do you hear it Coming. GOTY season is coming for all of us…
[Wakes up, startled, a little bit of dry dribble] What-!? Oh, it’s you. Hello! Welcome to round 17 of the Nintendo Life Mailbox.
Got something you want to get off your chest? We’re ready and waiting to read your thoughts on the game.
Each month we will feature a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a monthly subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check the application guidelines at the bottom of this page.
Let’s settle down with a cup of something spooky and open the mailbox this month…
Nintendo Life Mailbox – October 2024
“business side” (***STAR***)
Hopefully this question doesn’t come across as offensive to anyone reading, I just thought I’d ask a question that’s been burning inside of me and that I have to ask – when I see stories of video games being ruined by, say, executives or management or “by the board” or things like that, I have to ask “Why would anyone even want to get a job in the business side of video games? Surely it can’t be all money and power? Yes, I know the job is there for a reason and someone has to do it, but who would do it willingly and /or without being asked?”
Willax
For some people, the business management side of the games industry just suits their skills. Some people don’t have any ability with art or writing or the technical aspects of making games, but they still want to be involved in something they love.
For others who started out in the game developer trenches, taking on managerial responsibilities over projects and people is often the only way forward if you want to advance your career. Talented people can end up moving away from what drew them to gaming in the first place.
This is understandable, considering how modestly paid the vast majority of positions in this industry are! There is a real financial imperative to take the only promotions that go as the years go by and priorities change. A 20-year-old programmer likely has very different life responsibilities than a 40-year-old programmer who is married with children. Jobs in games are scarce right now, and you can’t feed your kids pot noodles forever.
It is a similar story in many industries and organizations, unfortunately! If you want or have to climb the ladder, budgets, spreadsheets, performance reviews and wistful thoughts of the good old days are for you, boss. – Ed.
“good year”
Is it any wonder that 2024 is Nintendo’s best year in recent memory? I know 2023 was a bumper year, with new mainline Mario and Zelda entries among other things. But 2024 is proving to be Nintendo’s year for more quirky, experimental titles, and very few people seem to be noticing. Take the lack of appreciation for Endless Ocean: Luminous, for example. I really enjoyed my 30 hours with the game. To me, it’s so obviously trying to be something radically outside the boundaries of what’s considered a video game, even compared to its predecessors on the Wii. However, critics condemned him for it, and it seems that a large part of the audience missed the point. Another Code: Recollection was also an experimental look at how to update a visual novel/adventure game to become something new, with superior production values. But almost no one outside a small niche seems to have tried to play it. The same goes for Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, which at first feels like a retro or throwback experience, like the 2021 entries, but shows classic Nintendo subversiveness and inventiveness as it goes along. Throw in the clever and enigmatic Zelda, a flashy 2D platformer starring Princess Peach, a couple of nice remasters (notably Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year-Door and Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD) and the upcoming new entry in the Mario & Luigi series, and it’s an incredibly awesome mix of games. It’s weird that the general zeitgeist seems to be that Nintendo is just stalling before revealing the next console, when in fact all of these smaller-scale titles contain large amounts of the offbeat eccentricity that makes us love the developer.
Jordan
I… agree with almost everything. And I’m glad you enjoyed Endless Ocean! Someone had to. (/jokes – I haven’t played.) – Ed.
“ubiquitous anime/hentai”
Anyone else an obsessive fan of the “What’s New on Nintendo eShop” articles on the Switch News page? I know this probably sounds a bit like I’m crazy, but I find these articles really fun – Laughing at all the shovelware, all the wildly funny and even more ubiquitous anime/hentai puzzle games…
I even have certain major publishers, almost “characters”, that I keep an eye on: Entity3, an apparently obvious mobile/shovelware publisher; EastAsiaSoft, I’m always very excited and proud when their game of the week is *not* just another entry in the “Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire” series (it’s their flagship)… Of course, none of this deserves to be on the eShop, but heck, it’s fun to think about. Sometimes there are even some real hidden gems.
NINTELDRITCH
As someone who occasionally has to scrape and compile our weekly download list… er, no. There are only so many Aldora Games AI-generated, Disney-copycat fairy tale titles you can add on a weekly basis before you want to permanently crash the entire Switch eShop.
And the risk of missing a real gem among all the dumplings is getting bigger and bigger. One of the things I’m most looking forward to about the Switch 2 is the new eShop! – Ed.
