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[kevm3]

I'm glad Nintendo is doing their own thing so to say. They are pretty much the last bastion for kids to have something to play. I'm getting tired of all the 'psychotic', twisted, super violent games. It's also refreshing Nintendo still makes platformers.

 

[MDX]

stravinsky still orchestrated a musical performance albeit innovative....... i love nintendo but sometimes they are not even in the same field as their counterparts. ignorance and strong vision are hard to distinguish

Their counterparts are huge conglomerates that specialize in software and hardware.
How do you expect them to keep up without running themselves into bankruptcy?

Has it occurred to anyone that MS and Sony might have been trying to destroy their competition by baiting them into making super expensive consoles? The same way the film industry is trying to outspend their competition, or in the game industry making video game budgets so large game developers cant keep up with the likes of EA and Activision.

 

[Prince Vultan]

It would certainly be nice if Nintendo tried to do something that resembled variety in their output these days. The last time I felt they did anything genuinely creative and interesting was Mario Galaxy (And Disaster Day of Crisis, but I credit that more to Monolith than Nintendo). Their in-house first party output since has just been cynical cash ins on mascot nostalgia as far as I can see. How many 2D platformers do you really need in a single year? (I assume that by the time the Wii U is a year old they will have released the 2D Donkey Kong and Yoshi platformers, joining the NSMB and Luigi ones already available. Shit, even the new '3D' Mario looks like a 2.5D platformer at first glance.).

I would really like to see them change it up every once in a while, but their current output does nothing for me. Try some new IP or something ffs.

They can do both man. They have like a 5 billion dollar war chest.

5 billion? I thought it was 10 billion. At least that's the number I keep seeing tossed around by Nintendo fans on various forums.

 

[NickMitch]

Going into simplicity instead of bloating the extremes of graphics and MORE of everything is probably more in phase of the times than we thing..

Just look att apples philosophy regarding the IOS7:

"Nothing we’ve ever created has been designed just to look beautiful. That’s approaching the opportunity from the wrong end. Instead, as we reconsidered iOS, our purpose was to create an experience that was simpler, more useful, and more enjoyable — while building on the things people love about iOS. Ultimately, redesigning the way it works led us to redesign the way it looks. Because good design is design that’s in service of the experience." - http://www.apple.com/ios/ios7/design/

Or the car industry, going for cleaner simplified design instead of baroque deluxe.


Efficency is the way to go. Thats what the Nintendo Directs are all about for e.g....

 

[IrishNinja]

You're absolutely right. That's why I would love to see Nintendo tackle hollywood like experiences seriously. They've already got the family fare down pat.

why not ask the AAA shooter devs to make platformers & arcade racers? because it doesn't play to their strengths, and that's already done better elsewhere, i'd figure

Nintendo makes the same four games over and over again.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

It would certainly be nice if Nintendo tried to do something that resembled variety in their output these days. The last time I felt they did anything genuinely creative and interesting was Mario Galaxy (And Disaster Day of Crisis, but I credit that more to Monolith than Nintendo). Their in-house first party output since has just been cynical cash ins on mascot nostalgia as far as I can see. How many 2D platformers do you really need in a single year? (I assume that by the time the Wii U is a year old they will have released the 2D Donkey Kong and Yoshi platformers, joining the NSMB and Luigi ones already available. Shit, even the new '3D' Mario looks like a 2.5D platformer at first glance.).

I would really like to see them change it up every once in a while, but their current output does nothing for me. Try some new IP or something ffs.

 

[PdotMichael]

It's cool and stuff going your own way but it works only if you're also succesful.

The WiiU proves that you can't ignore the competition and different developements. And it's revisionism to believe that Nintendo never followed market trends etc - it's more an Iwata thing than old Nintendo.

 

[Prince Vultan]

I was thinking more along the lines of something a bit better than dredging up an old NES mascot for an unplayable mess of a game.

 

[IrishNinja]

an unplayable mess of a game.

this kind've hyperbole really deadens actual discussion

 

[mentalfloss]

I was thinking more along the lines of something a bit better than dredging up an old NES mascot for an unplayable mess of a game.

aaaaand we're done here.

 

[Dr.Hadji]

By the way, I think this and Star Fox 64 (in it's time) are very much the "hollywood" games people want Nintendo to make.

 

[ido]

I was thinking more along the lines of something a bit better than dredging up an old NES mascot for an unplayable mess of a game.

X.

