029 - Third Party Promotion: The Final Frontier

As published on N-Philes.com

I hope that in Wii Music (or Wii Orchestra, whatever it’s called), if it is in fact an actual game slated to see the light of day, Nintendo lets me conduct or play music from Super Mario Galaxy. The themes from Good Egg Galaxy, Battlerock Galaxy, and Buoy Base Galaxy are specifically on my wish list. Despite being a more casual experience, gamers will perk up at the thought of interacting with fully orchestrated versions some of Nintendo’s best pieces of music. For the casual crowd, exploring the origins of these songs might be one of the side effects of putting original musical compositions beside Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Fur Elise. Nintendo using one of its games to advertise and leverage its other properties? It’s almost unheard of!

I’m pretending that I haven’t heard of the likes of WarioWare, Smash Bros., and Pikmin.

Actually, Nintendo is very good at telling people about their own games. One particularly brilliant move Nintendo started with its Touch Generations line, and quickly brought it over to all its games, was accompanying the instruction booklet and precautions manual with a leaflet showing off three games that are similar to the one at hand. Between those inserts, various websites, emails, traditional ads, and word-of-mouth, Nintendo the software publisher has multiple channels to tell everyone about anything from Picross to Pokémon.

Despite fixing many of the mistakes universally blamed for the GameCube’s lack of mainstream popularity, there’s still a big one issue Nintendo has yet to resolve with Wii: third party support. Granted, they’ve made strides in opening up and helping third parties with everything from development resources to ironing out game concepts, but they still have some way to go in terms of helping to promote third party efforts (something other companies seem to do well at both causal and core players). Take a look at three of Nintendo’s big websites, Nintendo.com, Wii.com, TouchGenerations.com and count the number of featured third party games. The latter has zero.

With Wii and DS being the runaway successes that they are, it’s more important than ever for Nintendo to tell its consumers about the products available on its systems. Like a gamer to their gaming-deficient cohorts, Nintendo the platform maker should be an ambassador for their systems, showing off all kinds of available games. This goes for both the casual crowd who might not know about Carnival Games and EA Playground, as well as the gamer crowd who might overlook titles like SSX Blur and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles. Such a simple act on Nintendo’s part could very well affect the sales of a game (Nintendo’s reach might be a bit further than Matt Casamassina’s, unfortunately for Zack and Wiki). I’d go so far to say that Nintendo benefits more in the long term from each third party sale than it does a first party sale.

I’m not trying to say that Nintendo doesn’t advertise third party games. Back in the latter half of the GameCube’s lifespan, the stylish but questionably successful "Who Are You?" campaign eventually lent itself to third party games, though that was more an act of desperation when the number of monthly releases were less than the number of pancakes I can eat in one sitting. On their respective main pages, Wii.com does currently showcase Boogie, and Nintendo.com’s Wii page shows off Guitar Hero III. Curiously, both titles are third party efforts that fit nicely into Nintendo’s post-GCN philosophy of gaming.

Ok, technically two if you count Mario & Sonic

I’m just saying it isn’t enough. Nintendo games might be the ones that spark sales, but it's the third party games that keep interest burning and Wii consumers comfortably warm. Nintendo needs to step up and show that it cares about those that fill the gap that they themselves cannot fill on a monthly, let alone weekly basis.

Curiously enough, the one website that brings first and third party games together under one proverbial roof is GetUpAndPlay.ca, Nintendo of Canada’s e-effort prove to embittered mothers that Wii gaming isn’t mind-rotting evil. Under "Our Products", the site mentions a number of third party games. That number may only be eight, but it does take two hands to count that high. Plus, the site has some fancy badges:

Even after a full year on the market, Nintendo might not have enough Wiis to go around. They’re probably so focused on trying to ship as many units as possible that they don’t always remember that there are 15 million systems out there. There are easily twice as many people enjoying them, 30+ millions that might want to try a new game somewhere between Big Brain Academy and Wii Fit. It might be Trauma Center; it might be DDR. It ultimately is up to Nintendo whether we ever find out.

Music Mini:
The Cliks – Snakehouse (released April 24, 2007)

An album can be ruined if it’s overproduced, when tracks and rhythms and pitches are so perfect that a sense of sincerity is lost. Snakehouse isn’t like that at all. In a debut that’s one part indie, one part rock, two parts alternative, and a pinch of Justin-Timberlake-but-better, The Cliks bake a sense of band and "music for music" in a world where Big Music overcook their talent (or use lots of seasoning on their untalented lot) for that one big hit and move on. Every nuance throughout the album, commanded by lead singer Lucas Silveira’s strong vocals and under the direction of the band’s heavy electric guitars, leaves the impression that I could probably count the number of takes for each track on one hand. In their case, this is actually a very good thing.

