Dante
10-08-2006, 02:13 AM
For the first time in six years, Nintendo is 100% behind one idea, the idea of change. And whether it’s instant success or a ripple of influence far down the line, change is only good for gaming in the long run.
Making it work now is up to Nintendo. And despite their numerous shortcomings and mistakes, I think they have a better chance now than ever.
1) Innovation: Small probability of disaster
So far, we’ve seen evidence of a healthy balance, much like the one we have on DS. DS drew in hardcore gamers with the Mario 64 remake, but also slipped in Meteos, Nintendogs and Brain Age. The rate of female gamers on the DS is staggering, rivaling the early 90’s Game Boy Tetris craze. Meanwhile the top-tier titles, Mario Kart, Metroid Hunters, are satisfying the appetite of the hardcore. With a nice skew of gaming tastes, DS is sustaining two different demographics: old-school and brand new, never-before-touched-a-controller consumers. Wii seems to have the same lineup. Zelda Twilight Princess and Prime 3 will definitely make launch, with Super Mario Galaxy not long after, but Wii Sports will draw in the non-gamers, and titles like Elebits and the virtual console offerings will keep them playing. I only hope that Nintendo doesn’t start to cater to the non-gamers exclusively as we definitely don’t want the Apple Syndrome taking over.
2) Virtual Console: Medium probability of disaster
I say this because so many things could go wrong. Omitting the wrong games from the list or pricing them too high could spell doom. Decades-old software should be priced in the iTunes neighborhood of $1 or so per game; I’m not paying $20 for an N64 game when I can get the original cartridge at EB for half that price. Meanwhile the classic controller still has a ways to go before it fits like the proverbial glove. The absence of Rare will be felt deeply by all old-school Nintendo fans, the exact market that Nintendo is aiming for with the nostalgia-laden VC. The ability to use the near-perfect GameCube controller for all the downloadable games would solve several problems. The GCN saw many ports of older games—NES Metroid, Zelda: Link to the Past and Ocarina—so it can clearly triple team for Nintendo’s older consoles at the very least, and it shouldn’t have much trouble conforming to the Genesis and TG-16. Then they’ll need a significant storage option for the nostalgia buffs who want to download every last game they offer on the VC.
3) Third-party support: Small probability of disaster
That is, if the developers stay with Nintendo. The GCN had a healthy stable of support, but it dried up quickly due to the lack of online functionality and Nintendo’s “less is more” strategy in regards to graphics. The sparse opening lineup didn’t improve any reputations. Wii is in decidedly better shape, with a much more appealing launch list made by respected industry names. If the Wii and its ambitious concept work, most of the talent will stick around to produce successful second and third generation software. If not, well…we can always wait another four years for the next Zelda.
4) Nintendo Wifi Connection: High probability of disaster
Nintendo has to streamline this concept, and in a good way, or they’ll be hurting big time. First of all, friend codes for each individual game should be replaced with a single code, similar to Xbox Live’s gamertags. That way only one swap is needed, and then you can compete with a person on anything from Red Steel to Excite Truck. Secondly, the issue of servers. It’s wonderful that so far the NWC has been completely free, with Nintendo running all of the servers. But that opened up other problems; there have been laggy nights and errors galore. To smooth things out, the Wii could act as a standalone server for moderately sized multiplayer games. I’ve run non-dedicated matches on my PC, and it’s hardly top-of-the-line, so I’m sure the Wii (and a moderate high speed connection) could handle Wifi games. That way, I could do a server search on my Wii similar to scanning the net for fan-run Unreal Tournament servers on my PC. Coupled with the Opera browser and an IM app, friends could tell each other when they’ll be playing, and swap friend codes easier. It isn’t the perfect system, but it’s better than the one they have now. The DS online play is fine within the limits of a portable—it’s amazing it works as well as it does—but for a home console, we’re going to need more of everything: features, options, games, and most of all freedom. If Nintendo doesn’t heed the warnings, they’re looking at a very stagnant online community.
5) Marketing: High probability of disaster
Nintendo needs to fix this problem, and fast. Within the next two months fast. They need a marketing blitz the likes of which they’ve never attempted before, and more importantly, it needs to be handled with finesse. The enjoyment of the people in the ads has to be tangible, but not extreme. Nobody wants to look like a fool when they’re playing a game, unless they’re a diehard DDR nut. And that’s a different story altogether.
What Nintendo needs is a fusion of their previous tactics and their current ones. They need to show a wide array of people enjoying the Wii, but in a casual way; the different game tastes should be presented with their appropriate audiences, so the crucial message is sent loud and clear: Wii has something for everyone, NOT just for gamers. The artistic element from the old ads should be reworked to lend sophistication and credibility—Apple is great at doing this, so much so that Microsoft is ripping them off for their new Zune campaign. Then, almost subconsciously, Nintendo should show that playing the Wii is more exciting, more engaging, than just listening to your iPod. Wii needs to be the thing the whole family does on a Friday night, the ideal party machine, the easy-to-use online alternative to computer gaming, and above all, low-cost and power efficient.
Can Nintendo communicate this? Yes, in a good way, and in a bad way. They can’t bounce all over the place in their commercials, or it’ll end up sounding like a late night infomercial (it even does your taxes!). What’s more, they need to keep the feeling of suave consumerism, the understated popularity that convinced everyone that everyone was buying the overpriced iPod.
I think the DS “Touch Generations” campaign is a good indication and a great start, but that line of thinking has to be exploited to the fullest extent before the average game-shy American is convinced that those there newfangled video games won’t turn them (or their kids) into Columbine imitators.
source. (http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=Article&I=1150)
What do you think about this article?
