Nintendo escaped the console war. Now Microsoft and Sony want out, too

Re:Nintendo escaped the console war. Now Microsoft and Sony ... by spywaregorilla on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @01:12PM (#32827207)

Nintendo, and seemingly evermore monolith soft, are incredibly talented when it comes to games. But even forgetting monetization, they clearly focus on making games that seem fun. Whereas most other companies make games that want to be popular or cool. Nintendo doesn't have much competition in this space for no particularly good reason. Some indies dip their toes in it but it often falls into a level of self deprecation that I think harms the experience.

Mario himself seems to have a lot fun jumping around and its pretty infectious. Link (mostly), Splatoon inklings, animal crossing villagers, pokemon, and kirby do too. I don't think I can name any major titles on Xbox or Playstation where the characters' primary emotion is joy.

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Re:Nintendo escaped the console war. Now Microsoft and Sony ... by bitwize on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @03:34PM (#32829198)

Mario's movement is an odd design. He runs like a hyperactive toddler, his arms flailing out to the sides. But his other moves, especially his advanced jumps, he does with the precision and grace of a gymnast. It's like a simultaneous expression of the fantasy of navigating the terrain through acrobatics and "weee, this is fun!" spontaneous whimsy.

If you look closely enough, Nintendo design is oddball, but very purposeful.

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Re:Nintendo escaped the console war. Now Microsoft and Sony ... by ouid on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @02:40PM (#32828509)

Crash Bandicoot, but that's from the good times. He does regularly die horribly though.

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