Nintendo has been a household name for almost thirty years now. It is one of the most powerful brands in the world according to Forbes. They are KNOWN as one of the most innovative companies to date. They have been responsible for some of the most well known characters that children and adults recognize globally. These are all the reasons why the industry looks to Nintendo to bring back those qualities.
Today however, we have too many re-makes and not enough new ideas coming from Nintendo. When Nintendo produces it’s often a Golden Egg, but they need far more than a few 3DS titles to stay competitive.
Nintendo held the torch when it came to ushering in the casual & young market of gamers. People who haven’t picked up a video game since the original Pac-Man were comfortable buying the Nintendo Wii. It was a child friendly system that called for active movement. Games like Ghost Squad and House of the Dead brought back those “Arcade” memories, and titles like “Just Dance” got everyone moving with ease. Millions of people were excited for video games once again. Now six years later the flame has died down. The Wii-U is out, it’s selling at a decent pace and it needs time to grow, but will it be enough to leave the footprint that the Nintendo Wii did? Will they be able to convince the casual market to choose them over PlayStation, Xbox and the ever consistently growing mobile industry?
The success of the Wii was because of the casual market’s support and Nintendo has done a poor job marketing their latest system to that market. The Wii-U launch on a financial basis isn’t doing a bad job. However the hardcore audience, (the very audience they wanted to sell this console to) is disappointed and starved for the new and innovative content they are known for. Re-imagining games for nostalgic appeal is a great sell in today’s industry. Older players love the feeling of familiar levels re-visited, and the old mechanics help usher in some younger gamers.
No-one is more guilty of reanimating their best franchises like Nintendo, and that is not necessarily a bad thing; they do it very well and always seem to breathe new life into the classics, but where are the truly “New” concepts? Now the competition has changed, the reason people play has changed, when and where people play has changed. The mobile games industry takes more and more attention from the Nintendo DS. Although Nintendo doesn’t have to fear tablet and phone gaming….yet; they are in a position to dominate once again. Nintendo needs new games and gamers want a damn good reason to play them.
We have already heard the griping about the launch line-up for the Wii-U, and the lack of games available for the console right now. Even with ports of titles like Assassins Creed III and Batman Arkham City that play in a unique way, gamers don’t care; they want the “Nintendo Experience”. They have to make people understand why they need a Wii-U after they have burned out their Wii. Nintendo has to convince the gamers that after they have spent their money that this is where they should be spending their time. Nintendo needs to take the gloves off and show everyone why their software can last for decades. Nintendo needs to convince that casual crowd that they can still entertain and provide a safe haven for the younger gamers. This next year Nintendo has to prove why they belong in your life.
- This next generation, people will be asking themselves one thing: “What kind of experience can I get here and nowhere else”. Nintendo’s campaign should be focused on one phrase: “Only on Nintendo”
I recall having a lot of these questions and concerns back when I first bought my GBA. I never had a *lot* of games for it, maybe 15 by the time I moved on to the DS, and most of them ports of classic games (the sole exceptions being “Zone of the Enders,” Golden Sun” and the Castlevania series). I always had a concern that the GBA was too focused on third party tie-ins, ports and not enough new content.
My DS was much the same. I have more games for it, but a lot of them are ports, Pokemon and titles I bought, but never played. I missed out on titles that vanished before I could get a copy, and in other cases just plain was uninspired by what was available.
the 3DS I got last December is headed down the same road at the moment. I own one game for it, which was an online exclusive and very short. I haven’t found a 3DS title worth playing. And while I admit my taste in gaming is somewhat skewed anyway, the drought of solid, compelling software is very apparent. (It even impacted my 360, which is frequently call my “Skyrim Machine,” since that was the only game that I really used the unit for.)
Nintendo does a good job marketing itself and innovating its product, but admittedly…the software slowdown that started waaaay back with the Gamecube is starting to be a pain.