Why Nintendo won't grow up

[AlexMax]

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.01/nintendo.html

Very interesting article. I especially like this.


Ultimately, the question of whether Miyamoto can make the transition from child-friendly whimsy to a grown-up aesthetic may be moot. Even if his games never appeal to adults, they're reaching a much more valuable audience: other designers. Shinji Mikami, creator of the hit horror series Resident Evil, cites Miyamoto as a direct influence on the control mechanics of his game. "When you press the button to shoot a zombie, you're pressing the button to make Mario jump," he says. "It's that simple."

Even GTA3 would be unthinkable without Miyamoto, according to American McGee, one of the brains behind Quake and creator of Alice, a wild, adult recasting of Alice in Wonderland. "It doesn't matter whether it's a bloody facade or a cute facade," he says. "Grand Theft Auto is basically a rip-off of Zelda, because Zelda invented massive-world games that let players explore freely, rather than following a linear path. Miyamoto innovates, so he's pushing the form. End of story."

And if that isn't quite the end - if Miyamoto finds some wondrous new direction that, once again, prompts the industry to follow his lead - nobody should be surprised. "It is important to remember," he says "that games are a relatively young form." He isn't so old, either. "I feel very energetic, and I don't feel like I'm running into walls."

Wow. GTA3 ripped off Zelda?

[Cronic]

That's so far from the truth... to say that is to say that the NES is a rip off of the Atari...

[Mr. 207]

lol. Boy is that guy a dumbass. So does that mean Commander Keen ripped off Super Mario? Does that mean Quake was a rip off of Wolfenstein?

[allyourmoms]

im pretty sure he just means "inspired" and in the case yes, quake was inspired from wolfenstien.

and miyamoto is DEF. the man.

[KingArthur]

quick, what button do you use yo jump in a platform game? Yes the A-button, thats what he was saying, not that all the games were just rip-offs, just that they are the ones to start trends, or define genres

[Dracula]

Miyamoto, psychologicly speaking, is a brilliant man... Think of it this way, in the words of the famous writer, Stephen King...


I did the Mike Wallace radio show in New York at the CBS building. The door was one of these doors where you'd step on the pad and the door would slide open. And this door was almost pitching a fit. It was jerking back and forth, not closing or opening all the way. And my feeling about that is that somebody else would look at that and say: "Oh, that door has the hiccups." Whereas a little kid would walk up to that door and might very well shrink away from even going near it. And say: "IT WANTS TO EAT ME, IT'S ALIVE!!!" Children see things from a different perspective. And in that sense I'm childlike. I looked at the door and thought: "Gee, that would make a good stroy if that thing came alive and somebody walked up to it and >SPLAT!<" Which is a very childish sort of fantasy.




Well, Miyamoto has a similar mind (maybe not as gory). He could look at that door and think of a trap in Zelda or something...

[Rijuhn]

Good article, and one of the few that don't take sides, but really leave every fanboy, me included, feel like ashamed for being a fanboy. It's so true on so many levels, and it makes so many valid points and arguments that I'm not going to quote it, but suggest everyone read it. Well, time to go make fun of M$ and play my GCN!! Nintendo w00Tn3ss! lol ;)

[Cloral]

Originally posted by Mr. 207
Does that mean Quake was a rip off of Wolfenstein?

Yes - they're by the same company.

[MottZilla]

All the are saying is Nintendo had lead the way to innovative games, but they do it light heartedly.

The Legend of Zelda : The Hyrule Fantasy was one of the first real action RPG free roaming adventures. The game wasn't dark or bloody but it served more of a purpose than making money.

Kind of like how Street Fighter 1/Fighting Street while it sucked, it paved the way to the Street Fighter 2 Engine which later became the Street Fighter Alpha engine which afterwards became the VS engine.

You gotta start somewhere, and you don't get any shortcuts.

[Artevoi]

Originally posted by Mr. 207
lol. Boy is that guy a dumbass. So does that mean Commander Keen ripped off Super Mario? Does that mean Quake was a rip off of Wolfenstein?

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic, but from what I've read Commander Keen actually WAS based on Super Mario.

[Ganonator]

to think that all games have stemmed from the original NES is rather correct - w/o it, everything would be in the form of Sonic -I shudder at the thought...

[jman2050]

Originally posted by Ganonator
to think that all games have stemmed from the original NES is rather correct - w/o it, everything would be in the form of Sonic -I shudder at the thought...

:angry: I could kill you for that, but I'm feeling nice today j/k . Anyways, yes, despite the kiddyness of most Nintendo games they are very fun and have innovated the way videogames are made. Still, to compare GTA3 to LoZ would be like trying to compare Need for Speed to Pole Position. They're both fast racing games, but who's gonna say that Need for Speed ripped off of Pole Position.

[DarkDragoonX]

Uh, I don't think the article is trying to say GTA3 ripped off Zelda... I think it's saying that many of the staples of modern games, such as being able to roam about the city as you please, were first pioneered by old NES games, such as Zelda.

Still, I think that's pretty ridiculous. If Miyamoto hadn't made a free-roaming game, someone would have eventually... GTA3 certainly uses some of the free-roaming ideas created in Zelda, but it's not like GTA3 would never exist without Zelda... a very stupid article.