G-pinions

So I read two fairly different articles today. It's kind of ridiculous. Nintendo needs to not toy with people's emotions like this. I mean, think of the Toms! Will someone please think of the Toms! Seriously though, these guys need to oust Iwata before things get ugly (Sega, anyone?). If you can't open your damn eyes then make up your damn mind! No, you can't rest anymore on the laurels of your franchises anymore. A focus on gameplay is all well and good, but there's not going to be much gameplay left on the GC if third-party developers keep saying sayonara. "Our machine will be ready at the same time as the other new consoles, but we're not sold on developing powerful microprocessors to create graphics that cannot even be viewed on existing televisions," said Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa. What the fuck!?! They might not exist now, but they will when your system goes on sale you moron. And as quaint as the idea of selling big numbers just based on solid gameplay is, graphics matter if you're going to sell your games. So do your research, bed ATi again, and have lots of pretty babies. "Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has said on numerous occasions that the video game industry has started to alienate fans by developing games that are too complex and too heavily dependent on graphics." If by 'alienate', you mean 'sell more games than ever', then yes, yes it has. You fuck. And last time I looked, Metroid wasn't the simplest of games. Even Animal Crossing takes a serious fucking commitment if you wanna own more than a mailbox. And on the other hand..."According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Nintendo management had decided to forgo development on the GameCube's successor to focus on peripherals that will enhance gameplay, including further interactivity with the Game Boy Advance and (presumably) the upcoming Nintendo DS." Because, y'know, peripherals always sell so well. YOU DOUCHES. The last peripheral of yours anyone gave two damns about was probably the super scope. Or that robot that did nothing. And further interactivity with the GBA would be nice, if they were free. Or at least if it was optional, unlike a certain chronicles involving crystals I know. Here's an idea: if you're not going to go online with more than one game, why don't you at least make it as hard as possible for people to play your 4-player games together? Oh wait, no. No, that's a terrible idea. Here's a real idea though: Why not lower the prices of your year-old games, such as Mario Party 4, to less than $40? Then maybe, just maybe, in-between saving up for link cables and nineteen GBAs people will buy your games (which are high-quality, for the most part). I'm mean, I respect Nintendo as much as the next guy (except Tom), and all that they've done for the industry, but if they're not going to start thinking business-wise, they should step aside and go start work on Mario Heroes for the PS3 and X-Box2. I love you, but sometimes you're not very smart. Sigh.

Btw, a couple more games you could/can play console vs. PC peeps that I know of are Quake3 on DC, and the upcoming FFXI.

And Tom, give FFVIII a good seven more hours before you make any rash decisions. I personally adore the art style and character/creature designs, but I suppose they're an acquired taste. And you shouldn't be expecting any manliness in a FF game - have you seen Tidus from X? Nevermind the new guy from XII. Talk about a dandy. The card game is also pretty sweet once you get the hang of it, and pretty much anyone that's a side character will play with you and cough up a nice rare card when you beat 'em. The plot also gets really kick ass the deeper you go, freaky alternate-reality-weirdness style. And turn on the texture smoothing if those graphics aren't sexy enough for you already (well, 1999 sexy).

"No cloud or squall will stop me!" - Zidane, Monkey-Boy, FFIX