My 2 Cents.

[Conker Live]

I've been a gamer for a long time now....and I've seen some great games (and systems) come and go over the years. But I have to say that with this generation of games machines I can see the potential big slow down of the videogame industry. When I say this I'm refering to the lack of new games...and I mean NEW games. I will be the first to admit that there are some excellent current generation games but I have seen so many repeating (rehashes) games out there that I find myself losing interest in gaming. And now these new systems are generating buzz right now....and for what? It's always exciting to see new hardware but when you think about it, eye candy is only so deep. It just doesn't last....doesn't keep you interested. Take many of todays games into consideration. They look great but you tire of them quickly (I'm not gonna mention any game specifically but you all know what I'm talking about). My point is that I see the hype for PS3 and Xbox 2 but really, what are you getting? For the most part, more of the same?...just better graphics? I don't know about you but I'm not buying this hardware hype like I did last generation (intro of PS2 and Xbox and NGC).

But I think there is hope....I think Nintendo has realized this and their "revolution" system might be an answer to this....at lest in part. They (nintendo) can see this is a problem in the industry and they are trying to combat it head on. Look at the DS and the PSP for example. The DS is trying something new in the handheld market where the PSP is a portable PS 1.5.... Not taking anything away from the technical capability of the PSP but it is the same thing over again....just in your hands. Yes it will play movies and music and that's new but I'm talking gaming here.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I hope these companies don't just enhance graphics and leave it at that. I want to see innovation. I'm sure that some of you are thinking what else can be done? I don't know...but if I did I would market it and make a few million My point is that it is very hard and risky to be new and innovative. And yes I think PS2 and Xbox introduced some great stuff (analog buttons, harddrive, online play) but many of the games scream "I've been done before".

Bottom line.....the next gerenation will not be about graphics. Graphics are only skin deep now and all 3 next gen consoles will be about the same (hell they share the same technologies, ATI, IBM, etc!). It will be about software and new interactive technologies. I hope this XNA and "Revolution" are steps in the right direction!

Peace.

 

[GwymWeepa]

I demand Conker to be remade yet again for the Xbox2

 

[Sonic]

The same attitude of games being done before should also be applied to the Gamecube. Nintendo's own titles are partially to blame for that also. Not all titles but some.

As for the Nintendo Revolution, I really don't know how they can compete unless this revolution is more of a revelation in the way Nintendo does business and markets its consoles. If it decides to fight agressively in the next generation then I can fully see it as a revolution. But until then it is all hype coming from somewhere within the industry. If Sony and Microsoft are hyping their next gen consoles by talking about the power than Nintendo is hyping its next system with talks of a revolution.

Innovation in this industry was gone a long time ago and it can be seen that graphics are as important as gameplay. A game with great gameplay is good on its own, but with nice to amazing graphics to back it up makes it a much more enjoyable and memorable experience. I don't count on Nintendo to be innovative in the least especially since they stick to the tried and true methods a lot. I am biased in believing that SEGA was the most innovative videogame company for the longest time and a lot of others copied it. Nowaday's it is an entirely different story.

I wish Nintendo the best of luck. They wowed me at E3 with their Zelda presentation and I believe that is a step in the right direction. Nintendo needs to directly compete with both Sony and Microsoft in the console market in order for them to prosper and grow. Their self maintained games will not last forever and they need to open the doors up to 3rd parties and the older demographic. If they do these two things with agressive marketing then I am confident to say Nintendo will be able to take a bigger chunk of the console market next round.

 

[Farid]

I've been a gamer for a long time now....

Peace.

IMHO, the games of that generations are not that "fresh", not because of the hardware or even because of the lack of creativity...
That's because, it's starting to be a grown up art/industry, a lots of ideas/concepts have been created, some of them made a lot of money, and therefore copied (by other or the same developer/publisher (Nintendo for example as said Sonic , but all the D/P do that).

We didn't see that coming last gen because of 3D, it brought new concepts et new gameplay experiences. If we look closesly to the 2D games they also suffer from the same problem, there were a lot of games that were "played" the same (plateformers, beat-them-all, scrolling shooter, etc).

That and the fact you're growing older, which means all the games now sound like you "played them all before".

On a bright side it still some new way to go for creating new gameplay experiences, eyetoy is an example, DS touchscreen is another one...

Anyway as long as there won't be another paradigm shift in videogaming, game won't really change (except theirs "form"), IMHO.

