This is the part I like best, and agree with the most:

I wonder when Nintendo will begin making the games that Wii buyers purchased their Wii for: for making cool new games that utilize the Wii’s strengths best. For example, while swordfighting in Zelda is cool and Wii owners would expect Zelda Wii to have swordfighting, what about other new games that use the interface well? Why does the Expanded Market have the monopoly on good motion control games? There is a large potential for FPS, strategy, and other games that marry the motion controls with quality content. For example, imagine a four player Gauntlet or Golden Axe type of game where people use the Wii Sports Resort controls like arrow shooting, frisbee throwing, or swordfighting to attack monsters and dragons.

Nintendo ought to take advantage of their lower production values of Wii gamers to produce more games. This is contrast to PS3 or Xbox 360 where that audience expects rich production values in every game. In other words, Wii owners would appreciate a 2d platformer while the HD Twins would be more resistant to it. Nintendo has the advantage to produce more content with the same amount of budget due to no HD, so Nintendo ought to take advantage of that. The HD games do feel watered down and content restrained due to the art assets needed for HD.

Let me use a real world example. Two RPGs came out at the same time. Ultima 9, which had the advantage from being the conclusion to the oldest RPG franchise, and Planescape: Torment. Ultima 9 used cutting edge 3d and, despite complaints, the 3d world was well crafted together. Planescape: Torment kept the traditional 2d type view. The market result was that gamers flocked to Planescape and left Ultima 9 out to dry. The complaints about Ultima 9, despite requiring so much effort to create the beautiful world, ended up only with less content. Gamers flock to the content, not to the “technology” or “graphics”.

The dilemma isn’t that 2d is better than 3d or vice versa. The dilemma is the downfall of high production values is when they eat away at the content of the game. Gamers would rather play a larger, richer, and more imaginative game on a less powerful system. It is why the less powerful consoles always ended up outselling their more powerful competitors.

Content, as defined by gamers, is “how much game is there”. This does not mean the number of levels or the length of time it takes to beat it. Gamers would rather have a shorter game if that means cutting out scavenger hunts and wandering in circles or going through endless corridors.

Mario Kart Wii, one of the Wii’s great success stories, succeeds due to the game’s content. There is much game inside there. NSMB DS is another example despite criticisms of it. There is tons of game inside it. Why does Bomberman keep selling? There is tons of game inside it. There are many ways to play the game and keep playing it. Wii Sports Resort is yet another success story on this. And no one ever wants to sell these games.

The “Game Industry” is filled with drama queens if nothing else. After an unprecedented run of the Wii being sold out for years, it comes down. Wii is still in the best financial position than the other consoles (i.e. profitable). It is also in the best position to attack the flood of disinterest that the depression will be unleashing on the game consoles.

I really hope that he is right about Neo-Classical. It would be nice to see some old series come again, namely as they could see an awesome revive with more content (and new ones at that as I tire or Mario/Zelda/Metroid).

Dammit

Now I'm going to end up excited come next E3

Thanks for posting the content here Lord.

One thing he didn't mention is online, why aren't Ninty going more aggressively towards better online support? Monster Hunter 3 probably is the first game where you don't need to input friend codes (right?), but they charge money for it.

Of course dev cost would be higher for online games, just don't force the microphone peripheral on us.

I would say they'll go after it in a way that expands their audience, not simply copy the other guys. If Monster Hunter turns out to be like that, Nintendo would follow that more than XBL or PSN.

Hey you have to hand it Malstrom, he was right about Nintendo's mistakes the past year

Who is that idiot, and why do anyone care what he thinks?

He predicted the Wii would be a hit when the gaming press was all "HD is teh future, and wii suks for not embracing it!"

And I do like to see some of his music posts. Or hear, as the case may be.

Uh-oh. Never listen to a guy that starts out with "I try to live in reality"


And then he goes on again about this whole user generated content thing. I know he loves to apply everything to his overarching theory, but isn't just a lot easier to point out that major software for the second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009 just wasn't there.

I think the User Generated Content argument is killing my ability to read what this guy says. Wii Music failed for a lot of reasons, and that's the only damn UGC game they put out.

He makes good points, but he's biased by his own tastes: actually, with a user base, current and potential, so large, Nintendo has to cater for a much wider range of tastes. And price cut works better if there's plenty of good games too, this is quite obvious, what Malstrom wouldn't admit is that making HW popular thanks to lower price and increasing its current and potential user base, a console becomes more appealing for SW developers. He really can't admit lower price increases potential user base, maybe he lives in a planet where families pick money from trees.