[th3m3nt4l]

First news Post so I hope I get this right:

Quote:

"This business has not been in a state of transition like it is right now since the video game crash of the '80s," Bleszinski said. "I really think we're in a massive state of turmoil. I think Nintendo could possibly be faced with the situation of becoming a company that only makes software moving forward. I think Sony and Microsoft are about to come to major blows. But at the same time, people love playing games on their iPad. The PC is going through a wonderful renaissance right now. I think we're ready to do digital download games all the time...I just want to see what happens. In regards to the industry, it's like the Super Smash Bros. of business right now, and I want to see if Peach or Mario wins."

Source 1

Source 2

Interesting read, saw it on TH's news thread first, but the orginal article is from Industry Gamers, so that is source 1 and soruce 2 in the TH post. Bleszinski makes some good points based off insight from a directors PoV in the industry. I've seen what he talks about as in the Gamers article, and wondered how many of our peers have noticed the same thing?

 

[Vengeance47]

He makes an excellent point about MS and Sony having closed systems which puts their ecosystems out of reach for some developers, particularly indies. The certification process and especially the amount it costs to get a game certified for the Xbox and Playstation is just ridiculous. Not to mention that each patch needs to be certified and basically, it pushes a lot of indie titles out of the market on those consoles.

What he says about Nintendo is really interesting. It honestly wouldnt surprise me. They have almost no third party support and as we saw with the Wii. Took massive losses towards the end of the console cycle and with the 3DS not selling all that great and WiiU struggling. Could be trouble brewing.

 

[SoloCamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by th3m3nt4l

First news Post so I hope I get this right:
Source 1

Source 2

Interesting read, saw it on TH's news thread first, but the orginal article is from Industry Gamers, so that is source 1 and soruce 2 in the TH post. Bleszinski makes some good points based off insight from a directors PoV in the industry. I've seen what he talks about as in the Gamers article, and wondered how many of our peers have noticed the same thing?

Lost me when he said:

" I think Nintendo could possibly be faced with the situation of becoming a company that only makes software moving forward. "

Yup, Wii U just came out - not only that... gotta dig up that quote again from Nintendo (it's probably off a little, but the point is the same):

"We will stop making software when we stop making hardware"

Never understood why people always jump and assume nintendo will be first dead in the water yet they are the most financially secure from a purely game console perspective. They can bleed money and be fine for the next 30 years. You know why? They didn't waste money creating giant, overheating consoles that cost a ton more to make then they make in profit.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Vengeance47

He makes What he says about Nintendo is really interesting. It honestly wouldnt surprise me. They have almost no third party support and as we saw with the Wii. Took massive losses towards the end of the console cycle and with the 3DS not selling all that great and WiiU struggling. Could be trouble brewing.

Maybe we live in different dimensions, but how is the 3ds not selling well? And the Wii U is doing no worse then ps3 or 360 were at launch, if anything it's doing better sales wise and not costing them nearly as much money to produce..

__

Of my own opinion here, I do agree that the gaming industry is in a bit of turmoil. My take on it is far more simple - too much focus on strictly graphics which is now beyond the point of diminishing return (sure, we enthusiasts can tell between 4x MSAA and none, or higher texture qualities, etc. but most can't or don't look for it).

Not only that, games are extremely expensive to produce and to top it.. honestly it's getting stale. I'm sick of COD 1,2,3,54,56,65,7547478548 and all the other yearly milked released with no thought put into them.

We are at an odd stage in the gaming realm thats for sure.

Just hope things like the rift gain some ground, that can definitely revitalize the industry.

 

[th3m3nt4l]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vengeance47

He makes an excellent point about MS and Sony having closed systems which puts their ecosystems out of reach for some developers, particularly indies. The certification process and especially the amount it costs to get a game certified for the Xbox and Playstation is just ridiculous. Not to mention that each patch needs to be certified and basically, it pushes a lot of indie titles out of the market on those consoles.

What he says about Nintendo is really interesting. It honestly wouldnt surprise me. They have almost no third party support and as we saw with the Wii. Took massive losses towards the end of the console cycle and with the 3DS not selling all that great and WiiU struggling. Could be trouble brewing.

Agreed fully. Its like because of apples closed system success to many people are trying to jump on that band wagon. Which in the end will be bad for the consumer and bad for developers as it will stifle innovations. Open source and F2P, when done right, can make just as much as that 60 dollar retail version, some times even more so when it comes to modding and customization.

I've always felt Nintendo was a better software company than hardware. Thats not to say their hardware was bad, it just their software is far more memorable, especially after we factor in nostalgia- Specifically Mario and Zelda titles, and to a lesser degree Metroid. As Bleszinski kind of hints at, it might be a better option for them to "dump" their hardware development, and focus on making their software available on more platforms. A good "case in point" is the wii emulators that can be found allowing people to play wii games on pc. While my family does own a wii, i'm impatient and find firing up the emulator and playing on my pc a better option, then fighting over who's turn it is.

