New Miyamoto interview (must read)!

[Sacred Jellybean]

I still say that the changes in Zelda TWW aren't innovative but are just more normal improvements that go in sequels... sequels can change stuff and improve games without innovating. That's what happened in WW... its a big change, but not innovative because it HAS been done before... or at least things like it have, if not exactly this.

I'm gonna have to side with Falcon on this one. While the programmers of WW, as computer scientists, may be practicing innovation by taking an old idea and making it more efficient, that's the farthest extent of their innovation in the cel-shading perspective. I'm not saying there's no innovation AT ALL involved; I'm just saying that its significance is only limited to how well Nintendo has improved an existing idea, which, essentially, is a sequel.

Oh, and Nintendarse, I understand what you're saying completely. What I don't understand, though, is why are we using the mainstream consumer's viewpoint as our point-of-reference in the first place? I'm too lazy to trace back and see where it arose, so you just tell me why you think its important.

You may argue that Nintendo is a business, and therefore the sales/viewpoint of the majority of consumers are most important. However, if Nintendo only pandered to their audience and calculated what they thought would be sell the most, it would limit their artistic freedom. It's equivalent of what many disgruntled music fans label underground artists going mainstream and designing music based on what sells, rather than exploring their own artistic integrity -- or selling out.

Although innovation is important, I don't see why its placed on such a high pedastool. Not every game has to be a completely new and fresh idea to succeed. That would be interesting, but wouldn't leave any room for improvements on the existing ideas. How would you like it if Mario 64 was the only 3D platformer? That means saying goodbye to B~K, Rocket: Robot on Wheels, and Mario Sunshine, among others. Yeah, this is irrelevant to what we're talking about, but I thought it would be an interesting point to raise, nonetheless.