Topic: Buy Any NPC Games? Stop It!

All the more reason to buy used.

We get in in 20 days time over here in the UK.

The problem would only be for the old fanbase; as much as it pains me to say this, Nintendo's new fanbase are who they care most about. GameCube was dead in the water, even with fanboys' support. Hopefully launching these games to new players will spark some more interest in the series.

Nintendo cannot survive on the hardcore fanbase alone, the GameCube was proof of that. I will support anything that keeps them afloat in the market because I know they will still produce those fantastic games that I love, even if they are delayed.

Alex says
That's fine. We're all unique like snowflakes.

It's just letting others know Nintendo could take more games from last gen, slap on Wii controls, and release them as Wii games and that'd be okay with you.
That's not okay with me so I refuse to support this.

[/quote]

And I concure. Why keep buying something that #1 I already own and #2 already know everything that's going to happen?

Wii was new, exciting, and refreshing. They need to keep it that way. Not keep using redundant material.

Twas good of you to ignore anything else, and then for the part you did respond to you ignored the concept typed out something fairly irrelevent without really making a point. My point was that you pick arguments about silly things rather than you jumping ship. Nintendo releasing Wiimakes instead of new games is fairly similar to Nintendo releases unpopular games in small quantities.

A better thing to argue would be telling people not to buy first party Wii games, since the older ones are better, at a fraction of the cost, and in some cases the rest of the main series is available for less.

The new fanbase could buy these games used. I know a lot of people whose Wii is their first console in over a decade -- for some, first ever. And they are very familiar with bargain bins as they aren't as used to paying $50 for games as we are.
And "getting the new fanbase interested" in a series would be accomplished by releasing a new entry. Either way, the game is new to them.

Except that that that is the exact opposite reason this thread was started, haha. If someone wants Nintendo to keep making new games, which I do, most users here probably do, and AlexSays clearly does, then this is a horrible idea.

I'm almost positive everything else could have been addressed with another comment in these five or so pages.
Either that or I didn't understand something you said in which there's no reason to respond to that anyway. lol

The Virtual Console operates differently than retail.
Here we have Nintendo releasing fewer games, and the few they do release we can already play.

The main problem back then was that people, like you said, had never heard of those unpopular games. Quantity was never debate-worthy because it only required common sense. What developer would release their game with five other games in the same week, when they could have Nintendo release one or two games a week.

Now if people only wanted popular games on the Virtual Console, that would defeat it's own purpose, being that it gives the opportunity to play games we might've missed out on.
A lot of people have played Mario 64, so only asking for those games and not the quirky, unheard of ones seems a bit nonsensical.

Exactly! Either way the game is indeed new to them, but to Nintendo it isn't. Financially, it makes most sense for Nintendo to make these ports.

What makes financial sense to Nintendo isn't what's being discussed though. What's good for Nintendo and what's good for the long-time Nintendo fan aren't necessarily the same. The idea here is that, for those of us who want to pressure them to make new games (and believe me, I don't think rallying people in this thread will have the slightest impact on Nintendo, but it's an interesting discussion) that everyone can enjoy, this series of rehashed games shouldn't be supported.

What makes financial sense impacts on my point though; I think anything that keeps Nintendo afloat should be supported. And I actually enjoy these new games, so I support them. I just think that, to have a proper discussion on the topic, we need to look at the reasons why, otherwise the debates will become rather superficial -- it's effectively taking away the argument for them.

First off, you have no idea what Nintendo's plan is with these games. They could very well be testing the waters with these series again in order to determine whether new iterations should be made.

Secondly, by not purchasing these games, you are not hurting Nintendo in the least, nor are you sending them a message. They have a huge audience by this point, and they're selling these games with full realization that most gamers already played them during their original runs.

In the end, Ninendo will do what Nintendo wants to do. Especially when they aren't hurting for business. In the meantime, I highly doubt that buying these games (or not buying them) will efffect new releases one way or the other, at least in a big way.

Okay now I want to test this. lol

The Virtual Boy and Wii Music should have been supported?

Oh and Nintendo is having no problem keeping afloat, so this isn't a "Oh if we don't buy these rip-offs/quick-cash-ins Nintendo might not make it" situation.