P.S. I keep calling it software as in essence that's all a game really is.

 

[th3m3nt4l]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoloCamo

Lost me when he said:

" I think Nintendo could possibly be faced with the situation of becoming a company that only makes software moving forward. "

Yup, Wii U just came out - not only that... gotta dig up that quote again from Nintendo (it's probably off a little, but the point is the same):

"We will stop making software when we stop making hardware"

Never understood why people always jump and assume nintendo will be first dead in the water yet they are the most financially secure from a purely game console perspective. They can bleed money and be fine for the next 30 years. You know why? They didn't waste money creating giant, overheating consoles that cost a ton more to make then they make in profit.
Maybe we live in different dimensions, but how is the 3ds not selling well? And the Wii U is doing no worse then ps3 or 360 were at launch, if anything it's doing better sales wise and not costing them nearly as much money to produce..

__

Of my own opinion here, I do agree that the gaming industry is in a bit of turmoil. My take on it is far more simple - too much focus on strictly graphics which is now beyond the point of diminishing return (sure, we enthusiasts can tell between 4x MSAA and none, or higher texture qualities, etc. but most can't or don't look for it).

Not only that, games are extremely expensive to produce and to top it.. honestly it's getting stale. I'm sick of COD 1,2,3,54,56,65,7547478548 and all the other yearly milked released with no thought put into them.

We are at an odd stage in the gaming realm thats for sure.

Just hope things like the rift gain some ground, that can definitely revitalize the industry.

I took to long to make my frist post so I missed this:

If by rift you mean the Oculos Rift, then I agree. There was an article some where on these forums or somewhere else that talked about the "next stage" of gaming. Giving notion that VR is that next stage. Which I agree with. The top end ethusiast all seek a surround/eyefinity setup to get a more "immersive" experience. VR head sets could push that a little bit farther. The final step would be... suspension apparatuses that could account for flight/water movements as well as take into account the player running, aiming, etc. Which, IMO, would be a phenomenal step forward for the gaming crowd. Imagine playing bf3 based on a VR suspension setup.... all that running and moving would certainly be a work out, and thus lowering the health risk for that gamer, especially when we do it for hour son end.

On the flip side to that notion though, would be the risk of being unable to "unplug" and rejoin society, go to the bathroom, work, eat, sleep, etc. Would assuredly be a double edged sword.

 

[OATKE577]

I really couldn't give a flip what this guy thinks. I've hated him since day one, I don't know why but just do.

 

[th3m3nt4l]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OATKE577

I really couldn't give a flip what this guy thinks. I've hated him since day one, I don't know why but just do.

That is fine and all, but at least try to contribute to the thread a bit more. IE: you acknowledge that the industry is in a state of change, which could lead to x, y or z being a/b/or c.

 

[redfroth]

I hope another crash comes in the next year or two,the slate needs to be wiped clean.

 

[Huzzbutt]

I don't think Nintendo will die, They're not in direct competition with Sony or MS. Wouldn't be surprised if Nintendos largest competitor was Lego, Mattelcoming in at second.

I agree with the guy, closing down systems, raising bars and general "quality facism" will be their undoing. It's one thing to demand a certain level of something and heavy certification processes for AAA games, a whole other to do it with small independent studios or does not so AAA but still good titles from larger publishers. The process is just a waste of money.

 

[hokage]

I'll be honest, this post is probably very uninformed, but from what I've seen and read in news headlines(yep), it doesn't surprise me. When a company spends most of their resources comabtting piracy rather than working on quality, WHILE still making profit,...this is what happens.

 

[cubanresourceful]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redfroth

I hope another crash comes in the next year or two,the slate needs to be wiped clean.

I don't think you want another crash. What happened in the 80s was scary, retailers didn't want to stock anything that remotely resembled video games, hence why Nintendo marketed the NES (back then the Famicom) as an entertainment system and not a video game system.

 

[leo5111]

Nintendo doesnt want to do it but a price drop would be a nice shot in the arm for them, and most of reason industry is SLOW right now is because Sony and MS waited toooooo long to bring out their new system, so people are bored of ps3&360, next year when ps4 and 720 are in full swing there will be articles from same people saying how great the industry is doing now......

 

[cubanresourceful]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leo5111

Nintendo doesnt want to do it but a price drop would be a nice shot in the arm for them, and most of reason industry is SLOW right now is because Sony and MS waited toooooo long to bring out their new system, so people are bored of ps3&360, next year when ps4 and 720 are in full swing there will be articles from same people saying how great the industry is doing now......

Sony and Microsoft both promise a 10 year life span for their consoles. Whether that will translate into the PS4/XBOXNxx only time will tell.

 

[SoloCamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leo5111

Nintendo doesnt want to do it but a price drop would be a nice shot in the arm for them, and most of reason industry is SLOW right now is because Sony and MS waited toooooo long to bring out their new system, so people are bored of ps3&360, next year when ps4 and 720 are in full swing there will be articles from same people saying how great the industry is doing now......

