gaming Did Nintendo change? Or did we change?

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

This wasn't my idea. It's from a youtube user named Blackb0nd. He's a PC elitist, and has nothing nice to say about Nintendo whatsoever. I was supporting his channel before the Wii U was even released. Back in art college in late 2011 and early 2012, I didn't like the direction Nintendo took. The closest thing I ever did with a wii, was play Smash Brawl everyday and have some fast competitive fun.

 

 

My question is this. Did Nintendo change? or did we as a fair weather fan base change? It's really hard to answer. I think it is us who has changed. There are many who will not deny Nintendo and even though I said some bad things about their company in the past 3 years, I always retained my faith, because I want them to succeed. I was bred on Nintendo since the N64 and Star Fox, Mario, Zelda, Kirby and Smash Brothers have been there for me when I never had much people to hang with. Even my friends who always had the PS1 and PS2. I always got a Sony console towards the end of its cycle, including the PS3 which I got in 2010.

 

Nintendo has done it all.

 

Created save memory 

created the perfect D pad that no one has replicated 

created rumble feedback

Were once the graphical powerhouse, until the Wii came in

Created a more fluid analog 

First successful 64 bit system that destroyed the PS1 in visuals 

Created the gamecube controller, the best controller ever 

Have the iconic mascots that people love 

 

Sony did one thing 

 

Dual-shock 

 

Microsoft only did this...

 

First massive online server( X Box Live ) 

 

So I own a Wii U now and I am happy to see that Nintendo is just barely behind Sony. Nintendo might make a comeback with the Wii U. Nintendo will never go out of business people. The family who owns the company can lose all the money they want. Sony is not making a big profit off the PS4 in terms of selling at a loss. 

 

 

[Scootalove 10,689]

I think Nintendo changed from what they once were to adapting more to show that they can still change to the modern times, while at the same time staying true to their original ideals.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

I think it's more like the economy and the video game infrastructure is what changed.

 

In the end, Nintendo is playing it safe, and it's hard to blame them. As we see the market isn't exactly kind to companies who bring out new IPs. Yeah, some turn out to be big hits like "Last of Us" and "Titanfall," but other companies aren't so fortunate; take the developers of "Kingdoms of Amalur," for instance.

 

Yeah, I would love to see some more creativity and freshness from Nintendo, but it's hard to blame them for their strategy. Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros, and Mario Kart are all big sellers.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

PC did all hardware advancements first.

And as for the last reason (has iconic mascots people love) You could really say the same for Microsoft with the halo series (Master Chief was the first video game character in the Las Vegas wax museum, before even Mario).

 

And as for your question, it is both. The games industry has changed a bit since Nintendo's inception. Nintendo has had to make changes to keep up with ever changing markets. So they both have changed.

[Celli 4,337]

I'm for Playstation now, but I still support Nintendo as I am a Zelda and a Metroid nerd, and I really hope for the best for them. Micro$oft, though, I could care less about them.

[Radiance64 7,053]

Nintendo has always been making amazing games, there's no denying that really. They have certainly changed their media prescence ever since they started doing Nintendo Directs and the like, and while they were rather run-of-the-mill at first with them they have gotten progressively wittier and more entertaining, especially this year. They obviously changed their hardware prescence when the Wii came around, but the Wii U is at least a bit more competitive in power this generation, much more so than the Wii ever was anyway. So yes, Nintendo has certainly changed over the course of gaming, but they've certainly never changed in the way of making great games.

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

I think it's the fans who have changed. I'm mostly a PC gamer anymore, but I have all of Nintendo's consoles except the Wii U and all handhelds back to an original Time Out "Game & Watch".

 

Graphics are not top priority on my list. DOOM is still one of my favorite, most played games. Super Metroid is still a favorite. Star Fox, Killer Instinct, Donkey Kong Country, and many more that are "ancient" by today's standards. Game play is where it's at. And Nintendo still makes fun games. I did not plan on buying a Wii U until a new Metroid game was released, but from what I saw at E3 I'm kind of rethinking that.

 

 

Consoles should not honestly be about graphics, they become outdated too fast and are always behind games that are actually built for PC instead of ported to PC. Consoles should be about making entertaining games that people can gather around and enjoy.

[Henny Penny Benny 936]

Not sure if it quite answers the question, but I think that Nintendo's focus has long—if not always—been making single-player games geared somewhat toward a younger crowed (Pikmin, for example), and multi-player games that the whole family could enjoy together (like the New Super Mario Bros.). Especially with the Miis and all the Wii Sports games, it's clear that they have a rather different focus than other systems, and I think they pull it off rather well. But then of course they also have the staples such as Mario and Zelda, which sell so well because so many people grew up with them.

 

So to stop rambling any further, I'll just say I don't think they've changed too terribly much. The people who grew up with the original Nintendo systems/games have just gotten older.

[King 5,625]

Hey there @TheMarkz0ne, I moved your thread into the Media Discussion section. In the future, please try to post your threads in the correct forum section.


