Can a proper gamer ignore Nintendo games?

Alrus said:
Skyward Sword looks much more promising than TP (which I think is awesome anyway) and Wind Waker.

And Considering the Mainline franchises of nintendo are rarely part of one single story (opposite to, say, Metal Gear and other story heavy games), they don't really suffer from too much sequel that could make the story a jumbled mess.

To be completely honest I haven't really looked at Skyward Sword much, so I'm happy to concede that I'm completely off the mark if it's as promising as people are saying.

My opinion may make more sense if you understand that it comes from being someone who has never been able to finish a Zelda game because I don't find the mechanics, structure or narratives compelling enough to really grab me. I'm sure that there's a lot of depth and variety to be found if you persevere, but I've found them to be pretty interchangeable, at least on a superficial level. However, that's the only basis upon which I can really assess them so I understand that it might seem ignorant to the more learned Zelda player.
 
Caelus said:
to me the Pokemon show means nothing. It's just a form of marketing towards children, and to be honest Pokemon is a franchise that has some really complicated problems with its fans.

Well put, and that is really what I was trying to say without sounding like an asshole.
 
ctrayne said:
Understandable, and I respect that. As I was saying, the only part that grates on my nerves are the aforementioned man-children that break into a sweat when they hear the Pokemon theme song.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with the nostalgia re: the original Pokemon theme.

...But there is something wrong with the people who only enjoy the original 151/251. ;(
 
Kaijima said:
Edit: added to that, the excluded factor is that the Wii's 3rd party support was generally laughable and insulting even compared to the Gamecube. That reduces its gleam a lot more, having nothing to do with first party games. One can look back on the Cube with a general hazy memory of "lots of games"... but many of those come from major 3rd party releases like Capcom's stuff. Even Capcom mostly abandoned Nintendo, this gen.

I agree to the extent that a lot of third parties clearly put out substandard or low-budget spinoff games on the console, but I'd actually argue that there were more, better third party games on Wii than on GameCube (a console I personally thought was mostly awful). The No More Heroes games, Red Steel 2, GoldenEye 007, Deadly Creatures, Little King's Story, Godfather: Blackhand Edition, Dead Space Extraction, Muramasa, Boom Blox, De Blob, Zack & Wiki and so on. Many of which even used motion control in significantly more successful and inventive ways than Nintendo's first party titles. If you were ready to do the research, the Wii was a goldmine of niche third-party gems.
 
Gravijah said:
Hey, there's nothing wrong with the nostalgia re: the original Pokemon theme.
There is a big difference between nostalgia for a kid's show theme song (which I totally get!) and an hour of feverish rambling about it. :)

xandaca said:
If you were ready to do the research, the Wii was a goldmine of niche third-party gems.
Add Tenchu to the list - it's brilliant, if different from the rest of the series.
 
ctrayne said:
There is a big difference between nostalgia for a kid's show theme song (which I totally get!) and an hour of feverish rambling about it. :)

I don't think any of PokeGAF will do that, but some of us will tell you about the perfect EV spreads! (Not I ;))
 
Even among adults on this board who watch the Pokemon anime, I've never seen them discuss it at length like it's Citizen Kane or something.
 
Sipowicz said:
fuck no

ignoring wiiware and the fact the wii plays gamecube games (while the purple handbag plays nothing but) the wii was much better

mario back to his best in 3D form. a 2d four player mario. 2 wildly different zelda games. 2 wildly different metroid games. the resurrection of donkey kong country , warioland and punchout. 3 RPGS (at least one of which i know is excellent)

that's just first party stuff. the wii also got a bunch of exclusives from third parties. the gamecube got worse versions of of PC/PS2/Xbox games just like the Wii U will


I'm glad you enjoyed it. I found it terrifyingly bad. Wind Waker alone blows away your list in my eyes. But everyone has their own views. Hopefully the U will bring back the people like me that the Wii utterly failed.
 
Draft said:
Yes, it's easy.
Same here. I haven't played a Nintendo console game since N64. I haven't owned a Nintendo console, besides a brief affair with a DS Lite, since SNES. Every once in a while I think about getting a DS again but I have never had any intention to buy a Wii and have less intention to buy a Wii U.

