Topic: A serious gaming machine

[MaryJane]

  I was watching T.V last night and I caught this show called gamer.tv on Starz Edge(that's a movie channel btw), and the little info bar for the show said it was going to be all about the ps3. So I decide to watch it, because I am some what interested in the system because of my love for RPG's. So right in the begining of the show, I mean in the opening preview of the show, before it even starts the commentator says, "If you want a serious gaming machine, it's either Sony PS3 or Xbox360. So we ask the question that will soon be heard around the world, 360 or PS3?"

At first I was pissed but in a comical way almost, because I thought to myself, Nintendo is a serious contender this time around developer seem to really like the system, and it was fairly well received at E3 by those who played it. So what made his statement funny to me was that they were just being totally ignorant, like most of the gaming community.

Then it hit me. In terms of what he was actually talking about before he made that seemingly erroneous statement (the power oof the PS3) the Wii shouldn't have been included in that statement.

Nintendo has brought this on themselves (personally I don't mind) people are going to view the Wii, as a less serious machine, because Nintendo wants them too. We all talk about how all the power of the PS3 and 360 are unnecessary when the games remain stagnant and I believe this to be true. But then we have the general public. The sheep of the world who's only source of knowledge comes from the mouths of people who are in broadcasting*. So all these people know is that, PS3 is the most powerful system, and then 360. Before you say that GC was more powerful than the PS2 ask yourselves how many people really knew this since Nintendo didn't market it?? I had a two hour argument with 2 of my friends trying to explain to them that GC was more powerful than PS2, and I only won the argument with logic, I couldn't even find facts to help me, or at least I couldn't think where to get them at the time...

So now it's time for the Nex-Gen system to arrive, and in this age where laptops are catching up to desktops Sony and Microsoft are only going to talk about the power of their machines and their respective HD capabilities. Unless Nintendo can make a big enough splash come launch date (which HAS to be before PS3 to have hope) the question really will be 360 or PS3.

Nintendo wanted to stand out in the video game market, I just hope this move doesn't have them standing alone wondering where the money went.**

*On a random side note: Is it just me or are there more and more people with british accents on T.V nowadays? I usually don't watch live T.V usually only movies or documentaries that I record on Tivo but yesterday I did because of my boredom, and everyone had a british accent.*

** I not only want Nintendo's plan to succeed, but I think it can. It just isn't going to be easy**  

[thejeek]

Quote
*On a random side note: Is it just me or are there more and more people with british accents on T.V nowadays? I usually don't watch live T.V usually only movies or documentaries that I record on Tivo but yesterday I did because of my boredom, and everyone had a british accent.*

TV exports from the UK bring in like a billion dollars a year. God knows where all that programming goes - much of the TV I watch here is from the US...

[Requiem]

If anything, Nintendo has the advantage.

It's not being seen as a serious game machine isn't bad at all. You see, Nintendo needs to seperate themselves from the pack in order to attract new gamers. It needs to dash away any preconseption people might have of videogames, be it negative or positive, and replace it with their vision. And that is videogames aren't here to distract or detract from your daily life, and utterly waste your time. No. They are here to complement your life, and enhance your enjoyment of each day (hence Nintendo's goal for the Wii to be turned on everyday). And if Nintendo can show the connection between the DS (the handheld that proves their vision) and the Wii, they have a very strong case.

As for the PS3 and 360, they only help Nintendo's arguments because they are exactly what non-gamers don't need.

And don't worry, Nintendo will continue to find the right publications and press to advertise their system (e.g. CNN, Discovery), so the media is not a problem.

[couchmonkey]

Wii is going to do just fine.  It's true that there will be this preconception for a while that it's not a "serious" machine, just like people figured DS was not as coolawesomerad as PSP.  But like the DS, I think Wii will capture the hearts of Japanese gamers and developers, eventually resulting in a superior lineup of games, which in turn will eventually crack markets elsewhere.  At least that's what I hope.

[MaryJane]

My main concern is the stubborness of so many media outlets to not even consider Nintendo a competitor, and give them no mention whatsoever. How many people thought Nintendo was going to stop making consoles and go back to just video games? If their system isn't even mentioned in a comparison how do people know it is being supported. Nintendo needs some serious hardcore marketing. Maybe they are doing it now, but I rarely ever see commercials so I don't know, but even in just fast-forwarding through them, I notice many Sony and Microsoft commercials and I see like one Nintendo one. Nintendo should throw out a Wii commercial now, just a little teaser, actually they should do two.

1. For the sake of hardcore games show Red Steel, or MP3 show someone in the game as the main character they kill a few creatures or people depending on the game, and then it zooms out to the real world, and show how the person movements are being translated onto the screen.

2. For "non"-gamers I would say either Nintendogs, or Trauma Center would be ideal. "Simpler"(in terms of video games) people need a simpler commercial, just show people playing enjoying and learning. Or perhaps, well at least for Nintendogs, show the person doing something in game, and then with their real dog. I think Trauma Center would require too many disclaimers for that idea, but you get the point.

