Nintendo Is Hurting :(

[dsheinem]

My point, again, is that for the past 15 years Nintendo has ceased to be what they were up until the N64: a leader in influential game creation (visual effects, design, narrative ideas, various gameplay elements, etc.). Nintendo was a company that made games which influenced the industry and created buzz about the evolution of the medium (at the level of software). They were a company who made games that gamers with an intellectual curiosity in the potential of medium to surprise audiences would keep a close eye on. Now they aren't, and I think, for some people, that is a reason why they aren't interested in buying a Wii U.

I don't think that characterization is entirely fair, and your earlier statements were limited to consoles. Nintendo's most influential work over the past decade has been in the handheld space, and the number of influential/innovative games it has released in that space far outnumber those from any other developer or publisher.

Fair enough - I keep forgetting to add the "console" qualifier.

That said, I am struggling off the top of my head to think of Nintendo-developed handheld titles that are already seen as influential in the past ~15 years (and past ~10 especially)...

[Gunstar Green]

Why are people acting like (not here, but on the asinine internet world), even in the most disastrous of financial and business situations, Nintendo's products and Titles/IPs would vanish with them??? They'd totally be bought out/up and released by other companies, probably even using the same teams and creators currently/formerly working on such titles. Hell, someone might buy Nintendo outright and 'reboot' the entire brand.

Nintendo has made several comments in the past in that the day that they stop making hardware is the day you stop seeing new Mario and Zelda titles.

I think it's highly unlikely someone wouldn't take up the name Nintendo and buy out its IPs. It wouldn't be the same of course but I don't see Mario and Zelda in particular not outliving the company.

[isiolia]

Palm Pilot - 1997

Apple had the Newton platform starting in the late 80s as well. I mean, granted, most of the stuff on either of those platforms was fairly rudimentary...but so are a lot of DS titles (stuff like Brain Age/etc).

Quite a lot of what the DS has isn't really new per se. Plenty of stuff could easily fall under well established categories like adventure or visual novels. The DS could easily be credited with introducing those kinds of games to a new audience, or perhaps reviving interest in them, but not really being the originator.

[BurningDoom]

Palm Pilot - 1997

Can you game on a Palm Pilot?

[dsheinem]

Admittedly though, so does Gran Turismo, Half Life, DDR, Resident Evil, MGS, FF7, and Burnout on your list, with Halo, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil 4, and Ico not too long after. And I would argue that Battlefield 2 was the catalyst for CoD:MW, which is the Madden of FPS: yearly releases, minor innovation if any.

So does what?

In my opinion, Nintendo still makes games that help evolve the medium and show a level of intellectual curiosity. Engaging multiplayer players in a traditional platformer, utilizing new and unique methods of manipulating our games to provide a level of interactivity never before seen, providing in some cases entire galaxies to wander and explore, enabling new methods for us to interact and cooperate even in the likes of racing games...no, I think Nintendo is still innovative and interesting as far as gaming is concerned, far more than Microsoft and Sony have been. At least Nintendo focuses on their consoles as machines for games as opposed to lesser-quality PCs or home multimedia centers.

There's a difference between innovation and influence, though, right? 4-player platforming existed before NSMBW, I've not heard of a touchscreen innovation on the Wii U's limited non-capacitive screen let alone one that is influential, and while I concede motion controls as such are influential, I can't think of their implementation in a particular Nintendo game that has proved to be influential in a still-popular/successful genre or series.

I get that people like Nintendo and see their hardware as innovative, but I don't see how anyone can think Nintendo continues to make influential games.

[isiolia]

Palm Pilot - 1997

Can you game on a Palm Pilot?

Sure. Depends a little on the model as to what it'd support, but they even sold cards with game collections on them (examples: more typical games or this Sega collection).

[BoneSnapDeez]

You can play Shining Force II on a Palm Pilot?

[fastbilly1]

Palm Pilot - 1997

Apple had the Newton platform starting in the late 80s as well. I mean, granted, most of the stuff on either of those platforms was fairly rudimentary...but so are a lot of DS titles (stuff like Brain Age/etc).

I am unaware of any Newton games. My experience with one was mostly text editing and reading.

[prfsnl_gmr]

That said, I am struggling off the top of my head to think of Nintendo-developed handheld titles that are already seen as influential in the past ~15 years (and past ~10 especially)...

Off the top of my head...

Animal Crossing - the prototype for today's free-to-play games

Brain Age - its focus on daily exercises is apparent in many modern, portable educational titles (of which there are very, very many)

Mario Kart DS - the first game to utilize the Nintedo DS's Wi-Fi connection feature introduced "cable-free" multiplayer handheld gaming, leaderboards, etc.

I think that each of these games was incredibly influential on modern handheld game design, and I also think that the Nintendo DS's influence on iOS gaming cannot be understated. Moreover, it is important to remember that the Pokemon games were released in North America well after Super Mario 64; so, if we are tracing Nintendo's influence on hendheld software since that game, we have to go all the way back to the Gameboy Color (and should include games like Pokemon Blue/Red, WarioWare, etc.).

[BurningDoom]

Palm Pilot - 1997

Can you game on a Palm Pilot?

Sure. Depends a little on the model as to what it'd support, but they even sold cards with game collections on them (examples: more typical games or this Sega collection).

Oh, cool.