Reggie Kicks Ass
Short post today, as my life continues to be seamless unending drudgery. Some interesting news out of this year's D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Create, Entertain) summit courtesy of Nintendo's notoriously outspoken VP of Sales and Marketing, Reggie Fils-Aime. A full summary of his presentation can be found here, but here are the interesting bits:
- Apparently, the many
hardcore gamerschildren who decided upon first laying eyes on it that the Revolution controller wouldn't be suited for hardcore gaming can take heart: Fils-Aime assured listeners that the controller can be used more traditionally with the help of a cradle designed to look like a traditional controller. I'll need to see a picture before I weight in on this "cradle". - Reggie also unveiled a new feature of the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. The forthcoming DS game Metroid Prime: Hunters will have VoIP connection functionality using the DS's built-in microphone. Unfortunately, Hunters in particular will restrict chatting to the pre/post-match lobby area. I hate chatting with people online, and I hate the acronym VoIP (since people insist on pronouncing it "voip" instead of "Vee-o-i-pee"), but it still seems pretty cool to me to have a VoIP-enabled gaming portable, and, even though it may not be to my taste, I forsee many future applications of this technology.
- Finally, a new DS initiative was unveiled: a new system of booths which will allow DS owners to download content, such as demos, trailers, minigames, and "sequelized" (Reggie's word, not mine) content. However, the content will only be playable on the DS until the first time it's powered off, and which point it will be lost (much like the current wireless single-cartridge multiplayer downloads). The booths will have a 15-foot radius of connectivity and will initially be available at GameStop, EB Games, and Game Crazy outlets. Target and Wal-Mart may soon be getting booths as well. These booths have already been active for some time in Japan, including train stations where riders can download DS content. Again, I don't see myself getting much use out of this, and I doubt I'd be willing to whip out my DS in the middle of store even if there was something that I wanted, but it's still pretty cool.
posted by Jordan at 11:38 AM
3 Comments:
I think "hardcore gamers" should suspend judgement on the controllers until they come out. I think you should approach the system with an open mind. This is what nintendo is trying to do so that they may change the experience of gaming... they're hoping that those gamers who have an open mind and are willing to try something new can lead to a change in the way games are played and experienced.
That said, give the thing a chance. I would hate to design shit for hardcore gamers. "GIVE US THE SAME OLD SHIT BUT WITH BETTER GRAPHICS!!! LET US POST CUSTOM ICONS THAT LOOK LIKE PENISES IN YOUR ONLINE SERVICE!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!PLZKTHXBYE!!!"
The bottom line is that people will play it anyway... and if you don't like the controller, rest assured that there will be a number of third party and eventually a nintendo standard controller just like when everyone freaked out about the size of the xbox controller.
You may have meant you in the general sense, but just in case you meant me specifically, I'd like to state for the record that, as implied by my scathing use of strikeout tags in my post, I'm quite looking forward to the Revolution, and have been more-or-less behind it since day one (http://bitterbramble.blogspot.com/
2005/09/nintendo-please-stop-terrifying-me.html). Although, now that I read that, I guess my initial reaction wasn't quite enthusiastic, but I think a lot of that pessimism was because I was scared that the system wouldn't sell well (as implied by that post's title) because of a cool reception by hardcore gamers, and I couldn't live in a world without Nintendo.
In any case, since that announcement, I've been of the opinion that the only intelligent opinion to have on the Revolution is no opinion. IOW, to reserve judgement until the thing's in your hands, just as you said.
Also, while I'm pontificating, I'd like to add that I generally embrace all innovation when it comes to video games (except when you fuck with my Final Fantasy... oh Square, why have you forsaken me yet again?). I love to try (and financially support) new and innovative titles, as evidenced by many of my purchases over the last several years (a quick check of my blog archive gives me Katamari Damashii, Indigo Prophecy, and Shadow of the Colossus as immediate examples).
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