The Nintendo 64 was every elementary school kid's dream console: 3D graphics, four-player multiplayer and a long list of games that made the most of both those features. People might not like the newer iterations of some games, but no one spoke badly about the N64 versions. Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Bros., Mario Party, Goldeneye, Pokemon Stadium... Even to this day, some of the best times with my friends are playing those old titles, and even some lesser appreciated ones like Battletanx and Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey. Those were the days, weren't they?
And then the GameCube came out in late 2001 and landed in my living room in May of 2002. Following a serious hip surgery I underwent, my parents bought me the GameCube as a gift for my recovery. That console and I spent many long hours together that summer. Luigi's Mansion, Gauntlet Dark Legacy, Super Monkey Ball, and of course, Super Smash Bros. Melee, my favorite game of all time, were my first games that I played "hardcore," I guess you could call it.Over the years, I accumulated a vast library of popular titles. Mario Party 4, 5, 6 and 7. Mario Kart: Double Dash. The Mario sports games, like Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Power Tennis (two personal favorites). Donkey Konga and Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat might have been gimmicky with the DK Bongos, but they sure were fun at the time. There was so much local multiplayer fun to be had.
And these are just the multiplayer experiences for those consoles. How about Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine? Pikmin was a great single player series, and Paper Mario became my first experience with great turn-based RPGs. The Legend of Zelda and Metroid produced epic titles as well, and the list goes on and on.
Then the Wii came around. It was a strange console, one I never grew fully attached too. Sure, when Wii Sports and the Wii Remote first debuted, there was a magic too it. Everyone remembers their first experience with Wii Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf and Boxing. Swinging a remote with a certain precision (Tennis not included), seeing the results on screen. It was such a new way to play video games. Motion controls were the future, and the future had finally arrived.
What we quickly learned, however, was that they weren't all they were cracked up to be. First-person shooters, like Red Steel, were attempted and failed miserably. The Wii Remotes were odd to hold, especially with the Nunchuk as a second part. The Wii didn't wow with it's lineup of titles, but it was saved my Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. A large lineup of third party games appealed to the casual audience, and the Wii got by with its sales. Everyone, even households more focused on PlayStation or Xbox, seemed to have a Wii as that "party" console for people of all ages to enjoy.
But longtime Nintendo fans and hardcore gamers were disappointed. Sure, there were some excellent single player games on the Wii. Super Mario Galaxy was a terrific game, and the Legend of Zelda had two outstanding titles, including what I consider a perfect, masterpiece of a game in Skyward Sword that basically served as the signoff for the console. The graphics were terrific, the game design was flawless and the Wii Remote Plus controls gave a certain precision to controlling Link that I haven't seen before or since. It seemed that Nintendo had turned a corner, and there was a small bit of hope for the company's future.
Then there was the Wii U. The name itself set it up for failure from the beginning. Even after I bought it, I can't tell you how many people thought the Wii U was just the GamePad and that it was just some add-on to the Wii. Most had no idea it was an entirely new console. Still, Nintendo Land was marvelous and captivating. While most originally wrote it off as another Wii Sports, it was far from that. It showcased incredible graphics and everything the GamePad could do. From innovative competitive multiplayer in Mario Chase and Luigi's Haunted Mansion (or "the Ghost Game," as many came to call it), to flying a hovercraft in Metroid Blast or playing as an archer in The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest. There were achievements and an online community where people could post about what they accomplished, and the game found success as its own standalone game.
But there hasn't been much since. Pikmin 3 was a long-awaited sequel that was fantastic, but it lacked depth that detracted from its replay value. New Super Mario Bros. Wii U is the Wii version with a few changes, but it's the same game we've played many times before. I got Wind Waker HD after never owning it for the GameCube, and while it was great to go straight from Skyward Sword to another Legend of Zelda masterpiece, it's not a game that gives you the same satisfaction when you try and play though it again right after you beat it. Maybe in a year or two I'll want to beat it again, but not right now. I got the new Sonic Colors game and Super Mario 3D World during the holidays, but I haven't played much of 3D World since I'm away from home right now, and it seems like a better game as a multiplayer experience, and I have yet to play Sonic- I just have no interest.
