It was a decade ago that Nintendo's former president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, made this prophetic quote about Nintendo's upcoming console at the time, the DS and their brand new philosophies the device would bring forth. At the time, they were in a state of turmoil as they faded into obscurity at a rapid rate.. Their console market share in the home console sector was being devoured, and their once bread and butter, the Gameboy line, had pretty much run its course.
10 years later, we now see just how true he was, as the DS represented a new direction that everyone responded positively to (aside from a small minority of gaming forum dwellers known as the hardcore, who tend to live in their own world anyway, but that's another stoy). The DS, and the Wii to follow, both brought a new simplicity to gaming and stretched the boundaries of what games could do, how they could be experience, aided by new technologies, or at least tech that hadn't been utilized in the context of gaming. At the same time, they had returned to the "oldschool arcade" style of games that so many people had loved back in the days of arcade machines, the Atari 2600, and the early NES days. Retro games that relied on quick and intense gameplay, fast reaction time, a focus on core gameplay mechanic with minimal fluff, pick-up-and-play games that were easy to play, but difficult to master. THESE were the kinds of games the masses loved, male and female, old and young, and THESE were the types of games Nintendo excelled at.
The Renaissance of Nintendo with the Wii and DS can largely be attributed to return to these classic type of games, while at the same time, utilizing exciting new technologies to experience them in a new way (despite the simpleton hardcore conventional wisdom that it was simply motion controls and the retarded "cazuals" who mindlessly flocked to the console). Games like Wii Sports and Wii Play brought back the spirit of retro games like Tennis/Golf for NES and Tanks for Atari. The classic 2D Mario games made their return, as well as Donkey Kong Country. Mario Kart Wii brought the arcade experience to the home. What was old was new again.. Thus, Nintendo's ascent to heaven began, and would continue for nearly the next decade.
But then around the time of 2010, something happened.. Nintendo seemed to stop stretching the boundaries with new types of games for new gamers. They drastically slowed the creation of those arcade/retro style games that people loved, and the few they DID still make (Wii Music), were half-assed efforts. Overly complex and story driven games like Metroid Other M were released (the type of game you'd expect to see on PS3 or Xbox 360). The Wii started to recieve more "hardcore" type games with overly complex control schemes, simple gameplay, and cut-scenes and tutorials out the wazoo.. It was around this time people started to sense that Nintendo was diverting from their Wii philosophies they had previously embraced so strongly.
Then came the Wii U in 2012. It was at this time that Nintendo's regression back to their pre-2004 Yamauchi quote selves had come full circle. They went back to making their "hardcore" flavor of games, with the extra Gamecube niche flavor: Games like Pikmin 3, Zelda Wind Waker HD, Wonderful 101 and more. Even their staple launch game, Nintendoland, seemed far more reminiscent of the N64/Gamecube era Mario Party games, and very little in common with their Wii hit, Wii Sports. They also had done a complete 180 with their controller. Instead of the easy to use, intuitive and unintimidating remote, we now have a giant clunky controller, that not only brings back the cluster of complicatied buttons, but a giant screen in the center as well, further complicating things.
Nintendo had attempted to decieve its Wii userbase by launching a successor to the Gamecube and throwing a coat of Wii paint over it. The Wii U is essentially a Gamecube disguised as a Wii. Even the screen resembles the Gamecube to GBA connectivity. consumers can see through this, and THIS is why the Wii U is performing as badly as it has. While you or eye may enjoy Wii U's games, the masses in general simply do not like these hardcore types of games.
Now here we are, a decade after Yamauchi's famous quote, and Nintendo is once again in the same situation they were 10 years earlier, for largely the same reasons.. They have lost much marketshare, are again playing second fiddle to the corporate juggernauts Sony and MS, and profits are way down. In fact, now they have reported losses for the third straight financial period. They are trying to get the masses to buy into the games THEY wish to make. These are the types of games you see all over the N64/Gamecube/Wii U. Instead, they need to return to the types of games the MASSES want to PLAY (NES/some SNES/Wii).
The writing is largely on the wall with Wii U. It is in an identity crisis, and its fate is pretty much set in stone, regardless of the games released. However, Nintendo has a great chance to wipe the slate clean and start over again with their next hardware iterations.
THIS is the time Nintendo HAS to return to the Blue Ocean strategy that made the Wii such a hit, similar to what they did in 2004. And I believe this is their last chance to do this. Come 2016, Nintendo needs to completely start over, axe the Wii brand name, just like they wiped away the Gamecube and Gameboy brandnames with DS and Wii, and come up with something that is, in one sense, brand new, but in another, returning to the fundementals of gaming. THIS is when Nintendo is at their absolute best, and THIS is why whenever they go that route (NES/DS/Wii), their rocket to the heavens. They need to stop trying to make "hardcore" games and return to making Nintendo games, the REAL Nintendo games.
Nintendo has come full circle from Yamauchi's quote, and so it is once again very true and relevent to Nintendo. Their next console (both handheld and home console) will either once again rocket them to the heavens, or they will sink to hell. The reason I say this is Nintendo is either going to come to their senses and be forced to return to the Blue Ocean strategy, and thus achieve another sales phenomenon, OR they will decide to stubbornly continue on making the hardcore niche N64/Gamecube style games, and will dwindle further into obscurity. While I don't believe even the latter choice will knock them into 3rd party status, they will become a very small niche company, forced to create games for smartphones and tablets in order to stay afloat. This is a Nintendo I do not want to see, and it's why I hope they come to their senses, take a good hard look at WHY the NES and Wii were such phenomenons, and return to that strategy with their next console in 2016.
Nintendo is at a MAJOR fork in the road. We'll have to see if they decide to take the right path as they did in 2004, and hopefully do not stray from it again.
