Nintendo: Core games are a few years off

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 27th August 2008
Comments (13) Stumble
Nintendo: Core games are a few years off

Nintendo is adamant that it isn't ignoring the hardcore gaming market and says it has more games on the way.

Nintendo has denied neglecting hardcore gamers over the last year and says that it is not just focusing on the casual market for the Wii and DS. In fact, says Nintendo, all internal Nintendo teams are currently working on new core titles based on existing IPs. In other words; lots more Zelda and Mario games.

The bad news? Those games won't be done for another two to three years apparently.

"We have never neglected our core gamers. We still have developers working on popular core gaming franchises but we need longer to complete these games, approximately two to three years," the company told the October issue of Edge (via EG).

"These games are not ready to launch in early 2009 but are being worked on by all development teams."

"If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it's a misunderstanding and we really want to get rid of that misunderstanding by any means," said company president Satoru Iwata in an interview last month.

Complaints that Nintendo have been ignoring fans of the company rose again after E3 when the company failed to announce and future Zelda games.

What do you think of the Wii and Nintendo's appeal to the hardcore and casual audiences? Let us know what you think in the forums.
Quote cjoyce1980 27th August 2008, 11:06
at least there is madworld to look forward too :(
Quote CardJoe 27th August 2008, 11:14
Yeah, from SEGA.
Quote sotu1 27th August 2008, 11:28
the problem isn't just that the core gamers are being ignored (2 years on market and so few core games!? you're kidding!) but the problem is also that we've played Zelda, Mario, metroid etc a million times in a million iterations. Not only do we need new games but we need new IP's.

I'm very tempted by the PS3 and Xbox now. the lack of mature games and less gimmicky games for the DS is what pushed me to the PSP.

Thank the lord that we're getting Madworld.
Quote Diosjenin 27th August 2008, 15:21
See, this is where Nintendo is missing out. Note they didn't say 'hardcore' gamers - they said 'core' gamers. As in the gamers that have been with them all along. And frankly, with the exception of GoldenEye for the N64 and perhaps Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube, I'm not sure I can think of any tier-one games that have ever been released on the last three Nintendo generations that have catered to the *hardcore* gamers as opposed to Nintendo's *core* gamers.

If Nintendo is content with not catering to this market (and with the money they're pulling in from this generation, they very well may be), that's certainly their choice. But they shouldn't be surprised when they keep churning out Marios and Zeldas and then lose the people who play most consistently to consoles that have games with mature plots and realistic graphics.

- Diosjenin -
Quote Saivert 27th August 2008, 15:42
Nintendo has always catered to the children and very young players. This has not changed now and it will not change in the future. They just added "casual" to the mix with Wii which targets gamers at any age really.

This was the same back in the old days with NES and SNES. Third-party game developers made the hardcore games (at least that era's equivalent of hardcore) for the consoles, Nintendo themselves focused on Mario and Zelda.
Quote Phil Rhodes 27th August 2008, 15:44
Either "hardcore" or "core", you're talking about a group of people outnumbered by "everyone else" about 25:1. It's not difficult to see where the business logic in this is going.

And frankly, I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. Wii is a great little device full of good ideas. It's the only games console in which - fer crying out loud - my mother has expressed even the slightest interest.

You want seven-hour-a-game RTS, buy a PC. You want to lark about with your mates, buy a Wii - they're not exactly expensive. What's the problem?
Quote devdevil85 27th August 2008, 17:06
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Rhodes
buy a Wii - they're not exactly expensive. What's the problem?
Actually, for what you get, it can be quite expensive, but it depends on how much fun/entertainment you get out of it. Just factor in that you're going to have to purchase more than 1 remote & nun-chuck to really get the whole party aspect going, as well as a component cable for 480p viewing (for the HDTV owners). Either way, you are right though. It can be "not exactly expensive", but it can also be more expensive for others once you really get into it. Hopefully I made sense.
Quote Mongoose132 27th August 2008, 17:32
Yay, yet more Mario/Metroid games, just what the platforms crying out for...
Quote Fod 27th August 2008, 17:46
Quote:
Originally Posted by sotu1
I'm very tempted by the PS3 and Xbox now. the lack of mature games and less gimmicky games for the DS is what pushed me to the PSP.

Thank the lord that we're getting Madworld.

pfft. just buy em all. that's what i am doing. just got the ps3 to go. alas, i have run out of money atm. stupid HTPC...
Quote reaper1984 27th August 2008, 21:55
Wii want CRICKET! Come on Nintendo!
Quote BurningFeetMan 28th August 2008, 00:13
Does the gamer make the game hardcore, or is it the game that makes the gamer hardcore? Oh I know, let's stop rinsing & repeating this lame and STUPID ideology year after year after year.
Quote LordPyrinc 28th August 2008, 01:32
Like it or not... Nintendo is doing what's best for the shareholders. If casual games and kid games are the real money makers, that's what they are going to go for. I generally stay away from consoles and do all my gaming on the PC. Well...that is if...uh... emulators don't count as consoles do they??? I do love playing Advance Wars and Advance Wars2 from time to time on my PC. Beats trying to stare at it on a small handheld screen.

On the other hand, I've bought my girlfriend close to twenty Nintendo DS titles... I've played none of them.
Quote adamc 28th August 2008, 10:26
I don't really mind Nintendo using the same Mario, Zelda, Metroid franchises. Although they don't offer much in terms of new storylines or characters, you know what you're getting and it will almost certainly be awesome. The fact is that all of the consoles rely on multi-sequel franchises. Look at the big games recently for 360 and PS3 - GTA4, MGS4, Tekken5, Soul Calibur 4, etc

Remember also Pikmin is a relatively new franchise that everyone wants to see more of.
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