160°

Nintendo Makes Games, Not Art According to Iwata

Games and customer satisfaction will play a major role in redeeming Wii U.

PopRocks3593916d ago (Edited 3916d ago )

"Creating is like an expression of egoism. People with a strong energy to create something have a 'this is the strength I believe is right' sort of confidence to start from. Their standpoint is that 'this is the right thing to do, so this must be what's good for the customer as well.' But the final goal of a product is to resonate with and be accepted by people. You can't just force your way through. By saying 'the point is to be accepted' I mean, if you go to a customer with your idea and you realize they don't understand it, it's more important that they do and you should shift your idea."

Direct quote from the article. It's good that Iwata takes game development this seriously. Better to make sure your audience understands your craft than to force them to engage in something they won't get. Hopefully this will reflect in the upcoming and later future Wii U releases.

Starbucks_Fan3916d ago (Edited 3916d ago )

I still think he and Nintendo make the most high quality games. I buy Nintendo systems just for the exclusives, even the Wii U. 90% of my games from Nintendo systems are Nintendo franchises.

Aery3916d ago

"Creating is like an expression of egoism."

Maybe for you Iwata ... not for me and a lot of other creative people.

mii-gamer3916d ago (Edited 3916d ago )

Iwata was once a developer for hal laboratory - naturally he would think like one. I like iwata - he runs nintendo as a company that foremost concentrates on making great games- and not a company that uses games to rip gamers off (looking at EA)

andrewer3916d ago

I like him too, he is a very good example. BTW, I hate EA too haha.

Misaka_x_Touma3916d ago

His main goal most of time is Executive Director or Producer.

_QQ_3916d ago

Game development can be considerd an art,an art which Nintendo can be considerd a master of.

PopRocks3593916d ago

Even masters may not see their work as art. Hideo Kojima is considered by many to be a cinematic/game design genius and he's gone on record to say that games are not art.

It's all subjective in the end. If you think games are art, then they are. In their cases, it's something else.

brewin3916d ago

Awesome posts Poprocks! I agree with you! Bubble up sir, it is well deserved!

TongkatAli3916d ago

No one is putting a gun to someones head telling them to buy the game "like my idea or else". I see that from Nintendo stance they make games for everyone, but not everyone is going to be for the family friendly games.

3-4-53916d ago

Yea the Japanese are more respectful people in terms of taking things seriously.

3916d ago
ChickeyCantor3915d ago (Edited 3915d ago )

I've said it before

"Better to make sure your audience understands your craft than to force them to engage in something they won't get."

I still don't get why Mario catsuit is moving the mario franchise forward. But F-zero is in the archives because they believe current ideas makes it too stale to move the franchise forward. Even though if we got another F-Zero GX I would be completely content.

It's such a hit and miss with Nintendo. They damn well know what their consumers want, but in a way, still force their "We know what is right for you".

I think Iwata is being a bit of a hypocrite. ( I've defended him numerous times when people say he is the downfall of Nintendo and should resign, the hypocrisy is more geared towards Nintendo in general )

Mind you, I love their key franchise, I simply can not deny the sheer reluctance when it comes to making some obvious decisions. Nintendo does force their philosophies on people. So not sure what Iwata is rambling about.

Nintendo knows their business and they know business all too well. That's why they are still standing. But let's not forget that it took them 8 generations to level with what Sony and MS are providing for gamers in the long run ( In the long run it's a few generations, I'm more talking about the progress Nintendo makes ). Wii tried it at Online, where Mario kart worked great and Brawl was a cesspool of crappy online play. It's their stubbornness and their way of forcing their thing on the consumer that is leaving a bitter aftertaste. Nintendo can be so much more. I wanted Online play for F-zero GX back in the days. Wasn't there, because they strongly believed in Local multiplayer ( THEY STILL DO ). Pikmin3 doesn't have online play because:

"IZ HARDS TO PROGRAMS ALL DA PEKMON AND SYNCRONAIZ THEM LOL" ~ Miyamoto,

while PlanetSide 2 takes 1000+ online players at once in one huge battlefield.

Seriously, I'm not hating on Nintendo. I love them, but FFS their logic is flawed as hell in so many scenarios.