I dont feel as though Nintendo changed much honestly, then again I was never really a fan of theirs. Im a bigger Xbox fan honestly :T

[Mutemutt 773]

I think it's us that have changed. I look at Nintendo and what they say and do and they feel very much traditional. They really just stick to what they do with very little care for direction the competition and consumers seem to be heading in. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I mean I Iove Nippon Ichi and their games pretty much always stay true to a very "classic" (read: antiquated) gameplay design, but Nintendo's games have just become not quite as enticing lately as a result. Their mainly target the young and the casual with their games.

 

And then they're also kind of untraditional aren't they? With their newfound waggle technology and tablet controllers. Still, where it matters: the games, they are largely the same as ever -- kid-friendly.

[Flakk 65]

in the end. I think Nintendo's desire to not change has actually benefited them in terms of a pure gaming perspective. The PS4 and XBO both have a lot of extra features but in the end I feel as if a PC could offer all that they could do and more conveniently. For example I COULD watch a Twitch stream on the 2 consoles but why do that when on PC the interface is easier, you can tab out to other things reall easily and you can easily spam all the Kappas you want in chat (If you're so inclined). PC is also the reason I find Xbox/PS fans who wank over graphics to be the cutest thing ever. The Watch Dogs debacle has pretty much confirmed that the "Next gen" consoles are already getting pretty outdated. As soon as you put PC into the equation all that really matters is the exclusives, which of course Nintendo have always been good at.

 

Also they have been getting the "Hardcore" games that they supposedly lack, just the Japanese sort of Hardcore (Bayo 2, Killer is Dead, Monster Hunter 4U etc.) rather than your usual Sandbox or FPS sort of hardcore we are used to.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,302]

Warning: I will veer somewhat off-topic, but at some point I will be on-topic.  I will write an essay.  No one will read it lol.  I will pass out and forget that I had even written it.  That is all.

 

This is a fun experiment: hand a controller to a very young child and let them play Super Mario Bros.  They will not know how to dash - and don't you DARE tell them how.  They will not clear the first pitfall.  It will be funny at first.  Then it will just be sad.  Or let them take a crack at the final level of Super Mario 3D World.  Omigod there will be TEARS.  Let them have a crack at practically any puzzle in any Zelda game ever.  Even if it's just a "clear the room" or "push a block" kind of puzzle.  Rap them on the knuckles if they play the ocarina incorrectly.  And go ahead - let them try out Pikmin 3.  Tell them the Pikmin are their "friends," and that they are charged with keeping them safe.  Watch what happens when a Bulborb eats all their friends.  Keep in mind that you will be scarring this child for life, so maybe borrow the neighbor's kid or something.  Don't do this to your own kid - that'd be wrong.

 

Nintendo games are challenging - and for the right reasons.  Not because the games are rife with glitches.  Not because play control and game play weren't prioritized.  Not because there's a Goomba camping behind every other Toad House.

 

But - if the above method of torture doesn't strike you as amusing - you can pick up a second controller and help a kid through a stage of NSMBU.  Have their back - and pop their bubble - should small Mario get Goomba-bit in SM3DW.  Drop some Zelda logic on them.  "If you make those bad people go away, the door will open.  Do this, and a cool box will appear.  And you'll hear a neat thing you'll want to hear again and again for the rest of your life!"  Ease them into some Pikmin RTS by showing them how fun it is to "make" new friends.

 

No, Nintendo hasn't started developing franchises that are big on dismemberment, fountains of blood, gratuitous nudity / sexual content, or profanity and racial slurs.  But Nintendo's focus isn't on "kid friendly" so much as it is on all-inclusive; E is for Everyone, after all.  Oh, and on making games that are, you know...  Games.  Not a string of cut scenes with the, "Oh look, I can move now" parts in between.  Games.  That are fun to play.  That don't necessarily result in immature bickering and smacktalk over headsets.  Although Mario Kart will sometimes make ppl thirst for blood - so there's that.  Graphics are NOTHING without game play.  Mature content is NOTHING without game play (and generally completely irrelevant - a notable exception being the survival horror genre).  Nintendo's focus has always (and I've been a fan since the NES era) been on fun and creativity and game play.  And it still is.

 

Nintendo hasn't changed.  And it has: touch gaming, motion controls, Virtual Console, eshop / full game downloads, asymmetric game play, Miiverse / Nintendo Network, a game where Peach WASN'T kidnapped, four new IPs revealed at this year's E3, NFC, and Reggie being portrayed as the running gag that he most definitely is.  But...  They still make games.  I don't think that increasingly cinematic and / or needlessly and excessively bloody and profane games are pushing any envelopes, really.  There's this pervasive idea that, once you "grow up," you have to drift towards more mature sources of entertainment.  Which is totally true, of course - because I'm an adult who watches a show with colorful, animated ponies that fly, do magic, and learn important life lessons.

 

And a friggin' monster that's the apparent, bipedal offspring of some ugly breed of dog and a fungus will EAT your little adorable FRIENDS in Pikmin games!  Eat them!  In front of you!!  I'm just saying.

