Was that a Pikmin?
21 Sept 05

I'm already behind this week and now Hurricane Rita is bearing down on us. We're on the north side of Houston so we're over 80 miles from the coast. We might get smacked around a bit, but hopefully not flattened. We have a lot to do to get ready just in case, so I can't guarantee updates. I'll do what I can.

Penny Arcade (and the rest of the world it seems) linked to this Lost Garden article on the Nintendo Revolution. I don't agree with all of the author's points, but it is a strong and consistent analysis. I'm going to stew over it for a while.

For now, I'll just give you some thoughts:

Interesting quote: "Nintendo’s fixation on new genres and their unwillingness to pander completely and utterly to the existing hardcore audiences has made their name mud with many of the most vocal elite in the game industry." That statement explains about ninety percent of the Nintendo bashing I've read online.

Using his definition, I'm not a hardcore gamer. I don't demand rigid compliance to genre standards. In fact, I love looking for innovation. As a side note, I also loved the Ground Control series.

I love that fact that he gives a solid strategic reason for Nintendo to act the way they have. I'm not sure many people could have come up with that analysis. You'd need to understand the financial numbers behind development and link them to game design innovation. Neither of which are readily apparent to the average gamer. That's probably why everyone seemed so confused by the big N.

Another interesting quote: "As a side note, folks who argue Nintendo should just make games for other platforms are completely missing the point. Nintendo needs to control their hardware platform in order to force innovation to occur in the control mechanisms."

I'd definitely love to spend some time talking gaming with the author.

Jason