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Nintendo Moving Away From Casuals..?


Goron_3

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There are some really fascinating comments from Miyamoto in the latest issue of Edge, and they mark the first time a Nintendo 'higher up' as spoke of their intention to move away from casuals.

 

'Their attitude is, 'okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.' It's kind of a passive attitude they're taking, and to me it's kind of a pathetic thing. They do not know how interesting it is if you move one step further and try to challenge yourself [with more advanced games].'

 

"In the days of DS and Wii, Nintendo tried its best to expand the gaming population," he said.

 

"Fortunately, because of the spread of smart devices, people take games for granted now. It's a good thing for us, because we do not have to worry about making games something that are relevant to general people's daily lives."

 

I think I speak for everyone here when I say...

 

Thank god.

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Those are some strong words!

 

Although it does make me question why they are pursuing this QoL platform of theirs? If they can leave expanding casual gaming up to the 'smart devices' now, why can't they just leave QoL to the fitness experts. Ok I guess we need to learn more about what QoL is truly going to be, but could that not just be how they're going after that same audience now?

 

Just release a Wii Fit app Nintendo.

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Those are some strong words!

 

Although it does make me question why they are pursuing this QoL platform of theirs? If they can leave expanding casual gaming up to the 'smart devices' now, why can't they just leave QoL to the fitness experts. Ok I guess we need to learn more about what QoL is truly going to be, but is that not just their new casual focus now?

 

Well they would have started QoL planning quite some time ago during their organisational restructure, but it does make you wonder how it affects their plans.

 

Maybe now they will look at the N64 and GC and like, look at the bloody problems

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I would like to see that transpire in their next hardware iteration - level with or better the competition as per the gamecube/N64, and focus on third parties to make sure the right features are there.

 

My biggest wish is that their next piece of hardware doesn't contain a gimmick that makes it feel like they're trying to reinvent for the sake of it. I would dread to think of something else like the gamepad, as it's really not the right way to go if they want the serious gamers back on board. I'd like to see them put their innovation efforts into software, in terms of maybe rebooting old franchises in a new way and doing away with a lot of old tropes. Less platformers would also be sweet.

 

Those are some strong words!

 

Although it does make me question why they are pursuing this QoL platform of theirs? If they can leave expanding casual gaming up to the 'smart devices' now, why can't they just leave QoL to the fitness experts. Ok I guess we need to learn more about what QoL is truly going to be, but could that not just be how they're going after that same audience now?

 

Just release a Wii Fit app Nintendo.

 

It strikes me as difficulty letting go. Fitness apps have the market penetration due to the prevalence of smart devices. I can't imagine people buying QoL in big numbers unless it really does something that no other fitness device can possibly do.

Edited by Sheikah
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It's funny, I've always assumed Miyamoto was one of the main people at Nintendo pushing the 'casual' direction, so it's surprising/refreshing to hear him say this. Then again, he is the man responsible for so much greatness - like Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time - so I shouldn't be too surprised. Also, it is supposedly due to his sense of honour that we even got Twilight Princess on the GameCube at all.

 

Overall though, it's just common sense. You can try so hard to bring in newcomers with a 'Wii Sports', but you can't get them interested in F-Zero, Metroid or Zelda. As I've said before, this is not snobbery - anyone who is interested is very welcome - I just don't like to see Nintendo's hardware and software continually diminished by chasing the impossible.

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I think it's very possitive he thinks this way. Small app games are a market of their own, and nintendo should not focus on that. They should focus on offering brilliant immersive experiences, that's what they really shine at.

 

I'm also convinced that a part of all the crowd that got into gaming thanks to the DS and Wii (brain training, wii sports etc.) might stick around and evolve into hardcore. My aunt is 52 years old, she got a nintendo DS with brain training as her first gaming system ever. She learned how to deal with games slowly and now she's as much of a gamer as I am. She plays Mario, Zelda, Luigi's Mansion, Kirby etc. That never would have happened without wii sports and brain training reeling her in. So yeah the little apps might be a good stepping stone for newcomers, but the focus should remain on the true good nintendo games.

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It depends what they mean by this. Obviously, if they actually stick to their word (something they barely ever do) then it could be a good thing as it could spell the return of F-Zero and Starfox. Quite honestly though, I wouldn't believe any of this until you see evidence of it. After all, the Wii U was set to have fantastic third-party support.

