Nintendo Fanboy V. 1 at IGN

[Warlock]

Just thought you guys would like to read this.. I'm pretty sure it's insider locked:
http://cube.ign.com/articles/368/368064p1.html

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Nintendo Fanboy: Volume 1
The Nintendo editors ask the question, is the Big 'N' crazy?

August 16, 2002 - Welcome to Nintendo Fanboy, a column in which all of IGN's Nintendo-loving editors, Matt Casamassina, Fran Mirabella, Craig Harris, Peer Schneider and Cory Lewis dish out their opinions on the hottest topics related to the company. From GameCube software on the way to Nintendo's strategic game plan, you can rest assured that at one point or another we'll cover it -- and we'll do so from a Nintendo fan's perspective.

Nintendo Fanboy is designed to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what the editors really think of the software and moves Nintendo is making, and in a very laid back way. So grab a seat, kick up your feet and read on.

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This week's topic, The Obvious First Question: Is Nintendo Crazy?

Matt responds: I think so, yes.

Cory responds: Crazy with the cheese wiz.

Fran responds: Way to kick things off Matt. Our readers love those detailed, backed opinions of yours.

To answer this question, we have to consider what portion of Nintendo we're talking about. Is NCL crazy? Is NOA insane? Or is it the two together that have just the right chemistry to be classified as nuts. Personally, and in the most serious way, I don't think Nintendo is crazy. It does crazy things, but the company manages to do quite well when it comes to business.

I think as fans of the company -- people who have been bred on its software -- it's hard not to accuse them of being downright maniacal when they do the things they do. Right now, my biggest example of this is what Nintendo has done with marketing the GameCube and its software.

Okay, so it kicked things off pretty decently. The lineup was strong, even if it was missing a really strong and wide-reaching title like Mario. The "cool" commercials were clearly aimed at an edgier audience. This was nice to see, as these are the people spending the money.

At the time, I was only semi-concerned with the choice to even recognize the purple lunch-box design. I reasoned that, just as with the N64, the games will sell the console. That's largely true, but Nintendo forgets that the general consumer audience has changed drastically. Indeed, I think it was crazy to even release the purple GameCube for launch. The image of the console has been produced by its wake.

I walk into a local retail store and see people ogling over the Xbox and PS2, regardless of the games. They're just looking at the box, and then I'll hear them say something like, "What games are good for these."

This in particular is really frustrating to see. I think Nintendo was crazy and downright arrogant to think it could straddle the fence between purple and black. It's a metaphor for the company's thought process.

It just isn't sane. Games like GTA, Halo, and Medal of Honor sell through the roof for a reason. Only now is Nintendo just beginning to pick up the pace with a good selection ranging from Mature to Everyone, but the image of GCN has certainly been sullied by this fit of insanity.

Matt responds: Now, now, Franny. You bought yourself a Purple GameCube, and a black one, so the strategy seems to have worked a little. More importantly, though, why did I feel it necessary to capitalize the world Purple (there, I've done it again!) and not black? Moving on...

In all seriousness, I think Nintendo is only partially insane. It's like one chunk of the company's collective brain has been injected with insanity juice. The other parts seem to function normally on an individual level, but when a task requires multiple portions of the brain to perform then things start to go a little haywire. Before you know it Nintendo has fallen to the ground and is seizuring uncontrollably.

I mean, "clean is better than dirty"? Don't make me sing it or I will. Who could possibly argue that Nintendo of America was not totally and completely, mouth-frothingly out of its head when it greenlighted that campaign? I can picture some vegetable-ized executive smiling with both thumbs up: "Yep. That's what we wanted to convey. That's our best commercial yet. No gamer will be able to resist."

I'm not saying, by the way and matter of fact, that Super Mario Sunshine won't be a big seller. Quite the opposite. But its sales will have little to do with the presentation of that commercial.

