Crossroads: Nintendo
I was...a HUGE Nintendo Fanboy. I used to worship the ground Miyamoto walked on. I used to idolize Mario. Zelda was the most epitome of coolness. Now? Nintendo and I have come to a crossroads, and, sadly, the time is near for us to go our separate ways. As soon as the stores in my area get one in, I'll probably pick up an XBox 360, and start trading in my some of my Gamecube games for credit towards 360 titles. My cube, still on life support, won't be laid to rest until The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess comes out, but after that, it's quiet possible Nintendo and I will be saying "see you around."
A tornado of rumors continue to swirl about Nintendo's next-gen console. Some say the system could be as cheap as 100 bucks right out of the gate, with games being as equally inexpensive when compared to XBox 360 and PS3, while others say the systems specs would only make it a little stronger than the original XBox.
While Nintendo argues ports won't be too much of a problem, and that their games will look fine on a standard def TV, consider this; when DVD players first came out they were expensive as hell. Now, you can get them for 20 bucks at General Dollar. The same goes for all new forms of technology, including HDTVs. While they're still pretty pricey, eventually the prices are falling: They will continue to do so, and they will become cheap enough for people without bottomless to afford. It's quite possible that in the next 2 years or so, HDTVs will be a common place as a toaster.
Which means that when most gamers will be able to enjoy high quality visuals on their PS3s and XBox 360s, revolution gamers will be playing games in low def, and not getting the high quality visuals of the other consoles.
Now, while I do realize that gameplay is more important that looks, many gamers want the best possible experience. That means high end sound, picture, gameplay, the works. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Revolution will have an unparalleled control experience, and there is even less doubt that there will be some phenomenal games released, Nintendo refuses to raise the bar even further, and take Sony and MS head on, and obliterate their asses.
But, Nintendo has made it clear, that they are not in direct competition with Sony and Microsoft, which is evident. However, while I do foresee myself cutting things with Nintendo, this may not be the end quite yet. If the 100 buck price point turns out to be more than just a rumor, I wouldn't mind picking up a revolution as a secondary console or a replacement for my gamecube. Plus, the system specific content will be unlike anything we've ever seen. But, should the revolution be about the same as the Gamecube was at $199? Then I must say so long, old friend, I wish you well.
posted by Teksuo Hikari @ 11:34 PM
2 Comments:
I think its important for gamers to give Nintendo a break. You say you understand that gameplay is just as important as graphics, but your overall tone makes me think you threw that in as an obligitory comment.
People are alaready having a hard time understanding the Revolution controller. Many are completely put off by it, but what I'm starting to hear is: "Shit, for $100 I'll buy it and give it a try."
Do you really think if Nintendo came out with $500 console that had kick ass graphics, that it would make people warm up to the new controller? There is NO way. The Revolution controller is too much of a risk for consumers to be expected to shell out that much money for it.
Let Nintendo put all their efforts into the controller. If they dont, then it truly will be gimmicky and not innovative. After that, Nintendo can work on making the graphics better.
There is nothing wrong with taking things one step at a time. If you can't accept that, well. Move over, because I think Nintendo is on to something and they will run your ass over.
I agree, the 500 buck all singing all dancing system is a little whack, but you also have to see things from the view of traditional gamers and developers.
People don't always like change. I want Nintendo to do well with the revolution, but the fact remains that a lot of hardcore gamers left Nintendo behind during this cycle because Nintendo went in such different directions; they didn't support online play - oh, wait, excuse me, they supported it on 2 games during 5 years, I'm sorry.
They had some of the worse 3rd Party backing; most of the games that came out on the cube by 3rd parties stayed exclusive only for a short while, before being ported over to the other consoles.
Rather taking avantage of the power of the gamecube to enhance some of the older properties like Star Fox, and Pokemon, the handed them over to 3rd and 2nd party companies, which has been hit or miss.
Not to mention the fact that public perception still has them tagged as the disney of games. Head over here: http://www.redassedbaboon.com/gang/?ct_id=56 and check out some of my older postings. I think you'll see that while I do seem pretty bleak here, I have defended and tried to stick up for nintendo in the past. I'm not abandoning Nintendo or trying to put them down, I simply am trying to say that they need to retool some things.
Also, it's not so much about the graphics, as much as what you can do with those graphics. We're reaching a point where making a game look good is becoming a moot point, because most of them look pretty cool even the crappy stuff. But when you're system can't keep up with what's being released on other consoles, that can be just as much as a red flag to gamers as having a bad control scheme.
People don't like feeling like they've missed out. Which is why so many people who own GCNs, also own PS2s or XBoxes, and why I think people will do the same during the next generation. While the Revolution specific stuff will be like nothing else we've ever played, there will be people out there who will still want plain old control schemes.
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