What Nintendo's Rift with the Hardcore Means for the Industry

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What Nintendo's Rift with the Hardcore Means for the Industry

July 22, 2008 | 5:20 AM PST

by: Casey Ayers

Following last week's events in Los Angeles, more than one Nintendo fan shook their head in disgust one more time before declaring themselves done with the company for good. It's not the first time that Nintendo fans have been enraged by both what the company did and did not do. But what's interesting is that this may well have been the real last straw for many gamers that have defended Nintendo for perhaps a decade or longer.

The relationship between Nintendo's biggest fans and the company has always been one of high tensions. Whenever various games were delayed, absurd peripherals were announced or other corporate blunders have set all of the internets on fire, Nintendo fans have always been more vocal than their Microsoft or Sony counterparts in conjuring new curses to express their anger. But always after the bitter medicine came a dose of something sugary enough to put smiles back onto their faces. For example, the gaming populace was largely up in arms following the announcement of the official name for "Revolution." But that particular angry mob was allayed when they saw the potential that the Wii's truly revolutionary control scheme held for gaming. Examples like Metroid Prime 3, Twilight Princess and Mario Galaxy gave great hope to the hardcore gamers, offering a unique take on some of the most treasured entries in gaming's past.

The reason why this E3 was so damning to the company's reputation to so many gamers is because past mistakes have never been so directly and brutally related to the company's vision for gaming. When Nintendo went with the cartridge format on the N64, cel-shaded Wind Waker and named their present console the "Wii," it did not directly compromise the quality of the underlying experience. But this year, Nintendo's new plan of action was made irrevocably clear by their approach to last week's E3 presentation.

This...this is what they have become?

A funny thing happened after the Wii came out. The revolutionary control interface that was bandied about prior to its release never really met its full potential. Nintendo applied the new controls admirably to a series

"Aside from Wii Sports, which came bundled with the system as an example of things to come, Nintendo has yet to develop an original experience that utilizes the motion control system as advertised. "

of sequels, of course including Mario, Zelda and Metroid. Aside from Wii Sports, which came bundled with the system as an example of things to come, Nintendo has yet to develop an original experience that utilizes the motion control system as advertised.

As each day passes, it becomes less likely that they will do so. There are clear signs, in fact, that Nintendo doesn't have the faintest idea what to do with the control system they sold us on in the first place. Wii Fit ushered in the balance board. Mario Kart put the Wii Remote inside of a circular plastic shell, while Link's Crossbow Training brought us a gun shell that won't ever be used again. And now the sequel to Wii Sports introduces a peripheral that adds some sort of new capabilities to the Wii Remote, although it has never been properly communicated why the controller wasn't simply designed with these functions in the first place or what the real marginal benefit in accuracy is that is gained by this new expansion.

Nintendo has been famous for peripheral lust in the past, too. Remember the E-Reader? The Transfer Pak? Pokémon Pikachu? The Donkey Konga bongos? Peripherals have been a successful revenue-enhancing mechanism for ages. The difference, though, is that these have all been "sidequests" in the lifespan of their related platform. The Wii is sustained entirely on the continued development of more and more stuff. This is simply unhealthy, and speaks volumes about the foundation of playing cards on which Nintendo has swiftly built its new empire.

Nintendo's new gaming lineup also confirms the company's push toward a new audience. What is new, though, is the extent to which Nintendo's historic core audience was simply ignored. Animal Crossing, far from a bastion of classic gaming, was the most relevant announcement at their press conference. What's worse is that an offhand remark about the potential for a third game in the Pikmin franchise was enough to cause fans to almost explode with gratitude. This is the sign of a fanbase so truly left adrift as to be moderately disturbing (and I liked Pikmin).

As Nintendo slams the door on the faithful, Sony appears to be coming to the rescue. LittleBigPlanet, not to mention a score of unique PSN titles, has captured the imaginations of people from across the gaming spectrum. Microsoft also continues to promise content that makes the core gamer happy, however much they try to make it taste, smell, look and feel like the Wii.

These conditions hint at a potential exodus from the Wii by the sort of players that lined up for the console's launch just a few short years ago. This is important for two reasons. One, the "core gamer" has been Nintendo's most readily-expedient customer in the past. Mom Non-Gamer might be pleased as punch to play only Wii Sports until the end of time, and may even be unaware that it's possible to play anything else on the system.

Wii Sports has never left their console's disc drive.

A sudden evaporation of confidence bodes badly for Nintendo's ability to keep its attach rate, or the number of games sold divided by the number of systems sold, high. This is especially rotten news for third party publishers that already have trouble competing with Nintendo's first party offerings. In short, driving the gamers away means driving away game designers as well. This leaves Nintendo in the position of fending for themselves, something that they honestly have experience with and something with which they might be okay.

But the "new gamer" that they have targeted is fickle indeed. No hardware manufacturer has found success purely on the basis of selling hardware in the past. And because the Wii doesn't fulfill any real daily function aside from playing games, its fad status is even more tenuous. Once a certain amount of time has passed and the console has reached a high enough level of household saturation, sales of the platform will decrease markedly. Without the continuing revenue of game royalties coming in the doors at the same pace as its competitors, the incredible money-printing machine that they have constructed will suddenly cease to produce.

Nintendo has cast their lot, and it is with the Rest of the World. While it appears to have been an ingenious decision at the moment from a financial perspective, it does not appear that Nintendo has fully accounted for the perilous position that it is now in. What once appeared to be a demographic diversification ploy is now a full throttle race to the casual gamer. This market promises great wealth, but the risk of losing its attention is extremely high. Nintendo has managed to capture and recapture it successfully several times over the past few years with new peripherals, but people aren't stupid.

Nintendo must act now lest the Wii go the way of the Hamster Dance

At some point, a large enough pile of plastic add-ons will amass in the rooms of those with attention spans long enough to make it past Wii Sports and at that point, the once seemingly novel device will seem to evaporate and be replaced suddenly with a gimmicky toy worthy of ridicule. If timed right, Nintendo will release the successor to the Wii the day before this realization hits the average mainstream Wii owner. But this New Nintendo seems all too likely to sit on their laurels, deliriously happy to unleash subpar experiences like Wii Music upon a driveling audience. In the meantime, the most blindly faithful fans will weep, and pray. Everyone else will just buy a PS3.

http://wii.kombo.com/article.php?artid=12374