It's a weird, multiple personality-type brain disorder though. One second NOA is debuting the now-infamous Sunshine commercial and the next NCL is releasing a super-slicked spot that features first video of Final Fantasy for the console. You might then think that it's NOA that's gone bonkers and not the Japanese head. But I don't think so. Think back to the release of GameCube in Japan, for instance. No promotion whatsoever. No major launch game. It's as if NCL forgot its console was shipping. That is a definite sign of company insanity.

It's a widespread problem for sure, but I think it can be treated with the proper medicine.

Craig responds: Guys, they were nuts way before the GameCube. Sheesh, Virtual Boy was a doomed product from the start...the company's completely disavowed any knowledge that the system ever existed.

But, hmm...what specifically are they insane about this time? That stupid ad for Super Mario Sunshine? As bad as it was, it made you remember the product. Car commercials smear together because they all have the same image...but then, *WHAM* you've got a fruity Mario jingle. It's different. And memorable.

Crazy? Nah... At least on the GBA side of things, they're doing good stuff...reducing the cost of games for developers, giving gamers a large choice of system colors (although Japan still has the lead here). The only thing that they really need to do is get a dang light on the screen, and there'd be nothing to complain about.

Most of the insanity comes from the console side. The retarded online plan (or lack thereof) immediately comes to mind.

Eh, I don't think it's time for the corporate-sized strait-jackets quite yet.

Cory responds: Oh contraire, Mr. Crankosaurus. I say that it's way too late for corporate-sized straitjackets. Here's the problem, fellas:

Nintendo is beyond crazy -- it's straight up delusional.

Nintendo is living in a fantasy world, where making any kind of a profit equates to dominating the videogame industry. It's so happy with its quarterly earnings reports that it feels comfortable with half-assed marketing campaigns and its minimalist software approach. It feels no pressure from the building steam of the Xbox and continued supremacy of the PS2. Why? Because it continues to make a profit.

Here's the bottom line: as long as the company continues to keep its head above the water, it's going to continue running things as if it has nothing to worry about. Yes, this equates to more lame, 15-second Mario commercials that don't attempt to trumpet the glorious return of Mario so much as simply implant a catchy jingle in your head. To me, this kind of delusional thinking translates to straight arrogance and unwarranted pride. "Everyone knows and loves Mario -- there's no need to waste money promoting him." Bah. The '80s are over, Nintendo. Here in the real world, Sony and Microsoft are doing everything they can to steal your crown while you let Mario drown in his own puddle of water.

I hate to say this, but I want Nintendo to suffer. I want it to feel the financial sting of a placing third in the online race. I want it to cry out from the corner after getting sucker punched in the gut by sloppy third-party support. I want Nintendo to get slapped in the face with lackluster Mario sales. Dammit, I want my old Nintendo back, and the only way I see it happening anytime soon is to toss a cold bucket of water on its face.

(sorry for the double post, there is a character limit :()

[Warlock]

Peer responds: Wow, what happened to Cory? Are you okay, man? S'all not good? I don't want Nintendo to suffer, but as someone who used to write about the company day after day for years, I have to say that I think there's a mild case of Dementia Precox going around the NCL offices. C'mon, do you actually think Nintendo of America DIDN'T want a silver or black console over a purple one? Do you think they DIDN'T want to rename Mario Sunshine to something like Super Mario World?

Here's what I think the problem is: NCL, basking in the glory of Pokemon sales figured that it was time to duplicate the formula and create something that's like the Game Boy, but for your home. They also wanted something that looked as different from the PS2 as possible. And they first and foremost wanted to appeal to the kid market again as it perceived Sony to go exclusively after the older gamers. Here's the problem though: most of the guys at NCL are old. They may still feel like kids when they're playing games, but they don't remember what it is like to BE a kid. My little daughter prefers to press buttons on my hi-tech Denon remote control. Give her a fake yellow kids' remote and she'll toss it aside. She wants what I use. I grew up with two older brothers. I wanted to do what they did. I wanted to play what they played. I wanted a cool record player like my brother, not a stupid Fisher Price looking one. I wanted to eat at the grown-ups table, not at the kids' table (we didn't have a kids' table, but some very deranged friends of ours did). I wanted to see the new movies that they watched, like Excalibur, not The Rescuers. And if I had been 10 years old in 2001, I would have wanted the black console with the cool sci-fi guy blasting aliens, not the purple one with the green dude running around with a flashlight.

