Im sorry, did you think I was bashing nintendo? Nintendo is disconnected from the gaming community. If they wernt, they would stay more mainstream. If you took what I said as some overriding attack on nintendo, then you need to really think about it. Nintendo may produce great gameplay, but they are getting farther and farther away from the gaming community. They have brand spanking new handheld out with some great possibilities, and actually have some serious competition in the handheld market and what are they pimping? A game where you can pat a dog. Please. Get your head on nintendo. They are so self absorbed in japan. It is really hurting them. Im sorry I dont "celebrate their choices" and I think I can bash it all I want. It isnt smart bussiness. How long can nintendo hold on while continuing to lose market share in both the console market and the handheld market? They are still making money now but how long can that last? I would hope for a long time, but common sense says otherwise.
(The emphases in the quote where I bolded key statements are mine, not the original author's)
What I don't get is why people continue to criticize Nintendo for getting further away from the "gaming community".
Frankly, it's a
good thing. What do you have when all three major game companies pander to the exact same audience?
That's right, Jeb, we get
inbreeding!So Nintendo's going out on a limb and doing wacky stuff, ignoring the mainstream gaming audience. Hey, no problem! What has Nintendo always excelled at? Creating quirky, innovative games that draw in the outside public, in particular the soccer moms, grandparents, "artsy" types, and so on who don't like games in general (and especially the [im]mature games that the "gaming community" demands these days). Games like Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, Mario Party, Wario Ware, and others that aren't quite like what most GaM3rZzzZ!!!1!! want.
And yes, in some ways I
am one of the GaM3rZzzZ!!!1!!, so no, I'm not necessarily bashing those guys. I like Halo, I loved Ninja Gaiden, RE4 is my daddy, and so on. But I also am not afraid to admit that I've spent way too much time on games like Animal Crossing and the like as well. I go where the gameplay is. Whether that gameplay is extreme action-oriented fare that I will likely find on MS or Sony's systems, or quirky off-the-wall nontraditional stuff that I'll find on the Nintendo system, I go where the gameplay is.
Frankly, I think that if Nintendo properly markets the Revolution and provides the opportunities for "non-gamers" to get hooked, they will actually develop a
new gaming audience that no one else has yet tapped into in any significant way. It's a brilliant idea. It's also a big gamble.
But I needn't remind anyone of the classic economic principle: risk versus reward. The higher the risk, the greater the chance of reward, but the greater the chance of failure too.
Believe it or not, Sony and Microsoft are playing it incredibly safe; they're taking no significant risks in this generation of systems coming up. They're going after guaranteed market, which just means they won't have to try as hard to innovate. Just like EA acquiring exclusive rights to the NFL / NCAA licenses; they'll be the only competition, so they won't have to worry about failure. They'll make their money.
Nintendo's actually trying to do something new, and I'm excited about it. Will I get a 360 or a PS3? At some point, certainly. Depends on which system gets the games I want (Kameo on the 360 is really shaping up nicely, and I'm sure the PS3 will have some great Square/Enix games). I will buy a Revolution at launch because of two reasons: I have no doubt whatsoever that there will be must-have games for me on Nintendo's system, and I want to put my money where my mouth is and support taking a clever risk like this. I don't yet know which of (or if, though they probably will) the other consoles will have games that are must-haves for me. But if they do, then I will acquire them at some point.
I don't buy my game system based on market share. Nintendo has yet to let me down with one of their flagship systems (tv consoles, basically), so I will stick by them until they do. With the DS, I took a wait-and-see approach until I saw that software worth my time was available (and coming), and since there was, I bought one. Never got a Virtual Boy, as it didn't appeal to me. I own a PS2 and an X-Box, neither acquired at launch. I enjoy both systems. I had a PS1 as well, played the heck out of that thing.
I think I'm rambling at this point; I think my point is that, while the direction Nintendo's taking may not appeal to the "gaming community", that doesn't mean it's the
wrong direction. It's just a different one. And market share isn't everything, either. A common economic misconception seems to hold that growth and profitability are irrevokably tied together; that isn't necessarily the case.
