I really believe that the age of Nintendo's top staff have had a huge impact on Nintendo. They used to be brasher and have a youthful cockiness and swagger about them in my opinion. Pikmin kickstarted Miyamoto's turn toward using his hobbies as inspiration and we've had Brain Training, Nintendogs, WiiFit and shortly, QOL software follow. With Wii they went all 'inclusive' and are now trying to be a jack of all trades but also appeal to and capture the cool kids/core gamers. As a company they are in their mid-life crisis years!
Nintendo need to embrace new staff and potential 'young ideas' that may come with such staff. Create R&D groups that are filled with new talent amidst 'classic' divisions housing Miyamoto and co. Just look at Masahiro Sakurai for proof of how a fresh, young director can re-ignite the Nintendo brand in a modern way.
Err... Sakurai is 43 and has been with Nintendo/HAL since he was 18/19 (that's 23/24 years in working with Nintendo)
Hardly what I would call a "fresh, young director" (though you wouldn't know it looking at him! He must be drinking virgin blood or something, cause he hasn't aged a day in the past 20 years! )
Now, if you do want to see a Nintendo director who actually IS fresh and young, look to the likes of Yusuke Amano (34)
(Director of NSMB2)
or Ryutaro Takahashi (not sure of his exact age, but he graduated university in 2005 - so he's probably in his mid/late 20s)
(Director of several Wii Channels and the two Tomodachi Life games)
or Takayuki Shimamura (not sure how old he is, but he joined Nintendo after finishing his work as technical supporter on Resident Evil GCN so he's not been at Nintendo for nearly as long as their more famous game directors)
(Director of Wii Sports 1,2 & 3 and Nintendo Land)
Or Hidemaro Fujibayashi (again, not sure exactly how old he is but he graduated University in 1995, so probably in his mid/late 30s, and he joined Nintendo in 2005 after Flagship collapsed so he certainly counts)
(Director of the "Capcom Zeldas", Assistant Director on Phantom Hourglass and director of Skyward Sword)
Err... Sakurai is 43 and has been with Nintendo/HAL since he was 18/19 (that's 23/24 years in working with Nintendo)
Hardly what I would call a "fresh, young director" (though you wouldn't know it looking at him! He must be drinking virgin blood or something, cause he hasn't aged a day in the past 20 years! )
Haha. Dude looks like he's in his twenties! It's the same as Hideo Kojima. He has looked the same for years!
I didn't realise that Sakurai had been with the company that long. Crazy!
Man, the start is boring. All the talk about market share points. Saying that, when he starts on about Nintendo's mascots I did chuckle ( as did the crowd ) when he said Mario would never start shooting guns.
Trailer time.
Mario Kart: Double Dash. I have great memories of this game. We would play 4 player, with 2 on each kart. I would always get screwed over by two of my mates when they used the pram ( they would call it the pram of justice ). They were unstoppable in that thing!
Ah, Pikmin 2. For me, it's still the best one in the franchise. Those real life items, the challenge caves, the introduction of the White and purple pikmin. Quality game right there.
I never liked Pokemon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire. I adored the original game but this one just didn't sit right with me, kinda like the main Ruby and Sapphire games.
WarioWare. The original and still the best one for me.
Pokemon Colosseum. Not a bad game and certainly a lot better than Gale of Darkness in my eyes. Still not the kind of Pokemon adventure I was hoping for on a console. The wait continues...
Haha. The cheer that Super Mario Advance 4 gets is a bit insane.
Freaking Billy Hatcher. This game is amazing. The gameplay was so unique and it had an amazing soundtrack. Easily one of the most underrated games on the Cube. What happened to you Sega?
Donkey Kong Country Advance.....
WarioWorld. Wait, this was at last years E3 as well. Dem delays.
Starfox Assault was just called Starfox at this point. Loved this game to bits, despite the reception many gave it. Arwing battles and on foot sections, mixed with a challenge based gameplay made for a fantastic game. It certainly felt like more of a Starfox game than what Adventures was.
And the trailer is over.
The connectivity chatter has begun again. Let it go, Nintendo. Oh, man the slides just knacked up and he's struggling to think for himself. Golden E3 moment right here.
I remember importing an e-reader and a bunch of Animal Crossing cards for it. Cost me a fortune and it was quite rubbish to be honest. I never did get to play those Super Mario Advance 4 extra levels with it though.
Iwata time.