I'm just sitting here waiting for Bayonetta 2 and Mario Kart 8...blergh

RicardJulianti3915d ago

"I still don't get why Mario catsuit is moving the mario franchise forward. But F-zero is in the archives because they believe current ideas makes it too stale to move the franchise forward."

It's much more than that though. What the Wii U needs right now is a larger install base, and things like Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda are going to boost sales. Once the install base is larger, they can delve into the older franchises and more niche ones like Star Fox and F-Zero.

Don't get me wrong, I would love a new F-Zero, but now is not the time. I'd expect to see quite a few older franchises return on the Wii U. An HD 1080 Snowboarding using the balance board would be awesome, Star Fox in the same vein as SF64 would be incredible...especially if Platinum was allowed to make it, Metroid will return. They absolutely have more in store for us, they are just focusing on what is coming out in the near future.

As for Pikmin and online....it is much more complicated than Planetside even without having 1000 players. In PS, it functions as it does in Halo....player positions, vehicle locations, damage etc is sent to each player. With Pikmin, not only does it have to relay the 100-200 Pikmin, it has to calculate their AI, the enemy locations and their AI, pellet/fruit locations, and player locations.

Also, it started as a Wii game so that might have something to do with it. I'd enjoy online, but the leaderboards and Miiverse are enough for me....co-op and bingo-battle could happen in the next installment. Nothing we can do about it now.

ChickeyCantor3915d ago (Edited 3915d ago )

@ricardJulianti,

It's irrelevant to their nonsense reasoning why they arent developing F-zero. They have no real excuse not to.

And you clearly have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to the complexity of online games. Nintendo has no excuses. There are all sorts of techniques to make both game clients communicate and synchronize.

Pikmin did NOT start as a Wii game. It started as a Gamecube game. That is still not a reason. It's just Nintendos incompetence.

miyamoto3915d ago (Edited 3915d ago )

Direct quote from Mr. Satoru Contradiction Iwata:

"We are to blame. We relaxed our [marketing] efforts, so the consumers today still cannot understand what's so good and unique about the Wii U. Because we're always trying to be unique, it takes some energies on our side to [make] people understand the real attractions about whatever we are doing.

We have been unsuccessful in coming up with one single software with which people can understand, 'OK, this is really different.'

http://www.nintendolife.com...

You call that serious about game development?
Maybe he should have thought about it before even revealing the Wii U.
Maybe he should walk his talk.

Good thing I prefer artists who make games, like Naughty Dog. They progress with forward thinking not backwards or stuck with the same toys for kiddie boys demographic since day one.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

PopRocks3593914d ago

Considering Nintendo kicked their own asses into high gear and are having a game release every month starting today, yeah, I'd say they're now taking development very seriously.

Oh look, the "kiddie" argument. Tell me, how mature does your copy of Gears of War or Black Ops 2 make you feel?

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 3914d ago
Kalebninja3916d ago

my extremely high respect for nintendo just dropped if they say they dnt make art and theyre JUST games i guess the zelda series was an accident and they dnt think of it as anything more than a GAME now im positive that the only thing myamoto was responsible for with zelda was the idea and my appreciation for the series shouldnt go to him since he doesnt even respect it himself

rigbybot1273916d ago

All games are still games at their core, and it's good that Nintendo understands this.

3916d ago Replies(2)
jairusmonillas3916d ago

Nintendo makes the best kiddie games in my opinion. That's all there is to it, it's not on par with true masterpiece games like MGS, Final Fantasy, TLoU, GTA5, and alot more. Most Nintendo games are for the casuals not for gamers.

ibroman3916d ago

Kiddy games huh? How come 5 year olds now cant even finish the first level of the original Mario bros?

TongkatAli3916d ago (Edited 3916d ago )

5 to 12 is considered kids. You're not only a kid when you're five : /

My friend told me he beat the first lvl of Mario Bros when he was three years old, that's what his older brother told him.

bass4g3916d ago

I agree nintendo games aren't really kiddy (they just have a joyful aesthetic) but you do know that the article that said that was a joke article.

jcnba283916d ago (Edited 3916d ago )

The only kid I see here is you trolling on a NIntendo article. Grow up, you give sony fans a bad name.

