Duck Season is over. Jonny-L Season is eternal.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/72878/episode-947-its-open-season-on-jonny-l
This week we spent entirely too much time talking about the Nintendo Vs. System, an arcade-adaption of Famicom hardware that Nintendo pushed on arcade operators as a way to have a constantly-refreshed machine in their arcades.
It's a fascinating device because the biggest advantage is the library it shared with the Famicom. Launching well in advance of the NES in North America, it allowed western audiences the chance to experience some of the biggest titles on the hardware. This let Nintendo build brand-awareness before entering the market as a hardware manufacturer and it offered arcade operators a new partner to work with.
Conversely, its biggest weakness wasn't the fact it was very underpowered compared to most arcade hardware. It's biggest weakness, and the reason it was largely unsuccessful in Japan is because the games and hardware were already in Japanese homes.
It's a fun game of 4D chess, because I doubt Japanese consumers' apathy towards playing games they already own would have been beyond Nintendo's predictions. However, they needed a market close-at-hand to refine the arcade hardware. It seems obvious to me that this was always a play to enter a crippled video games market in North America, it just needed time to cook.
Just remember, at one point Atari and Nintendo were talking about Atari selling a branded-Famicom system in North America.
Good thing we got the 7800 instead. Okay, stop laughing.
Anyway, this week we start with Listener Mail. We asked you to send it and you belatedly answered the call. First we explore the eternal question: "Nintendo what the f*** was that?" In this case, we're talking about "Close to You," a Pikmin-minus-Pikmin CG short that was soon replaced with a Pikmin-minus-Pikmin-plus-Pikmin short. Then we have the previously mentioned lesson on the Nintendo Vs. System, and why third parties bothered. Lastly, we dig into games we took a very long time to complete. Send us emails. Maybe the link works? It did for me.
After a break, we dig into some New Business. Well, not James. He finally finished Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush. You'll never have to hear about it again, unless you do. Jon has been reading Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment, by Jason Schreier. He's still early but has some initial thoughts. Guillaume is getting pretty deep into Super Mario 64, via the NSO, and is also playing King Kong: The Movie: The Game. Greg wraps-up the show with thoughts on the Switch port of Super Mario Galaxy 2.
- (00:01:15) Listener Mail: Close to Who?
- (00:32:57) Nintendo VS. System, why?
- (00:42:30) Slow cruise through a game.
- (01:24:25) New Business - Finishing Donkey Kong Bananza: DK Island & Emerald Rush.
- (01:26:16) Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment.
- (01:29:01) Super Mario 64 on the NSO.
- (01:40:21) King Kong: The Movie: The Game
- (01:45:52) Mario & Wario
- (01:52:22) Super Mario Galaxy 2, now on Switch
Topic: Episode 947: It's Open Season On Jonny-L (Read 18 times)
