Thursday, November 3, 2011

I miss Nintendo

So it's gaming season again. New, must play games are coming out quick. From Resistence 3, to Batman, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3. And of course the monster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Even remakes like Ico/Shadows of the Colossus and Metal Gear Solid Collection will be in game platforms across the board. Yet what does Nintendo offer, the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Now I LOVE THE LEGEND OF ZELDA. It's just the most wonderful gaming experience that you can have when a new one comes out. So for that week Assasins Creed, MW3, Batman, Uncharted all take a break. The Wii gets cleaned to get the thick dust off and the WiiMote gets new batteries. The game is on and I stop thinking about my life and live this game. So what do I do after I'm done.

There is nothing else I want to play for the Wii afterward. After Mario World (SNES) my Mario fix was done. I'm still playing Mario Galaxy 1 and haven't touched Galaxy 2. So whats my next Nintendo must play game? Professor Layton! I played the first one but so what. Where's my challenge? Zelda is awesome, it's a great story which has elements from a Michael Moorcock book about the Eternal Champion. Look it up. I know this Zelda will blow people away but after that the Wii goes off. So what happened too Nintendo.

There was a time when Nintendo meant games. There was a picture of an NES in the dictionary to show this synthesis of one to another. Keep in mind the Nintendo Wii is the most successful console of this generation outselling both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. The gap is at least 20 million units worldwide. But for most gamers the Wii is the third even fourth option when deciding what to play. I'll play solitaire on my Ipad before I play the Wii. So where did they go wrong?

Lets see was it the Nintendo 64, the Gamecube, or one of the handhelds. I used to get blisters on my thumb playing the Super Nintendo. The doctors at hospitals cam up with the term, "Push button finger ache", from so many kids coming into a hospital with blisters on thumbs. Look at Attack of the Show, in the Game Break logo. Thats a SNES controller between those broken thumbs as far as I'm concerned. Yes I know it's actually a Sega Saturn controller, but the SNES was the one where those thumbs started cracking. I miss that about Nintendo. The must play even if I can't play. Yes I did the index finger playing with Street Fighter 2 Turbo for the SNES. That was a long week before my thumb healed.

Some people say no online play is the issue. I don't believe that. A friend of mine asked me to talk to and investor friend of hers back in 2006. Just before the Wii came out. I told him that when Nintendo has the lead in any console generation they are never overtaken in terms of units sold. That still holds true today. But I didn't think that meant that Nintendo would be beaten in the must play department.

I don't care for the WiiU. Fuck that thing. If it's gonna be a $300 dust magnet I don't want it. I want something to turn on a go kick ass on. And sometimes do that with friends, not friend codes. Until than I don't need a 3DS my original DS works just fine. The WiiMot will stay behind the PS3 and 360 controllers. And Zelda will be on top of my Nintendo games pile until another Nintendo game worth my time comes out. I miss Nintendo, but this isn't the Nintendo that is gonna change my mind. WiiU more like WiiFU.

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