October 31, 2016
Switching It Up — Nintendo's Next Console Champion
In the last few weeks there have been some interesting announcements from Nintendo. First, Nintendo surprised us by announcing a new edition of the original NES, the NES Classic Edition, which appears as a tiny version of the original console. It comes with 30 pre-installed games and a exact copy of the original controller. The included games are great, but there are some sad omissions, such as: the original Contra, Duck Tales, Tetris. But it does have all of the NES Mario Brothers and Zelda games, as well as Metroid, which for me are the only reasons I need to want one.
And then Nintendo released a teaser trailer for it's next major console, the Nintendo Switch (which had been going under the development name NX for some time). The Switch looks to be just as innovative as the Wii was a decade ago in that it merges the two gaming environments of console and portable into one unit. This separation of console and portable dynamic is largely something that was introduced by Nintendo with the Gameboy as a companion to the NES. Nintendo has long been the dominate factor in mobile gaming, so it's interesting that the Switch will bring these two environments together.
The switch accomplishes this by being a nice looking tablet with detachable controls, which can then be placed into a docking station to connect with a traditional HD television.
I've been a Nintendo fan for most of my life. Although I've only ever owned a few Nintendo systems (the Super Nintendo, the original Gameboy, and the Wii), I've had friends and other family who provided access to other systems such as the NES, the Nintendo 64, and the GameCube. Video games for me allowed me to tap into an imaginative place. And this is something that has long been a real strength of Nintendo, and something that I think takes a back seat to the action of games created by more recent development studios for the traditional console makers. This probably goes back to the philosophy of Nintendo's leadership of making things they love.
The Nintendo Switch will be the first system of the 9th generation of video game consoles, a generation that will not see any real new contestants for some time. That's not to say there's not any competition because Microsoft and Sony are putting out updated versions of their consoles to compete for the traditional gamers attention this holiday. These updated versions are slimer and even more powerful than the previous versions, and they include features such as blueray support.
It's ironic that the term 'traditional gamer' applies to more recent gamers who are drawn to the powerful consoles and action based games. To me the real traditional gamers are the ones who'd feel nostalgic for those old school 8-bit and 16-bit titles from Nintendo and Sega, and those drawn to the fun on Nintendo. A lot of those folks will be having kids of there own, so there is a good opportunity here for Nintendo to tap into that nostalgia for those wanting to provide that kind of fun experience for their kids. As this recent Fruit Loops commercial (which I love) points out, there is a real deep affection for those classic games.
I'm really excited for this new Nintendo system, and I look forward to the exciting games it will offer. In addition to Mario and Zelda, I hope we'll see new Metroid, Contra, Castlevania, Street Fighter. I also hope that content for previous consoles and portable systems will be available via an e-shop. I'd really like to be able to download classics and games I might have missed on recent portable systems and consoles (A Link Between Worlds, New Super Mario Brothers U, Wind Waker HD, Mario Maker, etc).
Labels: nintendo, switch, video games, Virtual Console, Wii
February 10, 2010
Wiish List
A while ago I predicted that Nintendo would win the war in next generation video game consoles even with a less robust piece of hardware, the Wii. Because the heart of Nintendo is strictly a video game company (although in its over a 120 year history its been: a trading card company, a taxi service, and operated “love hotels” a popular service in Japan where space for privacy is at a premium), unlike its major rivals now, Sony and Microsoft who are involved in multiple business models.I really like the concept of the Virtual Console, which allows Wii users to download copies of classic games to play on the Wii. In particular I really enjoyed “platformers” (platform games), which basically involved 2-dimensional side scrolling characters jumping side to side to various platforms. More recent genres of games often involve 3-dimensional environments, such as first-person-shooters, often require computers to assist in creating the visuals. But I much prefer the animation of those older games, and the simplicity of running and jumping from platform to platform. On some of the more challenging games (Ghoul's and Ghosts) it requires amazing timing, to the same degree required for the best players of Halo.
One of my all time favorites, Contra, combines the platform genre with the run-and-gun genre as the characters jump and shoots at outer-space invaders. Unfortunately as of yet it is not yet available on the Wii Virtual Console – which brings up my number one complaint for the Virtual Console: the lack of games available.
The Wii's Virtual Consol has the potential to be really profitable from people like me who are very nostalgic for games from our past. There are some great titles available but there are some surprising one's missing, which is why I've compiled an updated list of additions to the Wii Virtual Console line up broken down by their respective consoles:
NINTENDO (a.k.a. Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES)
-Contra
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 – The Aracde Game
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
SUPER NINTENDO (a.k.a. SNES)
-Bubsy
-Cool Spot
-Aladdin
-Stargate
-Jurassic Park
SEGA GENESIS (a.k.a. Mater Drive)
-The Castle of Illusion Staring Mickey Mouse – this was an awesome game with a great sound track.
-Sonic And Knuckles
-Splatterhouse 3
-Contra: Hard Corps
NINTENDO 64
-Goldeneye,
-Perfect Dark
-Battle Tanks - Global Assault
-Killer Instinct
ARCADE-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
-Ghouls and Ghosts
-Magic Sword
-Dark Stalkers
-Smash TV
-Captain Commando
Of the games I've listed, its quite surprising to me that some of these have not become available for the Virtual Console. The top of my list would be The Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, which was an amazingly fun game with a great soundtrack. I've been waiting for Sonic and Knuckles, which has been available on the Japanese version of the Virtual Console for quite some time. Konami has released Super C (NES) and Contra III (SNES) and gone to the trouble of creating an all new Contra game called ReBirth, so why isn't the original Contra available? Original arcade games have recently started being released on the Virtual Console, so I'm hoping the original arcade version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles makes it's way to the VC (and of course its NES port!). (TMNT is one of my favorite arcade games. I spent so many quarters in this game at an arcade by a boardwalk in Ocean City Maryland. Ah, memories!) Bubsy and Cool Spot were excellent side-scrolling platformers made for 16 Bit systems – they would be big hits I'm sure.
I wonder if despite Nintendo's success with the Wii its old rival Sega might have a 1-Up being that it has left the console wars and can develop games on multiple systems. I really enjoyed the latest Super Mario Bros which goes back to Mario and Luigi's 2D “platform” gaming origins – but I was always enjoyed Sonic a little more than Mario...so I was really excited to read that a new Sonic the Hedgehog is in development that goes back the the 2D platform formula. Its goes right back to where Sonic and Knuckles left off. It looks like it plays just the original Sonic games, but the graphics look updated to today's high definition standards. It will be available as a direct download to Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3. I must admit that while the business model of direct downloads probably makes a lot of sense financially for the games publisher, the inner nerd in my desires to hold the physical copy of a game disk and examine its game manual. 
But I would not let that one holdup to keep me from getting excited about this upcomming Sonic game.It would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that there are some of the great games available currently on the VC: The Legend of Zelda – A Link to the Past is one of the best video games ever made. Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3, Contra III, Super Mario World, and Super Metroid were and still are a lot of fun to play. Donkey Kong Country has graphics that are still amazing nearly 15 years later.
Labels: video games, Virtual Console, Wii