| Sky Render said: Nintendo's development model is actually one that's user-focused instead of product-focused. They have been known to make drastic changes in a game simply based on what their test focus groups have done (for example, Mario Kart Wii's motorbike controls were entirely revamped when they noticed that people kept trying to use the Wii Wheel like it was a set of handlebars). |
"Product-focused" and "User-focused" are buzzwords so let's not be silly. Instead let's use some real phrases like "Experience Design" and "User Experience (UX) Design," the latter of which most accurately reflects what Nintendo seems to be working on in many of its games and services.
Just for your reference...
"Experience design is the practice of designing products, processes, services, events, and environments with a focus placed on the quality of the user experience and culturally relevant solutions, with less emphasis placed on increasing and improving functionality of the design." ~ Wikipedia
Let's not make up words when we already have perfectly good ones to use.
| Sky Render said: This user focus means they put out products which will please the vast majority of potential customers, and is why they have no problem selling untold millions of copies. The only thing one could refer to as a "downside" to this process is that it tends to alienate those users who are ready to move upstream to more complex titles. And even there, they've got studios making upstream games. About the only crowd lost to them is the extreme upstream gamers who prefer games that are more work than game. |
You see, you could have ended your post with the above half. Commenting on Nintendo's attempt to make games more user-friendly and accessible is good however you transition from a solid point to trolling taking shots at "extreme upstream gamers."
In fact, you're insulting everyone here. First you're assuming that a game with mass appeal must be simple and that gamers are "moving upstream to more complex titles." Somewhere along the way you made the mental leap that accessible and user-friendly equals less complex when it's pretty clear that some of the games with the widest appeal also happen to be quite complex in nature (i.e. puzzle games). Second, you can't walk away without taking a shot at "extreme upstream gamers" by saying that games are more work than game. Well done, not only have you instantly defined what you consider "work" and "game" but you've also insulted everyone in this imaginary group of "extreme upstream gamers" by telling them that their games are more work than game.
It's amazing how quickly a constructive post turns into stealth trolling.
