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This is a brave new world of video gaming we are about to enter into. Sony has unleashed its second console, Microsoft are entering the fray, Sega has been killed off as far as hardware goes, and Nintendo need a success to help regain some of their once mighty status.
I am going to focus on Nintendo here, and their recent ‘policy changes’ shall we call them. Since the NES Nintendo has made epics such as the original Zelda, and the Mario series (Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World in particular) which have all helped redefine genres. More recently they created one of the most original fighters with Super Smash Bros. and have unleashed titles such as Wave Race and the innovative Pikmin on the public. And this brings us onto their new policy.
Since Luigi’s Mansion was launched along with the GameCube people have been wondering about what Nintendo are planning to do with GameCube. It launched with no Mario platformer, instead it had the short but apparently very sweet game Luigi’s Mansion to sell it. It did sell, but it was still criticised as being too short for many gamers, and an experience that could be completed in about fifteen hours. This has also been said of Pikmin. Both are supposedly great and inventive games, just too short. This is a marked contrast compared to Nintendo epics like Super Mario World, a Snes launch title, Mario 64 which launched with the N64, and the Zelda series. Even the arcade style games by Nintendo such as the Starfox (Lylatwars) series offered quite a lot of replay value, and would take time to win due to the difficulty of them.
This new Nintendo policy has been criticised by many, but it could do Nintendo a lot of good. These short sweet games will allow the less hardcore gamers to complete a Nintendo title for a change. But will this lose Nintendo support from hardcore gamers? No one can be sure. I think Nintendo have to be very careful with this new approach. It could potentially backfire on them, but if handled right, it could help them reclaim the console crown. It should allow Nintendo to create more games in a shorter time space, but will that be worth it when we will have to fork out so much more for the same number of gameplay hours? And will it sacrifice the Nintendo epic title?
Something else that has come to my attention are some rumours in the latest issue of NGC magazine. These are rumours, and not fact. One says that Mario Sunshine may become cel-shaded like the new look Zelda. Another says that Zelda will abandon the cel-shaded look, due to the outcry, and revert to the old ‘realistic’ look. I doubt either of these is true, but if one is, it is very possible that the other will be too. But I doubt Nintendo will change again and face the risk of another outcry.
Another of my theories is that these early titles could just be a testing ground. Most of the titles criticised for being too short, and easy are new ideas. Pikmin was an attempt at (finally) making a RTS work on a console, and Luigi’s Mansion was a new take on the adventure genre. Nintendo could yet impress us with Mario Sunshine being an epic instalment to the Mario series, and the same could happen with Zelda. In my opinion the best policy would be to mix the sort and sweet games in with classic Nintendo epics.
But one thing is for sure. Nintendo’s future is bound to be one hell of a ride!
I am going to focus on Nintendo here, and their recent ‘policy changes’ shall we call them. Since the NES Nintendo has made epics such as the original Zelda, and the Mario series (Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World in particular) which have all helped redefine genres. More recently they created one of the most original fighters with Super Smash Bros. and have unleashed titles such as Wave Race and the innovative Pikmin on the public. And this brings us onto their new policy.
Since Luigi’s Mansion was launched along with the GameCube people have been wondering about what Nintendo are planning to do with GameCube. It launched with no Mario platformer, instead it had the short but apparently very sweet game Luigi’s Mansion to sell it. It did sell, but it was still criticised as being too short for many gamers, and an experience that could be completed in about fifteen hours. This has also been said of Pikmin. Both are supposedly great and inventive games, just too short. This is a marked contrast compared to Nintendo epics like Super Mario World, a Snes launch title, Mario 64 which launched with the N64, and the Zelda series. Even the arcade style games by Nintendo such as the Starfox (Lylatwars) series offered quite a lot of replay value, and would take time to win due to the difficulty of them.
This new Nintendo policy has been criticised by many, but it could do Nintendo a lot of good. These short sweet games will allow the less hardcore gamers to complete a Nintendo title for a change. But will this lose Nintendo support from hardcore gamers? No one can be sure. I think Nintendo have to be very careful with this new approach. It could potentially backfire on them, but if handled right, it could help them reclaim the console crown. It should allow Nintendo to create more games in a shorter time space, but will that be worth it when we will have to fork out so much more for the same number of gameplay hours? And will it sacrifice the Nintendo epic title?
Something else that has come to my attention are some rumours in the latest issue of NGC magazine. These are rumours, and not fact. One says that Mario Sunshine may become cel-shaded like the new look Zelda. Another says that Zelda will abandon the cel-shaded look, due to the outcry, and revert to the old ‘realistic’ look. I doubt either of these is true, but if one is, it is very possible that the other will be too. But I doubt Nintendo will change again and face the risk of another outcry.
Another of my theories is that these early titles could just be a testing ground. Most of the titles criticised for being too short, and easy are new ideas. Pikmin was an attempt at (finally) making a RTS work on a console, and Luigi’s Mansion was a new take on the adventure genre. Nintendo could yet impress us with Mario Sunshine being an epic instalment to the Mario series, and the same could happen with Zelda. In my opinion the best policy would be to mix the sort and sweet games in with classic Nintendo epics.
But one thing is for sure. Nintendo’s future is bound to be one hell of a ride!
