| Nintendo: Not So Different After All | 08/23/01 |
| Nintendo has hit the center stage, but does its presentation deserve a standing ovation? |
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Imagine this scenario. You're a big, strong, muscular man (Nintendo) walking through a dark cave. Everything seems alright until suddenly, the man comes to a dead end. He picks up a torch hanging on the wall and slowly turns around. As the light brightens the area behind him, a hungry bear (Sony) and a fierce saber-tooth tiger (Microsoft) are unveiled. The man drew his sword, trembling. "If I sever the bear's head," the man thought to himself. "I'll have just enough time to stab the tiger before he attacks." This is it. One wrong move and it's over. Without a second thought, the man threw down his sword and let the animals fight over their dinner. That is exactly what happened today. Nintendo had the chance to pummel the competition with the announcement of a new launch title (Mario, Zelda, Metroid -- anything), but instead, they just announced more delays! I know it has been a Space World tradition for many years, but this is not a good time to be playing games. Sony has already sold more than 10,000,000 PS2s and of all the game systems this year, it has the best line-up. There are too many games to list them all, but the hottest title in Japan (Final Fantasy X) and the hottest title in America (Metal Gear Solid 2) will no doubt become the top selling games of the year in those territories. I can't fully comment on Microsoft as they won't be announcing their Japanese plans until next week, but looking at their North American line-up, I'm impressed. Munch's Oddysee appears to be a must-have game, and Halo, Dead or Alive 3 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X look good as well. Funcoland, GameStop, Babbages and Software Etc. shoppers agree, which is why they pre-ordered more consoles than the retailers could handle, forcing Funcoland and company to stop taking pre-orders, as they will not be able to fulfill all of the orders until March 2002 (sound familiar?). Needless to say, November 8th will be a happy day for Bill Gates. When Nintendo announced that the GameCube would be coming out three days before the Xbox, some began to think that this was the end for Microsoft. Strange how a release date can change the mind of thousands of gamers, isn't it? Now Nintendo has announced that the GameCube will not released until November 18th, ten days after Xbox. The reason for the delay is to ensure a smooth launch for GameCube, and have plenty of games available on store shelves. However, there aren't going to be a whole lot of games to choose from. Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin will be the only two exclusive titles available at launch. Every other launch title will be released on the PlayStation 2/and or Xbox. So let me ask you...where does the "Nintendo Difference" come in? The only difference between the N64 and GameCube is Mario. N64 had it, but GameCube won't have it until next year (assuming delays don't strike, that is). I understand that Shigeru Miyamoto wants to "perfect" all of his games before they're released, but come 'on, isn't five years enough? Miyamoto confirmed development of the next Mario game back in 1996. If George Lucas can make Episode II in three years, I find it hard to believe that Miyamoto couldn't make TWO Mario games in five years. After all, Mario 64 only took 30 months to develop, and that was a game utilizing all-new 3D technology that had never been done before. Mario Sunshine is simply an extension of that. According to Miyamoto, GameCube is the easiest console to develop for. If that were the case, we'd have Mario at launch, wouldn't we? Furthermore, Nintendo has delayed a few of its other highly-anticipated launch titles, including Star Fox: Dinosaur Planet. Resident Evil 0 was a no-show (big surprise). Nintendo wouldn't comment on it either, giving my editorial, Game Wars: The Return of the Xbox , even more credibility. What Nintendo did show (aside from Mario Sunshine) wasn't overly impressive. I really enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time and looked forward to playing the new title on GameCube, especially after viewing the incredible tech demo shown last year. The new Zelda, however, looks nothing like what you'd expect. See for yourself... (insert image here) What in the world were they thinking? While the cel-shaded animation is really amazing and gives Dragon's Lair a run for its money, the characters are a huge disappointment. Link is no longer the tough superohero he once was, he's now a young child who smiles and winks a lot. His new design looks like it's been pulled right out of your little brother's kiddie book. And believe it or not, I'm not the only one who feels this way. IGN Cube took a poll recently, asking what its visitors thought of Zelda's new look. The results might surprise you... 22.3% 20.2% 20.2% 16.5% 10.2% 5.4% 4.9% *Mine too. More than 60% of the voters are disappointed. Note: I do not hate Nintendo. In fact, it's my love for Nintendo that makes this so frustrating. To be quite frank, it kills me to see a company who had the potential to become #1 settle for third place. The Game Boy Advance will undoubtedly keep Nintendo in the industry for many years to come, but as a console developer, it's unlikely that the GameCube will manage to sell as many units as Nintendo 64. And what scares me most is the possibility of Sony or Microsoft entering the portable games industry. What would Nintendo do then? Fight with everything they've got or let the competition eat them alive? It's really sad to see the king give up his crown so easily.
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