this site, it is not just an end to a site. It will be the last time I talk about video games ever again in my life. I’ve pretty much said everything I’ve wanted to say. And it is not about ‘gaming’ so much as about the original Revolution that everyone appears to have abandoned. The original crisis I felt prior to the DS and Wii has returned where it feels like the integrity of gaming is at risk. What I mean by this is that it feels like the quality keeps getting hit over and over again by the Game Industry who tells us quality is too expensive and overrated.
The highest quality game I have played in the last twenty years has been Wii Sports. Other games that shocked me with their quality would be something like Super Mario Brothers 5. When things went from 8-bit to 16-bit, it did feel like quality was being hit. From the challenge and complexity of a game like Final Fantasy to Final Fantasy IV, it felt like games would lose things and gain a substitute in the graphics and sound (until the sound qualities maxed out during the CD transition). It was a constant feeling of gaming in decline. And remember, I am referring to the 16-bit generation here. I was disappointed with Super Mario World. I thought Super Metroid was a great rental but a bad way to spend your hard earned money (unlike the original Metroid which couldn’t be beat in a rental). And Link to the Past was absurdly easy compared to the NES Zelda games. Still a good game but disappointing that there was no Second Quest.
If it felt my standards were taking a step back during the 16-bit generation, the 32/64 bit generation felt like standards had fallen through the floor. All the new fangled 3d games were slow, overly complicated with crappy controllers, and just not that fun.
It was with the DS and Wii that it felt like gaming was regaining its quality (notice how this is the exact opposite reaction to how the hardcore was reacting to these events?). Even with a series like Mario Kart, the DS and Wii versions felt like it ‘improved’. I felt hopeful. I felt excited. I somehow ended up writing thousands of pages over this generation. Some people think this is much. But it isn’t with someone of my background. Everything written here has been with my little finger, done only as a hobby, because none of the material was designed to be sold. People wondering why this site is ‘full of snark’ and why doesn’t it ‘talk about all this business stuff’ is because of the price you paid. I do not give away stuff for free.
I’m eager to wrap up this site and channel this time to more interesting pursuits. I’ve got what I came here for. One day, the Revolution will continue. The question is whether I’ll live to see it. Judging by the trajectories of the current console companies and the industry at large, it appears it is going to be at least twenty years.