I keep finding articles all over the internet about how the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita will be utter failures simply because people already have gaming-capable smartphones in their pockets. Of course I have written about this more than once, and to summarize, I simply don’t think it’s true.
"I think it's very similar between cell phone cameras and professional digital cameras [DSLRs]. You don't use a Smartphone camera for an interview, and you don't use a really professional camera to take some small pictures when you're going to work," - Mega Man co-creator and ex-Capcom head of production Keiji Inafune
Recently, though, I had an idea that may give Nintendo an edge against the constant barrage of disposable games smartphone users tend to compare real video games. What if Nintendo starts repackaging some of their older classic games as cheap minigames? I came to this realization as I played Balloon Fight on Balloon Trip mode. I thought it resembled some very popular flash games, and might as well be their predecessor (no, I don’t know how old the “helicopter game” is).
With a very small budget they could re-make any game (or part of it) with high-resolution sprites, backgrounds and menus. Leave the retro sounds and music intact (everybody loves chiptunes!) and slap on a catchy acronym for a suffix (not “3D”, please). Instead of hosting a costly online leaderboard, let players exchange high scores over streetpass. Finally, make sure the game doesn’t have many menus or game modes; just a splash screen and then some action. When you’re done, toss a few of these games at your customers over spotpass every once in a while!
If players knew they would find a little gift-wrapped icon in their menu every once in a while with games that not only are addictive and simple, but are free, they would keep their Wi-Fi on all the time, thus providing valuable data that Nintendo could use and keeping their systems updated to prevent piracy.
If investors think gamers want cheap games above all else, then give them to us so the investors can continue to support the system and developers can continue to make quality games.
So, what will it be? A generic helicopter game or Balloon Trip SX? Fruit Ninja or Duck Hunt WZ? Wrecking Crew BT anyone? Aw yeah!
