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One of the questions that have been asked to me recently is why, as a Nintendo fan, do I rarely go into the Nintendo forum? Well (although I do from time to time) the audience in the Nintendo forum is not large enough. In FOG Prime my posts have the capability to be read by a larger audience, larger than those who venture into the Nintendo forum also the Nintendo forum is more specific towards Nintendo fans. I don’t want my posts to be just for Nintendo fans they are there for every one to read and so the audience in FOG prime is the audience I wish to present my ideas and thoughts to.
And that is what I am going to talk about today. Audiences are vital for the gaming industry and in fact any media text (books, Video, CD’s etc…). The audience is vital because without an audience why bother make a game? Audiences provide income for the game publishers/ designers and depending on the audience size and reaction we can measure the success of a game/company. And so when a company goes about designing a game they have to think about who they are making it for, some Companies try to reach a wide range of audiences whilst some try to aim at more specific groups like SEGA Bass Fishing a title aimed at fishermen. Although it is a widely enjoyable game it was designed with fishermen in mind and so had a specific audience.
Consoles are now designed to reach a larger audience, the Playstation 2’s use of a DVD playing function made the system appeal to a larger audience, the Gamecube’s size appealed to a wide rang of audiences as well. An audience is a collection of individuals whose specific playing habits are determined by the following:
. Self image
. Gender
. Age Group
. Family
. Class (Under, Working, middle and Upper class)
. Ethnicity
. Education
. Religion
. Politics
. Location (On a geographical scale)
Lets take Conker for a moment, the game is specifically aimed at boys (the depiction of Women in the game may put female gamers off), it is aimed at 15-25 year olds, the games content ignores any religious point of views (swearing, excessive drinking, adultery) and is aimed at the British gamer (there is often jokes in the game only the British will get such as the scouse Dung Beatles and the mention of “Pepsimax” a drink that doesn’t exist in America). Those are the “general” groups of people the game is aimed at, a 16 year-old male person with no religious background from London. There are of course exceptions to the rule I am not saying a 26-year-old female won’t enjoy the game it is just that isn’t the implied audience.
Now instead of looking at games let look at consoles, the Playstation 2 is a console aimed mainly for the male gamers between the ages of 15-35 and has world wide appeal, The X-box is aimed at a slightly older audience 17-40 perhaps and appeals mainly to American gamers (they love Microsoft). The Gamecube is aimed at the younger market 4-14, has captured a world wide audience and has a family feel to the system, the cutesy style graphics makes the system appeal to both genders. And it is now I can bring you onto the real point of the topic (that’s right it isn’t just a lesson on media Audience), Nintendo’s new attitude.
The fact of the matter is Nintendo’s audience is small; appealing to the younger gamers simply isn’t generating as much money as the multi-media giants that are Sony and Microsoft. By improving relations with 3rd parties such as allowing Capcom to make some Nintendo licensed titles (Zelda) caused the Resident Evil series to appear as a Gamecube exclusive, a move that will widen the Gamecube’s appeal and increase its audience. Namco is another example; rumors are rife about a deal between Namco and Nintendo as regards Arcade games and with the amazing increase of Namco support for Nintendo this rumor is starting to seem likely. By grabbing more 3rd party support and buying into Silicon Knights, Nintendo have increased the adult appeal of their console ten fold with titles such as Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil and Soul Calibur being only months away.
And that is what brings me onto my next point, Nintendo’s new “Short but sweet” attitude, there is only one reason Nintendo are doing this and that is to increase their audience. The games such as Mario and Zelda are huge epic adventures, which the casual gamers don’t enjoy that much, so Nintendo are decreasing the size of some of their games like Luigi’s Mansion and the new look Zelda. It is to widen their audience but I would just like to calm the mad Nintendo loyalists down for a moment. Nintendo never really made that many epic titles, Pokémon will be as big as always, Mario Sunshine was first announced 4 years ago (Super Mario 64 2) is this game going to be a small adventure considering how long it has spent in development? And that’s beside the point; Nintendo’s most popular titles always have been simple pick up and play ones like Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Smash Brothers etc… And we are forgetting Nintendo’s second party games, games that Nintendo keeps a close eye on. Eternal Darkness is said to be a 60 hour epic, are you still sure all Nintendo games are short? Look at Kameo Elements of Power and Starfox adventures from Rare??? Rare don’t really make to many RPG/Adventure games and they have 2 huge games in development as we speak!
You see Nintendo’s short but sweet attitude extends to a load of new titles so they can widen their appeal and they can reach a larger audience. But they don’t wish to lose the audience they currently have hold of, us hardcore gamers, and looking at the amount of epic titles on the release list I don’t really think they will.
