Playing it safe

[Entertainer]

I'm sure alot of you have read this by now but here goes anyway, it's really long ;)

Nintendo has, perhaps, the richest history of any company in the video game industry. It resurrected that industry in the early 1980s, breathing life and vitality back into a market barely afloat on a sea of worn-out ideas and unrealized potential. Its games defined a generation and the stars of those games, even today, remain as some of the most powerful icons in gaming history. Nevertheless, since its days of dominance Nintendo has defined and redefined little more than its own past. Today, Nintendo is not in the dominant position it was ten years ago, nor is it defining any new generations. It continues to create some of the best games on the market, but mainly designs those games for its own niche audience - an audience that seems to grow less diverse with each passing year.
Nintendo remains one of the top software publishers in the world and still dominates the handheld industry it created in 1989 with the Game Boy, but it is nowhere near the powerful force that it once was. Its last two home consoles, the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, have each seen steep sales declines over their respective predecessors. This trend doesn't appear to be on the eve of change either.
Nintendo has always been an innovator. It is responsible for a number of hardware and gameplay innovations throughout the last two decades. Without it, the industry would be relatively aimless, possibly ending up much like it did with the crash of the video game business in the early 1980s. However, today much of its innovation goes largely unrecognized. A considerable segment of the mainstream media and gamers today almost completely ignore the GameCube. It is one thing to be hated, but Nintendo has been almost entirely phased out of the collective consciousness of millions. This is a far worse fate. But why is this? Nintendo continues to make some of the best games on the market, so why must it fight an uphill battle to attract a new audience? The answer is both relatively simple and highly complex.
Nintendo has entered the business of developing games for its own fans. With an audience that was once fairly broad, this strategy worked well for some time, but trying to constantly recapture the same audience with the same techniques, game styles, and the same brands can only work for so long. Sooner or later that audience will dwindle. Nintendo needs to loosen up and reach out to new gamers. It needs to start creating entirely original games for every segment of the diverse gaming population if it ever hopes to rekindle the fires of success. Nintendo needs to stop playing it safe and start recognizing its full potential in the gaming world of the 21st century.

Core Brands for Core Audiences
The success of a Nintendo system has historically rested on Nintendo's shoulders. Pretty much every console or system the company has ever released has been pulled along by the might and power of Nintendo's many successful brands. The GameCube is no different. The overwhelming majority of the GameCube's best selling titles are developed by Nintendo itself. On top of that, virtually every one of those games is based on an existing franchise (or brand). Core franchises like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, F-Zero, Metroid, Star Fox, and Mario Kart defined the Super Nintendo in the early 90s, they defined the Nintendo 64 (excluding Metroid) in the late 90s, and they continue to define the GameCube today. While these franchises continue to sell well, their appeal is limited in today's market. Nintendo cannot hope to appeal to vast new audiences by banking on the success of aging franchises.
Super Mario Sunshine, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Mario Kart: Double Dash, and Super Smash Bros.: Melee represent the direct continuations of Nintendo's largest and most profitable franchises and are five of the best selling titles on the GameCube. One might even venture to say that they are the five best selling games for the Cube and, without hesitation, I would back that assumption. They are also likely to be the only games on the system (by any publisher) to sell over a million units in the United States.
Yet, none of those games have come close to even matching the popularity and sales of their predecessors. Of course there are many reasons for this, but when it comes down to it, these games (with the exception of Metroid Prime) are little more than categorical updates to their Nintendo 64 predecessors, in terms of gameplay. While, this strategy of updating and polishing worked well for games like Super Smash Bros.: Melee (the top selling GameCube title), Nintendo's choices in art style and design for the other three were hit and miss with even the most devoted of fans.
Super Mario Sunshine was definitely a better game then Super Mario 64 in many respects, but its childish theme and overall difficulty attracted few newcomers to the series. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the game, I don't believe I'm alone in saying that, at times, it didn't even feel like a Mario game. The characters were there, the baddies looked familiar, but the essence of what has always made Mario so great was notably absent throughout the majority of the adventure. I also know I'm not the only one who found the platforming cave levels to be some of the best parts of the game. Those levels were classic Mario fun, yet their style clashed distinctly from the rest of the game. Mario Kart: Double Dash followed closely in the footsteps of Sunshine. Though it featured a few new ways to play, many felt it to be uninspired in some areas, even bordering on lackluster when compared to its predecessors. Regardless, both games were designed almost strictly for the Nintendo fan and had limited appeal to the rest of the gaming population.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is in a slightly different boat. The game featured a dramatically different artistic approach than either of its predecessors on the N64, which were host to a more realistic and adventurous graphical style. The Wind Waker looked, and still looks, like nothing else on the market. The game was designed to be a vast, epic, and interactive cartoon. Predictably, this massive change in art style brought with it many who criticized the game for its graphics alone. However, aside from the new art direction, the game remained incredibly similar to its N64 predecessors. At times, it even bordered on unoriginal and formulaic. Though it ranks as my favorite Legend of Zelda title, The Wind Waker did little to reach out to new fans. I'd venture to say that it wouldn't have even sold as well as is has, had Nintendo not offered the original Ocarina of Time as an incentive to preorder the game.
At this point, I do not believe it is possible for Nintendo's core franchises to attract a myriad of new gamers. Their purpose will remain what they should have been for some time: support. Franchises like Mario and Zelda regained a lot of lost momentum when Nintendo successfully reinvented them in the three dimensional realm, but not even the colossal success of games like Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 were enough to keep the Nintendo 64 on equal footing with the PlayStation. Even if the next Legend of Zelda for GCN matches the critical acclaim and popularity of Ocarina of Time what help will that be in the long run? The GameCube will have a hit game, great. A few big hits didn't save the Nintendo 64. The most that games like Mario and Zelda can do is try to match their past successes. An awesome new Mario game will attract back fans of Super Mario 64 and an awesome new Zelda will bring back fans of Ocarina of Time. It is obvious that Nintendo needs to knock on a few new doors. Its core franchises will always be important, but cannot be solely relied upon to reach out to new audiences. Nintendo needs to start developing new franchises for a new generation.

