Top 5: Say What?
by Kaes Delgrego 
{ Nov 24th 2008 at 11:00AM }
Ahh, the quote. Whether used to end an essay or defame a political opponent, the quote is a very versatile tool. Particularly in the era of blogging, every word that escapes a well-known figure's mouth has the potential to be immediately flung back at them. It's quite scary to look back on conversations I've had and consider the possibility of quotes of mine being used to define my character as a whole.
In fact, judgement of character based on a quote can even usurp the validity of the quote itself. Conventional wisdom asserts that singer Lauryn Hill once made a statement to the effect of "I'd rather have my children starve than have a white person buy my album." While this is simply not true, the false statement has been cited by those who would define Hill as a racist. Even Eminem supported the fallacy in a song whose title I won't mention.
Being over a century old, Nintendo is bound to have a few interesting quotes attributed to them. Coupled with a philosophy that is undoubtedly unique and perhaps offbeat, the Big N is not lacking in the department of ear-catching statements. Two weeks ago, I made a Top 5 in which I tried to downplay any tension between Nintendo and its fans. This week, I'm providing cheap ammunition. Enjoy.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up. 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Antonio @ Nov 24th 2008 11:16AM
Now this is a Top 5 I agree with.
I don't think I've heard that Miyamoto quote before, but I have to agree. DKC is a game where you mostly run from left to right and jump on stuff. The boss fights and bonus stages were embarrassingly simplistic. Even riding the animals added little to the game, except giving you a few new moves and changing the way you run and/or jump. The graphics and audio were pretty sweet though.
And the pressure to change SMW2 to reflect the style of DKC must've been frustrating. Any good artist would rather do something new and unique instead of imitating someone's else work.
Oh man and that Yamauchi quote is one for the ages.
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 11:34AM
Well, I'm glad I got one that you agreed with! I guess after 21 of them, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, right? :)
You're right about DKC, it's very simple. But even as a strong supporter of the gameplay > graphics argument, I can still appreciate what Rare was able to do with the hardware of the time. And not just the pre-rendered graphics, but how they were able to create a great sense of atmosphere. And simple gameplay can be quite soothing sometimes. Maybe I'm just simple minded. :)
Thanks for your comments!
Ferco @ Nov 24th 2008 11:19AM
"...you can't argue that Nintendo hasn't taken a 180 degree turn from that time."
More like a 160 degree turn...
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 11:26AM
You're correct; they are missing those extra 20 degrees compared to Microsoft and Sony. I meant strictly compared to themselves. You know, the GameCube, with its single online game. :P
Interesting note off-topic: the servers for the GameCube version of Phantasy Star Online were running up until last April (according to Wikipedia). That's way longer than I ever thought they would!
Razor @ Nov 24th 2008 11:49AM
And if you do a little searching you will find there are rogue servers still running. I've been half tempted to dig out the old cube just for this. It would be neat if the Wii supported this. It would make it a lot easier with the wireless networking.
TheCoats @ Nov 24th 2008 11:31AM
Great Article!
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 11:35AM
Thank you very much! That means a whole heck of a lot to me. :)
bukizzle715 @ Nov 24th 2008 11:39AM
Haha, best top 5 ever! I love Nintendo, but wow. I wish Reggie had that same badass attitude at the '08 E3. Oh well, maybe next year.
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 11:51AM
Thanks so much! I greatly appreciate that. :)
Yeah, Reggie on continuous over-drive like that would be entertaining, but it might be a bit too much for the gaming media to handle. Nintendo doesn't want to have to pay for head-explosion cleanup after every press event.
Mr Khan @ Nov 24th 2008 12:24PM
It's interesting to pit the Iwata and Reggie statements against each other, considering that they were made so close together. The former is like a dying old man's last testament about "those damn kids with their music" and the latter was a declaration of a new era
Though one could argue that Nintendo's philosophy towards online play hasn't changed much. Certainly they have integrated online features into their console quite well, but the fact that friend codes still exist, at all, shows how much they care about player vs. player action. Not that i'm objecting. I feel that online play is a crutch to add replay value to an otherwise lacklustre game, i just harbor no illusions about Nintendo.
Ferco @ Nov 24th 2008 12:40PM
I think that part about online being a crutch is true for some games, but with games like Brawl a good online component is almost crucial.
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 8:16PM
You're absolutely right. For most games, it's just an added bonus. But for something like Mario Kart Wii, it almost seems like the main draw of the game. I find myself only completing regular Grand Prix challenges just so that I can unlock other characters and cars to take online!
Roto13 @ Nov 24th 2008 12:43PM
Laurent Fisher should have been fired immediately for that comment. While I think refusing to copy games to an SD card so you can buy more games you want to play is incredibly whiny and stupid, there's no need for that.
Nigeria @ Nov 24th 2008 1:05PM
I don't know. It was an off the cuff statement, with some truth - at the time - so, whatever.
If we pulvarise every public figure for any slight remark then nobody will ever say anything of substance. People would just parrot the same talking points over and over, there's no interest in that.
Yeah, he was representing Nintendo at the time, so the best course of action would have been to maintain the company decorum, but if that's how he felt then that's how he felt, you know.
I still think he shouldn't have apologised.
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 1:19PM
Nigeria, I totally hear what you're saying ... I would never want to live in a world where all we ever hear are sterilized, pre-approved statements. Spontaneity and organic conversation are incredibly healthy and useful.
