Phoenix's Thoughts of the week
These are my thoughts about issues that affect the gaming industry. These essays are my opinions and my opinions only. If you agree or disagree with my statements you can send me e-mail about your feelings on the issue. In the subject please include "Thoughts [date of essay]". Please make the e-mail messages intelligent(messages such as "Nintendo sucks", "Playstation sucks", or "You Suck", just don't cut it. You can say whatever you like about anything, just gives reasons to back it up), and each week or when I have time I will post some of the better well produced essays in a seperate section. Each week I will write a essay and try my best to post them. If you have any suggestions for an essay please e-mail them to me with "Thoughts suggestions" as the subject.


1/13 - 1/19 Where are all the released Nintendo games?

Everyone knows that there are a handfull of already released video games out there but the problems is that they are not truly available. For about two week I myself have been searching desperatly from store to store for any Nintendo 64 game out there but I have recieved they same answer, "I'm sorry but we are sold out." Now this ticks me off. I remember when I had my Super Nintendo, and when I wanted a game it was always available. I know that there were far more Super Nintendo's out there than there are NIntendo 64's so I ask where are all the games. There are more Nintendo 64 being sold with no games available to purchase, including Super Mario 64. It is now easier to find a N64 console than it is to find any games to go along with it. I really want to know why that is. I myself have checked twenty or more stores in the last two weeks searching for a game (except MKT, everyone has that because it wasn't to good) with no luck. I am even on waiting lists for everystore that had them and still not a single one of the stores has called me back. There were more video games available before Christmas then there are right now. I remember before Christmas that I saw quite a few of the game still on the racks at Walmart, K-Mart and Kay Bee. Then where are the games now. My friend got a call from 3 different stores for games and systems and I am still waiting for 1 store to call me back. Since the Christmas rush is over shouldn't there be more games available or is this just another marketing ploy by Nintendo. When will it be before there actually will be games available for the system? Will Super Mario 64 start becoming available in maybe July or August and then what about the games that will be released later. When Nintendo had more users they seemed to have enough games, but when they have less they seem to be at a shortage. What is going on over there Nintendo? 1/06 - 1/12 Where are video games headed?

Now everyone has seen the CD games out there boasting that they are 4-6 CDs. For some reason people think if it is on a CD then it has to be better and also the more CD the game has the better and longer the game becomes, but that is not actually true. Instead of making the games more fun and original the game designer are filling those CDs with FMV. Nowadays they try to make a poor game good by just piling on more FMV. Now I ask, is the going to be the future of video games. The great thing about cartridges is that developers think more about how I can wisely use the space instead how I can fill it up. A great comes about because it is original and an escape from reality and not because it is a movie. The two greatest games of the year were not CD games but Cartridge games. It just goes to show you that a CD doesn't make a better game. 32 and 64 bit technology should be used to make the games better, to do things that have never been done. But instead they are used to sell a heap of graphics with no gameplay. Very few games today can be heralded as legandary and breathtaking because developers gave up making those games and instead began making cheaply produced graphics that they can make high profits off of. The NES was the best system out there because the games it had were great. While the graphics may not have been the best, the gameplay brought you into great new adventures that let you forget reality. A game is supposed to be made for entertainment, but instead they are made to look good. The original Zelda was a awesome game because it allowed you to explore a strange new world and do things that had never been done before in video games. Now companies are trying to mimick Nintendo and make there own Mascot. While Mario came about by accident, nowadays companies are purposely trying to make characters that the people can associate. Why you say...to sell more games. Companies no longer care about great games, they only care about great profit margins. The biggest deterent for making N64 games were that the profit margins were lower than that of CDs. Nintendo is one of the few companies that truly care about their games and won't release the games until they are just they way they should be. That is why games like Mario 64 and WaveRace 64 get as much positive publicity as they do. When DVD becomes the standard will game companies just have more room to waste or will they finally realize that all this space is going to their heads.


12/30 - 1/05/97 My Thoughts on Nintendo.
Yes I am one of those people who will buy virtually anything Nintendo puts there name on. Some people may say it is only blind faith but in actuality it is much more than that. I have been a Nintendo fan ever since I played Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Brothers. Over the years I learned what Nintendo games really were: good quality entertainment. Even today games like The Legend of Zelda are still worth playing. Even with the CD technology and all thatspecial 3D effects, Zelda is still as fun as the day I bought it. If my Nintendo was not broken I would still be playing it today (Fortunately my friend's Nintendo still works). I still to this date play Super Mario Bros(All-Stars version). Even though compared to today's standard it has obsolete. While the graphics and sound are not comparable to next-generation CD games, it is still better than most of those games out there. Nintendo still today with Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 has made games that years from now will still be loved as they are today. I am glad with Nintendo's decision to stick with cartridges because that is where I fell in love with their games. While CD's can be used for a lot of good in video gaming they are instead used for FMV. I buy games to play them not so I can watch them. A game is no fun if you have to watch actors acting it out. If I want a movie, I would go to the mall or to the video store. I would rather pay 70 dollars for a beautiful interactive Nintendo games, then 50-60 dollars for a Sega or Sony "movie". The biggest thing about Nintendo is that their games are original. Mario and Zelda continue to break mold and barriers of video gaming. They have continuely set new standards with revolutionary gaming for their time. These games are so great because they were original. They are not the run-of-the-mill clones that keep popping up everywhere. while Mario and Zelda games have similar concepts with their sequals, each game is a remarkably new breathtaking masterpiece. I know beyond a doubt that 10-15 years from know I can go back and play Mario 64 or even Super Mario Brothers and still enjoy them even though they will be primitive. I unfortunately cannot say the same many other games.


12/23 - 12/29 No thoughts this week
I have been really busy with homework and also because I am going to many different places and I just haven't had the time to write any thougts.


12/16 - 12/22 Nintendo and the dreaded Cartridge.

Nintendo has been bashed insulted rejected because of their decision to use cartridges for their Nintendo 64 system. I can't say that I am a 100% happy with their decision to use cartridges but I am glad they did choose it. First of if I want to play a game I don't want to have to wait about a minute for the game to load up and about the same between each level. If I want to play the game I want to be able to enjoy the game and not have to sit around waiting for it to boot up. Cartridges load at about 5000kb/sec or faster. That gives real-time game play instead of wasting time for the CD ROM. Another thing is that people thing that because the game is on a CD it is a better game. That is not true. If you look at games like Mario 64 or WaveRace 64 you can see that they are a lot better than any of the games out for the CD systems. Another problem is that people think CD's are better are because of their high storage space. Many developers spend time trying to fill that space instead of making the games better and more enjoyable. I can tell you that I am sick of all that FMV. I didn't buy a game so that I could simply watch the game, I bought it so I could actually play the game. The games on the cartridges are better designed because the developers really have to think about what they are using the space for and do what is best to make the game better instead of wasting it on wasteful FMV's on lots of useless sounds. What made Mario 64 so great was because it did not need all those videos and movies so the player doesn't play. Nintendo wanted the player to have full control of Mario instead of just watching him playing.

While I have to admit there are problems with the games because of the high prices and low storage I must commend Nintendo for what they have done. The problems with the cartridge's space is that sometime things that can make the game better do get left off but that is a small price to pay for getting rid of those annoying FMV. I don't understand why FF7 take up 1-2,000 MB while SquareSoft made great revolutionary games for a fraction of that. Game price is also a deterent for most people on the Nintendo 64 but if you really look you can find that in many places the games match those for Playstation. Before you look puzzled and say "No they are not!', take a second and go look in the stores you will find that I am right. I have to commend Nintendo because they are doing something that no other gaming system dared to go to. In the future you will look back and say how either the cartridge saved or destroyed a legendary game system. Nintendo 64 has become the biggest talked about item because of the cartridges and the upcoming 64DD(both unlike anyother next-gen system) and maybe that is the reason they choose it. Nintendo has never been a company to copy of another. Its greatest games such as Mario and Zelda have been milestones in gaming history and are still showing strong. The reason I thing Nintendo will succeed is because it takes risks and does what no gaming company would dare to do. It treks to the future instead of just watching from the past.


12/9 - 12/15 Square's Decision to leave Nintendo

If you are like me then you are a fan of SquareSoft, Nintendo, or both. If not, how did you end up on this webpage? As everyone already knows, Square decided to discontinue producing games for Nintendo. Many people have said how they are happy with Square's decision while others have complained. The question I have for all those devoted Square fans is, where did you fall in love with SquareSoft games? On Playstation.......I think not! Where did SquareSoft games become popular? ON Playstation.......nope wrong again! The point is that it was on Nintendo that Square's reputation as a great video game company was established. Yes Square had some problems because of Nintendo's decision to use cartidges(for another essay), but that is no reason for them to pack up their bags and move on to another company. If it wasn't for Nintendo, there is a good chance that Square would not have bocome popular. Because Nintendo was and is still so popular, Square had a large audience to market their games to and thus establishing themselves. If for instance say SquareSoft went with Turbo Grafix 16 or something else that didn't do good business, Square would probably have been forgotten.

Now it is being said that Square might be producing games for the N⁶⁴ but they are waiting how the N⁶⁴ does. Hasn't Nintendo already proven themselves? Nintendo has been here for many years at the top of the video game industry, and everything(excluding virtual boy) has turned to gold. So why does Nintendo have to prove themselves, shouldn't it be Playstation who needs to? Sony is the new comer into the gaming ring, so shouldn't it be Sony who the game developers shoeld be wary of and not Nintendo? Over the years the developers for Nintendo have become very rich. Can the same be said for Playstation? Playstation has not been around long enough to make companies as rich as Nintendo has, so shouldn't the companies favor Nintendo. The N⁶⁴ has had the most successful launch of any video game system and they are still selling equally strong. The 64DD will sell just as well. Square wants proof of success. but now much more proof do they need?