Topic: Steven Kent "Pulls an IGN"

[ruby_onix]

I saw this on the Gaming Age forums. Supposedly it came from a free section of the Videogames Transmedia webzine, but I can't read PDFs on this computer. So I'll just quote what was on Gaming Age.

Quote
Steve Kent blasts Nintendo, 7 rules for fixing nintendo

What Nintendo needs to do

In this generation of console wars, GameCube came in third. Game Boy
Advance is obsolete. The initials DS may be short for ‘Definitely
Struggling’ instead of ‘Dual Screen’ if Sony launches PlayStation
Portable (PSP) at a reasonable price next year.

Nintendo, the company that re-launched and re-defined the video game
business, has been battered in the console business and looks like it
might be ripe for wreckage in handhelds.

The Situation:

As Microsoft entered the console wars, a lot of people asked, “Can
the market support three competitors?” The answer seems to be,
“Yes, but the guy who comes in last always dies.”

In 1986, Atari tried to compete with newcomers Nintendo and Sega. It
didn’t work and Atari wisely chose to sit out the 16-bit generation
before committing corporate hari-kari in the form of Jaguar.

In 1989, Sega and NEC started the 16-bit generation with Genesis and
TurboGrafx. Nintendo entered two years later, knocked NEC out of the
way; and the U.S. market never saw another NEC console again.

Sony did the same thing to Sega in the next generation. Sega Saturn
came in third place—not including 3DO and Jaguar. Sega did come back
with Dreamcast, but no company that has come in third has survived the
next generation.

4 In the current market, Nintendo has come in third place.
Could Nintendo follow in the steps of Sega, 3DO, and Atari and go
software only? With its many great franchises, Nintendo would be quite
the hit as a third-party publisher. Only, isn’t that what people said
about Sega?

The truth is that the Atari of today bears almost no relationship to the
Atari of the eighties. The Atari of old was cut in half. Both halves
have been sold and resold. The company currently known as Atari is
really a French company called Infogrames.

After a long fight, 3DO ceased to exist. Sega, the company that once
boasted it would supplant Electronic Arts as the number one independent
publisher, never lives up to its potential. Without hardware to
support, former console makers seem to give up their competitive drive.

So is Nintendo going to go the way of Sega and Atari? The short answer
is, ‘No.’,” says John Taylor, managing director and analyst for
Arcadia Investment Corp. “Sega made a bunch of missteps. Sega had to
deal with 32X, Sega CD, and a bunch of peripherals that confused
consumers, ate up resources, and distracted management.”

Granted, Nintendo has not released anything as notorious 32X, though
Virtual Boy came close. On the other hand, with Game Boy Advance SP
(Nintendo of America plans to discontinue the original GBA) and DS
running side-by-side, the company does have two systems confusing
consumers, eating resources, and distracting management.

And this muddle appropriately happens as Sony prepares to launch PSP.
“On the console side, it’s harder to imagine where Nintendo fits in
now than it was 12 months ago,” says Taylor.
When asked, the clerk at a GameStop store in Hawaii said that his store
had sold out of PlayStation 2 and Xbox. “We still have GameCubes in
stock.”

Asked why he still had GameCubes, he stated that it was fine for a
certain audience. “Xbox and PlayStation 2 are better for 15- to
30-year-olds. Most of the people who come here are between 15 and
30.”
The clerk said that DS was ‘awesome, but hard to find.’ “We only
get six in per week.” He suggested that I reserve a PSP, though he
could not say what the price would be.
Calls to game stores in Washington, New York, and California produce
similar results—though the clerks are seldom as friendly.
So this is the situation. Nintendo has been marginalized in the
console business. It will shortly face a most significant challenge its
portable business. Nintendo needs to make some fundamental changes.
The following are steps Nintendo must take to prosper over the next 18
months:

