If Nintendo is to blame, where's the other four fingers pointing to? HD gaming gave the hardcore the graphics that they demanded, however, until now, no one really knew the price that they have to pay for it. Nintendo knew that, and that's why when they are asked why aren't they making the jump to HD, Nintendo pointed out that not everybody have HDTVs in their house. It's a good explanation, but that explanation is only scratching the surface. The Gamecube and the N64 both emphasized graphics, and they both are disappointing. Nintendo is backed to a wall here, do they keep going the graphics route and compete with Sony and Microsoft?

For the average hardcore gamer, looking at it now, that's a no brainer. Now picture all three consoles with HD graphics. Now what? All three are expensive to develop, and the only way you're going to be able to cover those expenses are to sell your company to big name publishers like Activision-Blizzard, EA, or Ubisoft. Two of them only see the green and treat the red as the root of all evil. The only games that can sell are established licenses (Madden, GTA, and Call of Duty), FPS or RPGs, and we all know that games with new concepts like Prince of Persia and Mirror's Edge have flopped commerically, and yet games like Call of Duty: WaW and Need for Speed: Undercover are both selling well. What kind of message is that sending to the publishers? This is a beginning of a very slippery slope, and sooner or later, the popular genres are going to be oversaturated, and because it's too risky to innovate, creativity have died and commercialization took its place. They are signs that have brought the downfall of the Hip-Hop and Rock industries, and the ones that brought Hollywood to its knees.

Why do companies like Pixar do so well even though they have only released one sequel in their timeline so far? Andrew Stanton once said that he never looks at what the market wants, he decides that he wants to make and if they don't like it, leave it. A lot of people were skeptical of Wall-E, and yet it was adored by both critics and audience. Super Mario Galaxy is so far arguably the best game of this generation, and it was a work of art. Yet this game is also innovative, and above all else, it is a fun game to play for everyone without feeling shallow. This industry is no longer progressed by how many polygons are in a model, but on experiencing gaming in a new and fun way.

In life, we all have experienced regrets. Whether it's the girl you truly love but slipped away from you, the one time which you made a decision that you thought was the right one, but in hindsight, was one that would haunt you for the rest of your life. For Video Games, we have regrets as well. Buying a game that you look back and ask yourself why are such an idiot, then missing out on games that turn out to be classics. I feel that there have been games that I regretted missing out on, and I decided to put this on a blog.

 Regrettably, I have never played Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, X, and XII. I didn't play any of the Metal Gear Solid series, or any of the Resident Evil series. It was understandable, because I never had a Playstation or a PS2. I had a Nintendo 64 that time, and I was just starting gaming. I did get the opportunity and priviledge to play Super Mario 64, and I loved. I have also played games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Tennis. I also happend to have bought my N64 during the height of the Pokemon craze, and of course, got Pokemon Snap. It was a fun game, although I still have memories of beating it in 3 hours. While those games are good, that's not why I'm writing this article. One of my biggest regrets is that I never played Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Starfox 64, Mario Kart 64, Donkey Kong 64, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask, Paper Mario or Conker's Bad Fur Day.

Moving on to the PS2/Xbox/GC days, and there are games that I have really missed, mainly because I was focused on PC gaming. I never played Twisted Metal Black, never played any of the Tekken fighting series, and I never layed hands on Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader. I never really played Legend of Zelda Wind Waker, in fact, the first Zelda game I ever played was Minish Cap on the Gameboy Advance. I never played Chronicles of Riddick: Director's Cut despite it being availible on the PC, and I never played Forza or the Grand Turismo series. I did played the first Call of Duty and the expansion pack, as well as the second one, however, so it's not all lost.

Sorry about dragging this on, but we all have regrets, and the only way to deal with it is to live with it. However, with things like the Virtual Console on the Wii and the XBLA on the 360, and numerous remakes of classic games, you might not have to live with it.

This is the first time I've ever made a blog, so bear with me.

2006 in the music industry, rap legend Nasir Jones aka Nas, made controversy with Hip Hop is Dead. Although initially, people start pointing fingers at the South, in reality it's the corporation that killed.

What does that have to do with video gaming? Simple, there's a distinct lack of innovation going on outside of graphics, A.I., and Story. The innovations that have been present have been either dismissed as a gimmick or was never taken seriously. So far in the Current Generation of Gaming, the lines have never been so clear. You have one direction that confines to the traditional standards of progress in the Xbox 360 and the PS3, and you have another that tries to break the direction in the Nintendo Wii.

The Nintendo Wii is an interesting case. Although it's supposed to have graphics that can top the Xbox, but a notch below the 360 and the PS3, it makes up for it by changing something that haven't been changed and perfected since the N64/PS1 days, the controls. While the 360 and the PS3 stuck with the tried and true Dual Analog Controller, Nintendo shocked everyone in E3 06 by showcasing the Wii-Remote. Motion controls, for the first time is possible, and the potential is endless. For the first time, shooting controls could possibly surpass the keyboard+mouse, new ways of playing games is possible.

Fastforward to 2008. So far it's bleak, Third party publishers have made it clear that they would rather make multiplats for the PS360 rather than try something new. Those that did try something either put a second rate develepment team on it or if the developement team did strike gold, then they half-heartedly promote it. The result? Poor sales for games that have won critical acclaim, while shovelware makes tonnes of money. In a way, traditional gamers dismissing the Wii as a fad have a point, although it's not the console's fault. It's the fault of the publishers not taking it seriously.

It gets worse though, most of the games that are good are mostly shooters. This couldn't be more true than the 360 library. GTA IV, although it's in the Sandbox genre, there are shooting elements in the game. To me, it just seems that the only games that can sell are ones that are heavily advertised, have blood, a good story, and looks good, along with a couple of unique features just for good measures. Add a incresingly shortened single player mode for the Attention Decifit Generation, and an online mode to add playing hours, and you have a winner. Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 are perfect examples. They both have good story, but a short single player and a good multiplayer mode. There is no new thought, nothing to break an old formula. The creativity is dead, content to be inside the box.

Having games that are becoming increasingly like movies usually mean better quality, but does that necessarily mean that the game would be fun? Games like Medal Gear Solid never really appealed to me, simply for not having the pure joy and fun that other games like Super Mario Galaxy, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. How come games that supposedly having bad graphics by today's standards are now classics? Games like Super Mario World and 2D Sonic games have been hailed as one of the best of all time, and heck, even a game like Pong have that crucial element of being fun. A game can be fun to anyone, and everyone has their different taste. I personally like games that have a good art direction and tight controls. Some like theirs to be gritty and challenging.

Gaming isn't going to die, finacially, no. Creatively, as long as developers with a very creative mind that can rewrite the rules keeps coming in, gaming would never die. However, if the rules stagnant the industry, then gaming might go the way of another Video Gaming Crash, and this time, there might not be another Super Mario Bros. to save it just like he had saved video gaming and the princess.