Nintendo seems to stay as creative as they are because they have Miyamoto there to guide them artistically, while Iwata counts the coinage. Its that kind of combination that is needed to stay healthy and growing long term.

As you say, every generation has shovelware. How many Contra clones did we sift through to find something that had a new twist? This one will be the same. Now, more than ever, it becomes important to buy and support quality products, and ignore entirely cold and soulless rehashes of old games, so that they will survive the coming storm, and their creative teams will be there to shape the future.

Good comments, man, thanks for chiming in.

The bloated execs feel compelled to shovel shit en masse to the casual crowd via any platform and that makes me kinda sad (although it’s completely unavoidable) and it stifles the creative process to say the least when shit’s solely profit driven.

I remember back when I was a kid and I could pretty much list just about every Nintendo and Sega game that was released in America for the first few years. Now there’s thousands of games out there on so many different systems, and only a proportionately small handful of GOOD games, of games with depth or meaning or solid and well-thought out design and gameplay… games that are actually fun, games that are original.

Hell, I recall trudging through the shitmire that was what I consider to be the shovelware of the 8 and 16 bit eras (I was 3 when my family got an Atari…yeah I played the hell out of it but they were mostly all the same games and I never really looked forward to any new releases as everything was in the shadow of Ms Pacman). Bad and poorly imagined games were like land mines if your family was broke as hell and you had to rent games in order to play them sans birthdays and christmases or camping out at a well-to-do friend’s house. I did what I had to do though. I gambled my weekend entertainment and tried out all sorts of games. Some good. Most bad. A few diamonds in the rough. Thank the powers that be that I thought Dr. Jeckyl/Mr. Hyde looked like a bomb due to the box art and screenshots on the back of the box. Dodging that bullet is a blessing to say the least as I fear it may have ruined my childhood if I did, and I would gladly play Hydlide for a year solid to keep that from ever changing.

You remember that feeling of going to the video store? You could smell the games as soon as you walked in. The crappy plastic cases felt diamond clad, and inside you could see the faded and torn instruction books, weary from being flipped through a thousand times for a hint or clue, for something a previous renter had missed out on, or just for comfort as that game was pure awesome and someone just couldn’t get enough of that wonderful tome when the game had to be neglected or it was time to send it back or face the wrath of the dreaded late fee.

Sometimes there’s a new game that was hyped up you’d want to try, other times nothing would catch your eye and you just had to cross your fingers and hope for the best on the unknown (funny story, my mom had a bad habit of suggesting really shitty games except for Shadowrun on the SNES, one of my all time favorites and it was a long shot), or rely on an old and trusted standard that would ensure your weekend wouldn’t be a complete waste although there wouldn’t be a new experience.

Then there were the gems of the time, the blockbuster titles and sequels that you didn’t see coming. You knew them when you saw them and if those games weren’t behind the boxes then you knew you had to wait. And wait. Or maybe you got lucky and you had to snatch that shit up and guard it with your life til your mom or dad hurried the fuck up and decided whatever cheesy action flick or retarded romance movie they wanted to rent this time. You get home, you pop that sucker in and goddamn it’s already Sunday afternoon, but you haven’t noticed because you’ve been riding atop an alpha wave that seems to be made out of dragon cocaine and pure fucking awesome since Friday evening… and you’d BETTER have beaten that fucker because you’re gonna have to do it all over again cause there weren’t any fucking cushy memory cards. Just battery backup bitch, and I guarantee those files won’t have your name on ’em when you see them again.

Those were the days when I was excited about games, and hell, I was excited all throughout the 32, 64 and 128 bit eras. Now..I don’t know if it’s because I’m older, if it’s because everything’s becoming recycled, if it’s because I’m spoiled and can buy my own shit, if it’s because of the tremendous availability the information age has offered, or if I’m losing interest or a combination of any of the previous… but I haven’t played a game that’s made me feel that way in a LONG time. This upcoming era of video gaming may or may not be the “dark ages” of its kind but it might be that way for me. It’s gonna take a huge leap from an existing developer or publisher or whatever to get me excited again. I don’t want mobile insanity, handheld crap, gimmicky shit, 3D nonsense, motion controls or any of that. I want to play GOOD GAMES.

Considering the avarice of the day (and even our dear old friends at Nintendo are out to make a buck in the end) I fear it’s going to take a lone hero to turn this shitboat around. Maybe a rugged individual has amazing ideas… maybe an indie company (that’s not headed by some greedy fuck with dollar signs in his eyes as he dons his golden parachute and sells to the highest bidder) produces some groundbreaking material.. or maybe even a video game giant puts aside its bloodlust for market share and delivers something so fucking huge it blows everyone’s minds.

I can only hope for the best as this shit’s going off the deep end, and keep up the faith that there will be new and wondrous creations in the midst of the gloom that you seem to be confident will come to fruition, good Sir Maul. Maybe the simplest answer on the other hand is that I’m just a fucking dinosaur still waiting for a tyrannic Chrono Trigger-killer or something that makes me say “The Legend of who?”

The next generation of video gaming may very well be akin to my generation of gaming as that devil music, rock n roll, was to our grandparents. Only time will tell. But… I do hope you’re right.