Posts Tagged ‘Nintendo’

It has been a long week, in no way helped by the fact that we had to record this show twice thanks to technical problems. Fortunately the dry run meant that even with my general exhaustion we were able to keep the show mostly on track, and when we didn’t it was at least funny.

We kick off as always with ‘Heaven and Hell’ (featuring the World Cup) before the ever-present ‘What Have You Been Playing?’ For a change this show Darren has been indulging in games that could technically be called current, though while Portal ‘Mac’ has technically just been released it might be pushing it to call it new. I on the other hand have been playing the very current Alan Wake, which I have been gushing about online for some time, so I take this opportunity to redress some of the balance.

After this it is on to news. E3 kicked off the day we recorded with the Microsoft Kinect event (yes, I call it the Kinetic during the show, but I am sure that was their plan) so we do touch on the show a little bit in news, as well as some other headlines that caught my eye.

Finally we rap up with a feature on in game collectables. A topic inspired by Alan Wake, a game that manages to undermine its own narrative by poor implementation of in game pick ups.

I hope you enjoy the show, leave any comments or feedback below or drop us a mail.

 The DoFuss Show – 29 out of 100. [69:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Yes, its late, and we missed February completely, but with most of the regular cast having birthdays last month we can be forgiven right? Well maybe not, but we are back again now with added titillating missile silos. I say ‘we’ are back, but really it is me with a brand new cohort in the form of Scoot, a font of gaming knowledge and a welcome partner in podcasting crime.

So here is the twenty-fourth DoFuss Show, and if you can bear with a couple of small technical issues on Scoot’s end you will be treated to an hour an forty minutes of gaming news and discussion. Focusing our attention on online competitive play and games retail for the most part, we also dip in to some Nintendo conference talk and other news.

I suppose we are reaching a point where I may have to concede that a ‘regular’ schedule might never be possible, but I promise to keep trying and may hopefully even manage to get a three-man show going one day. Until I hope you keep listening to, and enjoying, our sporadic content.

 The DoFuss Show – Dedicated to Claire and Miki [101:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I have to listen to every show through again while I edit. Because of this I have started to notice a very different tone (and length) depending on my cohort for the episode. My conclusion is that I am failing in my roll as a host. Not that this is necessarily bad, but next time (whoever is with me) I am wrestling back some control and giving this show some consistence.

Maybe.

This episode underwent a number of late changes. Our special guest (Blokey from the UUDD forums) was unfortunately unable to make it at the last moment, so will be joining us next time. Darren was also unavailable so it fell to Dan to pick up the mantel of the second spot.

DAMN YOU BLOKEY!

We touch on numerous topics, courtesy of Dan’s impeccable planning. It was fortunate his outline was so thorough too, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a show because the plan was to revolve everything around forums and Blokey… YOU HEAR THAT BLOKEY.

Ahem… I am sure he will be able make it next time along with Darren, so keep an eye on the site for that. Enjoy the show.

 Sleepy Improv Edition.: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

E3 came and went. In the aftermath of the press conferences and the floor coverage from all the major sites, I am left with one burning question. What does Nintendo have to do for the core gaming audience to cut them some slack?

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Since the Wii came on the scene and Nintendo started making money on their home consoles their old supporters have been crying foul. Maybe not the fanatical individuals who swallow everything Nintendo say but the long time gamers who always respected the company’s ability to produce high quality games. For some reason these players feel betrayed by their ‘new’ casual direction, for making games which are less (forgive the abstraction of this expression) gamey or childish.

These cries of treachery must seem somewhat hypocritical to Nintendo. Their last two generations of home consoles underperformed significant. The section of the gaming world that they relied on for support (those who are now also complaining about the Wii) disappeared. You could certainly argue that a few of Nintendo’s choices were ill-advised. The high price of cartridges for the N64 was prohibitively expensive for the youth skewed demographic of the general audience but the almost total abandonment of the GameCube must have been an unpleasant surprise for them.

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It was during the GameCube’s days that I at worked Game Station store. Trying to convince anyone of the merits of the system was near impossible. Even after the system dropped its price to significantly lower than the competition the serious gamers still perceived the system as not supporting the games they wanted. It didn’t have the moody dark graphics that the now aging teen gamers of old and twenty-something newcomers wanted.

But Nintendo never made games for these players. They didn’t abandon these customers. Like Fisher Price and Sesame Street they chose a young target audience. Their games have always had a bright, family friendly esthetic. It is a decision which has segregated them from the market they created as members of the market matured. With their ‘real’ games being shunned by much of the traditional gaming audience it is their casual offerings which are garnering them attention (and money) from the public but scorn from gaming world.

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The subdued reception to their E3 offerings exemplified this. Every single major IP had a sequel announced but coverage remained underwhelmed. Yes, they are guilty of running Mario into the ground, but Disney does the same to Mickey. Plus true sequels to their top tier titles are few when you consider the time elapsed since their creation. No, Nintendo are not going to announce a new franchise to appease the dissenting voices. Why should they when every attempt at a ‘hardcore’ title has been met with appalling sales? Let them make their casual titles and be happy with the few fantastic games they make for the traditional gamers, especially if you aren’t going to buy them anyway.