I please and humbly ask that you respond to this
I have to thank you for clearing up my misconceptions on casuals, Nintendo, and giving very useful information. I originally did not like you because of running into your very zealous fans, who were just simply crazy in a way that wasnt good. You yourself demonstrate a good crazy that gives substance if one takes the time to read what you have to say.
I always got half/incomplete information, for example I originally thought that you only wanted games like wii sports, wii fit, etc and considered everything else garbage. That you wanted Nintendo to dumb down their games, and to pander to what I thought were a bunch of stupid people. Thanks to you, I now I know that its just Nintendo thats messing up on their own, making their games disappointing simply because the developers want to focus on what fufills them or not on what made their classic franchises great.
At first I laughed at the idea that wii sports/wii fit people are anything like the nes era people, mainly because of how unforgiving the nes era games were, and how mind numbingly helpful this gen and wii sports seem to be. Note: I myself am not from the nes or really the snes era, but I got to experience alot of snes games through my cousin as he gave me his old systems when he went and bought the next gen. He wanted to keep his nes though, but I didnt mind as 95% of nes games made my eyes bleed and were just awful to play for me at the time.
Ive changed my mind of course and celebrate when ever an remake is issued to any nes game as its easier to try out. (I know, I know, but those graphics really are unbearable for me) Although I cant really see how people that play super mario bros 3 is anything like the wii sports players. Wii sports was a lot of fun, but i beat that game in like 20 minutes, yes the gold ranks on my prefered sports, and I recently got the mario all stars collections, and super mario bros 3 is driving me crazy.
Recently I went to the skyward zelda forum on gamefaqs, and brought up some of your points, and brought up my own examples from wind waker, Phantom hourglass, spirit tracks, and twilight princess on how Aonuma is killing the overworld aspects of the classic games and having a preference to puzzles.I couldnt defend your points perfectly since I wasnt born for the nes or snes zelda or had your business knowledge, but Ive played all the zeldas except the first two(mainly because they hurt my eyes) through rereleases. So it was easy to demonstrate how bland and awful the over worlds has been for five straight games. PH, ST, WW, TP, and FSA, althought it was really fun playing FSA, I had four friends to play with, so I left that one alone, but anways
It was easy to show how many items like the leaf, the sand wand, the spinner, the dominion rod, the grappling hook, even the hook shot and many other items were made specificallly for puzzles and nothing else and how all the aonuma zelda games basically did away with extra swords, spells, combat oriented items that arent needed for anything but are there. Examples from the old games include the invisible cape, tempered sword, gold sword, the level 2 sword, ice and fire rods, bombos, ether, magnet gloves, and bunch of cool stuff that are M.I.A as of every game Aonuma has been charged with.
The above was met with considerable rage and I was quite disappointed that most people basically just called me an idiot and troll rather than providing something I may have over looked. And it got even worse when I claimed that I had some help from your site and linked to some really difficult to disprove articles of yours, like that zelda article on how vg chartz data sales arent data. I still have hope for skyward sword, but my tolerance is reaching an end
So again I give thanks for all the stuff youve written and sharing it with a bunch of people you dont know despite a bunch of hate. And for your passion, even though your passion can lead to 18 year bottled up hate explosion, example is the posts concerning Nintendos 2011 e3, your passion leads to cool articles and posting these articles for 5 years.
I have some questions to ask and I please ask that you give serious answers
1) Do you know anything about what happened with Lord British being killed in some ultima game?
2) My entrance exam to my universite’s business school is coming up, and Im wondering if you have any tips and what you recommend on getting into. My goal at the moment is to get into accounting.
3) Are you still going to make the zelda game? If you asked for donations, I think it would be easy for you to get some because you have level head fans along with insane fanboys. So they could easily help spread the word and maybe even goad the haters to give money because they want to see if you can do any better than aonuma. And of course we would contribute if we can.
I think you can do a good job, so I hope you still are considering making the game.
.
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This is an interesting email! Let’s go through it in more detail.
You yourself demonstrate a good crazy
This comes with age. The tragedy of life is your body grows older. The comedy of life is that your soul grows younger.
After dealing with worldwide financial news, of sixty year olds breaking down in tears because they cannot retire and no one ever taught them how, of entire industries being devoured and ripped apart by the Unicron of debt, you can only laugh at what goes on in the Theater of the Absurd of the Game Industry. Nintendo goes, “We just had great success with the DS! Let’s alienate our audience with the 3DS because we are obsessed with 3d!” And we’re watching it all happen, you just can’t help but laugh.
Note: I myself am not from the nes or really the snes era, but I got to experience alot of snes games through my cousin as he gave me his old systems when he went and bought the next gen. He wanted to keep his nes though, but I didnt mind as 95% of nes games made my eyes bleed and were just awful to play for me at the time.
