– A most entertained reader
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We haven’t seen E3 2010 yet. We don’t know what Nintendo’s cards are.
We do know this is coming.
Could this be the future of gaming? Could this be the seed of a new market never yet explored?
I like seeing people explore the New World known as gaming. The Vitality Sensor may fizzle and bomb. But it may not. It may be another Wii Fit. You cannot analyze a market that does not exist.
We do not know what software Nintendo has in store. If I knew, Nintendo would not let me tell you about it anyway. These guys make tons of money because they can create new markets with games no one has thought of. You do not. Neither do I. But note that Vitality Sensor is the opposite of Wii Fit. Wii Fit is for the ‘active’ people and Vitality Sensor is for people who want to relax.
The best way to anticipate where Nintendo will go is to ask, “What customers are disinterested? Why are they disinterested?” When people complained about Wii Fit or Wii Sports about how you do not want gaming to be active where you move around in front of the TV, you guys were half right. There is a market out there who does not want to ‘move around’. They want to relax. I suspect people wanting to relax in front of their TVs are larger than the market of people who want to exercise more in front of their TVs. So Vitality Sensor could become a phenomenon. We need to see more about it.
What I want, and what I believe Iwata wants, is for Nintendo to return to the spirit of the NES. In hindsight, it is easy to look back and scoff. It is like looking back on Doom or Wolfenstein 3d and scoffing at it. But you had to be there to feel the thrill of something totally new in gaming. It is something every game says they are today but they are not. I am talking about magical experiences.
When I finished Mario 5, I was elated in just how awesome the game was. I had a “NES moment” where I actually reached out for the next game to throw into the machine. But, alas, I remembered that today’s games are not magical. The sheer fun you have with Mario 5 cannot be compared to almost any other game out there currently. It is not that other games are worse. It is that they are so abysmally bad.
Listen. In my world, game companies like Nintendo and Blizzard are not ‘good’ game companies or ‘exceptional’. They are normal. They are making games the way how they are supposed to be made. The other game companies just suck.
Everyone has been moving the bar of quality lower. We can blame this mostly on our bought and paid for game reviewers who score 10s to garbage and create hype over junk.
Customers like me do not move the bar lower from when we began gaming. When most games began to go below my standard of quality, I stopped gaming entirely. People say that I am ‘harsh’. But I am not harsh. It is the market that is harsh. For example, I no longer buy Zelda games because they are below my bar of quality. They feel like a waste of my time now.
Everyone has their own ‘golden time’ in gaming. However, this ‘golden time’ always correlates to a specific time in their childhood. But from an entertainment phenomenon’s perspective, I put the NES at the top above all consoles. The PlayStations were never fighting disinterest, they were beginning to port PC games onto their consoles and that was their ‘innovation’. N64? Saturn? SNES? Genesis? No on all. They all appealed to a type of core gamer. The Atari 2600 is a very interesting case but its history is very long and very messy. I can point to when Space Invaders came out for the console or some other games. But Atari had rocky moments and a very unhappy ending after a moment in sheer heaven. The NES was also the previous heights for Nintendo.
I divide the NES into three phases. The first few years of the console attracted everyone including older adults. The NES sports games were very important part of this (which is why Nintendo made Wii Sports to get back the sports game players they lost in the 16-bit generation). The second part was the traditional ‘heavy gamer’ parts. The third part was when the NES waned and many women and girls kept playing the console. The ladies loved Dr. Mario.
For one brief moment in the middle of the NES, Nintendo had all three phases at once. With the NES, we had no idea what was coming next. There were light guns. There were power gloves. There were power pads. There was the Gameboy which astonished people! There were all sorts of fun controllers. We had no idea what next year would bring.
Just how I wish future generations could share in the joy I had when classic Mario came out (which is why I am happy to see Mario 5), I want future generations to experience how a real gaming console is like rather than these dumbed down PC gaming machines that play games through a controller.
One of the big things about the NES was how it kept exploring gaming and there was a massive phenomenon around the little gray box. I believe people are experiencing this now. Wii being sold out for years is not unlike how the NES was (but the NES had a tougher uphill battle due to the crashed Atari market and due to Atari tying up Nintendo in courts). All the peripherals for the Wii is somewhat similar to the NES except that the NES peripherals worked for all games. The Wii peripherals seem tailor made to certain games.