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
And that is what I am going to talk about today. Audiences are vital for the gaming industry and in fact any media text (books, Video, CD’s etc…). The audience is vital because without an audience why bother make a game? Audiences provide income for the game publishers/ designers and depending on the audience size and reaction we can measure the success of a game/company. And so when a company goes about designing a game they have to think about who they are making it for, some Companies try to reach a wide range of audiences whilst some try to aim at more specific groups like SEGA Bass Fishing a title aimed at fishermen. Although it is a widely enjoyable game it was designed with fishermen in mind and so had a specific audience.
Consoles are now designed to reach a larger audience, the Playstation 2’s use of a DVD playing function made the system appeal to a larger audience, the Gamecube’s size appealed to a wide rang of audiences as well. An audience is a collection of individuals whose specific playing habits are determined by the following:
. Self image
. Gender
. Age Group
. Family
. Class (Under, Working, middle and Upper class)
. Ethnicity
. Education
. Religion
. Politics
. Location (On a geographical scale)
Lets take Conker for a moment, the game is specifically aimed at boys (the depiction of Women in the game may put female gamers off), it is aimed at 15-25 year olds, the games content ignores any religious point of views (swearing, excessive drinking, adultery) and is aimed at the British gamer (there is often jokes in the game only the British will get such as the scouse Dung Beatles and the mention of “Pepsimax” a drink that doesn’t exist in America). Those are the “general” groups of people the game is aimed at, a 16 year-old male person with no religious background from London. There are of course exceptions to the rule I am not saying a 26-year-old female won’t enjoy the game it is just that isn’t the implied audience.
Now instead of looking at games let look at consoles, the Playstation 2 is a console aimed mainly for the male gamers between the ages of 15-35 and has world wide appeal, The X-box is aimed at a slightly older audience 17-40 perhaps and appeals mainly to American gamers (they love Microsoft). The Gamecube is aimed at the younger market 4-14, has captured a world wide audience and has a family feel to the system, the cutesy style graphics makes the system appeal to both genders. And it is now I can bring you onto the real point of the topic (that’s right it isn’t just a lesson on media Audience), Nintendo’s new attitude.
The fact of the matter is Nintendo’s audience is small; appealing to the younger gamers simply isn’t generating as much money as the multi-media giants that are Sony and Microsoft. By improving relations with 3rd parties such as allowing Capcom to make some Nintendo licensed titles (Zelda) caused the Resident Evil series to appear as a Gamecube exclusive, a move that will widen the Gamecube’s appeal and increase its audience. Namco is another example; rumors are rife about a deal between Namco and Nintendo as regards Arcade games and with the amazing increase of Namco support for Nintendo this rumor is starting to seem likely. By grabbing more 3rd party support and buying into Silicon Knights, Nintendo have increased the adult appeal of their console ten fold with titles such as Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil and Soul Calibur being only months away.
And that is what brings me onto my next point, Nintendo’s new “Short but sweet” attitude, there is only one reason Nintendo are doing this and that is to increase their audience. The games such as Mario and Zelda are huge epic adventures, which the casual gamers don’t enjoy that much, so Nintendo are decreasing the size of some of their games like Luigi’s Mansion and the new look Zelda. It is to widen their audience but I would just like to calm the mad Nintendo loyalists down for a moment. Nintendo never really made that many epic titles, Pokémon will be as big as always, Mario Sunshine was first announced 4 years ago (Super Mario 64 2) is this game going to be a small adventure considering how long it has spent in development? And that’s beside the point; Nintendo’s most popular titles always have been simple pick up and play ones like Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Smash Brothers etc… And we are forgetting Nintendo’s second party games, games that Nintendo keeps a close eye on. Eternal Darkness is said to be a 60 hour epic, are you still sure all Nintendo games are short? Look at Kameo Elements of Power and Starfox adventures from Rare??? Rare don’t really make to many RPG/Adventure games and they have 2 huge games in development as we speak!
You see Nintendo’s short but sweet attitude extends to a load of new titles so they can widen their appeal and they can reach a larger audience. But they don’t wish to lose the audience they currently have hold of, us hardcore gamers, and looking at the amount of epic titles on the release list I don’t really think they will.
Here’s to the future.
Dringo.
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Strafex wrote
I personally think that Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin look impressive
> (although I won't be buying either because a 12 hour game is not worth 40+ quid
Interestingly, these are the two games that I got with my GC. I am, in truth, pretty c**p at games, so it will probably take me 20 hours each to complete them, so it is probably worth my while. However, if you are good at games then it would be more sensible to rent, as you could complete it in, say a week of quite intense gaming.
