How Far the Mighty Have Fallen

Theres been a lot of information flying around about the Big Three since the beginning of the year and the rumor mill has been churning for years. Now that we actually KNOW what Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are bringing / brought to the table this year, its time for some serious comparisons with no fanboyisms. I have owned consoles from all 3 of these companies and thoroughly enjoyed games from all of them. This is just how I see the current state of things as Ive watched these three companies battle for support and sales. Im going to focus on one at a time as I have a lot to say on each of them.

Nintendo

Although technically released at the end of 2012, the WiiU is still in this generation of consoles whether it wants to be or not. Nintendo sought to make their console to be able to play with the big boys and appeal to hardcore gamers.

Third Party Support

The concept of the tablet controller was to be a useful utility for said gamers and there was an increased line up of FPS games for the Wii U. The only problem is that after the initial set of hardcore games, the quantity started to die down a bit as 3rd party publishers started to jump ship when they realized they had to figure out a way to use the tablet and not just port the game over from a different console or PC version. The controller was not suited for FPS play and the graphics were still only partially HD and not full HD. Overall, the hardware is kind of a pathetic waste of time and barely competes even with the Xbox 360 or PS3, the PREVIOUS gen of its competitors, making it less desirable to develop for. I mean who wants their game to run on anything but optimal setting? They started off strong with good 3rd party support, but began to lose it when companies left to develop launch games for the PS4 and Xbox One. With massive losses occurring in their 3rd party division, they really needed to start releasing some of their core games, which lets be honest, are the only reason anyone buy a Nintendo product anyway.

The 3DS Leech

Nintendo failed to make many major releases of first party games in the first quarter and averages about only 1 good selling game a month. Gamers are still waiting on Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and Zelda games that probably will not be out for months or years. They continue to release games for the 3DS instead of for the WiiU, much to the annoyance of those who bought the WiiU. Most people still have no reason to buy the WiiU seeing as Nintendo does not seem to care a lot about it and is focusing on its handheld market. The new Luigis Mansion game that clearly should have been a console game was released for 3DS and both the WiiU and 3DS continue to simply get new versions 1st party core games over and over again instead of there being a new entry into the series. There have been so many Zelda HD games, it amazes me they can still keep releasing them and not make a new one already. Nintendo also has a bit of a problem right at its core that needs to be addressed.

Party Gaming

The tablet screen is great and the Wii U offers 4 player splitscreen on many of its titles, which is something that is completely lost from Sony and Microsoft practically. In-room multiplayer is something that seriously need to strike a comeback in the game and Nintendo is doing a decent job with that.Theres some fun multiplayer games out for the Wii U like New Super Mario Bros. U (which is a pathetically lazy title) and Nintendoland and all that, but these games are essentially just a bunch of entertaining minigames put together. Great for a living room full of guests, but not much for the single player gamer.

1 Dimensional Gameplay

While their 1st party games can be fun, they are clearly very 1 dimensional. Yes, I mean 1 dimensional and not even 2 dimensional. The characters rarely speak unless they are shouting their own name, there is barely any plot line whatsoever (and what plot there is has the exact same structure as the previous 5 games), their game mechanics rarely get updated or changed, and there is quite simply an extremely minimal story. There is no investment in a game with no story and no reason to keep it around. What other game company actually gets away with making the same game over and over with mute characters, no story, and bad graphics? Why do the gamers let them get away with it? In a word

Nostalgia

Nintendo is kept alive by the games they USED to make, but no longer do. In an age where their current model of thinking made sense, their system would be flawless, but that was 20-30 years ago now. One of the leaders of Nintendo said recently that they make games and NOT art, which is extremely clear by the way they do business and is completely stone age thinking in this industry. They think they can still make the same arcade game every year and that is an acceptable game. Arcade games dont do anything but waste quarters and provide a frustrating and linear experience, much like Nintendo games. Nintendo simply doesnt know how to make this generation of games and once the PS4 and Xbox One come out, they will sink like a rock. They have so much potential that they absolutely refuse to tap into. They have some of the most beloved characters in video game history and they keep them benched and make them mute. The one way Nintendo can bounce back is if they release their all star cast and invest in their characters and make a rich experience for gamers. Imagine a Zelda game that makes you feel like you do in The Last of Us or a Mario game that makes you stop and think like in the indie hit Braid. So much potential is left untapped and will remain that way until new management takes over.
Nintendo needs to be forced to change and stop being coddled by gamers who think that they might figure it out and change their system one day. Maybe next year theyll get it, gamers say as they buy the Zelda HD Platinum Extended Version 2.7. Its pretty simple, people keep feeding them money for doing a crappy job, and theyre going to keep doing a crappy job. Yes, the games remind you of your childhood, we get it. Easy Cheese reminds me of my childhood, but that doesnt make it any less garbage. We need to hold Nintendo to the standards of the rest of the industry, even if they dont need to follow all of the same rules. They have always done their own thing, but being independent doesnt mean we should let them have subpar games year after year. STOP BUYING THEM and then they will learn.

The Wii Leech

I also just found out that Nintendo is actually STILL making regular Wii games and will be for quite some time. And they wonder why no one wants to buy a WiiU? They need to completely stop making games for the Wii, sad as it is for me to say, being a Wii owner and not a WiiU owner, otherwise theyre short changing themselves. Yes, they are technically making the same dollar either way, but since they arent investing in the WiiU, no one is going to buy it and when they DO stop making Wii games, the WiiU wont have any new games and the Wii wont have any new games. Then where will they be?