Greeting! Welcome to the first edition of the Nintendo Life Mailbox!
In this new monthly feature, we’ll go through the letters we receive through our Contact page (scroll to the bottom of this post for specific instructions) and highlight some of the best on this letters page. Each month we will also select a Star Letter and the sender will receive a free month’s subscription to our Supporter scheme.
Enough rambling — let’s dive deep into the mailbag…
Nintendo Life Mailbox – June 2023
“Forest Solitude” (***STAR LETTER***)
Dear Nintendo Life
It bothers me that video games are not considered high art in the same way that other media are. There are so many wonderful examples of art in games such as the harder difficulty level of Catherine to convey angst in the protagonist, the feeling waldeinsamkeit in Zelda Breath Of The Wild or how Nier Automata explores themes of existentialism as only a game could.
After studying the most visionary auteur films, the most articulate and moving books, as well as the most stunning works of art, I think I know that the game Nintendo needs to make to finally end this notion of games is not art. Based on my studies, I concluded that Nintendo should make a black and white game, in French with a lot of long words and a lot of shadows and angles in the game.
I experimented with this by plugging my Switch into a black and white TV and changing the language settings to French while playing Doom. I already feel more cultured!
What do you think?
All the best,
Jump
Nintendo presents… Andalusian super dog. Buñuel missed a trick by not putting a battle pass, tbh.
Congratulations on writing our first Star Letter! We will be in touch about replacements for fans. – Ed.
“Nostalgia and Industry”
Do you think lists of games (ie the 100 best games of all time) should take into account nostalgia and influence on the industry? Or should it be based only on what stands today?
Personally, I think too much weight is given to games that were important and great in their time, as opposed to considering how they look today. For example, the original Super Mario Bros. it was amazing for its time, but I think it’s far surpassed by countless other games at this point.
Talking about games that were important to the industry or carry great personal nostalgia should be separated from talking about what are the best games from today’s perspective. Your thoughts?
sketchturner
It depends on the list. As long as it is defined in advance, there is room for all kinds of ranking and categorization.
From a video game history perspective, it’s important to highlight the context of the game’s wider impact on the industry, especially for younger players who can so easily overlook things that don’t fit the modern approach. The OG Resident Evil tank or the single-stick controls of GoldenEye are two examples that come to mind — two classics that shaped the modern medium that you should discuss and explore and enjoy. I’d say that fostering friendly discussion while encouraging people to try new things should be the primary function of any good list.
As trends come and go and come back again, the modern barometer of quality is as subjective as anything else. Ultimately, who cares if TOTK is better than BOTW? It’s an important opportunity to discuss video games. – Ed.
“scoring”
Would you ever consider using a different scoring system for your reviews? The problem with ratings out of 10 is that many people still see a 7 as “average” and even an insult to their favorites, when it really shouldn’t be. What scoring system would you use instead?
Martin Saffrette
I’d wager that most editors have a love/hate relationship with review scores. They’re incredibly useful for giving readers a quick critical overview, but branding something as complex as a video game, or any other art, with a number that denotes quality is, in some ways, undeniably stupid.
I grew up in the percentage playing days of the 90’s and I always remember them fondly. Little difference between scores of 88% or 89% for games costing £59.99 (an astronomical to me as a child) would have serious implications for my purchasing decisions! Sometimes I miss the wider scoring scale, especially when the classic ‘.5’ comes around and has to fall one way or another. Ultimately, though, the 10-point scale is a happy medium between five stars and percentages, and I don’t see us changing it.
The sheer amount of games coming out is an unfortunate factor in people rejecting 5s and 6s and even 7/10s, I think. Who has time for just ‘Good’ when there are so many 9/10’s to go through, right? – Ed.
“Sold for $70”
Dear NL,
Since Tears of the Kingdom is selling well and more games are selling for $70, do you think Nintendo will end up selling all of their AAA games for $70 or will they stick to a ‘case by case’ basis for each game?
PS If Game Freak sold their Pokémon games for $70 do you think people would still buy them?
