We can understand a healthy dose of Miyamoto-worship -- the man is a legend in the industry, and he's responsible for more of our cherished childhood memories than we'd like to admit. And sure, we love Reggie, and Iwata is the man (by that, we mean one hell of a savvy businessman), but is it really their personalities that make Nintendo what it is right now? No, it's certainly their skills ... so what's with all the executive worship that is spreading throughout gaming communities? Is it just that industry execs are out in the open more and more often, or is it something else? After all, most of the people that we're chasing in the industry are just in marketing. They're not doing much to create the things we spend our time on; they're just a face. A name. No different than mascot characters -- it's just now that we're growing up, apparently Sonic and Mario can't bear the brunt of the console wars any longer, and we've moved on to Reggie and pre-exodus Peter Moore. But let us know what you think -- that's why we're here.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-19-2007 @ 9:16AM
vidGuy said...
I think the Moore thing real brings to the forefront the fact that these are people too and that they are swayed by money and other factors that influence their lives, just like the rest of us. They may look like the biggest fanboys, they man even get it inked into their body, but they are businesspeople first and foremost.
It's one thing to respect someone, another to worship them. But I think very few of us are at the point of worship. As much as I love Nintendo's strategy and output in the last few years, they too have made mistakes that have let me down.
The product is what matters but the pitch matters, too, and it's important for the top execs to be passionate about what they are doing at that moment. But they don't have undying love for the company like they appear to, and we shouldn't expect that of them anyway.
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7-19-2007 @ 9:22AM
hvnlysoldr said...
The other consoles can't match up against Mario because they don't have mascots. As simple as that. Sure 360 will get Halo, but that's definitely targeted at the hardcore and cannot be embraced by the whole market. Mario appeals to everyone succeeding as a mascot for Nintendo. The executives got more power since the competitors couldn't create a video game mascot and decided to put a human face to their company.
Besides who could forget Giant Enemy Crabs, real time weapon change, real historical battles in Japan with giant enemy crabs, RROD, tatoos, RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDGGGGGGEEEEEEE RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCEEEEERrR, and "My name is Reggie. I'm here to kick ass and take names. And we're about making games."
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7-19-2007 @ 10:18AM
Dan said...
I think in Reggie's case, he's just a very, very good speaker. I'd say he's up there with Steve Jobs in terms of charisma. OK, he's a long way from achieving the Stevemeister's reality distortion effect, but Reggie is a much better speaker than Moore, Tretton, and the others.
It's the same situation with Jade from Ubisoft - she's become almost as much of an obsession as Assassin's Creed for many gamers.
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7-19-2007 @ 10:21AM
Artr said...
Where is that image of Reggie from... and where can i get a t-shirt of it?
(without the Wii and Nintendo logos)
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7-19-2007 @ 12:48PM
Nushio said...
I'm with Artr, I totally want that shirt!
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7-19-2007 @ 1:04PM
Hame said...
It's funny, when I was younger, gaming was my life, but I sure as hell wouldn't have been able to name a single Nintendo employee (well except Miyamoto). These days I could probably name at least 10 employees from every games company.
Needless to say I enjoyed gaming a lot more when I was younger than I do these days.
I think (like a lot of fans I'm sure) I've now gotten too wrapped up in the whole business and industry side of things and have forgotten the simple, innocent pleasure of just loving games. Growing up sucks!
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7-19-2007 @ 7:45PM
JC Fletcher said...
If it's based totally on Reggie's charisma, why didn't anyone care when he was at VH1?
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7-19-2007 @ 10:48PM
Nodnetni said...
Where is that picture from?????????????????????????????????
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7-19-2007 @ 11:14PM
Ryudo said...
That picture is reggies head on Bruce lees body.
I took a few of those shirts home from work after the release of Wii.
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7-23-2007 @ 4:39PM
neural said...
I think you underestimate the power of the marketers hold. You think all coders/developers come up with all the wonderful game ideas?
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7-23-2007 @ 5:18PM
Mr Khan said...
@ JC
Network executives are a much more transparent figures, the only network executive i know about is Ted Turner, really.
Videogame fanbases seem to be locked into the same category as Football Hooligans across the Atlantic. They (by which i mean We) have a whole "Us v them" mentality, and the figures of the corporate entities tie into that
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