Should Nintendo Become A Third-Party Developer?
Laptop Battery Article by: Matthew Parke
The whole argument of whether Nintendo should or shouldnt become a third-party developer is a big one. It touches on a lot of different things and, when you come right down to it, it becomes an analysis of the very heart and soul of Nintendo and why they do the things they do. To be honest, Ive never understood the logic behind the argument for Nintendo to go third-party. The logic is flawed on just about every level. People that truly believe this absolutely do not understand Nintendo or the video game industry for that matter. Granted, there isnt as much talk about this subject as there was a year ago at this time, but you still hear it. The scary part is when you hear it from these so-called experts and analysts of the video game industry who obviously dont know a controller from a hole in their head.
I know this is a website dedicated to all things Nintendo and I try to keep it that way in my editorials by being upbeat about what Nintendo is doing and not dwelling on Nintendos competition. However, in brainstorming and writing this editorial, Ive had to deviate from my normal formula as there is no other way to fully address the subject of what I believe to be the root of the problem.
To really understand where all this came from, you have to go back a little. Back a few years to when the GameCube launched. You could actually go back a lot farther than this if you wanted, but this all really started when the GameCube launched.
The arguments from people saying Nintendo should go third-party were at their peak when the GameCube was perceived to be struggling. For the first time in their history, Nintendo released a major home video game console with no Super Mario game to speak of. Not only that, Nintendo launched a major home console without a killer app of any kind. Just three days before the official US launch of the GameCube, Microsoft had launched the Xbox, their first video game console. Not only was the Xbox complete with a hard drive and DVD player, it was more powerful than the GameCube or anything else on the market. This combination of functionality and power had never before been seen in a video game console and is still unmatched today. In a lot of peoples eyes, Microsoft was on the cutting edge of technology as far as video game consoles are concerned and, in a lot of peoples eyes, Microsofts machine made Nintendos purple cube look silly. It made Nintendo and their games-only machine look like they were behind the times and stuck in the past. The Xbox looked very cutting edge; the new future of the video game industry. The Xbox outsold the GameCube at launch in America over that first Christmas, thanks in large part to Halo and an extensive marketing campaign put together by Microsoft to support their system. Halo was a huge hit and it seemed that anybody that was even remotely interested in video games was talking about the Xbox and Halo. Americas corporate pride and joy had arrived in the video game console industry. Sony was going down; changes were going to be made, boasted Microsoft. Microsoft and the Xbox were here to dominate the video game industry and they had every intention of doing so no matter how much money had to be spent. Americas grand return to an industry it had ultimately failed in in the past. And so on and so on......
However, after the systems launched, few in the American gaming press talked too much about how much money Microsoft was losing with each Xbox it sold (around $150 at launch and probably more than that now that the price has dropped considerably) or that Nintendo was making money off each GameCube they sold. Few in the American gaming press said much about how poorly the Xbox was selling in Japan. Few in the American gaming press talked about how while the Xbox launched with Halo, which was/is a great game and the Xboxs killer app, just about every other game that launched with the Xbox was either on another gaming platform or substandard (and thats putting it mildly). Few in the American gaming press said much about how though the GameCube didnt have a killer app to call their own at launch, the GameCube still had a very solid launch lineup of very good, EXCLUSIVE games. Overlooked as well was the fact that the very next month after the GameCube launched, Super Smash Bros. Melee released for the GameCube which went on to sell around 3 million copies which is around the same as Halo sales. And guess what? Little continues to be said.
However, what was talked about for over a year after the Xbox and GameCube launched and what is still talked about today, is that Microsoft, a newcomer to the industry is standing toe to toe with the great Nintendo in a console war and what the implications of that could mean and, despite all the evidence to the contrary, maybe its time for Nintendo to step down from the hardware business and let the future of the video game industry (Sony and Microsoft) take over. This despite the fact that, as it stands today, Microsoft has lost an amount of money on the Xbox that I can only guess at (last I heard, it was over a billion dollars and that was well over a year ago) while the GameCube continues to pull in a healthy profit for Nintendo. Despite the fact that the Xbox is virtually ignored in Japan. Despite the fact that Halo was the only killer app for the Xbox until Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic came out over a year and a half later. In the meantime, Xbox owners have had to endure over-hyped pieces of crap like Blinx the Timesweeper, Brute Force and a number of other games Im not even going to mention right now. Halo and Star Wars: KOTOR are both no longer exclusive to the Xbox and are available for play on the PC while the GameCube has slowly accumulated a very respectable list of top-notch EXCLUSIVE games. While not all these have sold as well as they should have, they are some of the best games to be released on this generation of systems.
