Chapter 20: Time will tell
Although the establishment of a real Nintendo park failed, Nintendo still did not give up the dream of building a park.
A game called Super Smash Bros. 64 was launched at a time when the fighting game craze had already begun to take a back seat.
This fighting game released on N64 is very different from the average fighting game, first of all, it has no blood gauge setting.
What do you do if you want to win?
The only way to win is to knock your opponent off the screen.
In other words, all the playing styles are centered on hitting the screen, not hitting the point of bloodlessness.
Secondly, whether it is the background of several maps in the game or the characters in the game, they are all from Nintendo's own previous games.
From the days of gaming watches all the way up to games that have only recently been launched.
All kinds of characters that players are familiar with, whether they are decent villains, players can control them.
Previously, there was already a similar game, which is now the world's number one selling racing game - Mario Kart.
However, each character on the racing board, whether it is a decent or a villain, has a problem. It's just that they are all driving, but the difference is not as big as imagined.
However, Super Smash Bros. 64 is different, and every playable character in this game, whether decent or villain, has skills and attacks that match those in the original game.
In other words, the player is really controlling the characters in the game, not in Mario Kart, which is just a set of programs and a different skin.
As soon as this game was launched, it caused a sales boom in the United States.
You must know that the players of this book and the home machine players in the United States basically grew up playing red and white machines.
Nintendo is simply an existence that grows with them.
Perhaps they had different times of contact with Nintendo because of their age, but at that time they both had a sentiment called nostalgia for Nintendo's games.
And the release of "Super Smash Bros. 64" directly detonated everyone's emotions.
Other game manufacturers, such as Electronic Arts, may spend millions or tens of millions of dollars to achieve the promotional effect.
"Super Smash Bros. 64" was achieved at almost no cost of a penny.
Because, every task in this game can poke the hearts of some players.
Old players may see Donkey Kong with a lot of emotion, and new players may feel satisfied when they see Kirby.
Is Super Smash Bros. 64 a good game?
Good indeed.
But is it so good that sales in the first week have exceeded one million units in Japan and the United States?
Not necessarily.
It's all something that Nintendo has accumulated in the past.
Although Nintendo is also a commercial company, it is also the first priority to make money.
But unlike other commercial companies, Nintendo isn't as crazy as Electronic Arts.
No matter how wild Yamauchi says, Nintendo's games have always adhered to one characteristic, which is to be fun and fun.
Perhaps Nintendo's games will never be the most advanced in terms of game technology, but in terms of game concepts, they are leading the world.
Do players care about the game's graphics?
Do you like advanced technology?
Of course I care, of course I like it.
But do players like fun games?
Equally liked.
Some people think that as long as a video game has good graphics, there is no problem with the content being a mess, but that is not true.
But it's not right to think that as long as there is gameplay, it doesn't matter if there are other graphics or not.
Only with technological advancements can new ways of playing emerge.
Only if the game is fun, can more people support it.
This is a dialectical relationship.
If technology doesn't improve, why do you want to continue playing PONG now?
"PONG" is classic and interesting, but it is not the most fun work in the entire era.
But what's the point of games that only focus on showing off their skills?
Although there are graphics that are beyond the entire era, but out of 10 million players, only 10 players can afford to play, so what's the use?
Therefore, there is a need for an organic combination of technology and fun.
And Nintendo's corporate DNA is not a technology-heavy company.
Although NGC, which is currently under development, is already the most advanced game console of the next generation, Nintendo is really not suitable to compete with others.
Because, compared with other companies, even compared with Sony, which has its own chip manufacturing plant, the cost of competing technology Nintendo is too high.
However, the threshold of making games interesting, which has no obvious threshold, has hindered the footsteps of many game manufacturers.
Even a large number of games, simply go to the game mode given by Nintendo.
These games tend to excel in everything else, such as graphics and music.
In this way, the results of these games can also be good.
Therefore, compared with some people outside the game circle, the industry's admiration for Nintendo can be said to be even greater.
This is especially true in the game developer community in the United States.
Because in the developer circle of the book, most game developers have also experienced the era when Nintendo also released garbage games.
But the United States is different.
After the collapse of Atari, the entire home console industry was destroyed in the United States.
Nintendo, which appeared as a savior, came to the United States with a large number of works that have been confirmed to be successful in the book.
For the American video game industry, which lacks a system to support, a shocking attack like a nuclear bomb was carried out.
Now in the 21st century, I don't know how many of the game makers who are active on the front line have grown up playing Nintendo games.
They were influenced by Nintendo since they were young, before they even entered the industry.
In this case, why don't they worship Nintendo?
Therefore, Super Smash Bros. 64 is not only a carnival for players, but also for American game makers.
Once again, they got a taste of what Nintendo is, even in front of the game Super Smash Bros. 64.
The fight between "Anti-Terrorist Operation" and "Counter-Strike" no longer relevant.
However, when they were ignoring, Wanhu and Villefort were also accumulating a new force.
Manho's "Tower of Magic", "Bubble Dragon" and other series, although not as well-known as Nintendo's game series, are in a class of their own.
Not even Tetris, a magical puzzle game, has ever appeared on Nintendo's home consoles.
Don't Wanhu have loyal fans?
Don't have a fan as avid as Nintendo?
Yes, of course.
However, everything takes time to verify.