Gamecube: Playing it Safe, from IGN

Nintendo has been playing it safe and relying on its past; two traits that it excels at greater than any other. For over 20 years it has been reworking, remaking, and reenergizing its core franchises, each time with immense success and critical acclaim. If the teams at Nintendo can still stretch and re-imagine 20 year old brands with such ease, it boggles the mind to fathom what kind of magic they could create if given the freedom to follow their creativity to the very epitome of imagination. Given an equal creative playing field, Nintendo has the inspiration and ingenuity to craft immersive and lively worlds beyond anything on the market today. I know this because I have known the Nintendo of yesteryear and I am intimately familiar with the Nintendo of today. What I\'d like to see is the Nintendo that looks ahead. A company that values its past, but treasures what lies around the corner even more.

Mario, Link, Samus, and Donkey Kong would be nothing more than a couple of strange words had Nintendo not taken the risk on each and pushed the envelope in game design. Nintendo needs to take a look back and realize how it reached the top of its game. I can guarantee that it did not reach the highest heights of success by resting on its past. Nintendo reached the top by embracing new ideas and searching out new concepts.


That\'s the Nintendo I\'d like to see.

>>>Link<<<

An excellent four page article from cube.ign.

[Evi]

Wurrrrrrd...G.

Yes...I agree with this. I think the next generation is gonna be sweet

What we\'ve seen is that Nintendo knows how to make fun and quality games, what I don\'t understand is their reluctance to create new franchises with that talent that could potentially appeal to a new audience.  The author of the article brought up alot of good points, perhaps Nintendo has these in mind when they go forward with the Revolution.

[Evi]

^^^^

Yeah...I think they have something up their sleeve...and it isn\'t a pop-tart...

What if it is a pop-tart, or better yet a box of them?  I\'d get the strawberry bundle.

[Evi]

^^^^

OMG!! Me Too!! Strawberry all the way...

For centuries long and longer ppl get born. They grow up, learn, work and live. Then they die. Nothing new about it really. Ok, so they dress to modern standards and adjust morals and values to circumstances a bit.

Same with Nintendo, same franchises somewhat new gameplay/graphics.

Or take the MAN & WOMAN example. Only 2 \'flavors\' and they\'re STILL not bored of each other...

Pikmin and Animal Crossing come to mind. You might count Eternal Darkness, bur probably not. Same with something like Geist.

They\'re trying, but giving up on a sure seller isn\'t in the cards, either, hence the sequels.

-Dan

The author mentioned Pikmin and Animal Crossing, AC being a port of a 64 game, but still it shows that taking chances can pay off.  Nintendo hasn\'t taken that many chances and it\'s because of that they aren\'t really reaching out for a new audience.  They\'ll probably always have their niche audience but they\'ll never grow if they don\'t try something new.  The author isn\'t suggesting that Nintendo drop Mario or Zelda, just that they don\'t need those characters to sell new game ideas.

The problem is, at this point, that they do need their franchises to sell new gameplay ideas.

The general public tends to still with the tried and true, i.e. Pokemon, GTA, Mario, Madden.. etc. Awesome titles like Pikmin didn\'t sell as well because fewer people were willing to take the risk.

Pikmin is a niche title, not exactly million seller material.  At one time Pokemon was new, look what happened, it basically breathed life into the Gameboy and made it insanely popular.  The Gameboy fanbase grew exponentially, and while the game continues to sell very well, as do most Nintendo games, it doesn\'t seem they are making an effort to create that new must have franchise.

I always liked nintendo and I cant wait to see what they have up their sleeves.