Editorial: The assassin's target...

[News]

<P>July 18, 2004: Rules of a Revolution</P>
<P>Nintendo's next system has been code-named Revolution. That is quite a fitting name, I suppose. Nintendo has reached the point where they have to think of something fast to get themselves out of the hole that they have dug. They dug this hole many years ago. Now, with a new system, they have a chance to right the wrongs that they have been piling up for the last decade. Nintendo has the chance now to end their rut and make a new name for themselves.</P>
<P>Nintendo is like a four-year old child. They touch the electric rod that gives them a jolt. They feel it and want more. Nintendo has never really learned from their mistakes. They get out of it for two weeks and then they go back for more. They must like the feeling. Whatever the reason is, this jolt is ruining them from a console standpoint. To help Nintendo, I have put together a list of rules that they should follow. This won't guarantee a victory. But, it might get them out of their rut. Just might.</P>
<P>1. No more arrogance. Let me tell you something, Nintendo. You might go walking around like you know what is going to happen. You don't know crap. If you knew anything, you wouldn't have lost to Sony and Microsoft in back-to-back generations. You wouldn't have pulled out on that deal in 1993 to merge Sony with Nintendo. Most certainly you would not be sitting in third place, watching Microsoft skyrocket past you the same way Sony did. They were consistent and Nintendo was not. More on that later. So, stop acting like you know the video game industry with your next system. Play it up with a little humility next time. You may learn something.</P>
<P>2. Online. Okay, let's face facts. Sony and Microsoft were right on this and you were wrong. Online does have more intriguing facets than we originally thought. Nintendo needs online bad. With online, they get more support and they can do more with games. If they had online, Everything or Nothing might be selling more copies instead of getting yanked off the shelves. Pandora Tomorrow might be more than an afterthought. Online gives you more fan base and it gives games like Mario Kart and Smash Bros. more options.</P>
<P>3. New mascot. Can't be Pokemon any longer. Believe it or not, like it or not, Pokemon has been the Nintendo mascot since 1999. That's about when Nintendo went through the tubes. Nintendo needs a more universal mascot. Mario appealed to a wide audience. Pokemon appeals to everyone below puberty. Halo appeals to an older audience. Jak and Daxter, well, maybe 9-18, but that's better than 6-12. 9-18 buy more games.</P>
<P>4. Wider audience appeal. Coincides with 3, but on a business perspective. Get more T and M-Rated games. Nintendo does appeal to a younger audience. That would be okay, but there is one problem. The average for a gamer these days is not 13. It is 29. Start kissing up to the older gamers. They'll give you more bang for your buck. Trust me on this one. Get games like Metal Gear, Grand Theft Auto, Psi-Ops. Games in that realm. Get more mature games to balance games like Zelda, Mario, and Pokemon.</P>
<P>5. Design. The Gamecube, admittedly, did not do a very good job of attracting gamers. It is a cube. What more can we say? Let's try something a little more modern and a little less kiddy. That means no purple GCN. This isn't Barney. This is Nintendo. This is a modern era. Barney is dog crap.</P>
<P>6. Third-party. Be nice to them. Make them feel loved. Make them happy. Let them do what they want. Don't restrict. You'll make more friends. Get companies like Rockstar, Naughty Dog, Ubisoft, Capcom, and&nbsp;EA into your pocket and keep them there. They'll deliver the goods and they'll make sure that you sell games. Just lighten up a little on this score.</P>
<P>7. Learn from the past. Nintendo made two fatal mistakes with the GCN and N64. One for each. They couldn't keep the game consistency going into the key third year. In 1999, the N64's best games consisted of Super Smash Bros, Donkey Kong 64, and Jet Force Gemini. Wow. PS-X got Hot Shots Golf, Syphon Filter, THPS, Final Fantasy VIII, and Resident Evil 3. That was the ballgame right there. It also doesn't help when the highly touted Castlevania 64 was a walking joke.</P>
<P>Those are the rules. Live by them or start looking at handheld full-time. Not such a bad thing. At this rate, they could rule that market for another fifteen years. Nintendo has one last chance for redemption and they had better get it right.</P>

[dncardman]

I think that's EXACTLY what many many people are thinkin. Well atleast me for sure, would it be possible as the site in whole to send this to Nintendo. Tell them how large the comunity is here and that most everybody wants pretty much the same thing.

[Mach]

Yeah, it does have some major hard hitting points...Good job Pro A.

Also, he took it off the main page so he could add a little more. We'll have it back up there very soon along with a cool highlight.

[dncardman]

Awesome, can't wait to see it. Twas a great read and well written, good job man.

[Mach]

maybe, we'll send this in to nintendo.