None of our business!

[K-project]

Does anybody else, like me, think that gamers spend far too much time worrying about huge corporations business concerns, particularly Nintendo's? The amount of gamers that fret and post regularly about Nintendo's ads, Nintendo's shares, Nintendo's profits blah, blah, blah really is more worrying than anything I've ever come across. Why should you care how a huge multi-national corporation is doing financially? I don't for one.

 

Put it another way - Nintendo are incredibly rich. As a company something would have to go drastically wrong for it to go down the dumper. Sure there are thin times for all as interest peaks and troughs in the entertainment industry. Look at the music industry and how it's struggling to find a new identity. Pop music as an art form is practically finished, years and years of selling out will do that. But music itself isn't finished is it? It goes on, and has to find a new way of expression. Nobody sits in front of the PC fretting and writes : "Ooh I do hope Warner Records will survive this terrible situation". Because nobody could give a flying fudge. Ditto the movies: Nobody cares about how George Lucas is doing. He's f***ing loaded!!

 

If Nintendo went down - pfff - so what? I'd find something else to do, or buy an Xbox or whatever. So would you.

 

Basically my point is stop caring about Nintendo's financial situation please. Stop caring about ad campaigns ferchrissakes! Don't you have something better to do? Families? Friends? Actually playing and enjoying the games???

 

Please understand; I'm a massive Nintendo fan truly. Have been for many years, and I'm now old enough to know better frankly. But I draw the line at this type of crazy sub-fan that's now emerged. The business stat-o-weirdo, highlighting Japanese and US sales figures, or pointing to the demographic of the latest Nintendo ad campaign!

 

I don't CARE! And neither should you.

[Maxi678]

I agree with you 100% on this post. I don't really care how Nintendo are financially doing, from time to time i do have a look and see how they are doing, but it doesn't spoil my gaming fun.

 

Nintendo provide excellent, fun enjoyable games. These include Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker and Mario Kart. I enjoy good games when i see them. When i was looking around for a new console after the Mega Drive, i came to Nintendo and bought an N64, because i knew that i was paying for quality and not quantity of games available.

 

If Nintendo crashed and burned and were bought by another company like Microsoft. I would follow to whatever console Nintendo would make games on. Or i would stop playing on games all together.

 

Same as you, i am a HUGE Nintendo fan always have been and always will be no matter what happens.

[mike-zim]

Strong words my friend. i will sit on the fence on this one. i think it is good to an extent that people are interested in the way nintendo do business. for example if they were to go down the road of human rights violations or unlawful activities then as a fan i would want to know and perhaps place my faith somewhere else.

 

as far as wanting to know where every single penny is spent i think it is a bit over the top. Trisha spring to mind here i have no idea why?

[system_error]

Actually I think it is not bad to care about the success or failure of certain companies after all it might affect you in one or another way! I spent most of day studying and the spare time I have is devoted to my girlfriend and my friends. I talk to so many people each day wether its online or in real life and that means I can talk about everything I am interested in. Furthermore my university schedule contains much about information technology, marketing, hardware and software so why should I keep quiet about stuff I know? I might even end up working for IBM, Nintendo, Sony or any other similar company. In the current situation it is vital to be informed about as many different things as possible. Discussions about various topics are far more important than simply playing games - I personally find it interesting to know more about certain companies and their way of being successfull. If you don't care it is fine you have plenty of opportunities to talk about games and their release dates, walkthroughs, etc. but don't insult the people who go further and show their interest in other thematics aswell.

 

Don't get me wrong spending 24/7 in front of a console or the company behind it is wrong and actually quite boring too. Nowadays big companies are nearly as powerfull as governments especially in Japan and I think it is important to know what a company is up to.

[Hero-of-Time]

I dont follow their financial records to the letter but I do take an interest. I do this beacuse I have grown up with Nintendo I have always had a Nintendo in my life as far back as I can remember and as such I have become a follower of them ( hehe sounds like a cult )

 

I remember when Sega announced that they were leaving the console race and I was gutted. I was a fan of Sega and their work, not as much as i am with Nintendo, but I still respected them and the games they made. Now if Nintendo was to announce tomorrow that they were leaving the games industry then I would be devestated. Called me sad but its the truth and im sure i wouldnt be the only one.

 

Its all fine saying well just switch platforms but its not that simple. Anyone who has played Nintendo games most their life will agree that Nintendo games are far more " magical " than any other companies. I think this is because of the passion they have for the industry.

 

Now fair enough you draw comparisons to Music and movie industries but in a way they are very different. Sure you get fans of a director or of a pop group but how many movie studios or record companies are there kicking around? LOADS. Where as the console race is just 3 contenders...3. Now when its a 3 horse race its pretty simple to keep track of how things are going and if people want to take an interest in that then fine. I mean its not just fanboys who do it. Just about every gaming website reports how well their console is doing in terms of the other ones on the market its just common practice I think.