I personally think that Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin look impressive
> (although I won't be buying either because a 12 hour game is not worth 40+ quid
Interestingly, these are the two games that I got with my GC. I am, in truth, pretty c**p at games, so it will probably take me 20 hours each to complete them, so it is probably worth my while. However, if you are good at games then it would be more sensible to rent, as you could complete it in, say a week of quite intense gaming.
2 things here, i like the idea of Zelda having set pieces in parts ala Conker as i enjoy that sort of thing but Strafex i disagree heavily with shorter, u see Zelda took ages before i felt like i was getting anywhere the new zelda with set pieces like conker makes me feel as if things are moving.
But no id rather it be a 60 hour epic yes but Pikmin is really a large game in principle it just has a time limit in which to complete making it short, i think it is worth buying and along with smash brothers is the early GC mega titles!
Read my up and coming post Pikmin Phenomenon or Pikmin flower or something tommorow.
But no id rather it be a 60 hour epic yes but Pikmin is really a large game in principle it just has a time limit in which to complete making it short, i think it is worth buying and along with smash brothers is the early GC mega titles!
Read my up and coming post Pikmin Phenomenon or Pikmin flower or something tommorow.
It looks good, but the game isn't big enough to warrant buying. I think it's an example of Nintendo's REAL short n sweet policy.
Not the one where EVERY game including top ones like Zelda and Mario have to be 12 hours long so five year olds can complete it.
A policy that makes sense:
Untried ideas get released in mini game form and if the concept is accepted then the idea is expanded into bigger devellopment.
Pikmin has been tried and appraised so Shigsy is now making Pikmin 2 where he can expand the game and spend resources on it, knowing that it's a worthwhile investment as it has an audience waiting.
Zelda and Mario also have big audiences waiting so Nintendo are spending quality devellopment time on these two titles to make them proper sized.
Anyway Dringo, why are you so keen on having a 5 minute Zelda game anyway? Would you rather have a rushed minigame, or the best game ever?
Not the one where EVERY game including top ones like Zelda and Mario have to be 12 hours long so five year olds can complete it.
A policy that makes sense:
Untried ideas get released in mini game form and if the concept is accepted then the idea is expanded into bigger devellopment.
Pikmin has been tried and appraised so Shigsy is now making Pikmin 2 where he can expand the game and spend resources on it, knowing that it's a worthwhile investment as it has an audience waiting.
Zelda and Mario also have big audiences waiting so Nintendo are spending quality devellopment time on these two titles to make them proper sized.
Anyway Dringo, why are you so keen on having a 5 minute Zelda game anyway? Would you rather have a rushed minigame, or the best game ever?
Ah fair point there and i understand your justification for not choosing Luigi's mansion but not Pikmin, yes the game is short but the game is the newest Nintendo masterpiece (expect a Pikmin post tommorow) its from shigsy and is an ingenious title, yes a little short but some of the best games are short (the sequel promises to be larger although it has got officially underway yet, or has it?).
Pikmin is no oridnary RTS and it is the next big Nintendo game, the next game to go along side, samus, fox, link, mario, pikachu, falcon, kirby etc....
I wouldnt miss the start of a new nintendo experience if i was you...
Pikmin is no oridnary RTS and it is the next big Nintendo game, the next game to go along side, samus, fox, link, mario, pikachu, falcon, kirby etc....
I wouldnt miss the start of a new nintendo experience if i was you...
I think that the difference in popularity between the Xbox and Gamecube is down to audience.
Some people have said "the Xbox has better launch titles". Others say "the Gamecube's line up is stronger".
I've looked a bit more closely and found that while both launchs are filled with quality, they are quality in different ways, and the Xbox is more popular as a result.
Why?
Putting it simply, the Xbox is mainstream.
People have seen and played racers before.
People have seen and played fighting games before.
People have seen and played FPS games before.
Therefore, Halo, that MSR sequel (sorry-forgot the name ;-)) and Dead Or Alive 3 are familiar, but the nicest looking of their kind.
Mainstream genres with a lick of new paint.
Now look at the Gamecube launch.
Rogue Leader and Wave Race are very mainstream with the nice graphics and familiar gameplayer styles, but other than that look at Pikmin, Monkey Ball and Luigi's Mansion.
Most gamesplayers will look at them and think "WTF are they all about? They're too weird for me!" and most likely stick to the mainstream games.
So this originality, although it makes GC games that little bit more special, it also puts some people off.
I personally think that Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin look impressive (although I won't be buying either because a 12 hour game is not worth 40+ quid in my book - no, not even Metal gear Solid 2!) but I know Nintendo's reputation and looked further under the surface than Mr Average gamer.
I see what Sonic Rav meant by Nintendo needed to launch with Mario or Zelda to boost their originality are familiarity also.
Ofcourse, that's another reason why Smash Brothers did so well.