He's saying that the Cube had an unfavourable reputation among gamers, Nintendo didn't release enough new titles, the software didn't perform as well as they had hoped, he stated they had yet to show why the connectivity feature was an important reason to buy the console and that retailers were worried about the Cube.
LMBO he said said that in that generation you have graphics so realistic that you think you are watching television and that the next systems won't have much room to improve.
This whole speech is essentially the birth of the Wii. He talks about graphics, core gamers essentially not being enough for the market and Vice City pushing things too far in terms of violence.
He's talking about 3rd party support now. He gave a quick mention of F-Zero and then shows of Rebel Strike. I enjoyed that game but it wasn't a patch on Rogue Leader. The on foot sections were pretty bad on the game. Factor 5, how the mighty have fallen.
He speaks about Soul Calibur and how it's exclusive.....wait, what? That's worng isn't it? Was this originally the deal or did Iwata just get mixed up with the game being exclusive and the character being exclusive?
Capcom showing the love now. Mikami is the man. Has he cut his head off yet? He teases Viewtiful Joe and Killer 7 now. He ends with another Resident Evil 4 teaser. Shame we never got this version as it looked closer to the original games than what we got.
Geist. Such an average game but the concept was pretty cool.
Yay. S-E showed off Crystal Chronicles. Again, another game that I had a great time on with my friends. The soundtrack is brilliant for the game, even if the gameplay didn't appeal to most.
Shigsy and EA on the stage together. Dat unprecedented partnership. The Sims being connected with Cube and the GBA versions. Marvelous.
Wow. EA showing off their games on a show reel at the Nintendo conference. It's crazy to think that 10 years ago they looked to have had quite a decent relationship with each other. I wonder what made it break down the way it did.
Four Swords is being shown again. Seems weird as they gave it a fair bit of time last year as well.
Here it is. The big moment of the conference....PAC-MAN VS!!!!!! A game so exciting and one that would truly show what the connectivity was all about, it was released as a pack in with Ridge Racer.
Hideo Kojima now arrives. Twin Snakes. I don't understand the hate this game gets by MGS fans. They claimed it was too over the top. Have they played a MGS game before? The whole thing is over the top!
Dennis Dyack...what a douche.
Finally, they show the final highlight reel at the games coming, which are Soul Calibur 2, Viewtiful Joe, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Advance Wars 2 ( gets a cheer ), Sword of Mana, P.N.0.3, The Hobbit, Metroid Prime 2 ( cheers ), NCAA Football, 007 Everything or Nothing, 1080 Avalanche, Enter the Matrix, F-Zero GX and that's a wrap.
What is very apparent here is that Nintendo clearly tried to reach out to 3rd parties and it shows with the titles on offer. They have some great exclusives on show here and at the same time they also have a lot of other filler 3rd party titles on offer as well.
Iwata ends with saying that Nintendo will not retreat and will stay in the middle of the console battle, before finally saying that they are working on the successor of the Cube and will beat the competition to the market. It won't be long after this until he says that they are not part of this fight and are not competing.
Another good E3, with plenty of software on show from Nintendo, even if the titles are a little weaker than last years. 7/10.
Speaking of Soul Calibur 2, it seems that Namco made of remake of that, aka Soul Calibur 2 HD Online. It was released in November 2013 on ps3 and xb360, but "surprisingly" not on a Nintendo console. Pretty weird considering the fact that Namco and Nintendo are doing some stuff together now...
The light bouncing off his shiny hair makes it look like he has some crazy shaved cut :p
He actually says Mario won't start shooting hookers!!
Just never got excited for Pikmin 2, mind you I only experienced Pikmin 1 round at Eddage's. Thought it was great, but the games just don't seem to draw me to them.
Billy Hatcher, a game I've always wanted to play, please bring it to the eShop SEGA!!
Makes me smile.
Looking back now I can't believe I bought a Gameboy Player! :p You and your peripherals Nintendo!
Why would I have? did it offer anything other than just playing GBA games on the TV?
Man even last years awesome showing of Metroid Prime, Resi 0 and Eternal Darkness couldn't do anything for the console. I have to say the only one I picked up myself was Metroid, and probably a year after launch.
That's because Sunshine suuuucked! (still bought it)
I don't think Nintendo ever showed why connectivity was an... idea (I wont use the word great :p) did they?
Yep LOL at the graphics so detailed you might think you're watching TV line
What do n-space work on now
Crystal Chronicles always looked so incredible!!! (unlike it's sequel)
The crowd are loving Pac-Man Vs!
