I really don't get why people say that Nintendo only produces the same IPs over and over again.
It simply isn't true, for a number of reasons:
(1) They rarely do anything as bad as having 3 new Uncharted games in a single generation, or COD/AC's yearly releases.
I mean, you could complain about there being 8 Mario Kart games, but there has never been multiple Mario Kart releases on a single system. Same with Smash Bros. Zelda games trend between 1-2 new games per platform. Core Mario platofrmers tend to be 1-2 per system as well (although things get muddy when you consider spin-off series like Paper Mario, New Super Mario Bros, or Mario 3D Land - which are all essentially different).
Pokemon games are the big exception, and even then, just about every second release is a remake designed to help newer players complete their collections.
Still, people would complain if Nintendo announced a new Metroid Prime game...oblivious to the fact that the last Metroid Prime game came out 7 years ago.
(2) Nintendo constantly re-invent their IPs.
Mario Bros 1 was completely different to Mario Bros 2, both took a big leap to Mario Bros 3; the formula was then completely changed for Mario 64; which was changed again in Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy. The next core Mario title will undoubtedly shake up the formula again - but people will see 'Mario' in the title and complain about it.
Meanwhile...Zelda 2 was completely different to Zelda 1; Zelda 3 defined the formula; Ocarina of Time taught the world how to make 3D action adventure games, but Nintendo then went in an entirely different direction with Majora's Mask. Wind Waker was a radical departure, Twilight Princess was criticised for being too familiar, and Skyward Sword went all-out with experimental combat. That's not counting the handheld games, which experimented with train driving, focuses on puzzles, and non-linearity.
Then you have Metroid being turned into a shooter and all sorts of things.
Point is, you sometimes get more variation between successive Nintendo sequels than you get from 10 years of sequels from other companies.
(3) Nintendo does make new IPs all the time.
Some fade quickly (like the Steel Diver games). Some are massive successes (like Wii Fit). Few ever reach the heights of their core franchises, so they're rarely talked about - but at a guess, I'd say they produce at least three new IPs every year.
Log in to comment