mckmas8808 said:
Great, great point Acert93. Great point and thats why I say that Sony is too very innovative. I hate it when the meda and normal gamers say that Nintendo is innvovative and act as if Sony isn't.
It is the PR game. Sony has certain strengths, like a mature audiance and franchises. Sony considers the steps they have taken toward opening up the market to mature gamers as "innovative" and what Nintendo does as "same old console stuff".
It is just a POV, and Sony's PR is paid to maximize their strengths and downplay their competitors. MS has done this really well with Nintendo. They really coined the "Nintendo is a niche player" and so far I have not seen Nintendo do enough to avert that label.
Sony has done very innovative things too. I like to think like you and consider new gameplay mechanics innovative. To me things like Okami, Eyetoy, DVDs in consoles, handhelds that can play movies and music and get on the internet, Dance Dance Revolution, GTA 3 series and up, and many other things are also innovative.
Of course, they all have innovations in their own ways. Those innovations appeal to different markets and exert a different degree in each situation. There is no doubting each has been innovative in their own ways. But innovation only goes so far. Some of the best games made sell poorly; and yet movie licensed games do well (even if they stink).
Innovation is rarely enough anymore. That is why they tie those innovations to franchises--people can see eye to eye with them.
I just don't see why Sony also gets shafted by Nintendo when it comes to being considered innovative.
Again, PR. Nintendo feels the console industry is going the "movie" route--bigger budget games, less risk and innovation in "fun" just a lot of the same stuff over and over again. They feel the industry is getting too expensive and cutting out the smaller developers and that pushing only "sure fire" concepts and games with licenses stifles imagination and new game styles.
And to a degree that IS true. And looking at some really feature poor, and even abysmal games just like that, I see where they are coming from. But so what? Doing something different just to be different does NOT equal better either. This was debated in the PDZ thread recently. A couple posters were bashing PDZ because it did not include enough "totally new stuff" and relied too heavily on past Rare games (even though other games did not use many of those features). A good game franchise builds on its achievements and refines/discards the failures.
When we pick up our favorite game--be it a Tekken, Madden, Halo, GTA, whatever--we are not necessarily looking for something radically new. We like those franchises because they are GREAT games. We want more levels, better graphics, new animations, new elements and stories, etc...
So I think innovation can be overblown also. On the one hand Nintendogs is VERY innovative and opens up the gaming market to new consumers. Yet you cannot your nose inspite of your face. Core gamers, hardcore and casual gamers alike, like certain genres and it is important for companies to offer these.
I think that is Nintendo's big problem right there. They have some of the best games around (in my opinion a good portion of the 10 best games this gen). The problem is they are not filling up the other genres that are popular and have not gotten the 3rd parties to help.
MS, with a much MUCH weaker 1st/2nd party portfolio at least hits more genres. And of course this is where Sony excells. The biggest games on the PS are not Sony 1st party games (at least not most of them). For every GT there is a Tekken, MGS, GTA, etc... They scored VF4 and so on.
The more major genres you fill in the more consumers, and variety of consumers, you will attract. I see both MS and Sony improving in this area. I actually see Nintendo taking steps backwards. That does not mean Nintendo wont be profitable or that they are working on things behind the scenes. They may very well be. But I have heard that for years, and looking at the GCN lineup and release schedule for 2005, I can say with some confidence it has not been enough.
Anyhow, they all attack eachother to some degree. I would say Nintendo is the most civil of the big three and do articulate their concerns (even if I disagree). Sony and MS are pretty hardcore on the hype and jabs. But that can change at any moment... just one big inbreed family if you ask me.