My Nintendo Problem

By the end of January it’s almost safe to predict that the NPD Numbers for the US will contain within them the single largest monthly sales number of a console since, well, ever. The Wii decimated the November record (by a cool 700,000 units, or nearly as many as the Xbox360 sold all month) and is bound to do the same again, the current record of 2.7 million PS2’s is in serious jeopardy. Now I think it’s easy to take these numbers in without really appreciating the sheer scale of this achievement. Just to think that over 2 years since its release the Wii is still hard to find, it is still the number 1 searched for and desired gift. Its sales are only getting bigger as supply finally begins to meet demand. From Nintendo’s position 3 years ago this would have seemed impossible and faintly ridiculous, yet now its constant outselling of all the other consoles combined is not only expected, it has become the norm.

As a Nintendo fan this has made me happy, I liked the Gamecube but as it drew to the end of its life I held out hope for the Wii, but only to keep Nintendo in the game for one more round, I honestly couldn’t see them catching up to Sony and Microsoft, let alone breezing past them as if they weren’t even there. You see Nintendo have always marched to the beat of their own drum and I liked their focus on the games rather than the technology, and their step away from the macho one-upping of Sony and Microsoft was a wise one. They were never going to have the resources to be able to compete on that level and by creating their own market they have changed the rules, moved the playing field and left Sony and Microsoft to fight for second place.

So why is it that I can’t help feeling twinges of disappointment and regret when glancing at the Wii sat in the corner of my room? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not writing it off, nor assuming in anyway that this feeling will prevail but it is worth analysing I feel. I think the sense of regret is what has been lost in the clamour for this new market, this new way of playing. Nintendo have gained a huge audience, massive popularity and shedloads of money, but their cutting edge has been dulled, their innovative company line compromised at the altar of the all-powerful dollar. Case in point the latest Animal Crossing game, a game I was anticipating upon its announcement, the promise of an online world which is customisable and inhabitable by people all over the world sounded exciting. Having only played a bit of the previous games I was struck by the possibilities available on the Wii. Even with the friend code restrictions the idea of visiting friends within the same game world and impacting their game was intriguing. Maybe there would also been tasks and challenges you could complete together online? The annual celebrations could be witnessed globally perhaps, and the idea of leaving presents, or notes and messages with others and receiving such thing yourself on returning to the game was an appealing one. Animal Crossing to me always felt like a game hindered by a lack to true connectivity and one that would, or could, flourish in an online environment.

Yet the final game achieves very little of this inherent promise, it is in fact more an upgrade of the Gamecube and DS games, retaining all the previous features and adding very little new. The voice chat add-on is welcome but restrictive and has no great purpose in the game. The graphics and world are near identical to those that have gone before and the much touted ‘city’ of the title is a small collection of shops previously accessed from inside your own village. More than any recently released or even historically released first party Nintendo game this is the one that has felt most like a lazy and cynical upgrade. And the worrying sign is that this may well be the direction Nintendo head towards as time goes on. Now I don’t think that the major franchises will ever be treated with such disdain (Mario Galaxy after all was a magnificent game full of innovation and creativity) but I feel that this style of more casual releases (apologies for using the word, I am not a fan of categorising everything into hardcore and casual games much in the way that I would not categorise films as art-house or populist) will be one we see more of.

For starters next year sees the beginning of Nintendo’s re-releases of Gamecube games with added Wii controls, another fad that has plagued the Wii from becoming home to truly new and innovative games that are built to take advantage of its unique control style. Now I will concede that for games that never saw the light of day on a Nintendo console such as Okami this can be a good thing, and I am enjoying the game very much, but for games such as Pikmin it feels like another rather lazy way of gaining some extra money rather than pouring resources into creating new games. Just because the Wii isn’t much more powerful than the last generation of consoles doesn’t mean it should languish alongside them in terms of content and gameplay.

