Great article on GameCube 'industry' and direction.

[Mospeada_21]

a very well written article, it speaks volumes......(linky below)

http://www.allcube.com/gamewatcher/outside/outside.asp

by: M. Leonard

i know many of us can agree, and certainly feel the views expressed. happy reading!

here are some of my favorite quotes:

1) "[T]here are more fence-sitters than Nintendo may realize - Nintendo fandom is a pretty hearty group, but they have their limits, and even the diehards are expecting a little more from a next-generation Nintendo console than the Gamecube provided. Screw them over and the name 'Revolution' may take on a completely different context..."

2) "There are victims, though, in the sense that there are those gamers who bought into the Gamecube under the illusion that Nintendo was going to do exactly what they now claim they're not: compete with Sony and Microsoft."

3) "There's nothing 'wrong' with the Gamecube in terms of its capabilities - it's a good kid with neglectful parents that didn't see it through to its full potential. Mistreat another one of your 'kids', Iwata, at your own risk . . . sometimes I don't know what color the sky is in your world, but know this: there's plenty of gamers in the Sony and Microsoft camps that will gladly take not only a game like Resident Evil 4, that doesn't seem to fit your strategy, but whatever gamers you don't want."

 

[Javery]

Damn that was long but pretty true to how I feel...

 

[GTmaster39]

Just looking at all the text gave be a headache, that and the fact the it seems the dude was just repeating himself over and over and over again.

Or maybe thats just me.

I'll stick with Nintendo to the dying end, I'm not going to give up on them like every other person has because GTA is soooooo much cooler . I stayed with Sega till the end, and I'm prepared to do the same with Nintendo.

 

[pumbaa]

Good article. I liked it a lot and it was well thought out, but here is the part where I disagree.

I think when it comes to videogames, you've got Sony and Microsoft... and then you've got Nintendo. Nintendo's entire ethic during the 2nd half of this generation has been one of being "different"... of alienation if you will. The Nintendo mind-set cannot see the videogame world through Sony and Microsoft's eyes. The corporation as a whole seems to be unable to see the value in being like their two competitors. In a strange way, I think thats why I like them. I own all three consoles (thus proving, as most fanboys would say... that I'm not a fanboy) and I see the Gamecube as different. Whether that was Nintendo's goal when GCN launched doesn't matter, because it seems that its their goal now. Frankly, I see this as a positive. And, unlike you, I see the "difference" in their games. I thought games like Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, and the like were pretty different in terms of design. The problem with Nintendo is that they are held to a higher standard of "innovation" than other companies, and its their own fault. When a company exudes "innovation" through its every PR statement.. when it becomes like the damn company mantra... anything that it remotely familar is obviously going to get torn to shreds. I worry if Nintendo didn't exist in the console market (or wasn't a force). For me, they keep the magic in gaming unlike any other company yet. Maybe in the end I'm just a huge fan of the companies and my view is skewed, but I'm not so sure. I really do think Nintendo is the "Disney" of the videogame world. They just need to get thier vision straight, so they in turn can get other people to see it.

 

[mbstuff]

Nintendo as a software publisher is fine. Zelda, Mario, Metroid, all great game on the cube. But the article's underlying point is that they are making terrible business decisions when it comes to the console, on top of bad hardware design decisions they already made before. More importantly, they're making these bad decisions for no good strategic reason. Their business decisions simply don't make sense in the goal of increasing market share and selling more games.

Lack of on-line support
consensus worst controller among the 3 consoles
smaller disc capacity
worsening relationships with 3rd party publishers

What exactly about the gamecube makes it the ideal platform for Nintendo's A-list games? Nothing. Exact same games can be made for the XBox, if not the PS2 as well. I guess Nintendo focuses on talking about their games these days (not really sure, I haven't really payed attention to nintendo games since Zelda 64, and I just got a gamecube), but their business decisions have been abysmal. The point of a business is to make profit. For nintendo that means selling more games. Abysmal failure in this generation. It's competing against a PS2 for crying out loud; gamecube should be spanking it, but no.... nintendo heads decide that making it small enough to carry and sticking a handle on it is more important than disc capacity.

 

[The-Bavis]

I didn't read the article (b/c I just read that big one about Nintendo @ E3 this year), but I like the three quotes you pulled from it.

Personally, I am sitting on the fence as to if I buy the Revolution early on or wait until it's marked down a few times, all the while playing Halo 4 or whatever.

 

[joeposh]

I think this article was really well done... and I can't help but shake my head in somber agreement with alot of it.

I know many people, myself included, who have owned nothing but Nintendo consoles throughout their lives. I personally found that N64 to be a great console, because I love multiplayer games the genres it really thrived in were well suited to my tastes. I've never been too into RPG's and the lack of fighting games was just a minor inconvience to me.

So coming into this generation all I wanted was an N64 type library with some expansion in terms of genre depth and some new creative titles (something I've come to expect from Nintendo consoles). What I'm left with is a console almost totally devoid of racing games, no sports outside of Madden, ehh at best FPS and a handful of a-list first party titles. Outside of metroid, pikmin, super smash bros and mario kart Nintendo has pretty much disappointed me. Mario Sunshine? not worthy of the series... 1080 and waverace? Poor rehashes that lost the magic of the originals. Where is the innovation I was promised? Where are the new and exciting Nintendo franchises? For a company that touts innovation so highly, they've definately dropped the ball this generation (At least in my view).

But despite all that I've remained loyal... I feel like Nintendo just lost themselves this generation. From shortly after launch till recently they seemed to have no real direction, letting 2nd parties go and 3rd parties leave without putting up a fight, while simultaniously floundering around when it came to promotions. I was on the verge of finally mothballing my cube and buying an xbox (as many of my favorite games this gen have been multiplatform anyway) when games like the new zelda and RE4 started to surface.

This is what Nintendo needs, diverse, deep gaming experiences. Not simplistic, dumbed down drivel or cookie cutter sequels. They need to bring epic gaming experiences to the table. I'm not saying every game has to be cinematic and adult, but immerse me in the experience.

My friends have all stashed their GC's away and opted for PS2's or Xbox's and are already getting hype for the next generation of consoles. I think Nintendo is starting to find it's footing and I'm willing to wait it out and see what the Revolution has to offer. It's really make or break for me, if it's some gimmicky techno display, I'm done... but if Nintendo can prove to me that they really have a game plan this time around, I'll be the first in line to pick mine up on launch day.

 

[Sartori]

I have been and will be a Nintendo fan.

However, this doesn't mean I automatically accept Revolution.

Revolution could be the beginning or the end - we'll see soon enough. I reserve my judgment of that most esteemed company for E3 2005.

See you there, Nintendo.

 

[HSidwolf]

Nice article. I actually read the whole thing.

This guy pretty much mentions everything about Nintendo that's been frustrating me as well. I love Nintendo, but some of their attitudes and business practices are just so stupid and illogical it makes me want to scream. I wish they would listen more to valid arguments and constructive criticism from fans like this. I'm not a fanboy and I just like good games regardless of the platform. But it would be a damn shame to see a company so rich in history and innovation that puts out universally appealing games with that 'magical quality' in them go down because of idiotic business decisions and a stubborn refusal to listen and see what's going on.