If there hadn't been an original Smash Brothers on the N64 then most would've ignored it.
The original Smash Brothers was ignored at first by many because it was so weird.
But now people have got to grips with it, the familiarity of a great N64 game made it a must have and it's outsold all the rest of the Gamecube titles.
Perhaps familiarity is just as important as originality...
Some people have said "the Xbox has better launch titles". Others say "the Gamecube's line up is stronger".
I've looked a bit more closely and found that while both launchs are filled with quality, they are quality in different ways, and the Xbox is more popular as a result.
Why?
Putting it simply, the Xbox is mainstream.
People have seen and played racers before.
People have seen and played fighting games before.
People have seen and played FPS games before.
Therefore, Halo, that MSR sequel (sorry-forgot the name ;-)) and Dead Or Alive 3 are familiar, but the nicest looking of their kind.
Mainstream genres with a lick of new paint.
Now look at the Gamecube launch.
Rogue Leader and Wave Race are very mainstream with the nice graphics and familiar gameplayer styles, but other than that look at Pikmin, Monkey Ball and Luigi's Mansion.
Most gamesplayers will look at them and think "WTF are they all about? They're too weird for me!" and most likely stick to the mainstream games.
So this originality, although it makes GC games that little bit more special, it also puts some people off.
I personally think that Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin look impressive (although I won't be buying either because a 12 hour game is not worth 40+ quid in my book - no, not even Metal gear Solid 2!) but I know Nintendo's reputation and looked further under the surface than Mr Average gamer.
I see what Sonic Rav meant by Nintendo needed to launch with Mario or Zelda to boost their originality are familiarity also.
Ofcourse, that's another reason why Smash Brothers did so well.
If there hadn't been an original Smash Brothers on the N64 then most would've ignored it.
The original Smash Brothers was ignored at first by many because it was so weird.
But now people have got to grips with it, the familiarity of a great N64 game made it a must have and it's outsold all the rest of the Gamecube titles.
Perhaps familiarity is just as important as originality...
Dringo wrote:
> Hang on the mention of appealing to adult gamers was a short reference showing
> Nintendo's attempt at gaining a larger audience so theres no real need to go
> into it.
As for the short and sweet attitude im afraid they are doing that
> with the new Zelda.
No they're not!
Despite what you have read or heard, no official confirmation has been released regarding Zelda.
Makes you question, why they haven't released any new screenshots yet, there is rumour that the title has taken a more serious approach with the cell shaded visuals being dumped.
By the way, I can't wait to Monday morning, just heard that Nintendo will be making an announcement regarding the Gamecube release!!!
www.computerandvideogames.com
> Hang on the mention of appealing to adult gamers was a short reference showing
> Nintendo's attempt at gaining a larger audience so theres no real need to go
> into it.
As for the short and sweet attitude im afraid they are doing that
> with the new Zelda.
No they're not!
Despite what you have read or heard, no official confirmation has been released regarding Zelda.
Makes you question, why they haven't released any new screenshots yet, there is rumour that the title has taken a more serious approach with the cell shaded visuals being dumped.
By the way, I can't wait to Monday morning, just heard that Nintendo will be making an announcement regarding the Gamecube release!!!
www.computerandvideogames.com
Hang on the mention of appealing to adult gamers was a short reference showing Nintendo's attempt at gaining a larger audience so theres no real need to go into it.
As for the short and sweet attitude im afraid they are doing that with the new Zelda.
As for the short and sweet attitude im afraid they are doing that with the new Zelda.
Nintendo are not childish at all, it's just they appeal to all ages that has people accusing them of that.
And the short games are evident only with Pikmin and Luigis Mansion. If the same process was geared for Mario Sunshine or Zelda it would be a big mistake, which i think Nintendo will not do.
Short and sweet will not work for the new Mario or Zelda, that's why i'll guarantee it'll never happen.
And the short games are evident only with Pikmin and Luigis Mansion. If the same process was geared for Mario Sunshine or Zelda it would be a big mistake, which i think Nintendo will not do.
Short and sweet will not work for the new Mario or Zelda, that's why i'll guarantee it'll never happen.
What the appealing to adult gamers took a whole oh one paragraph!!!!!
The post is about appealing to wider audiences i just finished studying it in Media and now the whole "Short but Sweet" attitude (which is what my post is really about) from Nintendo begins to make sense!
Nintendo aint childish???? TBN i may be stupid but i honestly thought i said they were, ah well.
The post is about appealing to wider audiences i just finished studying it in Media and now the whole "Short but Sweet" attitude (which is what my post is really about) from Nintendo begins to make sense!
Nintendo aint childish???? TBN i may be stupid but i honestly thought i said they were, ah well.
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