But what’s wrong with milking something that is so popular for some more money? After all there is a definite justification in spending a small budget on an upgraded game and gaining the same or even more revenue than you might from spending millions on a new and innovative product. I understand the business logic and Nintendo are perfectly justified in doing this, you could even argue they would be foolish not to. But this is where, as a fan, it hurts. Nintendo have never been a logical company, whilst everyone else moved to CD’s they stuck to cartridges out of a stubborn dislike of piracy. Rather than use DVDs with the Gamecube they manufactured their own mini-DVD’s and their fabled reluctance to get involved with online gaming is well documented. But that is partly why I loved them; they zagged when everyone else zigged, they planned crazy add-on’s and extras for bizarre Japanese games such as the N64 DD and gained fame from naming a Gorilla after a Mule. So for a company like this to suddenly seem so profit-focused and predictable feels a little bit sad. Now I’m not saying Nintendo were not profit oriented before, the prevalence of Mario licensed games in their history is more than testament enough to this, but they always had this crazy edge as well and they always had a focus on quality and innovation; even when it didn’t always work. Now it seems that beyond the Wii remote itself there have been fewer and fewer glimpses of this in recent years.

But all this does not mean I have given up hope. 2008 was a quiet year in terms of gaming from Nintendo and it has been a barren few months for Wii owners in terms of games as 3rd party developers get to grips with the system and how to produce quality games for it, but 2009 is full of promise. Nintendo’s recent strategy of announcing games only months before they will be release may well prove successful this year, the thought of a new Zelda, Mario or Pikmin game (or an entirely new game of course) being announced in May and released in November is an exciting one and much more preferable to the old system of announcement then release 2 or even 3 years later.

Where they go from here no-one knows, but the fan in me has his fingers crossed that the old Nintendo makes an appearance soon, if only briefly, to confuse and surprise us once again.

On blogging...

It’s all Steven Spielberg’s fault. Everything else looks alright, the system is working. Until now. Except for that damn Jurassic Park 3.

My Spielberg problem highlighted above as you may have worked out was related to the organisation of my DVD collection. You see I don’t want to simply go alphabetical, as I have some series of films or groups by the same director that seem to go well together. For example all the Pixar films or Studio Ghibli films belong together, they may have different directors but they shouldn't be scattered throughout the shelves. So I put all the Spielberg films together, except in doing so I separated the Jurassic Park films, leaving number 3 in the J’s on its own. Gah, and it was all going so well.

You see blogs are personal things, even when what you write about isn’t. Some will identify with my DVD dilemma, others, probably quite rightly, will think me rather odd. The focus within blogs on opinion and instant reaction lends itself to the format perfectly, but in doing so you assume, I think, a certain amount of narcissism. To think that what you think about something matters. But I love reading peoples opinions or reactions to things. Or even just finding people engaging about the things I too am interested in. A moment of shared opinion and agreement with something written thousands of miles away by someone you have never met is always thrilling, and I find it fascinating and rewarding that the personal reaction I can have to certain things, be they films, games or even world events, are not unique and that others can share my feelings unknowingly. I guess what I’ve been wrestling with this year in this site is the notion that it’s okay to put my opinion out there, and to do so without expectation or ego.

So with a new year comes another start. Rather than reviews as have come before on the site I will instead offer my thoughts on a variety of topics that interest me, including the films I watch. I do so not because I believe I am more qualified or knowledgeable on these subjects than anyone else, nor because I believe my words deserve to be read and judged, but because I believe one of the best outcomes of entertainment in all its forms is that it promotes discussion and opinion. So often our culture is what unites and divides us, and even defines us in some respects. It’s not all going to be serious, but I hope that I can at least prompt a reaction or an interest in at least some of the things I cover. If not I can only apologise in advance.

Now to get back to my DVDs, I think I was just sorting James Cameron…

First up, Aliens.

Damn it.

Check it out Day 5: Whose Line is it anyway?

