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2:33 am
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August 21, 2012
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This gen, one of the common complaints about the Wii was that it’s graphical tech was simply outdated compared to the PS3’s and the 360’s. However, the NES’s graphics were outdated compared to the graphics of the Atari ST, Amiga, Master System, and let’s not even talk about the arcade games of the mid and late 80’s.
Why is it that hardcore gamers complain about the Wii’s outdated tech, but don’t seem to care at all about the NES’s tech even though the latter’s pales in compairison to other systems in the 80’s
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8:04 am
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February 11, 2012
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I think a lot of people have a thing against Nintendo right now for whatever reason.
Back in the NES days, Nintendo had a very aggressive advertising campaign to promote their product. There were also cartoons, cereal, action figures, stickers, novellas, and more centering around Nintendo characters. So no wonder the NES stood head and shoulders over the competition despite lesser graphic capability. And let’s not forget the NES was a excellent system to play with.
Also I don’t think there were any “hardcore” gamers back in the 80’s. That segment of gaming didn’t start to form until the 90’s, though I cold be wrong. I wasn’t old enough to realize if there were any hardcore guys back then. Maybe in the arcade scene, I don’t know.
I don’t have too much knowledge on the Atari ST and Amiga. Did those systems have a library that could compete with the NES? I know when the NES was current, Nintendo had a lynchpin on publishers. If you publish a game for the NES, you couldn’t publish it on another system. That kinda kills the competition right there.
8:38 am
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February 12, 2013
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The “victor” of a console war is rarely the most powerful console.
The NES beat technologically superior rivals, as you pointed out, as did the Wii. The PS1 was in some ways weaker then the N64 but still trounced it in the end. The PS2 was weaker then the XBOX and the GC, but demolished both of them in the sales department.
Heck, the Genesis almost beat the SNES and by the time the SNES won out, it wasn’t the most technologically advanced system on the market anymore.
As for arcade games, it was generally accepted that they would look far superior to anything you could play at home up until the Dreamcast days. Part of what made the DC so special is you could finally, truly bring the arcade home. Prior to that, the arcade offered graphically superior games, but they were prohibitively expensive for most consumers to actually own.
That said, the Wii stands out in that it really didn’t move the graphics bar forward from the last gen. Many graphically weaker systems have won a console war, but they have always felt like a big step forward from the previous gen. You are right that the NES wasn’t the most powerful kid on the block, but it felt like a big step forward compared to the Atari 2600 games most folks were used to.
So to answer your original question directly, I think the Wii is unique amongst market-leading consoles in that it barely surpasses the graphics of its predecessor. Prior to the Wii, it was expected that all new consoles would have better graphics then the previous generation, though you didn’t have to have the best graphics on the block to win the biggest market share. The Wii changed all that, by making gameplay the focus of its innovation, rather then improved graphics. This didn’t sit well with a lot of traditional gamers, who expected a next gen system to look much better then the previous gen.
Now playing: SNES - Phalanx, R-Type III, Genesis - Bio Hazard Battle, PS3 - Dragon's Crown
10:56 am
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March 14, 2012
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You had to be there to remember the “War on Nintendo” when they first arrived on the scene. It was commonly assumed that the Home Console was dead, so when the NES came on the scene with it’s strict standards and licensing, 3rd party companies had a stroke. EA’s Trip Hawkins despised it and refused to support it until it became a success and the choice given to him by the shareholders was “make a game for it or resign”.
By the same token, Hardcore PC gamers laughed at it and mocked it as they enjoyed Ultima and other such titles that “could never be done on a home console”.
The NES WAS hated initially by both the computer games industry and many gamers, it is just that time obscure these things.
on the Wii side of things,RushDawg makes an excellent point about the Wii being a shock to the system of many established gamers.Muchlike the Wiiu is now. The only difference being that the Wii was a return to old-School Nintendo values for the first half of it’s lifespan, while the WiiU is New-Age Nintendo in all it’s shitty glory.
There has never been a New-school Nintendo console that won any console war. While Microsoft seemingly shits itself and dies on the swords of DRM and DLC (look at the new gamefaqs poll; even hardcore gamers loathe these directions), Sony seems to have taken the lessons of the PS3 to heart, and while I do not agree with them that “demands for a new platform were clear” (funny, since developers cannot even tap the PS3 without havingtofile bankruptcy) here we are……..
I think we should not count the PS4 out, especially since Nintendo has retreated back into Narnia.
Exploring the New World on Nintendo Switch. Currently Playing: Zelda BOTW, Octopath Traveler, Sonic Mania, Yoku's Island Express, Mega Man 11. Currently Watching: Marble Hornets, Luther, Black Mirror, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5. Currently Reading: Influence by Robert Cialdini.
5:49 pm
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February 12, 2013
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I would say the market changed more than Nintendo changed.
In 2006, the “casual” gamer would gladly purchase a new console to play Wii Sports. In 2013, that same “casual” gamer has a smart phone and a tablet. Why would they shell out $200+ for a console and $60+ for a single game when they can have just as much fun with Angry Birds for $1?
