Hey Sean,
I am not troubled by Nintendo’s new hardware. As hardware is not what gaming is about. Because even though the hardware might suck, or be expensive, given the right content, none of that matters. It’s why I bought that ugly looking original DS, or why I continually spend money on both Xbox Live in addition to my multiple Xbox purchases (ugh…) just to play Gears of War and Call of Duty. It’s why I don’t mind buying an expensive handheld that needs to be charged at such short time intervals. I don’t mind the 3D (I actually enjoy it, and barely get headaches) and when I’m sick of it I just turn it off. I don’t buy systems to enjoy the system. I buy systems so I can be entertained by programmers and developers that I pay, from my wallet.
I am not troubled by the current Nintendo game lineup, both in the near and relatively distant future. As software can be made very diverse, there are already some things that I’m interested in (like Mario Kart, Star Fox 3DS, Mario Bros. 5 & 1/2), and there are some things that I’m not interested in. It’s not like I need every single game coming out to cater to me. If anything games can be made. Not that hard to do in a Gaming Industry.
However, I *am* troubled about Nintendo’s mindset. And that’s all that really matters. Because they are the ones that make the games, they are the ones that actually decide the direction of the company, and therefore, they are the ones who decide if I will be entertained, or if I will leave gaming.
I cannot say that I love/hate Nintendo, or anything emotionally unstable like that. It’s just that I really cannot trust them. I am a Nintendo fan, I want them to succeed. If it was up to having Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo leading the revolution (assuming they would make the same games) I would choose Nintendo to do it. Just because.
But watching that Conference brought to mind certain things:
1) Nintendo does not know what Mario Bros. is to consumers. They only see Mario. In this you were, and continue to be, so right. 3D Mario sucks when trying to be a 2D Mario. Plain and simple. They should have kept it in Space, instead of making a mockery out of 2D Mario.
2) Nintendo is giving the 3DS the 64-Cube treatment. Seriously, Luigi’s Mansion? What the hell?! No one was excited for Luigi’s Mansion. No one was excited for 3D Mario. No one was excited for Ocarina of Time. Kid Icarus probably would’ve fit well as a gamecube game. It’s a shame too, it would be endurable if it wasn’t for the terrible voice acting. Give us 2D Mario. Please…
3) Nintendo didn’t focus on showing off games. I turned on my 3DS and looked at the StarFox trailer. It looked pretty darn fun, the full trailer. I also watched a Paper Mario trailer (not getting that crappy game) and a bunch of others. But when watching the conference, those trailers were either cut short, or not there at all. Probably to spend more time showing that horrid Luigi’s Mansion video, or listening to Devs talk about crap without us seeing anything related to any specific game.
4) Nintendo is avoiding the fight for the consumer’s interest by letting a *single* player “leave the room” so to speak when someone wants to be entertained by something else. What. The. Hell. What happened to making Gaming the greatest entertainment medium?
5) Zelda is dead.
Of course, there were some good points about the Nintendo Conference. But that doesn’t matter if Nintendo is still on the road to destroying the Revolution. And that’s all I care about, the Revolution. What are we supposed to do? How can we get Nintendo on the right track?
I do not want to quit gaming for the next 20[?] years. I do not want to stop playing games. Not again. Damn it Nintendo…,
Sincerely,
The anonymous, hopelessly hopeful, blog reader
I think you know the answers to your questions. But absorbing all of it, emotionally, is very hard. You thought Nintendo knew what they were doing. You thought Nintendo did not operate in cliches.
In 2008, I began to wonder if everything I thought about Nintendo was wrong, and they were heading down a different path entirely. This is why the articles stopped. As time passed, it became increasingly clear I should start stocking up on games again for another twenty year wait. Emotionally, this was not a very easy conclusion to arrive since, unlike everyone else, I have written literally thousands of pages on the Revolution. But I suppose I get to make up for it by ripping the direction as I sign out. I find it helps.
So feel free to email me your frustrations, anguish, or despair. You are not alone. Many, many people will agree.
The fact that they can’t even get 2d Mario right speaks of itself (Miis in Super Mario Brothers? Hell no…). What I’ve learned is that people you think are really nice, polite, and humble such as Mr. Iwata or Mr. Miyamoto are actually just the opposite. They actually do think they are God’s Gift to Creativity. This is why they keep making games you don’t want.
We’re probably better off without gaming than with it. We can do things like go outside and do sports, read more books, or make another business.
Here is a comforting thought for you. If you spend time exploring all the old consoles including all the Sega systems, you’d have enough games to last you a lifetime. Data shows the Japanese market is shrinking. But the Japanese are still buying games. They are just old games.
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