I was never a Console Warriur to begin with. I was an appreciater of a company that gave me good results for my hard-won or hard-earned dollars but not necessarily a hater of other companies.
As much as I am "pro-Nintendo" today, I existed BEFORE Nintendo really made its mark in the gaming business. I remember the Atari & friends generation and just marvelled at games period. Nintendo was one of those companies that soon joined the games I marvelled at but it didn't go any further than that. There was Robotron 2084, Zaxxon, all the Pac-Mans, Frogger, Centipede/Millipede, Dig Dug I & II, Defender, Q*Bert, Galaga, Asteroids, along with all the Donkey Kongs & then Mario Bros.
Donkey Kong started my appreciation of Nintendo-made products and Donkey Kong Jr. solidified this position. Popeye was Nintendo-made and so was Donkey Kong 3. This Jumpman/Mario cat really spoke to me and the Saturday morning cartoon shows of DK/DK Jr. in the early 80s just helped me connect with this blue & red clothed character a little more. By the time Mario Bros. came out when they introduced Luigi I had a feel for the style of work Nintendo was doing just like I had for the stuff Williams was doing and who I thought at the time Bally/Midway was doing (just distributers Namco made the games).
Then in 1983/1984 as an 7/8 year old I saw a neighbor play this little portable "arcade" which I would later learn to be known as a tabletop Game & Watch machine. It had one of my faves on there, Donkey Kong Jr., which played differently from the arcade version but was still cool. For Christmas I wanted one of those and asked my dad to get me one for Christmas 1984. I ended up getting one of those tabletop G&Ws but it was called Mario's Cement Factory. Dad probably just picked up what was left or what he thought I would like. At first I was unappreciative 'cause it wasn't what I wanted. Luckily my grandmother taught me an invaluable lesson in appreciativeness that has stuck with me to this day. I dropped the spoiled brat routine and got into this new never-before-seen "Mario" game. Mario was my boy by this point and Nintendo stood out to me as a maker of fine gaming products that were loads of fun.
Being poor I didn't have access to all kinds of stuff like that at will so I played this little tabletop G&W for 4 years straight along with my tabletop Pac-Man from 1985 and all my He-Man toys. It wasn't until I was 12 in 1988 that I would get my NES which came packaged with, you guessed it, Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt. I used to love the original Mario Bros. and this one had me hooked like you couldn't believe! Now I had a REAL "arcade" in my living room. Watching that TV show Silver Spoons had all kids wanting arcade games in their rooms. I used to line up my Pac-Man & Mario's Cement Factory like the arcades I remembered.
NES was the STUFF back then and then the cereal came out. Nintendo Cereal System with Zelda & Mario together on the box with the different packages of cereal for each character. Then I got those holographic tips cards to teach me secrets on SMB and later SMB2. Nice cereal pack-in, Nintendo. Then there was this NES rental place in town where all the kids were allowed to hang out and play for free. Ran by this 16 year old and his mother. Next door was a big arcade with the latest games Bad Dudes, Double Dragon, Operation Wolf, and even the original Street Fighter with Retsu! Moving closer to the city right before I was 13 I got to experience all this as I rode my bike through the neighborhood. Gaming heaven for an impressionable adolescent.
So with all this knowing how most of the arcades got translated to NES and all that other history I had with Nintendo, you'd think I'd be against anybody else's machines. But this was not so.
As I grew as a teenager the Genesis came out. And my friend downstairs got one. I didn't snub my nose at it because it wasn't Nintendo no matter how much I appreciated Nintendo gaming. I remember Sega too. They made Zaxxon back in the day. I said cool. He had Sonic the Hedgehog and some baseball game I liked. I enjoyed playing a Sega system just as much as I enjoyed playing my NES. Used to play Flashback ad Out of This World on his system. EXCELLENT! Didn't realize it at the time about the business posturing that allowed Nintendo to rule unopposed in the 3rd gen but the 4th gen was opening my eyes to new possibilities in gaming. My cousin had the Turbo-Grafx 16 and I thought that was a cool system. It didn't take long before gaming discussion would float around with classmates. Soon I heard about the Neo-Geo & after a while the 3DO & rumors of the M2. I didn't turn my noses up at any of this. I DID think dang that's a lot of systems on the market. Who's gonna be able to buy all of them? But other than that I had no problem with people other than Nintendo in the business.