[edit] Sorry, I hate when people quote something from the first page of a huge thread....and I just did. *leaves thread in shame*
 
Roto13 said:
Even among adults on this board who watch the Pokemon anime, I've never seen them discuss it at length like it's Citizen Kane or something.
Heh, maybe I just know the wrong people.
 
Hyuga said:
What?
Well, for YOU maybe, yeah....

Well yes, but every statement in this thread can have that reply to it.

I do think more people need to experience Pac-Man VS. Not to be a "proper/real/super/true/dancing queen/blast processing/whatever player, but just so people can experience something still unique and fun. Hopefully with the result that we get more games like that (XBLA needs such a thing).
 
Kaijima said:
If the Gamecube didn't have Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX and the GC version of Twilight Princess it would be a holocaust by Nintendo standards of software quality.

Almost every game on the Cube suffered from what appeared to be low budget and short dev time, lacking content, polish, or both. It's been amazing to see the Cube retconnned as a high point for Nintendo purely to deny that the Wii is any good at all. That's the power of sour grapes!

No matter what anyone thinks of the Wii, fact is it got:

Best Zelda since Ocarina
Possibly best 3D Zelda coming up
Best 3D Mario twice over
Return of 2D Mario in nearly top form
3rd Metroid Prime installment
Great, experimental Metroid title (screw Other M hate fanatics)
Amazing Metroid Prime trilogy with superior control interface for older games
One of the best Fire Emblem games
Best Mario Kart game since the original SNES (again, sorry haters)
Epic size Smash Bros game (haters, rewind plz)
Punch Out!!
Strikers Charged, an amazing Mario sports title
A 2D Wario platformer animated by a freakin' A-list anime studio
Super Paper Mario, great game if you accept it isn't RPG
Two great Kirby platformers
A obscure game called Donkey Kong Country
2 epic traditional RPGs that will see English versions one way or another

It's not a clean win, because Wii didn't get the Pikmin game it deserved, and we didn't get a new F-Zero or Starfox shooter, which were huge missed opportunities.

If one claims to be a "Nintendo fan" but denies the quality of the core oriented games on the Wii compared to the Gamecube or (lol) the N64... it's a claim that's hard to chalk up to anything but pique against the Wii and the image of "that shitty motion control sell out piece of junk".

The harsh truth is that the Wii got more Nintendo core support at an average higher level of quality than anything since the SNES. A strawman argument against the Wii is usually based around how unevenly distributed that support is. Nintendo front loaded the Wii with a lot of major core oriented games, then let it die for almost 2 years, then splurged again in 2010 with four major core games one after the other.

It's easy to bitch about Nintendo and say "oh they so shit this gen they did nothin' good", with the Wii nearly dead again in 2011, and NoA angering fans by passing on several key titles - including the incomprehensible abandonment of their only core oriented Motion+ action game!

Objectively however, with angry fan redeye drained away, the Wii was Nintendo's strongest console for first party games since the Super Nintendo. Its image is merely tarnished by the mistakes Nintendo has made, which are not insignificant.

Edit: added to that, the excluded factor is that the Wii's 3rd party support was generally laughable and insulting even compared to the Gamecube. That reduces its gleam a lot more, having nothing to do with first party games. One can look back on the Cube with a general hazy memory of "lots of games"... but many of those come from major 3rd party releases like Capcom's stuff. Even Capcom mostly abandoned Nintendo, this gen.
The idea that anyone who dislikes the Wii is blinded by rage against the rise of motion controls and casual gaming, unable to accept the objective fact that Nintendo's first party output is the best since the SNES, is as offensive and absurd as any argument I've heard to dismiss the Wii.
 
What is so amazing about this thread, is people talking about wii titles as if they are the best thing since sliced bread. I had my Wii for at least 3 years before I sold it, I played all the big name titles within those years. I was not impressed at all.

Imo, the N64 was a more enjoyable experience for me. I find Nintendo games to be formulaic rehashes of tried and true mechanics. I don't find anything wrong with that but to me it is only a part of what makes a game "good". I think Nintendo games lack on driving narrative and some of their main franchises lack growth. Because of this, if you have experienced these franchises before, especially the 3D iterations, I don't think there is any "need" to revisit them unless you personally "like" the series.

