Iwata: Wii Is Not Next Gen

[linkzeldagame]

Yeah Kalimar very long and informative post. In response to this quote:

graphics are important, but only after gameplay. If you don't realize this, you aren't a true gamer.

I agree with you. For example I have lately been playing N64 on my computer at home since I gave away the controllers to various ppl in the neighbourhood so they can play N64 games after youth group events etc... and I was playing Banjo Tooie on the N64 emulator. I have a GC and I really liked MP series and SSBM. As I was playing an outdated game that was made 4 - 5 yrs ago the graphics took a while to adjust to but once I got used to it, I cannot stop playing it as it's such a great game! It's very well targeted towards kids but the game is so immense its challenging and immerses me into the game after 5 mins of playing it.

And here I am talking about a dreadful graphics based game in comparisions to todays games that come out for ps2 and xbox and GC. And the other funny thing is that I'm 19 and I don't give a s**t about what everyone thinks about whether I'm playing a kid game or (shock and horror) a nes based arcade game like Donkey Kong or The Legend of Zelda.

PS3 and X-Box 360 duke it out over the same dang thing.

Hear hear! I was at a XBOX gaming centre last friday and I finally had a first try with halo and time splitters (said to be great games) - I was somewhat disgusted with the differences between the two games. How can they be great games when they have exact controller configurations, almost exact same storyline, and neither of them even have a 'pause' button. Maybe its because I don't have an XBOX and I don't fully know how to use double joystick configuration or even find the start button on the controller because it blends well with the controller making it almost impossible to find it easily.

I can imagine maybe even a RPG game coming out for XBOX 360 that will rival final fantasy RPG that will come out for PS3.

Ezekiel86:

more mature titles would certainly be more inviting of a larger demographic, and this in itself isn't nessacerrily (however thats spelt) competing, its simply something that adds that extra bit of flavour to the games, something for the older audience

I noted that happening with the GC as im demographically in the mature age range and there aren't many games on the GC for older people. I have certain mature games such as Metroid Prime series and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. The interesting thing is that I've always played Metroid Prime over Splinter Cell as I prefer those types of games. As a result I hardly play Splinter Cell.

By the way,

nessacerrily (however thats spelt)

is spelt 'necessarily', I think. My memory's not perfect with these kinds of words as I dont use them often except in essays lol...

The uni I go to has a gaming club and the most popular game everyone likes to play is SSBM over Soul Calibur for PS2. There's alway's someone better at SSBM lol! Goes to show how much fun some 'kiddy' nintendo games are even though the people playing them are in the mature age range!

Cheers Stuart

 

[Ezekiel86]

Even though Super Smash Bros. Melee adheres to "kiddie" aesthetics, its appeal stretches far beyond that sub-group of the gaming community. Having said that, it's hard to believe it can even be a game aimed towards a "kiddie" audience when one sees how elite some players actually are... but I suppose thats for those who can actually appreciate a good depth and quality of gameplay that alot of newer games tend to lack.

Having more "grown up" titles on a platform doesn't necessarily (thanks stuart) guarentee a better quality of gameplay (i've played some "grown up" titles that have been downright awful in gameplay) but the sheer spooky, uneasy feeling set by games aimed at an older demographic (i'm not generalising saying all "grown up" games do this, but the ones that do, do it well) make them worthy titles to play. Don't forget they have that rating for a reason. That kind of emotional involvement in games seems nearly absent from alot of the "kiddie" games, which is problematic. While the "kiddie" games might be alot of fun to play, without feeling and emotion, the games become lifeless very quickly.

 

[saturnine]

I absolutely agree w/you kalimar. gameplay has taken a bit of a backseat to graphics since MS joined the fray. Splinter Cell used to be one of my favorite games, but as I was playing through Chaos Theory, I began to get bored w/it b/c it was the same thing every level. sneak up behind everyone & kill them or knock em out. repeat ad nauseum. you always knew what you had to do, even before you knew what the mission was. you always had the same set of tools & abilities from mission 1 to the end. sure, there are diff. things to sneak around & diff. ways to do this, but the gameplay itself never changes throughout the entire game & it didn't really change at all from the previous 2 games in the series.