 

...as was the Wii... and the Gamecube.

 

And 'casuals' is a bit vague anyway. If it means less Wii Sports and Fit, then that's great. I just hope it doesn't also mean less inventive titles like Nintendogs (it's tarnished now with the countless clones and whatever, but back then, the touch controls, mic, pre-streetpass stuff was amazing) and WarioWare.

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Actions are louder than words. Remember what Reggie and Iwata said about Wii U before and at the launch of Wii U. How'd that work out?

 

They said they were targetting them more, but the entire console was aimed at casuals. From the name and branding, to games like Nintendo Land and NSMBU, it was aimed at a certain demographic. Heck, the TV adverts for it were specifically aimed at families.

 

They've dug themselves into a huge hole with the majority of western gamers and developers..let's see what they can do.

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@Cube That's what gets me most! WarioWare of all games would have been perfect for 3DS and Wii U, both of which have gimmicks bursting out of them.

 

Game & Wario is just a depressing view of what could have been. The weird unlockables in that are genius, and show just how great a true WarioWare game could be on the system. And yeah, WarioWare DIY seems even more suited, it was fun on DS but the screensize alone made menus and stuff a bit awkward at times I thought.

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I liken Miyamoto's quotes to an ex-girlfriend who cheated on you and left for someone else who she thought was better than you. Now she's come crawling back after realising the errors of her ways. Lucky it's not a girlfriend were talking about because there'd be no second chances.

 

edge-magazine-miyamoto-484x640.jpg?8c1496

 

Also, the cover on the EDGE magazine is a bit ironic. I can just hear Miyamoto saying, "Remember this thing? It's called the gamepad. We haven't used it much but it makes a great picture frame".

Edited by Wii
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Some awesome first party games and sales in the shitter.

 

So they've already reached the N64/Gamecube thing.

 

They've got a loooooooong way to go to match the quality of either of these consoles. Still, I suppose it's subjective.

 

Actions are louder than words. Remember what Reggie and Iwata said about Wii U before and at the launch of Wii U. How'd that work out?

 

Indeed.

 

There was that quote a while back by Iwata on how the casual market isn't that sustainable ( something like that ) yet the Wii U was once again targeted at that audience.

 

When I was going through the old E3 conferences earlier in the year, you could see the target switch that was made from the Cube era to the Wii era in their press conferences. It was night and day.

 

Here's hoping we see a return to those days.

 

I may pick that issue of Edge up. Should be a good read.

Edited by Hero-of-Time
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You're fucking pathetic, Miyamoto!

 

Jk. Though I do resent him calling me pathetic a little bit. I *AM* the customer, they *ARE* supposed to entertain me - what do you think I'm paying my money on entertainment products for if not for entertainment?!

 

Also - no faith in these words anyway. Nintendo do too much talking and not enough doing.

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You're fucking pathetic, Miyamoto!

 

Jk. Though I do resent him calling me pathetic a little bit. I *AM* the customer, they *ARE* supposed to entertain me - what do you think I'm paying my money on entertainment products for if not for entertainment?!

 

Also - no faith in these words anyway. Nintendo do too much talking and not enough doing.

See their E3 line-up this year. Is that not evidence of them "doing"?

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See their E3 line-up this year. Is that not evidence of them "doing"?

 

Well let's be honest, it was still a pretty sparse line up. That said, Bayonetta was there. So :D

 

I just hope this means we might see Nintendo focus on releasing system sellers early on their next consoles lifespan. A new 3D Metroid, Zelda, Mario etc. If you get those games right, people will buy a console for them. That said, game development should be much easier for them going forward given the whole joint architecture stuff :)

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Well let's be honest, it was still a pretty sparse line up. That said, Bayonetta was there. So :D

 

I just hope this means we might see Nintendo focus on releasing system sellers early on their next consoles lifespan. A new 3D Metroid, Zelda, Mario etc. If you get those games right, people will buy a console for them. That said, game development should be much easier for them going forward given the whole joint architecture stuff :)

I'm talking about the focus of the games, not the quantity. The focus on the games they showed was clearly the core gamer.

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Nintendo will be having very serious discussion about their next platform right now and their internal teams will be working on launch titles now - perhaps Miyamoto's comments reflect these internal conversations. I guess those conversations are coming too late in the day to have any impact on Wii U, so let's not expect too much of this new-found passion for core gamers on Wii U.

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