Nintendo is not completely crazy. Some folks over there, especially the ones at NOA, realised this too. They knew trouble was brewing when they saw the interest games like GTA3 generated. They knew something was up when Final Fantasy IX with its SD characters didn't sell as well as the game with the more grown-up guys. They knew something was going on when a console that every developer called "terrible to develop for", with graphics plagued by "jaggies" and features held back by the necessity of backwards compatibility (like the two controller ports) was selling like crazy.

I firmly believe that NOA tried to fix things as best as it could. The formation and acquisition of new second party companies is proof of this. When it couldn't get any PS2-killer software from Japan or from its new developers, it made Star Wars its flagship title. It went for a more adult ad campaign. It launched the GameCube with two colors. But it all goes back to this: the PS2 is cool. It's black. It stands on its side. It's a DVD player. It has a blue light. And everyone is making games for it. Simply releasing a black console along the purple one at launch is not enough to change the image of the GameCube as a toy -- and as a toy only. Ask a mainstream gamer who hasn't grown up on NES or SNES. He'll tell you that GameCube is a toy that plays Nintendo games like Mario. Most uninformed gamers will swear up and down that the PS2 is more advanced than the GameCube. Heck, it plays DVDs and has 5.1 surround sound, right? Never mind that DTS 4.0 in-game is as good as it gets for now in digital PS2 land and that like the Xbox, the GameCube is set up to crank out 480p visuals quickly and easily. But good luck finding a component cable! It's almost as if Nintendo is embarrassed to tell gamers what its little cube can do...

It's a testimony to Microsoft's foresight that it went after developers and publishers with a vengeance. It signed tons of companies to support its platform, launched campaigns to get the name out early (remember when Nintendo complained to retailers that they displayed Xbox standees so early on?) and worked hard to ensure steady software support. Some may say that despite MS's efforts the Xbox isn't selling all that much better, but remember that we've got a newcomer with a new brand outselling the founder of modern console gaming with a machine that's way more expensive. And Xbox owners are still buying more software than GameCube gamers! Can you imagine a new car company springing up with a BMW-like car that's more expensive and spanking the Bavarians' Lederhosen-clad asses?

Anyway, I'm rambling. The fact is that yes, Nintendo has been stuck in its crazy ways even since before the launch of the N64. NCL is set in its ways and as long as single titles will emerge as multi-million sellers, it will say: look, we're doing something right. More people are buying our self-published games because there's less dilution. This question never seemed to have entered NCL's collective mind: if the console and company had a cooler image and there was a greater variety of GameCube games available, how many games could Nintendo sell because more gamers picked up the console?

Let's say you live in Japan and you're a Gundam fan. What console do you buy? Like Pachinko? What console do you buy? Like making your own RPGs? Like realistic baseball? Like cutesy baseball? Like anime-based adventures? Like girlfriend simulators? Like driving simulations? Like air combat games? Like soccer? Like sound novels? Like fighting games? Like golf? Like shooters? Like RPGs? Like... Oh, let's stop this. The answer is PS2, PS2, PS2. Some of these games will no doubt only sell in the ten thousands. But they get the console out there and broaden the market, raising the potential audience for Sony's own titles. There's no question that Nintendo has some of the most attractive in-house franchises. If only more people owned a GameCube... But the investment in a new console doesn't make sense to many gamers who already have a PS2 and can't possibly play all the games that come out for that machine. The equation thus goes: a GameCube, or a copy of FFX, GTAIII, and Gran Turismo?

What can NCL do to take on Sony? Be more open with publishers. Recruit publishers. Support publishers. Lower your rates. Anyone who says offering low licensing fees to many third parties in the beginning won't pay off as much as going with higher ones with a select few is crazy. Anyone who says "as long as Nintendo has its in-house franchises it'll make the most cash" is crazy. If that's the objective, why then not dump the console business altogether and publish games on Sony's console? Heck, sign a non-compete contract with Sony to stay out of the handheld business and become an exclusive PS2 publisher. No, folks, it's not ALL about the cash. There's a certain level of pride over at NCL that has kept Nintendo from changing its ways. "Our way is the best" was the mantra. "They'll buy our console to play OUR games." "You want our games, you better put up with cartridges!" "You want to make games for our console? It'll cost ya!"