[K-project]

Nowadays big companies are nearly as powerfull as governments especially in Japan and I think it is important to know what a company is up to.

 

More so, and perhaps more than you could imagine. Read "The Corporation" by Joel Bakan. Or have a listen to Bill Hicks! :wink:

 

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not pleading ignorance. I'm not saying "go play the games and stop thinking about stuff". Quite the opposite. I'm not a stupid person myself, and I don't presume you are. But as far as the importance of things like ad campaigns and sales figures etc go, though, I only have a passing interest at best. I was amused to see the Nintendogs ads on CH4 for example. Great. But it just doesn't affect me as personally as perhaps it does others on the internet. And please - I love Nintendo. I have to stress that. I still have a US Virtual Boy, and have only recently started selling off what was a huge Nintendo collection spanning generations. If Nintendo went under I would probably have a really good cry. But gaming goes on. Anyway it's a moot point because Nintendo aren't going to go under.

 

The truth is whether you're a student in business or not it borders, and often falls arse-first right into obsession. It's unhealthy, surely you can see that. You don't need to wave stats around in order to justify your interest in gaming/Nintendo. Most of the statistics that are touted anyway are made up purely to suit some suited-up creepo's agenda, with little or no basis in reality.

 

I think it's quite interesting/really worrying just how far modern corporations have the minds and souls of youngsters so sewn up that they would be concerned about a company's well-being in such a way. Please tell me I'm wrong....

[Hero-of-Time]

Nah you aint wrong im obsessed lol. I aint exactly young either im 23. For me gaming is more than a hobby it is an obsession. I love to check the news on a daily basis and search forums to see what everyones opinions are. I have been like this for as long as I can remember whether it was checking the videogame magazines or checking the net and I wont be changing in the near future.

 

EDIT: Thing is most my mates are like me aswell. So when we get together we have great indepth convos about gaming in general.

[Nintenchris]

Nah you aint wrong im obsessed lol. I aint exactly young either im 23. For me gaming is more than a hobby it is an obsession. I love to check the news on a daily basis and search forums to see what everyones opinions are. I have been like this for as long as I can remember whether it was checking the videogame magazines or checking the net and I wont be changing in the near future.

 

EDIT: Thing is most my mates are like me aswell. So when we get together we have great indepth convos about gaming in general.

 

Same here.. i cant help the way i am, my obsession is with gaming (mostly Nintendo) and i cant see it changing any time soon either... and your right friends only make my obsession with gaming even worse because there just as bad as i am.

 

Surely there should be some where i could get help for my obsession!!

Nintendo is just too much fun

[OVERLORD]

I dont follow their financial records to the letter but I do take an interest. I do this beacuse I have grown up with Nintendo I have always had a Nintendo in my life as far back as I can remember and as such I have become a follower of them ( hehe sounds like a cult )

 

I remember when Sega announced that they were leaving the console race and I was gutted. I was a fan of Sega and their work, not as much as i am with Nintendo, but I still respected them and the games they made. Now if Nintendo was to announce tomorrow that they were leaving the games industry then I would be devestated. Called me sad but its the truth and im sure i wouldnt be the only one.

 

Its all fine saying well just switch platforms but its not that simple. Anyone who has played Nintendo games most their life will agree that Nintendo games are far more " magical " than any other companies. I think this is because of the passion they have for the industry.

 

Now fair enough you draw comparisons to Music and movie industries but in a way they are very different. Sure you get fans of a director or of a pop group but how many movie studios or record companies are there kicking around? LOADS. Where as the console race is just 3 contenders...3. Now when its a 3 horse race its pretty simple to keep track of how things are going and if people want to take an interest in that then fine. I mean its not just fanboys who do it. Just about every gaming website reports how well their console is doing in terms of the other ones on the market its just common practice I think.

 

Good post!

 

As stated above. You wouldn't get too many true football supporters switching from say a club like Newcastle United to Sunderland AFC because one team was successful in Permier League whilst the other got relegated to Division 1.

 

It just wouldn't happen. It would be like changing one's faith! How many people do that in their lifetime. Not many! Many would rather kill people than accept another view that contradicts there own.

 

True loyal fans take the rough with the smooth and get concerned when decisions by those in authority fail to provide results! Choosing a console can be likened to affiliating oneself to a tribe. Just imagine the furore if Liverpool & Everton were to merge or to be more subversive Celtic & Rangers!

 

Both scenario's are unimaginable.

 

Who'd remain loyal to anyone doing that!

 

Consoles are just as tribal as football. Just look @ the state some threads get in when there is difference of opinion.

 

Unlike football, gamers influence the results more so than those players involved in entertaining us by investing money on games directly. Sales are the fruits of a successful campaign.

 

We are investing more than just loyalty when we invest in our console of choice. We invest a good part of our income towards our hobby. For your team to succeed they need to score to achieve positive results.