So far the most ambitious looking RPG announced for next gen, imo.

 

[urfe]

I'm still shocked by how much the Internet loved Galaxy. I thought it was fun and all, but holy moly does the Internet love it.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I was thinking more along the lines of something a bit better than dredging up an old NES mascot for an unplayable mess of a game.

That's a rather poor excuse since the game boasts a variety of control customization.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

I was thinking more along the lines of something a bit better than dredging up an old NES mascot for an unplayable mess of a game.

What were you thinking then? Nintendo does Uncharted? Nintendo does Bioshock? What is it you want, because Kid Icarus Uprising is pretty much a new IP with really interesting gameplay mechanics that are anything but the norm. But nope, discount that because whatever people come up with is going to oppose your agenda, even if it proves you completely wrong.

 

[dinazimmerman]

I was thinking more along the lines of something a bit better than dredging up an old NES mascot for an unplayable mess of a game.

So you want something less difficult. A QTE-fest a la Ryse perhaps?

 

[eojoko]

I was confused after reading the OP's quote summary, and I'd recommend reading the whole article to make more sense of its argument. The paragraph OP ellipse-d is pretty important. Without it, the "about face" described in the last OP quoted paragraph doesn't make sense.

Enjoyed reading the article, although I'm not sure Nintendo's choices warrant as lofty a comparison as this.

 

[The Technomancer]

By the way, I think this and Star Fox 64 (in it's time) are very much the "hollywood" games people want Nintendo to make.

An arcade-structured brawler with on-rails shooter sections featuring surreal and at times absurdist visual direction?

 

[10k]

Neoclassicalism; that makes sense. Nintendo will always do things differently and that will either annoy gamers or excite them. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground for them.

It would be nice if they had accounts though.....that's one modern feature I would like haha.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

An arcade-structured brawler with on-rails shooter sections featuring surreal and at times absurdist visual direction?

Probably meant in terms of production value and plot. Uprising has the most voice acting in a Nintendo game ever.

 

[What The Forest Taught Me]

I agree.

I think it's interesting to look deeper at Nintendo's motives here. But, I also think it's a little silly to try to overlook that fact that Nintendo is primarily a business that is, at the forefront, concerned with making as much money as possible while spending as little money as possible. They have a staple of legacy franchises and a sizable base of fans that'll buy anything. They capitalize on that. Sometimes, things really are that simple.

It's hard to look at Nintendo's offerings now and see inventiveness within a traditional "straight-up gaming" philosophy when they continue to recycle gameplay mechanics and franchises (they're getting beat quite handily by the indie community in that regard, as is everyone). When I look at Nintendo, I don't see a company holding to its "values" for the principle of it. I see a company holding to its values until not doing so presents an obvious benefit at no cost to them.

What bothers me more than the recycling of franchises and gameplay mechanics is the use of the exact same graphical assets. Not similar assets, no-no-no. The exact....same....ones. Add to that dull, uninspired, forgettable music that is using recycled pieces and synth sounds from the previous game in a franchise, and you have a show of laziness and arrogance that does not sit well with a long-time Nintendo customer who spent 60 dollars in anticipation of a "brand new" game. Yes, we're looking at you, NSMB series.

 

[Marlowe89]

I think it's interesting to look deeper at Nintendo's motives here. But, I also think it's a little silly to try to overlook that fact that Nintendo is primarily a business that is, at the forefront, concerned with making as much money as possible while spending as little money as possible. They have a staple of legacy franchises and a sizable base of fans that'll buy anything. They capitalize on that. Sometimes, things really are that simple.

"Businesses can't possibly have principles, they're a business! Their fanbase just consists of sheep who buy into their schemes and they capitalize on it!"

Well let me put it another way: Nintendo has a large dedicated group of fans who are more likely to purchase their games even if they aren't of the genres currently popular with the gaming community at large.

Consumers play genres they like to play. News at 11.

 

[ST2K]

I think the analogy to Stravinsky applies to the rise of indie games much more so than Nintendo.

Indies, at their best, harness elements of games the modern game development world has forgotten to make a truly interesting product. Nintendo, when it's not pushing itself, is so much more stagnant and unimaginative. Compare the latest NSMB to a half a dozen popular indie sidescrollers and you can see how a developer can push themselves within certain confines in ways that Nintendo never does. It's more saddening than anything. Nintendo has such an incredible amount of talent in their internal staff and they so rarely get to demonstrate it. It really hurts the industry and art form.

