Hi Nintendo,
I am sending this in as a concerned dedicated portable gaming fan who just feels like expressing his own humble opinion. Obviously popular gamer blogging sites that I will not mention have recently been pushing articles professing the demise of portable gaming to the smart phone industry. Yet you cannot blame them after the botched launches of both the PSVITA and the Nintendo 3DS. Both unbelievable systems pushed aside (for a time a least) because most did not believe the hardware could stand it's ground against companies such as Apple. While this remains true I must feel that it is my duty to remind you as a fan, that Apple is not a gaming company and their products are almost completely different Nintendo products. Nevertheless unlike me, some are forced through lack of finances or just more inclined to purchase an iPod touch over a 3DS for a whole host of reasons. Most people would say it's because its Apple, they are the more hip product, the more user friendly, the more streamlined, the most popular, and that is simply just not true. Nintendo may not have the most popular product at this very moment, but you are the more historic company with roots firmly implanted in those as old as 50 and as young as 5. I myself still fondly think back on the days I would play Pokémon silver on the schoolyard playground with my buddies, all the way up till now where I still play a great game of MarioKart or Zelda at University in Canada. I have never found myself looking back on the days where Id fire up the old PowerMac in the basement to dial up and check e-mails. And that is why I am writing randomly to you today (While procrastinating obviously). I am writing because I am sick and tired of gaming sites and respected bloggers that I usually enjoy spending time reading, who they themselves have had great memories of Mario and Link fuel their very livelihoods, professing the demise of you and your competition to the likes of Apple and Facebook. This is why I would like to offer my own humble gamer opinion, one that does not command an audience of millions or makes this years salary off his own prophesies as I just do not have the resources, or the time to do so. I only write this, as I believe it is of great benefit to the world of dedicated gaming.
To put it bluntly, Nintendo made a royal mess of the 3DS launch. Everyone knows this, not one respected franchise was offered with the launching of the system, and I am profoundly surprised that you expected fans to flock to the stores to play Pilot Wings resort in 3D. A resort mind you, you could already fly about in WiiSports Resort. What really stung was your competitor not taking any cues from the botched launch in releasing the PSVITA, opting to keep prices high on both the system and memory cards, and not rallying 3rd party support for what is undeniably a fantastic system. It has become apparent though, that 3DS sales are bouncing back at almost double the rate of the original DS which is phenomenal news. Obviously right now your attention is firmly focused on the successful release of the WiiU (which I seriously hope is being handled appropriately). But allow me to shed some insight on what still can be for the 3DS and what it would mean for the greater scope of your company.
So far I have refused to buy your system, and for someone who has save up his lunch money since the 2nd grade to buy the N64, Gamecube, DS, DSlite and the Wii (my parents gifted me with the Gameboy Colour and Advanced bless their souls), this is a really, really big deal. You could say it is because I have grown up, but believe me I will never be too old for Mario and Zelda. No. The reason is that I simply had never been so disappointed in the handling of a Nintendo handheld due to the amount of oversights I never would have expected to be made. So I made a silent protest by not buying hoping that the next 3DS generation (lite) would correct everything I would expect it to correct. These things, as I hope you will consider are very, no, extremely important.
What makes an Apple product great (having owned several of its products) is the hardware. It is sleek, slim and vibrant. What makes an Apple product radiant is its software. Very user-friendly and almost unlimited in it's possibilities. The greatest hardware Nintendo has ever produced is the N64 and the DS lite. Both are simple, matte, innovative and most importantly sleek. (The wii was nice too, but did not support HDMI so it loses in my books). What you must understand is that it is the year 2012. There is no longer any more room for 4 different colours being used on a single system, never mind 3 different coloured layers. That in North America only says bulky and cheap. Take a cue from Apple and use it against them because as everyone knows they do it best, make the 3DS sexy! Get rid of the layers, the ridges around the screen, the uncomfortable stylus, and the glossy black finish. These minor things combined are only working against its form factor. Another cue should be taken from the Vita, being the secondary analog stick, which almost had me buying one, if not for the lack of proper games (and I would feel like a real traitor to the land of Mario). There is ample room on the face to put a trademark upper analog stick as you have done for the WiiU. If I had one word to describe Apple it would be "sexy", one word to describe Nintendo would be "Japanese". In North America, Japanese may be fun, but it still isn't American.