What Im saying is that there is a double standard that exists in the American gaming press when it comes to the GameCube and Xbox. At times, I cant help thinking that it is because the Xbox is an American console and the GameCube is not. The Xbox is an American console produced by an American company with games that are catered towards the American gamer. Meanwhile, the Xbox is virtually ignored in Japan where it struggles to outsell Sonys PSOne on a regular basis. The GameCube suffers from an image problem in America as does the Xbox in Japan. The American press is quick to point out that Nintendos image problem in America is their fault because they do not cater to the American market and put out the types of games that Americas gamers like (such as Grand Theft Auto, etc.) even though Microsoft is guilty of the same thing in the Japanese market. Yet Nintendos perceived failure in the American market (even though the GameCube outsold the Xbox in America in 2003) is used as a big reason as to why Nintendo needs to pack it in and let the future take over.
Now Im not saying that Nintendo has done everything right with the GameCube. Theyve made their share of mistakes. However, they have gotten the important things right. Nintendo knows how to fight a console war probably better than anyone. They know there is more to a console war than just how big your user base is. Quality of games and profitability are two huge factors in a console war that arent talked about nearly as much as Sonys gigantic worldwide user base or how powerful the Xbox is.
If you want my true, honest opinion, despite all my harping on the American gaming press, I think the majority of the talk about how Nintendo needs to go third-party has originated from Microsoft themselves. I think it mostly started with them. I think that from the very beginning theyve had an agenda. Their primary objective has been to take out Sony and assume Sonys throne. Thats no secret to anyone that follows the video game industry, though. Microsoft has been very vocal about their aspirations of dominance in the video game industry. What a lot of people dont know is that Microsoft wanted to use Nintendo to do it. From the purchase of Rare to the rumored buy-out offer of Bill Gates to Nintendo before the Xbox launched, Microsoft wants to do to Nintendo what Sony did to Sega; take them out of the hardware business and get their games on their own system, exclusively if possible. Truth be told, I think Microsoft fears Nintendo. If they dont, they should. I think Microsoft knows that Nintendo is more of a threat to their aspirations of dominance than even Sony is. Nintendo has been higher than anyone ever has in the video game industry. They know what its like to truly dominate in this industry and they know what it takes to get there: great games, which is something Microsoft is not capable of producing on their own. Microsoft knows this which is why they want Nintendo on their side. Not only would they be removing their biggest threat, but they would be gaining the most powerful ally imaginable in their quest of video game industry domination.
Luckily for the Nintendo faithful, Nintendo doesnt want anything to do with Microsoft or the Xbox. Frustratingly for the Nintendo faithful, Nintendo doesnt seem nearly as motivated as Microsoft is to be on top in the video game industry again. They seem almost content to be where they are and put out their great games for their fans and watch the money roll in. Nintendo sometimes reminds me of a tired rock star that has experienced the dizzying heights of success and is now content to make music for their fans and let someone else (Sony) have the spotlight for a while. Hopefully for Nintendo fans, not too much longer. As Ive said before, video games are getting extremely popular and are on the very verge of becoming a mainstream form of entertainment worldwide. Its important that Nintendo is leading the charge when that time comes or the video game industry could very well go the way of Hollywood.
I shudder to think......
According to the indictment, Jones would steal various IBM and Penguin computer servers from Verisign's warehouse in Virginia and sell them to Johnson. Johnson would then sell the servers to several individuals, who would sometimes place them for sale on eBay. As a result of this scheme, the indictment alleges that Jones and Johnson caused Verisign to lose more than $120, 000 worth of computer equipment. In the indictment, Jones and Johnson are charged in three counts with causing the interstate transportation of stolen property, namely IBM 330 and 335 servers, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
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