Nintendo: Pioneers Of Gaming

I just came across this article posted at revo-europe.com. It was a response an editor received after posting an article about the Revolution's weaknesses. The editor obviously thought it was a worthwhile article to be posted, and he agrees on most of its points. In my opinion it was a very good read, here is the editor's reply below:

Recently, a reader e-mailed me about my thoughts on the Revolution, naturally they weren’t too happy about the conclusions drawn by the article, saying that ultimately, it’s “the games, not the names” that make a console. A truer word was never spoken. The Revolution comes from the House Of N, who are responsible for many of the best games of this generation and the last, and look like they’ll continue the legacy onto the next generation.

Firstly, let’s talk Mario; a character that divides Nintendo fans right down the middle. Some say that he is the greatest asset that Nintendo has, others say that he is a liability; a dinosaur left over from the mascot-dominated Megadrive and SNES era that has long passed us by.

I couldn’t disagree more.

The Mario games, whether or not they have been great innovators, have always proved some of the most enjoyable on the home gaming and handheld gaming scenes. The games are consistently high-quality, facing many rigorous quality checks prior to actual release. Such high standards naturally produce superior games that never fail to entertain on many different levels, whether it be with time-honoured themes or that fantastically addictive “just one more go” gameplay. Mario is a powerful asset for the Revolution and any console that hosts a Mario game, with excellent franchises such as Mario Golf and Tennis, Mario Party, and the new Super Mario Strikers game, the Revolution will have a formidable catalogue of Mario-themed titles to suit many different tastes.

Secondly, we can cite the new and exciting gyroscopic control device that promises to push forward in the new generation. The extra dimension added to play by the new input method will be something akin to the analogue stick pioneered by Nintendo nearly ten years ago and is sure to open up entirely new methods of play hitherto unimaginable for modern gamers. The technical ins and outs don’t really hold much interest for me –much as the technology behind analogue didn’t a decade ago, far more important is the application in games and how my experience will improve as a result. Sure it looks odd and stands out like a sore thumb when placed against the PS3’s “Batarang” and the featureless plastic hand of the Xbox 360, but hell, the N64 controller has to rate as one of the strangest looking controllers of all time, and I had far more fun with my N64 than I ever did with the sedate and symmetrical PSone handsets.

Finally, and probably most important of all, the Revolution will be a great machine because Nintendo themselves are its pioneers. Blazing a trail of evolution across four home formats, they have been the creative pathfinders for the gaming community and the benchmark against which other, lesser titles are measured. Buy any Nintendo brand game and you are guaranteed to take home a high-quality piece of software that will more than stand up to any of its competitors. The rigorous quality testing and high standards over this and the last generation have ensured that Nintendo’s consoles have had a steady stream titles that are a cut above the competition. Stand the intricacies and clever world of Metroid Prime against the brute force and ignorant universe depicted in Halo and I know which one I would choose every time. Compare the free roaming charm and depth of Mario and Zelda to the classless Grand Theft Auto and the often soulless and repetitive deluge of adventure games on the PS2, and there is no contest in terms of design and execution.

Although Nintendo games may not be everything that players expect and want, they never fail to delight on a variety of levels; from the charming personalities of the Pikmin to the blisteringly good fun to be had with four friends and Mario Kart, every Nintendo game exudes quality and refinement from every polygon and pixel. It’s a standard that many envy, few copy and that none can reproduce.

The Revolution has so many different factors in its favour that will hopefully make it much more of a success than the last two generations. From Mario to Metroid, Pikmin to Players Choice, F-Zero to Zelda, Nintendo have the potential to take on all comers and regain the crown that has slipped over the last few years as many pretenders to the throne squabble pointlessly over sales figures and market share.

After all, it’s about the games, not the names, and Nintendo are matchless.

Iun Hockley talliswolf@hotmail.com