About Nintendo Revolution, personally i'm not sure Nintendo would risk all their home console buisness with bringing a "revolution", because if it fails to take off, Nintendo will have serious problems next gen... I don't think they will do something "that different", they will just "Add" something, that something is currently unknown, of course.

 

[Evil_Cloud]

I agree, Revolution won't differ that much from the other two '4th generation ' consoles, but it will add something that will make it more appealing (or at least they hope that it will be appealing .

 

[Conker Live]

Some great thoughts here! Honestly, I don't know what Revolution will do....will it just be a unique controller addition only or introduce something completely new? All I know is that there are some options out there to bring interactivity to the next level but they require sigificant horsepower under the hood. For example: voice recognition (reliable and error free) and motion tracking your head with a vision system (glasses), very hard things to do (power wise and cost wise). What I'm saying is that hopefully these companies bring something really new to the table in 2005-06 like they did in 1994-96 (3D).

And you guys are right, there are a number of games that are repeated every generation, but that will always be here because they will always make money. My point to that is that I'm looking for fresh technologies to make old games new again (like 3D did) and to introduce in whole bunch of new games.

A side note on the head tracking thing.....I think this isn't out of the question. LCD panels are dropping in price fast (look at computer moniters and projects and handheld devices) and the head tracking system has been released to the public as well...think Logitech's latest webcam. Having said this I think that this would be an add on but this technology would really do for the industry what 3D did.

My 2 cents con't

Peace.

 

[Blade]

A friend of mine mentioned a controller with a GBA/touch screen on it for N5. Maybe bigger than a DC VMU, smaller than a DS screen.

It would be a good idea, right out of the box. Innovative? Not really. Just useful.

Same basic idea as the GBA/GCN connection, just without the GBA and with a touch-screen. One use I can think of off the top of my head is 100% secret pitch placement/choice in baseball titles, or plays in a football game.

Think about it.. you could open up a playbook mode where you can click and drag the stylus to create a play, one position/player at a time. I would think they'd already be doing this with the DS, but again.. it would be useful on N5 too.

 

[wco81]

Don't underrate graphics. Most casual gamers and people normally disinterested in games, like parents who buy games for their kids, don't look much beyond the graphics to judge the quality.

Even gamers who claim to look beyond the surface for gameplay can be enchanted by graphics. When you look at how popular the Pixar movies have become, there is a taste in the mass market for CG.

Plus you look at the growing popularity of HDTV equipment and the likelihood that the next generation should do HDTV far more justice, we should not kid ourselves that graphics will still be a significant part of what the console makers, the games publishers and developers and consumers are interested in when it comes to games.

 

[Qroach]

Great graphics is the easiest thing to market...

 

[Sonic]

With regards to Pizar movies and their graphics, that may be a selling point but it isn't the biggest selling point for the movies. It has been proven that a CG movie can have the best graphics around and still do horrible. One need look no further than The Spirits Within in order for evidence to support that. I see CG as a still-new genre of movies and its own class of animation. The movies are still animated but they also have a completely different look. The reason Pixar movies do so well is that they are genuinely good and aren't just pretty graphics. There is an actual plot and substance behind Pixar movies. It's the same way with Shrek and Shrek 2, very good IMO.

 

[Conker Live]

This thread isn't to discard graphics. People will expect better and better graphics at each new console release. However, graphics alone won't keep people interested. Sonic is completely right....graphics WITH content it the only way one can sustain a successful product.

Peace

 

[Tsmit42]

I think it has nothing to do with the hardware companies, but the software developers. Sony, Nintendo, and MS will put out hardware that will be able to do a lot, but it will be up to the software developers to make the innovative games that we all want. It has very little to do with hardware and lots to do with software, so we shouldn't put the pressure on Sony, MS, or Nintendo but companies like Square-Enix, EA, Bungie, etc.

 

[Jov]

I think it has nothing to do with the hardware companies, but the software developers. Sony, Nintendo, and MS will put out hardware that will be able to do a lot, but it will be up to the software developers to make the innovative games that we all want. It has very little to do with hardware and lots to do with software, so we shouldn't put the pressure on Sony, MS, or Nintendo but companies like Square-Enix, EA, Bungie, etc.

True to a certain extent, but the consoles are the foundations to develop innovative games. Without the power and features, its reduces the freedom to innovate. Why do you think devs ask the makers to meet certain specs like memory, etc....

 

[zurich]

As for the Nintendo Revolution, I really don't know how they can compete unless this revolution is more of a revelation in the way Nintendo does business and markets its consoles. If it decides to fight agressively in the next generation then I can fully see it as a revolution. But until then it is all hype coming from somewhere within the industry. If Sony and Microsoft are hyping their next gen consoles by talking about the power than Nintendo is hyping its next system with talks of a revolution.

