anyone else feel like nintendo's peaked? *sheilds body*

[k.vlaros]

You've got a few arguments in the original post.

To pick on the last one, the answer is, they are making (or exclusively publishing) new characters and series. It's just that you don't see massive ad campaigns for Dillon's Rolling Western, Sakura Samurai, Fluidity, Rhythm Heaven (granted, started on GBA, but first console release was Wii), Animal Crossing and WarioWare and Pikmin (may seem ubiquitous now but they're only one generation old in America), and more. Then you have returns to skipped series in Punch Out, Sin Punishment, Donkey Kong Country Returns, the creative Kirby's Epic Yarn, a new Xeno game with Xenoblade, an attempt at a new play style with Metroid.

Nintendo has said in interviews they tend to think up new play mechanics separate from any particular game. Once the mechanic is refined and 'fun', they try to map it to an existing franchise if possible. The usefulness of their leveraging their earned nostalgia is up for debate, but it is not fair to say they were stagnant in the DS/Wii generation. Yes, sometimes I get sick of seeing Mario so much, but the reason I don't terribly mind is that Galaxy 2 is still incredible in its own right.

[SpaceBooger]

When I read a post like this, I look at my own personal collection. I look at how many games I own, how many of them I beat, how many I still want to beat, and how many I am keeping (collecting) for nostalgia purposes. That being said, this question has no definite answer and is unique different to everyone.

My answer would be the NES, since the system (not the games) solidified me as a gamer. Once Nintendo did this I branched out and went my own way. To me Nintendo is more of a hardware trend setter than a game production company, most of their games showcase the hardware better than any 3rd party, and because of that my personal opinion is that they have not yet peaked.

[Gunstar Green]

The other day I was wondering how long Nintendo's first party titles would continue to carry the weight that they do.

The thinking was in part related to just how many places kids can get their video game experiences from these days. Not all of them being consoles. As younger gamers who didn't experience the classics in the same way we did get older will the interest in Nintendo titles continue to be as strong?

Don't get me wrong, many of Nintendo's first party efforts are great games that deserve to be played but how many set themselves apart from what else is out there compared to Nintendo's older days? Are kids still forming an attachment to these franchises in the same way we did because of that? I feel like that's part of the reason Nintendo pushes to make their hardware so different, because innovating in game design itself while remaining true to what made their older games popular in the first place is much more difficult.

With a lot of franchises they're stuck having to appeal to new fans while delivering the expected experience to old ones. It really puts them in a difficult position but I suppose as mentioned earlier in this thread this is a problem that faces all major, long-running franchises and not just Nintendo's.

The problem is even if they are making new games and experimenting with new intellectual properties that's still not the primary reason people flock to Nintendo. They want Mario, they want Zelda, they want Metroid and all of the others. The fact that their properties are so ingrained in our pop culture is a strength and a weakness. It at the very least insures that the next generation of gamers will likely check them out to see what the fuss is about in the same way that popular comic book characters have persisted through the decades despite only changing to suit the tastes of the times.

It also helps that stuff like the Virtual Console allows people to easily explore their history (as well as more illegal emulation as much as Nintendo would hate to admit it) though that raises the question of whether or not these younger gamers will be effected by the classics in a way that even comes close to how they effected many of us. A lot of their innovations and great game design is lost in an over-saturated sea of newer games that have done it as well and in some cases better. A crude example that comes to mind is the recent poking fun at younger or more casual gamers on other sites who bought Super Metroid for 30 cents and then had no idea what they were doing so came to the conclusion the game was too hard as well as ugly or archaic.

While that example is a bit extreme and probably not entirely prevalent I still have to wonder how much of an effect the classics still have on the younger generation if any at all. And if the answer is close to nothing, do the newer installments in the classic franchises make a similar impact on kids today as the original games did on us? Consider that when a new Nintendo game came out in the 90's the critical acclaim was through the roof. The new innovations were lauded and many were called some of the best games ever made. Today new installments of franchises like Zelda are greeted with phrases like, "another Zelda."

Of course, as has also been mentioned, this stagnant state seems to be a problem with the industry in general outside of some clever indy experiments. Still, it's generally not the Nintendo games that we talk about anymore. They don't rise above the mediocrity like they used to. Instead they settle for it like everyone else excepting of course their attempts to liven things up with unique hardware. It's a dangerous place for Nintendo to be especially when wedged between two giant corporations.

