Another Lazy Update. Because the world loves lazy bastards.
This turned out better in the actual paper(for once), but here's a copy of the original.
The Forgotten Nintendo…Nearly
Heading into the New Year, everyone is excited about the new generation of consoles about to be announced at this year’s E3. Microsoft has its Xbox Next, or Xenon, or whatever the crap they decide to call it, and Sony has its’ next iteration of the Playstation coming out in 2006. But while many industry buffs start looking forward, I say lets hold that thought, until E3 at least, and take a long look at what’s going on this year. And, ironically enough, Nintendo looks to have a good year. And yes, for your information, they have a new console coming out; expect to see it at E3 as well.
Nintendo seems to be the forgotten player in the next console wars. All the hype clearly surrounds Sony’s machine and their cell processor technology (essentially high tech sounding words that means more than one processor), and Microsoft has their NextBox, and its “connect everything in your house to your Xbox” mentality. Nintendo has…wait Nintendo has something? The “Revolution”. It probably wont be revolutionary, but counting the big N out in the next console wars is probably not a good idea, since they have so many franchises of their own that are loved.
Granted, Nintendo will have to do the equivalent of…oh, pulling a mammoth out of hat to get close to the numbers the ps3, and the Xbox 2 will sell. But Nintendo has its franchises, and that my friends in the case of the big N, is a lot to bank on. Lets run through them real quick.
Mario. The chunky little red-suited plumber that has launched into God knows how many games, and one awfully bad movie. But simply put, he is the biggest, most recognizable video game character in the world. Even as Master Chief becomes popular, he isn’t even close to the same pedestal that Mario and his compadres have reached. The “Revolution” is supposed to launch with a Mario game, which isn’t really a surprise, but Mario launching a system can’t be a bad idea.
Zelda and Link. This franchise nearly stands on the same pedestal that Mario stands on. What’s really sad is there is a new Zelda game coming out this year for the Gamecube, and hardly anyone outside of the Nintendo world is really noticing, or caring for that matter. You won’t see mass build-up lines outside of the local Gamestop waiting for this one. But why shouldn’t there be? Nintendo’s marketing strategy…but that’s a whole different story. Anyway, what’s really going to sell the new Zelda game is…no kiddie graphics. Yes, Link will actually be grown up now (or at least it looks like it), and will do the whole horse riding thing again, a la Ocarina of Time. The first screens have looked great, as you can easily see.
Samus and the Metroid series. No games for the Nintendo 64 mildly worried some people, but the toughest bounty hunter to have long, blonde hair has made a strong return on the Gamecube, with not one, but two huge hits. Nintendo managed to pull off what has to be the toughest thing ever. Making a good platforming FPS. In other words, jumping puzzles in FPS games usually suck, and are boring. Nay, not this time, as jumping puzzles are actually, almost…fun. We probably wont see anymore of Samus on the Gamecube, but she’s given us plenty already to hold us over until her next mission.
The Starfox series. A series that was great on the Super Nintendo, and carried that all too easily to the Nintendo 64, made a nice return on the Gamecube. While the first iteration wasn’t exactly what traditional Starfox players were used to, the 2nd one, coming out sometime this year, looks to return the series to its roots, while using the some of the elements that were liked with the first iteration on the Gamecube.
A few other noteworthy games that sure will make a splash in 2005, and on the “Revolution” will be the F-Zero series, probably a more “Country type” game than Donkey Konga, and possibly another Kirby game. Personally, though, I’m really looking for another Earthbound game. A simple, but highly, addictive game that added so many weird elements to make it truly one of the most unique RPG experiences ever, hopefully Nintendo will realize this and give us another Earthbound.
But Nintendo doesn’t only have those franchises, it also gets its amount of third party support, although its almost company policy to not get as much third party support. Its two biggest players that aren’t borne out of Nintendo blood, are the Viewtiful Joe franchise, a surprise hit from Capcom, and Nintendo’s relatively recent acquisition of Capcom’s other big franchise, the Resident Evil series. While RE was going stale, RE4 has clearly revived the series and made RE the definitive survival horror game you want. While RE4 isn’t completely Nintendo exclusive, it wont be hitting the PS2 until late 2005, or possibly 2006, and it probably wont be hitting the Xbox at all.
Moving to the handhelds, Nintendo’s marketing, or lack of, will probably be the DS killer. The PSP is much more marketable as its movie-player/mp3 player/ game player system, but never rule the Nintendo fanboys out. Another problem that might hurt the DS is Nintendo even muttering the words of the Next Game Boy system, dubbed “Evolution”. Really. Someone’s gotta come up with some better stuff than “Revolution” and “ Evolution”. Whatever the heck it’s going to be called, in the Game Boy’s case, is mostly irrelevant. It will sell so well, that no one would care if it was called “The Box with Buttons”.
It’s Game Boy, and they own the handheld market, no matter how many PSP’s you shake at them.
Don’t expect Nintendo to have some crazy breakout year. It isn’t going to happen. Besides the fact that they aren’t magicians and Mammoth’s just don’t roam the Earth anymore, there is just too much ground to cover to catch up with the Xbox, and the PS2. Maybe the “Revolution” will turn some heads. Its going to need to be more than just some, and believe you me, if anyone can do it, Nintendo can. Besides I know I’m not the only want who doesn’t want to be seeing Mario on any other system besides Nintendo’s own.
