spemanig said:
Darwinianevolution said:
Well, Nintendo has a bit of a problem when it comes to create new IPs. And that's the fact their old classic series can cast such a powerful shadow over the new games. They create more new IPs than people realize (BoxBlox, Fullblox, that horse racing one, W101, STEAM...), but usually are either not pushed enough or focused to a very small userbase.
Plus, they need to know what they want to achieve. Splatoon was very clear: an online shooter where the objective is to paint as much ground as possible. It was ink themed because of that, thus the squids and octopus, and they decided to go with a Nikelodeon-90s aesthetic because the emphasis on colour. Simple, and all making sense. Codename STEAM is, on the other hand, one of the biggest clusterfucks of a game I've seen. It's a Turn base RPG focused on steampunk characters based on american folklore fighting lovecraftian aliens (okay, what?). Its aesthetic is based on cartoony comic books with a lot of humour (wait, what? Why?), and its gameplay its more similar to Valkyria Chronicles (Why, again?). It's cartoony looks are not popular enough with the older userbase, who prefers either a more realistic approach or an animesque one. Younger audiences who might like the artstyle and the humour will find the gameplay too boring and dificult, and the fact it's american-themed basically alienated those who preffer something more neutral, specially in Japan and Europe. Thus, you have a game that appeals to basically noone. And I bought the game, it's mediocre at best. The choices they took don't mix at all. Nintendo needs to get a clear concept of what they're trying to achieve before making a new IP, otherwise they are going to get a lot of STEAMs.
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I wouldn't call codename steam a clusterfuck. I just think that not every game is going to be a winner. I think it would have been much better on an HD console with a better writer, though. The premise was neat.
The real test will be how they handle Arms. A good idea with a bad first impression. My guess is that Arms will come out in late May, so they have a lot of time to improve impressions and show more. No way Arms launch's without an Arms direct, too.
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I agree with that, it would have been way more successful on the WiiU. The gamepad would've allowed better controlls, and it had way less competition, specially because it could have filled the Fire Emblem niche the WiiU lacked (SMTxFE doesn't count, it's a Shin Megame Tensei game first and foremost). But I still think the concept was flawed, the tone, artstyle and gameplay didn't mix at all. W101, and specially Splatoon were way more focused and clear with their goals. Shame that W101 didn't sell that well, from what I've seen it looks very fun.
For now, ARMS still has a lot to show to people, because it's going to need to prove a lot to those who think it's just an upgraded cartoony version of boxing in Wii Sports. I can see it working if they take a tone similar to PunchOut Wii. That was a fun boxing game.
By the way, what's your take on Ever Oasis? I don't think it's going to be a mess like STEAM, but it may just be too overshadowed by new hardware and software.