However, when viewed at it that way it makes sense for Nintendo to go after a niche instead of continuing to vie for control of the market, even in the context of the massive success they had with the Wii.

I'm not trying to make this sound like a "back in my day" rant or anything. It's just general curiosity about how important the vaunted first party franchises of Nintendo will continue to be as time passes.

[fastbilly1]

Gunstar Green, I have been having similar thoughts recently. Mainly that soon, kids who's first games were Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies will be looking at consoles and scoffing at the games prices and opting for more tablet/phone games instead. This is going to cause all game companies issues in the next few years.

[corn619]

Over the last few decades Nintendo has had its ups and downs. One thing is for sure though, just when you think they may have peaked they pull a horseshoe out of their ass. I do however think that they've kind of lost some of that Nintendo magic that made them a great gaming company.

For example, the first time I played SMB, SMB3, SMW, Zelda and Metroid I was absolutely floored. No one else at the time had games like these. I didn't give a shit if I had to blow the shit out of my carts and play with my NES upside down. The quality of the games were untouchable and worth putting up with the shitty, broken hardware.

Those gaming moments just don't happen to me anymore with any of their new IPs. Maybe its because I'm just older now, I don't know. Don't get me wrong they've had some really great, creative game ideas more recently such as Galaxy and Kirby's Canvas Curse and it would be a crime not to mention Wind Waker.

Kirby's Canvas Curse was one of the best ideas Nintendo has had in years and I bought a DS when it first launched solely because I played the demo at Gamestop. Same goes with Wind Waker, the Gamecube was worth the price solely for this game.

I think what has really bothered me about the 'new' Nintendo recently is the cut and paste New Super Mario Bros series. They've released 4 for these bad boys already with little changes between sequels. I love Mario games, but I feel like I'm playing the same damn game over and over. The same goes with Zelda, I love the series as a whole but felt the last 2 Wii releases were too similar to one another.

I'm sure they will release a few games on the Wii U and 3DS that will make me love them again, but I think these days they rely too much on their cash cow franchises and its going to bite them in the ass eventually. It really has to be tough for Nintendo to top such a rich gaming past. I would say its next to impossible, but this is Nintendo.

[SNKnicotine]

I was going to post a Super long opinion as to why Nintendo has not peaked. To put it simply, the N64,GC didn't do as hot as sony or even as nintendo was accustomed to(with the nes, snes) the Wii was a safe bet to get them "in to the green". Along with the runaway sucess of the wii many gamers were lost (due to the wii's motion nature). Nintendo has said many times that the WiiU is aimed for the "hardcore" gamers they lost (with the wii). The WiiU is much more different, much more mature, for example the wii in it's vast library has few M-rated games while the WiiU has several M games out already(ZombiU,Resident Evil,AC, etc).What i'm trying to convey is that; Nintendo hasn't peaked (far from it) they have a new platform with based on a the DS and except stronger, Plus PIKMAN3 im sure is going to blow our socks off!

[Violent By Design]

I mean we can't predict the future, so it's hard to say.

But peak means at their best, and I don't know how anyone can say Nintendo is currently at their best. They peaked during the 16 bit era, since then, their consoles haven't been the best of their respective generations, and arguably not even the second best - and it's been 3 generations since SNES came out.

I do think people are overlooking the massive handheld advantage, if anything their dominance on that market is what has kept him afloat. I think the 3DS and Vita will likely run into some problems maybe 3 years from now, when smart phones/tablets will have made another technological advance. Just the quality in gaming in cell phones from now to 2 years ago has become huge.


As for my opinion on their software. Nintendo still makes good games, and they do make original ips, but the typical core gamer does not care about them for the most part.

I think it is only natural, that as time goes on older people will grow less impressed of the sequels of their main stay franchises. I mean when Super Metroid came out, it was a big deal, there had only been two Metroids prior and they were on far inferior machines. Same thing with Ocarina of Time, etc etc. We're in 2013, several generations of consoles have past with in the span of 30 years, so I don't think there is a reason why someone would shit their pants in shock that another Mario game is being released. I would find it bizarre if someone were to see a Nintendo press conference and go "HOLY SHIT, Nintendo is making another Mario!?!?!".