I have an emulator that plays NES games on my fat DS (don’t ask how, it just is). But I have the games arranged by year. Why I did this, I am not sure. But I think I did it to remind myself how rapid and fierce the “Revolution” that was gaming was back then. Some of the years of the game may be off due to me mixing up the Japanese release date with the American one. Here are a sample of some of the games per year for the NES:
1985:
10-Yard Fight
Baseball
Clu Clu Land
Donkey Kong Jr. Math
Duck Hunt
Excitebike
Golf
Gyromite
Hogan’s Alley
Ice Climber
Kung Fu
Mach Rider
Pinball
Stack Up
Super Mario Brothers
Tennis
Wild Gunman (“You have to use hands? That’s like a baby’s toy!”)
Wrecking Crew
Not much for the first year. The sports games, which were very primitive even by NES standards, resonated well with adults. I loved Wrecking Crew. Kids liked games like Kung Fu. But the big beast in the room was Super Mario Brothers. Since 1986 is probably the true start of the NES in America, you can just combine the above games to the ones below:
1986
1942
Balloon Fight
Commando
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong 3
Elevator Action
Ghosts and Goblins
Gradius
Gumshoe
Karate Champ
Mario Brothers
M.U.S.C.L.E.
Ninja Kid
Popeye
Tag Team Wrestling
Urban Champion
As you can see, Nintendo was porting many of their earlier arcade games over like Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers (I ADORE the non-super Mario Brothers). Elevator Action used to be quite a hit if I recall. The big games were games like Gradius and Ghosts and Goblins. From what I have posted so far in games, it was a very slow time for the NES.
Keep in mind that all NES games at this time were stuck to one screen or would scroll only one way. You can’t believe how primitive the early NES games were. But what I am trying to point out is that we had no idea at the time. Primitive then was cutting edge. As the NES games progress with the quality skyrocketing upward, it was a shock which made the NES into an obsession with many.
1987:
Alpha Mission
Arkanoid
Athena
Athletic World
Bomberman
BreakThru
Burger Time
Castlevania
Deadly Towers
Double Dribble
Dragon Power
Goonies II
Gotcha!
Jaws
The Karate Kid
Kid Icarus
Legend of Kage
The Legend of Zelda
Lunar Pool
Mega Man
Metroid
Mighty Bomb Jack
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!
Nightmare on Elm Street
Pro Wrestling
Raid on Bungeling Bay
Rambo
R.B.I. Baseball
Ring King
Rush’n Attack
Rygar
Section Z
Side Pocket!
Sky Kid
Tiger-Heli
Top Gun
Track and Field
Trojan
Volleyball
Winter Games
Wizards and Warriors
Already, we were overrun by good games. We were used to console games having passwords. But Legend of Zelda was the first console game in America to use a battery which totally changed the game experience. Nintendo could have chosen to use passwords but they spent money on batteries. Why? For the user experience.
There are many great games in that list above. I still fondly remember games like Wizards and Warriors and R.B.I. Baseball. Remember, Metroid and Zelda were released in the same year in America. Kid Icarus joined them as well. It was Castlevania’s first appearance too as well as Mega Man. When you look at that list, you see NO SEQUELS (not even Goonies II was a sequel despite the II. And that was a good game too). There was some garbage but that is expected. I had no idea I would be playing sequels to games released in 1987 for the next twenty years. It is quite depressing.
But compare 1987 to 1986. The change in scope of games was radical. Imagine if all games had the sheer fun of Mario 5, and you will understand why the NES sits on a throne as a legendary console.
By this time, all the third parties wanted to cash in on the NES phenomena. So prepare for the flood:
1988:
1943
Anticipation
Bandai Golf
Bandit Kings
Bases Loaded
Bionic Commando
Black Bass USA
Blades of Steel
Blaster Master
Bubble Bobble
Bump ‘n’ Jump
Castlevania II
City Connection
Cobra Command
Contra
Defender II
Donkey Kong Classics
Double Dare
Double Dragon
Faxanadu
Freedom Force
Friday the 13th
Galaga
Ghostbusters
Golgo 13
Gun Smoke
Gyruss
Hudson’s Adventure Island
Ice Hockey
Ikari Warriors
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Iron Tank
Jeopardy
Joust
Karnov
Legendary Wings
Life Force
Mad Max
Major League Baseball
Mickey Mousecapade
Millipede
Milon’s Secret Castle
Othello
Paperboy
Platoon
Q-bert
Racket Attack
Rad Racer
Rampage
R.C. Pro-Am
Renegade
Robo Warrior
Rollerball
Seicross
Skate or Die!
