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TalkBack / RE:Games Too Complicated? Carmack Agrees.

« on: August 25, 2003, 09:52:10 PM »

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There is a buzz going around about publishers trying to keep games in the future under 20 gameplay hours, so the players wont spend so much time playing one game, and in turn, purchasing more games to keep them entertained.

You can already see this happening. Anyone up to date on .Hack? Having to buy FOUR seperate discs for what is, essentially, ONE game. There are NO worthy changes or upgrades in the battle system or overall game, it's HORRIBLY repetitive, graphics are LAZY, and it's ludicrously short. The game is in it's third part and basically it's the exact same as the first, and yet we have to pay $50 bucks for each of its four parts (and that damn anime extra that comes with it is HARDLY worth it). The .Hack series could have easily -and should have- been made into ONE game, and yet, by the time it's done, I will have spent around 200 smackers on it. If this is the direction publishers are trying to take games, then I truly fear for the future.

(and of course, this could be me angrily ranting and totally missing the point...heh hehe.)


And, I think it's kinda funny to argue the complexity of controls in RPGs. Now, granted, I can't speak for PC (I'm not much of a PC gamer), but for consoles, the average RPG's control scheme is centered around one button for talking/opening chests/entering commands and another for cancelling. Maybe a few buttons are added to make the battles a bit more interactive, but other than that, how simple can you get?
 

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TalkBack / Nintendo: The Problems, The Plans and The Future

« on: May 13, 2003, 04:36:50 PM »

That’s all very true in a sense. However, when most suggest that Nintendo change the way it handles the market, they aren’t asking it to ‘sell out’, parse, but realize that the market itself is changing.

Nintendo can’t stick to the same strategy it has been for years. Its market will be slowly edged away. Nintendo’s new president seems to realize this, and for that I am glad.

Nintendo doesn’t have to go mainstream to make a profit, it may be in third place out here in the states, but the last time I checked it was in first place when it came to profits. However, I don’t see that always being the case and, as I said, Nintendo seems to be realizing this. Say what you want about how Nintendo runs itself, but when the company in question realizes that it’s not doing as good as it hoped, and almost every month we’re hearing of Nintendo posting some new type of profit loss or budget cutback, it’s obvious that it’s time for a change.

Nintendo may never again be first in the videogame market, but that doesn’t mean at can’t make a comfortable cushion for itself. I’m sick and tired of hearing Nintendo say “(inset heavy-hitter game title here) didn’t do as well as we hoped” or “GBA-GC connectivity didn’t push off as well as we had hoped” or even “sales didn’t do as well as we hoped” in every press release. Nintendo needs to get itself to a point where it doesn’t need to ‘hope’, and that won’t happen if it keeps to handling things the way it does.

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TalkBack / RE: Nintendo: The Problems, The Plans and The Future

« on: May 12, 2003, 08:36:07 PM »

An interesting read indeed, but I do have my qualms with certain issues and certain people’s responses.

1)   Raze, games are being cancelled for the Gamecube, more so now than ever in fact. However, most of these are games that you and I and maybe even the average Joe wouldn’t care about. Just because Nintendo is landing a few big deals with a few companies (and notice that not every deal is set for exclusivity) doesn’t mean that it isn’t losing ground to ‘PS2/XBOX Only’ titles, check out any multi-console magazine or website for proof.

2)   In regards to Steve Kent’s comment: Utterly foolish, only beneficial on Microsoft’s part and most likely said because Steve-boy works for said software giant.

3)   The Doc, You know the Gamecube isn’t a kiddy console, I know the Gamecube isn’t a kiddy console, mostly everyone posting on the PlanetGAMECUBE board knows it isn’t a kiddy console. The problem is: do mainstream gamers -a group that’s quickly gaining in numbers and influence- know that it isn’t a kiddy console? I’m afraid not.

Nintendo may be able to rest on its laurels and bring in the cash this round, but it won’t be that way for long (I’m willing to bet that if Nintendo goes into the next generation with the same strategy, that generation will be its last.). Though the Gamecube is by far outshining its predecessor, hardcore Nintendo fans are losing ground to mainstream, big time, and Nintendo’s name is QUICKLY losing its influence. This is the generation that all -ALL- of Nintendo’s champions fell (they all sold alright, but not a single one sold as well as Nintendo “had hoped”). And not only did they fall, they fell to newbies!

You can come up with as many reasons for why Nintendo isn’t doing well as you want, Doc, but that won’t change the fact that Nintendo ISN’T doing as well as they thought they would be. It’s time for a change, like it or not.

4) VideoGamerX—You’re not the only one happy with Nintendo, but the fact of the matter is, we could all stand to be ‘happier’ with them. As I said, Nintendo’s name is losing its influence. Sure, it can hold on to its fine-tuned market of kids who wish it wouldn’t hold on to them (as our friend Rick said), but one day someone’s going to see the possible profit and invade on Nintendo’s territory, and what will Nintendo do then? Nintendo needs to do a better job at branching out, and showing ever genre of gamer how awesome of a developing team and system it possesses. They need to create some strong relationships with 3rd parties, and not just the big names, little ones as well. Let’s face it; numbers do effect how well a console does.

Let’s use Nintendo’s own ‘younger core-market’ against it for a sec: If a parent and their child walk into, erm, a Toys-R-Us, and see shelves upon shelves of video games for console A, and only a quarter of a shelf for console B, which console would the parent lean towards? The answer is, obviously, A. More games means more options, and a longer-lasting purchase. They may mostly be crap games, but a parent doesn’t know that. ^_^. Now here’s the sad part, Console A is obviously PS2, and who is console B? That’s right, Nintendo Gamecube.

Nintendo could change that though. Do a better job at catering to the small developers--the little guys. If anything it’ll raise their numbers, and who knows, a few ambitious developers might churn out a cult-hit or two.

Oh, and there’s no way Nintendo will hit 50 million in Gamecube’s lifespan, just no way.

6) And lastly, what is with everyone wanting wireless controllers to become standard!? HELL no! The Wavebird a great and all, but there are too many things a wireless controller would not be able to do and keep a decent battery life. Rumble function for example, and I for one would LOVE to a see a return to memory card slots in the controllers since, as we all know, they can be used for more than memory cards (headsets anyone?). Imagine if you could play GBA games on the Gamecube without having to attach some gadget to the bottom of your cube.



And that is the end of my bitchy and incoherent rant.