http://wii.kombo.com/article.php?artid=12801
No, Nintendo didn't tell their fans to stop bitching. Instead of them telling you to, I'm going to do it for them. Why? Because you all need to seriously stop your continuous complaining, whining, and bitching over nothing. Every time Nintendo reveals they are going to hold a conference, every single Nintendo fanboy comes forth from underneath their little rock and starts to make outrageous predictions that will never come true. Then, when Nintendo doesn't make the announcement of biblical proportions, you cry like an infant about how Nintendo betrayed you and doesn't care about you anymore. Believe it or not, Nintendo has been around for over 100 years. The chances are, while slim, that their corporate leaders might know a thing or two about running a successful multi-billion dollar business.
With the impending October 2nd conference looming in the near future, we are hearing the same cries for attention from the Nintendo faithful. Like previous conferences before it, they are pleading with Nintendo to announce a new Zelda, Mario, Kid Icarus, Earthbound, Star Fox, Metroid, Punch-Out!!, F-Zero, Ice Climbers, Pikmin, and other miscellaneous Nintendo franchises. Now, I was like many of you this past July. Nintendo went into E3 and disappointed us to a high degree. But, Nintendo came out almost immediately after and stated their reasoning behind not revealing hardcore titles during their E3 conference. They didn't believe E3 catered for hardcore gamers anymore, and, instead, they wanted to please the more casual and non-gamer crowd. On a business end, it made perfect sense for them. It made their poor performance understandable and many were able to forgive and forget. Of course, not all forgot. Many Nintendo fans screamed bloody murder because of it. They immediately blamed Nintendo for abandoning the hardcore fanbase and deserting their most loyal fans. Nintendo then came out and went on record stating that they do indeed have hardcore titles in development but they wanted to wait to show them at a different time. Some of us bought it, and others didn't.
Everyone bashed on Wii Fit when it was first announced, and attacked it even more after it was released. Wii owners blamed this one title for the complete abandonment of the hardcore fanbase. Nintendo no longer cared about their loyal subordinates when they made a fitness simulator. Once E3 hit, the same audience felt betrayed when Wii Music took stage. Kind of ironic that when Wii Fit launched Nintendo said it wasn't for gamers. Wii Fit was intended for the non-gamers who purchased a Wii and Wii Music is appealing to the same audience. Honestly, if I had a child, Wii Music would be a blast to play with young kids. Very family-oriented, and a perfect title for parents and their children to play together.
For a longtime, Nintendo was crowned as the "kiddy" system in the console wars. I'll agree with that statement, but not in the sense you are thinking. The only thing "kiddy" about Nintendo is how their fans act. They act like a baby and cry when things don't go the way they wanted. Booo-hoooo. Had Microsoft or Sony introduced 360 Fitness or FitnessStar, none of their fans would have cried about it. Could that be because of their better third-party titles? More than likely. Even when Wii gets a solid third-party title, no one buys it. Zak and Wiki is a perfect example of a great third-party game that offered the challenge hardcore gamers love, but no one bought it.
Nintendo will more than likely show a few hardcore titles during their October 2nd conference. We'll get a Disaster: Day of Crisis release date, which I'm estimating for either a late November or March 09 release. Aside from Disaster, we should see and hear some solid information regarding Pikmin 3, storage solution, and a redesigned DS. Aside from a moderate first-party showing, Nintendo will run a montage of a few big third-party titles planned for 2009. Monster Hunter, Fatal Frame, The Conduit, Red Steel 2, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (yes, it still exists), and may be one major new game announcement. Last year during this conference, Capcom unveiled Monster Hunter 3, so expect something along those lines again.
Ultimately, I understand that Nintendo fans are eager for great Wii titles. Just remember, Wii only launched 2 yrs ago and didn't have a solid backing from third-party developers. Now that they are beginning to get their acts together, we'll reap the rewards in 2009 and onward. Sure, Nintendo didn't deliver many hardcore titles this year, but they did saturate the market early with hardcore titles to keep us satisfied with. Do you really think Nintendo would push out all those franchise favorites in the opening year of Wii if they didn't care about the hardcore fanbase?
end of core gaming days prediction:
E3 2006-The beginning of the end. Wii introduced
E3 2008- Armageddon. Wii motion plus introduced. Wii Music. Reggie says Animal crossing was a core game. Massive disappointment. many Wii core gamers selling their Wii.
E3 2010- Tape runs out
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/march2009/ICG_Tape_runs_out.jpg
