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[entremet]

I remember reading Nintendo Power back in the day and they always went crazy about the speculation of the new console. The n64 previews were particularly prescient, taking about CG style graphics. The GameCube previews also showed off its power and was beast as well, only hindered by the storage media.

It wasn't until the Wii that all that went out of the window. Under Iwata, Right now Nintendo is known for not pursuing bleeding edge tech, and while I understand the reasoning in economics, I do miss Nintendo's previous design philosophy.

So as an older fan, I never got justifying weaker systems. I thought the Wii's original design philosophy was severely disappointing, especially after getting an HDTV.

 

[MikeE21286]

I'm always excited about the new and shiny. I wish Zeldas and Metroids and Marios were up there. But they're not...

 

[Interceptor]

I bragged with megahertz about the ultra 64 in highschool. Nowadays i just want to play fun games.

 

[Samurai_Heart]

More frustrated that 3rd party support will never near SNES levels again XD, which is what everyone kinda wants but know won't happen =S

 

[Jaded Alyx]

No. They still find ways to make their games as amazing as ever.

 

[A Twisty Fluken]

I am a fan of games, not tech.

 

[Tiu Neo]

Kinda? To tell the truth, the dated hardware it wouldn't be that bad, if Nintendo didn't make some outdated and/or decisions on the SO, network and store too. There's also the fact the console receives mostly downgrades instead of ports, and even those are quite rare sometimes.

Of course, their games are awesome as always, and that is what Nintendo fans, me included, care for.

Region-lock is far more frustrating.

THIS. A hundred times this.

 

[Devilgunman]

Region-lock is far more frustrating.

 

[TheOddOne]

Nintendo is still all about that gameplay and art. IMO I don't mind it at all.

 

[JAYSIMPLE]

nintendo makes their tech look amazing with every game they make. I have no worries that the wii u versions will blow me away. Just like mario galaxy floored me, even tho i could play HD ratchet and clank, mario galaxy was still amazing

 

[Alcibiades]

Yes but what can you do? At this point I'm looking forward to the Wii 3 down the line and hoping it can deliver PS4/720 type performance in a package Nintendo deems business-viable. If Wii U and the other next-gen systems all utterly bomb, I can see Nintendo trying for a new system faster than the 5-year timeline.

 

[pixlexic]

No. They still find ways to make their games as amazing as ever.

This

What find frustrating is how a lot you guys weigh a games worth by its shader count.

 

[Kouriozan]

I'm still having fun with Nintendo games so nope.

 

[javac]

More frustrated that 3rd party support will never near SNES levels again XD, which is what everyone kinda wants but know won't happen =S

That's more to do with the fact that Nintendo don't have a stranglehold on the market like they did previously.

 

[farnham]

if i want hightech i play pc

 

[cw_sasuke]

Could be worse, so no.

 

[Laguna]

Simple answer, Nintendo DS.

 

[Brera]

I could forgive them over the wiiu if they increased their output to take advantage of not having bleeding edge tech and budgets.

 

[IrishNinja]

More frustrated that 3rd party support will never near SNES levels again XD, which is what everyone kinda wants but know won't happen =S

this, way more than the tech - as has been said, they still make games i enjoy.

it's just been quite a while since i bought one of their systems for other people's games...don't get me wrong: GC, Wii etc have had a handful of some absolute gems from 3rd parties, but nowhere near the level even the DS saw, for me.

 

[SmokyDave]

Better tech does not in any way stifle 'fun' or 'gameplay'. In fact, it can enable those things. I'm continually befuddled by the notion that good graphics and good gameplay are mutually exclusive.

 

[Erethian]

The performance of the GC killed their tech ambitions, and also coincided with Sony and Microsoft adopting more expensive hardware sold at much greater losses than was historically the case. At least in Sony's case, anyway.

I mean sure in a perfect world it'd be great if their system was at parity with the other platforms, but economic feasibility has meant that those days are long gone.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Remember those 10 separate Wii-U speculation threads where the console's rumored power was hyped to hell and back, the mere mention of the Wii-U being at PS3/360 level hardware got you laughed out of the thread back then.

I wonder where all those guys went or how they adjusted. Expectations were so immensely overblown.

I could see the same things happening with the current Durango/Orbis speculation, honestly.

 

[Foffy]

Not really. You can have a monster under the machine, but if the game isn't fun to play I don't care. I had more fun with Super Mario Galaxy than anything on the bigger, more powerful machines.

 

[Bidermaier]

what I find frustrating is when I see companies ignoring Nintendo "low tech" and then going out of business because they could not afford to have a single failure when making high spec games

 

[massoluk]

Don't know, their handheld line never felt bleeding edge, and we were fine. SNES and GC also for that matter. They felt top of the line back then but in retrospect.

 

[Neifirst]

Yes, it did become frustrating on the Wii once I got Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It just wasn't the showcase kind of game or series anymore.

I'm not getting the same sense with the Wii U though, if only because there isn't any console out there right now that is markedly superior.

Also, don't overlook the impact of how terribly LCD TVs displayed 480p graphics - it just made the situation that much worse for Nintendo on the graphics front the last six years. I think Wii U games will always look nice due to the 720p resolution, and they may even be jaw-dropping from time to time in the hands of a good developer given enough time.

 

[one_kill]

Like some have pointed out above, the games are what counts; and Nintendo at least delivers on that count in my opinion.

