Gaming by GlossGreen

So there I was, driving down the autobahn at 130 KPH, and then it hit me. No, nothing actually hit me, I probably wouldn't be here typing this if anything had. What I meant was that I had a thought. I just so happened to be thinking about the Nintendo Wii and I had a revelation. Well, maybe not a revelation per se, more like a breakthrough.

In the beginning there were a whole bunch of consoles that not many people alive today have ever actually played, so let's jump forward a little bit. In 1985 Nintendo was ready to launch its brand new console to a game deprived public (make that good game deprived public, there were plenty of bad ones around), but there was a problem. After the videogame crash of '83 retailers didn't want to trust a new console, so Nintendo got sneaky. Enter R.O.B., that little gray guy that came boxed with the brand new Nintendo Entertainment System. Notice that videogames console is nowhere in its name, and that was the point. It wasn't a videogame console, it was a toy, hence the addition of the plastic paperweight. And therein lies the problem.

Since the console was marketed as a toy and sold mostly to children, Nintendo got a reputation of being just for kids. This is a reputation that Nintendo has tried to change, but with little success. And now my thoughts on this. Who cares? One thing that you can always count on with Nintendo is great first party games. Sure, they are generally really cartoony, colorful kid games, but guess what? There's nothing wrong with that. Besides, adults still play them too. Mario since the NES days has always been about exploring bright, blocky worlds with lots of not too terribly dangerous bad guys to step on. Super Mario Bros. is most definitely a kids game, but we still love it no matter our age.

See, the problem isn't that Nintendo makes games for kids (once you admit that Nintendo has ALWAYS made games for kids), it's that we grew up and changed but Nintendo didn't. They've always been about the pure fun of the experience, not about the blood or blown apart bodies (one reason why the SNES Mortal Kombat game had gray blood instead of red). I was 12 when I first played the NES and it was very influential to me at that age. When I got older, I looked less and less to Nintendo for my games. My tastes were changing, but Nintendo was still doing the same types of games they did during the NES and SNES generations. Was there anything wrong with that? No, but I didn't think that way at the time. I kept wondering why Nintendo didn't mature with me. Why didn't they make games for the 18 year olds, for the 21 year olds, for the 25 year olds? Why were they still making games for the 12 year olds, like I was in 1986? The answer? Because that is what they are good at and what gamers, true gamers, still want from them.

Nintendo consoles have never been about the same things that the PlayStation has. Or the Saturn has. Or the Xbox has. They are just about the enjoyment of the game, enjoyment for all ages, not just the gamer of average age. Whether we like it or not, Nintendo will always have children close to it's heart, kinda like a not so creepy Michael Jackson. And you know what? That's something I can live with.

OK, the Wii. I really don't know where to go with this one. I'm conflicted. The potential is there to make 2008 their best year since the late 80's, but will the software be up to the task? 2007 was a great year for Nintendo. They went from ridiculed underdog to the top of the console heap in less than one year. How they did it was no surprise. They pioneered an innovative control scheme, made the console cheap, and made it accessible to the non-typical gamer. The virtual console was also a great idea. Backward compatibility has been a buzz word with previous generations, something that Nintendo hasn't taken advantage of until now. Adding the back catalog of classic games was a must for the Big N.

First, the good. Any game released by Nintendo with Wii in the title is sure to be a huge seller. This trend will definitely continue well into this year, and possibly, extending through the entire life of the console. We will also see releases of all the current popular Nintendo titles. Expect to see sequels with Mario, Link, and Samus in them. Whether or not we'll see these characters in their natural environments is another story. We should see some changes within the third party developers as well. As the developer community gets more familiar with the Wii's wireless motion controls we will hopefully see more chances being taken, instead of just putting out the cookie cutter projects of the previous generations and bad ports. Everyone is waiting for the lightsaber attachment and a good Star Wars game to back it up, so get on it LucasArts. We want to duel with Darth. Gaming for the beginning of the year with the Wii looks promising. With some huge titles having been released in the last few months and constant demand, expect Nintendo to stay on or near the top for this year.

Now here comes the problem. Looking at this from the hardcore perspective: Games and release dates. Where are they? We have some vague idea when some of the games are coming out, but even the games with published dates have been getting pushed back. The games that are being released? Well, it's not looking so hot. Taking a look at this weeks releases I see no winners and no big games. The next big game on the horizon, Super Smash Bros Brawl, isn't coming out until March...maybe. See, here's the problem with Nintendo. The big, good games take a lot longer to be released. How many true Mario games did we see on the Gamecube? Not many. Nintendo fans have always been expected to be patient through the long gaming drought between the AAA titles, but unfortunately, not given many decent choices to play in the interim.

I took a look at the titles currently available for the Wii via Amazon. I'm aware that this is not a complete list, but looking at the sampling they have available, I'm concerned. Now here's how my list turned out. Games with either Mario, Link, or Samus in them: 10 (I didn't even count Donkey Kong, Pokemon, or the Wario Ware titles in that list). Fishing games: 4. Bowling games: 2. And games that I called WTF??: 20. Now what type of games were in that last category you ask. I'll tell you. I see games titled Ninjabread Man, Cranium Kabookii, Sea Monsters, and Chicken Hunt. Needless to say, these are not big sellers. With these games outnumbering the decent titles by a factor of 2, it doesn't look good. Where's the quality control? A better question is probably this. Where are the new intellectual properties from Nintendo? We all love Mario, Link and Samus, but that doesn't mean we want to see them in every game you put out.

Delivering derivative and uninspired games is by no means a new phenomenon. Nintendo has a problem with delivering innovative first party games to the gamers for the past few generations. Having to wait 3 or 4 years for the next Super Mario title is torture. Having to wait for the next big non-Mario Nintendo title is an eternity. If you are a casual gamer, you may be in better shape. Just don't expect the best in quality. Does Nintendo hate us? Do they think we'll stick with them no matter the crap they feed us? Maybe. I'm hoping they are able to pick it up for 08. If they don't, the bubble may burst and leave Nintendo all sticky. My last words? Just these few: Ninjabread Man. WTF?!?!?!