Perhaps, they've never heard of the GBA SP?



That or they all pre-ordered the ultra cool N-Gage.

Yeah we all did. It's made Nokia so it's TEH cool.

Well, I don't think this is a real "Kid games vs. Adult games" issue. However I do think that the there has been a shift away from the Nintendo character driven games. They still sell well, but they aren't the end all and be all of the video game universe they once were. Tastes change over time. I enjoyed Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda over the years, but as a 30 year old I'm not looking to buy a console exclusively for those particular character driven titles.

What a retarded thing to say. The GBA has like a million games and most of them aren't kiddy.

Keyword being future.

How is it retarded? It's true that we don't like kiddy games. That's all.

You were talking about the GBA at the time. Maybe you'll remember saying this...

You are welcome.

Let me guess.. Grand Theft Auto..?

^ This folks.. is the future of gaming..

True dat.

I know many people who have GBAs and are well above "kiddy" ages.

I do agree that the connectivity is not a major console seller, and that lately I'm playing more X-Box than Cube, but do not buy the "kiddy" argument.

The GBA player seems like a really good idea to sell systems to older gamers to me. Huge library, previously available on the handheld now available for those adult gamers to play on their TVs where its generally more comfortable, etc.

Kiddy is Kobe getting krap-d*** with a ninteen year old. My future gaming has no plans of going online. Why would I want to play games with people that don't know quality but will buy into the "X" marketing. They may feel older\cooler to all their friends talking trash, but to me, games are meant to be played alone (or with a friends in the same room). I'll keep connecting my SP if they keep offering the material. They have added new twists to gameplay with the whole connectivity thing (sticky-bomb, fusion suit, tingle tuner, e-reader). Now back to Mario Golf-which I'll later connect to the GBA cart when it's availiable.

I think online gaming is a segment, but it is not the future by any means. Like many genres, everyone has what they like and what they don't. Online gaming isn't soemthing I will ever have an interest in (except to download additional levels, etc.)

I think everyone has lost the point of the Business 2.0 article. Nintendo has lost market share starting with the N64. The article was not a commentary on on-line gaming. It stated the fact that the market that made Snes a popular system has changed. Some of the market has moved on to GTA type games and have Mario in the dust. It statement is that Nintendo has a tendency to try to control the market by giving the market what Nintendo thinks that wants. In our capitalistic society, the market states what is popular, not producer.

This is the challenge for Nintendo can it risk ignoring any trend i.e on-line gaming, mature gaming, extra features such as hard drives and DVD play-back.

From what I have read on this thread have any purchase the magazine

I don't really like online gaming either. All I'm saying is that Nintendo doesn't even give the gamers an opportunity to play online. At least Microsoft and Sony have online plans and we can choose to play online or not.

Agree, but both of those companies can feed their gaming and lose money on it for future benefit. Sega, who only had games, tried this and went bankrupt. Nintendo is protecting profitability to protect their future. Their very business makes them need a different business model than either microsoft or sony can have.

I think their conservative business practice will keep them in the game for a long time, but it will also never make them #1 again.

Nobody can read the article.

Big companies ignore trends all the time. Trends change all the time and doing something trendy with a console meant to last 5 or 6 years is a big risk. Imagine if Nintendo spent a billion or 2 on an online gaming network this generation. Even if it helped them sell double the consoles (which is doubtful) it still would have lost them huge amounts of money.

Instead Nintendo let Sony and MS duke it out online. That way they can save some money and learn from the competitions mistakes/successes. I think since gaming is Nintendo's only business they have to play it pretty safe from a console standpoint. Lucky for them videogame buyers often don't care who does it first, just who does it best. For example, Sega was always first with new ideas but they still bombed. Nintendo doesn't want that to happen to them.

In a lot of ways Nintendo is giving gamers what they want. Nintendo's big games like Mario and Zelda still sell millions. Plus Nintendo did deliver some more "mature" games. Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime, and Resident Evil were all good to great and darker than the usual Nintendo offerings.

For me though that still means the same question as this generation... Do I get a PS3 or Xbox2 to put next to my Nintendo?

Exactly. The next question is, "How much is the monthly charge for the Tivo that I already have, the web browser I already have, etc."