 

[NotLiquid]

Tech certainly isn't everything but being able to play Nintendo Land in the beautiful amount of fidelity and seeing The Wonderful 101 in action, all of which would have been impossible to capture on the Wii, makes me a bit frustrated that they didn't make the switch sooner. Nintendo houses the only consoles that see these kind of colorful games on a constant regular basis so seeing these kind of graphical styles finally be fully realized is awesome and I can't see what they do when they go all out on the next 3D Mario.

I'm not so miffed that Nintendo are falling behind on the tech race this time because we've not even scratched the surface of new game play tech in action to make a good estimate as to how yet another leap would affect Nintendo's games, so I'm happy with the head start for now. As has been said, Nintendo are all about the games themselves and they know how to make it count.

 

[orioto]

People will tell you GC was a failure blah blah blah.
But to be honest, even if i'm the first to be sad about Nintendo diversion, i'm not sure running the graphic race would benefit them.

It would also need them to run the software race. And i mean by that, the WiU's star should be something like a crazy metroid, developed for a long time, and using everything modern videogame has learned in recent years to put the bar higher.

The real problem is Nintendo doing games like a gift for fans, in a conservatory way. They are not trying to be in advance (except for the gimmicks) with their major ips. They just feed their fans hoping it will continue forever.

 

[gar3]

Nintendo took its handheld philosophy and applied it to its consoles. Meh, as long as the game quality is there I'm OK with it. There's also something to be said about trying to make the best games in a limited environment. Working within boundaries and trying to maximize those boundaries can sometimes result in a superior product. Not saying it happens all the time or even most of the time, just saying it could produce a better overall product.

 

[zsidane]

When I look at how the PS3 is treated vs. how it was introduced to the world (cell), it's obivious that we are living in a different wolrd compared to 15-20 years ago.

Nintendo did drop the ball with the Wii, but everyone's ages behind the PC. It's like fighting for the distant 2nd place I personnaly no longer care when I see how Nintendo still manages to produce fun and quality games

 

[smr00]

I bragged with megahertz about the ultra 64 in highschool. Nowadays i just want to play fun games.

This.

Tech? Don't give a shit, just give me fun games.

 

[daripad]

The frustrating part of it is not getting some third party titles like Metal Gear, Rockstar games, etc.

 

[Respawn]

Could be worse, so no.

Okay you have my attention. What game is this?

 

[teeny]

Not really.

Even as a kid, I was still playing NES games when peers were playing their Megadrives. The disparity in graphics never bothered me. Even now, I can play Nintendo 64 and PS1 games and still be impressed with them on a technical level for the hardware they are on.

The same is true for the Wii and will be the same for the Wii U. It doesn't matter how great the graphics are on the next Sony and Microsoft consoles, or on PC, I reckon Zelda and Mario and everything else will still look gorgeous the way that Galaxy and Wind Waker do, for extreme examples.

 

[big_z]

old tech bothers me not because i care about having more sparks in my games but the fact that it kills off most of the 3rd party developer support.

 

[Kouriozan]

I wonder where all those guys went or how they adjusted. Expectations were so immensely overblown.

Most of those guys are banned now.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

It was a tiny bit frustrating after getting a HDTV, but in the end all that matters is good games.

 

[Shion]

Yes, I hate their low-tech approach.

I miss the old, ambitious, Nintendo that pushed both tech and game design in their games.

 

[sajj316]

Simple answer, Nintendo DS.

Not about sales, but tech. Nintendo DS offered fantastic games and sold well. I just wished there was a bit of anti aliasing ...

 

[daripad]

Okay you have my attention. What game is this?

It is X, there is a thread of it, and it was recently announced at nintendo direct

 

[Kageshinzo]

From an outside gamer's perspective (I didn't get any consoles this gen; the last console I bought was the PS2), I think that Nintendo focused more on gamer experience than the tech itself, like Sony and Microsoft did. In my opinion, Nintendo is the last true hardware gaming company in the sense that their products are more into what a player can experience as a gamer as opposed to the multimedia experience that is the PS3 and the 360.

...It's really weird saying that considering that the last Nintendo hardware I got was the Famicom.

 

[Blutonium]

Not as frustrating as the endless milking of shitty (Mario)franchises. The WiiU seems like a good machine though - on a technical level - and the recent anouncements of new games seem very interesting to me.

I skipped the Wii for obvious reasons, but damnit, I want a WiiU now.

 

[Business]

Not really. You can have a monster under the machine, but if the game isn't fun to play I don't care. I had more fun with Super Mario Galaxy than anything on the bigger, more powerful machines.

The point is that more horsepower could have made this same fun experience even better if anything, not worse. So yes I would prefer Nintendo to deliver cutting edge graphics as they used to. I still enjoy their games though.

 

[chertipros]

I was when the wii was announced, and again when the Wii U was announced. But later on when I purchased both systems I realized I didn't really care that much how powerful they were and just wanted some good games to play

 

[Laguna]

what I find frustrating is when I see companies ignoring Nintendo "low tech" and then going out of business because they could not afford to have a single failure when making high spec games

Yes, this is really sad, this gen has been a graveyard for many studios and publishers.

 

[AOC83]

Yes, i´d rather have them doing a reasonable jump over 360/PS3.

 

[speedpop]

I've been playing Nintendo games since the SNES days. I've also been playing on PCs for a far longer period of time. If I wanted high-tech it was never going to be with a console & handheld manufacturer.

 

[JustAnotherOtaku]

Once I stop enjoying their core games is the only time I'll be worried.

 

[Team Filler]

It's not that they don't try for bleeding edge tech which frustrates me, no. I have a PC for the high-end graphics.

What upsets me about Nintendo is they keep stealing our games.