Nintendo: Summed Up Perfectly

[Zilla Man]

This is a companion piece to Gadfly's "Delusions of Grandeur" post.

As a passionate old school gamer, I feel that all videogame have made missteps or done foolish things to piss off the consumer. With SEGA it was making too many post Genesis peripherals and then releasing the overpriced Saturn too early with glitchy software. Ditto Atari with the 7800. With Sony it was not only releasing a machine with only two controller ports, but also making you buy separate multi-taps to play both PS1 and PS2 games. :mad:

But none have pissed me off more than Nintendo of late. Because I've been a fan waaaay back since Donkey Kong first appeared 23 years ago. And I'm starting to find their arrogance annoying.

It started back in the 90's. First was the decision to make N64 a cartridge based system "in order to prevent piracy". Yeah, I'm sure the fact that cartridges cost so much more to make than discs enabling Nintendo to charge 3rd parties higher liscensing fees wasn't a factor. Then they purposely withheld N64 shipments in order to create a shortage to drive up prices. It continued with them threatening retailers that if they didn't put Nintendo products in the front of the store and Sega or Sony products in the back, they'd slow down shipments of their top selling software. All this despite being fined by the FTC.

But all that's in the past right? I mean if the games are good who cares? Well, that'd be nice but even getting the games out appears to be a problem. Pikmin 2 was 75% finished at last year's E3. Where was it during this year's supposed Christmas release? Who kows how many more Cube's that might've sold -- as well as giving regular owner's something to play.

So here's an editorial that I feel sums up my (and apparently a few other people's) frustrations with the company. And the amazing thing is that it's from a Pro Nintendo site!

So yes, it is possible to love a company and be angry at them. I know it's only an opinion (okay, Trebor) but it has some interesting facts as well..

http://www.nintendojo.com/editorials/view_item.php?1075902457

[Zilla Man]

Yeah, don't everybody post at once...Yeesh!

[Glockstar]

Yeah, don't everybody post at once...Yeesh!

Hee hee.
Sorry, ZM. I meant to respond last nite too. :(

Love the article.

There's so much I could say, or add to it, but... since we already know what will happen if I do, why bother wasting my time, right? Shoot, I'll bet I could stop right now, and we'd still see some hissy-fits.

I will say one thing though... the article - which you and I, and others, agree with (and have for a long time now) - begs a question... 'So what is up with Nintendo fanboys?'

I just don't understand how they can hate on a company and a system that has done so much for this industry, while loving a company that has done so little.

Oh one other question... Was Microsoft's "Windows" even around, when Nintendo first started enacting their evil upon the world?

[no.1gamer]

As a passionate old school gamer, I feel that all videogame have made missteps or done foolish things to piss off the consumer. With Sony it was not only releasing a machine with only two controller ports, but also making you buy separate multi-taps to play both PS1 and PS2 games. :mad:

Yea, Sony is really paying the price for that "foolish misstep!" (sarcasm)

No company is perfect. No company will always make the right decisions. I just like playing Nintendo games, thats all...

[The Buzz]

This is a companion piece to Gadfly's "Delusions of Grandeur" post.

As a passionate old school gamer, I feel that all videogame have made missteps or done foolish things to piss off the consumer. With SEGA it was making too many post Genesis peripherals and then releasing the overpriced Saturn too early with glitchy software. Ditto Atari with the 7800. With Sony it was not only releasing a machine with only two controller ports, but also making you buy separate multi-taps to play both PS1 and PS2 games. :mad:

But none have pissed me off more than Nintendo of late. Because I've been a fan waaaay back since Donkey Kong first appeared 23 years ago. And I'm starting to find their arrogance annoying.

It started back in the 90's. First was the decision to make N64 a cartridge based system "in order to prevent piracy". Yeah, I'm sure the fact that cartridges cost so much more to make than discs enabling Nintendo to charge 3rd parties higher liscensing fees wasn't a factor. Then they purposely withheld N64 shipments in order to create a shortage to drive up prices. It continued with them threatening retailers that if they didn't put Nintendo products in the front of the store and Sega or Sony products in the back, they'd slow down shipments of their top selling software. All this despite being fined by the FTC.

But all that's in the past right? I mean if the games are good who cares? Well, that'd be nice but even getting the games out appears to be a problem. Pikmin 2 was 75% finished at last year's E3. Where was it during this year's supposed Christmas release? Who kows how many more Cube's that might've sold -- as well as giving regular owner's something to play.