The Forgotten Nintendo…Nearly
Heading into the New Year, everyone is excited about the new generation of consoles about to be announced at this year’s E3. Microsoft has its Xbox Next, or Xenon, or whatever the crap they decide to call it, and Sony has its’ next iteration of the Playstation coming out in 2006. But while many industry buffs start looking forward, I say lets hold that thought, until E3 at least, and take a long look at what’s going on this year. And, ironically enough, Nintendo looks to have a good year. And yes, for your information, they have a new console coming out; expect to see it at E3 as well.
Nintendo seems to be the forgotten player in the next console wars. All the hype clearly surrounds Sony’s machine and their cell processor technology (essentially high tech sounding words that means more than one processor), and Microsoft has their NextBox, and its “connect everything in your house to your Xbox” mentality. Nintendo has…wait Nintendo has something? The “Revolution”. It probably wont be revolutionary, but counting the big N out in the next console wars is probably not a good idea, since they have so many franchises of their own that are loved.
Granted, Nintendo will have to do the equivalent of…oh, pulling a mammoth out of hat to get close to the numbers the ps3, and the Xbox 2 will sell. But Nintendo has its franchises, and that my friends in the case of the big N, is a lot to bank on. Lets run through them real quick.
Mario. The chunky little red-suited plumber that has launched into God knows how many games, and one awfully bad movie. But simply put, he is the biggest, most recognizable video game character in the world. Even as Master Chief becomes popular, he isn’t even close to the same pedestal that Mario and his compadres have reached. The “Revolution” is supposed to launch with a Mario game, which isn’t really a surprise, but Mario launching a system can’t be a bad idea.
Zelda and Link. This franchise nearly stands on the same pedestal that Mario stands on. What’s really sad is there is a new Zelda game coming out this year for the Gamecube, and hardly anyone outside of the Nintendo world is really noticing, or caring for that matter. You won’t see mass build-up lines outside of the local Gamestop waiting for this one. But why shouldn’t there be? Nintendo’s marketing strategy…but that’s a whole different story. Anyway, what’s really going to sell the new Zelda game is…no kiddie graphics. Yes, Link will actually be grown up now (or at least it looks like it), and will do the whole horse riding thing again, a la Ocarina of Time. The first screens have looked great, as you can easily see.
Samus and the Metroid series. No games for the Nintendo 64 mildly worried some people, but the toughest bounty hunter to have long, blonde hair has made a strong return on the Gamecube, with not one, but two huge hits. Nintendo managed to pull off what has to be the toughest thing ever. Making a good platforming FPS. In other words, jumping puzzles in FPS games usually suck, and are boring. Nay, not this time, as jumping puzzles are actually, almost…fun. We probably wont see anymore of Samus on the Gamecube, but she’s given us plenty already to hold us over until her next mission.
The Starfox series. A series that was great on the Super Nintendo, and carried that all too easily to the Nintendo 64, made a nice return on the Gamecube. While the first iteration wasn’t exactly what traditional Starfox players were used to, the 2nd one, coming out sometime this year, looks to return the series to its roots, while using the some of the elements that were liked with the first iteration on the Gamecube.
A few other noteworthy games that sure will make a splash in 2005, and on the “Revolution” will be the F-Zero series, probably a more “Country type” game than Donkey Konga, and possibly another Kirby game. Personally, though, I’m really looking for another Earthbound game. A simple, but highly, addictive game that added so many weird elements to make it truly one of the most unique RPG experiences ever, hopefully Nintendo will realize this and give us another Earthbound.
But Nintendo doesn’t only have those franchises, it also gets its amount of third party support, although its almost company policy to not get as much third party support. Its two biggest players that aren’t borne out of Nintendo blood, are the Viewtiful Joe franchise, a surprise hit from Capcom, and Nintendo’s relatively recent acquisition of Capcom’s other big franchise, the Resident Evil series. While RE was going stale, RE4 has clearly revived the series and made RE the definitive survival horror game you want. While RE4 isn’t completely Nintendo exclusive, it wont be hitting the PS2 until late 2005, or possibly 2006, and it probably wont be hitting the Xbox at all.
Moving to the handhelds, Nintendo’s marketing, or lack of, will probably be the DS killer. The PSP is much more marketable as its movie-player/mp3 player/ game player system, but never rule the Nintendo fanboys out. Another problem that might hurt the DS is Nintendo even muttering the words of the Next Game Boy system, dubbed “Evolution”. Really. Someone’s gotta come up with some better stuff than “Revolution” and “ Evolution”. Whatever the heck it’s going to be called, in the Game Boy’s case, is mostly irrelevant. It will sell so well, that no one would care if it was called “The Box with Buttons”.
It’s Game Boy, and they own the handheld market, no matter how many PSP’s you shake at them.
Don’t expect Nintendo to have some crazy breakout year. It isn’t going to happen. Besides the fact that they aren’t magicians and Mammoth’s just don’t roam the Earth anymore, there is just too much ground to cover to catch up with the Xbox, and the PS2. Maybe the “Revolution” will turn some heads. Its going to need to be more than just some, and believe you me, if anyone can do it, Nintendo can. Besides I know I’m not the only want who doesn’t want to be seeing Mario on any other system besides Nintendo’s own.
posted by TheGipper at 1:41 AM
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