Great job guys.I think the pacing was extremely brisk and I'm sure you can't really reveal exclusive breaks on the Cagcasts but overall, its very enjoyable to listen to. You don't seem to be biased towards any system so your suggestions hold a lot more credibility than the suggestions of other sites. I can't wait for the next one. ^_^
I'd like to point this out to you.
THE GREAT CRASH COMES...
The world of videogames is something that numerous people around the world hold closely to their hearts. Unlike music, television, or movies, the world of videogames is transcendent in the amount of allegiance it carries. Sure there are fights between fanboys on whether the LOTR movies or the Star Wars films are better, but nothing in the world [short of religious and political tensions], can compare to the up the amount of anger, love, and sales figures brought up in a videogame fanboy argument.
There is something about this specific industry that has changed the way people enjoy their entertainment. It becomes close to them, like a beloved pet whom you would fight to death for. It's an amazing transition from how we treat old television shows, which have become nostalgic, yet unessential to one's being in comparison to amount of devotion the videogame industry brings out in us. All one has to do is look at the annual E3 Nintendo press conference and amount of cheers the journalists in attendance let out [as well as the occasional tears (see: Zelda: Twilight Princess)].
You will not see people cheer and cry when the new Spider-Man 3 teaser is shown off. You will not see people gasp in excitement when the new Harry Potter trailer hits quicktime. Yet a new Zelda or Grand Theft Auto trailer can easily kill all the bandwidth a site like IGN has. This is what separates us from those industries. In many ways, the videogame industry respects us [even if it wants all our cash] just as we respect it back. You can't say that about any other entertainment industry. In every other industry, it's all about the stars and singers. Luckily, that's not the case here.
Here, it's all about the work. It's all about the games. Sure, we have our own little quirks. As everything in life, perception plays a big role in things. We have our own little passions. Nintendo is supposed to be the system for kids. Xbox is for the hardcore gamer. The Playstation is for the family. However, once again unlike other entertainment industries, no other multimedia body is more looking to put its competitors out of business than the videogame industry. In the movie industry, you never hear how Warner Brothers is trying to put Disney out of business. Or how Universal Music Group is trying to bankrupt Virgin Records America.
However, we all clearly know that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all trying to put each other out to pasture. Nintendo at one time was clearly the leader of these tactics by declaring exclusivity deals with all developers threatening to cut them off from their goldmine should they disobey. Sony essentially has that role now, suing online stores like Lik-Sang for not doing business the way they would like them to. Finally, Microsoft is the one who wishes they were in the role of Sony for one day they wish to have conquered the planet. Antagonizing, but true.
Out of these three companies, Nintendo is the only one to have called for a wake-up call. They claim that a videogame crash is coming and if the industry does not change its ways, it could be very costful. Of course, since they've been branded as a kid's company [starting with the Sega Genesis (regardless of how ruthless their business tactics were)], no one tends to take the company seriously anymore. The lot of them are seen, and this is just being honest, as sissies.
Of course, Iwata and Miyamoto are somewhat to blame for this perception of the company. They've been extremely passive over the past few years allowing both Sony and Microsoft to walk all over them [most notably until Reggie showed up]. In addition, much blame lies on Nintendo's shoulders for this perception for not delivering the kind of gaming experiences they should have brought. Zelda and Mario were both lackluster [though great] titles and nothing else they've done this generation has blown any minds. The pizazz they showed in the battle against the Genesis is gone [most likely with the departure of Yamauchi-san], resulting in a more kinder, gentler Nintendo. Of course, kindness is seen as weakness and this new attitude has played right into the hands of Microsoft and Sony [who are too cool to be weak].
The basic ideals of Sony and Microsoft are similar to those of John Hammond [of Jurassic Park fame]. They feel that since they have the technology at their fingers, why not just push forward and keep moving ahead. The rebute that Nintendo gives to this rationale is [to quote Dr. Ian Malcolm], "Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
The success of gaming systems is not held only by the manufacturer of the hardware, but by the third parties who support that hardward. This we know. However, in the next generation, with every game costing more and more to develop, what will the price of a flop be? Just looking at the development costs of a X-Box title tells us that on average, it costs $1.8 million to create an X-Box title. Now imagine how much more a X-Box 360 or Playstation 3 game will cost to develop. Now imagine what happens to the developer or company should that title flop?
Even this generation, gaming companies are starting to sink into the red. THQ posted a loss even after shipping out a million copies of Destroy All Humans! and Juiced! Midway posted a loss after low sales of Unreal Tournament 2. Activision posted a loss even after shipping out a million copies of Doom 3, Madagascar, Fantastic 4 as well as strong sales for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith across Europe. Even the mighty Electronic Arts posted a loss regardless of Battlefield 2 and Medal of Honor: European Assault both reaching Platinum status.
When Nintendo started speaking of gamers being bored with the current product and them wanting new experiences, they honestly believed in what they were saying. However, they didn't completely clarify that growing development costs were making it harder for publishing companies to recoup on a gaming investment [even though they did hint at it]. Once you start to see the whole picture, you begin to understand what Nintendo was talking.
Sure you can argue that the crash of 1983 happened because Atari was churning out crap that no one bought, but the truth is there are many ways for a new videogame crash to occur. Regardless of whether the games suck or not, just look at what happened to Majesco. Poor sales of just two titles [Psychonauts and Advent Rising] has caused the company to be on emergency red alert. No one should know this better than you guys. I mean, how hard is it to a copy of Nanostray without Ebay?
Other companies should begin to wake up and understand where Nintendo is coming from. Crashes don't build up. They happen out of the blue. They're like earthquakes that cause the house around you to fall apart. That is what Nintendo is expecting and they're doing their damndest to make sure they're not a part of the casualities.
The word going around is that in order to create Playstation 3 and XBox 360 titles, people may need nearly ten times the budget that they require now [$10 million], especially if they want to get all the power out of those systems. Now what happens if people are slow to adopt? What if people just don't like the games being made? What happens is the same thing that happened to Majesco. Companies start filing for Chapter 11 and people start losing jobs.
Sure, Sony and Microsoft paint a rosy picture. I mean, why wouldn't they? They want you to believe everything is going to be okay and its going to be their console that is going to have the hippest, most coolest games. At the same time, we, as lovers of this entertainment medium, do not want to believe that such a thing is possible to our entertainment format of choice. It simply is impossible.
However, when we blind ourselves like this, its not any different than thinking the stock market is going to rise up forever, just as the world wide web bubble was going to keep inflating forever. The truth is, at some point, the bubble is going to burst. Unless every single debut title on the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 is a million seller [apart from the obligatory majong(sp?) title], profit margins are going to be extremely small [due to development cost]. When this happens, a large number of companies are going to go under. The ones who aren't will be the major ones such as Electronic Arts and Square-Enix.
Nintendo will also be one of the survivors. By positioning themselves [and whoever wants to join them] as producing original, innovative games for the low development costs, Nintendo will be able to easily make truckloads of money without by putting itself in as much risk as its [publishing] competitors. Just look at Jump Superstars, that title alone has sold more than any other PSP title. Think of how much money Nintendo made publishing that game alone. Think of how much Nintendo made on the DS systems that sold because of Jump Superstars. Now think about how little Nintendo how spend developing that title and how large the profit margins are going to be when the sales are added up? That is what Nintendo is all about.