So here's an editorial that I feel sums up my (and apparently a few other people's) frustrations with the company. And the amazing thing is that it's from a Pro Nintendo site!

So yes, it is possible to love a company and be angry at them. I know it's only an opinion (okay, Trebor) but it has some interesting facts as well..

http://www.nintendojo.com/editorials/view_item.php?1075902457

Many of the Nintendo "fanboy's" dismiss or overlook most if not all the points brought up in this article and then they'll argue with you while trying to paint a picture of Nintendo that's not very accurate. They place Nintendo on a pedestal for some reason. I see Nintendo as a somewhat backwards thinking Japanese gaming company that will continue to do things the way they want no matter what and do it with "smoke and mirrors" if necessary.


But hey...If you enjoy GC and it's games then that's all that really matters...right?...at least in the short term. In the long term Nintendo's thought process "could" lead to GC's exit from the console wars. Time will tell.

[trebor]

I will say one thing though... the article - which you and I, and others, agree with (and have for a long time now) - begs a question... 'So what is up with Nintendo fanboys?'

I just don't understand how they can hate on a company and a system that has done so much for this industry, while loving a company that has done so little.

Oh one other question... Was Microsoft's "Windows" even around, when Nintendo first started enacting their evil upon the world?

I've been delighted by ignoring you lately, but the utter hypocrisy of these statements needs to be addressed. I'm assuming you mean why can Nintendo fanboys hate on Micro$oft and the Xbox "for doing so much for the industry" and loving Nintendo for "doing so little", yes?

Well let's see what Nintendo has done for the industry...

Nintendo completely saved the videogame industry singlehandedly in the early 80's after the videogaming bust of 1983. The NES solely revived the industry and without it we probably wouldn't be playing videogame consoles today.

Nintendo has also singlehandedly created or perfected most of the videogame genres that we play today. Sports games, racing games, platformers, FPS's, adventure games and puzzle games to name a few. If it wasn't for Nintendo, Rare wouldn't have ever made Goldeneye, and therefore, you Xboyz® wouldn't have anything to play on your Xboxs.

Nintendo was the first of the new generation consoles to have 4 controller ports, which Micro$oft was quick copy and Sony still hasn't adopted.

Nintendo was the first to implement force feedback into their controllers, which is now copied by both Sony and Micro$oft.

Nintendo has the first highly successful wireless gamepad, the Wavebird - which Micro$oft and Sony are sure to copy for their next systems.

Nintendo basically invented the handheld gaming industry.

These are a few things that Nintendo has done for the videogaming industry. Nobody is claiming that Nintendo is a perfect angel of a company, mind you, but since they have given so much to this industry the "fanboys" are probably willing to overlook the negative business practices that Nintendo has done.

Okay, so what has Micro$oft done? Shlocky, you claim that M$ is so incredibly innovative and they have "done so much for the industry" well guess what? M$'s brand of "innovation" is simply taking other people's ideas and putting a slight twist on them. Don't believe me?

Let's start with Windows, since you brought it up. Gates completely ripped off the Macintosh OS, put a slight twist on it, and is now the biggest corporate conglomorate on the planet.

Ooohh...instead of having the menu bar on the top, it is on the bottom. Ooohh...such "innovation".

But since this is really about the Xbox, let's focus on that..

M$ took what PC's have been doing for decades, put a slight twist on it, and now we have the Xbox. Harddrives, online capabilities, Pentium 3's, Geforce 3 - I've never heard of a machine with that kind of stuff in it before!

Taking PC components and then putting them in a box with a propriertary Windows OS so you can easily port over PC games - I just can't handle the innovation!!!

Or how about how the Xbox was supposed to be upgradable so you wouldn't have to buy a new console every 3 - 4 years. What happened to that? Was it too innovative for the general public to handle?

How about setting up a business tactic where you will sell your product at a huge loss! That is some serious business innovation right there! Losing billions of dollars in order to take over yet another industry - too bad that one isn't working so good.

Right now M$ is being so incredibly innovative that they are watching Sony's every move and basically letting Sony dictate (1)when the Xbox will be released, (2) the pricepoint of the next Xbox and (3)the features of the next Xbox. Wow, how can one company have so much amazing innovation?

Or to sum up - quit being a major hypocrite.

