N-Philes

Page 2

Absolutely! The gaming world needs something fresh, something new, something innovative. The industry has remained pretty much the same for the past ten years. Since the PlayStation and Saturn were introduced and brought 3D gaming to the console mainstream, almost every game in its respective genre has followed the same core play mechanics. Games are beginning to get lost amongst the droves of copycats and me-too's out there, and it's for one simple reason: developers are sticking to what they know works. Experimentation can be a risky business in a games industry with higher and higher production costs, as just like the Hollywood movie business, game developers have realized that they can maximize profit with a few guaranteed blockbusters rather than a scattershot of more risky titles. You have a few wonder hits such as Katamari and Viewtiful Joe, but for the most part, unusual games are shunned by the general public. And publishers never like the idea of their products being shunned.

And it's not just the risk involved, but the simple fact that video game companies are running out of fresh ideas. How many more shiny-thing collecting platformers do we need? How many generic one-on-one fighting games? Nintendo realizes this, since it's clearly happening to them as well, and fortunately they have the power to do something about it. The Revolution's going to bring a whole new scope to the industry. It's going to give game developers the chance to work with new technology, to extend their ideas on to an entirely new control system. Yes, the games industry could certainly last without such a change, but for how long? Take a look at the PS3 and XBox360. They're more or less just more powerful variations of their predecessors. And let's be honest, their predecessors were hardly underpowered in any way that was detrimental to gameplay. So what's the point?


Absolutely... not. You said it yourself Gareth, experimenting is a risky business, and Nintendo should know this first hand. Two words: Virtual Boy. We were promised innovation and new games, but all we got was headaches. The thing is, that as gamers, we might not like the copycats and me-too's, but they work, and people buy them in the droves. Nintendo has been trying to find a niche, and they've found it, but niches don't always pay off without eventually having that must have piece of hardware (see: Apple iPod) that makes people beyond the niche raise up and take notice. The Revolution might draw initial attention notice, but most adopters still need that cookie cutter game, the Halo's and the Grand Theft Auto's. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox are number one and number two respectively in the current generation console wars, and they're that way for a reason. The non-niche people are a lot larger and have a lot more money then the niche people, and Sony and Microsoft are taking notice.

And not only does the business not need a Revolution just for Nintendo's sake, but for the sake of video games in general. Gaming now is at an all-time high in popularity and the amount of money invested in the industry. While some games are derivative, respective consoles are still showered each year with innovative titles that don't require some random new input method to bring an incredible new experience to gamers everywhere. Personally, I'd rather not have to go without Nintendo games for a whole generation due to a stupid control method, and as for the industry, they're doing absolutely fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

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