Not realizing that times are changing, THAT is crazy.

Anyway, it's not like Nintendo isn't changing at all. It's taking baby steps into the right direction. Teaming up with Sega, Namco and Capcom to produce joint products is a smart move. It strengthens the ties between third parties and Nintendo and makes sure that both make money off of GameCube products. But baby steps aren't a good way to get around when Sony is taking a ride in its Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak... Nintendo still needs to reach the broad masses. If it wants to attract the kind of numbers that the PS2 is getting, it has to work on changing its image. It has to be proactive and lock up select publishers in exclusivity deals. It needs stuff like Grand Theft Auto or Tomb Raider. It needs variety. It has to grow up.

Matt responds: You're right, Peer. I have to admit that there was a time too when I agreed wholeheartedly with Cory's stance: that Nintendo was only capable of learning through complete and total failure.

NCL is stubborn. I'm not exactly sure what's going through its mind, but it refuses to adopt and adapt. The craziest part about all of this is that Nintendo has the power to change its perception, to increase sales and to broaden its audience, but it refuses to do so. Take, for instance, the Space World 2001 showing of what has come to be labeled "mature Link." The crowd on hand went absolutely crazy when the footage came on-screen. The next year, Nintendo unveiled baby Link. It's almost as if the company wants to spite its audience. I don't get it.

I firmly believe that were NCL to bite the bullet, give in, and do the adult thing, GameCube sales would go through the roof. Can you imagine the reaction if Nintendo and team released a full-blown, dark Zelda adventure starring Oni Link? Yikes. I suspect that there would be widespread drool drowning. Just one of these efforts would sell massive systems, particularly in the US, but if NCL dedicated several teams to them, it could single-handedly redefine the image of its console.

Instead, we get Pichu Brothers and Mario Party 4. Stubborn. Set in its ways. Refusing to acknowledge what is popular and what isn't. These are the things that will continue to hurt the company in the long run.

(son of a bitch!)

[Warlock]

Peer responds: To be fair, it's not like Mario Party and Pichu aren't popular... But without strong third-party support, going only for its tried-and-true mascot titles is a dangerous game that limits the appeal of the console.

Craig Responds: And since the Game Boy Advance is making Nintendo money hand over fist, the company can sit back safely and poke around with whatever the heck it wants to do with the Cube. Third place console? No worries...the money keeps rolling in on the handheld front. System sales are second only to PlayStation 2.

It'll be interesting to see if Nintendo's strategy and attitude changes dramatically if/when Sony and/or Microsoft get in on the handheld, especially if these two companies create a system that's cheap, powerful, and uses media that doesn't cost a buttload to manufacture like cartridges do.

Fran responds: Okay, the one problem I have with the tone of this discussion is that it sounds like we're saying that Nintendo making Mario, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros., or Pikmin, for instance, is a bad idea.

I don't know about you guys, but I totally disagree with that. Nintendo's games are usually pretty top-notch -- there's no denying that. I think in regards to this idea that Nintendo is crazy, stubborn, and arrogant, these aren't examples of that. I think what we're all saying is that Nintendo doesn't have nearly as much heart behind securing an the adult audience as it does the "Everyone" audience.

In Nintendo's mind it thinks, "Everybody can play Mario and be enjoyed with super happiness." Yes, that's true, but the games industry is very much like fashion, music, or even candy. Buyers are totally fickle. It's not rocket science. From Bubble Tape to Bon Jovi to Guess jeans, buyers will lay their money down for the latest and hottest. It's like Reality TV -- cool now, but it's getting old fast.

