On the topic of Legends 3

[thenekomancer]

This week saw kind of a rough bump for the outlook on Legends 3, and I suppose I am somewhat responsible for that, although the response to it was not as cataclysmic as I expected it might be. And in the end, it is just a simple fact: Rockman DASH 3 was removed from the front page of Capcom of Japan. It may mean nothing, and you can read into it

Comments

[kyouryuu]

That's great for you. You are a huge Nintendo fan. I was over Nintendo's franchises many sequels ago. I used to like them, of course. What gamer worth their salt doesn't? But from the GameCube on, they got tired. Nintendo's M.O. as of late has been to innovate on the hardware side and apply that gimmick to an existing stable of franchises. There is very little innovation on the software side of things. If you are a die hard fan of Nintendo's franchises, this won't bother you in the slightest. You'll be happy to go through the paces and defeat Ganon again. But I need more than that to sink my teeth into.

As far as apps, it really doesn't matter what the best-selling app in the store is. Regardless of what the app is, it sells millions upon millions of copies and makes plenty of money for the developer. Sure, a game may be simple, but there are clearly two points to be made here:

- Despite being "simple" to hardcore gamers, this is obviously what a lot of portable users want. In particular, that casual market Nintendo extensively courted with the Wii and the DS. What is Angry Birds but a SNES-era version of Boom Blox?

- Smartphones are increasingly prevalent in society, especially among the tech-savvy demographics that developers target. For most, it is more convenient to game on a smartphone than it is to lug around a Nintendo portable that only plays games.

- Games on smartphones may not appeal to hardcore gamers, but it's only a matter of time. Unreal Engine 3 bloody runs on an iPad, after all. People are also obviously getting over the controls (or lack thereof) in part because developers are figuring out how to make the best of the touchscreen technology.

[woekitten]

There is very little innovation on the software side of things.

Super Mario Galaxy is a game about Mario blasting from tiny planetoid to tiny planetoid in the depths of space. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is about Link as a train engineer.

If you are a die hard fan of Nintendo's franchises

Which millions of people still are (including kids who are growing up with what their parents grew up with). There's gotta be something there, and it goes beyond nostalgia. Your claim that the franchises are "once great" is, as they say on the intraweb, "Just, like, your opinion, man."

Games on smartphones may not appeal to hardcore gamers, but it's only a matter of time. Unreal Engine 3 bloody runs on an iPad, after all. People are also obviously getting over the controls (or lack thereof) in part because developers are figuring out how to make the best of the touchscreen technology.

Not seeing a whole lot of this, and I don't know when/if it'll happen. Most people who buy tablets don't buy them for gaming; instead, gaming is an afterthought.

Also, Smartphone tech dates itself really fast. My iPhone 3G can't play half the games available on the App Store. Given that the phone is barely three years old, that's ridiculous. With my DS (Phat!), I had the assurance that whatever game I bought for the DS line of systems would work on my DS. For a parent who bought their iPhone/tablet for work, how impressed are they going to be when they find out their kids can't play games anymore? They might have to buy a 3DS after all.

I'm not saying that the 3DS has a ways to go before it courts a fanbase, nor am I saying that the smartphone market isn't competition for Nintendo. I'm not even saying that the smartphone market isn't good competition for Nintendo, 'cause that's what the company needs. But I get tired of hearing about how Apple is going to "slaughter" Nintendo. The signs just aren't there.