Anyone who watched the keynote for the original iPhone knows that there is something special about Apple. Check it out here if you like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN4U5FqrOdQ
Apple pretty much invented the personal computer. They were the pioneers. They were the ones who had the creative genius to harness the available technology and with their vision, craft it into something broadly useable by the masses.
Microsoft on the other hand was an opportunist. They took what Apple had pioneered, tweaked it and threw a healthy dose of capitalism at it. The result was monumental success. And no one can fault Microsoft. They saw something valuable in the personal computer, invested in it and reaped the rewards.
But the fact is…
They were not the creative ones…that distinction belonged to Apple.
As time went on, Apple continued to innovate. They released the wildly successful iPod and created a secure music delivery platform called iTunes. Microsoft began to stagnate and resorted to regurgitating what made them successful. When Apple’s success became too much to handle they tried to imitate the iPod and iTunes with Zune. But the truth was beginning to show…Despite having a dominant 9 to 1 percentage of the personal computer business, Apple seemed to be the company continually innovating and most likely to deliver the next big thing.
Then there was iPhone.
The rest is history…
Creativity and ingenuity is not something you can buy.
It is a quality that very few people possess, and those who are in the company of these individuals produce visions, ideas, concepts, products, services etc that truly change the game.
When it comes to gaming, Nintendo are the pioneers. They are the ones who took the tech available, added their vision, creativity and ingenuity and revived an industry which had collapsed on itself into the stratospheric heights we now see today.
Sony on the other hand are opportunists. They tweaked Nintendo’s concepts (look at a PS1 next to an SNES) and threw a healthy dose of capitalism at it. The result was major success for Sony.
But the fact is…
They were not the creative ones…that distinction belongs to Nintendo.
As I watched Splatoon get multiplayer game of the year at the VGAs I could not help but admire Nintendo. “How do they continually release these gems?” I asked.
It’s simple. Nintendo are the best in the business when it comes to making video games.
When the 3DS was struggling, Nintendo revitalized the handheld with top notch titles which allowed the handheld to thrive even in the midst of multiplied millions of mobile devices. PS Vita on the other hand is now being left to die. Sony doesn’t have the creativity or ingenuity to support the handheld. The Wii U has barley over 10 million consoles sold, but Nintendo has the highest number of first party titles sold in this generation.
Nintendo is Gaming’s Apple. They were the ones who wowed the world with the Wii and they will do it again. Sony on the other hand….I’m not so sure. PS4 is doing great but is it really a groundbreaking console? PS4 feel like an iterative product doing the basics well but not really innovating… just like Windows 7 was on PC right before the world left that operating system behind.
This is why I believe in gaming, Nintendo parallels Apple and Sony parallels Microsoft.
