Nintendo believes in user-created content.
A few years ago, the world of video games in general waited anxiously for companies to launch their entertainment proposals. We were part of a loop that, more or less, always acted in a similar way. Wait for the company on duty to give us a batch of levels and play them.
Of course part of the market still works, but things are starting to change. The values that a user perceives today are no longer based so much on enjoying the entertainment that someone has created, but rather on being able to create it. They say that “customization” is the way to success today, and elements like Facebook, a free environment in which a series of rules are simply drawn but with a lot of open space to create content, they demonstrate it.
And this desire for customization and that in video games translates to creating tools and community, how do companies understand it? Sony has put all the meat on the grill with ‘Little Big Planet’, a game that allows us to create platform screens and that bases its success on sharing them, but… what about the Japanese giant that has been responsible for raise the altars of success to the casual segment? what about Nintendo?
Well, in the words of Reggie Fils-Aime, it needs no introduction, interaction and the possibility of a user generating content and sharing it is simply the future of the market and to illustrate it, he travels back in time five years.
“Let’s go back to 1996 and look at the five most visited websites. They were the five search engines, information management systems controlled by someone. They were essentially the best bookstores in the world.”
“But now let’s look at the present. If we look at the five most visited websites today, we will find that they all store content composed almost entirely of users for the benefit of other users. The game has changed and as entertainment changes, we keep a close eye on it.”
And that “follow closely” implies that a new batch of titles that bet on user-generated content will soon reach its range of consoles.
‘Band Brothers Deluxe DS’ will allow users to compose their own music and then share it. ‘Girls Mode’ will allow players to design their own clothing collection and then start their own fashion business. But there is more, the ‘DSi Moving Notepad’ will allow to be used as a traditional animation program and will allow the user to draw his own small animations, and finally with ‘WarioWare Myself’ we will give the opportunity to create authentic mini-games and play them against other users.”
“Likewise ‘Wii Music’ and ‘Animal Crossing: City Folk’ are also established as two important elements in the company’s strategy to give users creation tools.”
It seems like a truth like a temple, the future (or at least the current market trend, we already know that this changes quickly) holds for us video games adapted to foster community and enhance our creativity.
But let’s exaggerate it, if it continues like this the developers won’t even have to worry about making levels, instead of ‘FarCry 2’ they will try to sell us (for the same price, don’t doubt that) their scenario editor. The excuse is “we give you what you want, tools to encourage creativity and sharing with other users”, and the reality instead would paint more to “the development cost of the title in question has been divided by 4 and the benefits remain We are some cracks.”
At the moment it is a market trend, but be careful, it can change. And since this goes in cycles and now we live the casual game, don’t be surprised that at one time the segment is so saturated that the “hardcore gamer” lives a second youth…