the rest of it right here

phew long read

soo with that under our belts, what do you think?

Do you think nintendo is taking the wrong route by making spin-off titles for the DS like the new peach platformer, yoshi-touch and go, and the new kirby game?

Am I alone saying that a birth of a totally unique new console should warrant a totally unique and new game franchise?

Who thinks that no matter how cool the game is, it cannot be truly innovative if it is a sequel or spin off off of an existing franchise?

And fianlly, who thinks that the revolution will make it if it doesn't create new franchises and rely's on "Mario Revolution", "Zelda Revolution", and "Metroid Revolution"?

[AJ490]

i agrree totally

[sharky~]

I read that like an hour ago, Its pritty much dead on,
Im finding Nintendo Games less and less apealing to me.

I mean just look


Nintendo announced a new Kirby action adventure game for Nintendo DS called Touch! Kirby's Magical Paintbrush. In this game you must use the stylus to draw paths on the touch panel, and Kirby will move along the path you created.

Sharky says - I think this game should get T rated for sujestive themes looking at the title


Nintendo announced Animal Forest DS (Animal Crossing DS) for Nintendo DS. This time the game can be played by four players simultaneously using wireless communicaiton, and you can access the menu options easily by using the touch panel.

Sharky Says - I rented Animal Crossing ages ago.. it was ok for the first 5 minuits I was
on the Train.. then.. I would have had more fun banging my head on a wall.



- Here are some new images of Nintendo's Super Princess Peach for Nintendo DS, a new 2D action game featuring Princess Peach as the main character, she can use her magical umbrella as weapon and her ability to float in mid-air.

Sharky Says - I think "pfft" covers it.

[Entertainer]

I think the new games will all be cool and innovative for the DS, but they could do so much more if they create new franchises. Like instead of Peach with her umbrella, make a new character that uses a small helecopter that functions like the umbrella, or something else similar to the concept, and have peach be an unlockable character after you beat the game.
Hell even make wario's girlfriend or something, it could be my high school gym teacher, Ms Mann!

[Messanic]

The fact that peach is getting ballsy and saving Mario's ass is enough for me, although Daisy is more suited for the role of kick ass and take names. I also find that Nintendo really sucks at using the second screen for the ds and they made the damned thing, the third parties are using the touch screen much better than they are. Nintendo are still recovering from the horror that was the n64 and the revolution probably wont change much. The thing is that Nintendo is giving us things that they think we want, but in truth we don't want it. Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat looks good, but will it play good. I like Donkey Kong and Mario VS Donkey Kong is even better, the difference isn't distinct, but the games are very fun. Sega uses different characters for different games that need them, so why doesn't Nintendo, its simple, they don't. Megaman X:Command Mission, athough not a Nintendo game, is a perfect example of how a good game engine can be used with the wrong game.

[littlepest429]

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat looks good, but will it play good.

I thought that the whole reason people liked it, is that it played awesome?

[Daniel4802]

I think these 3 quotes from the article pretty much summarize Nintendo's troubles.

"Nintendo doesn't think of new game ideas anymore. It develops new gameplay innovations around its many brands, preemptively shutting its eyes to entirely new game concepts."

"Nintendo has always been an innovator in gameplay, but it falls back on the safety of its established brands more than any other company I know. A truly innovative game should be able to stand on its own."

"The true issue is that Nintendo pours so much into these kinds of titles that it invests no time into developing new franchises - entirely new stories, worlds, and game concepts."

I'm holding my breath for Nintendo to come up with something truly new and original that has nothing to do with its franchises. I want to be amazed and give Nintendo a huge but even if I had 1 million lives I'd most likely pass out from lack of oxygen 1 million times before that happens.

[Messanic]

Originally Posted by littlepest429

I thought that the whole reason people liked it, is that it played awesome?

I'm not talking about Donkey Konga...

[Reality]

Well I just read it and the article isn't lying. I been really disappointed with several of their games from poor creativity choices. Not to mention I am so ready for something new, exciting and not kiddy.