Wii Like U!

Here's a little something I contributed to this site

With the announcement of the successor to the Wii, in the form of the Wii-U, many minds will begin to consider that now is the time for the seventh generation of consoles to stand aside and make way for the eighth generation. Hardly surprising since we gamers need a constant stream of technological prowess to keep our fleeting attention spans held – lest we find something else to blow our money on. I guess this is the end result of sixth previous generations of building powerful technology and mind-blowing graphics: Each successive console generation is ultimately a cycle that we’ve somehow become unflinchingly accustomed to.

But I digress. With the announcement of the Wii-U, all eyes now turn to Nintendo. The old war horse; the company that gave us icons like Mario, Link, Donkey Kong and Samus; The organisation that has pretty much become synonymous with video gaming; the survivor who beat off the upstart that was Sega and the company that wrote the rules of the game and before changing them all.
The question now is what can Nintendo do now?

In recent years, Nintendo have attracted disgust from many gamers – The Gamecube has never been able to escape the stigmata of being a ‘kiddie’ console having built a fanbase around Nintendo fans and younger gamers (whereas everyone else fled to the bosom of the Playstation and Xbox). The Wii hasn’t fared much better either: Being outclassed by it’s rivals, having games exclusively marketed at the casual fanbase and, well, not making games for the Wii. This, along with some baffling decisions (the response to Project Rainfall being one such example) has now placed Nintendo in a position where many of it’s fans are responding with either anger or defection to the PS3 and the 360). It’s indeed surprising that this disgust has come about considering that this was a company who everyone adored with unquestionable passion – even when a potential usurper arrived in the form of Sega.
So whilst the Wii may have made Nintendo enough money to stay float the question still remains: what can they do now?

One problem – and perhaps the most obvious one – is that Nintendo have been basing much of their strategy on familiarity (I refuse to use the N-word in this article). Sure the NES may have given us Super Mario Bros, legend of Zelda and Metroid but these franchises have turned up with each successive console (well maybe not Metroid for the N64 but whatever). The idea of using familiarity to sell something new is good in theory but now Nintendo have been reusing established franchises to the point where it is now expected. Sure some people may be a bit tired of Nintendo reusing their well-established franchises but to build new franchises isn’t that simple: The old guard have taken root and there’s no shifting them. Can anyone now imagine buying a Nintendo console without a Mario or a Zelda game? Of course not. People like familiarity and the comfort they bring so to introduce new faces would most likely send ripples of panic into the prospective buyers. Granted the roster in Super Smash Bros Brawl was a brave attempt by Nintendo to give new light to some forgotten franchises but I doubt anyone would’ve recognised half of them. Get past Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Zelda, Link, Ganondorf, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Fox, Falco, Captain Falcon, Samus, the Pokemon, Kirby, Snake and even Sonic and you’re left with a bunch of faces so unrecognizable you’d wonder why they bothered to show up.

And then there’s the Virtual Console. I thought this was a great idea as I thought it great opportunity for veteran gamers (like myself) to pick up great games they may have missed out on the first time around. Indeed, it can be argued that having games available for download may have inspired both the XBLA and the PSN. And I’m certain that I’m not the only one who picked up a Wii just for the Virtual Console. But that’s just it: The presence of these games and indeed the Virtual Console are nothing new and ultimately solidifying the perception that Nintendo are getting by on their established IP. Sure I may have spent more than few dollars on Virtual Console games but I can’t help thinking that I, if maybe, have contributed to the furthering of Nintendo’s current (and unwelcome) position of furthering familiarity and rehashing stuff that worked before.

Talk about shooting one’s self in the foot.

Also, whilst the Wii may have saved Nintendo and keep them in the game (so to speak) for a little while longer but it seems to have also made them too comfortable. I mean, are Nintendo actually putting out games with actual content? Sure Goldeneye 007, Smash Bros Brawl and Twilight Princess, may have been big titles but of those three, one’s remake, one’s a rehash made to fulfill fan desires and one was looking at Ocarina of Time’s blueprint. Again, it is this reuse of old ideas. Are Nintendo even trying any more? Sure the Wii may have been a big seller but there is not enough games for it to justify the big sales or its potential as a game console. Sure making games may be a job like any another but that’s no reason to stop caring and be half-arsed about it.

Indeed, it is telling that nowadays, Nintendo seem to be lavishing far more attention to the 3DS – perhaps far more than what is necessary. Indeed, the negative response to Project Rainfall may have been the final straw for most people and they’ve subsequently given up on Nintendo completely – many who’ve been unbending in nearly two decades of devotion. Why plug the Wii-U as ‘hardcore’ friendly when the snubbing of Project Rainfall says otherwise?

But this is what bothers me: A video game company that makes bad decisions? One that ignores it’s fanbase and makes games that is more or less shovelware? One that relies on past glories and makes almost exclusively first party games? One that introduces a new technology but is unable to make good use of it? One that is subsequently out classed by it’s rivals?

Didn’t all these things happen to Sega?

Whilst Sega’s days of a console developer have long gone, the memory of the once great console giant lingers – not to mention it’s ultimate downfall (one being even greater than that of Atari). As history has a nasty habit of repeating itself, it would be interesting to see whether or not Nintendo can avoid a similar fate.

So what can Nintendo do now? That’s a very good question….