http://www.gamedaily.com/canvases/gd/_a/feature-top-five-most-overrated-industry/20070321142209990001By CHRIS BUFFA
Peruse any video game forum and you'll stumble across plenty of crazed fans, bizarre and at times scary people that put their idols (in this case, game developers and corporate figureheads) on golden pedestals. While there's nothing wrong with that per se, we wanted to see if these industry folk live up to the hype. Behold, the top five most overrated industry people. Try not to pop a blood vessel.
#5 - Koji Igarashi
We love Iga's Castlevania games, but he needs to take the franchise to the next level. Despite minor additions, such as the blending of 2-D and 3-D, all of these games, from NES (1986) to DS (2006) play almost exactly the same. He deserves kudos because fans eat them up, but we want a game that doesn't involve wading through yet another castle so we can battle Dracula for the billionth time. Stop repackaging the same old video game. Symphony of the Night is so 1997. Hell, the original is so 1986.
#4 - David Jaffe
Sony Computer Entertainment's outspoken game designer rocketed to "stardom" with God of War. With that being said, fans and/or journalists treat him as the God of War figurehead, which somewhat undermines God of War II Game Director Cory Barlog's
importance. This is no insult to Jaffe. We enjoy his off the cuff remarks as well as the games he's worked on, but his latest offering, the not yet released Calling All Cars leaves us unimpressed. Perhaps we're incapable of realizing how difficult it is to follow up God of War.
#3 - Hideo Kojima
Konami's famous visionary revolutionized the action genre with his Metal Gear franchise, but we have more respect for his directing abilities. He continues to thrill people with his over the top cut scenes, but we still don't know what's going on in his games. Characters ramble on for more than five minutes at a time, and some of them look and sound ridiculous. ("Laugh and grow fat", anyone?) Furthermore, most of the MGS games play the same (Acid and Acid 2 excluded). MGS3's camouflage was fun to mess with, but we need more than fancy outfits. MGS4 looks incredible, but some of us have no interest in watching polygons jibber jabber. Kojima needs to prove that he's more than flashy visuals.
#2 - Shigeru Miyamoto
Nintendo fan boys (and girls) go gaga over everything "Shiggy" says, but come on. He doesn't create games by himself. Sometimes, he joins teams and, whether he intends to or not, receives all of the credit. He earned his place among the industry elite, thanks to his early contributions, but please add new (and memorable) characters to the Mario universe. Even better, come up with new IPs. Introduce us to new worlds and faces instead of falling back on the same overused franchises. In addition, cut back on the forced appearances. We feel uncomfortable watching you conducting imaginary orchestras and swinging the Master Sword to make gamers cry with joy.
Don't get us wrong. We love Miyamoto, and we'll bludgeon anyone that bashes Wind Waker, but we'd rather see him as an influential, cultural icon instead of Nintendo's PR puppet
#1 - Reggie Fils-Aime
Last we checked, Reggie hasn't kicked anyone's ass, nor has he taken their names (what does that mean, anyway?) We're confidant that Nintendo of America's President and Chief Operating Officer makes significant contributions on a weekly basis, but to read message boards (we do, unfortunately), he's become this mythic figure that rescued the company from itself, introducing millions of consumers to a more hardcore Nintendo. While that may be true, we still cannot find Wiis and friend codes suck.
I agree with this article somewhat. However, the Kojima choice is really bad. MGS games have amazing gameplay and all but created the stealh genre by themselves. Yes, their stories are ridiculous, but they're SUPPOSED to be ridiculous as they're throw backs 1980's B movies. Also, Kojima has done more than MGS games, so their reason for adding him to the list is a bit silly. I will be first to admit that I too find Kojima overrated to some degree, but placing him on a top 5 list is stretching.
Reggie isn't a designer, so I don't see why he should be on the list.
Anyways, here's my own top 5 overrated industry people list:
5. Shigeru Miyamoto - Yep, I'd definitely put him on this list. While not at the top, I do feel he's overrated. The man did some stand out hits in Nintendo's early days, and literally saved the gaming industry with Super Mario Bros., but the man has been rehashing his series like none other, over the past 2 decades. Almost none of his series initial concepts or gameplay have changed at all, and they feel a bit rehashed. In recent years, he has been nothing more than a Nintendo PR puppet and the fanboys still treat him like a God. I would like some new IP's. I would like something
new from Miyamoto rather than something I've played time and time again. I think Gunpei Yokoi was the better designer, shame he's dead.
4. Hironobu Sakaguchi - He was the creator of Final Fantasy but that's about it. There are few games that he has directed that are actually
great in my eyes. Out of the 5 Final Fantasy's he headed, IV is the stand out. I feel that Kitase (FFVI-VIII, X) is the better Final Fantasy director. Despite this, people act like Sakaguchi is one of the best designers in the industry, but he hasn't fully directed a game since Final Fantasy V. Sakaguchi's power and influence seemed to at least have
some clout, because Square went to shit right around his departure from the company, sometime after anyways. Also, the games he
produced (Chrono Trigger, FFVI-X) were often nothing short of amazing. That still does not redeem Sakaguchi because it was his idea to create, write, and direct the travesty that is Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Despite all of this, I'm highly anticipating his Mistwalker games and hope they snag the Chrono IP so Square Enix doesn't have the chance to fuck it up even more.
3. Shinji Mikami - I've never understood the praise that this guy gets. Resident Evil series, in particular, has never appealed to me. He's considered the crown jewel of Capcom and yet, the majority of his game's are utterly forgettable. Resident Evil is average and has shit controls, story, and gameplay (RE4 aside). PN03 is terrible. Dino Crisis is above average, definitely better than RE, and slightly better tank controls. I haven't played God Hand yet, but it looks like my thing. All the other games Mikami has worked on (producer or otherwise) were directed and designed far better than anything he directed himself. The list goes on: Devil May Cry, Killer 7, Phoenix Wright (Gyakuten Saiban). A talented designer, surely, but like Igarashi, he is a total one hit wonder.
2. Molyneux - Almost all of his games receive exceptional hype, almost solely created by himself, and yet they, just as much, fall flat when they're released. Molyneux is a hit or miss designer. His concepts are nice, but he misses as much as he throws hype towards his games. I haven't played The Movies yet, but Fable and Black and White in particular kinda make me wonder why he's so praised. Fable, in general, is a disappointment considering how much the guy coated it with hyperbolic embrace prior to it's release. Molyneaux probably makes himself overrated due to all of praise and hype he does for his games. He doesn't even need the fanboys to do it for him. Lay off, chief.
1. Tetsuya Nomura - I like Tetsuya. I really do. His monster designs and animations in the 2d Final Fantasy's he worked on are cool. His early character designs for games like Final Fantasy VII, VIII, X, and Parasite Eve scream amazing in my eyes. But beyond that, there's not much left to praise. Upon the release of The Bouncer, Nomura's character designs have made a turn for the worse: overly stylish and super model characters with extraneous amount of zippers and pockets. The guy represents the modern stagnation of Square as a whole. The guy heads two Kingdom Hearts', an average overly stylish Final Fantasy VII sequel that lends most of it's emotion to ridiculous action sequences, and now he's directing an actual Final Fantasy game (FFvsXIII). Great. Now more 13 year fangirls can cream themselves over his delicious characters and fruity stories. The total opposite of Kazuma Keneko, one of the heads of Shin Megami Tensei, who started out as an amazing game designer and transformed into an amazing game artist. Tetsuya Nomura represents all that is terrible about current Square Enix.