[Mutemutt 773]

 

 

This is a fun experiment: hand a controller to a very young child and let them play Super Mario Bros.  They will not know how to dash - and don't you DARE tell them how.  They will not clear the first pitfall.  It will be funny at first.  Then it will just be sad.  Or let them take a crack at the final level of Super Mario 3D World.  Omigod there will be TEARS.  Let them have a crack at practically any puzzle in any Zelda game ever.  Even if it's just a "clear the room" or "push a block" kind of puzzle.  Rap them on the knuckles if they play the ocarina incorrectly.  And go ahead - let them try out Pikmin 3.  Tell them the Pikmin are their "friends," and that they are charged with keeping them safe.  Watch what happens when a Bulborb eats all their friends.  Keep in mind that you will be scarring this child for life, so maybe borrow the neighbor's kid or something.  Don't do this to your own kid - that'd be wrong.

 

My family probably would have had a good time doing that, if I had all that much trouble with Mario and Zelda games at the time that is. Ironically, Mortal Kombat was the game that would bring me to tears and I'm sure my brother had plenty of good laughs (yes, I played that game as a kid, and yes my dad would join in on that game too). Not sure how young you would have to be, but I don't remember having all that much trouble with Mario platformers or the 2D Zelda games I did play at the time; though Majora's mask did give me the most memorable nightmare I've ever had, and I only watched that game!

 

As for the rest of that, I'm just going to say I actually like my cutscene and dialogue heavy games (though, Metal Gear Solid is a little to exposition heavy for me. That's a ton of info to swallow at one time!); it's probably some of my favorites overall. Plus, the immature insults and bickering is the best part sometimes, though that's only among friends (you know, in fighting games, Dokapon Kingdom etc. Putting down your closest friends is the best  ).

[Deathstroke 1,564]

 i agree that they did somethings to gaming but let's not forget what the other companies did like sony  with their games like tekken resident evil (the old ones) the newer ones are crap and crash and a lot more as for microsoft i never had Internet untill the early 2010 and let's not forget the pc musterd race with the graphics the gameplay and the control 

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,302]

My family probably would have had a good time doing that, if I had all that much trouble with Mario and Zelda games at the time that is. Ironically, Mortal Kombat was the game that would bring me to tears and I'm sure my brother had plenty of good laughs (yes, I played that game as a kid, and yes my dad would join in on that game too). Not sure how young you would have to be, but I don't remember having all that much trouble with Mario platformers or the 2D Zelda games I did play at the time; though Majora's mask did give me the most memorable nightmare I've ever had, and I only watched that game!

 

As for the rest of that, I'm just going to say I actually like my cutscene and dialogue heavy games (though, Metal Gear Solid is a little to exposition heavy for me. That's a ton of info to swallow at one time!); it's probably some of my favorites overall. Plus, the immature insults and bickering is the best part sometimes, though that's only among friends (you know, in fighting games, Dokapon Kingdom etc. Putting down your closest friends is the best  ).

I made the horrible, what-was-I-thinking mistake of letting my cousin play RE4 waaaay too young, and he absolutely freaked out at a certain point.  I mean, he was fine with shooting bloodthirsty, pitchfork-wielding villagers in the head, but when the chainsaw Ganado caught up with him...  Again, dunno what I was thinking. xD

 

If it's local play amongst friends (especially something like Mario Party lol), then I agree that the bickering can actually be strangely enjoyable and liven up game play.

 

Actually, when I was a kid, Mario games / platoformers were among the only games I was genuinely good at.  I completed Super Mario Bros. before either adult in my household (not sure they ever completed it lol).  I've just seen what happens when I passed a controller to some younger-than-me-peoples in later years. xD  And kids today seem to possess a very different skillset than I did growing up gamer.

 

And I hope my post (most of which is a total blur to me - I shouldn't write essays right before bed lol) didn't sound as though it attacked people who liked games with cinematics.  I hate the game, not the gamer - and really "hate" is too strong a word.  Even though I never stopped playing the classics, I think I still get these pangs of nostalgia for a bygone era in gaming where just taking a seat and hitting the start button got you playing.  Nintendo actually helps keep some of that era alive (even in recent games); whereas the trend elsewhere leans towards some of the things I described (and don't necessarily enjoy).  Thanks for the reply / actually reading my blur of a late night post lol.

[Rafen40k 11]

Well nintendo did change an increment yea it was a hot item i mean who didnt own a NES at one point.

but on the same note nintendo is more family friendly and less companies make games for nintendo because everyone thinks the soding Xbox is better than sliced bread 

also microsoft and sony are buying game companies

[Skullbuster 1,906]

Nintendo has a horrible reputation with 3rd party developers, they dont get along very well, and the sad thing is i like the Wii U more than the Wii, but their refusal to make games for it and now the lawsuit with phillips is seriously ruining them, if Phillips wins the law suit, Wii Us will potentially be taken off the market in the US