Well this is interesting...in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, Sega of America and ASA are teaming up to present a skateboarding event with a Sonic theme this Saturday. Now, this is obviously a marketing technique, but I never thought of something like this. I mean, I guess it makes sense because it's fast and that's what Sonic is known for, but shouldn't it be strictly video games? Skateboarding to promote a video game seems too random. This year was also the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, and last year was the 25th anniversary of Mario, but Nintendo never celebrated like this. Not sure what the reception of this event would be like, but I guess we'll see.
Link: http://www.sega.com/news/?n=5414
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
The Future for Nintendo
On Sept. 13, Nintendo made an announcement in Tokyo about their future plans for the 3DS. These include new games and new features, including the ability to take 3D videos. They also plan to get more female gamers by releasing a pink 3DS. Now, I'm not so sure just how much a pink 3DS would help. I mean, I guess every little thing would help, but the bottom line is, the 3DS was doing worse than expected because of the lack of games.
I'm not quite sure what they where thinking when they didn't release good games. But they seem to be trying to fix that with the release, finally, of some Mario games, such as Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. I think both those games would be great, especially Mario Kart 7. My favorite Mario Kart was the one for the original DS, and from the screenshots and videos I have seen so far, this looks even better (you can fly and go underwater, for crying out loud!). However, not everyone seems to think these games would help. I think it would, but not as much as it could have if they were released with the 3DS.
People are also saying that $0.99 apps would be the death of Nintendo. But here's what I think: those games are simple and addictive. That's what makes them good. It's also what allows them to be cheap. Nintendo has been releasing simple and addictive games as well, but at too-high prices. They need to stop trying to compete by doing what other companies do; they will lose because that's not what makes them good. Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, those are what made Nintendo successful since the beginning. The company seems to have lost sight of that. The price cut has been helping sell more of the handheld, but not enough. The bottom line is, if there are no good games to go with it, the system will not sell. The only big-name games out so far are remakes. All we can do is hope that Mario would come to save the day again.
Article: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-13/nintendo-to-add-features-target-women-to-spur-sales-of-3ds.html
I'm not quite sure what they where thinking when they didn't release good games. But they seem to be trying to fix that with the release, finally, of some Mario games, such as Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. I think both those games would be great, especially Mario Kart 7. My favorite Mario Kart was the one for the original DS, and from the screenshots and videos I have seen so far, this looks even better (you can fly and go underwater, for crying out loud!). However, not everyone seems to think these games would help. I think it would, but not as much as it could have if they were released with the 3DS.
People are also saying that $0.99 apps would be the death of Nintendo. But here's what I think: those games are simple and addictive. That's what makes them good. It's also what allows them to be cheap. Nintendo has been releasing simple and addictive games as well, but at too-high prices. They need to stop trying to compete by doing what other companies do; they will lose because that's not what makes them good. Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, those are what made Nintendo successful since the beginning. The company seems to have lost sight of that. The price cut has been helping sell more of the handheld, but not enough. The bottom line is, if there are no good games to go with it, the system will not sell. The only big-name games out so far are remakes. All we can do is hope that Mario would come to save the day again.
Article: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-13/nintendo-to-add-features-target-women-to-spur-sales-of-3ds.html
Monday, September 12, 2011
The 3DS Expansion Slide Pad
Well Nintendo has been working hard. Unfortunately, not so much in the games department. Instead, they create an add-on that adds another circle pad to the 3DS. Now, this is actually great for first-person shooters, and opens the door to many games, including perhaps a Goldeneye 64 remake (hey, they remade The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64, so why not). But from what I've heard, its only available in Japan and for one game: Monster Hunter 3G, the 3DS version of Monster Hunter Tri.
Here's the thing: it could be great, but the timing is off! They should create it for multiple games, not just one. It does add more shoulder buttons, but I fail to see the point in that. All-in-all, I don't think this will help them get out of the rut they dug themselves in. But I guess only time will tell.
Here's the thing: it could be great, but the timing is off! They should create it for multiple games, not just one. It does add more shoulder buttons, but I fail to see the point in that. All-in-all, I don't think this will help them get out of the rut they dug themselves in. But I guess only time will tell.
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