The Lucario Trainer
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Since there was so much disappointment in reaction to their E3 conference, I thought it might be a good idea to open up a discussion on the issue as a whole. I think this is the first time I've seen a large number of people openly express scepticism at Nintendo's current direction here, and I thought it might be interesting to hear what this forum's members think.
If you look at some of the interviews and comments from Nintendo executives after the conference, they seem almost unbelievably unaware of why so many fans feel left out. Reggie in particular had this to say: "How could you feel left out? The Animal Crossing that we've been hearing about that people wanted. Fully connected to the Internet, go to other people's towns. Plus as I said, Grand Theft Auto on the DS. How do you feel left out with those types of announcements?"
But from what I've been reading around here (and elsewhere), neither of those games did much to satisfy the company's non-casual following. So if you have something to say, or feel the need to vent, do it here. But try to keep it civil and explain what you're bothered about. It would be nice if your posts had more substance than "**** Nintendo. They suck now. I'm selling my Wii."
My thoughts on the issue are based on Miyamoto's definition of a "core" gamer from tonight's E3 roundtable discussion. According to him, a core gamer is "someone that enjoys games, regardless of genre, as long as they're good." The following is actually something I posted on another forum in response to this comment, but it should work well here too:
The thing that disappoints me the most is that Reggie hyped Animal Crossing as the BIG HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT that would make all the "core" gamers happy. I mean I respect the fact that there are some people that enjoy that series, but that is the absolute last first-party franchise that I would expect to satisfy the core fanbase.
What makes it even worse is the lack of quality games on the Wii overall. The GameCube had the same problem: there were a few really, really good first-party titles, but most of everything else was absolute crap. And the good games only came out every once in a while, so the system often felt like the PS2 or XBox's sidearm. Something to entertain you every once in a while, but if you relied on it as your sole source for good games, you were often disappointed.
It's just a shame to see the Wii going through the exact same thing. One could argue that it's still relatively early in the console's lifespan, but the same pattern has already been established, and realistically, I don't see it changing. As it stands, there are only about 5 must-have games. Aside from that, there are a few that aren't half-bad. But the overwhelming majority of the games are either decent-but-underwhelming, or flat-out awful.
A lot of it has to do with Nintendo's third-party support. They handled it terribly in their early years, got shafted when the PS1 came out, and did a tiny bit better with the GC. And now this time a majority of the "blockbuster" titles are either on the PS3 or 360, despite the fact that the Wii is selling insanely well. So it's not Nintendo's fault of course, but it makes their core fanbase look to them almost exclusively. That's why people are always hoping for the next Zelda or Metroid title.
And that's where the problem lies. These fans don't just want a well-made game regardless of the content, they want a well-made game where you slash things with swords or shoot shit. I know someone disagreed with my comment earlier about Nintendo being out of touch with their core fanbase, but I honestly can't think of another explanation at this point. One E3 definitely isn't the end of the world, but the comments from Nintendo developers in reaction to the disappointment are somewhat disturbing. If they honestly think Animal Crossing is what the "hardcore" gamer has been begging for, then I seriously have to wonder if they even understand what kind of following they have.
If you look at some of the interviews and comments from Nintendo executives after the conference, they seem almost unbelievably unaware of why so many fans feel left out. Reggie in particular had this to say: "How could you feel left out? The Animal Crossing that we've been hearing about that people wanted. Fully connected to the Internet, go to other people's towns. Plus as I said, Grand Theft Auto on the DS. How do you feel left out with those types of announcements?"
But from what I've been reading around here (and elsewhere), neither of those games did much to satisfy the company's non-casual following. So if you have something to say, or feel the need to vent, do it here. But try to keep it civil and explain what you're bothered about. It would be nice if your posts had more substance than "**** Nintendo. They suck now. I'm selling my Wii."
My thoughts on the issue are based on Miyamoto's definition of a "core" gamer from tonight's E3 roundtable discussion. According to him, a core gamer is "someone that enjoys games, regardless of genre, as long as they're good." The following is actually something I posted on another forum in response to this comment, but it should work well here too:
The thing that disappoints me the most is that Reggie hyped Animal Crossing as the BIG HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT that would make all the "core" gamers happy. I mean I respect the fact that there are some people that enjoy that series, but that is the absolute last first-party franchise that I would expect to satisfy the core fanbase.
What makes it even worse is the lack of quality games on the Wii overall. The GameCube had the same problem: there were a few really, really good first-party titles, but most of everything else was absolute crap. And the good games only came out every once in a while, so the system often felt like the PS2 or XBox's sidearm. Something to entertain you every once in a while, but if you relied on it as your sole source for good games, you were often disappointed.
It's just a shame to see the Wii going through the exact same thing. One could argue that it's still relatively early in the console's lifespan, but the same pattern has already been established, and realistically, I don't see it changing. As it stands, there are only about 5 must-have games. Aside from that, there are a few that aren't half-bad. But the overwhelming majority of the games are either decent-but-underwhelming, or flat-out awful.
A lot of it has to do with Nintendo's third-party support. They handled it terribly in their early years, got shafted when the PS1 came out, and did a tiny bit better with the GC. And now this time a majority of the "blockbuster" titles are either on the PS3 or 360, despite the fact that the Wii is selling insanely well. So it's not Nintendo's fault of course, but it makes their core fanbase look to them almost exclusively. That's why people are always hoping for the next Zelda or Metroid title.
And that's where the problem lies. These fans don't just want a well-made game regardless of the content, they want a well-made game where you slash things with swords or shoot shit. I know someone disagreed with my comment earlier about Nintendo being out of touch with their core fanbase, but I honestly can't think of another explanation at this point. One E3 definitely isn't the end of the world, but the comments from Nintendo developers in reaction to the disappointment are somewhat disturbing. If they honestly think Animal Crossing is what the "hardcore" gamer has been begging for, then I seriously have to wonder if they even understand what kind of following they have.