1. Abandon the ‘belle of the ball’ mentality.

Nintendo needs to abandon its former “star of the show” mentality
and start acting like a company that knows it’s in trouble. The good
news is that the Kyoto-giant has greatly improved one of its biggest
weaknesses—third-party relations. The bad news is that Nintendo’s
console sales are so low that even though they feel welcomed, many
publishers are not sure they want to jump on board with Nintendo.
“Nintendo has done a better job of working with third-party
publishers,” says Taylor. “The third parties aren’t worried about
the business model so much as they are about the GameCube’s market
potential.”
In other words, fewer people own GameCube, and those people seem to buy
less software than PlayStation 2 and Xbox owners.
Part of the problem is that Nintendo has abandoned the principles of
service that made it such a force.
Nintendo is notably more harsh than Microsoft or Sony in its handling
of smaller publications and fan sites. Right now, Nintendo needs to
cultivate allies and advocates. In a society filled with opinion
leaders, i.e. the Internet, Nintendo must court influential fans.
Along this same line, Nintendo needs to acknowledge the competition.
Nintendo executives say that DS and PSP were made for different
audiences. The truth is that when customers walk into Wall-Mart or
GameStop with $200, they are going to compare DS and PSP and choose one
over the other.
And these annual shortages… what’s with that? Nintendo has a
shortage of DS units. Do they think that is chic? They had similar
shortages after the launches of GameCube, N64, and Super NES. You would
learn how to manage inventory by now.
There is no logical reason for Nintendo to waste this window of time
before the launch of PSP. Yet here we are. With PSP supposedly
launching in three months, Nintendo is excitedly telling the press how
they cannot keep up with demand for DS.
Why in the world are GameStop and Electronics Boutique stores, arguably
the most influential chains in gaming, only receiving six DS units per
week? They should be saturated with DS systems.
The Nintendo of old, the one that sold approximately 100 million NESs,
simply tried harder. In the early days, NCL president Hiroshi Yamauchi
personally courted third-party publishers. Nintendo of America
president Minoru Arakawa met with store owners in New York and promised
to buy back unsold merchandise and helped set up a few store displays.
In order to regain market share, Nintendo needs to return to its former
Avis mentality. It needs to try harder.

2. Forget the bottom line.

In 1990, Nintendo and the NES owned 93 percent of the U.S. console
business. In 1994, the hottest year for 16-bit, the Super NES commanded
approximately 48 percent of the U.S. market and ruled in Japan. By the
end of the N64 generation, Nintendo was down to 33 percent of the
American console market. With GameCube, Nintendo is down to
approximately 15 percent.
That is a nearly steady drop of 50 percent from one generation to the
next.
The typical Nintendo response to this is something along the line of
their console business always remaining profitable. It’s a good and
persuasive response. Even as Sony strangled Nintendo in all three world
markets in the last year of the original PlayStation, Nintendo managed
to make money with N64 while Sony leaked like a sieve.
The problem is that if Nintendo’s share of the market keeps getting
smaller, the next generation will not be profitable.
There is another danger, too—people perceiving Nintendo as a company
that does not care about its customers. Granted, companies are only out
for themselves, but that does not mean they need to come across that
way.
A few years back, Nintendo defined ‘connectivity’ as meaning,
“You buy a $150-console, a $99-portable, a $10-cable, a $49-console
game, and a $29-portable cartridge.” That definition of
‘connectivity’ sounded awfully self-serving.

3. Know your market and stick to it.

“You could argue that Nintendo still has a defendable position with a
certain demographic,” says John Taylor. Taylor sees that demographic
as the youth market, but the research does not necessarily agree.
Recent surveys showed that the most desirable games for fourth and
fifth graders were “Halo 2” and “Grand Theft Auto: San
Andreas.” Most 10-year-old boys want whatever games their big
brothers want. What few 10-year-olds want is to look uncool.
“Wario” games are not perceived as cool.
The Hawaiian GameStop clerk identified PlayStation 2 and Xbox as
systems with games for players ages 15 to 30. He could not come up with
a target market for GameCube, even when pressed. All he would say was,
“Most of our customers are between 15 and 30.”
As N64 faded and GameCube launched, Nintendo sent out the message that
it was not just for kids. The problem is that none of the adult games
that followed, “Conker’s Bad Fur Day,” “Perfect Dark,”
“Eternal Darkness,” and the “Resident Evil” series, sold well or
drove hardware sales.
Here, the analysts and experts disagree. Some people say that Nintendo
needs to cultivate its position as the manufacturer of family-friendly
video game systems. “Nintendo cannot compete with Microsoft and
Sony,” said one reporter. “Nintendo is like a company.”
Others say that Nintendo can indeed change its stripes. “Look at
Cadillac,” says Taylor. “It used to be the car your grandfather
drove in the suburbs. Now, with its change of image, Cadillac is the
high-prestige car for urban drivers.”

