Nintendo Offends Developers at GDC By Being Nintendo

So Iwata’s keynote at GDC was disappointing for gamers mostly because they didn’t show off any new material. Yeah we heard about Mario 3DS, but we didn’t see any footage of the game, and what footage we did get, while exciting for Zelda fans, is a game we had previously already experienced. However, what has come as a shock to many gamers is that Nintendo actually offended a lot of developers, specifically those that create games for social platforming.

Grant it, many people who look at the keynote in context and understand that a lot of what Iwata said isn’t exactly false, it came off as Nintendo really attacking the companies behind the social gaming platforms. Honestly something like this may have been overlooked had NIntendo actually given a higher quality speech, but at this point it just really felt like Nintendo has pretty much gotten everything out to the public that it has right now already and we’re pretty much just in wait to see what new stuff they are just now starting at E3. It felt like an odd time at Nintendo, since all they could possibly talk about is more 3DS stuff that they have been talking about for months.

Iwata bashing social games isn’t surprising, considering that social games are the biggest threat right now to companies like Nintendo, and then eventually down the road systems like OnLive will become a real threat as well. Steel Diver as an example feels like a game you could get for a dollar, but Nintendo wouldn’t make a profit off the game if it wasn’t sold at a 30$ price point. So you reach the point where you worry about customer created content possibly lowering the cost of what the big boys provide, which could lead to even MORE shovelware.

You have to keep this all in perspective. This has only become a big deal because Nintendo seemed to have “nothing” else to talk about. Nintendo was being themselves, and when they have nothing new to show off while being their “cocky” selves, only the bad rises to the surface. Lets face it: Nintendo has always and will always continue to do it’s own thing. However, sometimes you have to learn to temper your calling out of others in the industry when you don’t have anything new to show off. In addition, the Wii has a lot of Shovel Ware as well right? That’s why it keeps collecting dust for 4 month periods.