They don't want to, but they will. By the time the next gen ps4/720 come out, they should have production costs slightly down. I forsee them easily dropping the price atleast $50-$100, right in time for xmas especially. This will really hurt ps4/720 sales

 

[di inferi]

People have been predicted the end of Nintendo consoles since they began producing them. Every generation is a successful surprise. I read an article off pulse (which of course I cannot find now) that had about 30 quotes/predictions from well knowns in the industry from years past stating they believe Nintendo would go third party blah blah... Here were are at the Wii U how many years later?

 

[Kyoujin]

I agree with him...a little. (Not about the Nintendo part. I don't think they're in any danger of failing any time soon...thankfully.) The turmoil bit however... It has apparently become acceptable in the gaming industry as a whole to release bug-ridden, unfinished products. "We'll finish it with patches" must be the motto of a lot of companies these days. It's absolutely ridiculous that they release games in these states and still expect sixty dollars for them. To top it off, the industry is pushing for ways to prevent the sale of used games. If they get their way and you purchase one of these sixty-dollar-turds, you'll be stuck with it with no hope of getting any of your investment back. I, for one, am tired of the bull.

 

[th3m3nt4l]

Quote:

Originally Posted by di inferi

People have been predicted the end of Nintendo consoles since they began producing them. Every generation is a successful surprise. I read an article off pulse (which of course I cannot find now) that had about 30 quotes/predictions from well knowns in the industry from years past stating they believe Nintendo would go third party blah blah... Here were are at the Wii U how many years later?

There are several factors that go into these predictions, which usually come from sale comparisons. Nintendo is fully self sustained and does well for it self, but the idea of them focusing on software alone gives notion that it could become Bigger than it already is. When the Wii launched I remember over hearing the xbox/ps3 fans saying such things as "I won't by the wii... its a "childish" console, with childish games". Which I can only infer is based off the designs of the controller and the marketing adds that were used/aired. Yet here we are years latter and both the xbox and ps3 have taken the "remote" concept into consideration. Also current game developers that like to think that Nintendo will go belly up seem to foolishly underrate nostalgic games, the top 3 being Metroid, Zelda and Mario. I personaly have never played Metroid games, so I won't comment on them, but Zelda still has far better story, game play and replay ability than any real current gen. game. A good simplistic look at a reason behind this is, a well thought out story/dungeon crawler like Zelda is far more entertaining then pitting 16 players against each other in a slur throwing FPS like CoD and BF3. On Marios end, the design of the game was innovative and fun, and didn't require hours upon hours of play and could be played far more leisurely then CoD, Gears, etc. The one game the PS3 has going for it that falls in line with what i've said so far is Metal Gear. I can't comment to much on it, but from what i've gathered in posts and other forums is that the current gen Metal gear games haven't been as widely received as their predecessors.

 

[th3m3nt4l]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyoujin

I agree with him...a little. (Not about the Nintendo part. I don't think they're in any danger of failing any time soon...thankfully.) The turmoil bit however... It has apparently become acceptable in the gaming industry as a whole to release bug-ridden, unfinished products. "We'll finish it with patches" must be the motto of a lot of companies these days. It's absolutely ridiculous that they release games in these states and still expect sixty dollars for them. To top it off, the industry is pushing for ways to prevent the sale of used games. If they get their way and you purchase one of these sixty-dollar-turds, you'll be stuck with it with no hope of getting any of your investment back. I, for one, am tired of the bull.

Your exactly right. The begging of this trend can be traced back to WoW when it launched. Many players remarked that they had payed for a beta.... but the success of the game only perpetuated this style as more and more studios looked to the success of WoW and its features as a guiding light. So far the worst examples of this are the newest Aliens game and D3. The powers that be at Square Enenix tried something similar with FFXIV and realized their mistake, which is why FFXIV: ARR is getting fastic reviews from those in the alpha and beta. The dev's are actually TALKING to the community and showing them the improvements, something the other studios seem to have forgotten.

 

[-Apocalypse-]

Saying Nintendo could go third party isn't saying they're going to be hurting financially. It's saying they're approaching the point where they'd be more profitable if they didn't have their own console and just did third party to the other two/PC.

 

[SoloCamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Apocalypse-

Saying Nintendo could go third party isn't saying they're going to be hurting financially. It's saying they're approaching the point where they'd be more profitable if they didn't have their own console and just did third party to the other two/PC.

I fail to see how not making hardware makes you more profitable?

They'd have to increase their team size and deal with multiple platforms to program for while paying royalties = increased cost

Other consoles have more piracy issues = losses

No profits from hardware sales = losses...

Going 3rd party is far from ideal. Look how good Sega did from it and they were in FAR FAR worse shape then Nintendo.

I can't name one benefit to going third party except more sales on a mixed range of platforms, but that definitely doesn't mean more sales. They have major IP's locked down on their hardware, that's a great place to be.