The video game industry suffered a tremendous blow over the weekend. Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata tragically passed away Saturday evening. He was 55.
Unlike much of the leadership of modern gaming companies, Iwata is first and foremost a gamer. Iwata has always been deeply involved in games, dating back to the 1980s, where he first started at Nintendo as a programmer. He was an important figure in classic titles like Kirby, Balloon Fight and Earthbound. In 2002, he became the fourth president and CEO of Nintendo.
It would be good to chronicle Iwata's key contributions not only to the company, but to gaming as a whole. Specifically, many significant innovations in the industry were brought about from Nintendo during his leadership tenure. -The Wii, which outsold both of its console competitors (the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360) -The huge success of the 3DS, which continues to sell in spite of an increasing demand for mobile gaming and smartphone use -The persistence to not give up the Wii U system in spite of fledgling sales, and continuing to develop creative and unique games for it You can look at how Iwata helped bring Nintendo to record-breaking successes.
On the flip side, there were several hurdles Nintendo faced over the years, such as the commercial underperformance of the GameCube and Wii U systems. You can also look at how Iwata worked hard to help the company as it struggled through these difficult times.
You should also talk about the plans for Nintendo's future that Iwata set in motion before his untimely passing. The idea that Nintendo would ever bring its IP to mobile games would have likely been absurd to people in recent years. As well, the company's plans to partner with Universal Studios amusement parks to make attractions based off its beloved franchises was equally surprising.
Finally, as a fitting tribute to a gaming icon, you can mention the influence and inspiration he gave to millions of people. Many figures in the industry have paid their respects to Iwata since the news broke. Some of their anecdotes about their personal experiences with him and/or his work can be a great way to show the lasting impact he has had on video games.
The fact the man was able to pull apart and then port the Pokemon red and blue battle system for N64 Pokemon Stadium is an amazing testimate to his skill (http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/iwata-nintendo-retrospective/) – carboncopyben9 years ago
@Carboncopyben. Exactly. Also Pokemon related, it was due to his effort that the entire Kanto region was added into Pokemon Gold/Silver. I mean, because the Johto region wasn't great enough, he basically doubled the size of the game. I can't honestly think of another developer that worked to add so much content for the players like that. – BradShankar9 years ago
Crafting in video games specifically large scale ones like RPG's are almost required now a days. It seems not only is crafting required in RPG's but also adventure games such as Minecraft. Crafting is being used more and more as a game mechanic and it would be interesting to see how it has evolved over the years. To my knowledge the most unique form of crafting has been with Minecraft with it's item placement.
There are a couple of things crafting does in video games, generally speaking: it forces the players (or rather, gives them cause) to look closer at the game world, and at more of it, in order to harvest or collect components. Rare ingredients, carefully placed, can inspire players to explore parts of the world they might not have bothered with otherwise. I find that I visually interact with the world differently (even in the same game) when I'm playing a character that harvests ingredients than when I'm playing a character who doesn't -- I look for different visual cues and go different places. But the actual making of things allows (usually) a player to custom-create items not otherwise available, or available in that form. Even changing the color of a cloak or shield can make a huge difference in terms of creating a visual that more closely represents the character you're playing, which matters tremendously for immersion. Customizing the game in any way adds to the experience overall, and extends game play. But the great thing about crafting is that (usually) it's a completely by-passable activity, for those who hate doing it. Best of both worlds. – Monique9 years ago
In the pokemon games, the father is only present in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. In the series, Ash Ketchum also does not have a father figure present in his life, and relies on his mother for support. What is the reason for the lack of mothers in this franchise? Is this symbolism? Do mothers have something that fathers lack? Fan theories can be introduced in this article, and the writer can create their own analysis on why this is so. This can focus on either the games or anime, although I've only noticed this pattern when playing the games.
