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"Future hitches for Nintendo?"

Now whilst after a highly impressive E3, we all no doubt feel like loving Nintendo, and kissing Mr. Miyamoto’s feet, but I think that we can’t afford to get carried away. Nintendo still has a future that is unpredictable and masked with mystery; we are still yet to see what the casual gamers are going to think about the Nintendo DS and other such exciting products from the Big N. But what about the other franchises and aspects that we associate with Nintendo, or which are vital to them? Enter…

Source 1: Pokemon - [URL]http://www.planetnintendo.co.uk/poke_draw.JPG[/URL]
Monster battle you say? Pokemon I say. Yes its still by far the leading title of its genre, but what about the genre as a whole? Ever since the Pokemon card obsession seemed to fizzle out the games have slowly but surely decreased in popularity. Sure there will always be a select few that keep this franchise living, but I think it would have been better for Nintendo to cash in on a fully 3D Pokemon RPG game earlier, when the name was so incredibly popular. I can see this being a very niche market in the future.

Source 2: Mario - [URL]http://www.planetnintendo.co.uk/mario_draw.JPG[/URL]
Mario, and everyone loves Mario. Or do they? According to the recent disliking directed towards the great Italian’s latest game on the ‘Cube it seems his status may well be on the plunge as well. I personally loved it, and whilst many would agree, a vast majority also believe Sunshine to be a shadow of its former N64 title, and an untrue update to its genre. Does this mean the platform-lovers of Nintendo are getting grumpy with Nintendo too? And what about Mario 128? That seems to be shaping up to be something different too, and God knows the amount of strops that are liable to form over that.

Source 3: 3rd Parties - [URL]http://www.planetnintendo.co.uk/third_party.JPG[/URL]
Is it just me or has it become progressively more worrying the amount of 3rd parties packing up their Gamecube games and heading PS2 and Xbox exclusive. Even before now top titles such as Rainbow Six 3 and Splinter Cell have gone down this route before eventually after much wait offering the titles on ‘Cube too. With Eidos, Acclaim and EA all looking prone to going down this route also, Nintendo relations on the 3rd party front seem to be crumbling. My idea? Tell these companies that if they don’t want to make games for Gamecube then they can’t make them for GBA either. If this were the case, and contributions were made to Nintendo as a whole then more companies would have second thoughts when it came to deserting the ‘Cube. The Gameboy is, and always has been, big business.

Source 4: Zelda - [URL]http://www.planetnintendo.co.uk/zelda_draw2.jpg[/URL]
After the pant-wettingly pleasing E3 outing, everyone has been talking about the next Gamecube Zelda game. Fully realistic, just what us Ninty fans want, but is it what the general public want? Are they, like us, going to see what a console shifting game this may well turn out to be, or will it be a combination of this, and poor Nintendo advertising that will fail to shift the new update? I personally can’t wait for this, it seems to have retained all of the brilliance and aspects that made Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask great and packed it together with a wealth of new features. A bit much to say so soon, but if the public aren’t made fully aware of what a killer game this could be for the ‘Cube, it could go all wrong.

Source 5: Shigsy - [URL]http://www.planetnintendo.co.uk/shig_draw.jpg[/URL]
The maestro himself, behind Zelda, Mario 64, and of course the brilliant Pikmin. What if he packs it in though, and packs it in whilst all the franchises he has created are running out of steam? The man isn’t getting any younger at 50-something; lets just hope Nintendo can soak up every ounce of banjo-playing genius before the Spielberg of video games departs, eh? Slightly irrelevant, this one, yet something to ponder over all the same.

So there you have it, Nintendo’s future, whilst particularly bright after E3, could still be somewhat thwarted by other such causes. I, like most am still sure that the genius company will conjure new ways to differentiate exclusive franchises such as Mario and Zelda. But what about Pokemon and other future consoles? Are Nintendo ever going to be in danger of running out of innovation, or perhaps money to fuel such creativity? Only time will tell, and only the general public will decide.

Thanks for looking.

The idea is the secret stuff you can find may make it easier but not dramatically easier. For those not willing to hunt it won't make the game much harder.

This is where a top designer is needed.

Keep the backtracking and secrets to the more major areas. You have at usually a couple of large "junction" areas in each area, eg. Phendrana Shorelines. Places that you'll be going back to anyway.

I think this is related to the whole "next BIG thing" idea.. Metroid Prime was great, but it was just too hardcore for the average fan.. You need to go hunting for missile upgrades etc., or you're never going to get anywhere with the later bosses.

Still.. I know some people who love Metroid because it is so packed full of stuff to find. Can't please everyone, but such a big franchise that has the appeal to be the next BIG thing should probably be more pushed towards appealing to the average gamer than pleasing the hardcore.

tphi wrote:
> Less backtracking in Echoes would be a great improvement..

Agreed, it needs to be more linear, just not TOO linear.

It would be great if you could transport to other areas quicker, that way you are not forced to back track through old ground.

Yeah re-visit past areas for more secrets, but not EVERY area.

Less backtracking in Echoes would be a great improvement..

Strafio I have come to accept the two series's of Metroid, the 2D side scroller and the Prime series.

Please GET OVER IT! :D

Hmmm...

Prime's more like Zelda.
The Hardcore gamer's dream, but it bores casuals...
It's not the sort of game you play round a friends house and get fun out of. It's the sort of game you get locked away and absorbed in.


Multiplayer might change that a little, but if they had that third person view, it would have it ALL.
The instant thrills, the depth in gameplay, the harcore action, the instant playability, the lot! :-)

It could be Prime.

It should be Prime. It's miles better than GTA.

Nintendo just need to market it massively so everyone hears about it.

I have to agree with Dringo here, as soon as I read Strafio's and Tphi's posts I thought the exact same thing.

(Prime that is)

Metroid Prime has that potential...

Just hasn't grabbed the mass market...

BUT it could do it.

Pikmin 2?

Obviously.

Most consoles have had their "GTA3".

For the Nes it was Super Mario Bros, and Super Mario 3.
The Snes had Super Mario World.
The Playstation had Final Fantasy 7.
For the Gameboy it was Tetris, and then Pokémon about 10 years after.
The N64 had Goldeneye.

The sort of game where you play it at your friend's house, and it's so bloody fantastic and appealing that no matter WHAT prejudices you had against that console, you end up buying it for that one game.

I was set to be a Dreamcast owner before that "kiddies toy" seduced me with its Goldeneye. :-D


But what will be the next "GTA3"?