The fresh but familiar sound of the album is perhaps personified in the cover of Cry Me a River. The Click’s take on the modern classic has me heavily favouring their version over JT’s. I don’t think it’s the arrangement so much as the addition of emotion to a song that’s supposed to be about anger, betrayal, revenge, and all those lovely things. Silveira’s ability to sing honesty, in a style comfortably between screaming and keeping the tempo, carries strongly into Complicated, and the single, Oh Yeah. The only thing that could boost an otherwise great album is more in the variety department.

Previous: The Gamer Scale

The views and opinions stated in this blog do not necessarily reflect those shared by N-Philes or its staff.

028 - Gay Sex? Here?

Being off school has made me more susceptible to staying up late. Fortunately all the full times-esque hours is keeping me in a relatively healthy check. I'm learning that working retail around Christmas is pretty brutal. Friday was massively busy, but I wasn't on the sales floor.

Not to mention keeping up with all the sales promotions!

Yes, this is a skimpy update. I'll make more soon, though.

Photos: Nightmare Before Christmas figurines, sunrise, icicles, bus station.

027 - Ho Ho Hold the payments!

School is done for yet another term! I celebrated this crowning achievement by cleaning my room. It was in dire need of a garbage bag and a bottle of Febreeze, or something to freshen things up. It's almost the way I like to keep it. I can't wait until we have little robots that know how you like your room and their task is to keep it tidy for you. And if it encounters something it doesn't know, it sends you a text message asking you what to do. Kinda reminds me of Wall-e to some extent.

Today, I used a fandangled piece of plastic to pay for things without money. I think young whippersnappers (wow, I love how my spell check knows what a whippersnapper is, but not fandangled) of today call a credit card. It doubles as a Student Price Card (Canadian retail discount card for students). At Yogen Früz, I saved 28 cents (10%) only to have to pay a 25-cent debit transaction fee. In a world of plastic, I need to learn to keep actual money on me. Actually, I find it interesting that the rate at which the government issues money is constant with the economy. People aren't necessarily using less coins and bills, even with things like credit and debit cards being so commonplace.

I bought my mom's Christmas present today. Shh, don't tell her. Funny thing is that she never uses the internet, let alone read my blog (and especially my livejournal), so I can post everything she's getting right here and she'd never know. Hahahaha.

Joseph Mallozzi also disappeared off the face off the Earth. I blame Replicators. Or rabbid Carson Beckett fans. Nah, Beckett fans wouldn't hurt a turtle... it's the Elizabeth Weir fans that did it. If only I had a secret cache of weapons that I could use to rescue him... Nah, I'll leave the hero work up to his pugs.

Chances are none of you understood that last paragraph. Except Cat.

Now I'm working a lot, which means I'll have some more money with which to do random things. Haven't thought that part through yet. Guests are so entertaining sometimes! There should be a blog for Disney Store stories. I'd definitely contribute. Unless it's against store policy. i don't see why it would be, but you never know. Maybe I'll read through that again sometime.

Pictures: Christmas present, cousin (forgive the compression, they aren't on flickr)

026 - The Gamer Scale

As posed at N-Philes.com

GoNintendo recently had a series entitled, "Casual vs. Hardcore: Opinions of the Gaming Industry," where a number of players in the industry were asked to comment on whether Nintendo’s influence on the emphasis on the casual gaming market is good for the industry. While it’s certainly a worthwhile feature that explores and exposes what the industry is thinking, it cements this dichotomic vision of gaming. Worse than that, it pits one group against the other, forcing everyone to take sides on the grand gaming battleground. Are you a casual gamer, or are you a hardcore gamer?

Once you answer that question, you quickly discover that the other gamer is a threat. Causal games are taking over; I have less ‘real’ games to play because of cartridge wasters like Nintendogs and Brain Age. Games are so complex and violent when all I want to do is have some quick, clean fun. Casual gamers, hardcore gamers, non-gamers... they’re all terms that have become standard, used by everyone in journalism and in conversation. Once they get used, it’s always one in contrast to another, one versus the other.

Gaming may have its share of battlefields, but there shouldn’t be a war between those who play games. Gamers shouldn’t be treating each other as being superior or inferior, just that they are different from one another. Before the launch of Wii, Iwata urged those seasoned gamers to use the Wii to bridge the gap between them and those who don’t play. It’s been working. Everyday there are new stories on the internet about how Wii and DS have converted people into gamers. But how can us gamers lure our loved ones into our passion, then turn around and complain about how they’re the ones ruining the very thing we love?

I think the problem lies within the narrow parameters in which we define the gamer segments. I’m not really a hardcore gamer, nor am I a casual one. Chances are, neither are you.

After an emo stint trying to find out exactly were I fit, I thought out a gamer scale, a Gamer Number of sorts. This system isn’t meant to make one type of gamer superior or inferior to another; while not perfect, hopefully it helps to better define the kinds of gamers that are out there.