My other fear is Nintendo becoming a non-gamer only console. I know it isn't  likely but if only the non-games break a million as much as Nintendo says they're not going to forget about us, they are going to go where the money is.

I think Nintendo will succeed that show just put this idea in my head, and I was wondering what other thought.  

[ShyGuy]

I'm a serious gamer, I want a serious gaming machine.



....Please take me serious.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I am a serious gaming machine.

[JonLeung]

Isn't/Wasn't that Natsume's slogan? "Serious fun"?

If you're serious about games, then you can't NOT include Nintendo.

I think the definitions of "hardcore" and "serious" and other such terms are quite muddled up.  Oh, and "mature".  Kinda.

[Jin-X]

That's ironic since Nintendo is the only one that's always making game systems, and game systems only, where as the PS3 is marketed as a do-it-all media center, toaster oven system.

[Spak-Spang]

Well,

Don't you know the only kind of serious games and serious game systems are those that support HD, have bloated specs and bloated costs, and focus on gamers geared toward men ages 18-27.

Nintendo can't be a serious gaming machine, because they are actually focused on real gameplay enhancments for all types of games for all types of gamers.

 

[Rhoq]

Quote
Originally posted by: Spak-Spang
Well,

Don't you know the only kind of serious games and serious game systems are those that support HD, have bloated specs and bloated costs, and focus on gamers geared toward men ages 18-27.

****...I'm outside of the targetted demographic! Why have the gaming gods forsaken me?

Speaking of Forsaken I used to love that game on the N64. Who ever holds the licenses to the old Acclaim properties should seriously consider bringing it back. The Wii controller would be perfect for a game like this.

[JonLeung]

I want a FUN gaming machine, not a serious one!

But really...I find the all-too-common "Nintendo exclusion" ludicrous.  Even in those periods when the GameCube was slightly ahead of the Xbox in sales people were still always asking "Xbox or PS2?"/"PS2 or Xbox?"

Apparently serious gaming machines don't include Nintendo consoles, any handhelds, computers, or arcade games.

[Ian Sane]

I would consider a serious gamer as someone who considers gaming to be a hobby and videogames to be an artform.  So none of these new consoles would fit the description of a "serious console".  Nintendo's going after non-gamers who at best don't regard gaming as anything beyond disposable entertainment while Sony and MS are using consoles as trojan horses for product unrelated to gaming.  No one is actively targeting people who actually care about gaming, they just assume those people will buy their console no matter what.  Nintendo gets some credit for at least sticking with videogames.

[EasyCure]

i too want a FUN gaming machine, not a serious one.

you're supposed to PLAY a video game, and you cant play anything seriously, it takes the fun out of it. Example: sports. say you and a few buddies decide to go out to the park and throw the ol' football around, or break out the old basketball for quick,  fun game. you're not taking it seriusly. if you're on the highschool/college football or basketball team, you're not playing the game for fun. you're playing the game seriously in order to contend with others playing the game seriously, contending for a prize.

nintendo isn't contending to "win." you can't win. there is no video game world cup, no world series, nothing of the sort. they, like the other two companies are contending only for $$$ but there is no win. nintendo though, unlike the other two companies, is contending with a machine built around playing games for fun. sony/microsoft are contending with machines that bring you software that is contending with eachother. thus resulting in the stagnation of the industry. the developers under their hats are contending for the BEST fps, the BEST sports title, the BEST fighting game. not the funnest though.

when everyone out there is trying to be the best, they take things way too seriously in an industry that is ultimately about making entertainment. instead everyone should be trying to make their games the FUNNEST to play, no matter what type of game it is. add something new to games to make them fun, set them apart from the other ones. if not all we get is the same old rehashes of series that aren't all that fun anymore because instead of trying to be fun, they are trying to be the best since the best makes the most $$$. thats when we get stuck with 5 different types of WW sims coming out every other month or so.

nintendo is trying to bring the fun of video game to the masses, not bringing hd dvd/bluray players to the masses. if that means that Wii isn't a "serious" game machine, so be it. i dont want a machine i spend my hard earned cash on thats supposed to play videa games NOT to be fun. i want to get the most out of my dollar and have it the most fun playing it. video games are supposed to be fun, not serious.

Wii: the fun machine mk II

[MaryJane]

you're all taking serious way too literally.

Serious as in: "The Dodge Charger SRT-8(my beautiful car) is a serious car, the Honda Civic is not."

The serious in serious gaming machine is akin to purposeful, and meaningful, as opposed to rigid and lacking fun.

I still get what you guys are saying though.  

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Paying tax on a console high enough to cover the retail price of a game is NOT meaningful.  More like downright disgusting.

And this isn't counting the forced bundles you'll see this fall.