4. Americanize, Americanize, Americanize

The bottom has dropped out of the Japanese video game market. It
shrank by one-third in 2001 alone. Japan, which bought the least
hardware and the most software in the past, was the most profitable
market in games. Now that the drop has occurred, North American is the
most lucrative market.
Only one Japanese company made it into the U.S. market’s top 10 games
of 2003—Nintendo. Nintendo had four games in the top 10—two of
which were “Pokemon.”
“Cute,” “Fluffy,” and “Funny,” words that describe so many
of the best Japanese games, just don’t appeal the way they used to.
American audiences are into speed, action, violence. Americans like 3D
adventures and first-person shooters. These are not big genres in
Japan. Sports, other than soccer, are huge in the United States.
Sports, other than soccer, do not sell well in Japan.
Nintendo has one shooter—“Metroid Prime.” The company has
abandoned sports.
“Nintendo needs to develop a Western-centric development network,”
says Taylor, and he is right. The problem is that with the admirable
exception of Retro Studios, Nintendo seems content letting second-party
partners like Rare and Silicon Knights slip away.

5. Keep doing what you do right

As angry and pessimistic as some gamers have become about Nintendo,
other insiders believe that Nintendo is doing many things exactly
right. “Nintendo is listening to a good mixture of customers and game
developers,” says Richard Doherty, research director of
Envisioneering.
Had Nintendo read the reviewers and bulletin boards, the Pokemon series
might have died two or three years ago. It didn’t, and Pokemon
“Ruby” and “Sapphire” both made it on to the NPD Group’s list
of the top 10 selling games of 2003. “Fire Red” and “Leaf
Green” are among the top sellers of 2004.
Many reviewers complained about the cel-shaded look of the new
“Zelda” game right up until the release of “Wind Waker.” Then
they proclaimed it. Now Nintendo is effectively breaking the
“Zelda” franchise into two separate lines with the ‘adult Link’
in games with more realistic graphics and the ‘young Link’ remaining
in cartoon-like cel-shading.
Despite all of the criticisms, Nintendo still manages to do many things
better than any other company in the business.

6. Stop with the mid-course corrections and hold to the basics

What did Sony and Microsoft do that was so brilliant with the launches
of their first console systems? Nothing. But even when things went
wrong, they kept to their game and that made a difference.
Saturn smeared PlayStation during the launch window in Japan. The
following year, N64 out-launched both of them. Sony did not falter.
Ken Kutaragi went right on making alliances, arranging exclusive games,
and building an empire.
Sony’s growth was insidious in Japan. First it was behind both
Saturn and N64, then it was behind only N64, then it ruled the market.
For two years after the launch of Xbox, people joked that Xbox should
be called the “Halo Delivery System.” But Microsoft remained
steady. Microsoft executives arranged exclusive deals with unlikely
partners such as Tecmo and Ubi Soft. Games continued to look better on
Xbox. More recently, Microsoft broke Sony’s stranglehold on online
support from EA Sports.
Sony may have sold more hardware in this generation, but Microsoft
ended the generation with the chic factor.
Sony has always said that it pandered to the Playboy crowd—not
meaning Playboy readers, but rather suggesting that sophisticated and
older demographic. Microsoft said it was going after a tech-savvy
crowd. Even when Sony executives publicly berated their counterparts at
Microsoft, both companies stayed the course.
And Nintendo? Nintendo has bounced around. First GameCube was the
safe system for kids, then it grew up and competed with Sony and
Microsoft, only to become a system children and parents could trust.
The same thing has happened with GBA. First GBA SP’s clamshell
design was to make it more adult-friendly. Then DS materialized, and
GBA SP turns out to have been a kids system all along.
Nintendo needs to pick a strategy and stick to it; and in no area is
that more important than in handhelds.