I don't understand why the Wii U doesn't at least get loads of experimental eShop games like this. And a new Four Swords too.
Nintendo need some more huge/unexpected collaborations this year. The likes of Hyrule Warriors just don't cut it.
People go crazy over Metroid Nintendo!!!
More 1080 and F-Zero!
Basically they end saying they're going to own it with the Wii
The opening sequence is fantastic. It has a great western appeal that hasn't been seen in ages from Nintendo. Guns, action, explosions, all that was needed was a flash of knockers on the screen and it would have been perfect. The only downside is that this was the moment Reggie appeared.
After the quick glimpse of Reggie, Metroid Prime 2 was shown. As most of you know, i'm not a fan of the series but trailer that was shown was great and show cased the game well. The crowd was very happy with it's showing.
Next up is Starfox Assault. Dat dance music. They are really pushing weaponry and explosions at this E3. Bit weird considering Iwatas comments during the last E3.
Resident Evil 4. Quality trailer that once again focuses on the guns and action. Is this a Nintendo conference i'm watching?
Reggie waffling on now. " It's my job and it's Nintendo's job, to satisfy all the gamers and do it better than the competition" A few years from now they will dump the core gamer and concentrate on the expanded audience. Also, hows your online going? Better than the competition?
" He with the best games wins. It's always been that way and it always will" Yeah, that ain't true, Reggie. He with the best priced and marketed product wins.
Sales chatter zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
George Harrison just said " Unlike one of our competitors who are eager to start the next generation, we intend to full playing out our hand. It's how we always play the game because it works." So, in other words, don't kill a console off before trying to get the next gen started or before the next console is ready. Wonder what happened to the philosophy with the Wii?
Man, the sales chatter is really all about spin. He's on about how the Cube seen massive growth in the last year. Yeah, probably because the numbers were so low to begin with. He also explained the PS2 was down from last year. Probably due to just about everyone having the thing at that point. The Cube had a good attach ratio though.
George goes on to say that there have been 38 million consoles sold between PS2, Xbox and Cube and that they expected to reach more than 55 million total at the end of the generation. PS2 did 50 million alone in the US and 155 million total. Oh, George....
Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green sales chatter. Awesome games. Easily one of my favourite Pokemon games.
Gameboy Advance video. I forgot all about that. It didn't really take off, did it?
Can the PSP outsell the Gameboy Advance? No. Can the PS2 even outsell the Gameboy Advance? Yes, George, it can. The sales chatter is turning out quite entertaining in hindsight.
Up and coming games reel now. Paper Mario 2, Pikmin 2, Zelda: Four Swords ( 3rd time at E3 now ) Donkey Kong:Jungle Beat, Advance Wars: Under Fire ( Battalion Wars ), Donkey Konga, Geist, Donkey Kong Country 2 GBA, Mario Pinball, Mario Golf, DK: King of Swing, Mario vs DK, Zelda: Minish Cap, Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green, Rainbow Six 3, Tales of Symphonia, Killer 7, Baten Kaitos, WWE DoR, Terminator 3, Harry Potter, all the EA sports titles. Phew! Hell of a trailer and line up.
Nintendo DS has been revealed. Man, I forgot how ugly the original model was.
The usual developers talking tripe now. " We love it and we can't wait to develop for it. We have a lot of exciting ideas" I hate these videos. Granted, a lot of developers did do some amazing stuff with the DS but for the most part these promo videos are rubbish.
I enjoyed Reggies car analogy.
Mario 64 is shown. I thought it would have got a bigger pop than that.
Metroid DS is shown. Crowd love it. " Play it tomorrow" Crowd goes nuts again.
Backwards compatible feature announced. Crowd goes nuts again. Voice controls announcement gets nothing, which is just as well as the thing was hardly used. Wifi gets a huge pop.
Iwata time now. He talks about the DS and how it will change the way we play, which is exactly what the next console will do. He goes on about changing the way we play and that power isn't enough. He said he could tell you the specs of the new machine but they simply don't matter.
"The time when horse power makes an important difference is over." Well, you were kind of right...
Here it is. The greatest E3 moment of all time. HYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPEEE. Ok, that was slightly weird watching that without the crowds reaction. This actually makes the point that I and many others have been making about Nintendo skipping E3. Without that live reaction it truly does lack something.
