Has Nintendo Lost the Hardcore Gamer? article by IGN

[mike_intellivision]

There are many different things to enjoy in life.

People are not required to like only kind of music, or book, or TV show, or movie, or play.

Yet in video games, the people want to divide everything into "hard core" and "casual." Then video game enthusiasts wonder why their industry does not get taken seriously, even though it is bigger than almost every form of entertainment in revenue terms.

The discourse by IGN proves that those who report in the video game industry are stuck in a one-genre model that has become outmoded. For every person that Nintendo may have "lost" -- it has gained two to 10 new customers.

Thus, its DOA console is on the verge of taking 50 percent market share and its attach rate is roughly the same as the other console released at the same time. So there are more than enough people buying the Wii and they are buying games. Thus, if you are Nintendo, you make money -- which is the object of a business.

Nintendo stopped playing the same game as MS and Sony because it could not win. It is playing its own game and making money and beating its competitors.

To go back to the earlier analogy, Nintendo could no longer compete playing just alternative rock, so it mixed in some children's tunes and became a powerhouse. In other words, They Might be Giants.


Finally, remember we are just two years into the cycle and Nintendo has released a Mario, a Zelda, a Metroid, a Brawl, a Kart, and a Wario (platformer) for the Wii. (It has also released only one Mario party, two Mario sports, and a Warioware) These numbers compare favorably to the GC at the same point in time or even throughout its lifespan.

Plus, a Pikmin, second Zelda, and second Mario are under development (a second Mario would be the first time since SNES/SFC that there have been more than one lead Mario games on a console -- not counting Luigi's Mansion).

So Nintendo is working. The franchises people are clamoring for, some have not been on a consoles since the NES/Famicom days. So some expectations of Nintendo are just plain unrealistic.

Mike from Morgantown

PS -- They Might Be Giants is an alternative rock band which also does children's music for Disney.