| Dno said:
The graphics leave much to be desired, the games offered are almost laughable in their immaturity and the only carrot that Nintendo has dangled for the hardcore is an casual remark that Mario and Zelda games are in development. Well no kidding. In my experience the gamers that read these sites, watch E3 and actually pay attention to news in the gaming industry typically fall into the hardcore gamer demographic. I don’t see my Mom hitting the forums and message boards and commenting on posts with fiery passion. Nintendo has forgotten about the fans that brought them to where they are today and helped them survive a pretty weak system in the Gamecube. Where would they be today without the support of their most loyal fanbase? Would the Wii even have seen the light of day? So my question for you, as hardcore gamers, is do you own a Wii? Sure there are some great games there: Zelda: Twighlight Princess, Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. But what else are you playing? Are you really buying Wii Fit and excited about Wii Music? For years I was a loyal Nintendo fan. I grew up on Mario and Zelda. I still remember the excitement of getting my first Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. I regret that those days of unbridled enthusiasm for everything Nintendo are gone. Nintendo has done little, if anything, to remind me that it still has gamers interests in mind. Like all major corporations that stumble upon a big idea at the right time, it is now more about exploiting that idea and making as much money as possible. I guess I can’t fault them for that. It’s what corporations (and people in general, do). However, I do think that by turning their back on the hardcore fanbase that kept them alive for so many years they are taking a risk. If they believe that the casual gamers will be ready to move on when a Wii HD is inevitably announced they may find that the market in which they now operate isn’t as prepared to buy another Wii… |
This is about where I stop reading every time one of these screeds pops up every other hour or so. Maybe, some day, when someone actually writes one of these editorials and defines exactly what maturity (or immaturity) in a game entails, I'll start taking people like this seriously.
