Ever since their debut to video games in the early 80's, Nintendo's ideas and innovations have been used right across the gaming industry. They have introduced many of the features we know and love on today's game controller, like the left and right bumpers, analog sticks, directional pad and the four standard input buttons to the right of the controller. Although that alone is not the main reason to why they have become so successful. Nintendo is also the home to some of the most well known and unique gaming experiences ever. Franchises like Pikmin, Star Fox, Metroid, Pokemon, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda and the hugely popular Super Mario Bros, all brought something new to the gaming universe. Whether it was The Legend of Zelda which was the first game to allow you to save your progress and set off on an adventure, or Super Mario 64 which showed the industry how to use 3D graphics effectively. A lot of the innovations Nintendo brought in their games are now the standard in modern video games.
Not only did Nintendo put in place the ground work for what all console manufacturers work from but they also re-invented gaming, and put a new perspective on the way 'Wii' play games. Nintendo launched the Wii in 2006 and six years later in 2012, to spite its strange yet 'unique' name, it is on the verge of 100 million units sold worldwide making it Nintendo's most successful console ever. The key to Nintendo's recent success was a business strategy called Blue Ocean. This involves creating something unique and making it appeal to a market that has not yet been broken into. This is exactly what Nintendo did with the Wii. They created a unique gaming experience that anyone can easily learn and enjoy. While Sony and Microsoft were competing in a blood bath to sell their consoles to the same audience, Nintendo were tapping into uncharted territory. Along with fans who wanted more Nintendo exclusives, the Wii appealed to anyone who wasn't familiar with video games. Nintendo did this with motion control. Whether you were returning a ball in tennis with your 'Wiimote' or sliding down a ski slope on your balance board, the concept of the games were easy to understand and simple to grasp.
The Wii was brand new and unique idea that took the world by storm
Though, despite how much of a commercial success the Wii had been for Nintendo, it has had a slightly negative impact among the gaming community. When Nintendo shifted their sights to the new casual market, they left their hardcore fan base to concentrate on the more casual gamer. This is not to say that Nintendo didn't release any good games to cater to their fan base on the Wii, in fact, it could not be further from the truth. The Wii has some of the greatest Nintendo games ever, period. Mario Galaxy, Zelda: Skyward Sword, Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Metroid Prime 3 are just a few examples of the excellent games Nintendo brought to the Wii. But that is not the reason Nintendo has earned a negative name within the gaming community. A huge amount of triple A multi-platform titles from 3rd party publishers never made it to Wii. Where were Bioshock, Red Dead Redemption and Assassin's Creed? Where were Darksiders, Mass Effect and Battlefield 3? A countless amount of 3rd party content never even made it to Wii and what did make it was often a watered down version of what could be found on other consoles. There are three reasons to why Nintendo lacked 3rd party content on their system and they are - low system power, poor online capabilities and a different control scheme. Unlike Nintendo, the other two consoles on the market, the Xbox 360 and the PS3 share many attributes. Their power is about the same, their online capabilities are very similar and their controls are almost identical. This allowed 3rd party games to be easily ported between the two systems. If these games were ported to Wii, the developers would have to spend time and resources on lowering the graphics, changing the online component and working out a way for their games to be controlled by the Wiimote. All this so the same games would work on the Wii. Most developers just did not see the value of putting in the effort.
These two consoles received hundreds of 3rd party games
So here we are in 2012, where the Wii's lack of features today's video game industry considers standard, has resulted in the system seeing absolutely none of the games gamers want to play, coming out on the system. On the other hand, the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are still going strong with 1st and 3rd party publishers pumping out quality games every month. It is worrying to know that the company that was once the king of video games in this odd situation. I asked Samuel Claiborn, editor at IGN.com about what he thinks about Nintendo's position in the industry and whether they will remain relevant. This is what he had to say:
‘’Nintendo will always be relevant as a software developer. It's flagship property, Super Mario has, at times, been more recognizable to kids than Mickey Mouse (see David Sheff's "Game Over"). It remains to be seen whether people will still find consoles and portable gaming devices relevant, though, and Nintendo's future as a hardware maker is questionable.’’
Claiborn believes Nintendo will always be relevant as a games developers, but questions whether they will continue to produce video game consoles.
Nintendo obviously (and thankfully) has not quit the race just yet. Last year at E3 2011, Nintendo lifted the lid on their brand new video game console called, the Wii U. Despite little change to the name, the Wii U is a very different console to the Wii. Nintendo's approach with the Wii U is to keep the casual audience they have built with Wii, but also cater to the hardcore audience they previously ignored with Wii. This is what the name Wii U represents. Wii meaning 'we', a group of people gathering around a television having fun, and U, meaning 'you' which represents the extra personal, hardcore experience. The biggest innovation you'll notice to the new system is the new controller which looks a bit like an iPad surrounded with a button layout similar to one you might find on an Xbox 360 or PS3 controller. Nintendo refer to the controller as the Wii U Gamepad, which has a lot of cool features such as a touch screen, motion controls, NFC capabilities (ability to scan objects such as toys, cards, etc) and a forward facing camera. They have displayed lot of demos showing off how the second screen and how it could be used in games to enhance gameplay. One demo that got people talking was The Legend of Zelda tech demo that showed off Link fighting a Gohma in beautiful HD.
The Wii U's new and unique controller
At the recent E3 2012, Nintendo discussed the Wii U and went into more detail about its features. What we learnt was:
- Wii U uses Wii U Gamepads as well as a more traditional controller that resembles an Xbox 360's (good for 3rd party content).
- Nintendo is pushing online connectivity with Miiverse and game purchases with the e'Shop).
- Wii U will have a bit more power than the current Xbox 360 and PS3.
- A fair amount of 3rd party games are being ported to Wii U
- Nintendo will be supporting the console with Pikmin and Mario at launch.
Personally, this is all very good news. The three sections the Wii struggled in are being addressed by the Wii U. Its power is capable of the same highs the Xbox 360 and PS3 can achieve, meaning games can be ported to Wii U with not much hassle. Its online support is being pushed to become a main part of Wii U and offer a good service, but the best thing is its new controller. Not only can the controls match those of the other consoles, but it can offer an even better experience. For example, a game like Call of Duty could use the screen on the controller as a map to see where team mates are, spot enemies, point out care packages, etc. That is a feature the Xbox 360 and the PS3 can not offer with their 'boring' normal controllers.
It is hard to judge whether Nintendo will be relevant in the next generation of video game consoles. We don't know what what Microsoft and Sony are going to do with their next consoles after the Xbox 360 and PS3. But Nintendo with their well known Wii brand, highly respected franchises and features that reach out for the more hardcore gamer while maintaining a casual approach; Nintendo should be able to replicate the huge success of the Wii while remaining relevant in this industry.
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Drew Agnew is a passionate gamer who loves everything the video game universe has to offer. Be sure to give him a shout on MiiVerse once the Wii U launches November 30th!
(Also posted on My IGN and Another-Castle)
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