Thanks so much for posting that here. I read the whole thing even though it was a wall of text. It was nothing short of chilling.
You're welcome. The story is a bit wordy and meandering, but the insight gained in understanding the arguably unethical processes behind certain kinds of game development makes for a fascinating read.
To follow up on my original post, Leigh Alexander wrote this fantastic story about Ian Bogost and his game Cow Clicker. Cow Clicker lampoons these kinds of Social Media games, but its inexplicable success also drove Bogost a little mad.
Inazuma wrote:Nintendo is all we have left at this point.
what.
What?
Well, in that case we have nothing. As much as I enjoy Nintendo's past and the occasional enjoyable childish first-party game, I would not put my trust in them now or anytime soon. In fact, I would put the blame solely on them for "killing" video games.
Tried to pick up PS3 Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
I figure I would beat the rush and went to Wallymart early this morning. Walls of Call of Duty for Xbox and PS3, Metal Gear HD is not carried at this location. All that shelf space wasted, keeping another game from being merchandised. Guitar Hero anyone?
Inazuma wrote:Nintendo is all we have left at this point.
what.
What?
Well, in that case we have nothing. As much as I enjoy Nintendo's past and the occasional enjoyable childish first-party game, I would not put my trust in them now or anytime soon. In fact, I would put the blame solely on them for "killing" video games.
Inazuma wrote:Nintendo is all we have left at this point.
what.
What?
Well, in that case we have nothing. As much as I enjoy Nintendo's past and the occasional enjoyable childish first-party game, I would not put my trust in them now or anytime soon. In fact, I would put the blame solely on them for "killing" video games.
Inazuma wrote:Nintendo is all we have left at this point.
what.
What?
Well, in that case we have nothing. As much as I enjoy Nintendo's past and the occasional enjoyable childish first-party game, I would not put my trust in them now or anytime soon. In fact, I would put the blame solely on them for "killing" video games.
HAHAHAHAHAHA From the 80's til now they still use the same franchises. Just because a game has cartoony graphics doesnt make it childish. Hell, kids all over the world play Call of Duty. Does that make that childish? In your eyes probably not cause itz gotz teh real lifez grafex dawg.
Whats killing games today are the companies milking everyone for dlc, forcing drm to stop the used game market aka get more money in our pockets, and the COD clones. This is not a future I want to get into.
Check out the Xbox 360 games. Gears of War 3 $60 + season pass $30 + Live $60. $150 to play the game and have it complete? Now check out Sony putting their hand in the project 10 dollar fund and offering season pass. But you are right, Nintendo is killing the market with Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Smash Bros, Pokemon, Pikmin, and Donkey Kong. Fucking Nintendo! How dare you give me good games. How dare you!
Nintendo is the last stronghold until another company comes out to compete with them. This is why Sega needs to make a comeback. They have enough franchises to start up again. Sonic, Shenmue, Streets of rage, Shining series, Panzer Dragoon, Phantasy Star, Skies of Arcadia...GAWD WHY DID YOU PEOPLE PIRATE DREAMCAST GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obviously, your argument is entirely based on your blind following of Nintendo. I mean, come on, it's Nintendo, but....
First off, I must say I own every Nintendo system, and every game from those franchises you mentioned. Second, note those are from a time called "the past" if you have ever heard of it. Third, I don't have, and never want, anything related Xbox but that is another discussion. I don't enjoy first person shooters unless they have something very unique or innovative about them, but I have played through many so I would be able to judge them fairly instead of basing my review of them on pre-conceived notions from watching YouTube videos, which is probably your main form of researching video games..
Note I never mentioned graphics, I enjoy (as you thoughtlessly put) "cartoony" graphics over developers attempting to recreate so-called reality. Pirating Dreamcast games killing Sega is also another discussion I will have to have with you, grasshopper.
From a technical standpoint, Nintendo (note I am usually referring to Nintendo of America when I mention the name) has been putting forward ill-conceived consoles for a while now. These very underpowered systems caused Nintendo to lose out on much support from third party developers, leaving the majority of the system's appeal to the few talented developers under Nintendo's control producing (mostly) outstanding first party titles. I did not question those either, but the alienation of the third party has brought down Nintendo's hold on the market.
Cell phone, Facebook, iTouch, and Android games are called apps for a reason. THEY ARE NOT GAMES. That is glaringly obvious, and needs no further detail.
