Time for a rant concerning the business of video games.
There is no doubting that Nintendo is a tremendous company. Premiering in 1978 with it's first hit Donkey Kong, the company has gone a long way. Super Mario is the most popular video game character in history, and his self-titled 8-bit Nintendo Game was the best selling video game of all time until this past Christmas.
Nintendo has been through some tough times. Rival Sega almost always had a competing system. Game Gear to match the Game Boy, Genesis to match the Super Nintendo, and so on. Sony released what is now known as the Playstation 1, which was a huge step because games were now on CD. Nintendo responded with the Nintendo '64, which retained the classic cartridge format for their games.
They have always met success in the face of stern opposition, but a lot of this success must be credited to a loyal base of fans who fell in love with the company's early franchises. Re-imaginings of these iconic characters in new and better games have long kept fans clamoring for more, and with each "epic" reinvention of a series the fans loyalty has always been rewarded. Metroid, The Legend of Zelda and even the children's smash hit Pokemon are great examples of this.
It is my belief that the fans carried Nintendo through "tough times." When the Gamecube came out to combat Sega's Dreamcast and Sony's PS2, it was clearly an inferior system. It could not match the capacity's of either competitor nor did it try to. Even the long-loved franchises previously mentioned went in new directions and this left a mixed taste in the mouths of savoring fans. Zelda went to cel-shade graphics which made the game look "cartoony" while Metroid became a 1st person shooter. Mario went from besting Bowser to polishing pollution.
For the most part the fans stayed with them though and they still enjoyed some unique and enjoyable games. The Gamecube is a very family-friendly system and as a result it found success in many younger homes.
Sega eventually left the console contest, only to be replaced by Microsoft's X-Box. That brings us almost up to today. While Microsoft and Sony began touting their new systems, the X-Box 360 and the PS3, Nintendo once again went in a completely different direction.
They announced the Wii.
It goes without saying the Wii has been revolutionary. Wii Sports replaced Super Mario as the all-time best selling game, while all the loyal fan favorites were once again reinvented in clever and amazing ways. Games like Mario Kart, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Twilight Princess and Brawl are all examples of this.
Why do I bring all this up? Why do I type all this jargon that is no doubt incomprehensible to most? I will tell you why.
I have stood proudly and been a loyal Nintendo fan for most of my life. I've watched the company rise and fall, stumble and rise again. I've stood by their products and enjoyed many fun gaming experiences. I've watched Nintendo reclaim their position on top of the world concerning video game entertainment, and I've watched them gain a new audience as Wii's are still clamored up as fast as they can ship.
Nintendo's loyal fan base is no longer the target audience of the company. The casual person is their new target. As I look upon the release calendar for 2009 and itch to see what new products they will bring out I worry. The effort and the excellence Nintendo has always fought to deliver are no longer there. This company has constantly pushed the edge and found new ways to revolutionize how people spend recreation time. As I look to the future I don't see that drive. I don't see that passion to push for the future that has been so present throughout the company's history.
I worry Nintendo has forgotten their fans as they scamper about to satisfy this new and curious audience. And I fear that ultimately this would be their undoing, but the Wii keeps selling and their unchecked agenda goes forward. The stalwart fan forgotten, I wonder what to do...
Maybe it's times like this that wii (or at least I) need to remember there's only one worthy of such devout attention and admiration. Maybe if I could serve God with the same passion and zeal I could do much more for his Kingdom. Or maybe this unnecessarily long discourse is exactly what the first sentence said it was. And now I'm back to real life, where I continue to try and serve God each day.
Matthew 6: 19-20 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."
1 comment:
Please don't hate me for this but I must confess. I didn't understand most of this post. But I totally agree with the last paragraph. If I was as passionate about reaching the lost as I was about other things in my life, my world would be very different.
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