E3 has come and gone. Big console news was announced, games were revealed, fanboys have been baited, and the dust is settling. With arguments back and forth about who won, Microsoft or Sony (Sony), the power of Nintendo has crept by, seemingly unnoticed. I'm here to tell you a truth, however. Despite all the fan fare and chest pounding of some of the big names out there, we all recognize one absolute truth.
Nintendo gets to us all.
The first system I owned was an N64 that my parents bought us one summer. One Christmas, my grandparents sent the money that got Kyle and I GameBoys. Some years later, my brother and I bought a PS2 a little after it came out. I then saved up and bought myself a Gamecube. When the Nintendo Wii was released, it was my Christmas present one year. I would go on to buy DS. This last semester, I bought the 3DS. Nintendo has been a part of my gaming log book for years, and that won't soon change.
My story isn't unique. Look at some of the big YouTubers out there who play games and a lot of them can tell you about their times with Nintendo. That is Nintendo's biggest strength. They become a part of your life. The characters in their games are as much a part of your childhood as Snow White and the Trix Rabbit. For many of us, Nintendo has always been there.
And they always will. This last E3 showing, and their 3DS focused Nintendo Direct, has shown how much fight is still in this company. So often we see others who want to write them off as a casual company, pronouncing casual with the same tone they might describe dog vomit. Yet despite that, the Wii was a massive seller, the 3DS is the most prominent handheld system, and fans across the globe still rally to them. For some reason, Nintendo has always been slow of the gate with their releases. The Wii U's launch line up was pretty paltry, as was the 3DS's. The same can be said of the Wii, and the Gamecube. But we've seen what Nintendo has up its sleeves and what they can do with their IPs.
Nintendo really is a creeping curse, a shadow that slips past all the hustle and bustle that comes with much of the gaming industry. And they do it in the most ethical way possible, by creating great games and being a company that is endearing. Though they tend to hash out their same franchises over and over, you can always expect real quality out of them. Reggie Fils-Aime, head of Nintendo of America, is a well known face in gaming and is often very vocal about the company. There are countless interviews with him talking about the passion he has for games. He was recently quoted as saying that if developers wanted to cut down on used game sales issues, then they needed to make better games. A ballsy statement, but one that Nintendo often backs up.
The reason I'm talking about this is two-fold. The first being, I was skeptical about the Wii U. In all honesty, it seemed gimiky and with little value. But like always, I'm seeing what Nintendo is putting out of it, the development and games going into it, and I have to say I am interested. In time, I will probably end up buying one. Take this as a recommendation from me to look into the system at a later date. Second, I look at this as an amazing trend in the industry and indicative of who we are as consumers. We walk a fine line. Companies like Nintendo don't venture into new IPs very often, and we don't fault them too greatly for it, but others send out similar games and they become the villains. As consumers, our dollar has a lot of power, unfortunately, I don't know where to tell you to use it. While it is true that we shouldn't buy up every shoddy sequel that comes out, how can we tell what makes a Good sequel? Do we wish that companies would only make one of any title? Who knows? But what I can say is this. There are some companies that we can turst and some that we know will turn out good products. No matter what and fanboys, haters, or PC master race says, Nintendo is here to stay and will continue to influence gaming for years to come.
Now I just want a new iteration in the Mischief Makers franchise.
Just something to chew on.
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