 

[tengiants]

I think the analogy to Stravinsky applies to the rise of indie games much more so than Nintendo.

Indies, at their best, harness elements of games the modern game development world has forgotten to make a truly interesting product. Nintendo, when it's not pushing itself, is so much more stagnant and unimaginative. Compare the latest NSMB to a half a dozen popular indie sidescrollers and you can see how a developer can push themselves within certain confines in ways that Nintendo never does. It's more saddening than anything. Nintendo has such an incredible amount of talent in their internal staff and they so rarely get to demonstrate it. It really hurts the industry and art form.

I think this is still a stretch personally, but much less of a stretch than this dumb article.

 

[What The Forest Taught Me]

Right. I mean, who would want a console with a bunch of AAA Hollywood experiences AND Nintendo IP's. In today's market, no one because Nintendo has ruined any chances of making that dream come true. But its not too late. They can turn things around next-gen if they chose.

Well said.

 

[What The Forest Taught Me]

Actually, I do think SMW is way too easy, and the cape is broken. That said, it did a great job adding a host of new enemies and, of course, Yoshi. Plus there was climbing on cages and the way the map was laid out with switches and whatnot. It felt fresh at the time for sure.

That it did. And just as importantly, it had an aesthetic that clearly distinguished it from all other Mario games. The musical style was also distinctly different from all other Mario games before it.

 

[Regiruler]

I was thinking more along the lines of something a bit better than dredging up an old NES mascot for an unplayable mess of a game.

Did you even play it? Best game on the 3DS.
And the game was original in the first place but they decided to treat the fans and rework the story to feature the Kid Icarus universe.

 

[What The Forest Taught Me]

X.

So far the most ambitious looking RPG announced for next gen, imo.

It's certainly by far the most ambitious-looking game that's been announced for the Wii U.

 

[Prince Vultan]

Yeah, yeah, I though Kid Icarus was unplayable. Sue me. I tried every control scheme on offer and none worked for me. Only one I COULD have worked with (Slider for movement, Circle Pad Pro for camera) was the only one it DIDN'T actually offer. So I never got to see the end of that game I paid full price for and all I have to show for it is a scratch across the middle of my 3DS touch screen incurred trying to turn the pos camera around in combat.

There's no excuse for the controls in that game.

What were you thinking then? Nintendo does Uncharted? Nintendo does Bioshock? What is it you want, because Kid Icarus Uprising is pretty much a new IP with really interesting gameplay mechanics that are anything but the norm. But nope, discount that because whatever people come up with is going to oppose your agenda, even if it proves you completely wrong.

I'd have been happy if they've kept making titles like Disaster Day of Crisis and seen how that panned out in all honesty. "In-house" or not, it's the best game they released on Wii imo, so clearly they know HOW to produce games of the types suggested... but then they don't have a fucking clue what to do when said games are finished, judging by their wanton sabotage of Disaster's english language release. Clearly they aren't incapable, just unwilling, and that's a truly frustrating thing to see when they're pumping out a dozen Mario games a year.

Oh, and Kid Icarus isn't a new IP. Reboot? Sure. New? No.

X.

So far the most ambitious looking RPG announced for next gen, imo.

Agree. IF it's an open world title and not just some Monster Hunter alike with mechs or something. I'm certainly keeping an eye on it though.

Also, hardly a challenge to be the most ambitious JRPG announced for next gen when the only other two we've seen so far are from the house of incompetence Square-Enix.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Monolithsoft said they want "X" to be a seamless open world RPG experience.

 

[KingJ2002]

This article works well when it comes to the software but Hardware wise... it doesn't help


The Nintendo 2D is not a console that makes playing their games better... it removes features and introduces a cheaper price point. Clearly a stopgap console while Nintendo figures out the predecessor to the 3DS

The Wii U is also another tale of the Hardware not making the games better. The original Wii ushered in motion control as a primary feature to the console and introduced gaming to an audience that were intimidated by modern controllers... by keeping the inputs on the controller to a minimum and instead let motion controls compensate. The Wii introduced new ways to play games that made gaming better for the masses.

The Wii U threw that entire concept out with the Tablet controller. Which not only introduced the system with a controller the size of an iPad mini... but also added a bunch of buttons and triggers as well... completely scaring off the users they attracted with the original Wii... not to mention the horrible marketing campaigns that confused people as to what it is... a tablet? or a console?

