Forget Mario. Where's Link?

Information was leaked today about Nintendo's E3 show. Some of the information about a new Wii Fit which doesn't matter in my lab, but there was news of a new Mario game due out by the end of the year.

Big Surprise there... It's probably Mario Golf or yet another Mario Party. If for some reason it's the follow up to Super Mario Galaxy then I have a question for Nintendo.

Where the hell is Link?

He has yet to have a true adventure on the Wii. Adding last minute motion controls to Twilight Princess didn't disguise the fact that it was a Gamecube port. Nintendo owes Link an updated adventure on the Wii.

Game Over

Imagine selling your entire collection of games and systems for a fraction of what you paid for it, ignoring the newest hot game, and being unaware of the launch of the next generation. Living life as if video games don't even exist...

I don't think I could do it.

I sometimes feel as though I could though. It's usually when a drought has lasted more than 2 months in my lab. I try to go back through games I've played in the past, but they can only keep my attention for so long. My brain needs something new to stay interested.

That feeling lasts until the next hot game comes out. A game that makes me forget that I exist on this planet. A game where the only thing I want to do is be in the lab exploring the world I'm consumed by. The feeling I get when I'm playing the latest great game makes me forget about the drought that occurred, and all the crazy thoughts I had with it. It makes me feel like a kid, it's really something special.

Who knows maybe games will help me avoid a midlife crisis in the future...

Games ARE art...

How could something that combines writing, visuals, music, and science not be considered a form of art?

Yesterday's Tomorrow

The "biggest" event of the year for gamers, E3, is a little more than a week away. All of the cool people involved in the gaming industry will be there. Unfortunately I'm not cool enough to go this year, but I hope sometime in the future I'll be able to go. Speaking of the future, tomorrow is pretty much what E3 is all about. It's rough living in today's world, but the search for a better tomorrow is what keeps me from giving up.

Don't Give Up... Keep Pushing

The Drought

Anybody else feeling like 2009 has been a dry year for gamers so far? Besides yet another revival of a 20 year old franchise and the PlayStation 3 getting it's own first person shooter, there hasn't been much in the way of good games.

Is that the reason sales have been down for the past 2 months?

I couldn't tell you that, but I could tell you that I'm bored as hell. I've been playing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on my DSi to scratch the itch, but it only helps so much. Besides that my little brother conned me into giving him my DSi. I have nothing to play and it sucks.

...Hopefully inFamous will do the trick.

Now Launching the Nintnedo Gamecube

Seriously, what the hell is this?

Nintendo must have asked themselves that question when they realized the Gamecube was behind both the Xbox and the PlayStation 2 for the crown of a generation.
The Gamecube is an interesting system. I remember a bunch of my friends looked away because they thought the Gamecube was for kids. You really can't blame them for looking away. A majority of gamers have been saving Princess Peach since they were kids. Gotta grow sometime right?

Just look at the launch titles for each system.

PS2 had 29 launch titles in the United States. 11 games were rated E for Everyone, 16 games were rated T for Teen, and 2 games were rated M for Mature.


Xbox had 18 launch titles in the United States. 9 games rated E for Everyone, 8 Games Rated T for Teen, and 1 game with a Halo around it was rated M for Mature.


Gamecube had 12 launch titles in the United States. 7 games were rated E for Everyone and 5 games were rated T for Teen. Not a single launch title was rated M for Mature.

The PlayStation 2 had the benefit of a year to release more games. The Xbox started off with a Halo. The Gamecube began it's life with Luigi cleaning a dirty house. Fun

WiiStation 720

The new millennium arrives and Sony introduces itself with the PlayStation 2. Nintendo's old punching bag SEGA arrived before the new millennium (9/9/99 to be exact,) and suffered the consequences. SEGA had been hurt after putting up a fight for most of the last millennium with Nintendo.

When it came to fighting Sony, Sega could barely take a swing. Meanwhile Sony was still partying like rock stars as is nothing had changed. The party must have been seriously interrupted on the day Microsoft announced they were entering war for the voice of a generation.

Microsoft's entrance in the war for the crown is a sign of the future of gaming. Who better to convince the mainstream about games than a company that dominates it? Think of it this way. Whatever gaming console sells the most units is the Microsoft of its generation. (Shout out to Apple)

Back to the new millennium. A year after the PlayStation 2 exploded on the scene, Nintendo releases the GameCube and Microsoft releases the Xbox. They couldn't even come close as they both lost by about oh 100 million units or so. The PlayStation 2 could thanks its head start, and it's collection of games for that. I think Nintendo felt that the company that enters the war on Sega's behalf wouldn't stand a chance. That turned out to be wrong as the Gamecube placed last for the generation. Nintendo had lost the fight against Sony again.


With the agony of defeat fresh on their minds, Nintendo locked themselves in the lab (With Errol James baby) They probably asked themselves what made the PlayStation 2 so popular? One could say it was the appeal that Sony had to the mainstream. Sony knew that they would have to appeal more to the mainstream if they were going to beat Microsoft. What better way to appeal to the mainstream then have the largest collection of video games? The collection was so large and diverse, that casual gamers had a better chance of finding a game that appealed to them. Either that or parents had a better chance of finding the right game for their children.

They next question was probably something like "why did gamers overlook the Gamecube?" One could say that it was the audience they tried to appeal to. The Gamecube exposed Nintendo's soul. Even though they were in last place, they were still releasing fun games. It felt as though it was just about the art and nothing else.

Did the hardcore gamers turn their back on Nintendo? I doubt it.

Playstation Wii

You know, Sony and Nintendo have a lot in common. They both know the joy of being on top, and the misery of being on the bottom of the console war.

Before the PSone showed up, Nintendo was dominant. Games were far from being seen as the art form they are going to become by the mainstream, so the majority of people who played games were hardcore gamers. As a result the games released back then were geared more towards hardcore gamers. Games such as Super Mario World and Street Fighter 2 would be played for hours upon hours by the diehards, but there were also people who casually played these games. The ones who respected the art form of gaming, but didn't abuse there thumbs to prove it.
Fast forward to the arrival of the PSone. Sony shows up and lets the world know that "U R not E." Sony's reign begins on top of the war and the fast times begin. The mainstream still wasn't ready to accept the art form known as gaming, so games were still geared more toward hardcore gamers. I'm not saying casual games weren't being released because they always have and always will exist. What I'm saying is that hardcore gamers were a greater influence to both Nintendo and Sony's strategy for becoming the voice of a generation...

To Be Continued