yukoasho

Unfortunately, people don't like reading.  I don't know why, but the internet has had the odd effect of making people lazy as hell.  Part of it is that many reviews are very dry reads and not entertaining in and of themselves, but the other part is that the scores we see have come to exist more for the affirmation of fanboys than anything else.  As often as I roll my eyes at Yahtzee, he said something very profound when confronting his detractors over his Smash Brothers review.  Reviews are all opinions, and if you're honestly having fun with a game, you shouldn't let them get to you.  That is, of course, unless you have doubts...

Hamz - Naw, Hitler always used to wave his arms around like a madman.  Little guy was expressive as hell.  Barak, while firm in tone and unflinching, lacked the sort of cowboy bravado of either Hitler or President G.W. Bush.

HandsomeDead - You don't think that it's a bit reactionary to wish for the assassination of a president, simply because he's popular?  THough reading the reply you put in this thread, perhaps there's more of a color issue with you.

GTC Knight - Onechanbara's a weird one.  It has never seen American release before, but Europeans have seen the series on the PS2 under the name Zombie Zone.  It was released there by 505 Games.  It'll be interesting to see what the Zombie Zone fans in Europe think of the game in these new outings.

Optiow - Allow me to help you with that.  Here's the TGS Trailer.

Considering MS has yet to abandon support for Windows XP, I don't see where your hatred of the company comes from.  Well, unless you're one of those folks who wanted to keep using 98 forever.

As to Kaz, while I found his comments about the Wii to be spot on (Sorry, but Nintendo is clearly aiming at a different market than Microsoft or Sony), neither the Nintendo nor Microsoft comments needed to be said.  At this point, Sony as a company needs to buckle down and focus, not on what the other system makers are doing, but on how to make the PS3 the most awesome experience it can be.  Mr. Hirai, you are not here to feed the trolls.  You are here to ensure the success of the PS3 and prosperity for Sony.  Now shut up and get to it.

RHCP - Thanks for noticing that. :)  Corrected. :)

HandsomeDead - You are an asshole of the highest order.  Thankfully, President Obama's election proves that you, sir, are in the minority.

Tomorrow, I'll continue my normal game blogging, and talk about the issues on my mind in the industry.  However, today, I'd like to say Congratulations to the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama.  I can't speak for all America, but I think many would agree that this is a historic moment, and a sign that, no matter how hard the road seems, it gets better.

Congratulations, Mr. President.

Welcome to Giant Bomb. :)

My name is Yuuko, and I'll be your stewardess.  Please fasten your seat belt and make sure your tray is in the upright position.  It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Woo-hoo!  I have Bikini Samurai Squad pre-ordered.  I gotta figure out how I'm gonna get the money for Bikini Zombie Slayers (the Wii game), though.

1983.

The year gaming died.

I don't think I need to remind anyone old enough to remember the Atari 2600 how horrifying that year was. A glut of unchecked shovel ware led to massive consumer confusion. Eventually, people just stopped playing. Arcades went dark, stores were slashing prices on their remaining video games, and a large number of companies died a horrible death. Before 1983, an investor could get filthy rich off Atari Games stock. Those riches went away, along with any vestige of the company we remember (the company calling itself Atari now is actually a subsidiary of French publisher Infogrames). The industry only returned to relevance in 1985, when the NES started gaining popularity.

Unfortunately, history has a horrible way of repeating itself.

2008.

The Nintendo Wii is undeniably the hottest selling console today. Nintendo has proven unable to stop rubbing it in everyone's faces. Iwata must be sore from beating his chest so damned much. Their arrogance is frighteningly like that of Atari leading up to the fateful year. However, the hardware success has not translated into broad industry growth. 3 parties like Electronic Arts have found the Wii a tough nut to crack, with thoughtfully designed games like Boom Blox, Medal of Honor Heroes 2 and the All Play sports series failing to register with Wii owners. Indeed, a game isn't going to get anywhere on the Wii unless it stars Nintendo's mascots, is pitched as a self-improvement tool Most Wii Fit users have NO interest in video games at all) or comes with an accessory (let's be honest here, the only reason people buy Wii Play is because it's only $10 more than a remote by itself). As a result, the quality of games on the platform has taken a precipitous nosedive as more and more 3 parties realize that there's no real way to make Nintendo level money on the Wii and content themselves with a 60k or so sales of shovelware to get that last cash push before the company's main titles come out on the 360 and PS3. The only upcoming 3 party games that really have a shot in hell of being good are No More Heroes 2, The Conduit and Madworld, and considering how poorly NMH1 sold (especially in Japan and the US), I doubt these games will be rewarded for the effort with retail success.

I can't help but keep thinking about what happened in 1983 when I think about present-day Nintendo. They're so isolated from the rest of the gaming industry, unable or unwilling to address the ever-growing pile of shovel ware that would put the E.T. Landfill to shame, and providing no evidence that their success is anything other than a boom, like the industry was experiencing in 1982. It's the same reckless irresponsibility that destroyed many .com businesses at 2000 and the housing market just two years ago. Rather than focus on making a sustainable growth, Nintendo seems content to ride the boom, unaware of the bust that is on the horizon.

Not that I'm rooting. Not even close. The 1983 video game industry crash, the 2000 .com bust and the recent housing bust – chiefly responsible for the current economic crisis,but that's another blog post – were all preceded by runaway growth. If trends continue, and the complete lack of foresight at the big N suggests that it will, we're in for a massive bust sooner than later, one that, like Atari's, will take huge swaths of the gaming industry with it. Go back to that Kotaku article I linked toward the beginning of this post. Look at the chart. It's no secret that most of Nintendo's money is coming from hardware. At any moment, the boom they're experiencing can end, and that 1% suddenly becomes the 99%. That's when we see layoffs and collapsing companies that make the recent loss of Free Radical seem minor.

I could go on all night, but I think I've made my point. Nintendo isn't growing anything – They're in a boom, and the bust that comes after this boom could be tragic.

Of course, I could be over exaggerating. Perhaps Nintendo's eventual implosion will be more like 3dfx, a company who's failure only affected itself and left plenty of room for more competent companies to fill the void. However, I just can't help but feel we're staring down the edge of the Grand Canyon, just waiting to fall.

As Samual L. Jackson said in Jurassic Park: hold onto your butts.