Spy Vs Spy
Super Mario Brothers 2
Superman
Super Pitfall
Super Sprint
Super Team Games
Touch Down Fever
Vindicators
Xenephobe
Xevious
Zanac
Zelda II – The Adventure of Link
So many great games on that list. I loved games like Rad Racer or Life Force or Zelda II or Zanac and on and on. Isolating Life Force as an example, the game is head and tails beyond Gradius. It also has multiplayer at the same time. Games had radically changed since 1985 and 1986. At this point, the adults were still playing. The ‘heavy’ gamers were really getting into the NES. And girls were getting into the NES too. This year and 1989 I consider the NES peak.
(I’m going to skip so many games because the lists get too long)
1989
Adventure of Lolo
After Burner
Air Fortress
Airwolf
Alien Syndrome
Archon (About time EA jumped onto the NES. Though this could be a 1990 game.)
Back to the Future
Bad Dudes
Bad Street Brawler
Baseball Stars
Bases Loaded II
Batman (this game was awesome and still overlooked today)
Battle of Olympus (love it! More Zelda II action!)
Bigfoot (played this one with friends at the time. Good game.)
Black Bass
Boy and his Blob (which no one cared about no matter how Nintendo Power pushed it. It was a Daniel Crane game who used to be our Miyamoto. Crane made Pitfall)
Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle
California Games
Captain Skyhawk
Casino Kid
Castlequest
The Chessmaster
Clash at Demonhead
Cobra Triangle (Rare’s NES games were very well programmed with minimal flicker)
Conflict
Crystal Mines
Cybernoid
Defender of the Crown
Demon Sword
Desert Commander
Destiny of an Emperor
Double Dragon II (phenomenal title. Absolutely phenomenal)
Dragon Warrior (Nintendo pushed this game very, very hard)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (I actually own this garbage game. Someone gave it to me for free.)
Duck Tales (made of pure awesome)
Fantasy Zone
Fester’s Quest (great game! Needs to come to Virtual Console)
Flying Dragon
Goal
Godzilla
Guardian Legend (absolutely phenomenal. Needs to come to Virtual Console ASAP)
Guerrilla War
Hollywood Squares (remember this show? haha)
Hoops
Jackal
Jordan Vs. Bird
King’s Knight
Kings of the Beach
Knight Rider
Kung-Fu Heroes
Legacy of the Wizard
Marble Madness (amazing arcade port. A kid stole my copy which pisses me off to this day)
Marvel’s X-Men
Mega Man 2 (Must I explain the phenomenon this game was?)
Monster Party
NARC
NFL Football
Ninja Gaiden (first time we’ve seen cinematics in console games)
Nobunga’s Ambition
Operation Wolf
POW
Predator
Raid 2020
River City Ransom
Robocop
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Shadowgate (God, I loved this game. I still go through it every now and then too.)
Sky Shark
Solstice (this game came from the PC)
Star Soldier (this game sucked. The Turbographx Star Soldier games were good though)
Street Cop
Strider
Super Dodge Ball
Taboo
Tecmo Baseball
Tecmo Bowl
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles
Tetris
Track and Field 2
Ultima: Exodus (OMG its Ultima on a console)
Uninvited
WillowWWF Wrestlemania
I left much out, but you get the idea that the flood gates were opening. There were many great games like Mega Man 2.
I’m not going to go through the other years as I am getting tired putting all these titles down. But imagine the next year getting games like Super Mario Brothers 3, Mega Man 3, Final Fantasy, and on and on.
When you played Mario 5, it was like BAM! Someone hit you on the head with a skillet of fun. But back then, there were many games like Mario 5. You would play, say, Mario 2, get hit with fun. BAM! But then throw in another game that was just as fun. Say Ducktales. BAM! Gradius? BAM! Life Force? BAM! Double Dragon? BAM! It never stopped. Dragon Warrior? BAM! Final Fantasy? BAM! Instead of a Virtual Console, we had ‘arcade ports’ of older games like Pac-Man, Joust, Gyruss, the Donkey Kongs, and so on. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! And then there was Super Mario Brothers 3 at the peak of it all. BAM! And if I keep talking like this, I could host a cooking show. BAM, BAM, BAM with the pepper as Emeril does.
I think Nintendo understands this to a point. They time their releases so they are together, like three of them like Wii Fit, Smash Brothers, and Mario Kart, to go BAM, BAM, BAM in order to jumpstart excitement into the console.
Other consoles have their moments. The 16-bit consoles were quite glorious. However, the BAMs were getting further and further apart. The diversity of the software also died down. At the tail end of the 16-bit generation, if you were not a teenager kid, people were not that interested in making games for you. It was the Mortal Kombat era.