Edit: Title should read 'lack of father figures' or the impact of a mother. – YsabelGo9 years ago
Ash's mother did mention how his father would be proud in the first couple episodes so that counts. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
The parents never truly provide a significant part due to the fact that the story is supposed to be all about the PLAYER. In the case of Pokemon, you have to remember that the game is strongly marketed towards kids. Kids want to immerse themselves within the world of the game and believe that the adventure is all about them. The games make you care about your rivals and friends because you are supposed to defeat them in the story. Kids can imagine their real life friends in the roles of their in-game friends. Perhaps it's harder for a child to imagine a link between their real parents and their in-game parents? – cdenomme969 years ago
The lack of mothers is not limited in Pokemon. It's everywhere... e.g. Fairy tales and numerous orphan hero epics. – Jill9 years ago
Yes, Jill is right. Peanuts has no adults at all, same with cartoon Ed, Edd and Eddy, – SpectreWriter9 years ago
To explore the benefits and inherent dangers of beginning a lucrative, or believed to be, project on Kickstarter and whether it is ultimately viable in the face of the goliaths of gaming today, Sony and Microsoft. Where Sony retaliated a year or so afterwards, its project the Morpheus is said to rival the quality of the Oculus, followed quickly with PS4 support and PS4 exclusive games such as 'Kitchen.' Microsoft's own project HoloLens while not derivative of the Oculus, seems very much inspired by this recently discovered appetite for virtual reality gaming. This despite no such foreseeable release date.
You must ultimately come to some conclusion about the viability of Kickstarter, which may concern issue of copyright (or intellectual property law.) (I'm studying law, but put your own spin on it.) You may also wish to consider the issue of trends, the bandwagon itself, in determining the success of new hardware or software.
I agree this topic needs to be discussed and even viewed in detail since it has become very infectious. Besides obvious success stories like yooka laylee or even Shenmue 3 it is hard to argue that making a kickstarter game seems very appealing. However as stated copyright can be the biggest issue if you are displaying your project. All it takes is one asset to be shown that is either very similar or looks like a complete copy of already existing material your project will be almost guaranteed to be shutdown. Besides that the other issue is also coming up with original content. In theory it sounds easy but it is far from it. I look forward to seeing who writes about this topic and what their conclusions are. – tylerjt9 years ago
I was watching the NA Challenger Series for LoL last week and was surprised to hear team Renegade had a female member! We live in a society which openly accepts women's participation in male dominated virtual sports, but still, where are they all? I remember once hearing about a female gamer in a competitive Dota2 match that was really controversial because an enemy team's member tweeted sexually harassing things about her, but other than that the only "professional girl gamers" I hear about are team Sirens (who are basically a joke).
Can someone tell us why there is still a lack of female representation in competitive gaming? (The only reason I can understand is that in LCS, LoL teams live in a house together and male/female residents might get complicated?)
I remember asking a girl when I was very little if she liked Nintendo. Her response was 'Most girls don't like Nintendo.' So... I've been wondering this same thing. Part of the problem will be the male dominated games out there. It stats with Mario, a man who rescues a Princess, which once again serves the role of man rescuing damsel. Link, same thing (though apparently, they're changing this.) The only exception is Lara Croft in Tomb Raider and I guess the problem there is the male dominated cast around her. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
I feel like for me, someone who is a girl, a gamer, and likes Nintendo, I identified more with being the hero for once. I am in the process of starting a game review/let's play channel on YouTube, and while I'm not sure if this answers your question, I am personally concerned about thoughtless comments just because of my gender. I'm reminded of a professional gamer from Australia who went to the commentators' mothers to stop the harassing. The incident is available for researching on YouTube. – BethanyS9 years ago
I play video games myself and I have friends who are girls that love to play games themselves too and they're quite good! I think the problem can probably stem to either there is not enough coverage on professional female gamers as the media specifically seems to focus only on the male demographic, only strengthening the stereotype that only boys play video games. And also most likely that those harasses you mentioned are one of the major reasons that female gamers are scared off. Which can be either that many of the online community that are male, for some reason feel threatened whenever a woman participates in their activity. That even happens when a product that was intended for girls, gets popular with boys, and yet certain boys scare off the girls while claiming it was never for girls. The mindset is almost territorial to an extent. Also, and this one might be a weak reason for your article, but most people online could just spout crap to anyone cause they can. They hide under the guise of the internet, which I compare as to wearing digital masks, so they can be anybody else or nobody and get away with such vile bullying and sexist remarks because no one knows who they are and find them. – Ryan Walsh9 years ago
The fighting game scene actually has a fairly diverse community of men and woman, although there is still a definite uneven ratio. It would also be interesting to look at Ricki Ortiz, a transgender fighting game professional as well as some of the other woman that are prominent in the fighting game community. – DullahanLi9 years ago
One interesting tidbit from my experience is that in the Counter-Strike scene, there is actually an all-female pro league for CS:GO. While it doesn't generate nearly as much prize money as the main ESL circuit, they are still just as competitive. – marknm9 years ago
Has anyone noticed how expensive Super Nintendo (SNES) games have become? Arguably the most influential gaming system ever, Super Nintendo games have endured the test of time for many reasons; but are the treasures so enjoyed by millions in the 1990's to be lost on the current generation because of hefty price tags? A detailed analysis of some of the system's hallmark characters–Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Kirby–would help solidify to modern games why SNES means so much to so many people.
