Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, well, that’s at least what they say. To me imitation could be a good thing, or, in a market where being unique can lead to being hugely popular and subsequent huge profit margins, a very bad thing. Look for example at Apple. No one is really like Apple in what they do and what they offer. Apple is the trendy tech company, and pending the outcome of a lawsuit, they either will be comfortably the trendy tech company for years to come, or they could see their profit margins erode as the Mac OS is opened up to other hardware manufacturers. Certainly could throw a wrench into things, that’s for sure.

So, what does this talk have to do with gaming? What? Are you serious? Imitation in the gaming realm is making me want to throw up, and I hope you’re as dazed about this imitation as I am.



One has to wonder where the first modern rip offs came into play. Being a young ‘un, I don’t remember the 80s, but I do remember the release of the PlayStation. See, it had a controller, and the original looked like a slightly modified SNES controller. I don’t know if I’d call that a rip off, but of course, the similarity between the original PlayStation controller and the SNES controller are just the tip of a much, much larger imitation Ice Berg.

In the current generation, two things have really screamed “HAHA I AM RIPPING YOU OFF” more than other things… things that just appear out of the blue and seem to be in response to something else. It’s almost as though these companies are afraid not to imitate a gimmick or feature found with another system. You know, it could be for the best.

But no! Here are things that seem like they are reactionary. Sony! What the hell were you thinking with the Sixaxis? Did you really think that tacked on motion control would be the best thing ever for the future of the PlayStation Brand? Perhaps you thought that you could get away with it because only crazy people (or really, really hardcore gamers) would buy a PS3? Whatever it is, it certainly seemed to be reactionary to the Wii Remote. Was it? Who the hell knows, but when you have a controller that looks like a DualShock 2 with motion controls tacked on, one can only speculate that it was.

Microsoft! You don’t appear to be any better! Avatars? Where have I seen those before? Oh that’s right! Miis! Sure, Avatars are more customizable, and if I could create an avatar of Avatar Aang*, that’d just be hilarious. Once again, avatars seem to be reactionary, not just to Nintendo’s Miis, but also the sudden explosion of the casual marketplace. Are they a rip off? Why don’t you decide? I won’t hold your hand.

Nintendo, you too imitate, but you don’t imitate your competitors, instead, this discussion has come full circle. You’re trying so hard to be something that I don’t think you’ll ever be able to be… Apple. Where as Apple has many, many units in addition to computers, Nintendo, you’re just games, and a games company you shall remain. Sure, you make a lot of money being the trendy and chic games company, but at what expense. Did you really think that “core gamers” would find Animal Crossing to be a game for core gamers? No, I don’t think you did, and honestly, I don’t think you cared. You’ve moved beyond core gamers, and before you know it, you might just be the Apple of the gaming world. Congrats. Truly, congrats.

Is it so hard to just be oneself? Some originality goes a long way. But the level of imitation in the games industry is disconcerting, before you know it, companies will be so focused on being reactionary that no one will take risks. I certainly don’t want that. Imitate, but also innovate. Don’t continue this path of reactionary imitation. It’s disgusting.

*I like cartoons. What of it?

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[img align=right width=150]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/63014CG7.jpg[/img]
As you may or may not know, I tend to be skewed towards the world of Nintendo. I grew up on Nintendo, I supported Nintendo up to the Wii, and once the Wii was released Nintendo decided to defecate on every member of the Nintendo old guard and try to appeal to that elusive casual gamer. They’re doing a great job, they really are. Meanwhile, I really, really want LittleBigPlanet, and well, we all know what system that is on. But yes! The Nintendo Connection! You see, the Wii has the dubious distinction of being home to more crap than one can shake a finger at. Strike that, one hundred billion fingers. The more depressing thing is that people are buying this stuff. It’s really, really disappointing, and I’ll tell you why.


I just happen to be visiting my absolute favorite website in the whole wide world, commonly referred to as IGN or the Imagine Games Network, part of the Empire of Brands we know as News Corp. Did you know that Rupert Murdoch actually runs News Corp. from a replica of the Death Star? Neither did I. If only it was true. Anyways, with IGN’s inflated review scores, we should be able to find some interesting trends on the Wii. There are some absolutely atrocious games for the Wii. The true winner of the “holy crap, IGN thinks this game really, really sucks” award gets to go to a game called Kawasaki Snowmobiles. Obtaining a review score of 2.1 out of 10 must have been tough for Data Design Interactive. The reviewer states that just picking up the game will leave you “immediately frustrated.” Sounds like a certain winner, and we certainly appreciate Data Design Interactive and other small developers like Coyote for creating the shovelware that we’ve come to expect on the Wii.

Sadly, this torrent of shovelware has encouraged other, major developers to take part in the crap fest. The two well known examples of major developers half-assing their work has to be Target: Terror and Crusin’. Both of these titles could probably run on an N64. For Target: Terror, think Lethal Enforcers. For Crusin’ think the original Crusin’ USA. If you haven’t read about these wonder entries into the realm of shovelware, I certainly suggest that you search the web. The really sad thing is that these two titles were developed by Konami and Midway! Konami developed such charming games as Elebits, and Midway is… Midway. But damn, even they are releasing crap, and it’s upsetting.

I can’t help but think shovelware breeds more shovelware. It seems as though Wii Sports and Wii Play spawned a plethora of mini game games. From there, mini game games developed into shovelware (Deca Sports, etc). Keep going, and eventually we find ourselves with the Kawasaki Snowmobiles of the Wii. It’s really, really depressing, and I only imagine that the inundation of crap will continue through the life span of the Wii.

Why does it even matter? Well, when people buy the low production value crap described above, it proves that developers and publishers do not need to spend lots of money on a game to make lots of money. Why create a masterpiece with a lot of risk when you can create shovelware, guarantying a profit? It’s really, really unfortunate, and it really makes me sad.

Fortunately, there are some mavericks on the Wii, wonderful people like Suda51. You all should support these mavericks, so that more people take the risk that these fine gentlemen take. There are some true masterpieces on the Wii, (No More Heroes, Okami*) and in the future there are destined to be a few more. (Mad World) You might call them diamonds in the rough, and I really wish that more developers would create their own diamond in the rough.

Sadly, those diamonds are rare, and it seems as though with each passing month more sediment covers up these diamonds. What is one to do? Will there be a point where those rare diamonds cease to be produced? I certainly hope not, but I can’t be sure. Time shall certainly tell.

*Yes, Okami was originally a PS2 game, but it is so damn good. Buy it, won’t you?

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