But yeah, if people are enjoying the new direction, let them. The more diverse gaming is, the more people that can experience the awesomeness!
Foolz said:Post this on System Wars. Please!
But yeah, if people are enjoying the new direction, let them. The more diverse gaming is, the more people that can experience the awesomeness!
The thing is. I don't know how much of this is actually a new direction. What i mean is, whether we like it or not Nintendo has always been a developer/publisher of games for everybody. What they did with the Wii was not a first as they did almost the exact same thing with the NES. They brought gaming to the masses and made games enjoyable by everyone.
ASK is right about a lot of things in this post, people have to understand that a lot of the change they are seeing is to do with the change within them and not always Nintendo changing. The people who started with Mario and Zelda back in the mid 80ies are by now seasoned gamers and are perhaps looking for new games, new challenges. But there are all those people starting now, for whom Mario Kart Wii and the phantom hourglass are their first games in either series (like how ask spoke of his niece) ... i'm glad those people have a publisher like Nintendo who provides good games for those ages (and for everyone), and are not forced to grow up too quickly nor to play atrocious children's games with disney licences and the like.
Basically we are in agreement that diversity is king and that a good game is a good game regardless of the target audience
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
Dvader may not call you names but I will still call you ASS FACE, ask-face 
I've always felt quite sad that you seemed to backlash against the sytem so harshly as given your PS2 and DS love I actually thought it would be the console you would enjoy very much if you had it.
Mario Kart is one of those bridge games. From my perspective Nintendo haven't gone all casual, I mean they have increased their casual focus but they are still making the same hardcore franchises as ever and they've actually released them faster than ever and better than ever this generation.
You mention mario kart as a new casual focus, but this is the same franchise that's over a decade old. It's as much a gamers game as ever, people are still battling for the best times and now even fighting it out online. It's just more relevant now as a perfect bridge game between new players and old, the Wii wheel and randomness of items ensures that. But the best players will still be the best players.
Otherwise Nintendo are still coming up with 60hr Zeldas and the greatest platform game ever made (Mario Galaxy) as well as 50hr + SRPGs like Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, RPG/platformers like Super Paper Mario, first person adventure games like Metroid Prime 3, the Mario Karts etc. They really haven't changed, its the perception that's changed. This is mainly to do with 3rd party support.
They even published games like Fatal Frame 4 and Disaster Day of Crisis (sorry NOA) but it seems Europe and Japan are getting both.
But beyond all that first party nonsense, there are tons of 3rd party games worth owning now. I've gotten used to (I'm selling ma Wii) threads or blog posts, but recentely I saw a GAF post where someone out of gaming for 10 years got one and asked for reccomendations. What suprised me was the diversity of games people reccomended, it really showed how many games were worth getting. The depth and diversity of the library is definetely there now.
There are so many games out there that you just need to try like De Blob or Endless Ocean, two Boom Blox games, Elebits, Endless Ocean (sequel soon), Zack and Wiki, Madworld, House of the Dead Overkill, RE UC, Deadly Creatures, Okami, Animal Crossing, No More Heroes, Bully, Tenchu 4, I just got Little Kings Story and Broken Sword. Monster Hunter 3 and FFCC The Crystal Bearers are looking great, you have a new adventure game in the Rabbids universe made by the BGE team, a new Red Steel, Excitebots. Dead Space Extraction, Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles, newly revamped Spyborgs et al.
And this is before E3 and before we've seen any of the new nintendo stuff.
Can't forget Another Code R, Punchout , Sin and Punishment, EA Grand Slam Tennis or Virtua Tennis 09 and the big new tech, motionplus.
There is so much to enjoy and not just from a casual perspective. I think that if you had a Wii (and didn't play it on an HDTV) and tried a good selection of these games you would find a lot to like. Sometimes its a matter of time, for instance when I go to my bros or he comes to me, we dont want to play stuff because we dont feel we have the time to get into it for a couple of hours at each others places.
If you go to a friends and blast something out for an hour its not the same as owning the game and really digging into it.
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
ASK making games accessible and dumbing games down are two entirely different things.
Super Mario Galaxy is more accessible than Mario Sunshine. Why? Well because Sunshine has more complex control, you have your water thing that you have to aim, and you have to manage the camera. In Galaxy you just jump that's it, and the camera is mostly automatic and does not require you to babysit it. But this does not mean they dumbed it down. No they did not. Controlling the camera was never fun and the platforming is much more awesome without the waterpack (the same was true in Sunshine when you lost you backpack).
Heck Contra is a very accessible game, but it's also super hard. The same thing applies to all the other shoot-em-ups. No one would call the casual, but they are very accesible (shoot and do not get shot, simple actually).
The same thing applies to Zelda. If they make it more accessible that would be a good thing. Using wiimotionplus for instance would make it more accessible. How do you use a sword? Just swing it like in real life. How to throw a bomb? Just do a throwing motion.
In short making a game accessible and dumbing it down are two different things.
bugsonglass said:GG i think if you mentioned Muramasa as well, your post would seal the deal for ASK
I'm not trying to seal any deal, but this casual image is almost a false image. Yes there are tons of casual or shovelware titles out there, but if you're an intelligent gamer, you can pick out the best bits and there is a lot of good stuff, so realistically how does the shovelware affect you? Not much.
Iga_Bobovic said:. . . the platforming is much more awesome without the waterpack (the same was true in Sunshine when you lost you backpack).
Not true. Using FLUDD was awesome! I want FLUDD back! Sunshine > Galaxy!
I remember Leo telling me at the GS forums, in a topic I made there that heavily criticised Nintendo's push to the casual market and lack of support for their core games, that I shouldn't complain about Nintendo shifting their focus to casuals, but to be content with the games on the 360/PS3. He's right. I already have my RPG fix with Fallout 3 and Persona 4. I'm completely satisfied with my time online with Modern Warfare and World at War. Street Fighter IV is the greatest thing that happened in gaming for a long time and co-up games like Left 4 Dead and Resident Evil 5 has gave me my money's worth. Also, if I want racing I just bought Pure to give me that racing need. And the list goes on.
I guess the point is, it's time to grow up.
I'll always love Zelda, Metroid, Mario, and all the beloved past Nintendo games. But I guess I'm comfortable now to let go of them and enjoy the other great games out there. I doubt Nintendo will make the next console Zelda game dumbed down and acsesible, but the point is even if they did, I won't backlash anymore and I won't moan or criticise Nintendo for abandoning core gamers. (hopefully DVader won't throw a fit and call me a sellout! LOL)...yeah, I guess I'll still be heart broken but I won't be vocal about it like before.
Playing Mario Kart Wii with my niece and seeing her making a Mii of me (sounds funny), my heart has changed. Nintendo is doing a admirable job to reach out to non-gamers. Playing with my niece on Mario Kart was one of the most joyful times I've had in gaming ever. The Wii's a great system...and I want one for sure now!
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Now Playing: Golden Sun Dark Dawn, God of War Ghost of Sparta, and DKC Returns