WOW, some examples uh? First off, ED stated many of the issues I have had with certain games, so I could leave it there, but I'll give some of my own thoughts as well.
Let me first say that even when "N" made less than stellar games 20 years ago, the games where still better than most, as their level of game making was so high over others in the industry, even a turd shined over the competition. But as in any industry, you get to a point where kids who grew up inspired by them, are now making games, and where once so-so games did OK, now the level of quality from many different sources is just off the charts, and they are pretty much still just making the same games again and again, often making them worse than previous titles.
So as an example, lets go with 2D Mario titles. Let's start with the DS Super Mario Bros, an excellent title not really doing anything new, but had a level of polish and was nice to play. Now look at the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS versions and you'll see pretty much the exact same game, with the only changes being whatever the newest system offered in regards to uniqueness, so the Wii version now has motion controls, or the 3DS game now has 3D, but each game is the same.
Now like I said, 15-20 years ago, that was fine, as an average Mario title was better than most, but now we have a title like Rayman Origins, a 2D platform that is filled from top to bottom with content, and just flat out fun as hell. And where that game shined, within 2 years a sequel was made that was just as nice, with new and added elements(new areas, new mechanics, new challenges, etc.). If I'm playing 2D Mario I'm now playing the same water, desert, ice and boss levels of 30 years, and a boss in 2D Mario games is always 3 hits to kill unless it's Bowser, and that hasn't changed in forever(no surprises anymore).
Another example would be Mario Kart, a decent series, and it's kart racing, so how much can really be done? Enter the DS game, an excellent MK title that added in an Awesome single player challenge mode, that was almost a whole game on it's own, along with online play and the standard set of tracks. Now that game did have some cheating online due to "snaking", but since this was "N" first MK online, they can be forgiving in regards to that, as you don't know what's possible in that arena until it happens, so not a big deal. But instead of keeping and expanding the challenge levels in new games, it was completely remove, and the game has all but returned to the same game as every version before. Sand, ice, water maybe a few new weapons, and some new gimmick like driving on walls, and you have the same game as before being sold for 50-60 dollars.
Now, let's look at Sonic Transformed from a few years back, now not as polished as Mario Kart, but I played it for 2 weeks straight when it was released, and I didn't come close to unlocking all the content that game had to offer, and within 1 week, MK would be over, everything unlocked, and now I'm stuck playing that crap online game with "blue shells", no thank you. Now where SEGA doesn't have the resources or talent pool that I'm sure "N" has, but they offered a killer game, at a discounted price, that to me is better than any MK game except for maybe the DS one.
And Sonic Transformed was the closest I think I have come to a kart racer that rivaled Diddy Kong Racing of N64 fame. Rare at their best, understood how to take a great "N" title, and improve it any every way, shape and form, and we got great new titles like Banjo and Diddy racing. They really did make "N" look bad at the time. Sadly they went down the drain as well, but you can see what should have been done in regards to improving popular titles.
As ED stated with Zelda WW, it' has tons of "filler" to stretch and pull the game in to length, instead of actually have real "content", and while WW was a beautiful game, this was the beginning of the new "N" you now see. Lazy short cut game production. Like I said, it wasn't a bid deal ages ago, but now I play Indie titles that are better than most "N" titles now, and that's not counting the other big name developers in the industry.
Lets take a look at Mario Sticker Star of the 3DS from a few years ago, my GOD what happened here. I don't even know where to start with that game, while nice and polished in graphics, I couldn't get half way through without throwing my hands up and wondering if a child had made the game. There is no rhyme or reason to almost anything in the game, puzzles that even with a guide, you want to punch someone in the nuts as they make no sense at all, and the list goes on and on. Now I'm all for trying new things, and sometime things work and sometimes they don't, and over the years, I've seen many game from many publishers that are scrapped years in to production as an idea just isn't working, and I think at a time "N" lived by this level of thought, but now they seem "desperate", and some of the game choices really reflect that. As some games should never be released as they are.
Now lets move on to two of my favorite IP's, Star Fox and Punch Out! Now in our industry, there are many games by publishers that get new releases annually, games like CoD or Sports games, where only new stats and basic elements see change. And titles like this sale solid numbers to their loyal followings. So with 2 games like SF & PO, these are basic titles that should see annual releases as the base gameplay should never change and just new elements like levels or fighters could be added, and a great, while not new game is released and you sale it to a fan base that is happy.
But instead, we get a new PO game once every blue moon, and while there have been many SF titles over the years, only the first two where worth a damn. You get the new Star Fox that was only really made, not because Miyamoto had great new ideas, or story, or anything he wanted to do, but Iwata was under share holder pressures due to the Wii U having this expensive controller that did NOTHING for games, but add an extra screen that worked better with the DS line. So we get ZERO, a game that was made really just to show what the tablet could do, but instead of offering anything "NEW" in regards to the actual game(as it was pretty much the N64 game remade), we only get new controls which in practice breaks a game, that was fine in regards to control.
Why does "N" insist on fixing what isn't broken? Then when a title like this sales poorly, "N" loves to blame fans as they didn't support the game, so then they tell everyone how the game wasn't supported, so they won't do any new titles. What complete and utter BS! You make a turd game, and then instead of saying we fucked up, and apologies and say we thought fans would like this, but we should have just stuck with what works, they instead play the blame game like my 10 year old when he gets in trouble, it's really a joke at this point. Now if that same game came out in 12 months, and sucked, and was $20-30 dollars, fans would probably have a different mind set, but when something like this takes 2-3 years to produce, and cost full price, its a sad state of affairs to say the least.
Alright guys, there's some of my thoughts, and I've gone on way to long, as I have work and family responsibilities to tend with, as I can't give excuses to why I didn't get something done today(like you know who). LOL
Chris
[doublepost=1477926702,1477920626][/doublepost]OMG, I almost forgot one of the greatest examples I could show of low quality and that goes to their 3D Classic line-up of games, which was all but abandoned on their own 3D device due to poor sales of the crap games that where released at a premium price. We got Urban Champions which was a terrible game when it was released, but for some ungodly reason, they decide to offer it in 3D, and charge good money for it. They gave what I consider to be a low level of effort, and the sales reflected that, and as I already stated, they blamed the masses, and scrapped the line. Who here wouldn't want an original version of Mario Bros or Punch Out in 3D? But they give us Excitebike, Urban Champion and Kid Icarus(which was the only game they even tried to improve).
SEGA's M2 division has made some of the best 3D games available for the 3DS, and there are several games that are the best versions available anywhere including the arcade versions.
Read this:
http://blogs.sega.com/category/sega-3d-classics/
This shows someone taking care to preserve a rich history of great games and memories, and then you look at what great games "N" has in it's history, and the games they chose to offer in 3D, and you'll see it done right and how it is done wrong. Like I said above, no way in hell does SEGA has the man power and resources of "N", but you can see here how one is being true to their history of games, and the other trying to make a fast buck on a blind fan base.
Chris