Now playing: SNES - Phalanx, R-Type III, Genesis - Bio Hazard Battle, PS3 - Dragon's Crown
6:03 pm
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March 14, 2012
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Yes, In this instance Nintendo is FACING a disruptive innovation instead of debuting one. Smartphones do the same thing the WiiU does for cheaper, along with offering the service of a phone which everyone needs.
Really dangerous situation they are in.
Exploring the New World on Nintendo Switch. Currently Playing: Zelda BOTW, Octopath Traveler, Sonic Mania, Yoku's Island Express, Mega Man 11. Currently Watching: Marble Hornets, Luther, Black Mirror, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5. Currently Reading: Influence by Robert Cialdini.
2:20 pm
May 5, 2012
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I dunno about this whole “mobile gaming” market. Nintendo is doing the right thing by trying to get some of the mobile stuff onto Wii U & 3DS because some of them are pretty decent games but they’re safe for not having all their eggs in one basket sort of speak. The mobile gaming market while huge is at the end of the day not very profitable when the games are sold at 0.99 or free with ads. So many of these companies have come and gone and even bigger mobile companies like Zynga are falling apart as the mobile market continually shifts. I don’t think it’s a safe place to be at all. There continues to be more & more evidence of this as some developers are coming forward to say that they make more money on Wii U & 3DS ports of their games. Gunman Clive which is a retro western side scroller action platformer has outsold it’s Android & iOS counterparts. The same thing is even starting to happen on PS Vita.
I’ve tried playing many types of mobile games on tablets & phones & I just don’t like not having good controls, some games are adequate but at the end of the day I’ll take a portable device with true controls over any “mobile” device and I know I am NOT alone on this either. They’ll always be “casual” games for the mobile market and they might sell millions but they’re hardly making anyone rich and at the end of the day, it’s about the $$$ and the great companies will always follow that.
Not a fanboy, just a gamer...every system has its gems!!
2:53 pm
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February 12, 2013
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tkbryant said
I dunno about this whole “mobile gaming” market. Nintendo is doing the right thing by trying to get some of the mobile stuff onto Wii U & 3DS because some of them are pretty decent games but they’re safe for not having all their eggs in one basket sort of speak. The mobile gaming market while huge is at the end of the day not very profitable when the games are sold at 0.99 or free with ads. So many of these companies have come and gone and even bigger mobile companies like Zynga are falling apart as the mobile market continually shifts. I don’t think it’s a safe place to be at all. There continues to be more & more evidence of this as some developers are coming forward to say that they make more money on Wii U & 3DS ports of their games. Gunman Clive which is a retro western side scroller action platformer has outsold it’s Android & iOS counterparts. The same thing is even starting to happen on PS Vita.I’ve tried playing many types of mobile games on tablets & phones & I just don’t like not having good controls, some games are adequate but at the end of the day I’ll take a portable device with true controls over any “mobile” device and I know I am NOT alone on this either. They’ll always be “casual” games for the mobile market and they might sell millions but they’re hardly making anyone rich and at the end of the day, it’s about the $$$ and the great companies will always follow that.
You make some excellent points about the viability of the mobile market. I don’t have any stats handy, but I’ve ready several times that the vast majority of the iTunes App Store’s sales go to the Top 100 Apps or so. In other words, tens of thousands of Apps generate practically no revenue. So from a developer’s perspective, the mobile market is a risky place to be.
From a consumer standpoint though, the mobile market is fantastic. There are thousands of games that are free. These mobile games have unquestionably taken sales away from the handheld market and have likely taken sales away from the console market as well.
This is purely anecdotal, but I used to live in Toronto around 2008 and rode the subway to work every day. During that time, it was extremely common to see people playing a DS and even a PSP while on the subway. Flash forward two years later and you would see 10 iPhones for every DS or PSP.
The 3DS is off to a healthy start, but I personally don’t expect it to sell as much as the original DS (150 million +). The PS Vita is basically dead in the water.
Bottom line; there are some current imbalances in the videogame market (high development costs for HD games, free mobile games, etc.) that are ultimately unsustainable.
Now playing: SNES - Phalanx, R-Type III, Genesis - Bio Hazard Battle, PS3 - Dragon's Crown
4:07 pm
May 5, 2012
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I agree with all your points. The original DS hit just at the cusp of the whole “casual gaming market”. Those “casual” DS owners have moved onto mobile devices so basically Nintendo is back to numbers before this whole casual gaming thing came into existence which isn’t really a bad place to be considering they pretty much own that market right now. As much as I love my Vita, the 3DS is killing it right now. I mostly play PS one RPG’s on it anyway. =)
Not a fanboy, just a gamer...every system has its gems!!
6:45 pm
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February 11, 2012
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And just to speak of this post’s title, I played Wii Sports Resort on a 50 inch LCD TV and it looked fine to me.
4:04 am
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March 14, 2012
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There is nothing wrong with the Wii in terms of graphics. They work well for developers to, since no one has ever gone bankrupt from releasing a Wii game, at least to my knowledge.
Exploring the New World on Nintendo Switch. Currently Playing: Zelda BOTW, Octopath Traveler, Sonic Mania, Yoku's Island Express, Mega Man 11. Currently Watching: Marble Hornets, Luther, Black Mirror, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5. Currently Reading: Influence by Robert Cialdini.
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