And that could very well be the problem.
People might mistake this for something small, and only realize the full effect when we're reduced to only a couple new games a year, and a constant barrage of NPC titles from every Nintendo system ever released.

As for one of your other points, I'm glad not everyone has had that attitude throughout history. People shouldn't NOT stick up to their beliefs because they think it'll make no difference.

Sure nobody here is trying to keep their seat on a certain bus, but the idea remains.

Hey Alex in the first list that contained 9 games, only 3 were developed by Nintendo, one of which wasn't even a full game.

From the 2nd list of 5 games, 4 are Nintendo developed, one being an enhanced port.

Your arguments foundation has crumbled, what now?

So my way and your way Nintendo is giving us less games?

And your way you're counting remakes as being "Nintendo developed"
That is an interesting way of seeing things.

You think Nintendo remaking more games than making new ones is better.
That is pretty much why you're on the side you're on.

Hopefully most people would prefer having no remakes, and actual "Nintendo-developed" games except ones that require developing. New games maybe? I don't know.

• For the record, Digiki has let everyone know he prefers List B over List A

List A

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
Battalion Wars 2
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Super Mario Galaxy
Link's Crossbow Training
Endless Ocean
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Mario Kart Wii

List B

Wii Music
Animal Crossing
Mario Tennis REMAKE
Pikmin REMAKE
Excitebots: Trick Racing

Those are the games Nintendo has given us, Digiki.
Like I said in my original post.

But if the fans who have already been supporting the series don't buy it because they already have played the game, was it a successful test? Sure, the market has been expanded, so maybe the long-time fans are a smaller market in terms of numbers of consumers, but they are also the ones most likely to buy a ton of games rather than just getting a Wii for Wii Sports and the occasional mini-game collection. I don't think we are completely irrelevant to Nintendo, nor should a company ever stop caring about the fanbase that has stuck with it for years. That would be pretty sucky... not that I'm saying they're doing that now. Hypotheticallistically.

Nintendo had a huge audience from roughly 85 to 95, too. Not as big as now, no, but it was huge for the video game market. And eventually people stopped buying their games and systems as much. Yes, they're doing well, but they're not the invincible creatures they're made out to be. They lost a lot of support during the 64 and GC era, and they responded with the Wii. It could happen again. I'm not in anyway trying to suggest that this NPC issue is anywhere near proportional to that, but it is the same very basic concept, so it's the best example I've got.

I'll go with your numbers and not count the Wiimakes, which makes it an even 3 to 3 (except Link's Crossbow Training isn't a full game, so it's more like 2.5 to 3).

More like if Nintendo wants to remake games they can go right ahead, new games would be better. See the difference between you and me is that, I don't think that people who want new games are at all obligated to pass on the NPC games. You however act like this is the worst thing Nintendo has ever done. Again I'll say you pick the most foolish arguments, preaching against the NPC games like they steal men's souls or something, yet you defended Nintendo on the VC last summer, the last E3, and how the storage problem wasn't a problem.

Nanaki: Deleted. Grow up.

And this is where you're wrong.
You're counting games Nintendo had heavy involvement in, like Brawl, as not being from Nintendo.
And you're counting games Nintendo doesn't need to spend a lot of time with, from what people have been telling me, in those remakes.

You can't count remakes and not count Brawl, Battalion Wars, etc.
It doesn't work that way.

I know I can buy the Metroid Prime games used for cheap, I just want to play them with the Wii controls. I really liked how Metroid Prime 3 controlled. I can't see myself being interested in any of the other NPC games though.

First off, NPC Mario Power Tennis has better controls than any review I've read seems to suggest. Unlike most Wii games, however, they really do work better if you have more room in which to move around as you play. I played the game at a friend's house last night. In their huge living room, it played GREAT! It still plays very well in my small bedroom, but not as much. If you want to argue that it has a learning curve, I won't disagree. But that doesn't make the controls bad. They're actually very good, very precise.

I like that "slapped-on controls" comment, AlexSays. You obviously haven't actually PLAYED these games, or you'd know that they were carefully programmed in with such quality and care that someone buying them for the first time on Wii would never think it wasn't the original version if it wasn't for the huge "NEW PLAY CONTROL" label on the box.

