Definitely fair enough. I don't mind them going after non-gamers either. I think it's perfectly fine. To be honest, I don't think the next gen will be quite as big as the current gen. The starting prices are going to be more cost prohibitive, not to mention the more expensive games. So trying to expand the customer base to at least meet the status quo will be important.
I am concerned, though, that their apparent focus will be too much on the non-gamers. And I know this is yet another touchy issue, but I don't think it's fair for anybody to dismiss the concern.
What we know is that Iwata was on stage for 50 minutes, talking about how awesome they are for making Nintendogs, brain games, showing charts and graphs on the new gamers that came on board with the release of those games, etc. And they used that as a precursor to revealing the Revolution controller. The *context* in which it debuted, and the reasoning they claimed for the controller design, was all wrapped around the nongamer. The "satisfy current gamers" was not a focus, but a bullet point. And to be just a bullet point after their failed attempt of being an "and" company is a valid red flag.
I mean, according to their chart, non-gamers still only made up the minority of Nintendogs sales. But the chart shows that more non-gamers bought Nintendogs than other games, and that is used as their proof of concept. That in itself doesn't sell me. All it tells me is to make more nongames to grow my market. It doesn't tell me to wrap the bulk of my strategy, design my controller, and spend the vast majority of my important 50 minute speech on them. They're marginalized enough as it is in the console market. It's almost like targeting a niche of a niche. At best it's risky. They seem to assume that Nintendo fans will be there no matter what, and these new gamers will just fill their cups to the rim with spoils.
And it's rather strange since the design of the DS is two-handed and very much like the SNES layout. The nongamers managed just fine.
But to bottom line it, I am all for Nintendo being that "and" company, and being the company that draws new people in, but they need to prove that they are big enough to handle it without sacrificing customers in the process. Their history with the GameCube demonstrated that they weren't. And the controller wasn't a good start for next gen since the context of its debut was about the non-gamer. Unless Nintendo considerably beefs up their development studios to be able to adequately accommodate everybody, they aren't going to be any better off in that regard... and next gen could be a rinse and repeat of this gen:
The games will be fun, but will there be enough fun games for "everybody" they make games for? That's the big question. Sadly none of us have the answer. All we have is history, and that's rocky.
They could also start kissing ass and get better 3rd party support, so Nintendo doesn't have to depend so much on their own titles. Jeez. Don't make us beg Valve for Half-Life 3.... Actually, I would gladly beg for that. Many times over. I'd bring kneepads if I had to. But in all honesty, Nintendo kisses nobody's ass. So I'm not holding my breath for that either. But I am open to being surprised and will gladly be the a-hole that was proven wrong for doubting Nintendo. I'd make it my forum title.
Topic: G4 Interview with Iwata Reveals New Details (Read 54411 times)
