— Nintendo Enthusiast:
September 14th, 2016 marked the 15th anniversary of the Nintendo GameCube. The console was the lowest-selling system of the 6th generation (minus the SEGA Dreamcast), but it still managed to build a solid library of hit games and is fondly remembered by gamers all over the world. But, there’s one standout quality of the system — it was the last time Nintendo pushed the envelope with power. Many gamers and analysts wish that Nintendo would return to this way of creating systems, instead of continuing to take the unique approach that it’s been doing for the past two generations. If the NX does happen to turn out to be like the GameCube in this regard, could it work?
Two married costume designers share stories from a decade of traveling the globe with Nintendo.
In a YouTube video showing Nintendo Switch owners how to create a Nintendo Account, Nintendo of America revealed that Bowser is canonically 34 years old.
TG: “Most of us also grew up with Nintendo, likely forming a nostalgic connection with games that have long been crowned as our personal favourites. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was an experience that shaped my view on open world fantasy, and Super Mario 64 changed my life like it did for millions of others. These titles have earned their place in history, and remain loved to this day for so many worthwhile reasons. We replay them and beg for remasters all while delving into their worlds time and time again because they mean that much to us. It’s a shame then that the company behind them often kicks its own sweet darlings to the curb.”
I never got the love for Nintendo games personally. The annoying vocalizations and ugly character designs do nothing for me.
Don't forget the constant hand holding with tutorials. Learn this new ability by pressing Y, now prove that you can press Y 8 times before you can move on....
Another very weird article.
Nintendo is a great company by almost all possible normal measures. The biggest one being: their own staff is happy, and they seem to be very happy, well compensated and retain rate is solid. They are also financially very stable, profitable, and cash rich, so shareholders love them.
Overall it is an extremely creative group of people, and their mission statement is fantastic as well "to put smiles on the faces of everyone we touch. We do so by creating new surprises for people across the world to enjoy together." The social impact is also massive, not to speak culturally. Additionally, they have a really strong core business, high customer retention rate and loyalty. Nintendo's reputation is extremely good, I think in the US alone they are 9th most reputable company, their customer service is better than the average company. Plus, the press gives them a pass, because they are Nintendo. But there's a reason why they do that, it's not "because they are Nintendo", there are more layers to the argument.
Then, then there's the random negative gamers online...and their "reputation" which is inside their heads. And their western ideas of how a Japanese company should behave or what they should do. But they have no right to ask a company to do anything for them, because they can vote with their wallets.
There's a small vocal community online who dislikes Nintendo for what they are, but then again, there's always a small vocal community that dislikes something.
Nintendo also disagrees with the Western world about IP, but most people call Westerners "hidoi!" when they emulate Tears of the Kingdom and do not experience it the way Nintendo wanted them (even if it is not the best visual way), because it is a matter of principle to them (Japanese are very much against anything close to plagiarism, and there are laws that are tight about creative works copying etc.)
The Western Braveheart "freedoom!" shouters need to understand that it is not an American company, nor they need to behave like one. They can have their own fights based on their principles (against emulation). And they very well may lose the battle with that and change, or find a new audience.
In the end, it is so very simple. Don't buy the products if you don't like a company, but there's no need to paint a picture that is unrealistic about Nintendo either.
I hate virtually everything about their business practices, actually. Suing everybody for virtually anything, shooting down fan projects, games they never let devalue, their online infrastructure and how they handle BC.
They're lucky they make great games, because that's the only thing I feel they do right.
my issue with them, is the complete refusal to have decent tech for us.
and their odd censorship and lawsuits for modders.
Even if it did, Nintendo would still struggle with sales. NX would have an even tougher time trying to succeed now that the PlayStation brand is bigger and Xbox has become a more established brand.
That's a dark red ocean my friend. DS and Wii exploded because the waters were blue. NX needs to target blue waters again.
I've been saying they should call it the Nintendo Gamesphere, just to be awesome.
If Nintendo managed to balance the specs, nothing insane or anything, but a good boost for both developer and customer, and have a good innovation then they have a great shot of regaining some fanbase with the NX for Gen 9.
Not counting 3rd party support, of course, but if the specs were good there may be no reason not to port, which could help Nintendo's relationship with other parties who ran away over the Wii eras.
Then hypothetically with that new ground maybe Gen 10 will truly be a console war the likes of which no one has seen.
It would be a very tough sell if all it did was exactly what the others do and nothing more.
Why pay a second time for a console that is literally the same as what you already have outside of Mario? That's what outsiders will think, and it's a thought that Nintendo would do well to dispel before it has a chance to form.
On the flip side, however, going full stand-out would also be a tough sell to the core crowd, as the Wii proved, and since the Blue Ocean moved on, they can't be the console's focus, either.
What Nintendo needs to do is to make it just traditional enough for change-sensitive traditional gamers to like it, while still having a hook to it that won't be discriminated against, like the whole share button thing, or a way of playing both home and handheld games on the TV, or something else that gamers will find useful.
Neither completely red ocean nor blue ocean.
Nintendo needs to aim for the Green Ocean.
That sweet spot between "I already have a console like this so I won't buy an NX", and "It's not doing anything different enough from what I have to get my money" is what Nintendo needs to hit.
The Wii U came close but it sacrificed too much power to get popular third party games in the long run.
Had it done that, it could have gotten a lot closer to that sweet spot.
The NX is Nintendo's chance to take a dip into that Green Ocean full of open wallets and happy smiles.