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Submitted by Big Brother on Monday, October 30, 2006 at 12:10 AM EST
But in 1985, something great happened. Something unexpected. Nobody saw it coming: The Famicom, a.k.a. NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). I was a bold move as, up to that point in time, the console industry wasn’t big in North America. And now a relatively new company tried to take both the Japanese and North American audience in one move. It brought the game industry to a new level. Nintendo automatically became the number one company thus surpassing Atari which was the main player before. (With WM1, the WWE did surpass the old NWA which was there long before him and he did that while trying to bring his company on a national scale) But something more happened that year. It wasn’t simply the beginning of a new hardware, a new way to entertain people… it was also the debut of the most well known character in videogame history: Mario. With the title “Super Mario Bros.”, little Mario became a fan favorite for children of all ages. Here was a hard working Italian plumber who would do everything he could do defeat the almighty Bowser, the Super Villain. This is referring to the debut of Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania, even though this really started in 1984, and his title match against the Iron Sheik 1989 Now that there is finally a star in this industry, one that could please all fans, it was time to take this industry to a newer level, to make connections with the other huge entertainment industry: the Movies. Oh yeah, there was some videogame related movies before, but never on that type of scale. Tron was related to videogames but it wasn’t a videogame in the first place. Now, it was time to take Mario and put him in a film. And that gave us the horribly bad movie “The Wizard” about a kid who wants to go to California and is gifted in videogames. The movie was bad and the only interest was to actually showcase Nintendo product and their star, Super Mario Bros 3 which was about to be released. That year the WWF tried their hand at producing a movie. It was called “No Holds Barred” and featured hulk Hogan. It was a total failure 1992 In the early 1990’s, the fans were getting tired. They wanted something more. They NEEDED something more. The old Mario and Mario 2 and Zelda games on the NES wasn’t enough anymore… it was time for an upgrade. New generations of hardware were making their apparition with the SNES (Super Nintendo) and Sega CD. Now, it was time to use that new technology and make good use of it. It took time and not everybody was listening… but somehow… somebody took notice. That year Midway saw its opportunity to make a game that would blow everybody’s mind. It was Mortal Kombat. It was a complete new beginning. For the first time, a company was willing to go against the taboos. Realistic violence, strange storylines and blood. Guess what bloodthirsty wrestling company was created in 1992 Now, the majority of you probably already know but I might say it here anyway : Mortal Kombat created a LOT of controversy. While fans in the arcade were slowly but surely giving away their money for a game that they enjoyed, it also raised a lot of questions and eyebrows. Concerned parents blamed the videogame for violence from their kids and a lawsuit was filled. The American Congress expressed their concern but before anything was done, the videogame industry introduced, two years later, their own rating system similar to the one used in the movies. But the damage was already done. For a lot of parents, videogames wasn’t for kids anymore. There was an investigation (and trial) over the distribution of steroids by WWF officials. Vince was acquitted but it did damage the company image Little tidbit of free information here, it wasn’t the first lawsuit in this industry. Universal Studios sued Nintendo because they claimed Donkey Kong was actually infringing on the movie King Kong. In the end, Nintendo won because Universal didn’t even own the rights to King Kong. Marvel said that Hulk Hogan was infringing their rights to “The Incredible Hulk”. They made a deal for the use of the name 1995 Up to that point in time, everybody seemed happy to let everybody else do their things and the industry as a whole seemed a bit careless. They were doing something they loved and getting paid for it. But it wouldn’t stay that way forever. It couldn’t. Up to that point, the two consoles companies were Nintendo and Sega but Sony changed everything when they introduced the Playstation. Now there was a war. What we fans know as The Console War. For the first time three companies would be competing for the fans hard earned money. And as the fans have the choice, the major players are trying to one-up each other. The fans were getting better games. If you needed my help to recognize the beginning of the Monday night war, go shot yourself In the following years, games like Final Fantasy 7, Resident Evil and Doom were jaw dropping titles that showed how much the industry evolved. It wasn’t as simple as Mario Bros. And it wasn’t as cute as Link. Now it was cutting edge and it was proud of it. While some of them created controversy, they never slowed down because of it. On the contrary, they used it as fuel to get bigger and better. