Crunch t ime f or Nin t e ndo N intendo ruled the gaming industry after the video game crash of 1983 when it brought families the Nintendo Entertainment System, which became the hottest item for years. It received competition in the early ‘90s from several companies, most notably Sega. However Nintendo, home of Mario and Luigi, knew how to stay on top. Once Sony entered the video game market in the mid-‘90s, things changed. Nintendo played second, and sometimes, third fiddle in the crowded and popular market. The release of the popular Wii brought the company back to form and on top. Add to that its constant success with handheld devices, and it was clear that Nintendo had learned to survive in a fickle and ever-changing industry. However, since 2012, the Nintendo brand has taken a bit of a nosedive. Wii U, the successor to the revolutionary Wii, sold poorly despite releasing some of Nintendo’s best titles. There are many reasons why the system didn’t resonate with its audience, which will be discussed here. Now, it’s a new day for the company, and it’s in need of a hit console. Enter the Nintendo Switch. There’s plenty of reason for optimism as the company has gone back to relying on innovative ways to play as opposed to being the most powerful machine. Here are some reasons for excitement and fear for fans of the house the Mario built and its future. REASONS FOR EXCITEMENT Playing big titles on the go — Sure, there are handheld systems out there that are either powerful pieces of hardware or off er immersive experiences. Although Sony was the closest with the Playstation Vita, the lack of games left owners disappointed. Nintendo is promising a hybrid that will allow you to bring games that take up to 50 hours to beat with you and play on the go. You are no longer limited to your couch to beat the next epic game. And though it has been attempted before, this seems like the fi rst earnest eff ort. Trains, planes, walking your dog. Nothing is off limits. First party games — With the exception of the Wii, Nintendo hasn’t been the king of the gaming world in terms of sales. There are many factors at play here, one of them being a slow fl ow of game releases. Since Nintendo hasn’t had great support from third-party developers, it’s had to rely on its own developers for content. The bad news is it takes time to put out titles, but the good news is that the quality of those titles is mostly tremendous. Whether a reinvention utilizing classic characters such as Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda or a brand new game like Splatoon, a fun shooter that kids could play too, these games are always worth the wait. This is what has kept the company going through the dark days. Diehards will always want the latest iteration of these great games and (for now) Nintendo is the only place to get them, outside of a couple of smartphone games. As long as it churns out these hits, along with new ones, the company will always stand a fi ghting chance. Innovation — This isn’t the fi rst time a system has been created to provide a combination of a portable and a home console gaming experience, but Nintendo is certainly the fi rst of the major three companies (Microsoft and Sony) to make its main hardware capable of doing both. Want to play your favorite game on your giant HDTV? Just place the screen on the system’s dock and boom. It’s both seamless and satisfying. Have a long commute ahead of you? Remove the screen, place a Joy-con on each side of the tablet and it’s a dedicated portable machine that allows you to play deep, engrossing games on the go. Gone are the days when the two experiences were separate. So Zelda can be played on a long plane or train ride or even if you just don’t want to crawl out of bed. Wii U sort of tried to accomplish this feat but you couldn’t veer off too far with the tablet from your television. So the idea was half baked. Inclusiveness — What made the Wii so innovative and such a cultural phenomenon was that it simplified the gaming experience while producing something new and redefining the definition of gamer. The console provided motion controls, which were simple to market and use. Wii was used at senior living facilities for Wii Bowling. It was at the hardcore gamer’s home for Mario, and the young gamer’s for Wii Sports. It hit every demographic and was simple to comprehend. Parents fi nally volunteered to play video games with their children. It took around a year before stores could keep the units on their shelves. It was a remarkable moment in gaming. QNS.COM SPRING 2017 17
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