I don't miss the Wii, now that I sold it, and I see nothing about the Wii U that entices me. And contrary to what the die hard nintendo fans of this thread would like us to believe, nintendo games aren't the end all be all of their respective genre's especially if you are looking for more, than just solid gameplay.
 
People disregarding Nintendo are being ignorant, I can understand if you've played a proper Mario or Zelda before game and somehow managed to not like them or completely hate them, so yes people like that probably shouldn't buy a Wii but people who have never played one or haven't played one of those games in years really should consider it.

I own all 3 consoles because they all have games I want to play, I can't believe some people wouldn't want to at least try Super Mario Galaxy 2. SMG2 is one of those games every gamer should play as it's one of the best games of all time, another game everyone should experience is Portal 2 as that's also going to be remembered as one of the all time greats, games like those are ones everyone should experience if they can afford the consoles, to me it's like saying your a fan of sci-fi movies but have never seen the original Star Wars trilogy and Blade Runner and you should be ashamed, even if you end up not liking them, games like those are ones everyone should at least try.
 
staticneuron said:
What is so amazing about this thread, is people talking about wii titles as if they are the best thing since sliced bread.

But what if i do believe that some of them ARE the best thing since sliced bread.
Should i not say it because you dont like the system?

staticneuron said:
And contrary to what the die hard nintendo fans of this thread would like us to believe, nintendo games aren't the end all be all of their respective genre's especially if you are looking for more, than just solid gameplay.

Yes its all just an elaborate scam by die hard fans to trick others into buying rehashes without grimdark stories.
 
I love Nintendo franchises (eventhough they don't seem to try anything new as of lately) and the only way to play them is on Nintendo hardware, hence it's impossible for me to ignore the Wii regardless of how few quality 3rd party support it's got all gen long.
 
Hideo Kuze said:
People disregarding Nintendo are being ignorant, I can understand if you've played a proper Mario or Zelda before game and somehow managed to not like them or completely hate them, so yes people like that probably shouldn't buy a Wii but people who have never played one or haven't played one of those games in years really should consider it.

I own all 3 consoles because they all have games I want to play, I can't believe some people wouldn't want to at least try Super Mario Galaxy 2. SMG2 is one of those games every gamer should play as it's one of the best games of all time, another game everyone should experience is Portal 2 as that's also going to be remembered as one of the all time greats, games like those are ones everyone should experience if they can afford the consoles, to me it's like saying your a fan of sci-fi movies but have never seen the original Star Wars trilogy and Blade Runner and you should be ashamed, even if you end up not liking them, games like those are ones everyone should at least try.
So you do game on your PC or are you disregarding it and being ignorant?
 
People disregarding Nintendo are being ignorant, I can understand if you've played a proper Mario or Zelda before game and somehow managed to not like them or completely hate them, so yes people like that probably shouldn't buy a Wii but people who have never played one or haven't played one of those games in years really should consider it.
Not really! It's a question of taste (same with food). You like this, you hate that. So what?
A lot of gamers aren't interested in Nintendo games. They are still gamer, hardcore gamer, real gamer, proper gamer, etc. whatever!
They simply don't like it because it is not interesting for them and so it sucks.
Problem here is: A lot of Nintendo fans got butthurt, because they live in a "Nintendo games are the best. Nothing is better!!!!11" world.
Well, maybe they "believe" it. But it doesn't mean it's the truth.
 
I have ignored Nintendo since 2006 and I'm fine. They don't make games that I like. They don't have controllers I like. They don't have proper MODERN online gaming. Their games don't win any "Game of the Year" awards anymore (when including all systems). Oh and I like to play games in high definition. Old games with new controls are still old games.
 
I never played a zelda game,Mario Kart/64/sunshine/galaxy/smashbros/spinoff game #3391 or most of nintendo's franchise for like 3 generations. Should I turn my gamer card in?
 
Honest to god, before owning the Wii I had never played a Nintendo game in my life. Before that, I had only owned a PSone and PS2 and I was content. Now that I know what I was missing, however, I don't think I could go back to that time.
 
