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Nintendo Gaming / The Problem With GameCube
« on: October 28, 2003, 05:56:51 PM »
First off, let me just say that I am indeed a fan of Nintendo and most of their work. I find it a very unfair judgement that Nintendo is a "kiddie" system and that it is not up to par with the other next generation consoles out there. The Nintendo GameCube can more than compete with Sony or Microsoft, but their problem is that they aren't willing to accept change in the gaming world. One of the big turn-offs about the GameCube was the scarcity of online gaming. Let's face it. Online gaming is the present and much of the future of online gaming. I still think it's awesome that Nintendo wants to maintain a firm single-player foundation, but that sort of gaming can only be enhanced by the Internet. For example, Super Smash Brothers Melee is an outstanding game and the single-player mode can be quite challenging, but for most people, the game gets fun when you get a bunch of your friends together and beat the crap out of each other. Why would it be any less fun to play with random online people? Or another example is F-Zero GX. The single-player mode is extremely difficult, but once again, it is fun when you simply race with your friends. Online gameplay. You can race your custom models again others online. Nintendo is missing out on a HUGE business opportunity by completely disregarding us fans who appreciate the online gaming community. And it isn't like they couldn't see it coming. The Sega Dreamcast was released with online capabilities and people thought that it was an awesome addition. Online gaming on Next Generation consoles has been popular since the beginning. Also, the need to stop trying to implement new, "better" ideas into their games. Their games have always had good, solid storylines and sturdy characters. With each sequel, there came a bigger and better adventure, and thus, their popularity rose. The Nintendo 64 had amazing games. Super Mario 64 was an outstanding game, using all the ideas of previous Mario games and hurdling them into a 3D environment. The Zelda games were unparallel. People instantly fell in love with the Nintendo 64's abilities. People had very high expectations for the GameCube, and they expected it to match up with the other consoles. But sadly it lacked many features : DVD capablities, online capabilities. GameCube could still have been a major competitor with it's long history of famous and infamous characters, but sadly, even the best of them were reduced to less than their potential with new, innovative features. Mario had a new water pack, and every level was the same, repetitive beach theme. Zelda looked brilliant, but he was turned into a cartoonish character. Nintendo gets the reputation of being a children's system, but not without good reasons. Gamers want more realistic gaming experience, not a childish one. Even young kids are readily dropping a Mario title for a more mature game. Nintendo has always been very good at pleasing it's audience, but as of late, it has stumbled a bit on it's path. The cries of many gamers are being deafened by those of few. If Nintendo really wishes to remain with the video game industry, then I think it's time for them to evolve.
