[Neo]

The State of Nintendo
By: Zachary Wright


Nintendo is the most well known name in the video game industry. That statement is more than an opinion, it’s a fact. It has been around longer than any other system, and when people think of video games, Nintendo is a name that first comes to mind. Nintendo celebrates their 20th anniversary this year, and in the past 20 years they have given the gaming community the stuff of legends. We have swung through jungle with Donkey Kong, explored alien planets with Samus Aran, traveled to the ends of Corneria with Fox McCloud, and saved Hyrule with Link.

Nintendo’s legacy started with the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES. They followed it with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), then the Nintendo 64 (N64), and finally to their current console, the Nintendo Gamecube (GCN). Along with their consoles came the famous Game Boy which also transformed over the ages. From the classic cabbage green handheld to the current Game Boy Advance. My point is that with all these systems, Nintendo has been able to please the customer almost every time. The gaming community has been purchasing Nintendo systems for 20 years, because they know that each one is a piece of perfection, and Nintendo will not fail to deliver to deliver classics that they are so well known for. People buy Nintendo systems for Nintendo games.

This is the number one reason why third party developers, such as Rare, have broken ties with Nintendo and joined the other two Next Generation consoles: the Sony Playstation 2 (PS2) and the Microsoft Xbox. Because most owners of Nintendo systems only want games developed by Nintendo, everything else takes the back seat and is less important. Third party developers can make more money by converting to a console in which they are appreciated. On rare occasions, a third party game will be accepted as a “classic” by Nintendo fans. Such games are “Mega Man” and “Harvest Moon.” These games do almost as well as Nintendo developed games, but will still pale in comparison to the almighty “Mario” series, which is a classic platformer developed and published by Nintendo. While this doesn’t pose many immediate short term problems, other than the fact that current Nintendo gamers are missing out on some legendary games, it does pose a great deal of long term problems.

A company such as Nintendo cannot possible support itself and remain as large, both financially and reputation wise, with only games created by themselves. It takes a great deal of time for a game to be created that would be hailed as a “Nintendo Classic”, and Nintendo cannot possibly produce them fast enough to keep up with Sony and Microsoft, who will have a large number of third party game developers putting out worthwhile games at an almost constant rate. Eventually, Microsoft’s and Sony’s “army” of quality games will stomp out Nintendo’s “platoon” of “classics.” Nintendo would not be able to support itself on the shoulders of Mario, Link, and Pikachu. In the future, we can expect less and less third party games, and the same amount of Nintendo games.

Not only will Nintendo suffer financially, but their reputation will be shot. How can a company deem themselves “legendary” whenever they have the smallest library of games for any console? With such a small selection, even the largest Nintendo “fan boy” would be pulled into the variety of another console. As the company’s reputation spirals out of control, so will its financial status, until it eventually looses the battle all together.

Another important factor that is knocking at the tender knees of Nintendo is the fact that their “classics” are becoming less classical with each new production. How many times have we saved the princess? How many times have we spent hours at the grueling task of “dungeon crawling” only to be rewarded with some gem and a piece of heart? How many times is Nintendo going to use the same ideas? Most, if not all, gamers from around the world will rise up and agree that the quality of games in today’s day and age are nothing but pitiful little disks when compared to the games of old. Many gamers will rise up and agree that Nintendo reach its peak with the SNES, and that any game after has been nothing but a mere shadow of the “ancient” glory.

Games such as “Super Mario Sunshine” and “The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker” were classics, and I must agree that they were very good, but how can one actually speak to say that they were as good as the original Super Mario Bros.? How can one say that they were as good as “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past”? They simply are not as good.

Nintendo is crumbling on its flimsy corporate foundation, and something must be done, something must be changed, to bring back the Nintendo that most of remember and dream of knowing once again. There is no perfect solution, and each idea has cons. What I propose that Nintendo do is give up the fantasy idea of a console. They should abandon hope of the “great” GCN ever becoming the gaming powerhouse that the PS2 is. Nintendo themselves should become a third party console game developer, while retaining the line of Game Boy hand helds, which have sold extremely well and provide gamers with an extremely enjoyable mobile gaming unit. By doing this, they will be able to completely focus their time and resources onto creating the legendary classics that we all remember, without the extra hassle of a console that is not doing well on the charts. While this may be an extreme transformation, and many “fan boys” will cry and complain about the transition, I believe it is the most simple and logical solution for saving a once valiant warrior: Nintendo.