LOL. Reggies just said there is no BSing the audience. Does " Online is the air that we breathe" sound familiar, Reggie?
All done. Actually that was probably the weakest one i've watched so far. It started well but there was a lot of sales chatter and the DS reveal was quite underwhelming, as was watching the Zelda trailer without the pops. 7/10
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Dcubed
Err... Sakurai is 43 and has been with Nintendo/HAL since he was 18/19 (that's 23/24 years in working with Nintendo)
Hardly what I would call a "fresh, young director" (though you wouldn't know it looking at him! He must be drinking virgin blood or something, cause he hasn't aged a day in the past 20 years!
)
Now, if you do want to see a Nintendo director who actually IS fresh and young, look to the likes of Yusuke Amano (34)
or Ryutaro Takahashi (not sure of his exact age, but he graduated university in 2005 - so he's probably in his mid/late 20s)
or Takayuki Shimamura (not sure how old he is, but he joined Nintendo after finishing his work as technical supporter on Resident Evil GCN so he's not been at Nintendo for nearly as long as their more famous game directors)
Or Hidemaro Fujibayashi (again, not sure exactly how old he is but he graduated University in 1995, so probably in his mid/late 30s, and he joined Nintendo in 2005 after Flagship collapsed so he certainly counts)
(Director of the "Capcom Zeldas", Assistant Director on Phantom Hourglass and director of Skyward Sword)
Edited by DcubedHero-of-Time
Haha. Dude looks like he's in his twenties! It's the same as Hideo Kojima. He has looked the same for years!
I didn't realise that Sakurai had been with the company that long. Crazy!
Dcubed
I know! It's total madness!
If anything he seems to be getting YOUNGER with age!
Hero-of-Time
I just literally burst out laughing at work.
Retro_Link
Hahaha, OMG how's he doing that! :p
Falcon_BlizZACK
Make-up, skin bleaching, hair dye and botox.
tapedeck
That is insane....I'm sure I read he was in his twenties haha!
Thanks though lol.
Fused King
That's why I've started studying Japanese actually.
Got to know their secret!
Ville
Chibis. Plus a lot of tentacles. #yourewelcome
Hero-of-Time
E3 2003 time!
Another good E3, with plenty of software on show from Nintendo, even if the titles are a little weaker than last years. 7/10.
Ville
Speaking of Soul Calibur 2, it seems that Namco made of remake of that, aka Soul Calibur 2 HD Online. It was released in November 2013 on ps3 and xb360, but "surprisingly" not on a Nintendo console. Pretty weird considering the fact that Namco and Nintendo are doing some stuff together now...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulcalibur_II#Soulcalibur_II_HD_Online
Retro_Link
The light bouncing off his shiny hair makes it look like he has some crazy shaved cut :p
He actually says Mario won't start shooting hookers!!
Just never got excited for Pikmin 2, mind you I only experienced Pikmin 1 round at Eddage's. Thought it was great, but the games just don't seem to draw me to them.
Billy Hatcher, a game I've always wanted to play, please bring it to the eShop SEGA!!
Makes me smile.
Looking back now I can't believe I bought a Gameboy Player! :p You and your peripherals Nintendo!
Why would I have? did it offer anything other than just playing GBA games on the TV?
Man even last years awesome showing of Metroid Prime, Resi 0 and Eternal Darkness couldn't do anything for the console. I have to say the only one I picked up myself was Metroid, and probably a year after launch.
That's because Sunshine suuuucked! (still bought it)
I don't think Nintendo ever showed why connectivity was an... idea (I wont use the word great :p) did they?
Yep LOL at the graphics so detailed you might think you're watching TV line
What do n-space work on now
Crystal Chronicles always looked so incredible!!! (unlike it's sequel)
The crowd are loving Pac-Man Vs!
I don't understand why the Wii U doesn't at least get loads of experimental eShop games like this. And a new Four Swords too.
Nintendo need some more huge/unexpected collaborations this year. The likes of Hyrule Warriors just don't cut it.
People go crazy over Metroid Nintendo!!!
More 1080 and F-Zero!
Basically they end saying they're going to own it with the Wii
Kav
He has within his possession the Master Sword and the Ocarina of Time. Only reasonable explanation!
Hero-of-Time
E3 2004 this is the big one.
All done. Actually that was probably the weakest one i've watched so far. It started well but there was a lot of sales chatter and the DS reveal was quite underwhelming, as was watching the Zelda trailer without the pops. 7/10