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.

Nintendo, hey Nintendo! It's me. GlossGreen. Remember me? We used to play together as kids. Remember the time we used to play Zelda? No? How about Metroid? You don't remember that either? I know, it was a long time ago, but you seem different these days. It seems like you're trying to be someone else these days. What happened to you? I remember first meeting you way back in grade school. You were there to pick up the pieces after the whole Atari thing. Damn E.T., why did it have to be that bad? Luckily, you were there to swoop in and pick up the pieces. Seeing you in the store for the first time, I think it was a Sears, I remember being excited (as only a grade schooler could). I used to spend hours looking at the box art of games, heck, I even thought R.O.B. looked cool. I know, I was young and didn't know better. Playing the games were great, I could actually tell the difference between my character and a rock. That was a huge improvement over the other guys stuff. We spent hours and hours having fun, and then things got better.

A few years later, you got a slight bit more mature and grew a tad bit bigger. You got smarter and became able to do some pretty cool things. Zelda looked better, Mario could do more things, and Samus had more toys. Those were the good old days, some say the best. I have many good memories playing through those years, but changes were on the wind. A new media for games was on the horizon and you tried to join in. CDs were going to be the next big thing for games. They were cheaper, had more storage, and hell, people just thought they were cool. Too bad you made the wrong choice.

I still stuck by you...for a while. I didn't care that you still used cartridges while the other systems started using CDs. You still had some great games. All the usual suspects were there, and some new ones too. I spent many, many hours playing Rogue Squadron, my favorite Star Wars game to date. Unfortunately, all was not well. At the time, I was starting a family and had a job that didn't pay so well, and there in lies the rub. New games for you ended up costing nearly $70. I couldn't believe it. Why the heck were you so expensive? I know things weren't going well for you against your former partner, but did you really have to cost so damn much? Were you trying to alienate all your friends? Let me tell you, price gauging is not cool. After that things got worse.

I didn't even recognize you the next time you hit the spotlight. You went from a cherished family friend to...a toy. That's what I thought. Sure, Resident Evil looked pretty good, but a cube shape? With a handle? Let's get one thing straight, you were not a portable system. The handle was just stupid. What really got me was the fact that you didn't learn your lesson from the last time. Hello, remember the CD fiasco? Anyone? Why the miniature discs? That's just like a racehorse on the track with a broken leg. You can get some mileage out of it, but it won't go far. I an not ashamed to admit that I turned my back on you then. I thought you'd be done for sure.

Revolution. Now that was a cool name and it showed that you were going to try something new. I was interested, even though I'd sworn you off the last time. You had some big plans and ideas that really impressed me. But you let me down again. What did you choose instead? Wii. What the hell were you thinking? Underwhelming hardware with a stupid name. Looking back at it now, I'd say you were in it for the money. Go cheap with the hardware and take advantage of everyone with garbage software. Even with the occassional Mario, Zelda, or Metroid game you have still lost me. I know you are making money hand over fist these days, but let's be honest. How long do you think this can possibly last? I can see it now, death by shovelware. With games like Gingerbread Man, who needs enemies?

Things aren't over yet, I know you are only half way into your second year and there is still plenty of time to fix things. First, get quality back. Remember the Nintendo Seal of Quality? I took heart knowing that you actually looked at the games that developers were trying to get on your system. Sure, the occassional bad game made it through, but nothing like the old 2600 days. Nothing like an E.T. to be seen. Second, get some games that people like me would actually play. Wii Sports? No. Cooking Mama? Hell no. Ging...Stop right there. You see my point? Remember the old days. Strive for excellent, fun games. Don't just do it because you can. I know Nintendo could slap the Wii name on a rock and sell millions of them, but it doesn't mean they should.