Videogame News

[Stanshall]

I just hope the gaming on the go element is actually the real game, not a version. Looking forward to both trailers immensely.

Mario does look very sinister there, though. Like a giant plasticine pervert.

[Flabyo]

Nintendo have a history of slightly unsettling images for presentations:



I can't even remember what they were talking about there.

Also, I love that the Mario shower curtain image is in a folder on the Nintendo site called 'not approved'.

[ratsoalbion]

Yeah, Rockstar's trailer is released at 4pm

Don't want this to come across as negative because it's not meant to be but I think we know which one is gonna garner the most attention via social media this afternoon.

The Nintendo console I would imagine tbh.

[Flabyo]

A lot will depend on who you follow, good old echo chamber effect.

As most of the people I follow are fellow game devs I expect a new console announcement to generate way more tweets than the Red Dead trailer will on my feed.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Yeah, Rockstar's trailer is released at 4pm

Don't want this to come across as negative because it's not meant to be but I think we know which one is gonna garner the most attention via social media this afternoon.

The Nintendo console I would imagine tbh.

It seems odd that they'd do the thing so close to the RDR2 trailer regardless, as it will absolutely dilute the mindshare of both pieces if they understand anything at all about marketing. Trying to fathom the decision-making process of Nintendo is a fool's errand though isn't it

I'm probably being hugely pessimistic, but I'm anticipating a trailer that shows very little, has a bunch of talking heads and maybe doesn't show the actual machine or many/any games. I think this may be a teaser piece for a bigger announcement at a later date next month maybe.

Fully prepared to be (and hopefully will be!) proved entirely wrong!

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

PS - that Mario image is f*%king creepy. Great start Nintendo!

[ratsoalbion]

I can see there might be a clash here. Interesting to see if one of them delays (or jumps ahead) at this late stage in proceedings.

[Alex79]

I'm excited for both. I very much doubt I'll be buying the new Nintendo console, but I'm ever so excited to see what they produce.

[KSubzero1000]

Trying to fathom the decision-making process of Nintendo is a fools errand though isn't it

You said it!

[Stanshall]

Setting their preview one hour before the Rockstar trailer could almost seem deliberately awkward, if it weren't Nintendo, who always appear charmingly inept with this stuff. It's like a head to head between opposite ends of the gaming spectrum, albeit both titans.

[JaySevenZero]

A lot will depend on who you follow, good old echo chamber effect.

As most of the people I follow are fellow game devs I expect a new console announcement to generate way more tweets than the Red Dead trailer will on my feed.

That'll undoubtedly be the case with many of us but my bet is that within social media overall there will be more people discussing the next Rockstar game than the NX, especially with the teenage/twenty something users.

[ratsoalbion]

I guess there will be analytics to assess which announcement 'wins'.
I'm looking forward to both. The finished products that is, not the announcements.

[chase210]

There's also a trailer for the new wolverine film today. That's neat too.


Right?

[ratsoalbion]

Yeah, Rockstar's trailer is released at 4pm

Don't want this to come across as negative because it's not meant to be but I think we know which one is gonna garner the most attention via social media this afternoon.

Well that's to be expected. RRR is a proven IP whereas Nintendo's new machine is an unknown quantity. Plus Nintendo are Nintendo. They'll simply never be of interest to a large section of the gaming community, no matter what they announce.

True, but the initial response to Pokemon Go says that there is still a massive appetite for Nintendo IP among the wider public.

[ratsoalbion]

It's a fair question but yes, I think most people associate Pokemon with Nintendo - hence the confusion over who actually makes money from the app (actually developers Niantic and the partly Nintendo-owned Pokemon company).

Perhaps the reaction to the Mario iOS game will indicate even more clearly whether there is still a love for Nintendo IP in the wider public.
I believe that there is, but it has almost certainly been diluted to an extent by other things - modern mobile titles and PlayStation/Xbox properties alike.

This is not a dig at all, but I would suggest that your knowledge/affection for and engagement with Nintendo is below that for the average 'hardcore' gamer or Cane and Rinse follower. For instance, the Mario and Zelda series' were about the biggest no-brainers we could have done for the podcast, as some of the best selling and most critically well regarded videogames of all time.

[ratsoalbion]

Of course I certainly don't think that everyone was aware that Pokemon Go was a Nintendo thing (in fact in many ways it wasn't - their logo appears nowhere in the software), no. Nor do I think many people 'cared' as such.

I suppose it's more about the power of the Pokemon brand and how that's been cultivated over the past two decades - plus large portions of the 'incalculables' such as serendipity and zeitgeist, for sure.

However, Nintendo games still sell huge amounts and make enormous amounts of money. Even a reasonably well received Mario game (NSMBU - 84% review average) on a dismal commercial failure of a console (still a wonderful machine loved by most of its owners), sold over 5 million physical copies.

Ultimately I don't mind which gets the more attention today. They're both going to exist and hopefully enrich my life in some way.
Roll on 2017!

[ratsoalbion]

That's fair, but I'm not disputing Nintendo's popularity. I simply wouldn't draw too strong a link between the success of Pokémon Go and the broader family of Nintendo products and franchises.

Sure, I do get you.

I do also think that more people than you may give credit for are aware of the 'proper' Pokemon games (and who produces them) on GB, GBC, GBA, DS and 3DS. Those things still sell like hotcakes, and to a wide demographic, as they have done for over 20 years.

[Stanshall]

I thought Jay had meant that the NX news would trample all over Red Dead, but seems I completely misread the tone. I actually don't think Red Dead is that widely regarded for it to be headline news, certainly not compared to a new GTA, obviously. I expect the Nintendo announcement could even make the BBC front page. Maybe I'm out of my mind but even the casual young adult crowd who only play FIFA and CoD would surely recognise Nintendo as a massive cultural touchstone.

[ratsoalbion]

Bloomberg is reporting that overnight, Nintendo saw a 4.6 percent increase in shares, “adding more than $1 billion in market value” to the company. This is the biggest surge the company has seen in more than a month, following the phenomenal success of Pokémon Go earlier this summer.

http://www.polygon.com/2016/10/20/13344 ... rket-value

[ratsoalbion]