Its easy to ignore Nintendo games for me. Played N games since the Game & Watch days and was always a Nintendo fanboy, loved their games. But since the Wii I completely stopped caring and buying them because they simply haven't changed in years. I re-bought so many games so many times over the years I just completely lost interest.
 
"A proper gamer?" Sounds like the "No true Scotsman" fallacy. Of course "a proper gamer" can ignore Nintendo. They can ignore whatever they want.
 
First off I will admit that Nintendo is one of the best if not the best game developers in the world. The quantity of quality of games they develop and publish is insane. People may shout out Blizzard or Valve but in reality when one company is releasing an average of 2 games a year while the other is releasing 20, it isn't a fair comparison.

That being said about two years ago I left Nintendo and eventually found myself joining the ranks of Valve (Steam) and have really never looked back. Pretty much all the bullshit I complained about and more isn't present. Fantastic third party support, incredible graphics, a huge variety of games, benchmark online, frequent price marks, etc.

I left Nintendo because of their stupid bullshit. Not taking advantage of their innovative products, shit third party support, graphical technology from the decade prior to the last, not bringing their games over, and quite possibly the worst online implantation that has ever existed.

But being honest I'm not surprised. As much as everyone on this site like to convince themselves, Nintendo is in no way, shape, or form a game company dedicated to the core gamer. Stop hovering over that quote button, they never have been. Since the inception of their console business they have been a company that has been targeted to the family. Look at the NES days where they were such a strong watchdog for strong and edgy content. The Super Nintendo was infamous for being the "toy" and "the "family friendly" system, while its competitor the Sega Genesis was aggressively marketed for the then "core gamer". While Sony and SEGA were trying to target young adults, eliminate content editing, and jump onto the revolutionary "limitless" storage medium for deeper and more cinematic games, Nintendo stuck with the family and chose carts as their medium, and medium that greatly harmed games targeted toward the then "hardcore gamer". The Gamecube? Well first off it was fucking purple. It literally had no online what so ever. At least they tried to get some of the core gaming audience. Unfortunately it was handled horrendously.

Now the Wii is yet again Nintendo being Nintendo. They have gone backward since their Gamecube days of localizing. They have added online but its worse than even the fucking Dreamcast. And as with every generation core gamers complain about Nintendo's shittiness in appealing to them. The company is a family game company. With few exceptions like Metroid and Fire Emblem, a vast majority of their games are targeted toward children or casual playing adults. Just look at Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Kirby, Warioware, Pokemon, etc. These games aren't targeted to the guy who looks on Newegg to update their rig with the lastest video card. These games aren't targeted to the guy who would spend $600 on a console. These games are targeted to Jimmy the eight year old who plays PeeWee football and gets bored after school and looks for something to do. Or its made for Stacey the 33 year old single mother who wants to relax after her two children are in bed. That's who these games are targeted at, however they also appeal to a wide group of other people (which is exactly what Nintendo wants) similar to how World of Warcraft is targets 35 year old males, but also appeals to a wide range of other people. The only difference is that with Nintendo its the opposite, its casual(ish) game that appeals to everyone including core gamers, which results in that demographic being frustrated with the company due to the fact that they aren't its primary target market.


staticneuron said:
What is so amazing about this thread, is people talking about wii titles as if they are the best thing since sliced bread. I had my Wii for at least 3 years before I sold it, I played all the big name titles within those years. I was not impressed at all.

The only reason why the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube seem better is because you are playing a system in with a full lifespan of games.

The Nintendo 64 and Gamecube were even worse with droughts then the Wii was.
 
The last Nintendo console I owned was an SNES.
My friends all had N64s so I didn't miss out there, in fact every day we came from school we'd play Goldeneye, WCW/NWO Revenge, Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat 4, and others together.
Only one of my friends had a Gamecube but at least he let me burrow it so I could play Metroid Prime, ED:SR, etc...
This gen though, none of my friends have a Wii and not a single fuck was given by any of us.
Not one of us gives a fuck about the Wii U either.
 
Kaijima said:
If the Gamecube didn't have Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX and the GC version of Twilight Princess it would be a holocaust by Nintendo standards of software quality.

Almost every game on the Cube suffered from what appeared to be low budget and short dev time, lacking content, polish, or both. It's been amazing to see the Cube retconnned as a high point for Nintendo purely to deny that the Wii is any good at all. That's the power of sour grapes!