 

Nintendo have been missing quite a few goals recently. You bet loyal fans are getting concerned. They want some clarity that all is ok and things will look more positive with the changes being implimented.

 

Increased sales are the aspiration for any successful company. There not just here to entertain us they're running a business. Just look @ state fans got into when Manchester United ignored fans in favour of Large shareholders. It wasn't the results on the pitch that counted It was the value of United's stock. The business!

 

This generation you'll be looking to invest over £200 for a console another £40 for your games!

 

How many people invested in Sega Dreamcast? Let alone other failures like Atari Jaguar/Lynx, Laserdisc, CDI, Betamax VCR, Minidisc, DAT recorders only to be shafted by the same companies they invested in.

 

If they'd done a little research before investing from the start many may have chosen a different path!

 

Nintendo said they would not support HDTV. How many fanboys have questioned this here and elsewhere as an acceptance of failure in comparison to the other 2 warring factions. Even before seeing any specification for Revolution.

 

Now look @ MS, Sony & fanboys squabble over Blue ray & HDDVD! :lmao:

 

Fanatics can be found in all camps even the main protaganists!

 

Our daily lives are too boring already! Why shouldn't we speculate on something we may be able to influence?

[K-project]

Same here.. i cant help the way i am, my obsession is with gaming (mostly Nintendo) and i cant see it changing any time soon either... and your right friends only make my obsession with gaming even worse because there just as bad as i am.

 

Surely there should be some where i could get help for my obsession!!

Nintendo is just too much fun

 

No, no, no. You've misunderstood what my complaint is (which is probably fair do's considering how long my posts go on for). I'm not saying don't follow your hobby, or don't be a fan of Nintendo or anything. That would be daft - I'm a fan myself, what right would I have to tell you not to be!

 

What really set me off on this whinge was, I was on another forum that I read regularly, but rarely ever post in. Basically the whole front page of the forum over time has become filled practically with people using sales stats and share prices in order to vindicate their fan devotion to Nintendo. Threads about "will Nintendo be around in 5 years if these sales trends continue" etc. These threads would go on for ages, and people like you and me would suddenly become business consultants, pointing to the North American demographic etc, ad infinitum. As if they really know...as if anyone really cares.

 

I don't need to point out how well Nintendo are faring in their recent ad campaigns to justify my fandom. It's just lies, damn lies and statistics (as somebody famous once said) anyway.

 

However I have been interested by your replies regardless, so many thanks for them! Tell you what though Overlord. I had no idea gaming had gotten so tribal! Comparing Nintendo devotion to your local football team!

 

Scary....

[Pit-Jr]

I don't CARE! And neither should you

 

Cmon K-Project, are you saying youve never clicked on the Jap sales charts?? You're guilty by association.

 

I do agree with you that too much time is spent reading and criticizing about games rather than buying and playing them. I remember when i first scrounged up enough to buy a NES back in the day. There was no such thing as internet or forums and the only game magazine was Nintendo Power which sucked as bad then as it does today. Basically games were bought on instinct and box-art and you never really knew what you were getting until you bought it or by word-of-mouth. Nowadays, most of the magic of a new game is sapped by screenshots, spoiler movies, previews , reviews, players guides, etc.

 

My point is we all know this but we click, read, post , and bitch anyway because Nintendo is a topic that were all comfortable and familiar with.

[OVERLORD]

Tell you what though Overlord. I had no idea gaming had gotten so tribal! Comparing Nintendo devotion to your local football team!

 

Scary....

 

I thought you'd like the analogy.

 

Enthusiasm of these fans within online forums show gaming to be a tribal affair.

 

Most can't wait for Next generation consoles to kick off. Before they themselves kick off.

 

The internet arena's already becoming a mess. Literally littered by blogs & spec sheets comparing the 3 teams. Speculating on who will fall 1st. Who will dominate.

 

Forum Trolls throwing their virtual seats everywhere!

 

If it's not GC failure, it's GBA/SP, DS, Micro or Revolution having to dodge tackles from behind whilst opposing fans cry for Nintendo blood!

 

Those that score direct hits can make donations to their desired MS/SONY charity.

 

It's getting like those who denounce Chelsea!

 

It's no surprise most threads descend into a ruck!

 

It's virtual hooliganism

[K-project]

Cmon K-Project, are you saying youve never clicked on the Jap sales charts?? You're guilty by association.

 

The only time I care about the Jap sales charts is when they're getting something we aren't. I can honestly say to you, other than what my monthly mag tells me (GamesTM) I have no idea how Nintendo are faring abroad. They have a Japanese and a US column that occasionally features Nintendo and some figures. What I don't do is then go on the net and post the figures accompanied by a reasoned arguement as to why Nintendo should approach an ad campaign in the US with the 17-26 demographic in mind etc, etc!!

 

Still, it's my personal, and if I'm alone in it, I'll cope....

 

Enjoy your charts people!