I began to realize that the majority of xbox games are like this & missed the fun of Nintendo games. So I got a copy of Ocarina of Time b/c this was a game I missed since I never owned the N64. It's amazing how a game that is 2 generations old can still captivate & immerse you in it's world. There's constantly a feeling of discovery & you know there is more to do in a particular area, you just don't yet have the tools to do it.

Nintendo has the most creative game designers on the planet & I cannot say enough good things about the direction they are going to take the gaming indsustry in. The Wii is the machine for me & I cannot wait to support Nintendo by purchasing it.

 

[ssbb_lover]

Very long posts

 

[ssbb_lover]

But very good content

 

[ssbb_lover]

Keep it up

 

[CadaveR (Ivo)]

Amen to that. Many people seem to see things (especially PS and X-box fanboys) this way: if it has the best graphics, it is automatically superior! Screw the gameplay! I just want eye candy! Luuuurgh!

Trust me, I know about this way. I've had many conversations IRL about such things. Most people I've talked to (in my generation) view this. I also talked to an electronic technician about this. Did the gameplay matter to him? No. It was the graphics and DVD compatability. What happened to the magic of gaming? Does that not matter anymore? It has been this way since Playstation (originally a SNES add on) came into the play. The N64 was a pure gaming machine, but who cares when they could have Playstation? I'm sure people (consumers) turned to Playstation because they thought the discs were sexy and could support graphics superior to N64. Playstation did have great games though, so it wasn't untill the next console war that the magic of gaming really started to dwindle.

When Microsoft butts in with it's superior graphics and hardware campaign, people were swooning over it! To most people I talked to about it, they wanted X-box or PS2 (X-box mostly). The only real argument besides DVD and superior graphics (actually, I think GCN surpasses PS2 with graphics capability, but don't quote me on that) that I heard for a long time was "we got Halo!" or "we got Grand Theft Auto!" That's all. Well, what kind of argument is that? Sure, Halo was a great game, I admit. But Gamecube answered with Metroid Prime, which I enjoy more anyways. And shooting hookers and running over pedestrians is not my version of having a good time. All the while, Nintendo is still dishing out games that focus more on the gameplay: Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, Pikmin, etc. Now fast forward to the end of this console war. I start talking about it again with friends. Now they say: "Nintendo is so kiddy!" "The Gamecube has no mature games!" "Halo dominates all!" Now these people are probably casual gamers. What hurts me is the "kiddy" part. I never thought a Mario game to be "kiddy" and I'm sure no one else did. That all changed when more "mature" games came out to the market. So I'm automatically a loser just because I love Nintendo's pure gaming fun? I don't think so.

Wii is showing just that: pure gaming fun. Again. But this time, more innovations prove this to be a new generation of gaming. Sure Nintendo lost fans due to superior graphics and advanced hardware (if you look at things that way, you aren't a true gamer anyways), but I bet many will come back when they realize that Nintendo chose the right path while PS3 and X-Box 360 duke it out over the same dang thing. ..Again. So who's ready for a change? I sure am! New change = New generation, baby!



Sure, graphics are important, but only after gameplay. If you don't realize this, you aren't a true gamer. A game could have the best graphics in the world but really stink with gameplay at the same time! (please keep in mind that I'm not flamming anyone..I'm just saying it how it is). But of course games will have great graphics on Wii! It would be a true waste of money if Wii has advanced graphic capabilities for nothing, wouldn't you say? ATI (the makers of the graphics chips "Broadway" and "Hollywood") say that the graphics seen from Wii at E3 was just the tip of the iceberg. There's much, much more potential, so don't worry. I never worried about the graphics in the first place. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, and Twilight Princess are enough eye candy for me! ^_^




Of course Nintendo can! And with a simple slogan: Playing is Believing Nintendo has stated time and time again that the days for superior graphics are at an end. We are now at a point where the graphics really don't matter anymore. They look good enough right now anyways. I'm still content with my Gamecube! Nintendo has finally regained a foothold after reopening the eyes of many to gameplay. Wii is a simple, family-friendly machine, whereas the 360 and PS3 have the potential to scare them away due to the complexities of their hardware.