Your cousin wants to sell his old systems but not his NES? Doesn’t that hint at something? What is attaching him to his NES? Perhaps it is something special.
Although I cant really see how people that play super mario bros 3 is anything like the wii sports players.
As NES games evolved, they became more and more complex where they left behind the ‘noob gamers’ or older adults. When the SNES life-cycle began, it started with Super Mario World which is vastly more complex to the original Super Mario Brothers. The pipeline to new gamers was broken…
Except for children. Children have a knack of picking up languages (must be something going on with their growing brain). Children also can pick up complex video games from the start.
If the SNES maintained the pipeline to create new gamers as the NES or Atari did with its simple sports games and even a simple 2d Mario, I believe its sales would have been much higher despite the Genesis competition. Ever since the 16-bit generation, game consoles became locked into something for children or for ‘gamers’. The broad accepting console (which would be displayed proudly in the living room as a trophy) was a thing of the past with the Atari 2600 or the NES. But when the Wii came along, its mania matches and behavior of how people treated the console matched what happened with the first game consoles.
Like girls, your first game console always leaves a special place in your heart. The Atari 2600 and NES were always on a higher pedestal compared to other consoles because they grew the market, they were more people’s “very first console”. Even to this day, I can find Atari clubs, and people who hang out and worship their Atari. Its a type of reverence you don’t see with, say, the Playstation or the Xbox.
Thanks to you, I now I know that its just Nintendo thats messing up on their own, making their games disappointing simply because the developers want to focus on what fufills them or not on what made their classic franchises great.
This is clear on display with the 3DS Second Slider Expansion.
The most interesting things are the how you use business knowledge to turn a bunch of pre conceived mind sets up side down. For example the zelda sales, how you responded to the email dealing with Aonumas sales data, and how population growth masks decline, and how things are different when cold and warm markets are considered, etc etc etc. That was really neat
In a breakfast presentation to game journalists in latter 2005, Reggie Fils-Aime gave a conference on the ‘Nintendo philosophy’ of the Wii and DS.
At the time, every analyst had their tongue down Sony’s throat and couldn’t stop smooching the company. Video game history was presented as if the very first game system was the PlayStation (everything before that was some sort of ‘sad prototype’). The Seventh Generation was to be a battle over the living room between Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo was seen as leaving the console market. It was constantly implied that video games did not become popular until Sony entered the market.
Fils-Aime looked at the market from its entire history (including the 80s). He stated that the video game market was in big trouble and was not growing (something old school gamers instinctively sensed). While data showed the Japanese market shrinking, wasn’t the North American market growing? No. Fils-Aime said that if you factored in population growth, factored in multiple console ownership, and add that children who grew up with games are in a position to spend more money on them, the picture was that the gaming market was not growing. It was stagnant or even declining. Worse, the pipeline to new gamers was being erased as games increasingly got more complicated. Video games were no longer considered ‘cool’ as before. Young people’s interest in video games was declining.
What do we mean by growth? By the increased popularity of video games into society. So when did the market grow? By definition, the very first game console grew the market (home version of PONG! Sold by Sears Sporting Goods store!). The Atari 2600, which could play different software on one machine, really grew the market further. Then, the NES further increased growth of the market. The NES was in a third of American homes. But ever since then, gaming has not been about ‘growing the market’. Gaming has been defined by ‘Console Wars’. SNES vs. Genesis. N64 vs Saturn vs PlayStation. Gamecube vs. PS2 vs. Xbox. None of this was actually growing the market.
When a game console expands the popularity of gaming further into mainstream society, an eruption of excitement surrounds the system. People wonder how far the console can expand. Every game company wants to get on this system because it was the place to be. New types of games are made made by companies in hopes to catch the mojo.
We already had the DS explosion. Fils-Aime’s presentation sounded right on to me. And I think the truth in it became clear when the Wii was selling so much, so fast, and was selling to brand new gamers. The Game Industry was completely shocked and rattled. Both Sony and Microsoft copied the ‘motion controller’ idea with Wii-esque marketing thinking they would have access to the Expanded Market. This failed.
It became clear that the path to get new users reside in the Atari/NES type philosophy of gaming (i.e. arcade). Super Mario Brothers 5 exploded the Wii (made it sell out again) which showed that Wii marketing and ‘new hardware devices’ is not the mover here. Miyamoto, in an interview, said Nintendo examined the NES when making the Wii. This is why the Wii-mote is identical to the NES controller and why Wii Sports is a spiritual sequel to the NES sports games.
