The ‘End of day’ thoughts have been gone for awhile. For awhile, it was internet issues that was causing the missing feature. Now, it’s just the insane amount of work being done! Now, I am trying to budget my time a bit better. That’s why I needed to bring the ‘End of day’ thoughts back in style! This may very well be the biggest feature we’ve done yet! You guys enjoy this while I head off to get some sleep. See you in a few short hours, gang.
If you guys have been following my articles lately, you’ve noticed my recent issues with game reviews. Nintendo has been creating games that just don’t fit into traditional genres. When these games become popular, we see third parties put their own spin on these ideas. It is these type of expanded audience games, such as Animal Crossing and Brain Age, that really got me thinking. Are reviewers approaching these games in the best way they can?
Disregarding print media, many outlets receive games from Nintendo, and they have those titles reviewed a day or two later. In my opinion, Nintendo releases a fair amount of games that simply cannot be experienced in that amount of time. You guys know that I really take my time with my reviews. I may be much slower than other outlets, but I do what I feel is necessary to best review the product. If I was questioning other review methods out there, I thought Nintendo might be as well.
I am not trying to say that reviews done in the manners listed above are ‘wrong’ or ‘incorrect’. I simply believe that certain games require a different, unique approach. That’s what lead me to a Q&A with Nintendo’s Denise Kaigler, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Nintendo of America Inc.. She was nice enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions, and let me know how she felt about the topic.
———————————————-
RMC: Nintendo has quite a few titles that present interesting dilemmas for media outlets when time comes for reviews. Titles like Animal Crossing: City Folk, Nintendogs, Brain Age, and others all involve a lot of time to invest. With that said, do you think that titles such as these can be accurately reviewed without a sizable amount of playtime?
DK: I understand that these nontraditional games can sometimes put video game writers in a bit of a bind. On the one hand, they want to get information about the play experience out to their readers. On the other, some of these games have no traditional “ending.” Obviously we want people to accurately report about their experiences. And you’re correct that a cursory run through of any of these titles cannot convey all the fun surprises and fascinating details gamers might find. Wii Fit and Brain Age in particular are built upon the idea that users track their progress over weeks and months. So a one-day experience cannot tell the full story.
It’s also true that as gaming moves towards becoming more social, gameplay experiences can also last over a much longer period of time. Friends across the world can visit and interact with each other in their respective Animal Crossing City Folk towns, race online against a vast group of diverse and challenging opponents in Mario Kart, or test their fighting skills against a global audience in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. How long does it take before one can accurately review these social experiences? It’s an interesting dilemma.
(more…)
See the rest here:
GoNintendo ?End of day? thoughts - Exclusive: Nintendo?s Denise Kaigler discusses the state of expanded audience game reviews
