Insidb said:
Whether or not the third-party blockbusters are better or worse than first-party games is a subjective argument, so we can't really make headway with that. Third-party publishers have followed the very common business model of acquisition and consolidation: Activision Blizzard, EA, etc. As you well know, we have the extremes now: the indie and the mega publisher scenes. I firmly believe that these third-party games and the corresponding ability to offer the best performing version of them drives sales; price also appears to be an important factor, but the PS4 is still eating the X1's launch at the same price. I know I mentioned this before, but the NS' MSRP concerns me for this very reason. Based on your comments, you're a traditional gamer like me (Apple IIGS to PS4P) and appreciate a graphical phenomenon as much as mechanical one. Motion controls, MMOs, cel-shading, 3D, force feedback, etc. all meant as much to me as playing Uncharted 2 the first time. Given the commonality of portable systems, airplay, and other similar features, I don't see substantial differentiator for the NS. The Wii truly was an anomaly, especially when you look at its best-sellers list: aside from Mario Kart and Mario Bros, every other game was a one-hit wonder. This includes games of similar design on other systems, which is a strong indication that this was a very different demographic than what has defined the traditional/mainstream market for 30 odd years. It's also a strong indication that the traditional audience focused on the PS360, where the multiplats were the best-sellers, despite failing to sell well on the Wii. I ran into an issue with semantics with "traditional," "mainstream," "hardcore," etc. My sister comprised a significant portion of gamers who bought the Wii as their only home console; I notice a lot of bleed between handheld owners and this segment, which seems increasingly important for the NS' success. The wording sounds contradictory, but I blame English for not keeping up with the times. As I'm sure you have now gathered, I love a great experience, regardless of the experience's driver. The Wii offerred very traditional fare, outside of the software built around its novelty. This is very dangerous territory in today's marketplace, because the rise of CoD, EA Anything, GTA, and the like seems to havecome at the expense of Nintendo's, Sega's, and Sony's first-party offerings. For ten years, they've been driving Master Chief, Mario, Sonic, and Crash underground. I won't say that it's good, bad, or indifferent; I will say that it is the current market. For someone who's never owned a CoD, it's odd to see that game lead the proverbial industry cart: and industry I gew up with (They're all posers lol!). The gamers have consistently spoken and said that they want the best-perfoming multiplats (CoD or GTA since 08) on systems that are the most affordable. |
No, I'm not traditional audience in the way you can think of the current gamers. I'm one of the oldschool that left and came back with the DS and Wii. But you're right, I do care about graphics, which is why I'm not in fond of those indie retro-games and don't care about the pixel art Sonic. Konami's "rebirth" games on Wii I skipped totally for this reason.
Actually the reason why a handful of third parties being the industry is a big problem, is because this automatically leads into less games being made and even narrower types of games. One day the indies grow to fill up the void - hopefully - and the situation may be different.
There was not just one segment Wii (and DS) managed to get into gaming, but people with different backgrounds (as gamers). Dr Kawashima's Brain Training sold me the DS, not because of training your brain, but because of the arcade gameplay. Sudokus were a fun addition, though. It was the arcade gameplay that sold me the Wii as well.
One big reason for Wii's success was, that it was seen as an anti-industry console, and this is what people are seeing in Switch. Game industry did not like Wii, and it doesn't like Switch either, because they have/had potential to bring new competition on the market, just like NES did, which made publishers like Capcom, Konami and Square popular in the US market.
Ei Kiinasti.
Eikä Japanisti.
Vaan pannaan jalalla koreasti.
Nintendo games sell only on Nintendo system.