"Customers do not want online games" - Nintendo

[CptStern]

2 reasons why Nintendo will never be on top of the console war:

1) "Customers do not want online games" - Satoru Iwata President of Nintendo

2) "Game software should neither be exclusively be targeted at children nor adults," he said. "Instead, we will develop software which anyone can instantly understand."

article

IMO Nintendo is being shortsighted...no online play? I personally bought an xbox just for xbox live ...I had a hard time deciding between a ps2 and an xbox...xbox live sealed the deal for me. I never even considered buying a nintendo (not my type of games ...too orientated towards young players...at least that's my perception..there may be many grerat games for nintendo..I dont know)

I rarely buy games for multiplayer alone (multiplayer-only being the exception ). That's all starting to change as more companies create good MP to go with their SP games.

So what do you all think? how important is online play? how do you see MP evolving over the next 5 years?

ps: the main point of this thread is discussing multiplayer, it is NOT a console war thread, please refrain from posting about which console is the best

 

[Shuzer]

My views are consoles should be left single player (or multiplayer at the same location). I can't stand playing my PS2 online, it's just.. meh.

As for your "NINTENDO KIDDIE SYSTEM LOLZ" statement, everyone seriously needs to stop stereotyping the GameCube. There have been dozens and dozens of great games, games that aren't the generic crap I find myself playing on my PS2. Nintendo = innovation, and IMO, that's a good thing.

By the way, shouldn't this have gone in General Gaming?

 

[Maxi]

Online play is the most important aspect of modern games imo. But game makers should NOT forget SP. That's what I manly buy my games for these days. But sometimes I do buy multiplayer only games, like joint operations. Games that have both a great SP and MP are the best imo.

 

[CptStern]

My views are consoles should be left single player (or multiplayer at the same location). I can't stand playing my PS2 online, it's just.. meh.

As for your "NINTENDO KIDDIE SYSTEM LOLZ" statement, everyone seriously needs to stop stereotyping the GameCube. There have been dozens and dozens of great games, games that aren't the generic crap I find myself playing on my PS2. Nintendo = innovation, and IMO, that's a good thing.

By the way, shouldn't this have gone in General Gaming?

no, it's not about consoles, it's about how important multiplayer is

oh and:

ps: the main point of this thread is discussing multiplayer, it is NOT a console war thread, please refrain from posting about which console is the best

 

[Dedalus]

well i think nintendo have either realised there's no way they can compete in the online market, or they're incredibly stupid. maybe they see themselves as the last bastion of quality offline games, where the PC has moved well into the online arena, and MS and sony are following suit.

either way, i don't see a bright future for nintendo. they'll probably end up going the same way as sega, and just appealing to a small niche market.

 

[Some_God]

The only nintendo system I have is the N64... and it ROXXORRED!!! .... especially Goldeneye (best game for console ever)

 

[ShadowFox]

Nintendo will always have Gameboy.. but I can see their next home console being their last with that philosophy.

In the other hand, maybe online games are not as popular in Japan and that is what he is referring to?

 

[Some_God]

DOH.... actually I have two Nintendo systems... N64 and Gameboy... :O

 

[ACLeroK212]

I think the consoles need to follow the direction the pc has taken in terms of utilizing more anti-cheat methods. Things like people using game sharks have tended to ruin what little experience i've had with playing online with a console.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Goldeneye (best game for console ever)

Best Console FPS atleast

ONLINE GAMES SUCK!!!on 56k >_<

 

[Some_God]

If you tell me a game that is better than Goldeneye on the consoles then I will cut off my penis.

 

[CptStern]

If you tell me a game that is better than Goldeneye on the consoles then I will cut off my penis.

Halo ...starting cutting

 

[Foxtrot]

Some people will say Zelda:OOT but I think that is the most over rated game ever, it was fun the first time through(sort of) but after that it was just boring. The only reason I played through it was because it cost me $50 and I wanted to go an play Starcraft multiplayer some more.

 

[CrazyHarij]

Keep consoles to good ol' offline games or something.. I want a keyboard for online games, thus PC.

