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Sep. 19th, 2005 01:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lbd_nytetraynFrom Toastyfrog's 1UP blog:
more revolution crap
posted at 09/16/2005 03:50 PM EDT
I know, you're sick of Revolution punditry. Me too. But this is a really well thought-out analysis of what Nintendo is doing and why the system could be a success that does a great job of contextualizing it all. It's a little dry (the site is pretty academic in nature) but if you can wade through it you just might come out on the other side immersed in enlightenment.
To wit: The current direction of the gaming industry is to cater increasingly to a specific group of people, which alienates everyone else and will ultimately prove harmful as genres continue to become overspecialized (thus appealing to a smaller and smaller core group). Nintendo is trying to move outside that shrinking hardcore constituency using hardware innovation. In other words, the company is defining its own terms of success -- especially since games for Nintendo systems cost far less to develop than those on competing systems, meaning developers and publishers can make a healthy profit with fewer sales, thus freeing them to go after less clearly-defined audiences.
This is, I think, exactly why the fanboy press is so baffled by Nintendo's continued existence as a first-party hardware creator. The company increasingly refuses to cater to them. And I guess that's why I tend to gravitate toward its creations, too; at some point I think I fell outside the "primary hardcore" circle of the Venn diagram. I still can't muster up an ounce of enthusiasm for God of War, but Trauma Center looks pretty rad. (Hopefully admitting that fact won't get me fired.)
I believe that I can relate.
LBD "Nytetrayn"
more revolution crap
posted at 09/16/2005 03:50 PM EDT
I know, you're sick of Revolution punditry. Me too. But this is a really well thought-out analysis of what Nintendo is doing and why the system could be a success that does a great job of contextualizing it all. It's a little dry (the site is pretty academic in nature) but if you can wade through it you just might come out on the other side immersed in enlightenment.
To wit: The current direction of the gaming industry is to cater increasingly to a specific group of people, which alienates everyone else and will ultimately prove harmful as genres continue to become overspecialized (thus appealing to a smaller and smaller core group). Nintendo is trying to move outside that shrinking hardcore constituency using hardware innovation. In other words, the company is defining its own terms of success -- especially since games for Nintendo systems cost far less to develop than those on competing systems, meaning developers and publishers can make a healthy profit with fewer sales, thus freeing them to go after less clearly-defined audiences.
This is, I think, exactly why the fanboy press is so baffled by Nintendo's continued existence as a first-party hardware creator. The company increasingly refuses to cater to them. And I guess that's why I tend to gravitate toward its creations, too; at some point I think I fell outside the "primary hardcore" circle of the Venn diagram. I still can't muster up an ounce of enthusiasm for God of War, but Trauma Center looks pretty rad. (Hopefully admitting that fact won't get me fired.)
I believe that I can relate.
LBD "Nytetrayn"
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Date: 2005-09-19 03:16 pm (UTC)And of course he just talked about how the Revolution controller will suck. Not really any kind of reasoning behind it, just saying that it will suck. Now, that's just his opinion, so whatever... But it made me realize that a large portion of the gaming market is just a bunch of SeanBabies. They want realistic graphics, they want to shoot things, and they hate most things that look cute or weird (Katamari being an apparent exception). The market does appear to be stagnating. It'll be interesting to see where it goes!