Nintendo does not like this conclusion. It implies the Virtual Boy/N64/Gamecube philosophy of gaming is not just inaccessible but existentially incorrect. They want to believe ‘marketing’ or ‘innovation due to hardware/software integration’ is the cause of DS and Wii success. This is why the 3DS and Wii U is the Virtual Boy/N64/Gamecube philosophy of gaming wrapped in DS/Wii styled branding and marketing. Nintendo leadership has some emotional chip on their shoulder about the company’s arcade or NES roots.
Anyway, if Reggie Fils-Aime argument for hardware was correct, then the software must also follow. The economy of the 80s is very different and much smaller than the economy of the 90s or 2000s. In the 80s, people were much poorer. There were fewer people. Computers were still unused by the masses (Windows 3.1 came out in 1992). No one knew what the Internet was. The Soviet Union still existed and dominated foreign policy. Europe did not look like what it does today. Germany was divided and had this wall going through it. The context of these times must be understood to understand why the popularity of something like Tetris (from the Soviet Union) is so important.
In law, there is a great saying:
When you have the facts on your side, argue the facts. When you have the law on your side, argue the law. When you have neither the facts or law on your side, distort both facts and law.
Let’s adapt this saying for video games:
When you have the market on your side, argue the market. When you have the sales on your side, argue the sales. When you have neither the market or sales on your side, distort both the market and sales.
When it came to the Wii success where both the market phenomenon and the sales numbers were on Nintendo’s side, the Game Industry attempted to distort both the market and sales.
When it comes to the PlayStation 2’s ‘success’, sales are argued because the market cannot be argued. The PlayStation 2 did not grow the market in terms of making gaming more popular. This is why the Game Industry stayed away from discussing the pre-PlayStation market scenarios like the Atari Era and the NES Era.
When it comes to Mario, one can argue both the market and sales. Sales of Super Mario Brothers are so far beyond anything with 3d Mario. So 3d Mario advocates cannot argue sales. The market phenomenon of Super Mario Brothers blows 3d Mario away (and, in fact, blows every other video game as well). So the 3d Mario advocates cannot argue the market. Instead, all they are left with is to distort the market and sales. “3d Mario sold 10 million. That is good.” Not when it is replacing something that sells 25 to 40 million and sells hardware.
We know Nintendo developers hate the NES philosophy which is why Aonuma couldn’t wait to frame his GDC presentation around sales. “Ocarina has the sales. Therefore, that is the end of discussion.” But Nintendo cannot argue the market. The market of Ocarina of Time (1998) is very different from the market of Legend of Zelda (1986). Remember, when the Legend of Zelda came out, there was still no established console market in North America. People were poorer, the population was much lower, there was far less marketing, and far more competition (tons of Zelda clones).
The fact that Aonuma had to actually go up and frame the Zelda series in terms of sales is a sign of defensiveness from Nintendo. Nintendo knows they have completely mutated the series into something else and are trying to argue sales because they cannot argue the market. But even the sales angle is running hollow because Aonuma Zelda doesn’t sell despite the massive marketing, lack of competition (where’s Xenoblade? LOL), and population growth.
It was easy to show how many items like the leaf, the sand wand, the spinner, the dominion rod, the grappling hook, even the hook shot and many other items were made specificallly for puzzles and nothing else and how all the aonuma zelda games basically did away with extra swords, spells, combat oriented items that arent needed for anything but are there. Examples from the old games include the invisible cape, tempered sword, gold sword, the level 2 sword, ice and fire rods, bombos, ether, magnet gloves, and bunch of cool stuff that are M.I.A as of every game Aonuma has been charged with.
You are exactly correct. All those things are the Zelda experience. Nintendo knows this. This is why they keep repeating ‘puzzles, puzzles, puzzles’ ad nauseum in order to frame the narrative.
Nintendo’s enthusiastic market used to be primarily children. When Miyamoto said something, “And that’s the way it is,” that was to be the end of discussion. Now, this no longer works. When someone like Miyamoto says, “And that’s the way it is,” people are saying, “No, it isn’t.” People like Miyamoto have had such a charmed life that they have never had anyone, from customers to the Game Indusry, disagree with him on gaming. He’s used to getting his way all the time. (And when that happens, you begin to think you are a god.)
When game journalists kept saying “Zelda II is the black sheep of the family,” they were acting as sternographers to what Nintendo wanted to put out. It is demonstrably incorrect to say ‘Zelda II is the black sheep of the family’ based on the market phenomenon and the sales of the game. People were actually driving to different states just to get that game. When a game journalist makes such a huge error, Nintendo corrects them. Nintendo did not correct the game journalists because they wanted the misinformation out there. They actually wanted people to think Zelda II was not actually a Zelda game. And they want people to think Zelda I is not really a Zelda game either.
