Nintendo Praises Independents, Devalues "Garage Developers"
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
- Start date
Well, I have to disagree with Nintendo on this one. As most people have already expressed, the amount of ludicrous shovelware which gets released for Nintendo's own Wii is just absurd; if anyone is hurting the gaming industry, it's them.
You know, as much as I lean towards being a Nintendo fan, I'd have to agree on this. At what point did Nintendo forget it's own history exactly?Kevlar Eater said:
The 'Nintendo Seal of Approval' used to mean something. It wasn't a guarantee of a brilliant game, but most of the time it guaranteed at least a vaguely decent one...
And they introduced it, (along with a lot of draconian rules for devs) because of how Atari managed to flood the market with crap, and almost killed the industry in the process.
Meanwhile, the commentary made here by Nintendo pisses me off too.
(But then, that's probably because I am for all intents and purposes a garage developer.)
This whole rehash titles thing needs to stop because it isn't true. I haven't seen anything that can be called a rehash. Yes they re-released Mario All-Stars without changing it, but that can easily be let go because it was a 25th anniversary thing. Other than that no rehashes here. Every Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc, etc, game I have played and seen has been unique. Just because they have the same main character or have some of the same mechanics or usable items, doesn't make the game a rehash. A rehash would be a clone copy of a game that is exactly the same as the original in every detail except the graphics have been updated. Every detail, if a bit of story is changed or there is a new usable item or new playable levels, the game isn't a rehash.Kevlar Eater said:
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I agree with Nintendo.
I'm a Nintendo fanboy (so to speak, not really but can't find better words), but what I just read here really hurt me.
I'm disappointed in them. :'(
Those "garage developers" are usually people that love games from the bottom of their hearts, but unfortunately couldn't find a job in a development team, nor could they actually form one.
Huge resources are needed for that and most people don't have them. Many of those "Garage Developers" could be real geniuses, could make a game revolution, bring gaming on a whole new level. They can't simply generalize them.
Although, Nintendo does have a point. Selling games, that are truly bad for a low price hurts the industry. People will start thinking that games aren't worth and that development of games costs nothing. They won't buy games from real developer teams. Even a bad game that was developed by a whole development team will have many expenses, therefore, the game won't be sellable under a set prices. But since people "got used" to low prices, they won't buy it. And as we all know, even the best developer teams can and will have a total flop of a game. It can happen to anyone. But... if people start thinking that games aren't worth and that they take no cash to develop, they won't buy it unless the game is incredible. Therefore, a single game could mean the ruin of a good developer team.
I'm disappointed in them. :'(
Those "garage developers" are usually people that love games from the bottom of their hearts, but unfortunately couldn't find a job in a development team, nor could they actually form one.
Huge resources are needed for that and most people don't have them. Many of those "Garage Developers" could be real geniuses, could make a game revolution, bring gaming on a whole new level. They can't simply generalize them.
Although, Nintendo does have a point. Selling games, that are truly bad for a low price hurts the industry. People will start thinking that games aren't worth and that development of games costs nothing. They won't buy games from real developer teams. Even a bad game that was developed by a whole development team will have many expenses, therefore, the game won't be sellable under a set prices. But since people "got used" to low prices, they won't buy it. And as we all know, even the best developer teams can and will have a total flop of a game. It can happen to anyone. But... if people start thinking that games aren't worth and that they take no cash to develop, they won't buy it unless the game is incredible. Therefore, a single game could mean the ruin of a good developer team.
Nintendo has only really been "rehashing" its flagship titles this gen really. I mean those titles have pretty much had at least one title every system, but there was clear innovation in each new release. The way I see it, Nintendo has pretty much stopped taking chances this generation, taking a "more of the same" approach to their game development, that targets the nostalgia of die hard Nintendo fans.
As for the "Garage" games vs "Indie" games, I don't think they understand what they are talking about. Their statement reeks of either a lack of research or just plain ignorance. I mean their definition of Indie encompasses most of the shovelware developers on the market, but not those willing to develop entire projects for free? Seems to me like their just justifying playing it safe.
Also whats the bet that following this announcement a company called "Garage Games" is formed?
As for the "Garage" games vs "Indie" games, I don't think they understand what they are talking about. Their statement reeks of either a lack of research or just plain ignorance. I mean their definition of Indie encompasses most of the shovelware developers on the market, but not those willing to develop entire projects for free? Seems to me like their just justifying playing it safe.
Also whats the bet that following this announcement a company called "Garage Games" is formed?
I think Nintendo actually has a point.
Something very similar happened to other industries, like web-development. "Why go to a professional when my coworker's nephew can do it for $100".
We're also looking at people having a harder time taking the industry seriously because any idiot can toss a game up for sale, that non-gamers will lump in all gaming into this "any idiot can do it" pile.
Yes, Wii has had some shovelware, but I their Wii ____ titles get undervalued. Wii Music is still a favorite of my kids because they can make their own music, with videos, without needing Mom and Dad to buy them special controllers, and I know that's one a lot of people have complained about.
And bitching because "they only ever do rehashes of their old titles".... um... yeah? Nintendo's main output has always been Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. And they now are bring back old classics that haven't been revamped for a while. Kirby. Kid Icarus. They also have new titles that have been interesting and different. Professor Layton I hear is great. Epic Mickey was unique, even if I've heard that it didn't pan out (haven't played it). Animal Crossing (haven't played this one either, but I've heard it's popular).
What a lot of people here don't understand is that there is a difference between an indie developed game with vision (Minecraft) and an understanding of game design concepts, and crappy games turned out by complete amateurs just screwing around.
Something very similar happened to other industries, like web-development. "Why go to a professional when my coworker's nephew can do it for $100".
We're also looking at people having a harder time taking the industry seriously because any idiot can toss a game up for sale, that non-gamers will lump in all gaming into this "any idiot can do it" pile.
Yes, Wii has had some shovelware, but I their Wii ____ titles get undervalued. Wii Music is still a favorite of my kids because they can make their own music, with videos, without needing Mom and Dad to buy them special controllers, and I know that's one a lot of people have complained about.
And bitching because "they only ever do rehashes of their old titles".... um... yeah? Nintendo's main output has always been Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. And they now are bring back old classics that haven't been revamped for a while. Kirby. Kid Icarus. They also have new titles that have been interesting and different. Professor Layton I hear is great. Epic Mickey was unique, even if I've heard that it didn't pan out (haven't played it). Animal Crossing (haven't played this one either, but I've heard it's popular).
What a lot of people here don't understand is that there is a difference between an indie developed game with vision (Minecraft) and an understanding of game design concepts, and crappy games turned out by complete amateurs just screwing around.
Amazing, I thought the commenters would have a good amount of positive opinions on this. But that's just because I've forgotten that most gamers are STILL on the anti-Nintendo train, despite being due to get off for at least a year now. ANYWAY.
Nintendo isn't saying these developers shouldn't exist; they just shouldn't be on consoles, or sold through the major online gave stores like XBLA. I'll bet most of you play around one or two "garage developer" games every other month or so, and only play the ones that everyone is talking about. And because of that, you are given the false impression that letting any random person freely upload games and sell them next to the AAA games is a good business move. But go to Newgrounds or Addictinggames, play some random games for a few hours and see what you think then.
Nintendo isn't saying these developers shouldn't exist; they just shouldn't be on consoles, or sold through the major online gave stores like XBLA. I'll bet most of you play around one or two "garage developer" games every other month or so, and only play the ones that everyone is talking about. And because of that, you are given the false impression that letting any random person freely upload games and sell them next to the AAA games is a good business move. But go to Newgrounds or Addictinggames, play some random games for a few hours and see what you think then.