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Degeneration-X, ECW, now… come on guys, you know that 2001 But the war wouldn’t continue forever either. Every good thing as an end. And in this case, it happened in early 2001. That’s right, that year, SEGA announce that they were dropping from the console competition. The Dreamcast was their last machine. It was a good idea that just didn’t have enough fuel to continue running anymore. They didn’t have the financial resources to continue in a struggle that was costing them too much money. Make your choice. ECW or WCW? But there was one news that nobody was expecting. Yes, SEGA, the console maker was dead… but it didn’t mean that we wouldn’t hear about it anymore. Yes because SEGA also announce that they would concentrate their effort on making videogames. They became a developer who produced games, working hand in hand with Nintendo and Playstation which were putting them out of business. Again, make a choice. Heyman or Bischoff? 2002 It wasn’t long at all before a new competition showed up. One single year after the death of the Dreamcast, Microsoft decided to try their hand at console making. But the head of Microsoft is a stubborn man and he wouldn’t listen to the market. He took decisions that hindered his chances at making money. He alienated himself the Japanese market and, if you know anything about the videogame industry, you know that you can’t expect to have great success unless you have the big Japanese market. Microsoft looked weak compared to the seemingly almighty Sony and it’s quasi-monopole on the business. NWA-TNA started without a weekly TV show which resulted in a lower fan base. And yes, I kind of compared the Jarrett family to Bill Gates, sorry Bill 2005 Finally, with the Xbox 360, Microsoft realized the errors they made and tried to correct them. They decided to seek the help of Japanese game developers and are one their way to having a more successful relation which can only mean growth… and more money. Yeah, TNA got on Spike in 2005 Last year also saw the latest controversy in the industry. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and its developer Rockstar went a bit too far in their idea of a realistic thug simulator when they decided to include a “hot coffee mod”. For those unfamiliar with this story, Rockstar included a minigame, unlocked only with a crack, which allowed the user to fuck a whore. Yep, you’ve read that right. Rockstar defended themselves by saying that it was supposed to be removed from the game and should never have been included, even as an unlockable but we all know that Rockstar likes controversy. It sparks sales. I am of course referring to the Hassan incident with his ski mask helpers that were a “bunch of thugs” and “didn’t represent terrorism”. Yes, the videogame industry changed over the years. Yes, it started as a children pastime. But the children grow up after a while. And so did the industry. Today it’s not just about the gore or the blood or the sex. It’s all about the game play. The fans refined themselves over the years and they are now at a point where they expect something not quite as childish as they did 20 years ago but not as aggressive as it was 10 years ago. And there is even a new trend… the Nostalgia. There are more and more old games or old series that are seeing a new life. Games like the Mega Man, the Midway classics, Atari classics and so on. The fans remember that time. No, they don’t want, or expect, to see it back to this type of games but they love to reminisce about those good old days. And even after all those years, even if Mario isn’t like the Mario of old, we all like to see him pop up again. We like to follow his weird adventures and, even if we know he isn’t in grave danger at any point, we still cheer for him to finish the bad guy. Things changed. We changed. The industry changed with us. The problem was and still is, it’s the opinion of the ones not enjoying these products that stayed the same. They still think it’s made for children. It isn’t. Some part of it may still be suitable for kids but most of it is intended to me. The fans that used to play Baseball Star and Faxanadu. The fan who loved it when Mega Man finally beat Dr. Willy, even if we all knew that he would be coming back for more. The fan that laughed when he saw Gabby Jay come to the ring, ready to be beaten for the 100th time. The fan that was shocked when he learned that Samus (from Metroid fame) was a girl. I’m the one who plays and I grew up. I’m an adult and I can see the difference between good and evil, between reality and a videogame storyline. The games today are meant for me. I hope you guys enjoyed that column which was a complete metaphor. If you didn’t understand it or saw the correlation with wrestling… well… you can highlight the black text and everything should be revealed. I hope some of you were able to see what I was trying to do in the first place. That’s it for tonight. Hope you liked it. Take care. P.S. Feedback is always enjoyed. *NEW GALLERY* Must See New and Rare Photos of NATALYA NEIDHART!
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