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Macworld's analysis of E3 - Nintendo/MS/Sony are "complacent swine", "out of touch"

(I haven't seen a thread on how the some of the Mac/Apple media have responded to E3, so I felt this was threadworthy. I find it interesting, you might disagree.)

PC World are hosting an article from Macworld (established Apple Mac website/magazine) on their thoughts and summation of E3.

Suffice to say Apple won E3, despite not actually being significantly present at the time.

2010 is the year of the reboot. As I type this on my MacBook Pro in my air-conditioned hotel room in Los Angeles, I've just sat through presentations by three major console companies and I don't there was an original idea among them. The old is new again. Everyone is making motion controller games. Everyone is making 3D games. Everyone is remaking the games that made them famous. Look for new Sonic, Mortal Kombat, Gears of War, Halo, Zelda, Metroid, Medal of Honor, Castlevania, and Twisted Metal in the coming year. I walked the floor of E3 until my flip-flops broke in protest at the mediocrity. When your footwear is sounding off about the originality of your industry, you know you're in a tough place.

Microsoft's presentation on Monday set the tone for the week: There's a new Halo game coming out, but this time with space battles. The entire presentation reminded me of that Simpsons episode where Malibu Stacy gets a new hat. Halo: New Hat is due out sometime in the next year, will likely set some sales records, but will move the industry forward as much as a tractor on cinder blocks.

On Tuesday, Nintendo unveiled its own pageant of the past, where the Japanese gaming giant updated all of the titles that made it famous twenty years ago and this seemingly was something to celebrate. If you want to buy Zelda's Wind Waker crossed with Twilight Princess, Nintendo would like to sell you that game. Nintendo is so willing to sell it, in fact, that its willing to put adult men in front of thousands of people and have them swat pretend swords for your amusement. There were also retreads of Metroid and Kid Icarus and if these titles mean anything to you, that means you probably remember blowing into cartridges to make them work.

The saddest bunny that Nintendo pulled out of its hat was the trailer for a new Goldeneye 007 game. The reveal was met not by wowed enthusiasm, but instead with the sound of thousands of hands slapping a thousand foreheads. Electronic Arts tried to reboot/cash-in the Goldeneye franchise years ago with Goldeneye: Rogue Agent. Rogue Agent was a horrid mess of a game with a great premise; this new Goldeneye title looks like a horrid mess of a game with a bad premise. Nintendo is essentially trying to remaster a masterpiece while updating it with things like Daniel Craig's face.

There is no way the game can live up to the iconic Nintendo 64 first person shooter, and without the original developers from Rare, this new Goldeneye will be as well received as Blue Brothers 2000 or New Coke.

On the show floor, I later played the new Goldeneye 007, and I can confirm that you still can't play first person shooters on the Wii and oh yeah, if you want to remake Goldeneye, at least make sure it looks better than third party mod like Goldeneye: Source.

The Nintendo 3DS will sell like gangbusters but it still doesn't signal that Nintendo has any understanding of how the mobile market is changing. Sure, the 3DS has 3D graphics without glasses--but also without a sense of perspective. That is to say, Apple is eating their market and Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime is sitting in the white Buick with the devil as they go over the cliff, laughing, a la Thelma and Louise.

Sony at least knows that the casual gaming market is gone to them. Apple's SDK can't be beaten by conventional platforms or conventional weapons, so at Sony's presentation, Sony reps took time to mew that their PSP platform is for "serious gamers." Which would explain the declining sales.

The three big console developers, previously unchallenged in their supremacy, have become complacent swine, out of touch with the modern gamer. They keep making games that they already made because they know they will sell, not because they will be challenging, creative, or fun. How many times has Zelda been remade? Do we really need yet another Mortal Kombat, Twisted Metal, or Halo game? The snake is eating its own tail.


I don't have a problem with reboots per say, so long as we also have new franchises, new titles, and new genres to explore. And that what was lacking at E3 this year. While the big boys were wrestling over who had the better motion controls and who could find the most obscure old game they could remake, quietly you began to wonder how long the industry could keep this up. Hiring models to promote your game and giving away free Xbox 360s to journalists is only going to keep the barbarians at bay for so long

I don't see this reality, in which gaming is dying and Apple's game apps are an unstoppable juggernaut on path to effortlessly destroy the big three. I do find it fascinating that some in the Apple media see it like this though.
 

