"Is Nintendo Becoming Lazy?"

The launch of the GameCube saw Nintendo's first step into the next-generation console world, and to be expected their next step was to bring out the great games we all love and enjoy. Except so far they're not the ones who have brought us these hopeful great gaming classics. The games that Nintendo have created so far for the GameCube have yet to live up to the greatness that once branded Nintendo games. These past few years since the GameCube launch we have seen a lot of things change within the gaming world. Rare was sold off to Microsoft, Sega and Nintendo become best buddies and the reason for this investigation, they started giving their gaming classics to other developers to give them their next-gen update. So why has Nintendo started doing this? Is it a good idea? They are questions that really need answering.

Three of Nintendo's biggest gaming classics have already been given to other developers to update to the world of the GameCube. Sega/AV was given the task of updating F-Zero to a totally new level and Namco has been given the job of creating a new Star Fox game. Also not forgetting Metroid Prime, Retro Studios did a great job at giving the ageing series a face-lift it deserved. Admittedly Nintendo have been busy creating new concepts and games, so it would be sensible for them to allow other developers to do the duty of updating their classic games. However, even if it's seen as sensible, Nintendo have produced some good games but they are yet to create anything great. The Nintendo spark seems to be wearing off. So far for the GameCube we've seen Pikmin, Mario Sunshine, Zelda: The Wind Waker, Luigi's Mansion and Animal Crossing. Apart from Animal Crossing, the other games in the list seem to have been rushed and not thought out properly.

Animal Crossing was indeed a great new idea from Nintendo; however, the game also appeared before hand on the Nintendo64 and the GameCube version was just a port with a load of extras added in. Mario Sunshine and The Wind Waker were the games to watch out for and were the most hyped out of the lot, but with both games they leave you feeling rather ripped-off. They are good games in their own right, but they lacked substance and were over and done with rather too quickly. The GameCube is meant to be a more powerful system but people would still rather play on Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo or Mario64 for the N64. Nintendo were meant to have sorted themselves out for the GameCube, but it is apparent they have not. Is this a sign of laziness? Of course it is. Nintendo has never been known for short games, up until now that is.

Nintendo have recently announced a new project it's working on, and that is Pac-Man. Yes, the yellow thing is getting a sort of upgrade from Nintendo with the help of Namco, but it isn't even a proper upgrade. The graphics remain the same, it's just the game engine that's changing. The major change for the game is that it heavily relies on the rather doomed GBA to GCN link-up.

Admittedly Nintendo have released some original titles for the GameCube: Pikmin, Animal Crossing and Luigi's Mansion. However, like I said before, both Pikmin and Luigi's Mansion felt rushed and were indeed far too short. All the while Nintendo are trying to boost the GBA to GCN link-up feature, this seems to be number 1 on Nintendo's priority list and developing games seems to be rather low down. That said, then the idea of Nintendo trying to boast the connectivity idea must be taking up a lot of their time. Surely it can't be a sign of laziness? Well, yes is it. Why? Because every single employee of Nintendo must surely not all be promoting the GBA to GCN link-up. While Nintendo is promoting, they've yet to release a game that actually utilises the connectivity to a full potential. Maybe Nintendo should lay off the promoting for a while to concentrate on a long, not rushed, great game we're all desperate for.

So what's next from Nintendo? Well there's Pac-Man for starters, then there are the sequels and updates: Pikmin 2, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Party 5 and Custom Robo (which isn't so bad). The updates I don't mind, as I like seeing old games being given a nice touch of polish; however, the sequels are something I'm not happy about. I'm bored with Mario Party games, they're all the same and they get worse each time. Nintendo this laziness must stop - this is the fifth game! Pikmin 2 didn't pick up any interest at this years ECTS and E3, but is Nintendo listening? No, they want to continue their path of 'look, the first game was good, let's release a sequel that really doesn't improve on the original'.

So there you have it, Nintendo are getting lazy. I can't be sure about the reasons why they've decided to do this, but it has to stop now. It is in no way a good idea and never will be. Let's just wait and see what happens.