No matter what anyone thinks of the Wii, fact is it got:

Best Zelda since Ocarina
Possibly best 3D Zelda coming up
Best 3D Mario twice over
Return of 2D Mario in nearly top form
3rd Metroid Prime installment
Great, experimental Metroid title (screw Other M hate fanatics)
Amazing Metroid Prime trilogy with superior control interface for older games
One of the best Fire Emblem games
Best Mario Kart game since the original SNES (again, sorry haters)
Epic size Smash Bros game (haters, rewind plz)
Punch Out!!
Strikers Charged, an amazing Mario sports title
A 2D Wario platformer animated by a freakin' A-list anime studio
Super Paper Mario, great game if you accept it isn't RPG
Two great Kirby platformers
A obscure game called Donkey Kong Country
2 epic traditional RPGs that will see English versions one way or another

It's not a clean win, because Wii didn't get the Pikmin game it deserved, and we didn't get a new F-Zero or Starfox shooter, which were huge missed opportunities.

If one claims to be a "Nintendo fan" but denies the quality of the core oriented games on the Wii compared to the Gamecube or (lol) the N64... it's a claim that's hard to chalk up to anything but pique against the Wii and the image of "that shitty motion control sell out piece of junk".

The harsh truth is that the Wii got more Nintendo core support at an average higher level of quality than anything since the SNES. A strawman argument against the Wii is usually based around how unevenly distributed that support is. Nintendo front loaded the Wii with a lot of major core oriented games, then let it die for almost 2 years, then splurged again in 2010 with four major core games one after the other.

It's easy to bitch about Nintendo and say "oh they so shit this gen they did nothin' good", with the Wii nearly dead again in 2011, and NoA angering fans by passing on several key titles - including the incomprehensible abandonment of their only core oriented Motion+ action game!

Objectively however, with angry fan redeye drained away, the Wii was Nintendo's strongest console for first party games since the Super Nintendo. Its image is merely tarnished by the mistakes Nintendo has made, which are not insignificant.

Edit: added to that, the excluded factor is that the Wii's 3rd party support was generally laughable and insulting even compared to the Gamecube. That reduces its gleam a lot more, having nothing to do with first party games. One can look back on the Cube with a general hazy memory of "lots of games"... but many of those come from major 3rd party releases like Capcom's stuff. Even Capcom mostly abandoned Nintendo, this gen.

Whatever Nintendo console you grew up with is the best Nintendo console. Whatever Nintendo console that is currently out is the worst Nintendo console, its that simple.

And yes the Gamecube is factually Nintendo's worst console from an objective standpoint.

tiff said:
The idea that anyone who dislikes the Wii is blinded by rage against the rise of motion controls and casual gaming, unable to accept the objective fact that Nintendo's first party output is the best since the SNES, is as offensive and absurd as any argument I've heard to dismiss the Wii.

Its not anybody who dislikes the Wii, but people who act like its the worst Nintendo console ever and that there quality has taken a nosedive. Its hilarious to suggest a thing as you must have insane rose tinted glasses on. As I've said before its Nintendo being Nintendo.
 
Nintendo are one game developer out of many, I don't think it's necessary for a "proper" gamer to play games from any particular developer. Nothing Nintendo has done for ages has excited me so I haven't picked up a Wii or played a Nintendo game for a while but I play lots of games from various companies and I believe that not playing Nintendo games is irrelevant to my gaming experience.
 
This is like looking at a thread of die-hard Rush fans.

Rush is technically excellent! They have millions of fans! They are admired by hardcore musicians everywhere!

How can you call yourself any sort of music fan if you refuse to listen to Rush?!

I dunno, they're not my bag?
 
MYE said:
But what if i do believe that some of them ARE the best thing since sliced bread.
Should i not say it because you dont like the system?


Yes its all just an elaborate scam by die hard fans to trick others into buying rehashes without grimdark stories.

All I am saying is that the opinion held by those putting nintendo games on a pedastool is not a universal truth. They are still opinions, and creating a list of titles and putting them next to genre's just makes it seem like going overboard.

Flying_Phoenix said:
The only reason why the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube seem better is because you are playing a system in with a full lifespan of games.