Nonetheless, hardware by and large is not the feature that is supposedly killing portable gaming, because despite my feature pleading it is not what gaming is at all about. What I really want to protest is software and the lack there of. I do not necessarily mean the games itself, leaps and bounds of improvement have been made there and I am still salivating at the mouth to play Ocarina of Time 3D. What I mean is software features or the dashboard. The years 2008-2012 are all about the "app" and no matter how difficult it is to swallow, that is what every single person looks for when they turn on any portable device. This is the not-so-secret weapon of Apple, and this something that has not been taken proper advantage of with Nintendo or Sony. For example, I am also an owner of the Xbox360 system, and I have to admit with every dashboard release, I usually spend at least 3 hours digging through the interface to see what's knew. It only took me 5 minutes to go through the 3DS dashboard at the local Bestbuy to know what it had to offer. You see the dashboard and its features are the false-representation of what the system is capable of, false, but a solid representation nonetheless. It is almost a game itself. And this is a game I believe portable systems have failed at where Apple and Android have succeeded. If a device that is so advanced that it can play games like Resident Evil: Revelations, and Capcom's Street Fighter, it should be able to handle something as simple like Angry Birds or Facebook, or heck even a youtube or music app. Yet you refuse to put effort into such endeavors because it makes you feel as if your betraying your tech to the mass appeal. Well I hate to be the one to make you sulk and reject this argument, but the truth is that the mass appeal is what keeps dedicated gaming alive, not the hard core gamers (and I am a hard core gamer). Apples $600+ stock is proof of it. That is why you find hard core gamers writing about the end of the world, because within every hard core gamer, is a casual techie who just wants to waste time scrolling through his timeline, or chatting up his friends on Facebook chat. My argument is why the 3DS cannot have both? There is no reason, the hard-core games are locked down now, but the very game we play every day on our iPhones, iPods, and Androids is lacking. My solution is a simple one; one that Im sure would not be a heavy burden on development and funding. Give gamers their apps!! Fight to get Angry Birds, fight to get a Facebook app, fight to get Hulu plus!! There is nothing that would be more satisfying than lounging around in my bed, or chilling in the living room than being able to pull up some angry birds or opening a chat with my friends straight from the convenience of the dashboard. Its every handhelds secret weapon and it should be the 3DS's and it should be the Vita's. All the hardware is there now all it needs is some support. "Friend codes" should no longer be a word in 2012. There should be a unified Nintendo network, like Xbox live, and like PSN only more accessible and more intuitive. I should be able to access my 3DS Facebook app and see a link to my friends Nintendo Network username and easily be able to pull up his info and add him as a friend. It should be easy as pie to communicate with friends these days, not a task. Hell, chatting in 3D video should have shipped day 1. That would have sold. Communication between the PC and the portable should also be there, and it should be streamlined. A Nintendo client as it were, to transfer music, pictures, video over the cloud preferably, so there is no real reason to use my iPod. In reality there should be absolutely no reason to pick up my iPhone. And that reason is very important and is at the present time not being taken advantage of. That reason is SKYPE. Personally I do not use a home phone and I stick to my cell phone. But when Im at home and using my personal Wi-Fi, I probably use Xbox live chat and Skype the most. Skype is easily the greatest thing you could do for your console if marketed properly and implemented successfully. A whole different kind of Skype, 3DSkype. Skype that has special features when used from 3DS to 3DS, yet can still communicate with any old PC and iOS device. For me it would offer no reason to pick up a phone because cross-platform communication apps allow me to be that much closer to another person! People being knowledgeable of that make all the world of a difference!
Cross-platforming is where I end my argument because I believe that, besides the dashboard, it is one of the most important software elements to any tech company. Sony already knows this and has already been marketing and flaunting this feature. I think what remains to be seen is if their heart is really in it, because if it is and their 3rd party support is, then it's really going to take off. Apple knows this, and has successfully created a single service that accommodates for its entirety of devices wither it is for chatting, media, or casual gaming. Im not going to get into the multitude of features that should be available between the 3DS and the WiiU because I think that is something that should be left to you, Nintendo to figure out. Even though my faith has wavered recently, I no doubt will see it placed back on track in the next year. But with the day we are in today, there should be a lot more unification between the living room and the outside world. There should no longer be multiple app stores for portables and home consoles or even multiple gaming networks. The future is ONE network for all N devices. Again the reasons for this are very simple. That is organization and money. What I think Nintendo has done really well is catering to its consumers when it comes to backwards compatibility. Families in this economy who can no longer afford to pay 60-100$ for peripherals and controllers on a new system will not have to because the WiiU allows them to use preexisting technology and games with new and upcoming HD technology. And this is the niche that I think will keep dedicated gaming relevant with middle class families. I don't know about you, but a 3DS with an added analog stick looks an awful lot like a tablet WiiU controller. Using NFC to take your HD Zelda game to the bathroom, or on your way to work would literally blow people away. The main point though is that a unified network is simple, easy, affordable, and just down right cool. Playing Mario Kart on the bus against someone lounging at home, or finishing a Co-op level of Epic Mickey 2 with your buddy who's chilling out in a hostel halfway across the world, taking time out from a cultural trip should be possible right now! Why would this be objected? It is something that is possible as everything I have mentioned already exists on some sort of platform and it does not create problems for excellent features already present. It only pushed long outdated features to the curb and releases gamer frustration, frustration that has never really been understood. It is called giving the customer something they never knew they wanted and that is what prints money my friends.
So ends my letter of love, longing, and gamer wisdom. I hope it is read and appreciated because the Politics essay I should be writing right now is definitely going to suffer for it. You may say my inner fan boy nerd for Nintendo needs to be quelled and my life re-assessed for caring this much. Yet it is not just Nintendo I care about, it's the future of quality games, the protection and security of technologies and advancements that may hold great joys for our entertainment, and also a wish to see the end of "farmville takeover" blogs and articles. The reason there is a casual-hardcore argument is because most (not all) are unable to see the merging of the two. I write this to enlighten, what can I say Mario made me do it.
Jeremy H. (hhowitzer)
UPDATE
Nintendo has responded to the loving letter written above,
Hello Jeremy,
It's great to hear that youhave been such a long-term Nintendo fan and I want to thank you for contacting us. I can certainlyappreciate your concerns and yourdesire to see a new model Nintendo 3DSwithenhancements such asa sleeker design andhighly requested appslike Skype and Angry Birds.Ill make sure thatyour commentswill be forwarded, so your feedback will be heard.While I cant guarantee that well make your suggested changes to any future Nintendo 3DS models (none havebeen announced for the Americas at this time), we do take all feedback into consideration.
Again, I want to thank you for having supported Nintendo through the years and consoles! I'm sure you'll continue to see new developments from us which will re-enforce your dedication to the Nintendo brand.
Lastly, I wanted to wish you good luck with your Politics essay.
Sincerely,
Karen Johnson
Nintendo of America Inc.
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