Afterthoughts
After writing this piece, I can't help but think it came out too harsh, especially at a time when it's the "cool thing" to bash Nintendo.
The thing about Nintendo fans is that while we may be Nintendo's biggest fans, we're also its biggest critics. At what point, however, did our criticism become irrational? Perhaps it's the internet age, where information is seemingly within your grasp in a matter of seconds - where sales data has affected your enjoyment of a game. Or maybe the industry has simply matured into the mainstream, where fantastic explosions and exposed breasts will give you headlines meanwhile the art side of it is destined to be appreciated by only a few.
It's easy to be negative and forget to mention how Nintendo is continually innovating the industry - from introducing the rumble pak, to the First-Person Shooter Adventure, to the analog stick, to a dual-screen gaming system, to a wireless controller, to the e-Reader card collections, to handheld-to-console connectivity, and much, much more. Even if none of these items clicked with you, one can't deny Nintendo's commitment to introducing new ways to play video games. As Nintendo gamers, maybe weve simply become accustomed to taking these unique ideas for granted.
Everyone has already forgotten about Nintendo's "Who are you?" marketing campaign, the fact that Pokemon Colosseum looks to be the full-fledged RPG we've been asking for, that Mario Kart received praise across the board, that Wario Ware is becoming the next "pah-tay" game, that Nintendo released the fantastic Zelda compilation disc, and finally that Nintendo's ever-warming relationships with third-parties has never looked better (Bandai being the latest seen holding hands with Nintendo).
The lack of third-party games was a major complaint during the Nintendo 64 generation. This however, is no longer the case. People like Konamis Hideo Kojima are collaborating with the heads at Nintendo. Weve got the debut of what seems to be the most talented new developer in the world through Retro Studios. Director Shinji Mikami showed us a frightening series in Resident Evil, all thanks to Nintendos commitment towards the franchise. This generation also holds the beginning of a bold collaboration with Silicon Knights creating truly mature and novel works. Namco, after a long stand-off with Nintendo, is now back and even working closely with them for games like Star Fox and Donkey Konga. We were shown a whole new world in F-Zero because of Nintendos trust in Sega developer Amusement Visions.
Nintendos commitment to show the world brand new ideas through external developers has been nothing but successful. As Nintendo gamers, weve been shown first hand what kind of unique ideas other developers have outside the Nintendo circle. These are powerful relationships that I think again, weve all taken for granted.
And thats just the external developers Include internally developed games like Wind Waker, Pikmin 1 & 2, Custom Robo, Fire Emblem and Wario Ware and you come up glowing. A game like Pikmin 2, especially, has been delayed to ensure high quality control and an unmatched experience. No other publisher in the world gives their games this kind of care.
It would be a travesty for Nintendo to fail. The chances of that ever happening are extremely miniscule, as the company is still the largest publisher in the world. Yet people still insist on conjuring up ridiculous stories in which the company fades into oblivion. I hope this piece made you more irritated than anything. I think that's what we need - for people to become fed up with the monotony of this Nintendo bashing and finally throw their hands into the air and say "that's enough".
Because really, how can Nintendo look to the future when we're constantly bringing up the past - the mistakes Nintendo made and at the same time, the standards for which we continually hold the company to - but don't expect anything on even a similar level from others?