7. Either do Revolution right or don’t do Revolution at all

In the end, Nintendo is going to need to make a stand. Executives at
both Sony and Microsoft have made comments about Nintendo owning the
handheld market. Now Sony has invaded that space. Microsoft may still
follow.
Nintendo should make its stand with Revolution. To do this, Nintendo
needs to do a lot of things right from the start.

First, it’s time for Nintendo to discover the Internet. In Kyoto,
just like the rest of the world, people access to the Internet and for
more than a game of “Phantasy Star Online.” Nintendo executives
admit that not adding DVD capability to GameCube hurt them, it’s to
make the same admission with the Internet. People may not use Xbox
Live, but they want the option.

Next, it’s time for Nintendo executives to listen to what their
customers tell them. People like pretty graphics. People want the same
games with better graphics. Nintendo executives say they want
Revolution to be as revolutionary as DS. Fine, but make sure the
graphics are hugely improved.

Not everyone agrees with this. Richard Doherty compliments Nintendo
for not trying to “create a super computer in a $300 game box.”
This, he says, is what will separate Nintendo from Microsoft and Sony.
But if Microsoft and Sony are successful, that separation may not be
good.

The truth is that if good old “Madden NFL” looks better and plays
better on PlayStation 3 and NextBox, Maddeneers are going to buy those
systems. And, for the record, “Madden NFL 2004” was the best
selling game of 2003.

The best of all worlds would be for Nintendo to join forces with
Microsoft. Nintendo would handle Japan, Microsoft would launch in the
United States. Microsoft would make the box, Nintendo would make the
controller. Software would be shared.

Since that is not going to happen, Nintendo needs to launch on time
with good software and a strong proprietary library. If Microsoft
launches in 2005, Nintendo should launch in 2005 as well. Do not pull a
Dreamcast/3DO and come out too early, but do not allow the competition a
one-year head start. Contrary to what former Nintendo VP Peter Main
said in his final press conference, there is no benefit in coming last
to the party.
Finally Nintendo needs to have enough hardware at launch. Avoid
shortages—real or trumped up—and fill the channel.

Nintendo can still recapture much its former glory, even in this
competitive marketplace. If the Red Socks can break their 50-year
curse, Nintendo can break out. What Nintendo cannot do is continue to
make the same old mistakes and survive.

Personally, I think there are a few good points here and there. And a lot of crap. And a lot of crap that conflicts with the other crap, and starts a lovely crap-flinging stinkwar with itself. I don't know where to begin in finding faults with it. IGN would be proud. Mostly, my respect for Steven Kent just fell down a few steps, but this is telling of the situation that Nintendo is in, and the hurdles that they'll have to overcome.

[UncleBob]

I'm watching 24 right now, so I can't really read through all of this, but the first thing that caught my attention...

>Game Boy Advance is obsolete.

Wha?  Anyone have GBA sales figures for the last few months?

[Bill Aurion]

4. Americanize, Americanize, Americanize

And now the rest of the article is completely voided...

[KnowsNothing]

Hahahaha, anybody can sound convincing by telling half truths and focusing on one side of the story.  Sure, you needed another console for connectivity.  He forgot to mention that the certain portable system needed is the most popular system EVER.

I didn't get past "step 4."  Garbage.

[Mario]

I stopped reading at "Game Boy Advance is obsolete". I thought this guy was credible? Apparently not.

[odifiend]

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
4. Americanize, Americanize, Americanize

And now the rest of the article is completely voided...

No, not really.  Apart from it being stupid to pick a title of one topic (of seven) and decide it voids an article,  Nintendo is a business and has had press conferences boasting that they were a good one.  Good businesses go after the largest demographic, thus in the case of video games, America...
Pretty much I agree with Steven Kent and to an extent IGN.  IGN is a lot more 'bitchy' about it, but yes Nintendo needs to change for both itself and its fans.
Re: Connectivity - the fact that there were 100 dollar hardware requirements limits the amount of people who can ideally play.  Not everyone has a GBA- some people do have two or three (like myself ) but not everyone has one.  Then there is the fact that with the original GBA you need to have a supply of batteries on hand.
Re: GBA 'obselete' - I definitely got the impression he meant when compared to the GBASP and DS.  Kent treated the GBA and SP hardware as two separate systems (which is true) and says that the original is obselete in comparison (which is also true due to the aforementioned battery issues).  

