[10.12] II - Forever Longing the Golden Sunsets
Wait, wait, don't leave yet! I've got some explaining to do.
First of all I'd like to apologize to anyone who wrote letters into Heart Containers last time around, way back in AUGUST or something obscene like that. I'm gonna print all the letters I still have (see the last paragraph of the opening comments) in this column, really.
Since quaint asides before letters columns are all the rage nowadays, let me state that Handi-Snacks are indeed the result of many man-hours of clever craftsmanship on behalf of whatever company it is that manufactures those little crackers, cups of neon cheese food, and little red plastic sticks.
I don't know how it is that I trick myself into believing I'll ever have something exciting or witty to put up here. Maybe if I just start with some letters. Yes, that's it.
For this week's column, I asked you guys to write in with suggestions for any topics you wanted to discuss. I also threw out a cry for mundane inquiries as to what you hoped to see from the column, and what you expected to see from me. I got some good mini-editorials, some very random strings of rambling, and two letters about generic soda. Unfortunately, I lost most of them because of a hard drive crash, which isn't an excuse for not doing the column earlier, but more of... yeah well an excuse. Anyway, I feel terrible because I got some good stuff from some of you and I feel like a jackass for losing your work. I'm going to go through what I still have though, and throw out a topic which (hopefully) should get some discussion going for next week and overshadow the fact that I'm a horrible horrible loser.
Anyway.
| Some Speculatio-N OMGLOLBBQ |
Hey Brandon,
Well i've got to hand to you guys this is probably one of the best idea i've seen in a while. I've been a reader of N-sider for quite a long time, but i rarely ask questions or send mail to any of the sites i go to (so don't feel bad). I am a fourm member over at G4tv.com and for the past year that i have been there i can't believe how many people bad talk Nintendo. It may sound like i'm getting off track here but there this is where my question lies, many people are saying that Nintendo should just give up, go third party, or that Nintendo is just a sequel machine with no orginality.
My question is do you think Nintendo will on par with Sony and Xbox this next comming generation. I have already made my predictions, but i'll save those predictions for another Heart Containers. What do you think Nintendo will have to do techincally?
For example, what features will nintendo have in there upcomming system? DVD/CD playback, harddrive, reverse compatiblity with the gamecube hardware? What will Nintendo have to do with Marketing? Personally i think hype will have to be the key to the "N5" succuess or meidocore entrance. Then the most important ingredent to the succuess of the nintendo system.
What other companies will be behind nintendo? I cannot wait to see you what you think about this situtation.
~Eugene
| I'm Glad I've Still Got Eugene |
This is a touchy subject for many Nintendo fans, market analysts, and crazy rabid XBox fanboys. Honestly, I don't really have a concrete answer. For the first part of the GameCube's life, I thought all that it needed were some good first-party titles. "Bring out the Metroid, Mario, Zelda, and that's all we need," I used to think, but Super Mario Sunshine came and went with only a marginal amount of fanfare, and while Wind Waker and Metroid Prime were amazing games, I doubt they really did a whole ton to convert diehard fans of Sony's PS2 or Microsoft's XBox.
As far as the DVD playback goes, I'm betting Nintendo sticks with their mini-DVD format, possibly expanding the size to accomodate larger games. I know it's been helpful in preventing piracy thus far.
Where the "mediocre entrance" is concerned, I'd certainly have to agree with you. Nintendo lacked a solid mascot at launch, and the initial titles, although entertaining, lacked a certain luster. Hype's important too, and I'm glad to see Nintendo pushing their advertising lately, but it may be a case of too little too late at this juncture.
Nintendo's losing third-parties like flies, but honestly when you consider the ones they're losing, it's not much to worry about. I think it's crucial for Nintendo to keep Capcom on their side, as evidenced by recent sales of Viewtiful Joe and the still-valid Resident Evil franchise, but I think they need to keep making contact with smaller developers and allow those niche titles to keep flowing.
I think we've got a topic for next week.
--- Closing Comments --- So I've given my half-baked impression on what Nintendo needs to do to ensure the success of their upcoming system, but since this is the reader column, my opinion really doesn't matter.
So here's how it goes. I want you all to write in with what you see happening in the next generation of Nintendo systems. Wireless controllers by default? Higher capacity memory cards? More third-party games? Advertising? System design? DVD capability? Toast?
Drop me a line and let me know what you think.
| Got a letter? Send it to Brandon! |