Instead of refining the experience they've created... they blew it up and destroyed the Wii brand.


at the end of the day... it's not about adapting modern trends... but rather understanding what's currently out there and providing the best experience for gaming today. Making something different for the sake of being different helps no one except the detractors who's been wishing for Nintendo's demise since the Nintendo 64 days

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

I'd have been happy if they've kept making titles like Disaster Day of Crisis and seen how that panned out in all honesty. "In-house" or not, it's the best game they released on Wii imo, so clearly they know HOW to produce games of the types suggested... but then they don't have a fucking clue what to do when said games are finished, judging by their wanton sabotage of Disaster's english language release. Clearly they aren't incapable, just unwilling, and that's a truly frustrating thing to see when they're pumping out a dozen Mario games a year.

Oh, and Kid Icarus isn't a new IP. Reboot? Sure. New? No.

The controls take some getting used to sure, but they're fine. And the fact you managed to scratch fucking glass tells me you were probably applying way too much pressure. If you thought Disaster was the best game on the Wii too, that probably informs me a lot about your opinion.

I acknowledged it "might as well" be a new IP. It has completely new, different gameplay and production values.

 

[conman]

Not only does this article not know the first thing about modernism (the definition she uses is, in fact, the exact opposite of how most artists associated with modernism would define their work), but it confuses the methods of mass culture and consumer culture for those of the cultural elite. Terrible comparison.

 

[catotheyounger]

I appreciate the effort, but Stravinsky's Rite of Spring has more applicability to game design than it does the industry as a whole. There was a great GFW Radio or Out of the Game that discusses Rite of Spring.

 

[Porcile]

Woah - that's a massive can of worms to open! A pretty bold and interesting article, especially coming from IGN. The 'M' word is grand word to throw around, because history has taught us that it's many strands are far too hard to box it into one simple analogy or example.

I mean, what is 'Modernist' video game design anyway? Certainly it can't be Titanfall, Destiny, Splinter Cell etc. Those games are traditionalist - the William-Adolphe Bouguereau of the gaming landscape.

If anything Nintendo's larger philosophy is modernist. Modernity's great ideal was that somehow art could enrich our lives beyond simple cognitive pleasures. Art where we don't just passively engage with something for the simple thrills of it. I don't think you could argue that Wii Fit or Wii Sports aren't modernist in philosophy, Heck, even the Wii U Game Pad is a classically Modernist idea.

 

[Prince Vultan]

The controls take some getting used to sure, but they're fine. And the fact you managed to scratch fucking glass tells me you were probably applying way too much pressure. If you thought Disaster was the best game on the Wii too, that probably informs me a lot about your opinion.

I acknowledged it "might as well" be a new IP. It has completely new, different gameplay and production values.

Glass? It's plastic.

And Disaster was just awesome, I don't see why it's necessary to make implications about my opinion just because I think this way.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

But by mere iteration of gameplay rather than something new or exciting, Nintendo is not even living up to the classic standards it set on its very first home console.

[.....]

After all, we can always go back and play our classics without the need to buy new ones if the experiences have not changed.

You could literally say this for every major developer in the game right now and it would hold true. Part of the reason we keep playing these games is b/c they're somewhat similar to what we've already played, so we can carry over experience from one to the other.

I think people are overestimating "true" revolutionary experiences, because if something were to come out of the sort, there'd be a lot of complaining about coming to grips with its rules and mechanics, and it'd take a long time to get into the swing of it. We're much more fond of iterative experiences that build up on what we already know but work them in new interesting, out-of-context ways. Or just make them look fresh again.

Spoiler

Personally I wouldn't mind a "true" revolutionary experience. I'm a masochist.

In this sense, a Mario platformer is new because few others will make a platform game with a retail budget.

This is very true. There's a major scarcity in the market for platforms, so it'll make any platformer look fresh and new as a result. Just like with fighting games before SFIV brought the genre back, or shmups since...well...since Ikaruga.

 

[Jonm1010]

You could literally say this for every major developer in the game right now and it would hold true. Part of the reason we keep playing these games is b/c they're somewhat similar to what we've already played, so we can carry over experience from one to the other.

I think people are overestimating "true" revolutionary experiences, because if something were to come out of the sort, there'd be a lot of complaining about coming to grips with its rules and mechanics, and it'd take a long time to get into the swing of it. We're much more fond of iterative experiences that build up on what we already know but work them in new interesting, out-of-context ways. Or just make them look fresh again.

