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Has Nintendo Changed the Definition of a Gamer?

Written by Sherlock on Monday, 16 February 20094 Comments

CNET blogger Don Reisinger brings the point up here.

This got me thinking: have we all had it wrong in our discussions about shovelware and the lack of hardcore titles on the Wii? Its showed its more than just a shovelware machine. Some of us even forget that we like some of the titles on the console. Its a console that brings in as large a market as possible for its titles. Perhaps the hardest of the hardcore gamers may find themselves in the minority pretty soon.

I can’t help but think the console will make changes to its style in the next generation. The variety of games can always improve. We’ve also seen in the past that, while Nintendo takes risks to reap reward, they also exhibit unwillingness to change at key moments. Once they have a success, they ride it. Will now be any different?

I also think part of the problem is its lack of HD and power. The other two consoles are more powerful and can play a wider array of games. Some game producers have shunned the console for this reason. The next generation console has to be HD to survive, I believe, so assuming Nintendo takes the HD plunge on its next console, will this increase the variety of games and bring it to the good side of those producers that have shunned it previously?

In the midst of the Wii’s success, its amazing how many questions surround it. Its a testament to its smashing success, but a cautionary tale that consumers are a fickle bunch. Success can be fleeting.

4 Comments »

  • Biddenden_Sue said:

    I agree that the Wii 2 will need to be HD to be taken seriously, as the HD revolution is winning the TV war now.

    However, I reckon that’s just good news all round. Having wooed the casual gamers with party games and shovelware, Nintendo will be keen to continue that trend - it keeps the money rolling in, after all. But also, the developers who had to shun the Wii because it couldn’t cope with their hardcore games will also be keen to jump on the Nintendo bandwagon, knowing that they will have a huge audience of console owners keen to sample their wares. While some Wii 2 owners will never have played a hardcore game before, many will have, and there will definitely be room in the market for both types of game to thrive on the next console. I’m looking forward to it!

    - 17 February 2009 at 8:42 am
  • M_the_C said:

    Perhaps the hardest of the hardcore gamers may find themselves in the minority pretty soon.
    We were in the minority before Gaming became mainstream, and we’re in in the minority now it’s become more popular. *sigh*

    The interesting thing regard the Wiii is what processing power it will have. As has been mentioned here and on the forum many times is that, of course the next Wii will be capable of HD. But how far will Nintendo try to push things?

    If Nintendo could find some way of keeping the good things about the Wii (low price, ease of use) and yet also be competitive with Microsoft and Sony’s latest graphics machine then things could get quite interesting.

    - 18 February 2009 at 3:51 pm
  • Sherlock (author) said:

    M, I think the low price issue is something Nintendo considered this time around. Look at how much money the other consoles lose per. Nintendo doesn’t have as much up front cost per AND its the highest selling console, making it doubly successful.

    I think they saw the sunk costs of an HD console this gen and backed off it. I think they see the next gen HD upgrade as much less costly.

    - 18 February 2009 at 4:35 pm
  • M_the_C said:

    Sounds about right.

    Plus you have the fact that more people have HD capable televisions now, and there is a winner in the disc format wars, prices have already started dropping.

    - 18 February 2009 at 5:21 pm

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