My main issues with Nintendo are the forced gimmicks(stylus with the DS, motion with the Wii, Gamepad with the Wii U) but on the other hand, I still believe they make some of the best games on the planet. I just wish the gimmicky stuff(I know gimmicky is in the eye of the beholder) was 100% optional and you could, for exmple, have 2 pro controllers connected to the Wii U and discard the gamepad. Games would have to be patched to allow Pro controller only support but naturally there are titles that need the Gamepad. Generally speaking though, I want it to be optional, which would also lower the cost of the Wii U significantly.
Raw horsepower is overrated imo; art direction is everything. Naturally it's nice if a console has more assets to work with, but some people are WAY too picky about resoolution, textures and that kinda shit when in reality, good art design very often makes up for a system's lack of power. Take Dragon Quest VIII for example, a beautiful PS2 game that isn't terribly demanding graphically, even compared to other PS2 games, but its cell shaded style made its presentation timeless. Even if you don't like Akira Toriyama's art, you have to admit DQVIII is an excellent representation of that particular style. Framerate is the only thing I can be picky about, and only in games that requires lots of quick twitch reflexes like fighting games(don't play any FPS games), Racing games, Platformers etc.
Too much money is spent on making games look really pretty, and it's steadily jacking up dev costs. It's possible to make gorgeous games without spending assloads of money if their art style/direction is solid enough. Chrono Trigger, FF6, Phantasy Star IV, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Suikoden 1-2(especially 2), Mario games, Zelda games, Metal Gear Solid 1-4 and TONS of other older games still look great today due to their superb art direction, and the hardware most of them run on is practically stone age tech by today's standards.
edit: The death of the mid-budget game and mobile obliterating dedicated handhelds is really hurting the industry as a whole. Most games today are either "AAA" games that cost WAY too much to make with beautiful graphics or cheap mobile shit. We need more mid-range games. OT I know but it's true.
Raw horsepower is overrated imo; art direction is everything. Naturally it's nice if a console has more assets to work with, but some people are WAY too picky about resoolution, textures and that kinda shit when in reality, good art design very often makes up for a system's lack of power. Take Dragon Quest VIII for example, a beautiful PS2 game that isn't terribly demanding graphically, even compared to other PS2 games, but its cell shaded style made its presentation timeless. Even if you don't like Akira Toriyama's art, you have to admit DQVIII is an excellent representation of that particular style. Framerate is the only thing I can be picky about, and only in games that requires lots of quick twitch reflexes like fighting games(don't play any FPS games), Racing games, Platformers etc.
Too much money is spent on making games look really pretty, and it's steadily jacking up dev costs. It's possible to make gorgeous games without spending assloads of money if their art style/direction is solid enough. Chrono Trigger, FF6, Phantasy Star IV, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Suikoden 1-2(especially 2), Mario games, Zelda games, Metal Gear Solid 1-4 and TONS of other older games still look great today due to their superb art direction, and the hardware most of them run on is practically stone age tech by today's standards.
edit: The death of the mid-budget game and mobile obliterating dedicated handhelds is really hurting the industry as a whole. Most games today are either "AAA" games that cost WAY too much to make with beautiful graphics or cheap mobile shit. We need more mid-range games. OT I know but it's true.