[Thrower, WCG-Fanboy Flame]

That nintendo lost last round was one thing only. Lack of Games Sony did not come out and dominate When the N64 was launched it outsold Sony Mario was a bigger hit than anything on the PS at that time (hell most of the best selling games from last Gen were N64 titles). What killed Nintendo was that lack of games the prices ot the games didn't matter because when the big games came the fans bought them in droves. The cartridge format most 3rd parties hated contributed to the lack of games and allowed sony to beat them with a mores is better philosphy. I remeber a add that Squaresoft was running in marvel comics for FFVII it had cloud on top of some kind of giant wall cannnon or something and it said "The people who still makes game with cartridges need to be shot with one of these". That was the first game that started to turn the trend because up until that point Nintendo and Sony were neck and neck. But the add I think summarized most developers feelings toward Nintendo's console. That left Nintendo with the job of publishing most of there own software to support there console and Nintendo's games have always been more "family orientated so this probably led to the perception that Nintendo is the kiddy console and a perception which dogs them to this day. Not to mention sports were a lot better represented on the PS and despite what most hardcore fanboys will say Sports games are the Dominate Genre in the States. When the sports gamers heart in the U.S. and you will probably when the console war.

[no.1gamer]

Yea, M$ hasn't impacted the gaming industry positively in any way shape or form!

M$ has sold a bad gaming console at an enormous loss. It was originally proposed to cost $600.00! Do any of you Xbots remember that?

M$ has done nothing but rip off games from other platforms. Do you not hear the PC gamers complain about the Xbox ripping off games from the PC? Microsoft blew more money on Rare for what? Please explain to me what "positive" impact the Rare deal has made? Do you consider the death of a great game developer "positive?"

I don't hate Microsoft at all! I just hate the Xbox because it is ruining the gaming industry! With all the money M$ has spent and all the games and features that have been ripped off from other platforms the Xbox still sucks! I can't figure that one out for the life of me.

[The Buzz]

Yea, M$ hasn't impacted the gaming industry positively in any way shape or form!

M$ has sold a bad gaming console at an enormous loss. It was originally proposed to cost $600.00! Do any of you Xbots remember that?

M$ has done nothing but rip off games from other platforms. Do you not hear the PC gamers complain about the Xbox ripping off games from the PC? Microsoft blew more money on Rare for what? Please explain to me what "positive" impact the Rare deal has made? Do you consider the death of a great game developer "positive?"

I don't hate Microsoft at all! I just hate the Xbox because it is ruining the gaming industry! With all the money M$ has spent and all the games and features that have been ripped off from other platforms the Xbox still sucks! I can't figure that one out for the life of me.

I love people that blame MS for what's wrong with the world! Xbox...ruining the gaming industry! What a HOOT! MS delivers a high quality console...that does more than all the rest...and offers up some cutting edge games and gameplay and THEY'RE the bad guys! Classic!

[Xguy]

That nintendo lost last round was one thing only. Lack of Games Sony did not come out and dominate When the N64 was launched it outsold Sony Mario was a bigger hit than anything on the PS at that time (hell most of the best selling games from last Gen were N64 titles). What killed Nintendo was that lack of games the prices ot the games didn't matter because when the big games came the fans bought them in droves. The cartridge format most 3rd parties hated contributed to the lack of games and allowed sony to beat them with a mores is better philosphy. I remeber a add that Squaresoft was running in marvel comics for FFVII it had cloud on top of some kind of giant wall cannnon or something and it said "The people who still makes game with cartridges need to be shot with one of these". That was the first game that started to turn the trend because up until that point Nintendo and Sony were neck and neck. But the add I think summarized most developers feelings toward Nintendo's console. That left Nintendo with the job of publishing most of there own software to support there console and Nintendo's games have always been more "family orientated so this probably led to the perception that Nintendo is the kiddy console and a perception which dogs them to this day. Not to mention sports were a lot better represented on the PS and despite what most hardcore fanboys will say Sports games are the Dominate Genre in the States. When the sports gamers heart in the U.S. and you will probably when the console war.

Good points, but I almost went cross-eyed trying to read and make sense of it.

I love people that blame MS for what's wrong with the world! Xbox...ruining the gaming industry! What a HOOT! MS delivers a high quality console...that does more than all the rest...and offers up some cutting edge games and gameplay and THEY'RE the bad guys! Classic!


I don't think anyone is arguing that the console is fine (at least I'm not, I actually like Xbox...gasp), but the business practices and corporate bullying are what makes people not like the Xbox.

[Glockstar]

I don't think anyone is arguing that the console is fine (at least I'm not, I actually like Xbox...gasp), but the business practices and corporate bullying are what makes people not like the Xbox.

But they're okay with it when it's Nintendo. :rolleyes:

It just doesn't make any sense.