[Bill Aurion]

Apart from it being stupid to pick a title of one topic (of seven) and decide it voids an article

No it's not, it's being realistic...Something as huge as telling "Ninty to Americanize" is absolutely sickening...To Americanize a gaming company means to make gaming a farce...

I'll take a slightly-less-as-profitting-Japanese-Ninty over Hey-look-at-us-Americanized-like-EA Ninty...INSOLENCE!

[Procession]

He brings up a few interesting points, most interesting was how Nintendo are playing a short term game and Sony and Microsoft are playing a long term game in terms of marketshare. I think he's pretty on the money with that and it will be interesting to see how Nintendo ends up in terms of home console marketshare next generation. When you think about it, Gamecube started pretty strongly but seems to have petered out in terms of sales AND mindshare in recent times (despite the fact the quality games keep coming).

I also thought the "know your market and stick to it" point was interesting, but one I disagree with. If anything Nintendo should want to appeal to everyone who plays videogames, rather that catering to Nintendo fans alone. That was one of my points in a previous thread about the overuse of Mario; he restricts general appeal to Nintendo fans, it isn't as powerful a brand as it was 15 years ago. You can be family-friendly while still being everyone-else friendly.

[ruby_onix]

4. Americanize, Americanize, Americanize

Nintendo is doomed!

5. Keep doing what you do right

Nintendo is doomed!


When asked, the clerk at a GameStop store in Hawaii said that his store had sold out of PlayStation 2 and Xbox. “We still have GameCubes in stock.”

Asked why he still had GameCubes, he stated that it was fine for a certain audience. “Xbox and PlayStation 2 are better for 15- to 30-year-olds. Most of the people who come here are between 15 and 30.”
The clerk said that DS was ‘awesome, but hard to find.’ “We only get six in per week.” He suggested that I reserve a PSP, though he could not say what the price would be.
Calls to game stores in Washington, New York, and California produce similar results—though the clerks are seldom as friendly.
So this is the situation. Nintendo has been marginalized in the console business.

Competitors have shortages? Nintendo is doomed!

And these annual shortages… what’s with that? Nintendo has a
shortage of DS units. Do they think that is chic? They had similar
shortages after the launches of GameCube, N64, and Super NES. You would
learn how to manage inventory by now.
There is no logical reason for Nintendo to waste this window of time
before the launch of PSP. Yet here we are. With PSP supposedly
launching in three months, Nintendo is excitedly telling the press how
they cannot keep up with demand for DS.

Nintendo has shortages? Nintendo is doomed!


So is Nintendo going to go the way of Sega and Atari? The short answer
is, ‘No.’,” says John Taylor, managing director and analyst for
Arcadia Investment Corp. “Sega made a bunch of missteps. Sega had to
deal with 32X, Sega CD, and a bunch of peripherals that confused
consumers, ate up resources, and distracted management.”

Granted, Nintendo has not released anything as notorious 32X, though
Virtual Boy came close. On the other hand, with Game Boy Advance SP
(Nintendo of America plans to discontinue the original GBA) and DS
running side-by-side, the company does have two systems confusing
consumers, eating resources, and distracting management.

OMG! Nintendo has TWO handhelds at the SAME TIME? AND they once had a Virtual Boy? I am shocked. Nintendo is Sega!

[odifiend]

Wow, Bill, Prima Donna comes to mind when reading that response.  Kent explains that the market in Japan has shrunk while the American market has grown.  That isn't rocket science and a good business response would be to go after the larger market.  I'm not Nintendo should have changed the way they do business but there has been evidence in the past that they have ignored the American market - for the most part the "video game consumer".  That is not good business.  Nintendo whether they or you like it or not has to have something to cater to the new video game consumer.  But quite frankly I'd disagree with Kent in certain places that Nintendo needs to Americanize.  I honestly don't know how they've done it, but Nintendo seems to recieve a lot of support from EA despite the comtempt from Nintendo fans and EA has SOMETHING (not all good) for everybody.

[Bill Aurion]

Nintendo whether they or you like it or not has to have something to cater to the new video game consumer.