Nintendo needs to keep firmly in mind that GTA III, Medal of Honor, and Halo produce a viral effect. Mario was once like this, but these players have grown up. To really sell systems Nintendo needs to do something like Matt said. Get Oni Link out there -- he's more appealing than Blade or The Crow could ever be. Is it so much to ask for an Oni Link Gaiden title?

Fortunately, the company hasn't completely ignored this theory. Metroid Prime has been in development for a couple of years now at Retro Studio's, Nintendo's ultra-talented second-party. Judging from what we saw at E3, all the company's hard work has paid off. It's very comparable to Halo in style (I say that casually, mind you) and the marketing potential is huge. You listening Nintendo?

Don't screw this one up. You've got one shot at a mind-blowing Holiday title.

Maybe next time or at a time later we should discuss that.

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Bah, sorry for the damn triple post.. it only allowed like 10000 characters and it was 27400 or something like that

[ZZGundam]

The Japanesse did a very good job at advertising, especially with the commercial involving the beautiful girl in the bakini getting a shower thanks to Mario.

[ShyGuy0824]

That was a very cool article, I was hoping that it would be posted... It's kind of funny how that really sizes up what we've been debating for the last, y'know, year.

[Artevoi]

Yes, Nintendo is crazy. Too crazy to see that if they don't cut out the kiddie crap, they'll be the next Sega (but with fewer good games).

[jman2050]

I lose interest in nintendo every day when I say what they are trying to do. Don't get me wrong, Nintendo's games ARE top-notch, and will continue to be if things keep going the way they are, but I agree with most of what they said. Yes, they need to appeal to the mature audience and stop going to kiddie on us. THey are improving though. Just look at Metroid Prime like they said.

Then there is the GBA. nintendo owns the handheld market, so I can't ay they've lost it completely. Remember, they beat out an 8-bit handheld system (Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket) with a freaking four-color display! I would love to see SOny make something like the GBA though.

[mrz84]

the big n needs a few changes. i agree. the handheld market, like jman said, is practically owned by nintendo. while i have my doughts, there is something in my mind that says that gates will probably try taking n's handheld dominion. if they or sony don't, nintendo will always have a profit from its handhelds and maybe somewhat of a rpofit from its main console sales. while n isn't completely great, they don't suck a flying monky's ass either. :P

[ZZGundam]

Here's my thought:

I just recently got a MiniPS1 and I've realized that Sony is a much better console and game maker then Nintendo

[Tygore]

How long do battaries on those MiniPS1's last?

[ShyGuy0824]

Originally posted by ZZGundam
Here's my thought:

I just recently got a MiniPS1 and I've realized that Sony is a much better console and game maker then Nintendo

I wouldn't be too sure on that one. Sony's system although highlighted by DVD capabilities, is as the article pointed out not nearly as easy to develop for or graphically capable as the gamecube. And Sony doesn't make that many games. It just licenses a lot

[Dragon]

Originally posted by ZZGundam
Here's my thought:

I just recently got a MiniPS1 and I've realized that Sony is a much better console and game maker then Nintendo

Some of the worst games on the Sony Playstation were made by Sony, try naming some of the games that make Sony a better game-maker. Likewise Sony's PS2 is poorly made with its crappy DVD function and can hardly be seen as a better made console. Sony is successful because it bought its success while the Nintendo 64 foolishly stuck with cartridges, and it rides on that success and hype even today.

Are you even a real gamer?

[AlexMax]

But playstation has DDR, so it can't be all that bad.

And think about it. Why in the hell would Nintendo use CD's for their 64 bit system? After all, the Atari Jaguar and Phillips CD-i and Sega CD all came before the PSX/Saturn, and they all failed. Nintendo did what they thought was right.

[Hermit]

The Jaguar and Genesis were cartridge based systems. The Sega CD and the Jaguar CD were just add-ons to those. They shouldn't even be classified as seperate stand-alone consoles (like the Phillips-CDi) since they required the cartridge based system to operate.

The Sega CD and Jaguar CD didn't fail because of their CD usage either. They failed because basically no one cared about them enough to make that many games for them.

So the Sega CD and Jaguar CD points you made are somewhat moot in point value.