Spoiler

Personally I wouldn't mind a "true" revolutionary experience. I'm a masochist.

This is very true. There's a major scarcity in the market for platforms, so it'll make any platformer look fresh and new as a result. Just like with fighting games before SFIV brought the genre back, or shmups since...well...since Ikaruga.

Scarcity of platformers? I just opened my steam app up and saw Rayman Legends, spelunky, guacamelee, fez, super meat boy and mark of the ninja on various pages. My library has a good 5-10 more platformers in it on top of that and I'm not even the biggest platformer fan.

Don't get me wrong, galaxy was one of my favorite wii franchises this gen but its not like the genre is exactly hurting. I guess there aren't many big budget platformer games outside of Mario and I do like that they are still around to provide that. So I do concede that. It's just every other indie title has platforming in it so it feels a little convoluted.

Overall I'm just not satisfied with Nintendo's direction. Mask it up as some claim of classicism or whatever, I just see a lack of innovation and cashing in on known quantities at the expense of risk.

 

[zroid]

Yeah, yeah, I though Kid Icarus was unplayable. Sue me. I tried every control scheme on offer and none worked for me. Only one I COULD have worked with (Slider for movement, Circle Pad Pro for camera) was the only one it DIDN'T actually offer. So I never got to see the end of that game I paid full price for and all I have to show for it is a scratch across the middle of my 3DS touch screen incurred trying to turn the pos camera around in combat.

There's no excuse for the controls in that game.

modern gaming in a nutshell, folks

"I'm bad at it, so it's terrible"

 

[hoopsnake]

Nintendo doesn't have a monopoly on good execution. Players want novel, interesting ideas. If we wanted games that upheld the status quot, then there is plenty of that.

 

[hachi]

The article's use of the term modernism is confused. It's like the author wishes to draw a line between progress--defined loosely--and all neo movements, so that the former is modernism (because... modern means change) and the latter is anti-modern since it makes anachronistic use of prior forms. But in fact, the latter is much closer to the intent of modernist movements in art than the former. Modernism certainly wasn't a faith in the reigning vision of progress within a medium, but a rebellion against it. In the visual arts, it roundly rejected the tendency towards realism; in the video game world, it makes no sense whatsoever to identify modernism with the desire for stability of the medium in its progress towards realistic graphics and increasingly high-budget incarnations of popular genres.

 

[Marlowe89]

Nintendo doesn't have a monopoly on good execution. Players want novel, interesting ideas. If we wanted games that upheld the status quot, then there is plenty of that.

I'm having a hard time understanding this reasoning. To illustrate just one example, 3DS owners really enjoyed the interesting hybrid of 2D and 3D gameplay mechanics of Super Mario 3D Land and constantly asserted (on this very forum) their desire for Nintendo to explore more of it. So Nintendo decides to explore more of it, combines it with a character select feature and gives each character a unique ability along with the co-op feature from NSMB. There are even some stages visibly optimized for multiplayer gameplay so it's not entirely repetitive.

There, boom. But now it's a "rehash" and a part of the "status quo", despite the fact that we already know of Wii U games either released or currently in the works that introduce interesting/revamped ideas, such as Wonderful 101 or Zelda U (the latter is according to Aonuma). And if we didn't get Super Mario 3D World or anything like it, people would simply express their disappointment that Nintendo didn't capitalize on the ideas of the original 3D Land.

I feel like there really is no pleasing some people.

 

[Freezie KO]

I'm having a hard time understanding this reasoning. To illustrate just one example, 3DS owners really enjoyed the interesting hybrid of 2D and 3D gameplay mechanics of Super Mario 3D Land and constantly asserted (on this very forum) their desire for Nintendo to explore more of it. So Nintendo decides to explore more of it, combines it with a character select feature and gives each character a unique ability along with the co-op feature from NSMB. There are even some stages visibly optimized for multiplayer gameplay so it's not entirely repetitive.

There, boom. But now it's a "rehash" and a part of the "status quo", despite the fact that we already know of Wii U games either released or currently in the works that introduce interesting/revamped ideas, such as Wonderful 101 or Zelda U (the latter is according to Aonuma). And if we didn't get Super Mario 3D World or anything like it, people would simply express their disappointment that Nintendo didn't capitalize on the ideas of the original 3D Land.

I feel like there really is no pleasing some people.

People are individuals. People are different. I know it seems sometimes that "everyone" on GAF might be leaning one way, but that's never the case. That's just selective bias of a few posts. So while some may be against 3D World for lack of innovation, others may like it for expanding on 3D Land's potential.

