Nintendo is a veteran of the video game industry. We’re so used to seeing the cheery face of our favourite plumber smashing blocks into mere pixels that Mario has become a household name that people almost always refer to as the character in overalls. Founded in 1889 as a playing card company, Nintendo subjectively had it right from the beginning as a toymaker.
As YouTube channel ‘screwattack’ put it in their video ‘Nintendo WTF is wrong with you’, Nintendo literally began as the Geppatto style woodcarver of the gaming industry, creating the Pinocchio that would delight children and adults alike for years. The company lived through a golden age with the release of the Nintendo DS, and even when everyone scoffed and claimed the Wii would never be a success, Nintendo watched from their Japan headquarters as it superseded both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in highest sales.
Nintendo have always led. Their recipe for game design is so unique; it’s something that can never be repeated with the same charm and compatibility for success across all demographics.
Which is why it brings me great pain to acknowledge Nintendo is lagging behind in the video game industry race. In fact, currently, they’re grasping at the ankles of app designers in order to keep up. But I don’t believe the introduction of app stores was the inevitable catalyst that caused the downfall of one of the most successful gaming companies of all time. Personally, I think it began when Nintendo decided to start creating new ideas.
This sounds absolutely ludicrous from a business point of view. How can a company be successful without creating new ideas? Well, that’s exactly how. Nintendo have lost touch with its target audience; the people that have been around since the 80s. The dedicated fan club of gamers who have been playing since the GameCube and Gameboy and further back still want their familiar series’ to return. Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon: this is where your goldmine lies.
Now don’t get me wrong, Nintendo released the instant hit Super Smash Bros for the 3Ds earlier this year, and I personally believe the remakes of Pokémon Sapphire and Ruby were beautifully executed games which proved Nintendo weren’t going to ruin our childhood games in order to return as a superpower of the market. However, this doesn’t happen frequently enough to keep Nintendo as the granddaddy of the gaming industry.
But what have Nintendo been doing instead of creating games frequently enough to keep us satisfied? Yep, you guessed it. Making new consoles. Nintendo, seriously what are you doing?
The reason your sale figures are abseiling downwards is because people don’t want to fork out the money you expect them to pay for your new consoles. The Wii U was slow to catch on because it was overpriced, and didn’t offer much more than what people could get from the existing Wii, and I thought ‘oh I’ve just bought a 3DS, there’s no need for me to spend money on a Wii when you make the same games for the 3DS’ only to have you laugh in my face as you stopped producing games for the 3DS and only seem to make them for the wiiU now? Examples include Yoshi’s Woolly World – it looks freaking adorable and a game I would love to play. Available platforms: WiiU only. What the heck?
I decided to purchase a Wii U because they basically told me it’s my only option if I want to carry on playing Nintendo games, and I’ve accepted it looks like a pretty cool console, I guess. The ‘new’ 3DS will surely be released imminently. Soon, you’re going to stop making 3DS games altogether and tell me I can only play them on the new 3DS which offers almost NOTHING apart from a few fancy new buttons and you expect me to pay £130 for it.
Furthermore, they’re investing time into producing apps and ‘themes’ for the 3Ds which they genuinely expect us to pay for. We know you’re not making as much money as you used to. We get it. But this desperate approach in order to survive? It’s pathetic.
Nintendo just…please. This is my simple message to you. Stop releasing new consoles and do what you do best. MAKE GAMES.
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