Resident_Hazard said:
Killiana1a said:
Tradition is both Nintendo's best friend and worst enemy. For example, old school gamers love New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but equally, there are a lot of gamers who think that it is a lazy port with uninspiring graphics from the DS. New Super Mario Bros. Wii exemplifies how Nintendo can simultaneously catalyze it's older, fanboy base to pick up a Nintendo console again, while turning off the younger gamers who have grown up loving different franchises such as Halo, Call of Duty, Fable and on.
Nintendo needs new blood and the old lions have to give way to the new lions. Nintendo does not seem to get that Shigeru Miyamoto is way past his prime and Miyamoto making games for the next 10 years would be equivalent and just as sad as watching Michael Jordan make a third comeback in his early 50s to win a 7th title.
Knowing the reverence Japanese culture has for tradition and elders, I am sure they will be trotting out Shigeru Miyamoto in a wheel chair when the time comes. Pathetic really, but hey it is Japan and not America.
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With the DS and the Wii, Nintendo is finally creating a new fanbase again, bringing in people new to gaming. The last time they did that was with the Game Boy Color when Pokemon created a gigantic pack of frothing young nerds tryin' to catch 'em all. And of course, Ocarina of Time crated more fanboys.
The difference is that now it's people attracted by casual waggle games rather than addictive RPG's.
Nintendo does need to appeal to the older fans in smarter ways than with lazy new titles simply duplicating once-successful formulas with barely improved graphics (i.e. Donkey Kong Country Returns, New Super Mario Bros) and straight remakes of past glories (StarFox64, Ocarina of Time). There are ways to appeal to classic fans (such as myself) while keeping things fresh enough to entice new gamers. I got bored with Zelda years ago when I came to realize that Nintendo was unlikely to ever expand the formula or try something new aside from some kind of different graphical style. So they either beat a successful formula into a bloody pulp (like Zelda) or they move backwards with straight duplication of old titles.
I have to say, Kirby's Epic Yarn seems to be doing things right. It's gorgeous, it's inventive, it's unique, and it's giving us a new title for a classic, well-loved character. That'll appeal to older fans, and is creative enough to snag the attention of newbs.
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Those people attracted to the "casual waggle games" were playing Nintendo in the 1980s and 1990s, grew out of gaming, had kids, have a 40 hour work week, and do not have the free time in between their children, spouse, and friends to get into immersive RPGs such as Mass Effect. However, they do have the free time to purchase the latest Mario game for their children which takes them back to their youth and is a family experience.
This is why New Super Mario Bros. Wii is such a smash hit. You can pick up and play it at anytime without worrying about getting reacquainted with the micromanagement, character customization, and the back story that RPGs have usually been excessive on, but if Mass Effect 2 and Fable 3 are indicative, RPGs are evolving from a niche genre heavy on nongameplay bunk such as micromanagement of armor and weapon slots into having more FPS related gameplay and more real time strategy elements as will be the case in Fable 3.
As for Zelda, the formula has been switched up with Wind Waker and Spirit Tracks, but you can bet that each Zelda game will consist of dungeons with a master key, map, compass and weapon used to defeat the dungeon boss. Overlay a seeminly free roam environment ontop of the dungeons and you have what made Zelda famous.
I do agree that franchises should experiment. Mario has done it with Super Mario RPG and Super Mario Sunshine as the most noticeable, but Metroid has done it by switching from the 2D of Metroid and Super Metroid to a FPS in Metroid Prime. I am uncertain as to whether Zelda has fundamentally changed up the gameplay.
