Nintendo is Killing Gaming
…or at least the gamers that supported them through last generation.
I missed most of the Nintendo E3 Conference this morning, but I got home just in time for their featured non-game: Wii Fit. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The entire internet gaming community couldn’t believe what was going on. Nintendo has been saying for a while that they are not competing with Microsoft and Sony; they really meant it. While MS and Sony are left fighting for the dollars of 20-somethings with disposable income, Nintendo is creating games for overweight moms.
Ah, just as I’m writing this post, I saw this picture:
Sums it up pretty damn well. But if you listen to the mainstream press, Nintendo won this E3 handily with their exercise non-game.
Nintendo Is Star of E3 Show as Rivals Scramble to Catch Up
Price cuts and new colors on hardware will only go so far to help Sony catch up to Nintendo, which is moving to take an even bigger lead. Earlier on Wednesday at Nintendo’s E3 event, the company attempted to prove that it could expand upon its successful strategy of appealing to nontraditional gamers, while at the same time encroaching on Sony’s hard-core gamer demographic.
Nintendo aims to get traditional gamers interested in the Wii with a new gun-shaped controller and a few “first-person shooter†games. For everyone else, Nintendo intends to capitalize on the Wii’s motion-sensing features by selling a new suite of health-conscious games called Wii Fit. It requires the purchase of a floor-pad controller that looks a lot like a bathroom scale.
I have to say that I don’t see where Nintendo “encroached” on Sony’s hardcore demographic. Nintendo has exactly the same franchises it has always had (such as Metroid, Mario, and Super Smash Bros), but the only game that truly seems to take full advantage of the Wiimote capabilites is Super Mario Galaxy, which looks to be the best game Nintendo has made in years. The same old Nintendo fans, including myself, are going to be the ones interested in these games, especially since Nintendo BARELY dedicated any time to them, deciding to instead focus on their casual non-games that are the bane to gamers everywhere.
I’ve played Wii Sports – it was the most shallow gaming experience I can remember. I played each of the six sports once, and that was enough for the rest of my life. Now with games like Vision Training and Wii Fit, Nintendo seems to be shifting way too much of its resources towards such inexpensive electronic activities. Yes, activities. They’re not even games. Reggie Fils-Aime, the President of NoA (Nintendo of America) stood on the Wii Fit platform and had his center of gravity and his BMI calculated. This happened during the conference while people watched. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!?! THIS IS A VIDEOGAME?!? THIS IS NINTENDO?!?
The saddest part was that it was presented by Shigeru Miyamoto, the mastermind behind Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, Zelda…and shit, even Pikmin. Now he created Wii Fit, and he got his ass totally kicked by Reggie in some game where you head soccer balls by leaning on the floor-pad accessory. The fact that he got completely owned at his own game explains a lot. Miyamoto, what the hell have you done?
But the mainstream press is probably right. Wii Fit will probably be a huge phenomenon – especially in Japan – and Nintendo will continue to rake in sales and insane profits. The Land of the Rising Sun already can’t get enough of the DS and its training games. This trend will just extend to the Wii. There’s already a cooking game. Soon there will be Wii Hairdressing, starring Cher (joke stolen from a forum buddy), Wii Whittling, Wii Housewife, and maybe even Wii Handjobs.
So instead of trying to take the rest of their franchises to the next level like they’ve done with Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo fans are left with Metroid Prime 3, which looks exactly the same as its predecessors plus waggle control which adds nothing, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which will probably be great admittedly (but online is still a question), Mario Kart, which looks (and probably plays) exactly the same as the GC version, and some other stuff I don’t even care about anymore.
Maybe it’s age catching up with me, but what the fuck happened to Nintendo? As I, along with the rest of the online gaming community, feel that they are turning to shit, the sales of the Wii continue to destroy the competition. Maybe it’s the price difference, but there has to be something to what Nintendo is doing. Just don’t expect hardcore gamers to like it. It’s just unfortunate that the real next-gen consoles are so goddamn expensive.
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