Mailbox: Nintendo Life Letters Page

Image: Nintendo Life

Welcome back to the Nintendo Life Mailbox. It’s mid-July, so it’s time to delve into our digital mailbag and see what’s on the minds of the loveliest people in all of gamedom – Nintendo Life readers!

Got something you want to get off your chest? Gaming-related, preferably, but we receive all sorts of things. Want to get our take on The Discourse™? Ask Ollie about his favourite 3D Sonic? Find out Alana’s thoughts on pineapple on pizza or Jim’s favourite socks? That’s a bit weird, but okay – we’re ready and waiting.

Each month we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page for information on how to have your short, sharp correspondence drop on our digital doormat.

Enough ado. Time to crack out our Master Sword letter opener…

Nintendo Life Mailbox – July 2023

“Keyword stuffing” (***STAR LETTER***)

The Nintendo eShop has been in bad shape for years now when it comes to shovelware. The problem is compounded by the fact that the “New Releases” tab is completely cluttered every week with re-re-re-re-releases of the same F-tier games, bundled or repackaged as “ultimate edition” or “definitive edition.” I assume doing so gives the publisher a new SKU in the eShop, so Nintendo treats it like a new game. For example, the infamous “AAA Clock” app has now been released an astounding *34 times* on the North American eShop!

The other big problem I see is what I call “keyword stuffing,” as it mimics the issue of the same name with respect to search engine optimization. Shovelware games are coming out with absurd, lengthy titles such as “Real Truck Simulator USA Car Games – Driving Games, Parking Sim, Car Speed Racing 2022” (I wish I had made that up. It is a real game, for sale right now.)

I am frustrated that Nintendo allows these practices to continue unabated. I would like to see Nintendo Life and other influential outlets call Nintendo out for ignoring the actions of bad-faith publishers, while the eShop has become a cesspool of garbage with a few pockets of good and decent games.

Thank you for reading!
JJtheTexan

It’s depressing to see genuinely great games buried in the eShop scroll as publishers do what they can to game the system and gain any scrap of visibility. RedDeer, the AAA Clock publisher, has a particularly bad track record of this practice.

It’s clear to both players and developers that Nintendo’s current ‘open-door’ policy is a long way from perfect, even if policing and curating everything opens a can of worms. From Nintendo’s point of view, is it right to exclude, say, Farming Simulator – Farm, Tractor, Experience Logic Games Nintendo Switch Edition or The Last Hope from the eShop just because they’re annoying and clogs up search results?

It’s a tough one. You would hope that sincere, serious thought is being devoted to the design of its next storefront, specifically to visibility, discounting, and closing loopholes that let publishers resubmit the same software dozens of times. – Ed.

Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

“Crusty”

I admit that I am a crusty old fogey. Not sure how it happened but it did. Maybe that’s what makes me say this but “STOP WITH THE OPEN WORLD GAMES”. I just don’t have the time, energy or patience for them. The bad thing is that everything is going that way. Mario Odyssey, Zelda, Lego Racer.

I just want to go from A to B bouncing on turtles heads, start at a start line, and finish at a finish line. Start at the bottom of a mountain, grab Bob-omb by the tail and get a star.

Let some games be open world for sure but not ALL of them. I don’t remember a time where every single genre is obsessed with being “open world” and I started with the original Space Invaders.

Please – we need more variety.
norwichred

I agree up to a point. Not everything needs to be open-world. Odyssey struck a good balance for me, and I’m not convinced personally that the Bowser’s Fury-style direction many people are desperate for the next 3D Mario to take is the only way forward. Give me Galaxy 3 and a sandwich and I’d be made up. Fogeys ftw!

HOWEVER, I’d also argue that there’s never before been more variety in games. And while the biggest studios tend to lean towards open worlds (Street Fighter 6 is a great recent example), there are so many games being made by teams large and small that there’s no shortage of linear experiences if they’re your preference. Same if you’re tired of Metroidvanias or cosy farm sims or harrowing personal narratives or retro-styled pixel platformers — it can be overwhelming when so many teams are racing to tick the same buzzword checkboxes, but with so many other games to investigate, there really is something for everyone. – Ed.

“Where’s my Delorean”

Dear Nintendo Life,

Thank you always for continuously providing me with an endless stream of content to keep me coming back daily.

Anyways, my question today stems from the ever increasing costs of classic physical video games. What actually drives the prices up or down? Who actually determines the actual dollar amount these are worth? I’ve been figuring it could be the amount produced during said games life cycle, the window it was released and if it was at the end of a console’s life span or perhaps it’s just the surrounding buzz and cult status of certain games that drives the price to abhorrent costs. For example; Little Samson on the NES can sell loose for an average of $1,000! Now in my opinion, this game isn’t even all that great. And it was released in 1992 along with many other games that late in the NES life cycle, so what makes this one so special against other cheap releases that year such as TMNT3: The Manhattan Project or Dragon Warrior 3? Both better in my opinion.

In conclusion, the ever-increasing cost of classic physical games and the fact that reproduction games are getting even more convincing to the untrained eye along with almost no one earning a living wage anymore makes game collecting an extremely luxurious hobby. Where’s my Delorean so I can go back to 10-year old me and kick my own arse for throwing away all that plastic and cardboard gold!
nymbosox

$1000 for Little Samson, loose cart. Oof.

Ultimately, it’s supply and demand. A late-period NES release likely only got one print run, so there are fewer copies in the wild in the first place. The market determines their worth, and it only takes one person to pull the trigger on that high-priced, ever-relisted copy on eBay for the average price to rise.

