@charizard1605:
“If you are just simply comparing the 3 hardware consoles in terms of functionality, you can make similar games and many people are now trying to introduce multiplatform games. It may be good for game users but when it comes to some kind of unique interactions with the hardware I don’t think multiplatform games are contributing a lot. Whilst I think it is good to have many different titles for the platforms, I think that only Nintendo can provide certain experiences,” said Miaymoto.
This is typical Nintendo arrogance (underlined). Nintendo is nowhere near to being the only developer out their that provides different gaming experiences. Games don't suddenly lose their uniqueness in design due to being multi-platform, their contributions are contingent upon their artistic merits, and multi-platform games are filled with them. I fail to see how embracing a certain economic model (being exclusive vs multi-platform) fundamentally changes that.
Nintendo holds no monopoly in determining uniqueness in software due to their philosophy. Of who are they to claim that their hardware distinctions (and the mechanical implementations they afford) constitutes anymore uniqueness than anyone else? This arrogance, this presumption, this given, indirectly belittles all of the games I've enjoyed greatly throughout the years that've abided by a different philosophy that I and others appreciate. I don't agree that unique hardware is paramount (much less at all necessary) to software differentiation as Nintendo does.
“I’m not sure if it’s the whole world demanding realistic graphics or just a limited number of games players, but some developers are in the mindset that they feel threatened by the world into making realistic looking games right now,” said Miyamoto. “Therefore, they just cannot afford the time to make unique software because they feel the pressure to make realistic games and are obsessed with graphics.”
Yes Miyamoto, all software's entirely boring and cookie-cutter and only Nintendo are the ones creating unique experiences because they see the brilliance of infusing the SAME OLD IP called Mario Kart U with a horn button, or the wonderful "uniqueness" of ruining Star Fox with an entirely unnecessary clusterfuck of a control scheme, and having the swordplay in SS being frustratingly 95% accurate and requiring constant recalibration.
I'm so sick and tired of the incredible degree of hard work by many passionate developers out there in this industry being belittled by a company simply because Nintendo believes that they are the only ones whose philosophy holds real merit and constitutes the sole valid definition in the creation of unique software. This isn't anywhere even remotely near to being accurate.
As for your points Char:
In the last 17 years, we have steadily seen:
The homogenization of AAA gaming- most games follow a template or formula (usually modeled after some obscenely successful game, be it Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, or Skyrim)
Is this to claim Nintendo doesn't do the same? Mario, or Zelda, or Kart, or Smash.....formulas modeled after obscenely successful games? Nintendo's just as guilty (if not more so) than anyone else. They have been one of the most stagnant developers out there despite what new mechanics they create per entry, and frankly, if they were the only ones in gaming I would do so very, very little.
Commoditization of games hardware, till consoles are generally indistinguishable from one other in hardware and software lineups
The boards have been positively flooded of late with topics of PS4 domination (here and elsewhere on the net) based on the exclusives it has hitting the platform. To insinuate that Xbox and PS4 are even close to being indistinguishable is crazy. Sony is mopping the floor currently in delineation of their product from any other where it matters, and they didn't require some gimmick to be "unique".
The death of the exclusive due to escalating costs- for most third parties it is no longer cost effective to create exclusives, and the only exclusives come from first parties, or first party funded games. This has led to further commoditization of hardware. Some consoles, with minimal exclusives, have found themselves on the wrong end of this commoditization, and have struggled to keep up with the competition.
The commoditization of hardware is the cost that has been paid to afford consumers the AAA games they desire, and the market has spoken.....gamers do desire them. The impact that holds on creativity and the trend towards sticking towards proven properties in order to recoup investment is unfortunate as are the developers that falter, but I for one would rather live with paying such consequences than have it the other way around. It's not as if we don't get new AAA IPs (many incredible), and in addition we have indie games a plenty and places like Steam to compliment.
I've so many games on my hands and in my backlog that I don't even know what to do with them.
The total collapse of mid tier games
What constitutes mid-tier games? Examples?
In other words, even if Nintendo did a whole lot of stupid, asinine shit - and they did so much fucking ridiculous stuff - there is no denying that they had their finger on the pulse of industry trends, and they knew where the industry was headed. On their part, they appear to have done their best to stop it- but the rest of the industry wasn't listening, and the result is today's market- a market with no mid tier games, with most developers bankrupted, with the few who remain being forced to homogenize their output, or chase sequelization or excessive monetization to be guaranteed income, and more.
Is there any actual way back from this? Can the potential success of the Switch, for instance, resurrect a middle tier of game development, and the return of exclusives and unique games? Or are we doomed to a future where most of the game machines and games themselves on the market look largely the same, with the few exceptions that stand out becoming more and more of an endangered species with each passing year?
I've seen Nintendo's vision....low budget efforts like Star Fox Zero, but hey, at least we got their amazing "uniquessness" that no one else can give us with their garbage controls. Yes, it's a wonderful concession to make. We in actuality get the worst of both worlds. Is that what people would be content with in today's market? Just like anything else, Nintendo stubbornly throws a tantrum and fights against a tide of which they cannot win. The market has dictated what it desires, and Nintendo believes they can do so. All the while they suffer.
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