Salamander3916d ago

Shutup dipshit. Thats all there is to it.

_QQ_3916d ago (Edited 3916d ago )

MGS,TLOU,FF, GTA5 are all baby games none of those are rated adult only and thats all there is to it, i only play Ao games. grow up kid.

TheDivine3916d ago

LOL @ calling GTA a masterpiece. Even TLoU (which I loved) isn't anywhere near a masterpiece. I lost interest and moved on to SMT4 3/4 of the way through.

Comparing GTA to Metroid Prime, OOT, ALTTP, Wind Waker, Xenoblade, Super Metroid, Paper Mario TTYD, DKC, Earthbound, Fire Emblem Awakening, Majoras Mask, Super Mario World, Mario 64, Path of Radiance exc is insulting. Your card should get pulled for speaking such blasphemous words of ignorance on a site for gamers. A gamer would love Nintendo because your not a gamer unless you've played Nintendo. If you actually play Nintendo you can't help but love them.

Btw try to beat Fire Emblem on Lunatic. Beat a Zelda, any of them. Beat the final boss of Metroid Prime 2, it makes Demons Souls seem like a game for puss**s. Try to get 100% on Super Mario World or find every star in Mario 64. Only a prepubescent casual would say Nintendo is for casuals.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3916d ago
unknownbystander3916d ago

"I think it's important to consider the context of Mr. Iwata's statements as well as the question of what is being referred to as "art" here. If by "art" you're meaning "making games that are mostly on-rails with hours of non-interactive, high-definition cutscenes", then you're saying games should aspire to be more like films (which are more readily accepted as art by the mainstream public). And there are indeed plenty of those to go around anymore; nowhere is that as evident and emphasized as it is at E3.

Nintendo makes games. They don't make high-def televisions, computers, operating systems, or other mass electronic devices as their competitors do, so their philosophy doesn't require compatibility and cross-marketability with them. Though we're only just now seeing what a Nintendo game looks like in HD (awesome in the case of Pikmin 3, Zelda: Wind Waker HD, Mario Kart 8, etc.), visuals and the non-interactive aspects of their products have never been as important as the core game design, mechanics, and innovation itself to Nintendo. Sadly, that often goes overlooked by gamers who look only at technical specs and whether something is 1080p or not.

I love all my systems I've had over the years and have no bias against Sony or Microsoft, but I would argue that the real "art" in Nintendo's games is the sheer craftsmanship and genuine love that goes into them, regardless of the visual elements."

-by AtlantisAuthor (IGN Article Commentor)

Show all comments (36)
80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1019d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref8d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde8d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19728d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville8d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21838d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos8d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 8d ago
isarai9d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref8d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan8d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0077d ago (Edited 7d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19729d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

9d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19729d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

9d ago
9d ago
Zeref8d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde8d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19728d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19728d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier8d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto8d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21838d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto8d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 8d ago
Hofstaderman8d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts8d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts7d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic8d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
90°

Nintendo's War Against Player-Made Content Will Hurt The Company In The End

Danish from eXputer: "Nintendo has historically gone against player-made content and emulation of its games. This has done much to harm the company's image."

XiNatsuDragnel15d ago

I agree nintendo hire some these folks to help in your games it'll help imo.

banger8814d ago

They need to stop announcing these mods and fan remakes until they're finished. Finish it, upload it, and then if Nintendo dmca's it tough shit. Once it's online, people can share it around, even if the original download gets taken down.

Jingsing14d ago

True, but most modders need constant admiration during the process to motivate them.

PRIMORDUS14d ago

Yup, once it's a torrent nothing can be done Nintendo is helpless at that point. But it would be wise if they just had a site on the dark web, it's also easy to use with Tor and no one will bother you.

mastershredder14d ago

This is all coming from the mouth of short-sighted fandom and grifting madness.
No.... it wont. There is a clear defined reason why they don't. This is nothing new. Make your own shi7 from your own original ideas especially if you are trying to capitalize of it it. Duh.

Yeah, hire people that have zero respect or understanding for an established process. Wow. Yep. Totally makes sense.

shinoff218314d ago

Those guys that made that sonic game got a gig from sega or something along those lines and that game was dope as hell. One of the best sonics as of late.