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This is a brave new world of video gaming we are about to enter into. Sony has unleashed its second console, Microsoft are entering the fray, Sega has been killed off as far as hardware goes, and Nintendo need a success to help regain some of their once mighty status.
I am going to focus on Nintendo here, and their recent ‘policy changes’ shall we call them. Since the NES Nintendo has made epics such as the original Zelda, and the Mario series (Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World in particular) which have all helped redefine genres. More recently they created one of the most original fighters with Super Smash Bros. and have unleashed titles such as Wave Race and the innovative Pikmin on the public. And this brings us onto their new policy.
Since Luigi’s Mansion was launched along with the GameCube people have been wondering about what Nintendo are planning to do with GameCube. It launched with no Mario platformer, instead it had the short but apparently very sweet game Luigi’s Mansion to sell it. It did sell, but it was still criticised as being too short for many gamers, and an experience that could be completed in about fifteen hours. This has also been said of Pikmin. Both are supposedly great and inventive games, just too short. This is a marked contrast compared to Nintendo epics like Super Mario World, a Snes launch title, Mario 64 which launched with the N64, and the Zelda series. Even the arcade style games by Nintendo such as the Starfox (Lylatwars) series offered quite a lot of replay value, and would take time to win due to the difficulty of them.
This new Nintendo policy has been criticised by many, but it could do Nintendo a lot of good. These short sweet games will allow the less hardcore gamers to complete a Nintendo title for a change. But will this lose Nintendo support from hardcore gamers? No one can be sure. I think Nintendo have to be very careful with this new approach. It could potentially backfire on them, but if handled right, it could help them reclaim the console crown. It should allow Nintendo to create more games in a shorter time space, but will that be worth it when we will have to fork out so much more for the same number of gameplay hours? And will it sacrifice the Nintendo epic title?
Something else that has come to my attention are some rumours in the latest issue of NGC magazine. These are rumours, and not fact. One says that Mario Sunshine may become cel-shaded like the new look Zelda. Another says that Zelda will abandon the cel-shaded look, due to the outcry, and revert to the old ‘realistic’ look. I doubt either of these is true, but if one is, it is very possible that the other will be too. But I doubt Nintendo will change again and face the risk of another outcry.
Another of my theories is that these early titles could just be a testing ground. Most of the titles criticised for being too short, and easy are new ideas. Pikmin was an attempt at (finally) making a RTS work on a console, and Luigi’s Mansion was a new take on the adventure genre. Nintendo could yet impress us with Mario Sunshine being an epic instalment to the Mario series, and the same could happen with Zelda. In my opinion the best policy would be to mix the sort and sweet games in with classic Nintendo epics.
But one thing is for sure. Nintendo’s future is bound to be one hell of a ride!
I am going to focus on Nintendo here, and their recent ‘policy changes’ shall we call them. Since the NES Nintendo has made epics such as the original Zelda, and the Mario series (Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World in particular) which have all helped redefine genres. More recently they created one of the most original fighters with Super Smash Bros. and have unleashed titles such as Wave Race and the innovative Pikmin on the public. And this brings us onto their new policy.
Since Luigi’s Mansion was launched along with the GameCube people have been wondering about what Nintendo are planning to do with GameCube. It launched with no Mario platformer, instead it had the short but apparently very sweet game Luigi’s Mansion to sell it. It did sell, but it was still criticised as being too short for many gamers, and an experience that could be completed in about fifteen hours. This has also been said of Pikmin. Both are supposedly great and inventive games, just too short. This is a marked contrast compared to Nintendo epics like Super Mario World, a Snes launch title, Mario 64 which launched with the N64, and the Zelda series. Even the arcade style games by Nintendo such as the Starfox (Lylatwars) series offered quite a lot of replay value, and would take time to win due to the difficulty of them.
This new Nintendo policy has been criticised by many, but it could do Nintendo a lot of good. These short sweet games will allow the less hardcore gamers to complete a Nintendo title for a change. But will this lose Nintendo support from hardcore gamers? No one can be sure. I think Nintendo have to be very careful with this new approach. It could potentially backfire on them, but if handled right, it could help them reclaim the console crown. It should allow Nintendo to create more games in a shorter time space, but will that be worth it when we will have to fork out so much more for the same number of gameplay hours? And will it sacrifice the Nintendo epic title?
Something else that has come to my attention are some rumours in the latest issue of NGC magazine. These are rumours, and not fact. One says that Mario Sunshine may become cel-shaded like the new look Zelda. Another says that Zelda will abandon the cel-shaded look, due to the outcry, and revert to the old ‘realistic’ look. I doubt either of these is true, but if one is, it is very possible that the other will be too. But I doubt Nintendo will change again and face the risk of another outcry.
Another of my theories is that these early titles could just be a testing ground. Most of the titles criticised for being too short, and easy are new ideas. Pikmin was an attempt at (finally) making a RTS work on a console, and Luigi’s Mansion was a new take on the adventure genre. Nintendo could yet impress us with Mario Sunshine being an epic instalment to the Mario series, and the same could happen with Zelda. In my opinion the best policy would be to mix the sort and sweet games in with classic Nintendo epics.
But one thing is for sure. Nintendo’s future is bound to be one hell of a ride!