[JonLeung]

If the Wii shakes up the industry, and I believe it can and will, then it will be "meaningful", and by that definition of "serious" then that is what the Wii is.

In any case I wouldn't care what whoever else says, at least on an individual basis.  It's just that the seemingly irrational exclusion of Nintendo is an epidemic, but the Wii is on track to change that.  It'll be different...in a good way.

[EasyCure]

Quote
Originally posted by: MaryJane
you're all taking serious way too literally.

Serious as in: "The Dodge Charger SRT-8(my beautiful car) is a serious car, the Honda Civic is not."

The serious in serious gaming machine is akin to purposeful, and meaningful, as opposed to rigid and lacking fun.

I still get what you guys are saying though.

well if ps3 and 360 are considered purposeful and meaningful, then i'd rather not have those calling it so even thinking about Wii. those who think that way will not see how the Wii is MORE purposeful and meaningful then a multi-media machine that also plays video games.

when the Wii launches and begins to shake things up, only then will people see it as "serious" in terms of contending. until then i say let the ingorant media as well as fanboys clammer on and on about "ps3 or 360?" and watch the look on their faces when Wii is making a big splash.

[MaryJane]

Just so there isn't any confusion, i totally disagree with the statement that the Wii isn't a serious (in the terms of meaningfulness) gaming machine.

All I'm saying is how it is perceived. Was the GameCube a tiku tiku tiku!  system? I don't think so. It had a lot of good not childish games. However, it was perceived as tiku tiku tiku!  and therefore ignored. If people think of the Wii as a joke and don't buy it, it's hurts us all. Now of course there is the whole playing is believing thing.

Nintendo really needs to launch before ps3, and not only launch before it, but launch with enough time for word of mouth to spread before the ps3 hits. Everyone likes good graphics o.k. Even the people who post on these boards. Now most if not all of you here understand that good graphics isn't the final word, but to people who only play sports, racing, and Grand Theft Auto games, that is all that matters.

What I'm really trying to get at, and I did say before, and I think you're all aware of it, is that the media dictates the masses opinions. If they say the only two systems that matter this year are the PS3 and 360, it'll be rather difficult for you and I to convince them otherwise. Maybe it won't be too hard if PS3's burn out as easily as 360's, and has the same number of good games.

[Athrun Zala]

because obviously nothing is as serious as Grand Theft RIIIIIIDGE racer: REAL TIME weapon change for MASSIVE damage with $250 HotRearView Action (based on historic japanese battles against giant crabs)


.....the thing is, they're misusing the word serious, because by definition a "serious" gaming machine would focus on, guess what, just games, not on pushing some DRM'd format that doesn't help the industry or something along those lines.......which would make Nintendo the only one.....interesting.....

[lastexit]

Nintendo doesn't want the Wii included with PS3 and 360 as a "serious" game machine.  Why?  Because serious gaming doesn't sound fun to almost everybody.  Video games aren't supposed to be work, something measured in 'hours of gameplay."  This is stuff that "hardcore" gamers care about, eg people who do little else in their life other than play video games.  

When a tv/magazine/etc news segment comes on about "serious" game machines THE VAST MAJORITY of people tune out. They are bored, like you tune out when a Centrum Silver commercial comes on.  

Will it be ignored, then? No.  PS3 and 360 an have the entire "video game channel" all to themselves for all Nintendo cares. THEY will be ignored everywhere else, while Wii becomes a product known everywhere through all kinds of word of mouth and alternate discussions.  The DS has gotten popular how?

[MaryJane]

I think assumption has taken over.

Where does it says in the laws of the universe that just because we think the Wii is a great system it is going to automatically succeed?

Yes you can look at the DS and say that Nintendo is going to follow that formula, but there is only one problem with that. The only competition for the DS was the PSP. And there were no good games for it. Nintendo has, and will always dominate the handheld market, consoles are an entirely different segment. People who love their ps2's are going to buy a ps3, plain and simple, where it's going to count, is can Nintendo pull those people away after the ps3 launch. You can't compare the success of the DS and the failure of the PSP to the Wii and PS3. The scenario is reversed, Sony is the leader and Nintendo is trying to steal some of their thunder, yes I know Nintendo will make better games, but you're thinking too narrowly, you're only seeing the market from a Nintendo fan's point of view. I believe Iwata said that the Wii, only does as good as the GC did, Nintendo has a big hill to climb.  

[KDR_11k]

Speaking of Forsaken I used to love that game on the N64. Who ever holds the licenses to the old Acclaim properties should seriously consider bringing it back. The Wii controller would be perfect for a game like this.

Someone could make a new Descent, Wiki says the rights to that have run out in 2002. The Wii controller could probably handle the controls for that pretty well. OTOH, you could just as well invent your own IP for that.

[oohhboy]

Don't let serious become the next mature.

Be as serious as serious Sam. Your life will be much better for it.

[KDR_11k]

Translation: "Get a Wii".