Nintendo is a quirky company. It is also a very rich company. While many people often attribute Nintendo’s successes to luck, more so than any other company, their success is the result of constant innovation, not always following trends (for better or worse) and learning from their biggest mistakes.
nintendo in the games industry
The N64 popularised the use of analog sticks, the GameCube flirted with the concept of having a console that is easy to take to a friend’s house and the Wii brought motion controls to the spotlight. Whether you think some of these things are gimmicky or not doesn’t matter at all. The Wii laid the foundation for motion control tech used in VR today and made Sony and Microsoft try (and fail) motion control for their consoles. That idea from the GameCube-era, combined with the central dogma of the Wii U (playing your home console away from TV) is basically what the Switch is. Virtual Boy and 3DS. I could go on and on. Without Nintendo, the industry would be stagnant and most likely focused on the same old stuff for years and years.
innovation, experimentation
More recently, with the success of the Switch, Nintendo proves this point once again. A lower-spec console is re-establishing Nintendo’s presence in the eyes of hardcore gamers. Why? Because it offers something new. Sure, there are ways to play PC/home console games on portable machines but none of those are as easy to pick up, set up and play as the Switch. Buy and play. Simple as that.
crafting experiences that matter
That innovation continues to software as well. Nintendo creates experiences and gameplay styles that slowly become the norm in game creation. But that’s not a one-way street. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is a perfect example of Nintendo studying open-world games and making their own type of sandbox game, more interactive than any AAA experience to date. New ideas are born from Nintendo and established ones get a Nintendo twist. That’s how Nintendo drives the industry forward. The only thing they need to do now learn some lessons from Microsoft and improve their online services.
Do you think the gaming industry would be plagued with a lack of imagination and creativity without the likes of Nintendo?
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