Messages

1

TalkBack / Midway Reveals SpyHunter 2

« on: April 02, 2003, 02:34:40 PM »

It's cool they added all those new features. I just hope it doesn't look, feel or play anything like the "original" Spy Hunter.

...'cause it really sucked

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Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo's Strategy is Paying Off

« on: March 06, 2003, 10:39:17 AM »

The only real problem with the Nintendo strategy is that they don't want to release too many high profile games. They have always felt this drives up demand for the games. This was true back in the 8bit days and to some extent in the 16bit days. However with Nintendo being in third place in market share in North America it is imperative that they get a large number of games out for all the respective video game genres. Nintendo is not even covering some of them at all. Realistic aerial combat? Dance games? Light guns? Nope. Nintendo has to release some super fun different games for cheap.

If nintendo wants to do better, they need a nextgen Duck Hunt bundle!

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Nintendo Gaming / GTA: Would it sell?

« on: March 06, 2003, 10:06:43 AM »

Wow, a lot of pent up stuff over such a fluff game. I would buy a version of Grand Theft Auto if it came out for the cube. Why not. Its a great unwind game. Kill a few gangbangers and then work your way up to a rooftop to say how much mayhem you can create by going sniper on the general population. Is the series a masterpiece? No. But it is a pretty solid game designed for and marketed to casual gamers. Most of the posts seem to be talking more about game content and the feelings that people have towards the mature themed subjected matter. Many people have commented on what a fabulous game ED is, but these are normally people who have heard the reviews and put in the time to test the game out fully (in other words a "hardcore" gamer) The flipside is that a lot of casual gamers played the game for 20 mins and were not hooked right away. This is one of the possible reasons why the game (unfortunately) did not sell a huge number of units. GTA on the other hand is designed to peak the interest of the player with in the first 20 seconds. Replay value for a hardcore gamer will be pretty minimal as we spend so much time playing that it is possible to get sick of the game rather quickly. The casual gamers never play that long, normally playing before going out or for a bit after work/class. They never get bored with the game because they are not playing it for long periods.

-End Rant

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NWR Feedback / Games Business 101: A Counter-Editorial.

« on: March 06, 2003, 09:37:32 AM »

While well writen and showing much insight into the game industry I think there is a large flaw in the logic of one or two parts of the editorial. Traditionaly, at least in the 8 and 16 bit era, first party games were the large console movers. Third party titles due sell consoles, large numbers of consoles. Sony has changed that. It would be difficult to name the Sony first party games that have sold those 16 million consoles. People know that they can get the widest range of games on that console, as well as hits such as Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, and Grand Theft Auto. Sports games are another huge draw for the console market. Plenty of people buy consoles simply to buy the newest version of Ea's Madden or NHL (and a new one of each sports title comes out each year).

Also, the idea that the console wars start from ground 0 when the next generation of consoles come out is wishful thinking. The problem is that image and perception helps sell consoles. A good example is Nintendo's kiddie image, something that has been with Nintendo starting with the SNES. That's 2 consoles ago and they still can't shake the image. IMO the only reason why the N64 ended up selling as well as it did was at least in part based on the SNES's track record. Of course there were the Nintendo exclusives (GoldenEye and SuperMario64) as well. If Nintendo wants to make money in the long run, and perhaps "win" the next round, they will have to pick up momentum on this console generation.

I don't want to tell Nintendo what to do or how to run their business. I don't know how to accomplish having a large third party stable without paying extra for it. I don't know how to sell lots of hardware but not lose money. I don't know how Nintendo can shake their kiddie image. I don't know a lot of things about the industry as I have never worked in it. Though I do not know how to do any of these things I do have a pretty good feeling that these things must occur. Nintendo's long term success depends on it. I want to be able to play the next-next-gen version of Metroid or Mario.