 

[Alzxul]

Damn straight, how are you meant to do your 1337zor str4f3 bunnYz0rh0pp1ng without a keyboard?! Madness!

Multiplayer is defintely a very important aspect in my gaming life. I like computer games which have the option of multiplayer, but have a deep and involving single player storyline as well. Nothing like jumping on a server and having a few frags with your mates after the seriousness of an SP game.

 

[Foxtrot]

Games like Mechassault are better suited for a console though, and everyone has a way to communicate. Online games work just fine(and somtimes better than on a PC) on a console.

 

[ACLeroK212]

Games like Mechassault are better suited for a console though, and everyone has a way to communicate. Online games work just fine(and somtimes better than on a PC) on a console.

Online games work fine on consoles, yes. But for the most part, there's a much better experience to be had on the pc at the moment. Unless your game supports a mouse and keyboard on your console, you'll never have as much control on a console as you can have on a pc, especially in fps'. Also, mod and tweaking support on the pc makes buying games for your computer a much better value, when considering multiplayer, as opposed to the console where your (usually) stuck with the final build of the game.

 

[Warbie]

I don't agree with Iwata's first point - customers clearly want online play. While it certainly wouldn't be as fun playing Mario Kart online, compared to with friends in the same room, it'd certainly be an attractive feature. This is generally the case with all games, and why people go to all the hastle of LAN parties. However, online play offers convinience, tournies, more challenge, communities etc etc and, more importanrtly, experiences that aren't possible offline.

Online play will become as common and as popular as single player gaming over the coming years. mmorpgs are a sign of things to come, and will spill over into various genres (sports, wrestling, shooters, racing, adventure etc)

One area that will become very popular is online co-op (imo). Games like HL2/GTA/NWN will be produced with the intention of only being played cooperatively. Imagine playing with a group of your mates in a massive, persistant, online city/world, complete with economic and social systems obeyed by 1000's of AI controlled characters. I personally can't think of any type of gaming that could compete with that experience. It'd be the ultimate sandbox (which, when you think about it, is all gaming is )

I completely agree with his second point, though. Just as with movies, a great game is a great game, regardless of its content (was Pulp Fiction written with the intention of appealing to adults - no. Is Toy Story a great flick enjoyed by people of all ages - yes). The Xbox is no more 'grown up' than the GC. Sure, there are more violent titles, more blood, and, as with the the PS2, more 'cool' (in a teenage, gap jeans, kinda way) games.

(Splinter Cell, MGS, Counter Strike etc are as 'grown up' as playing Action Man/G.I Joe. Which is why many of us love them (being big kids who still like to play army) I'd argue that Mario 64 is more, involving, engaging, innovative and enjoyable than any of those titles.)

 

[ShadowFox]

The problem with the MMORPG "revolution" is that as games get more complicated online, they get more expensive. No longer can you play 3-4 different online games at a time when they all cost 15 dollars a month to work.

 

[ailevation]

:hmph: Online play is a must, leave it at that.

 

[Bad^Hat]

If you tell me a game that is better than Goldeneye on the consoles then I will cut off my penis.

Final Fantasy 7

/me hands him a buster sword.

(was Pulp Fiction written with the intention of appealing to adults - no.

Um...

 

[Warbie]

I don't think Tarantino wrote Pulp Fiction to be an adult movie, he wrote a story that he thought would make a cool film - which happened to contain loads of adult content. That's a big difference.

And FF6 > FF7. Golden Eye, of course, owns them both (imho of course )

 

[ACLeroK212]

And FF6 > FF7

quoted for emphasis :thumbs:

 

[CptStern]

I personally can't think of any type of gaming that could compete with that experience. It'd be the ultimate sandbox (which, when you think about it, is all gaming is )

the term "sandbox" will become a new genre just like RPG or MMORG. Some companies are already using this term. The makers of Stalker refer to it as "dropping the player into a virtual sandbox" ..the player creates the gameplay

 

[Warbie]

I hope so. It's about time we see some of this 'emergent gameplay' that developers have been rabbiting on about for the last few years.