Bingo!

 

[jvd]

As for the Nintendo Revolution, I really don't know how they can compete unless this revolution is more of a revelation in the way Nintendo does business and markets its consoles. If it decides to fight agressively in the next generation then I can fully see it as a revolution. But until then it is all hype coming from somewhere within the industry. If Sony and Microsoft are hyping their next gen consoles by talking about the power than Nintendo is hyping its next system with talks of a revolution.

Bingo!

If anything sony and ms need the revolution. They just go on hype and empty games. I have not played a fun game on either the ps2 or the xbox .

I can't say to much more for the gamecube but i found enough games on it to warrent the purchase .

I think sony and ms forget what games should actually be.

 

[Sonic]

How do they forget what games should actually be? I don't understand this in the slightest as I have many great experiences with the games I've played on both Xbox and PS2. There are many good games on both systems to warrant a purchase and I do believe it is ludicrous to think otherwise. People who say that there aren't enough games to interest them haven't given these consoles a chance. How it really plays out in the end is that the system with the most games will have the most crappy games, average games, and good games than others. Nintendo certainly hasn't proven itself this generation over Sony or Microsoft in terms of quality software on their console. All three have excellent titles that are a must have if the budget allows it.

Quality over quantity is not the best move in terms of business as the more quantity you have the greater the chance of quality being in there en masse. I think what attracts more 3rd parties to the Xbox and PS2 come from both Sony and Microsoft being more open to them. Nintendo has an attitude that it will be the #1 company on their console and that is fine to an extent as long as it remains profitable. That will not last forever and I do work for a company that has gone through that. In the next generation Nintendo will have to open up to 3rd parties and quite literally open the floodgates with regards to software. The more software there is the better the chance that good software will be there. I coudl care less if the PS2 has 700 games on it and 300 of them are crap, 250 are good and the other 150 are either very good or great. That same theory can be applied to other systems. The great games on the system is what I care about and for the past two generations it has been the system with the most software.

With regards to the Saturn/PSX days there was a lot of great games on the Saturn but overall the PSX had it beat. I love my Saturn to death and think SEGA made 90% great games for it, but that was the problem. SEGA didn't fully open itself up to 3rd parties and look where it got them. Too little, too late with the Dreamcast. Will the same thing happen with Nintendo as they go on a steady decline each generation of systems?

I have faith in the company but they need to do a 180. If they do not compete directly then they will be run over, it's as simple as that. It would be a great tragedy if they became an unprofitable company and had to go the route SEGA has. The handheld market cannot tide them over forever as other companies are starting to notice and will jump in. Sony is doing it and I'm sure if it comes down to it they may put more focus on it if they find the PSP can actually be a profitable venture. Nintendo needs to focus on a console that will turn them around. The company needs to grow up and lose its pride.

As much as I criticize MS they are going in the right direction. While I often criticize them for losing billions on the Xbox it has gotten them in the door with a good chance to increase marketshare next generation. They are doing many things right by luring in 3rd parties with a system that works as is proftiable for them. I won't come outright and say their licensing fees are cheaper but I'm sure people get the point.

Sony does just about everything right. While the actually PS2 hardware may be a bitch to work for, the marketing is there, the hype was there (only needed in the beginning and prelaunch), and so are the games to back it up.

This is not meant to criticize Nintendo as a maker of great games, because this is one thing they still do. But I am criticizing Nintendo as a business and all this talk about a revolution can be a good thing only if Nintendo is going to fight back for what was once their realm.

 

[Qroach]

Well said Sonic, very well said. What you wrote echo's my thoughts on the situation.

 

[hey69]

concker live: i'm sorry but you sound like a baby nintendo fanboy
agree totaly with sonic

 

[Farid]

I'll be original... i totally agree with Sonic!

A side note on the head tracking thing.....I think this isn't out of the question.

Iwata said the "Revolution" will be hook to TV (and PC monitor/ HDTV). That doesn't rule out the possibility of a VR headset... but that doesn't help it either.

A friend of mine mentioned a controller with a GBA/touch screen on it for N5

IIRC Iwata drawn aside that idea too.

 

[wco81]

VR?

That's so ... mid '90s.

I thought one of the reasons people kind of cooled on the VR idea was that there were liability concerns. People became disoriented and shouldn't be trusted to drive afterwards, for instance.