Part five of this series returns to Television, in the form of improvisational show Whose Line is it Anyway. A relatively unknown show this began life as a British gameshow hosted by Clive Anderson, the main aim of the program being a series of 'games' and sketches made up on the spot by the cast of four comedians. As the formula became the established the series made it's way to the US where talkshow host Drew Carey took over the reigns until 2006 when the show finished. The biggest draw of the program has to the Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie, the permanent guests on both versions of the show they are both hilarious and have such good interplay and understanding between themselves (plus watching Colin struggle on the song-based games is always fantastic!). That really is all there is to the show but it remains painfully funny throughout, the addition of Wayne Brady to the US show was another stroke of genius, his musical improv is astounding and the energy and commitment all the contestants put into the ridiculous and silly sketches is really what makes the show. As wll as Wayne though there are a host of other comedians who step in and make up the show, Greg Proops is always funny and Brad Sherwood can more than hold his own with the regulars. In many ways the show has paved the way for elements of the comedy panel shows that now adorn the BBC and Channel 4 like Mock the Week. The show used to only be able to be seen late at night on Channel 4 but Five US now shows a couple of episodes every evening so if you have sky (channel 174) or Freeview (channel 35) and this sounds like your cup of tea then I highly recommend checking it out if you have time. I have included a few example sketches below through Youtube so enjoy:

Check it out Day 4: Primer

OK, busy-ness caught up with me but in the short time I have now I'm going to keep these articles going. Today we're looking at Primer, a low budget sci-fi film made a few years ago for just $7,000 in borrowed locations / houses and yet with enough invention, smarts and intrigue to put most multi-million dollar blockbusters to shame. Its fitting maybe that the film works best the less you know about it, it is relatively brief running at uner 80 minutes with credits but warrants re-watching for its complex plot may have your mind in stiches the first time through. Despite the low budget this is an expertly crafted film with a great soundtrack and visual style, Shane Carruth the guiding vocie behind the project not only directs and stars but has his hands in all functions of the film and is definitely a name to look out for. This was not a big film by any respect but won some festivals and is out on DVD now and I highly reccomend it if you have an interest in cerebral science fiction films. Its encouraging and reassuring to be reminded that at the end of the day a good film is not about budget or stars, but a good story expertly told, regardless of the circumstances.

Check it out Day 3: Portal

Day 3 of this Check it Out series sees the first foray into gaming with Valve’s wickedly entertaining and head-bending Portal. Released as part of The Orange Box gaming collection earlier this year (comprising of the also excellent Half Life 2, Episode packs and team Fortress) Portal became a bit of a cult hit within gaming circles but its wider popularity I’m unsure of. Now the game has been released on its own outside of the pack and is well worth playing if you haven’t heard of it yet.

Portal is essentially a first person puzzle game, using the Half Life 2 Source engine you start the game to find yourself in a test chamber, the objective is the game is simply to make your way through each of the levels (you go up a floor in a lift after each stage), in true puzzle game style though it’s the how that will keep you going. The main hook of Portal is the Portal gun, a stroke of genius it is a device that allows you to create a portal in a wall, then create another ‘exit’ portal on another wall, then simply walk through one portal and you will emerge from the other. From this mind-bending premise come some of the most ingenious and head-scratching designs put into a game.

That is basically all there is to the game but Valve superb design and the game world created keep it compelling and, thanks to the genius of GLaDOS the test chamber robot who guides you through the challenges, downright hilarious at times. Portal is a very funny game at times and feels like such a breath of fresh air compared to the other games out there that it is a constant joy to play. The game is short, and can be picked up for about £15 (though the all in one package of the Orange Box for £35 is much better value). The game also includes extra levels, developers commentary and achievement challenges which will keep you coming back long after the brilliant end credits. Basically portal is one of the most fun and surprising games of recent years and hopefully its popularity will lead to similarly creative and offbeat games being produced further down the line.