But I still think that honesty and maturity are not opposing values. If he honestly feels that only a small amount of gamers want or need additional storage, then say that and back up your opinion. Provide numbers to prove your point. But to insult your customers -- and as we all know, Nintendo has some of the most loyal customers on the planet -- just reeks of arrogance. "You'll give me money no matter what I do." That's the kind of thought that must be in Fischer's head, based on his statement.
Perhaps I'm just proving his point by going on at length about this, but I'm just amazed at his arrogance ... and the "apology" just poured salt into the wound.
But that's why you're exactly right, Nigeria: honesty and freedom of expression exposes an individual's true thoughts and intentions.
Mr Khan @ Nov 24th 2008 2:12PM
I mean, he was partially right in what he said. Given the nature of what is sold on the Shop Channel, a relatively small amount of the Wii userbase has an immediate need for more storage
However, you are right in that Nintendo should smell the money they could be making from these people. Especially someone with particular knowledge of marketing
Garu @ Nov 24th 2008 1:39PM
Is that image from the Golgo 13 NES game? I LOVED that game!
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 8:04PM
Why yes it is! +10 points for recognizing a virtually unknown NES title. :)
SoshiKitai @ Nov 24th 2008 2:07PM
Though very old man of him... Hiroshi Yamauchi's statements didn't go without actual evidence.
People often confuse the idea that gamers are all the same around the world, no matter what the generation or year was.
In America, though hated by many parents, otakus are actually more celebrated here than the ones in Japan (also, otaku has a VERY different meaning over there in Japan). While there are sketchy otaku-types here and there, there are much more in Japan that you wouldn't be surprised if someone told you they just came out of a cold musty cellar, bred by strange creatures such as the kappa. ...of course, it isn't fully their fault, since there are many factors in their culture that would encourage such behavior.
Times have changed though, and they are being accepted a bit more and more now over in Japan.
But that doesn't erase the fact that there are still those iffy-types still stuck inside their apartments, bored as hell and ready to kidnap someone if they had the strength to.
And yes, they are still ONE OF the main purchasers of RPGs and LSGs over there.
I think it was rude for him to mention that for a press to record, but I don't find it ridiculous for him to think such.
SoshiKitai @ Nov 24th 2008 2:13PM
and I mentioned "otaku" many times because that's a large (though somewhat hidden) area of what he meant by "depressed and bored people". :P
Mr Khan @ Nov 24th 2008 2:17PM
RPG's have more or less been counterintuitive to the Nintendo strategy. You can see shades of the NES in the Wii. A handful of games that get propelled into the stratosphere of sales, going where other best-sellers wish they could go, supplemented by a bunch of crap, but also driven by an attempt to re-invent the image of the game console.
The point being that Nintendo has always held this position about promoting fun, active games. Aside from Fire Emblem, the only down-to-earth RPGs they make are for handhelds, and they build them as such, games that you have to invest a lot of time in, but can do so at your leisure, away from your TV set
ChromeAlchemist @ Nov 24th 2008 5:52PM
wow, Kaes Delgrego really seems to be for the people on the comments section, i like it! Have a toffee XD
even though there was a hidden undertone to what Yamauchi said (as arrogant a bastard as he was), i can only say three words to him (who is surprisingly still alive! and the richest man in Japan! WTF?)
Tales
Of
Symphonia
nintendo's highest selling RPG in ages. Nintendo has probably had the most multiplayer RPG's on its consoles and they sell like mad (examples, the tales games, the secret of mana series, and a few others i can't remember), to be honest i think they should publicise multiplayer RPG games more, it goes with the image they have always portrayed of themselves, don't you think? Kaes? Anyone? Jebus?
oh, and soshi, i think the equivalent of otaku to us have a name, WoW players (no offence to WoW players here, but the hardcore ones are basically the equivalent to Japanese Otaku)
P.S Gameplay over gfx FTW
P.P.S F*CK UBISOFT!
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 8:11PM
@ChromeAlchemist: Thank you very much! Toffee accepted. :)
You all bring up excellent points, and in the end I think it boils down to prejudice and assumptions. Perhaps there's a chance that statistically, yes, most RPG players sit in the dark, are alone (aren't most of us when we game?), and perhaps share a level of depression. But even if that's true, you can't generalize if there's even one person who's different. In college, I met a fair number of attractive and sociable girls who absolutely loved RPGs. Sure, it's probably safe to say that they're not the norm, but they do exist. And even those who fit Yamauchi's generalization still have feelings ... it's likely that comments like that won't help the "depressed" part. :-/
m goode @ Nov 24th 2008 6:49PM
I think they should revive some of these old titles for new mobile phones. I would love to see them released for the Motorola Krave. (motorola.com/krave) I especially like the touch screen on it. I've been a fan of this thing ever since I started working with Motorola. It's awesome.
Kaes Delgrego @ Nov 24th 2008 8:13PM
I haven't heard anything about the krave (admittedly, I'm not huge into mobile phone gaming). Is there anything good for it? How does it compare to the iPhone apps?
narF @ Nov 24th 2008 9:57PM
Well. I think Yamauchi is so right.
Yup, I said it!
WrenDragon @ Nov 25th 2008 6:53PM
In response to Kaes in comment #23 up there, I'd just like to point out that I'm a girl that has a job and a social life as well as being a gamer, and I love RPG's. Most of the female gamers I know are pretty fond of RPG's. Nintendo's kind of failing in their mission to bring more people to gaming by failing to cater to certain different KINDS of gaming.