The Nintendo 64 and Gamecube were even worse with droughts then the Wii was.

I am actually talking about the experience I had with each franchise. With the exception of metroid (obviously) I felt the N64 versions were some of the most progressive/best of certain franchises. I am talking about titles such as Mario 64, Mario Kart, starfox, Zelda, and many others.
 
As someone who considers OoT to be the best video game ever made, and also as someone who owns a Wii, I can confidently say yes. I have not touched the Wii since launch and have little to no desire to. The real question is, can a gamer live off of just a Nintendo console anymore? I think not.
 
It's perfectly fine to not play Nintendo games, you can still be a hardcore gamer with real love for the hobby. But you do forfeit the right to be one those snobby, glorious game "connoisseurs" if you aren't up to date with Nintendo's oeuvre. It's like someone who hasn't watched Bunuel or Fellini's classics calling themself a true film buff. As IF!
 
StefanTheMongol said:
I have ignored Nintendo since 2006 and I'm fine. They don't make games that I like. They don't have controllers I like. They don't have proper MODERN online gaming. Their games don't win any "Game of the Year" awards anymore (when including all systems). Oh and I like to play games in high definition. Old games with new controls are still old games.
Well you've certainly made it clear that you haven't been paying attention.
 
Nintendo's modern B-catalogue is fairly shit, as far as I'm concerned, making their library without any reasonable third party support rather awful. They make good consoles to come into late, snatch up the few goodies and leave pleased, though.

I wouldn't argue any of it is necessary to play for anyone, however. You'd have to have a really narrow view of the hobby for that, especially considering the expanse of things over the past five years or so.

I wouldn't argue anything is necessary for anyone, probably less so in this medium than any other.
 
revolverjgw said:
It's perfectly fine to not play Nintendo games, you can still be a hardcore gamer with real love for the hobby. But you do forfeit the right to be one those snobby, glorious game "connoisseurs" if you aren't up to date with Nintendo's oeuvre. It's like someone who hasn't watched Bunuel or Fellini's classics calling themself a true film buff. As IF!
But, to continue with a music analogy, what if i think post-N64 Nintendo just isn't compelling the way Old Nintendo was? Like U2 post-Achtung Baby?
 
I'm sure this has been talked about already, but are we really going to try to define a "proper gamer" now? Isn't that as stupid as trying to define a "hardcore" gamer or a "casual" gamer, or whatever title pc gamers call themselves? The OP seems to define a "proper gamer" as a well rounded gamer meaning someone who plays a variety of genres and styles. In that case I think someone could easily be a well rounded gamer and not play Nintendo games.
 
Metroid Prime alone puts everything on the Wii to shame and was worth the price of a GC. Not to mention F-Zero GX, the Pikmin games, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess (it was a Gamecube game first), and Metroid Prime 2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii would of convinced me to keep my Wii if the controls weren't so slippery.
 
You know, I do sort of like the concept of codifying (or at least, settling on) a list of 25 games or so that would be considered GAF's opinion of Classics, required for acceptable gaming "literacy". Do you think we'd ever be able to decide such a thing?
 
Who cares! Just play what you want. I haven't played a Mario or Zelda game properly in almost a decade, and I'm loving games more than ever.
 
I don't think there's any such thing as a "proper gamer," but if I did, I'd say it would be not only possible but almost effortless to ignore Nintendo in this generation and still enjoy a rich and full diet of virtual entertainment. If you don't count Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy, and No More Heroes, that's pretty much the course I've taken myself since I bought a 360. I haven't touched my Wii in years (*pause for smirks and titters*) and I've logged in fewer than 20 hours on the DS, yet this generation has been very satisfying for me.

I feel different about the Super Nintendo, N64, Gamecube, and Gameboy SP. I would be poorer without the experiences I had with those platform.
 
Gravijah said:
I don't think so, I think he comes back this month.
Oh, that's better.
Miss his "blonde Pokemon kid who shall remain nameless; jumping around with joy".-avatar. :p


On topic though, a "proper gamer" plays anything, no matter the console/publisher/developer. And even if he/she doesn't have every console; at least keeps informed about the latest news and always keeps an open mind.
 
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