Why Nintendo Won't Grow Up

[Natoma]

Fantastic article on Miyamoto and his influence on the gaming industry. Quite a few quotes from developers such as American McGee.

What do they all say basically?

1) Miyamoto is a god
2) Miyamoto should be working on adult games and blow the sh*t out of them the way he does all his other games. American McGee especially feels Miyamoto could make adult games of such caliber that they'd be yet another paradigm shift in the industry.

He gave an example of GTA, with Miyamoto's genius tacked on. *shudder*
3) Miyamoto is a god
4) They do pose the question of if Miyamoto is losing his touch with the gaming world as it "grows up". American Mcgee brings up that point. But still, everyone says... see point 5.
5) Miyamoto is a god

That about sums it up. Nice article.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.01/nintendo.html

 

[CaptainHowdy]

very good read,
I think though, people should respect Shiggy, he has his Moral code,
and he does things the way he sees fit, he sacrifices loads of cash, for
creative freedom.

 

[Blade]

The gaming industry is growing up, but I think that there's definitely room for Nintendo's trademark "kiddy" games.. if they remain as fun as they are now and have been in the past. Although, I do agree with American that Miyamoto and EAD could make a kick-ass mature title.. but for the time being it doesn't seem like that's their focus.

Actually, Metroid Prime is sort of what happens when you mix Miyamoto/Nintendo with darker themes..

MP kinda fits the "kick-ass mature" description..

 

[Magnum PI]

i think that mario was a carpenter in the donkey kong period. he become a plumber after that.

i dislike seamus bleackley comments..
"He's reinforcing stereotypes about games, not pushing them to a place where they can become something different and truly awesome."

what a sentence to sum up miyamoto contribution... what did this guy who looks miyamoto from so high ? does he think he will teach a veteran of miyamoto caliber how to do his job ?

and the article goes on saying about miyamoto games: "Even if his game never appeal to adults,"

i find miyamoto stuff appealing and i'm 29.. should i see a doctor ?

again the same BS.

 

[Vince]

dislike seamus bleackley comments..
"He's reinforcing stereotypes about games, not pushing them to a place where they can become something different and truly awesome."

Seamus has no buisness talking about image or stereotyping; his image is about as cool as the XBox's. Red or bleached blond hair and stud earrings. Somone tell this guys thats not cool anymore, nor is seeing his ass promoting video games reaching out to have mass market appeal anymore than listning to John Carkmack <insert bowing smilie here>.

For this guy to lecture a legend on whats "in" or "cool" or "good" with gaming is like taking fashion lessions from.... Michael Jackson or Vanilla Ice &lt;shutter>

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Seamus is cool, to us Xbox geeks anyway.

The article overdoes it, by attibuting things to Miyamoto that he didn't really invent like 3D worlds. Doesn't anyone remember Bard's Tale or the Ultima Series?

It is a good overview of why Nintendo is kiddy though.

 

[wazoo]

Seamus is cool, to us Xbox geeks anyway.

The article overdoes it, by attibuting things to Miyamoto that he didn't really invent like 3D worlds. Doesn't anyone remember Bard's Tale or the Ultima Series?

It is a good overview of why Nintendo is kiddy though.

bard's tale was not a 3d world, it was just moving on a grid. What about 3d gameplay ??

same for ultima. ultima7 was 2d and ultima8 was isometric.

Tomb Raider and Mario64 were the first real 3d working games

this article is a good overview why Lorn Lannings is a stupid guy.

 

[Magnum PI]

i don't see what was that much 3D in bards tales. you mean the subjective view, à la dungeon master ?

i remember games like "mercenary" that was released for 8 bits computers

http://www.geocities.com/paris/7150/m1pics.htm

it's a 1985 game..

and i remember some others i played on amstrad CPC, even with flat-shaded surfaces (abysmal framerate).. too bad i don't remember their names..

 

[wazoo]

i don't see what was that much 3D in bards tales. you mean the subjective view, à la dungeon master ?

i remember games like "mercenary" that was released for 8 bits computers

http://www.geocities.com/paris/7150/m1pics.htm

it's a 1985 game..

and i remember some others i played on amstrad CPC, even with flat-shaded surfaces (abysmal framerate).. too bad i don't remember their names..

the first 3d games I played were on the 3do, but they were not in the same league as the games on the N64.

 

[Tagrineth]

He also pioneered a slew of features, from 3-D

It says he pioneered, not he created.

And Star Fox on SNES was quite possibly the first truly main stream 3D rendered game, and one of the first to be 100% 3D.