But how many people are actually paying a grand or more for a loose NES cart? A minuscule handful of enthusiast collectors. Anybody genuinely desperate to sample the delights of Little Samson will find other means to play the game. And when it gets to the truly astronomical figures famous games have fetched in sealed and graded condition at auction, there are other allegedly nefarious factors at play there. Thankfully, that racket seems to be dying out, but if someone with more money than sense has $1 million to spend on a mint SMB, they’ll find a snake oil merchant. – Ed.

“It’s not Sonic 06”

Image: Nintendo

Do you hate Metroid: Other M? As a Metroid Autistic Fan, it’s very disrespectful to me when people say Other M almost killed Metroid. While it may not be a classic, there’s a lot of Other M that I loved and liked that Sakamoto would bring over to in Samus Returns. While I do agree that the script & story could’ve been better, it’s not Sonic 06.

I believe there’s nothing wrong with Samus having PTSD or being on the Autism Spectrum. And I believe Other M deserves a second chance on Nintendo Switch. If Skyward Sword can be on Switch, why not Other M? Please don’t hate me because I like Other M. Thank you.
Marshall Gordeuk

Confession time: I’ve never played Other M. However, I do own Other M, because I fell in love with the Japanese box art and had to have it! One day I’ll get around to actually playing it. Probably just before they announce a remaster.

It feels self-evident, but looking around the internet it’s easy to think otherwise: Nobody should hate someone because they like (or don’t like) a video game! Keep on flying the Other M flag, and remember that you’re in good company — we gave it a 9/10 back in 2010. – Ed.

“Once more”

Hey Nintendo Life,

Which games do you believe should be better candidates for remasters and remakes than others? Could it be games that are trapped on a single console that have long since been discontinued with little to no ports to modern consoles such as Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance and F-Zero GX on GameCube, or Kid Icarus Uprising and Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS? What about games that from Nintendo’s stance could be seen as profitable and could potentially sell even higher numbers as a remaster/remake than the original version? I’m referring to popular games such as Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 getting the remaster treatment and selling high numbers and making quite a bit of money. You know, stuff like that. Once more, which games do you think are better qualified for remasters/remakes than other games?
TheBigBlue

The most profitable ones will no doubt already be in the pipeline, so I’d always personally advocate for introducing treasures from the back catalogue to a new audience. A remake (or plainer Pikmin 1-style re-release/remaster, even) of Path of Radiance would be fantastic, and I’d love to see those 3DS games you mentioned reworked. I’ve always thought it would be more interesting to remake games that could most benefit from modern design tweaks. – Ed.

Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

Bonus Letters

“Your mileage *will* vary” – Agent P

It’s not the mileage, it’s the yea—no, that’s not right. – Ed.

“2023 is going to be a good year in gaming! Don’t you agree, Nintendo Life?” – TPS1234

Yes! – Ed.

“How do you feel about the new Purah as a character? Are you indifferent or are you a major fan: to the point where you change your profile picture to her?”
– Professor_Plumber

Would it be weird to have just her shoes as a profile pic? (That’s a rhetorical question. We got multiple Purah-based correspondences…) – Ed.

“How would you see Nintendo making a virtual reality headset?” – Hot Goomba

Preferably with lots of red plastic and a migraine-inducingly low resolution. – Ed.

“Nintendo Life should have a minipage or something where you can vote for your favorite video game song/band! I would love if you guys did that.” – Gamergirl4

We do like a VG tune around these parts. It might be tough to wrangle a vote that broad, though we have taken nominations and looked at our favourite Nintendo music in the past. We’ll have a think. – Ed.

“What is your guys favorite Xenoblade 2 character? Aaaaand is it Nia?” – Snatcher

Over to Ollie and PJ, just two of our resident Xenoblade fans:

“Nia’s good, I guess..? I’m partial to Morag. I like Rex too, though.” – Ollie
“I’m a big Vandham fan. And Zeke. And Morag.” – PJ

“Was it silly, even shallow, for a game announcement to make me feel so much better? Maybe, but life has many peaks and troughs, and for me, Nintendo has always been there.” – Uncle_Franklin

Hear, hear! Making it through those troughs is tough, but there’s so much to look forward to, digital and otherwise. – Ed.

“Here’s the 15 things I want for a next 3D Sonic Game.” – Scott

And #16 – To be good. – Ed.

“I would just like to make a simple request for everyone who reads this to play Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.” – Fizza

Request granted. – Ed.

“Hello Nintendo, is it possible that you could do some retro colections like Atari, Capcom, Namco and others did, with your classic games, and releasing it in volumes in modern platforms?” – DS

No problem, I’ll bring it up with Shigsy in the Monday meet. – Ed.

Image: Nintendo

That’s all for this month! Thanks to everyone who wrote in, whether you were featured above or not.

Got something you’d like to get off your chest? A burning question you need answered? A correction you can’t contain? Follow the instructions below, then, and we look forward to rifling through your missives.

Nintendo Life Mailbox submission advice and guidelines

Letters, not essays, please – Bear in mind that your letter may appear on the site, and 1000 words ruminating on the Legend of Heroes series and asking Alana for her personal ranking isn’t likely to make the cut. Short and sweet is the order of the day. (If you’re after a general guide, 100-200 words would be ample for most topics.)
Don’t go crazy with multiple correspondences – Ideally, just the one letter a month, please!
Don’t be disheartened if your letter doesn’t appear in the monthly article – We anticipate a substantial inbox, and we’ll only be able to highlight a handful every month. So if your particular letter isn’t chosen for the article, please don’t get disheartened!

How to send a Letter to the Nintendo Life Mailbox

Head to Nintendo Life’s Contact page and select the subject “Reader Letters” from the drop-down menu (it’s already done for you in the link above). Type your name, email, and beautifully-crafted letter into the appropriate box, hit send, and boom — you’re done!

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