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?