Now, one stark difference between then and now is the lack of new content propositions from Nintendo. There were sequels to only best selling games. There was no such thing as “franchise” in the 8-bit. This is why it was so much fun.When games became franchises was when gaming began to feel more stale. It meant we were buying Street Fighter 2 half a dozen times.
I remember when Nintendo put out *new* worlds instead of sequels to old worlds. Even Nintendo’s sequels were very much different. Zelda 2 is quite a different animal than Zelda 1. And Mario 2 was Sub-con, not the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario 3 was a game with so much awesome in it that trying to compare it to other existing games would shatter the video game continuum so best we leave it alone. But Super Mario World was a very different game world than Mario 3.
People looked forward to new games to explore new content. I recall looking forward to the Mario games to see what new they would add to the game world. I remember being stunned when I saw the black ninjas at the end of Super Mario World. Sure, there were bob-bombs in Mario 3, but the ninja sold home the idea that Super Mario Brothers 2’s Doki Doki Panic’s universe would be merging with Mario (even back then I knew Doki Doki Panic was Mario 2).
With Zelda, it was all about exploring Hyrule and all. I understand Zelda fans looking forward to the next Zelda game in anticipation of the new content to come (unfortunately, Zelda games are not really about the content anymore, woe is us).
Not all of Nintendo’s content propositions worked. Star Tropics was cool but it was not Zelda. Kid Icarus was cool but it was not Metroid. Even though not every content proposition worked, their existence made the game library fresher. How depressing if Star Fox was nothing but Mario, Luigi, Toad, and the Princess in the Arwings. Even in the 16-bit generation, Nintendo realized it was better to create a new game universe than to put new gameplay into old universes.
I believe the taste of game consumers is a constant (unless the well of interest is drained faster than it can be replinished). Mario 5 sells today for the same reasons why Mario World sold twenty years ago. It is the same reason why Mario 3 sold. It is the same reason why Mario 1 sold. It is the same reason why Pitfall sold four million copies (which was a TON back then) on the Atari 2600. People like platformers. They never went obsolete. The game companies changed, the gamers stayed the same.
This is why I am confident if Zelda got back to its roots, Zelda would become a phenomenon once again.
Nintendo doesn’t have to spend a huge budget on new content either. WiiWare could be used to explore new content.
I hear that when developers leave Nintendo, it is because they are tired of making yet another Kirby game or another Pokemon game. Well, customers are tired of them too. Why not give us something new? Games like Mario and Zelda should be Mario and Zelda experiences. I do not want oddball gameplay to be jammed into a Mario or Zelda game. Use that oddball gameplay and give it its own universe. Perhaps that new game could be the next Mario or Zelda type phenomenon.
Iwata said he wonders how he can teach young generation of game developers the lessons the older people had to know. Well, here is the opportunity. They have the opportunity to make smaller games that are brand new in content. I would like a new Nintendo game that is immersive that isn’t Mario, Zelda, or Metroid. Using Punch-Out and bringing over other series that haven’t been on the Wii is cool (like Pikmin). But is there anything else? Even if it is just something on WiiWare would be awesome.
The important thing to remember is that many people were not expecting much from Mario 5 when it was released. Our ‘hardcore’ friends laughed and mocked the game. They declared the Wii doomed. And looked what happened. So I find it strange you ask what other cards can Nintendo play when our “experts in gaming” did not realize Mario 5 was a card in the first place.
In fact, that happens every year since the Wii has been released. “Wii is doomed! Wii is doomed! Wii is… Aww, dammit! Maybe next year will be different!”
No matter how often Nintendo is declared doomed, it never is. So let me challenge the premise of your question. You ask what does Nintendo have left? I answer Nintendo has so much left because there is so much disinterest out there. It all needs to be fought. The real question is what do the HD Twins have? Sequels to games that came out a couple years ago? The Wand? Natal? HD Twins are not actively fighting disinterest so they will be swallowed up by it. What is saving the HD twins, having them bobble up in the ocean flowing around them, are the third party companies. But the third party companies are drowning too. It looks like they are going to all go down together.
Price cuts aren’t going to rocket the PS3 and Xbox 360 anymore. The only thing that will help is if Nintendo screws themselves up and Wiis sales drop. But Wii sales dropping will most certainly not mean people buy Xbox 360s or PS3s. Grandma isn’t going to put down the Wii and buy a PS3.
What can the HD Twins do to spur growth? Are they going to price cut their way into oblivion? Are they going to try to make a Next Next Generation machine? No. And devices like Natal aren’t going to resonate with the Expanded Audience. So what are they going to do? More Halo?
What is the PS3 going to do in Japan? They already had Final Fantasy 13. Now what?
The next few years are going to be very interesting.
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