“Huh? How can you say that, Malstrom?” Listen to Aonuma actually state that ‘Zelda’ did not really begin until he was involved with it. Apparently blockbuster games creating a huge merchandise line all doesn’t matter and doesn’t indicate any popularity or mass market phenomenon. Oh no. Nintendo keeps making the critical error of placing a game developer’s taste (such as Miyamoto’s) over the market’s taste with disastrous effects. Nintendo’s market performance has only been in decline except in one exception: the DS/Wii. And in that exception, the market’s preferences exceeded the developer’s preferences which is why the DS/Wii were such market phenomenons.
The above was met with considerable rage and I was quite disappointed that most people basically just called me an idiot and troll rather than providing something I may have over looked.
It is because you are dealing with children. They think they know much about video games, but they do not.
It is this child-like rage why you never heard about the ‘former gamers’ complaints before. It is why during the N64 Era, you only heard “Mario 64 is wonderful.” “Ocarina of Time is the best video game ever made.” Nintendo, naturally, wanted these things said. And children become overly attached to games they grow up with, they imagine their market impact is far greater than it actually was. But most importantly, you never heard say, “This isn’t like Super Mario Brothers. How can anyone call this a Mario game?”
The reason for the silence from the disinterested gamers was because…
1) They believed video games were no longer for them. (With time, this reason for remaining silent has faded.)
2) Childlike insanity and rage met any disinterested gamer.
Even as recently as prior to Metroid: Other M being released, I was saying ‘maternal instincts’ is not the way of Metroid, and Sakamoto is crazy for taking the series in this direction. The result will be the destruction of Metroid as a brand and as a series. This was the vocal expression of the disinterested gamer.
People responded to me in rage. One person wanted to punch me in the face. And it was all because I voiced my disinterest on my own personal website.
Arguing with these people is a waste of time. These are video games after all. And people who are disinterested do not stick around. This is why there is always been silence.
But now things are different. If the disinterested gamers do not speak up now, there may not be a gaming market to exist to ever turn things around. For example, if people disinterested in Metroid: Other M did not speak up, Nintendo would make an Other M 2 and confound the problem further.
Perhaps we should have spoken up during the early 90s of where gaming was going. But we thought game companies had the mission of going to the mass market. We assumed they would realize their way wasn’t working and go back to what does work. This is what I thought the DS/Wii Era of Nintendo was all about. But I was wrong.
Nintendo intentionally does not want to make the games the mass market likes. It is why we had to wait 18 years for another Super Mario Brothers game (and the Super Mario Mii game looks so crappy that Nintendo might as well outsource the game to EA with their current attitude).
1) Do you know anything about what happened with Lord British being killed in some ultima game?
Lord British can be killed in almost every Ultima game. I think you are referring to the Ultima Online incident which you can read about here.
2) My entrance exam to my universite’s business school is coming up, and Im wondering if you have any tips and what you recommend on getting into. My goal at the moment is to get into accounting.
You wouldn’t want to ask an anonymous person on the Internet for real life stuff anyway.
It will be FAR EASIER to get a job with accounting and business education. Accounting will also benefit your personal life as well. It is definitely better to major in than say ‘philosophy’ or ‘poetry’.
3) Are you still going to make the zelda game? If you asked for donations, I think it would be easy for you to get some because you have level head fans along with insane fanboys. So they could easily help spread the word and maybe even goad the haters to give money because they want to see if you can do any better than aonuma. And of course we would contribute if we can.
No. I don’t have the time.
Also, I would never ask or accept donations. I would go get investors who would be expecting big payoffs with the game being successful.
Game development is for the young. I’m too old. Time investment is what creates skill in all things. It takes around a decade to really get good at something. This is why Notch was able to make Minecraft because he had been programming and making games for so long. I’ve done some work with game development, but it is not to the extent needed to get to that ‘decade to get good’.
There is much talent in younger people. I think I can contribute better by exciting that talent and hammering away the mediocrities before they appear. What do I mean?
A) Tell everyone to go get a real job. Video game market is ruthless and has no place for wimps. Only the most passionate and determined will disagree and stay. And these are the only people who should be making video games in the first place. All the people who want to explore the ‘self’ and to embrace their ‘creativity’ need to get the hell out of dodge.
B) Get people’s attitudes straight that their job is to make games people want to play. As in ‘Gladiator’, “Win the mob. Win your freedom.” You must win the market in order to have freedom. And the only reason why the market is giving you resources to have such freedom is so you can win the market some more.
There are too many people in the Game Industry who shouldn’t be there in the first place. There are people who think the entire purpose of video games is for them to express their creativity. Yes, that is why customers go to the game store is so we can bow and kneel for your creativity. The customer is the only one allowed to get away with being selfish. They will buy what pleases them, not what pleases you.
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