After considering for a while the concerning predicament of Nintendo whoring its own material and abandoning the hardcore gamers, I've come to a conclusion that I'd like to share with my fellow Escapists, whether or not it will be taken in a good way or not.
Those of us that remember the golden years of the late 80's to mid 90's of gaming have many fond memories. Nintendo made some truly wonderful games that were inventive and engaging, regardless of several consoles that were just plain flops, and of course the multitudes of games that were just plain awful. Zelda. Mario. Pokemon. Metroid. All were once shining examples of the creativity Nintendo could bring to the plate on its own, not relying on third part developers for its key content. But now, what were once pillars of awesomeness have crumbled into banal gravel that lies at the feet of a crowd that is uninterested in games they played as kids then rebooted a multitude of times.
This comes to my second issue, the abandonment of its hardcore crowd. One would think that Nintendo would catch on to the thousands upon millions of people that made it a consumer electronics giant and cater to that demographic in a way that would garner profits matching that of Blizzard and the WoW phenomenon. But alas, as we have witnessed in the late stages of the Gamecube to the entire span of the Wii, and throughout the whole life of the line of DS's, the company has pretty much crapped out on their creativity and pumped out third part games for children and casual gamers. This is heartbreaking to those that revered Nintendo, I myself feel betrayed every time I peruse the aisles of DS games in search of something that looks engaging or at least remotely stimulating. This betrayal has caused most of us to move on to the other consoles available, with their high-definition graphics and mature games, following our own maturity and desire for things beyond the reaches of Pokemon and into Halo and Gears of War. But, why on earth would Nintendo do such a thing? Its illogical, or so Spock would say. Being a commoner, the only thing I can do is theorize. So here it goes:
Nintendo is the future. That's about as simple as my theory can go. To extrapolate, I believe that Nintendo had abandoned its loyal followers and whored its beloved titles for something other than profit: Future gamers. The 360 and PS3 are too high in technicality and price to be accessible to families raising kids in this normal day and age, so Nintendo releases a console with a simpler, movement based control scheme and diminished graphics with games anyone can pick up and play. Of course, this is offensive to the mature crowd. But Nintendo is offering a gentle entry into the world of gaming, so those that grew up on the Wii can move on to the 360 or PS3 when they're mature enough to take the reigns. Nintendo is building the foundation. Giving kids Pokemon and rebooted Zelda and Metroid and Mario titles so they can grow up to be the next generations of gamers to fuel the gaming economy.
To summarize, Nintendo is the coal that will fuel the future of gaming. Yeah, its ugly and dirty but it keeps the engine chugging.
That's what I think the situation could be. Again, its a theory.
Thanks for reading, though.
--Eicha
Those of us that remember the golden years of the late 80's to mid 90's of gaming have many fond memories. Nintendo made some truly wonderful games that were inventive and engaging, regardless of several consoles that were just plain flops, and of course the multitudes of games that were just plain awful. Zelda. Mario. Pokemon. Metroid. All were once shining examples of the creativity Nintendo could bring to the plate on its own, not relying on third part developers for its key content. But now, what were once pillars of awesomeness have crumbled into banal gravel that lies at the feet of a crowd that is uninterested in games they played as kids then rebooted a multitude of times.
This comes to my second issue, the abandonment of its hardcore crowd. One would think that Nintendo would catch on to the thousands upon millions of people that made it a consumer electronics giant and cater to that demographic in a way that would garner profits matching that of Blizzard and the WoW phenomenon. But alas, as we have witnessed in the late stages of the Gamecube to the entire span of the Wii, and throughout the whole life of the line of DS's, the company has pretty much crapped out on their creativity and pumped out third part games for children and casual gamers. This is heartbreaking to those that revered Nintendo, I myself feel betrayed every time I peruse the aisles of DS games in search of something that looks engaging or at least remotely stimulating. This betrayal has caused most of us to move on to the other consoles available, with their high-definition graphics and mature games, following our own maturity and desire for things beyond the reaches of Pokemon and into Halo and Gears of War. But, why on earth would Nintendo do such a thing? Its illogical, or so Spock would say. Being a commoner, the only thing I can do is theorize. So here it goes:
Nintendo is the future. That's about as simple as my theory can go. To extrapolate, I believe that Nintendo had abandoned its loyal followers and whored its beloved titles for something other than profit: Future gamers. The 360 and PS3 are too high in technicality and price to be accessible to families raising kids in this normal day and age, so Nintendo releases a console with a simpler, movement based control scheme and diminished graphics with games anyone can pick up and play. Of course, this is offensive to the mature crowd. But Nintendo is offering a gentle entry into the world of gaming, so those that grew up on the Wii can move on to the 360 or PS3 when they're mature enough to take the reigns. Nintendo is building the foundation. Giving kids Pokemon and rebooted Zelda and Metroid and Mario titles so they can grow up to be the next generations of gamers to fuel the gaming economy.
To summarize, Nintendo is the coal that will fuel the future of gaming. Yeah, its ugly and dirty but it keeps the engine chugging.
That's what I think the situation could be. Again, its a theory.
Thanks for reading, though.
--Eicha