Whoever takes this up should look at how the SNES has influenced modern gaming and whether this influence extends to other consoles than just the Nintendo. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
Recently, Nintendo announced that Fire Emblem Fates will have same sex marriage system(which was surprising considering Nintendo's response to Tomodachi Life's "same sex marriage"). Interesting thing I've noticed was that while the straight couples can have child (so basically an advantage in number), the same sex couples receive some sort of perk/bonus in battle. Another I've noticed that there is a restriction depending on the country the player chooses – one only supports male/male marriage, while the other supports female/female. There will be a story DLC where both same sex marriages are possible.
I thought this was an interesting way to depict the same sex marriage. It does differentiate it from the straight couple, and offers different bonus thus making it viable strategic option. I believe this is more advanced than the same sex marriage in Skyrim, which had virtually no difference between spouses.
What other ways can the game developers make to depict the same sex marriage in meaningful way?
I did not hear about this, but this makes me want the game so much more than I already want it, which I didn't think was possible. If only my Japanese was fluent, I wouldn't have to wait a year for the stupid international release :( Anyways, this topic might be a bit hard, but one thing to keep in mind would be to acknowledge a games genre. A game like Fable or Skyrim would be able to have expansive benefits with social meters based on same-sex marriage, which might be an interesting mechanic. Give access to certain social groups and missions as a part of a same-sex couple. – Austin9 years ago
I believe Elder Scrolls: Skyrim has done this too so you might talk about that too. Though a far as I know, there's no difference in that game whatever way you go. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
I doubt know about marriage but you can do all sorts of non traditional relationships in the jade empire. They really let people do what they were into in that one. – fchery9 years ago
Yes, you can same-sex marry in TES: Skyrim. Same-sex relationships are also possible in the Bioware games Mass Effect and Dragon Age. However, those games have been out for a while, and the same-sex marriage issue was debated at great length, particularly around the release of Dragon Age. If someone takes on this topic, it's vital to start with *thorough* online research to make sure the angle used is a new one, and not one that's been done to death already. – Monique9 years ago
Gold farming is a phenomenon in massively multiplayer online games where players will sell in-game gold for real life money. Despite being against the rules dictated in most games, this still occurs in almost every game – most gold farmers are actually teens from countries like China and India where they work to barely support their families. This article could discuss the culture behind gold farming from the perspective of Western and Eastern players as well as the evolving human right issues involving it. For the Win by Cory Doctorov and In Real Life by Cory Doctorov and Jen Wang are both sources of inspiration and information that could be used.
Actually a very interesting topic given how much online games have expanded. Discussing through perspectives of all players could be good and showing how it affects the economy for certain areas (Given it's popularity) and maybe go into how it's popular? Perhaps links between the perspective of MMO players (From anywhere) and how it leads to gold farming. Lisa Nakamura did a good article about the racialization of Chinese farmers in WoW and how new racial stereotypes develop through the online worlds. Lisa's article is a different subject matter but could be useful with citations and various development on what the perspective of players are when it comes to MMO's – Xzephyr9 years ago