 

[Brimstone]

The article has quotes from Seamus Blackley and American Magee. Why? They aren't any near the same level of of a Miyamoto. It is hard to find any on the same level as him, but I'm sure the jouranlist could have found some better game designers than those two. Neither is Lorne Lanning but at least he was involved in creating a major launch title for a console that had classic Miyamoto style elements.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Well, considering the reference was to early Zelda games, I think the Bard's Tale comparison works. It was just as much a world to explore as Zelda was. Miyamoto has passed from reverence into myth IMO. He's great. He's made a lot of great games, but it's to the point now where people exagerate his accomplishments.

He's done a world of good for platformers and action/RPGs, but nothing for driving, sports, or fighting at all. Nothing for story or narrative or complex characters. He's just a guy that made really good simple and super-popular games. He deserves praise, but at times it gets WAY out of hand.

 

[Tagrineth]

Could be because they're recognisable names.

It would've been better to find someone from SEGA, I'm sure someone over there has comparable experience.

 

[Luminescent]

Someone like Yu Suzuki.

 

[Grall]

And Star Fox on SNES was quite possibly the first truly main stream 3D rendered game, and one of the first to be 100% 3D.

How do you define "mainstream"? There were lots of 3D games on the Amiga and Atari ST long before Star Fox.

Even Elite on the C64 has to be mainstream enough to fit as 'the first truly mainstream 3D rendered game'.

*G*

 

[zurich]

I can see why some Nintendo fans would jump at Seamus' comments, but I think he summed up the feelings of a sizeable portion of gamers out there.

As for what CaptainHowdy said, heh, I think he would be sacrificing money for innovation if he were to make a fresh mature/grown-up oriented game, rather than his same-old same-old, not vice versa. 40 million copies not enough spare change for the man?

I don't know, I think men like Yu Suzuki have done a lot more for the world of gaming than Miyamoto.

 

[CaptainHowdy]

I can see why some Nintendo fans would jump at Seamus' comments, but I think he summed up the feelings of a sizeable portion of gamers out there.

As for what CaptainHowdy said, heh, I think he would be sacrificing money for innovation if he were to make a fresh mature/grown-up oriented game, rather than his same-old same-old, not vice versa. 40 million copies not enough spare change for the man?

I don't know, I think men like Yu Suzuki have done a lot more for the world of gaming than Miyamoto.

thats about as ignorant as it gets..
talk of same old same old, after raving over GTA:VC in another post..
what did they innovate from the THIRD INSTALLMENT in that one?

 

[zurich]

thats about as ignorant as it gets..
talk of same old same old, after raving over GTA:VC in another post..
what did they innovate from the THIRD INSTALLMENT in that one?

If you go back far enough, you'll see my rental impressions of GTA:VC were definitely less than stellar, simply because it was 'same old same old'. If you read my post about narratives, I brought VC up as a non-linear game that does well with character development and story telling [mostly due to shifting it froms second person to third person].

Definitely, DEFINITELY not "raving" over GTA:VC. That game is a 7.5/10 MAX for me.

Why should I have to clear things like this up? Can't you read it right the first time and not feel some urge to twist things to defend Nintendo from a very, very valid point of view?

 

[CaptainHowdy]

thats about as ignorant as it gets..
talk of same old same old, after raving over GTA:VC in another post..
what did they innovate from the THIRD INSTALLMENT in that one?

If you go back far enough, you'll see my rental impressions of GTA:VC were definitely less than stellar, simply because it was 'same old same old'. If you read my post about narratives, I brought VC up as a non-linear game that does well with character development and story telling [mostly due to shifting it froms second person to third person].

Definitely, DEFINITELY not "raving" over GTA:VC. That game is a 7.5/10 MAX for me.

Why should I have to clear things like this up? Can't you read it right the first time and not feel some urge to twist things to defend Nintendo from a very, very valid point of view?

lets hear it, name ONE game in your collection that is fresh and original, that was completely designed from scratch by a new idea by the developer...

every game big on your little PS2 is just a rehash of something someone else already did, every RPG is EXACTLY the same, only the stories differ, and not even that much, every action game is pretty much the same, and 85% of the games are modeled after something Miyamoto created.

Miyamoto isnt even doing rehashes, People would riot in the streets if he did not keep up old franchises, every time he takes it to a new place, he doesnt do that, he hired teams to upkeep the franchises, while he plays around with new ideas, thats where Pikmin came from, the only new idea in console gaming in years....

 

[Tagrineth]

every game big on your little PS2 is just a rehash of something someone else already did, every RPG is EXACTLY the same, only the stories differ, and not even that much, every action game is pretty much the same, and 85% of the games are modeled after something Miyamoto created.

I wouldn't say every RPG is exactly the same by any means, even the various Final Fantasies have tweaked the overworked ATB engine

But seriously, play Grandia II, then play Dragon Quest VII... they're pretty darn different.