I could go on and on about this, but I think that's enough for now. ^_^'

Errr, interesting. What I was proposing (or something similiar) is the ol' "the best of both worlds". Having a great fun/innovative gameplay + better hardware to please our society-trainned will to beauty is not a bad thing. Of course, we could play Pacman for ever. And EVER. And we'd never get really tired of it's pure fun-orientated mechanisms. It's simple and addictive but you should understand that a little more of deepness, "in-depth" reallife-like experiences are welcome as a matter of $imple fact. There's nothing wrong (imho) about joinning together great/innovative/pure-fun orientated playability/game mechanisms and a little better hardware to representatively/graphically parfectly match this aural brand-new way of playing. The excitement comes in double when you offer both the two most unconsciously searched pillars: How to play (experience) and what to look at (visual sensing - which's - of course - our most used and braind-requiring activity). Of course the visuals come after controls, but you're an ingenuous fool if you think that tweaking the visuals to match some of the more sophisticated visual-experiences for the Wii in order to enchantre even more the experience is a BAD thing/move. I don't honestly think so, but i can still respect your opinion. Nintendo should keep two main divisions/categories for it's games: the "INclusion type (where you call for newbies and never-before-seen-people-playing-videogames + a couple of interested hardcore, graphics-driven ol' gamers) and the more "traditional" (mature) division, for the people who already play and want the same ol' thing all revamped with great/innovative/"charismatic"/hypnotic-what-else-you-may-call-it controls.



p.s. Sorry for the poor, pooooor English! :/

 

[ssbb_lover]

How old is every1 here? Or at least what grade is everyone here?

 

[deity_link]

Ok i was reading GamePro and it said that at E3 it was mentioned that it was the "new gen" not the "next gen"

 

[Dav_4550]

I agree with the "new gen" label since they (nintendo) are going for something entirely...well, new. They are moving over into a niche of their own.

Imagine three cars traveling down a freeway in the same lane, no one is really going to get anywhere since they are riding each others butts...

but if a car (nintendo) were to move into another lane, even if it led somewhere else (innovation), they would be able to pull out in front of the other cars (competition).

Maybe it is a hard analogy to follow, but I kind of like it...and I made it up on the spot so forgive me if it's a little weak.

btw...I'm 19 and going to college in the fall, and I happen to enjoy all ratings of games: E,T,M. People shouldn't feel like they have to play an M game in order to be mature. Let the rest of the gamers follow one another...the Wii is for individuals.

 

[linkzeldagame]

Nintendo has the most creative game designers on the planet & I cannot say enough good things about the direction they are going to take the gaming indsustry in.

Especially with Shigeru Miyamoto leading the team. He (according to many nintendo magazines and wikipedia sites etc) created the Mario, Donkey Kong, and Zelda franchise starting from the NES generation.

INclusion type (where you call for newbies and never-before-seen-people-playing-videogames + a couple of interested hardcore, graphics-driven ol' gamers) and the more "traditional" (mature) division, for the people who already play and want the same ol' thing all revamped with great/innovative/"charismatic"/hypnotic-what-else-you-may-call-it controls.

For the inclusive or newbie gamers, Nintendo often makes a totally new game based on a concept or idea like Mario party or Mario 64. Despite the repetitive nature of these Mario games, they always have some thing completely new to offer that was never seen or dimly thought of in the older games.
For the mature audience, isn't that what often happens with games like pokemon and *coughs* mario party?

 

[motherbrainrulez]

wii is not next gen whatever comes after it will be next gen

 

[Lachadine]

nintendo IS next-gen

the wii isnt next-gen for its graphics. its next-gen for inovation!
nintendos changing the way we play games completely while microsoft, and sony are almost doing nothing to inovate. If changing gamming completely isnt next-gen, i dont know what is.

 

[Dav_4550]

That's true, but unfortunately many feel that the term next gen has to do with the latest graphics and processing hardware, which is unfortunate.

 

[linkzeldagame]

many feel that the term next gen has to do with the latest graphics and processing hardware

I agree Dav_4550, as it is the approach of many gamers who are interested in buying PS3 and XBOX 360.

On a side note I went to EB in Sydney and was looking for a cheap price for GC controllers as I needed two controllers for my SSBM game and came across a promotional ad for PS3. A group of teenagers had a look at it and were interested in finding out more about the PS3 and I said to them that it cost something like 1 grand for the console. Their reaction was - i dont think ill ever get it coz it'll be way too much for me to afford!