“some stinkers”
It’s no secret that Nintendo is very protective of their first party franchises, but when they give another company the chance to make a game for one of their IPs, you can get some amazing titles like Zelda: Minish Cap from Capcom or Smash Ultimate from Bandai Namco. Of course, you can also get some stinkers like Metroid: Other M by Team Ninja or Star Fox Zero by Platinum Games. What would be your dream collaboration between a third party developer and a Nintendo IP?
Kazman2007
Hmm, slap on the wrist for that casual slander of Other M. If anything, the Japanese box art failed.
I want to see… Kirby from FromSoftware. I will not answer questions at this time.
What do you say, team? – Ed.
- “Digital Eclipse and, uh… everything before N64.” – Ollie
- “I wouldn’t turn my nose up at an Evil Empire roguelike for the Metroid series.” – Jim
- “I’m getting two days off from the Zelda-guide dungeon I’ve been locked in for weeks and you’re pinging me with this ****!?” – Alana
“bigger and longer, and somewhat harder”
Good evening, Nintendo Life! I previous letter was about a game you would like to make. Since I don’t think it’s necessary to send the same message again, I thought I’d spice things up a bit.
What do you think about the “game length = cost” debate? Now this is quite nuanced, due to its origins in the 90s when games started getting bigger and longer, and were also harder to come by, so a presumptive value is given to “game length”.
Personally, it depends on the game. I’m not one to criticize a game for its “not worth the price” length or anything superfluous like that, but it would be completely disappointing to get barely 5 hours of gameplay out of a game at full price (100% completion included).
Yousef
If by ‘full price’ you mean £50 or £60, of course I’d be disappointed if I only got five hours out of Zelda. I’d be fine with 10 or 12 though. In a world where you can play games (also good ones) for free for thousands of hours, ‘length = price’ seems more backwards than ever. Publishers charge what they think people will pay, and I wouldn’t regret paying full price for 10 hours of Zelda if it was 10 great hours.
Personally, I really can’t remember the last time I was upset because there was also a game short. Stretching a five-hour idea to ten hours with additions and repetition is not profitable. I want to have a good time all the time – anything less is a real waste. – Ed.
“People associated with Nintendo”
Hello NL Crew!
Of course, Mario Party has been on my mind recently and got me wondering… if you were to invite 3 people associated with Nintendo to dinner, who would they be. They can be fictional or real life people!
For example, I would choose Big Man (from Deep Cut), Masahiro Sakurai, or Pop or Nana from Ice Climbers.
This last one may sound cruel, but I can simply say that they need to relieve themselves. They must drive each other crazy!all the best,
Nintoz
Let’s see. I’ll take Takashi Tezuka, Pauline, and Aurora from Animal Crossing. It’s time to de-ice the vents.
Let’s check with the Nintendo Life office… – Ed.
- “Charles Martinet, Miyamoto and Samus.” – Ollie
- “Addison, Tingle, Stamp Guy.” – Jim
“poor history”
I hope Nintendo improves their account system for Switch 2. Sharing games is a pain nowadays. I would like to buy another console for my son, but there is no real “family sharing” feature yet. It’s fine if Nintendo limits 1 active play per game, but they should really make it easier to set up a family group with individual accounts and share your game library without having to stay online or define a primary console that isn’t even your primary but one console you want to play offline . Given Nintendo’s poor history with online systems, I don’t know if they would still favor a feature like family sharing. what do you think
RenanKJ
I understand the desire to stop large groups networking as ‘family’ and sharing individual games, but it seems that yes real families are punished with a solution very similar to Nintendo’s this generation. Ultimately, though, even despite the struggles, we’re muddling through his needlessly complicated current lineup here, right? I don’t have much faith that things will be different with Switch 2. – Ed.
Bonus letters
(I’m assuming Gavin is reading this) – WoomyNNYda
I mean, I’m flying. – Ed.
I’m going to gamble that the “successor to the Nintendo Switch” has already been announced or will be announced when you post the next batch of reader letters.
In that case yay my lucky girl
By the way, I’m sorry for ruining everything
Aidan
Gambling is an easy game, Aidan. I had £50 on ‘Super Switch’ and then they call it ‘Alarmo’. smh – Ed.
That’s all for this month! Thanks to everyone who chimed in, regardless of whether you were listed above or not.
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