I think the multi-use console is great for single guys and college students, but otherwise I prefer to buy the best of each individual area.

If you notice I posted how to access the article several posts down.

At the time the link was featured on cnn.com, you could access it through there without restriction. You might have to search for it now.

Yeah, and its costing them millions of dollars to do it. MS has millions to throw away on making a few hundred thousand gamers happy, but Nintendo doesn't.

Online gaming may be the future, but if it is gamers are going to have to pay for it for it to be profitable for game companies. 50 bucks a year doesn't even come close to paying for the costs of an online network unless the number of subscribers is in the millions. I think MS is shooting for 10 million at some point. We are a heck of a long way away from that.

Online had little if anything to do with Nintendo's struggles. Even if they supported online the Nintendo haters would just come up 10 other things Nintendo is doing wrong.

Nintendo did make mistakes with the Cube. The memory card was just stupid. They made it too small and that all but killed sports games on the Cube. As popular as sports games are you can't afford to lose that audience. Then they don't make many games like GTA, Halo, or any of the other popular mature killing games. Between those two genres they lost probably lost 80% of the gamers in the US. Sure Nintendo still makes great games and there will always be an audience for Mario and Link, but to compete with Sony you have to bring in all the 18-30 year olds that don't play Nintendo style games. They tried, but they didn't do enough. For one thing making that stupid console purple was like putting up an add that said the Cube is for gays right in the store. No way your typical GTA or Madden gamer was even going to give it a second look.

The thing they need for their next console is an image overhaul. I don't know if they can or even will try to do it. But that kiddie, purple Barney dinosaur image has to go.

They are the greatest game publisher in the world, but if you can't get a large portion of the gaming audience to even try the amazing games you make you are lost. I know people at work that dismissed Zelda and Metroid Prime as crap without even trying them. These are the same guys that thought the Matrix and the new Tomb Raider were masterpieces of gaming. Its really sad when you think about it.

I've been wanting to post that for ages but it wasn't worth being suspended for something everyone and their mother know. Thank you!

I have dismissed Zelda as crap because of the look they gave to the character. I dont care how good of a game people claim it is, I do not want to spend 50+ hours of my life playing as this dinky little blonde kid with a sword. They had a chance with todays graphics to make Zelda an amazing looking game, a darker one, but they chose this real childish, colorful look.

This thread is long and its late, so I admit I have not read it all, but I will give my 2 cents on Nintendo anyway. Yes, I think the look of a system has a lot to do with its success (and I will get back to that of course), but more importantly it is the amount of games of all genres. Nintendo is just severely lacking in that department. As much as I hate Microsoft, I bought an xbox, despite the fact I had promised I would never do that. What made me change my mind? Realizing I would miss out on games I wanted to play. I was ready to give my full support to Sony and Nintendo, but Nintendos lack of games quickly made me change my mind. Till this day, I still do not own a GC, because after all this time, GC has not had a single game I want to play badly enough to justify spending $150.

GCs big hits seem to be: Metroid Prime, RE series, Mario Sunshine and Zelda. None of those games I care for, regardless of what people say, I have my reasons to dislike them. Except for maybe Metroid, because I have never played that, but it is still not a big reason to buy the system.

THe ONLY reason I want a GC now, is because of the release of Metal Gear in a couple months.

In the end it comes down to lack of games, lack of customers.


Yes, the GC looks kind of "gay" to me, when I first saw it I thought of one of those little lightbulb ovens for girls, but when it comes down to it, if the selection of games between the ps2 and the GC were reversed, I wouldnt care if the PS2 looked like the GC, heck, I wouldnt care if it was green with pink polka dots, I would buy it.

As far as online play, online play is not such a huge factor as some people make it seem. It is like an added bonus to have that feature, but I can certainly live without it. There ARENT that many people online with the xbox or PS2. I am sure that a very small percentage that are online, used that as their primary reason for purchasing that system. The majority probably already had an xbox and/or ps2 when the online capabilities were made available.

Yeah. It was only named game of the year by just about everyone.

It does look amazing.

I agree.. I don't think I've seen a game with better graphics than Wind Waker.