Making it work now is up to Nintendo. And despite their numerous shortcomings and mistakes, I think they have a better chance now than ever.
1) Innovation: Small probability of disaster
So far, we’ve seen evidence of a healthy balance, much like the one we have on DS. DS drew in hardcore gamers with the Mario 64 remake, but also slipped in Meteos, Nintendogs and Brain Age. The rate of female gamers on the DS is staggering, rivaling the early 90’s Game Boy Tetris craze. Meanwhile the top-tier titles, Mario Kart, Metroid Hunters, are satisfying the appetite of the hardcore. With a nice skew of gaming tastes, DS is sustaining two different demographics: old-school and brand new, never-before-touched-a-controller consumers. Wii seems to have the same lineup. Zelda Twilight Princess and Prime 3 will definitely make launch, with Super Mario Galaxy not long after, but Wii Sports will draw in the non-gamers, and titles like Elebits and the virtual console offerings will keep them playing. I only hope that Nintendo doesn’t start to cater to the non-gamers exclusively as we definitely don’t want the Apple Syndrome taking over.
2) Virtual Console: Medium probability of disaster
I say this because so many things could go wrong. Omitting the wrong games from the list or pricing them too high could spell doom. Decades-old software should be priced in the iTunes neighborhood of $1 or so per game; I’m not paying $20 for an N64 game when I can get the original cartridge at EB for half that price. Meanwhile the classic controller still has a ways to go before it fits like the proverbial glove. The absence of Rare will be felt deeply by all old-school Nintendo fans, the exact market that Nintendo is aiming for with the nostalgia-laden VC. The ability to use the near-perfect GameCube controller for all the downloadable games would solve several problems. The GCN saw many ports of older games—NES Metroid, Zelda: Link to the Past and Ocarina—so it can clearly triple team for Nintendo’s older consoles at the very least, and it shouldn’t have much trouble conforming to the Genesis and TG-16. Then they’ll need a significant storage option for the nostalgia buffs who want to download every last game they offer on the VC.
3) Third-party support: Small probability of disaster
That is, if the developers stay with Nintendo. The GCN had a healthy stable of support, but it dried up quickly due to the lack of online functionality and Nintendo’s “less is more” strategy in regards to graphics. The sparse opening lineup didn’t improve any reputations. Wii is in decidedly better shape, with a much more appealing launch list made by respected industry names. If the Wii and its ambitious concept work, most of the talent will stick around to produce successful second and third generation software. If not, well…we can always wait another four years for the next Zelda.
4) Nintendo Wifi Connection: High probability of disaster
Nintendo has to streamline this concept, and in a good way, or they’ll be hurting big time. First of all, friend codes for each individual game should be replaced with a single code, similar to Xbox Live’s gamertags. That way only one swap is needed, and then you can compete with a person on anything from Red Steel to Excite Truck. Secondly, the issue of servers. It’s wonderful that so far the NWC has been completely free, with Nintendo running all of the servers. But that opened up other problems; there have been laggy nights and errors galore. To smooth things out, the Wii could act as a standalone server for moderately sized multiplayer games. I’ve run non-dedicated matches on my PC, and it’s hardly top-of-the-line, so I’m sure the Wii (and a moderate high speed connection) could handle Wifi games. That way, I could do a server search on my Wii similar to scanning the net for fan-run Unreal Tournament servers on my PC. Coupled with the Opera browser and an IM app, friends could tell each other when they’ll be playing, and swap friend codes easier. It isn’t the perfect system, but it’s better than the one they have now. The DS online play is fine within the limits of a portable—it’s amazing it works as well as it does—but for a home console, we’re going to need more of everything: features, options, games, and most of all freedom. If Nintendo doesn’t heed the warnings, they’re looking at a very stagnant online community.
5) Marketing: High probability of disaster
Nintendo needs to fix this problem, and fast. Within the next two months fast. They need a marketing blitz the likes of which they’ve never attempted before, and more importantly, it needs to be handled with finesse. The enjoyment of the people in the ads has to be tangible, but not extreme. Nobody wants to look like a fool when they’re playing a game, unless they’re a diehard DDR nut. And that’s a different story altogether.
What Nintendo needs is a fusion of their previous tactics and their current ones. They need to show a wide array of people enjoying the Wii, but in a casual way; the different game tastes should be presented with their appropriate audiences, so the crucial message is sent loud and clear: Wii has something for everyone, NOT just for gamers. The artistic element from the old ads should be reworked to lend sophistication and credibility—Apple is great at doing this, so much so that Microsoft is ripping them off for their new Zune campaign. Then, almost subconsciously, Nintendo should show that playing the Wii is more exciting, more engaging, than just listening to your iPod. Wii needs to be the thing the whole family does on a Friday night, the ideal party machine, the easy-to-use online alternative to computer gaming, and above all, low-cost and power efficient.
Can Nintendo communicate this? Yes, in a good way, and in a bad way. They can’t bounce all over the place in their commercials, or it’ll end up sounding like a late night infomercial (it even does your taxes!). What’s more, they need to keep the feeling of suave consumerism, the understated popularity that convinced everyone that everyone was buying the overpriced iPod.
I think the DS “Touch Generations” campaign is a good indication and a great start, but that line of thinking has to be exploited to the fullest extent before the average game-shy American is convinced that those there newfangled video games won’t turn them (or their kids) into Columbine imitators.
source. (http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=Article&I=1150)
What do you think about this article?