Since when does this have to be the case?  If this were so then titles like Viewtiful Joe and Katamari Damancy wouldn't sell a copy...Obviously SOME PEOPLE are buying these titles, those that like quirky Japanese titles...Ninty's problem is NOT it's quirky Japanese titles(hell, how did the NES do so well then?) but it's image, which it will never fix ever...All Ninty can do is add a few new mature titles to the mix(made by 2nd or 3rd parties) and hopefully take full advantage of the media next gen...That is, if asshats like Steven Kent will get off their highhorse and stop criticizing Ninty for the most asinine things...

Oh, and thanks for personally attacking me...That really added to your post...

[odifiend]

No problem Bill.  I just have a slight problem with people who generally criticize people for over reacting when their response to an argument founded in business logic is: "Something as huge as telling "Ninty to Americanize" is absolutely sickening...To Americanize a gaming company means to make gaming a farce..." I'm sorry business sickens you...
To continue to hold dev interest and to continue to make profit in the long run, Nintendo does have to cater to that consumer- do they have to make the games themself? No, but they need to be available.
NES did well because it had the whole industry on lock.  Mario's original quirkiness did bring Nintendo into the limelight but it was all the developers wanting to develop for Nintendo that ensured the NES and SNES performed well.  Good business decisions and liasions made the NES and SNES.
Taking advantage of the media would be a dream come true- it honestly could fix there image IMO.  But that isn't something that just happens.  If I dare say, Microsoft's ad campaign is very American- tens of millions were spent to get the word out.  Word of mouth spread. Mindshare eventually did turn into marketshare.  Nintendo should not spend as much as money as Microsoft, but they could do their image a great service by at least Americanizing their ad campaign.

[matt oz]

Okay, Bill...

As a child, you really don't have a deep knowledge of the business world, or the workings of an international corporation.

Although some of Steven Kent's points contradict themselves, as others have already pointed out, the fact that Nintendo needs to Americanize is perfectly clear to anyone with common sense.  You, Bill, cannot make the distinction between business practices and game development.  America is the larger market.  Let Nintendo (the corporation) figure out a better way to deal with the American consumers, while Nintendo (the developer) still makes the quirky Japanese games, and courts several developers that do the same.

Times have changed, and Nintendo's market share is now 15%.  15 years ago it was 93%.  Since you're such a rabid, die-hard Nintendo fan, you should want them to hang around for another generation of consoles, right?  So do I.

And it is possible, very possible, for a company to change their image.  Celebrities do it all the time.  As Steven Kent pointed out, Cadillac was able to do it.  Look at VH1, even.  10 years ago, they were playing "adult contemporary" videos 24/7.  Now they have about a dozen original reality shows, and celebrity tabloid shows.

It may be hard to relate this to the video game world, since it's such a new business, as compared to others.  But if VH1 can be considered cool, then anything is possible.

[MaleficentOgre]

I stopped reading at americanize.  That's the last thing I want. (sorry my post isn't five paragraphs long, everything else has been said.)

[Mario]

Quote
Although some of Steven Kent's points contradict themselves, as others have already pointed out, the fact that Nintendo needs to Americanize is perfectly clear to anyone with common sense.