Finally, the subject of "killing" video games can be taken many ways, but I will focus on the appeal of video games to the consumers (as this article does). This means the current market and what is available as of right now, not the past. Sony and Microsoft are now the big two because they are giving gamers what they ask for- casual and hardcore, new entry and veterans alike. Although I too dislike DLC and would like to have every gratuitous add-on available from the start, it is what the consumers want and it has been responded to. Say you would like the mechanics in a game updated, or an extra stage or character- the problem is not eternal, it can be easily changed and improved upon with a small fee to counteract the cost of production of this DLC. I will acknowledge in certain games the DLC system has been exploited grossly, but it is usually used to fulfill gamers’ desires. If Nintendo would acknowledge the consumers, glitches and bugs in their games would be swiftly eliminated, and (for example) Mario Galaxy 2 would have been released for a substantially lower price as an add-on to the game already owned instead of an entirely separate game. Shigeru Miyamoto said himself that he wished it would have been released as a “Mario Galaxy 1.5” so to speak.
Nintendo has been neglecting the most-desired games they own for a while, being most noticeable in the current generation. Many grade-A titles have been neglected to even be considered for release in America. Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Fatal Frame 4 (only of which I have imported) are but a minority of the most relevant examples as of today. The biggest slap in the face to gamers by Nintendo has been ongoing for over a decade. You guessed it, the Mother series. Despite possessing translations for all three games, Nintendo refuses to release or consider re-releasing these games to the American consumers. Gamers thriving for such excellence are forced to pirate translated copies of these games, pay insane prices for the only one actually released state-side, or learn foreign languages. There is a exorbitant demand for a revival of these games, but Nintendo conveniently always has some excuse ready. Don't say that it is because of localization or licensing problems, because 1. All the games have official translations into English and 2. Mother references are in every Smash Brothers game.
Nintendo effectively "killed" video games by denying consumers what they desire, over-simplifying everything they decide to release, under-powering consoles and releasing them before they are prepared, and quite a few others.
Anyway, that is a short take on the subject. Don’t dismiss a valid opinion which can be factually backed-up because it does not coincide with your misguided notions.
Blurz wrote:Nintendo refuses to release or consider re-releasing these games to the American consumers. Gamers thriving for such excellence are forced to pirate translated copies of these games, pay insane prices for the only one actually released state-side, or learn foreign languages. There is a exorbitant demand for a revival of these games, but Nintendo conveniently always has some excuse ready. Don't say that it is because of localization or licensing problems, because 1. All the games have official translations into English and 2. Mother references are in every Smash Brothers game.
Believe it or not, Nintendo can't release whatever they want just to please a niche market.
And who's to say that releasing a game for download will be profitable?
Opa Opa wrote:
Believe it or not, Nintendo can't release whatever they want just to please a niche market.
False. The Mother games consistently top "Which games do you want to see re-released?" polls Nintendo runs, with Earthbound (of course) at the top. With the added interest of Mother references in many (Nintendo and otherwise) games, manga, and anime, Mother definitely does not qualify as a niche market, especially with the severity of its price, fame, and demand. Even if it did, allowing Atlus or X-seed to re-release it would certainly be a viable option to bring back more interest from hardcore gamers, as Nintendo is currently trying to do.
Opa Opa wrote:
And who's to say that releasing a game for download will be profitable?
...
Well this is awkward... If it was not profitable, such companies would not be releasing so many retro and indie games for download. Why else would something such as TurboGrafx-16 games be available on the Wii Virtual Console? It is because there is demand for it, resulting in profit. Which usually means something is profitable, if a company is making profit off of it…
Blurz wrote:False. The Mother games consistently top "Which games do you want to see re-released?" polls Nintendo runs, with Earthbound (of course) at the top. With the added interest of Mother references in many (Nintendo and otherwise) games, manga, and anime, Mother definitely does not qualify as a niche market, especially with the severity of its price, fame, and demand. Even if it did, allowing Atlus or X-seed to re-release it would certainly be a viable option to bring back more interest from hardcore gamers, as Nintendo is currently trying to do.
Even if it has enough demand to justify a financial success there are still too many legal issues with Earthbound that would make me wary. Is it worth getting sued over a dumb game?
Opa Opa wrote:
Believe it or not, Nintendo can't release whatever they want just to please a niche market.
False.
Oh and that wasn't a True/False question. That's a fact. Nintendo cannot release a game just because it tickles their fancy. Different companies still own the rights to a lot of games.
(And I'm not trying to sound like a jerk. Business just doesn't work that way.)
From the 80's til now they still use the same franchises. Just because a game has cartoony graphics doesnt make it childish. Hell, kids all over the world play Call of Duty. Does that make that childish? In your eyes probably not cause itz gotz teh real lifez grafex dawg. 