Right now, I've lost a lot of faith in Nintendo. I have a GameCube up with me at school, and I've actually been playing Super Smash Bros. Melee and my Pokemon Leaf Green version through the GameBoy Player attachment. Those offer me more fun than the poor excuse for a Wii U game library that's out right now.
So what gives? Where are all the great titles from the past? Mario Kart 8 should hit store shelves at the end of May, but it comes about a year and a half after the Wii U's release. There just aren't legitimate games coming out that gamers, including myself, are willing to shell out $65 for, especially since the entire video game market consists of poor college students or middle/high school kids who rely on their parents to get new games.
And then we have the new Super Smash Bros., truly the perfect case study for this current Nintendo debacle.The Nintendo 3DS has been largely profitable for Nintendo, as it was the best-selling console in 2013. But I think Nintendo and the analysis by "experts" is wrong. Sure, handheld devices are nice and convenient, easily transportable and offer higher graphics capabilities than ever before. But let's not kid ourselves. The 3DS is not having success because of some nice 3D capabilities and because of its convenience as a handheld device. The GameBoy was always popular, but people didn't suddenly decide that handheld was way more appealing than high-powered home consoles. No, what sells is a system's games, and Nintendo has given them all to the 3DS.
For example, the Legend of Zelda series: discounting game remakes, with the 3DS getting Ocarina of Time and the Wii U getting Wind Waker, three of the last four Legend of Zelda titles have been released on handheld devices (only Skyward Sword was released on a home console). Paper Mario, which last saw a home console with Super Paper Mario, burst back onto the scene with Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS, the first game in the series in five years. Star Fox, a series that seems to have disappeared, saw its last two games hit handheld consoles, even if one was just a remake of Star Fox 64. Animal Crossing? It's all the rage for the 3DS these days. And how about the much-beloved Mario Party? After at least three renditions on both the N64 and GCN, the Wii saw just two, both of which were generally received as pretty bad games in the series. On top of that, two of the last three Mario Party games have been released exclusively for handheld devices.
Getting the picture? All of Nintendo's most popular titles are becoming handheld exclusives, and when coupled with already popular exclusives, like Pokemon and the Mario & Luigi RPG series, and remakes of everyone's favorite childhood games, like Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64 and Diddy Kong Racing, there is no way the Wii U can compete.
And now for the nail in the coffin. Getting back to my citation of the new Super Smash Bros. as the ultimate example of home console neglect on the part of Nintendo, it was recently announced that the 3DS version will be released nearly six months sooner than its Wii U counterpart. I already know friends who are more than content with just getting the 3DS version. To them, purchasing a whole new console isn't worth it when they have an alternative (and friends who they know will buy it for the Wii U anyway).
If Nintendo doesn't do something soon, Super Smash Bros. is going to kill the Wii U. That's right. The flagship multiplayer game of Nintendo's home consoles over the years, a series that has sold over 23 million copies combined between its three installments, is going to destroy Nintendo's latest home console.
Super Smash Bros. Melee itself has remained popular more than a dozen years after its release, placing itself among the top fighting games in both the competitive and casual communities. Yet the release of the next title in the beloved fighting game series could end Nintendo's success as a home console gaming developer. Already behind in the hardware department, the company's success stems from its ability to develop popular first party games, especially ones with great local multiplayer. Even if Nintendo says it is more focused on single player games now for the Wii U, they've already released The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Mario Party: Island Tour and Yoshi's New Island for the 3DS in recent months, with new Mario Golf and Kirby titles set for release in early May, not to mention the summer release of Super Smash Bros. 3DS. On top of that, there are next to no first party games announced for the Wii U outside of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.
Where are all the Wii U games? The system can't wait a year, and Nintendo needs to help it NOW. The 3DS is already successful and can survive without a continued influx of popular first party titles. The Wii U, on the other hand, can not. Waiting until late 2015 for Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda and a 3D Mario platformer to be released for the Wii U will be far too late.
If they haven't done so already, I suggest Nintendo start developing these titles and announcing tentative release dates as soon as possible. Gamers can live with delayed games, especially if they turn out to be great. What they can't live with, however, are no games at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment