The Laziness of pointing out laziness in gaming.

Congratulations internet!! you now have a new buzzword to throw at the Wii: Laziness.

In fact it's such a popular terminology that it's being thrown around left and right in threads, used as the big draw in articles of disgruntled editors, and as "fanboy baiting" tactics in podcasts. Everyone throws this word around with reckless abandon.' Nintendo is lazy and nobody cares!!' Not using Peach as a playable character in SMBWii because of a joke about having to create a program for dress animation. What nerve!! Cutting corners in development and putting out uninspired sequels to turn a quick buck. Who does that!!

above: He likes the taste of your tears

oh yeah....


But, at least he doesn't hide it. he made it known that's the way his company was going to operate right? Nintendo's plan of stealthily using laziness to make billions is on the other hand a lesson in sneaky petery......is that even a word? Whatever. Here's a snippet from an expose on the company by Matt "I'm not crazy, just a little mad" Casamassina.

"With all due respect to Miyamoto, a proven gaming genius and innovator, that’s just lazy. Either that, or Nintendo has gone off the deep end in its dogged pursuit of the business bottom line. This is not a two-man garage developer which works on games after its kids go to bed. It’s a multi-billion dollar corporation with thousands of employees, many of whom have helped shape the very industry as we know it. A cash behemoth with unrivaled game-making experience. That it might even ponder recycling a character for one its most beloved and lucrative franchises so that it might save time, money, or whatever, seems ludicrous. That it actually did so is unbelievable."

Unbelivable. Personally, I can't fathom any company reusing a character model or sprite for one of their most beloved and lucrative franchises. I especially couldn't see anyone doing it to save time , money or whatever. There's absolutely no other company out there who would be foolish enough to do this....

Hulk find out Hulk recycled sprite. hulk sad.


Morrigan's recycled sprite use is criminal ..


...sexy criminal !!






SF2 never changes facial expressions

It's a damn shame.

Ok, ok. everybody knows Capcom reused sprites in their games. that was because it takes a long time to do hand drawn animation. Naturally, they get a free pass in this argument, because they're not Nintendo. Let's look at another statement.

"Let's travel backward. The Wii remote is an outstanding piece of technology that has transformed the way many of us play games and Nintendo deserves full credit for having the foresight to disengage itself from the system wars and try something completely new. Obviously, the choice paid off. I covered the Big N through the evolution of N64, GameCube and finally Wii and I remember all the decisions and comments made by the company's executive staff. Wii exists today because Nintendo is brilliant, but also because the company saw rising development costs, time and resources and didn't want any part of it. Smart business move. But for players who do value cutting-edge graphics and audio -- there are millions of us, by the way; we're not a niche, as six million copies sold of Modern Warfare 2 in November show -- it's a slap in the face and a clear case of the bottom line taking precedence. "

It's actually funny reading that statement. Here's the deal. We have two gaming consoles that deliver HD graphics, and cater to BluRay and HD DVD crowds One caters to Standard Def. What good really is it for Nintendo be doing exactly the same thing as the other two consoles? Didn't they try that with the Gamecube already and pretty much sold the console at a heavy loss? Why on earth would you want three consoles doing exactly the same thing? Besides, didn't Microsoft just drop the requirement for Xbox360 games to be in HD? Most telling of all is that HDMI cables aren't included with either HD sytem anymore.

Secondly, the irony of mentioning Modern Warfare 2 as a supporting statement in an column about developer laziness is staggering. It's like I can practically hear the PC gamers snickering in the background. I mean what Infinity Ward and Activision did to PC gamers was the equivalent of Xzibit telling them "hey, dawg. I heard you like cellphones so I took out the dedicated servers that you've been used to for all these years, and replaced your multiplayer with matchmaking service on the T Mobile network!!"

pop your collar, your game has officially been pinged!!

Sure you have six million gamers playing it, and I'm sure there are another million and a half gamers out there pirating the living crap out of it. Good for you!

"It gets worse. Imagine an entire series of games re-purposed with tacked on Wii controls. Requires minimal effort on Nintendo's part and it's easy money. Cue the New Play Control! games. Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Mario Power Tennis, Chibi Robo and even Metroid Prime 1 and 2 in worldwide territories. Some of these games -- like DK Jungle Beat and Mario Power Tennis -- are actually worse on Wii."

It also helps people like me who missed games like Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, Pikmin, Pikmin2, Chibi Robo, and Mario Power tennis (which really wasn't so bad once I actually played it.) Metroid Prime Trilogy is still a pretty hot sell. And if we're pointing out ports we have to consider the porting of No More Heroes to 360 and PS3 and the porting of GTA:Chinatown wars from the DS to the PSp. Both games will lose control schemes in the move. Chinatown Wars for PSP was sent out to die at retail, the other has yet to be seen.

This is pretty much the last thing I'm going to cover on this, as i'm discovering that i'm over reading the article, yet surprised at my incredible tolerance for bullshit.

"And really, why should Nintendo try when its strategy not only pays off by the millions but goes largely unquestioned by the fans, some of whom vehemently defend the company's every move. I've heard all the excuses. The primitive graphics of the Wii Sports series are intentional and therefore it's all right. Sure, the characters are limbless, lack fluid animation, geometry and texturing, but the game is supposed to look simple. It's supposed to be accessible, not daunting. And hey, everything's really crisp and it runs at a great framerate. Give Nintendo a pass. And so what if New Super Mario Bros. Wii plays and looks like the DS title before it? Who cares if the game's graphics aren't dazzling? It's fun, isn't it? That's what matters. "

Actually fun is what matters. This is why they're called VIDEO GAMES. remember the phrase "fun and games" ? the two go together hand-in-hand which is why I find myself completely beside myself when people start going on about technology and graphics. It's all about enjoying yourself and having fun. Life is rough. People are losing jobs left and right, we still don't have universal health care, We have people on tv telling us that we're all going to die in 2012!! Life is too short to be stressing out. Listen, Matt. maybe you need to take a break from IGN. Go take a sabbatical hang out in a log cabin somewhere. get back to your gaming roots and rediscover the true meaning of gaming. It's definitely not about chasing Hollywood's tail, nor is it about who has the biggest processor, or having resolution so sharp you can see Kratos' armpit hair.

And to you "hardcores" stop reciting everything game journalists say. you guys sound like a bunch of brainwashed parrots.


.......see what I did there?