I disagree. Nintendo don't want to be viewed just like every other boring company, what they have is unique.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Reggie used to work for VH1, so Nintendo is much cooler, yes.  Forget "amerikanization."  We're already experiencing REGGIENIZATION.

~~~~~

And here's a look into Yamauchi Hiroshi-sama's mind set. (I HAVE NO IDEA IF THESE SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, CUZ IT'S FAKE)  

[Bill Aurion]

Okay, Bill...

As a child, you really don't have a deep knowledge of the business world, or the workings of an international corporation.

This "child" doesn't need a shred of knowledge of business to know what makes a game fun...A generic, "hip" company does not a fun game make...Nintendo is one of the last true artists of the videogame world, and I'd really like them to stay that way...Of course, it's for money, but they aren't a Sony who throws out crap...

Do you think an artist will rearrange their strategy to a more modern taste if their paintings aren't selling as much?  Perhaps, but only if they truely do not feel strongly for the product they make...A true artist will follow their strategem no matter what stands in their way...And that's the Nintendo I cherish: one who develops games that are FUN, not games that are hip, gory, and mainstream...

[Procession]

Yeah, Mario Party 6 is a pretty amazing piece of art.

Like every other company, Nintendo has a responsibility to maximise returns for its shareholders. i.e. They want to make money; Steven Kent is just pointing out how they can do that.  

[Savior]

Quote
What Nintendo cannot do is continue to...

In the end hes right. Bitch about him all you want but he makes real good points.  

[odifiend]

I agree with that, Bill.  Troubleshooting Nintendo is pretty funny because really Nintendo has two major jobs.  The game part of Nintendo doesn't need troubleshooting really.  There are complaints that some things have been done already but never that a game is bad (with the exception of Pokemon Colloseum ).  Then there is Nintendo the corporation.  But they don't do an entirely terrible job either.  They seem to give most developers all the time they need, they make profit and lately they are even getting much better at 3rd party support.  Nintendo's only real fault is average marketing and really sub par early marketing.  Unfortunately they can't get any 3rd party support which cruelly and ultimately explains many of their short comings.  First party games are practically the only sellers and those don't realize their potential due to limit fan base..yatta yadda, same ol' same old.
Nintendo's problem is the vicious cycle.  Kent and IGN don't want this to happen again so they make these lists hoping that Nintendo execs get it perfect this time.  I think a lot of their analysis is pretty accurate but sometimes it is not delivered in the best way, especially with IGN.
Kent, who I always remember being very positive of Nintendo, is experiencing Nintendo-should-be-top-dog-or-at-least-close-second-but-is-last syndrome.  He lacks Bill's faith. ^_^

[RABicle]

Stop this parade of stupid! Your only encouraging weak dogs like Steven Kent to get what they want; attention.

[Mario]

Quote
Originally posted by: Savior

Quote
What Nintendo cannot do is continue to...

In the end hes right. Bitch about him all you want but he makes real good points.

No, I don't think he does.

I think if Nintendo want to be number one they should release more Mario Party games, perhaps three each year, one on each of the systems they are supporting, and they should all have connectivity with each other. We also need more Pokemon spinoff games and just more games with Mario in them in general.

[Berto2K]

Let us not forget, the "large gaming population of the US" doesn't know who EA is.  All they know is Madden.  Perfect example for you.  A couple weeks before I went to E3 2004, I told a former coworker what it was all about and that I would get to play games that weren't out yet.  What did he ask if I was going to play as the first thing out of his mouth?  "You gonna play Madden?"  My reply to him was something along the lines of "**** no.  There are better games out there."  

The crowd that Kent and a few others here want Nintendo to drastically start aiming for only knows game names.  They don't know developers and publishers.  When I gave a few examples of the games I was going to play at E3, my former coworker kept asking if they were going to be on PS2.  Nintendo doesn't have to change anything about their games.  Their problem which pretty much most everyone agrees with is how they present them in commercials to the masses.

If you can't see that the market is becoming stagnant from too many similar games then you need to walk outside for a day and get a breathe of fresh air.  Sony is delivering the same thing just wrapped in different characters and colors (maps, textures, bumpmapping, and whatever else) just because they know one way works.  They aren't daring enough to try something new.  They rely on 3rd parties to get their system off store shelves.  

Nintendo is a business who is making lots of money.  Lots more than the other 2.  They have no reason to change the product the produce, only how they market it.  Their games have brought something new and fresh each generation.  Like a breathe of fresh air that there is still creativity somewhere in the industry.  If Nintendo were to mold is ways akin to EA, MS, and Sony....I fell for the entire gaming population because there would be a crash just as bad if not worse then the one Nintendo revived in the early eighties.

[Shift Key]

No skins 7.9 sry

[Savior]

Hell even the Americanize point made sense. hes not saying make the company American. Just realize that America is the main market now. Its no longer Japan. (Nintendo kinda knows this, the DS was released in US before Japan.) They just need more US/Europe development studios...  they lost a ton the last couple of years Rare, SK, and the guys behind their only sports games, Kobe Bryant and Ken Griffey...

Whats so wrong? I mean Nintendo fans somehow ignore anything remotely negative about Nintendo as rubbish. Nintendo isnt the powerhouse they were 10-15 years ago