Vinci

Danish
Mama Robotnik said:
I don't see this reality, in which gaming is dying and Apple's game apps are an unstoppable juggernaut on path to effortlessly destroy the big three.

That's because you're not a lunatic Apple fan.
 

[Nintex]

Member
I agree that there weren't many new IP's at E3 but mostly safe sequels. He completely missed the point about the 3DS, it was not made to compete with Apple but to offer something new and different that Apple won't be able to offer for a while. Overall people should be glad that Nintendo isn't active on App Stores because they'd rule those sales charts with an iron fist and eat up all profits in that market too.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
How many times has Zelda been remade? Do we really need yet another Mortal Kombat, Twisted Metal, or Halo game? The snake is eating its own tail.

:-/
 

entremet

Member
DeathNote said:
makes me embarrassed to own an iPhone
Because one writer at an obviously Mac centric Web site is down on the competition?

But on topic, I wonder if Apple has any plans to publish and develop games for their iDevices?
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Well, I hope he has a lot of fun with his amazingly involving, epic, three-minute iPhone games.

But seriously, I just don't see it as the same market at all. The kind of experiences I'm after are not available on the iPhone, it's as simple as that. He doesn't seem to grasp this.
 

Crisis

Banned
genjiZERO said:
what a douche bag (and I like apple products too).

Pretty much. He's just a douchebag. Plain and simple.

Kronotech said:
I love Apple n all... but they need to stop trying to pick fights that they can't win.

This isn't Apple. This is a dumbass Apple fanboy.
 

EVH

Member
Hey guys I have sum Mac Book Pro! Hey! Look at me! What's that noise? Only Apple can make good gaems, not Nintendo.

Blah, tipical Apple fanboy.
 

Kilrogg

paid requisite penance
Vinci said:
Well yeah. They should be more interested in adding Google to that list than any of those three though.

Yeah.

I can understand why the guy would hate all those Nintendo "remakes" from proven game series. They're successful games that you can never ever get on an iPhone, so as long as those games are successful, Apple can never take Nintendo's cake.
 

entremet

Member
Kronotech said:
I love Apple n all... but they need to stop trying to pick fights that they can't win.
Apple did not write the article, bro. It's from an enthusiast magazine/website.
 

Vinci

Danish
Kronotech said:
I love Apple n all... but they need to stop trying to pick fights that they can't win.

If Nintendo had created a phone to compete directly with Apple, I think Apple would've stood a pretty decent shot against them actually. But then, Nintendo's not that stupid.

Sony might be though.
 

Cipherr

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
Holy shit. :lol

"AS I SIT IN MY HOTEL ROOM WITH MY MACBOOK PRO"


Oh and his flip flops, man this guy is so fucking edgy and hip.


People wonder what breeds the crazy anti apple people. This stupidity right here is IT.

Complaining about no new IP's. Every fucking move and kinect game shown built from the ground up count as new IPs, the same way Wii ___ lines were all new IP's. This article is fucking stupid.
 
I cant believe that was a serious article. Reach is actually adding a ton of new features to Halo, to say it is just the same game with a new hat is crazy talk.
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
Vinci said:
If Nintendo had created a phone to compete directly with Apple, I think Apple would've stood a pretty decent shot against them actually. But then, Nintendo's not that stupid.

Box a fighter, fight a boxer.
 

Kilrogg

paid requisite penance
Vinci said:
If Nintendo had created a phone to compete directly with Apple, I think Apple would've stood a pretty decent shot against them actually. But then, Nintendo's not that stupid.

Sony might be though.

Weren't you saying that the PSPhone could be a decent move at some point, or am I not remembering correctly?
 

Skiesofwonder

Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
I find it funny that he remarks about how Goldeneye Wii confirms once again that you can't play first person shooters on Wii (obviously a jab at IR control) when in fact Goldeneye Wii on the show-floor was not playable with the Wiimote and nunchuck, but instead a classic controller. So therefore it controlled just like every other FPS for the last 10 years on consoles: Dual Analog-style.
 

Cipherr

Member
Skiesofwonder said:
I find it funny that he remarks about how Goldeneye Wii confirms once again that you can't play first person shooters on Wii (obviously a jab at IR control) when in fact Goldeneye Wii on the show-floor was not playable with the Wiimote and nunchuck, but instead a classic controller. So therefore it controlled just like every other FPS for the last 10 years on consoles; Dual Analog.


Oh wow this is just excellent, :lol :lol :lol
 
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