Tanookduke
If by ‘AAA’ we basically mean Zeldas and Marios, then yes. Paying US$70 for the biggest front page titles seems like an inevitability I’m afraid. TOTK was an experiment and Nintendo (rightly) believed people would pay $70 for it. After playing the thing, it’s hard to believe that anyone could feel deprived, even if it’s not their favorite game ever.
If The Pokémon Company decided to charge $70 for the next mainnet entry, there would be an uproar! Then again, there is an uproar with each the main launch of Pokémon for one reason or another. sincerely? Given the appeal of the brand, I think people would pay. I would not personally
“Totally Physical”
I’m a huge fan of Nintendo and of course Nintendo Life I’ve been checking almost once or twice a day for many years now for anything Nintendo and also, I’m all for physical releases which will bring us to my request that I want Nintendo Life to add major information about each game ( which are on the right) of the versions available for that game in addition to the regular information about release dates … etc. which are already there.
1. is it a digital only edition with no physical edition that will ever be available
2. There is a future physical release plan
3. There is a physical release (either by the main developer or third parties like Limited Run games, iam8bit..etc)
4. If there is a physical release, will there be different versions like deluxe or collector’s edition
Because whenever I want to buy a game, it takes me a long time to look at your release version news as well as people’s comments in the hope that someone might have the information I need regarding the physical releases, other than googling of course. This whole process is a real pain just to know if I should wait for a physical release that is expected in the future or there will never be one and where to get it if there is one.
Thank you
Hisham Youssef
All good suggestions. The main problem we run into is that we can’t say the game will ‘never’ get a physical release. It’s a tiresome state of affairs, but it’s the way small publishers have to work to protect themselves these days – it’s all ‘we’ll see’. That’s understandable, although when big publishers like Sega do it, you can’t help but feel like they’re big fans.
As things stand for us, physical day one releases with no restrictions go into the database as ‘Nintendo Switch’ (red pages) and everything else is ‘Switch eShop’ (orange). Given the number of games that come out every month, documenting all the limited physical editions and Standard / Special / Deluxe / Collector’s Editions, etc., etc., announced after release would be a significant data entry challenge, but it’s definitely information I’d like surface better for readers. We’ve been thinking about introducing other information on our games pages for some time now, so I’ll pass these suggestions on to the top. – Ed.
Bonus letters
“This is the link I sent.” – Shawn
Oh my. – Ed.
“Cake, pie or something else? What are the best and worst desserts?” – Eric
He asks about me. Cherry, apple, steak and Guinness. Everything delicious. – Ed.
As for the rest of the team:
- “Best: Tiramisu. Worst: anything with jelly/jelly in it.” – Alan
- “Are we pitching Splatfest ideas? I’m not a very cute guy, but I’d pick the best: Sticky Toffee Pudding. The worst: exactly the same as Alana, or anything with bad raisins/currants.” – Jim
- *too busy chasing Hideo Kojima around Summer Game Fest* – Ollie
I have a confession. – octokid
Say the Hail Mary three times and don’t repeat it. – Ed.
“Do you like Moose?” – owl1
I am indifferent. – Ed.
– Don’t let me get carried away. – Albert Long
You’re right. – Ed.
That’s all for this month! Thanks to everyone who chimed in, regardless of whether you were listed above or not.
Got something you’d like to get off your chest? A burning question you need an answer to? A fix you can’t keep? Then follow the instructions below and we look forward to reviewing your letters.
Nintendo Life Mailbox login tips and guidelines
- Letters, not essays, please – Keep in mind that your letter can appear on the site, and 1000 words that live on Legend of heroes series and looking for Alana for her personal order is unlikely to work. Short and sweet is the order of the day. (If you’re looking for a general guide, 100-200 words would be enough for most topics.)
- Don’t go crazy with multiple correspondences – Ideally, only one letter a month, please!
- Don’t be discouraged if your letter doesn’t appear in the monthly article – We expect a considerable inbox, and we will be able to highlight only a few of them each month. So, if your letter is not selected for the article, don’t be discouraged!
How to send a letter to the Nintendo Life mailbox
- Go to Nintendo Life’s Contact page and select the topic “Letters from readers” from the drop-down menu (this is already done for you in the link above). Type your name, email, and a nicely formatted letter in the appropriate box, hit send, and boom — you’re done!
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