10 – Hardcore Gamer: The hardcore gamer plays anything he or she can get his or her hands on. Owning all the major platforms, he or she is knows the advantages and disadvantages of each one, and doesn’t care. Fancy graphics might widen the eyes, but it’s the game itself that will drop the jaw. Hardcore gamers are in it to play it, and if the game isn’t worth playing, they move on to something that is.

9 – Core Gamer: With a couple of platforms under his or her belt, the core gamer knows what he or she likes. Core gamers have their favourite genres, styles, developers, and even publishers, but won’t be afraid to play something else.

8 – Softcore Gamer: Softcore gamers look out for the games that are of interest to them, and will try to play them regardless of the platform upon which they appear. They stick to their favourite genres, styles, publishers, and developers, but will play games outside their natural scope if pressured by others. A softcore gamer will have any number of platforms, but will prefer one to another.

7 – Loyal Gamer: The loyal gamer, sometimes knows as fanboy, has a keen love for gaming. He or she is often dedicated to one platform, on which he or she plays every major release. By ignoring or minimizing the strengths and popular titles of other platforms, the loyal gamer has a robust, but limited scope of gaming as a whole.

6 – Hardcasual Gamer: Often mistaken by the casual types as a hardcore gamer and by the hardcore types as a casual gamer, hardcasual gamers fall in between the two extremes. Hardcasuals seek out popular, thrilling titles that tend to focus on realism and strong visuals. They will buy a well-hyped game, even if it is poorly reviewed. Hardcasual gamers are perhaps the biggest group of gamer, and have become publishers’ focus over recent years.

5 – Vertical Gamer: The vertical gamer doesn’t love gaming so much as the few games he or she plays. They purchase few games a year for their console, but they’re almost always part of the same franchise. A vertical gamer might play other games with other people, but he or she will always curl up and find comfort in his or her game of choice.

4 – Casual Gamer: Casual gamers are vested enough in gaming to have at least one console to call their own, whether because they bought it themselves, or inherited one from someone else. They may not talk about FPSs and RPGs, but they do look around for those one or two titles they invest in each year. They won’t quickly shy away from a challenge, but a game has to feel fun and rewarding to them need to keep their interest.

3 – Light-Causal Gamer: Light-casual gamers may or may not have a gaming system to call their own, but they might surprise you with their own library of games, or at least, their own save files. They enjoy the simpler games that don’t necessarily have specific goals or purposes other than to entertain in short spurts. They’re more likely to play puzzle games over first-person shooters and virtual sims over sim racers.

2 – Induced Gamer: Induced gamers wouldn’t likely play a game on their own, but when they’re with a gamer friend, they will pick up the second controller without hesitation. They know they won’t win, but if they do, it’s a cause to celebrate. They probably play flash games and Solitaire on their computer, but don’t consider it gaming.

1 – Observant Gamer: Observant gamers game vicariously though another gamer, whether a child, roommate, friend, or family member. Their knowledge of games is limited to what they see. They’re likely to decline an offer to play a game; it might take a drink or two to get them to actually try one.

0 – Non-Gamer: Non-gamers has never before played a videogame. They have no inclination to do so because of their preconceived notions of gaming. Whether that it’s too hard, too complex, too violent, too much of a time waster, or something else entirely, they’re convinced that gaming isn’t for them.

Maybe I'll revise this scale over time. It represents only one sphere of a gamer. It doesn't take into consideration whether the gamer prefers home consoles or portable ones, whether they stay up to date on upcoming games, gaming news, or industry events, whether they interact with other gamers through forums, or whether they have a more active role in the industry.

025 - Home Stretch, Snow Fall

Building Christmas


Shirley Temples


Fried Art


1408. Scary. OooOOoOO.


Long line of laptops.


Creative foot positioning


Guitar Hero is a game for "everyone"... but song on their slowest setting sound terrible.


The snow is falling!


A made a snowman in 2 minutes at Cat's suggestion.


The random snow-dirt on the bus reminds me of Santa's sleigh.


That is a sidewalk.


William Shatner is everywhere...


Pirates lamp. Expensive. Not for me.


Naturally, light bulb is not included.

Winter seems to be here. I was sceptical after the first bit of snow that we got, but since then, we've received a fair amount. Probably the same amount that we had by February last year. Then again, last year was a bit lacking in the whole frozen precipitation department. I just want the snow to be sticky enough to start sculpting!

School-wise, I'm in the home stretch. By this time next week, this first term of the new program will be behind me. To prepare for exams, I'm not working from Saturday through Tuesday, but I'm picking up those lost hours throughout the rest of next week. Talk about busy! As friends slowly flock back from various areas, I hope to have some fun.

Until then, I have things to finish. Still. I just thought I would update with some pictures. I have no idea where I found time to upload the pictures. But hey, don't complain!