Apparently, adding widescreen support doesn't matter to anybody but me, as I'm the only poster on this thread who's mentioned it thus far. That too was done very well, and is a welcome addition to the games.

I can attribute several things to Pikmin not selling where I work, one HUGE factor being that it's on the TOP SHELF. Stupid place for it, really. Nobody even SEES it up there a lot of the time! Also, the box art doesn't draw the eye where it should for Brawl fans who've never played Pikmin. I know this from talking to a customer who, when shown up close that Olimar is in the game, was VERY interested in the game just because Olimar is also in Brawl. But since the game uses the original box art from Gamecube (plus the garish border which most likely makes people want to ignore the game; need to finish turning the box art inside-out in-store), all you really see is a huge monster. Might turn some people off at first glance. The fact that it is a one-player game is actually also a larger factor than you might think, as most people coming into Gamestop for a Wii game seem to want something for the whole family. I rarely get a chance to recommend Pikmin to anyone for that very reason.

Moving on to Mario Tennis. While it still doesn't sell all THAT well, I think it's doing a bit better than Pikmin. It's on a lower, more visible shelf, for one thing. It's also multiplayer, another HUGE plus on Wii as I've just said. But the main thing keeping people from buying it is fear of crappy controls. Not because of reviews, even, but because they've played OTHER Wii tennis games with crappy controls and think this one will be just as bad, not realizing that Nintendo knows how to program for Wii FAR better than anyone else (some Wii customers don't even understand the idea of publishers and developers, for some weird reason. Not that different from there being a lot of different movie companies, is it?). This, too, is something I've learned from talking with customers.

You glazed right over certain facts for Wii, too. If a Wii customer who's never owned a Gamecube wants to play Mario Power Tennis, we can break down cost. For starters, let's assume they already have enough Wii controllers for every player because they've had the Wii for a few months and own Mario Party 8, Mario Kart Wii, whatever. It's also easier to assume they're shopping at Gamestop and NOT online, as this is the far more common circumstance with such people. To play the Gamecube version, they would first need the game. Assuming the store they're in has a copy, it's still $30 USED! Add to that a Gamecube controller for each person AND a memory card, not even to mention the fact that they'd probably rather have motion controls to begin with, and they could easily spend upwards of $75 to play that ONE GAME! Or they could just buy the NPC version for $30 NEW and go play it.

Take away talking about Mario Power Tennis, and it's STILL a matter of cost and availability. Most Wii gamers don't shop online. This is fact, whether you choose to accept it or not. Pikmin used on Gamecube, IF your store has a copy, is $25. Add to that one Gamecube controller and a memory card, and it's just not worth the cost when there's a Wii version right there! Pikmin 2 is even worse, being rarer and costing $40 IF you can find a copy!

With Pikmin, you could obviously make a new game no trouble. There's got to be room for improvement and/or innovation. Would a random customer walk in and buy "Pikmin 3" with no prior experience with the series? Not likely.

With Mario Tennis, you have to ask how much more they could really do with the series. Mario Power Tennis is so good already that making a brand new Mario Tennis game probably couldn't add much anyway. So adding Wii controls and a couple other minor tweaks to the Gamecube game saves time, effort, and money that might have been wasted on an entirely new product while still delivering excellence to customers.

Meanwhile, these games ARE adding some pretty cool features that may attract "hardcore" gamers like myself (I've bought both NPC games thus far, and plan to get more when they release). Hard to find fault with that unless you're so jaded that you think it's only okay to accept ENTIRELY new games. Given the circumstances surrounding the Wii and the supply of copies of older Gamecube games, it actually DOES make sense in every way to remake certain titles, even though the Wii can play the original versions as well.

If you don't want to buy the games, that's certainly your prerogative. Making up crap about why WE shouldn't buy them either is a waste of everybody's time. I'm almost surprised you brought this up, actually, since I recall you being a defender of Nintendo's "screw our loyal fans" business approach (which, incidentally, I don't see them doing lately; things are looking up for us now!).

Nanaki: Deleted. I cannot be bothered to filter your flaming/bickering.