As for your examples of interesting/revamped ideas, it doesn't say much for Nintendo when the two games you come up with are a niche game that was pitched and developed by a company they don't even own and a 2015 Zelda title we really know nothing about.

 

[BigDug13]

I'm glad Nintendo is doing their own thing so to say. They are pretty much the last bastion for kids to have something to play. I'm getting tired of all the 'psychotic', twisted, super violent games. It's also refreshing Nintendo still makes platformers.

While this is true, plenty of indie games have been doing this for years. I guess from a "AAA kid's game" standpoint, Nintendo still wins. But from an overall "games made for children" standpoint, Nintendo is not a monopoly on that.

 

[Prince Vultan]

modern gaming in a nutshell, folks

"I'm bad at it, so it's terrible"

It's controls certainly are

 

[Trickster]

I'm glad Nintendo is doing their own thing so to say. They are pretty much the last bastion for kids to have something to play. I'm getting tired of all the 'psychotic', twisted, super violent games. It's also refreshing Nintendo still makes platformers.

The problem with that is. That Nintendo doing their own thing is why the Wii U is doing as horribly as it is.

 

[akidnamededdy]

Yeah, yeah, I though Kid Icarus was unplayable. Sue me. I tried every control scheme on offer and none worked for me. Only one I COULD have worked with (Slider for movement, Circle Pad Pro for camera) was the only one it DIDN'T actually offer. So I never got to see the end of that game I paid full price for and all I have to show for it is a scratch across the middle of my 3DS touch screen incurred trying to turn the pos camera around in combat.

There's no excuse for the controls in that game.

Lots and lots and lots of people were able to finish the game just fine. It's not the most intuitive control scheme ever, but it's nothing to maim your system over.

You really should finish the game before you try to write it off for the purposes of this discussion. I mean....obviously.

 

[Jachaos]

Reminds me a little bit of that Gamasutra article where they talk about Nintendo embracing the unknown and trying to get the gaming industry a bit less headed all in the same direction and doing the same things. :

[...] It has domesticated the wildness of the present moment in video games, consumer electronics, the internet, and home entertainment by caging them out in the open. It's lurid and beautiful and repugnant and real, like watching Mickey Mouse smoke a joint in the alley behind Space Mountain.

We've all been assuming that games "growing up" means growing up in theme, tackling adult issues, achieving the aesthetic feats of literature and painting and film -- even if by "film" we usually mean "summer tent-pole movies."

But there are other ways to grow up. One involves embracing the uncertainty of one's own form and responding deliberately. That's what real art does, after all. It admits that it doesn't know what art is in theory, but only in practice. It gives the finger to its critics because it doesn't care if they like the results. Some among us keep asking for the Citizen Kane of games. Maybe Nintendo delivered something better, something weirder and more surprising -- particularly for a consumer electronics device. Not craft but soul, for once. Even Apple hasn't succeeded at that.

I like the fact this IGN article raises questions like this because I'm a fan of analysing the art and evolution of our medium. Is Nintendo trying to go in a different way as a response of three carbon-copy of a video game console on the market at the same time has never succeeded? During their interviews, Nintendo have always made it clear they do not feel they're doing the same thing. Nintendo is competing with others but doing its own thing, clearing its own path, bringing its own innovations to something that shouldn't be a race but more of a dance. Motion controls, touch screens, second screens, there's many innovations they've brought to the field.

 

[GreggTheGrimReaper]

I'd say a better analogy would be Harley Davidson.

 

[Giant Panda]

Going into simplicity instead of bloating the extremes of graphics and MORE of everything is probably more in phase of the times than we thing..

Just look att apples philosophy regarding the IOS7:

"Nothing we’ve ever created has been designed just to look beautiful. That’s approaching the opportunity from the wrong end. Instead, as we reconsidered iOS, our purpose was to create an experience that was simpler, more useful, and more enjoyable — while building on the things people love about iOS. Ultimately, redesigning the way it works led us to redesign the way it looks. Because good design is design that’s in service of the experience." - http://www.apple.com/ios/ios7/design/

Or the car industry, going for cleaner simplified design instead of baroque deluxe.


Efficency is the way to go. Thats what the Nintendo Directs are all about for e.g....

The problem is the Wii U is not a simple machine for developers or consumers, and yet it doesn't even have raw power to make up for this.