My friend got the Sega CD and I enjoyed Sonic CD. Loved the live cartoon built into the game. Excellent music and I was marvelling just the same as I did as a 4 year old boy in 1980 at the walls of gaming. All positive and enthused about all the choices and options available.
I turned 18 in 1994 and it wouldn't be long before I had to play my own dollar getting games for myself. It was HERE where I had to be smarter with my dollar. Being poor growing up you learn to manage money well or at least you should. You can't be too frivolous with your few funds. Every dollar and cent has to count. I started reading gaming mags and seeing that some of these consoles were pretty costly. I saw systems go out of business which were the hot "in" thing of the moment. I saw companies short circuit something they built to get people to buy something else they made (Sega--CD/32X/Saturn). So many companies trying to get a piece of the biz and so many dropping out. Why? So I had to make sure I stuck with a team that I knew would never let me down. Nintendo was always the constant. I had my SNES and played it constantly. Enjoyed it. And then the N64 came out and I knew those beloved Nintendo properties would be on there. There was a Playstation now made by Sony but I chose the one which I would easily like the most, the N64. Limited funds so I had to pick accordingly. I KNOW I will enjoy a Nintendo machine no matter what. Plus it was more affordable.
But this didn't mean I hated the Saturn or the Playstation. I always wanted to play them. My neighbor had the Saturn and my friend across town had the Playstation. I used to go over and play the games they had all the time. As much a loyalist I was to Nintendo, I STILL enjoyed other systems. I WANTED a Playstation. I still wanted a Genesis even. If I had the funds they woulda been had. But that wasn't to be. But never hated the competition. Games are games. It doesn't matter.
Later I saw Nintendo not have a diverse library as SNES did. Learned about the politics of gaming and how Nintendo messed themselves up. Saw Sega lose power and then try one last shot at glory with the Dreamcast. I wanted the Dreamcast bad. Sega product. Didn't matter. I liked Sega. I remember Sega Channel from mid-90s. I loved Comix Zone. Ecco the Dolphin. Sega was cool and I was as Nintendo diehard as you could make them. Sony had very cool games. Bushido Blade was the bomb and all my 3rd party faves crossed over to their system. PS1 was cool in my eyes. A Nintendo fan who likes Sega and Sony. What? Shouldn't I be mad that Nintendo doesn't have all the volume of games? No. Games are games. It doesn't matter.
Then the PS2 came along and I wanted that since it had backwards compatibility. I had been long scouring pawn shops for old games picking them up for my collection and this would be a boon for me. I could STILL play all the PS1 games I missed AND play the new PS2 games available. I made a little bit more money now so I could do it easier than before. I was 24 in 2000.
Then Sega died (as a consoler) and I was sad. I read the game mags and learned why. I learned more and more about the backstage of gaming business. I knew Sega messed themselves up more than anything and Sony just did business. All because Sega got cocky after matching SNES in the 4th gen putting Saturn up to $400. Things have long-lasting consequences. Watch what you do. To see Sega end up like all those pretenders of the past made me sad.
I knew Nintendo was weaker than in the glory days but this did not stop my appreciation for them. They still made games so well. Their reputation with me never needed to be proven anymore. They've earned this loyalty. Gamecube came out and I got it 'cause it's Nintendo. I know I will get a great experience here. I hope the 3rd party helps them out more this time but even if not I will enjoy my purchase. XBox came out and I said wow a new contender! Was slightly worried about Microsoft getting into this biz because reputation in computer world but as long as they don't try to pull any fast ones they were OK by me.
It was in the past 5 or so years that I recognized problems with Sony and MS. PS2 was shoddily made. Too shoddily made. Flies right in the face of what I come to expect from a game company seeing that my old Mario's Cement Factory still works after all these years. MS was shortening game generations down to 4 years trying to make us buy consoles in quicker intervals. This was not right. Not an upgrade that's optional but forcing a buyerbase to a new system. Then the games themselves. People used to try different and fresh ideas on a constant basis and now gaming was getting blander. What was happening? Some good stuff existed but now that feeling that you had when you went to the shop looking at the box art was missing except for a few games. Nothing looked as compelling. Something was missing in the gaming business. And looking at who controlled the market I began to understand why. Sony joining the business wasn't a bad thing but I could tell they had no real respect or love for the business like Nintendo and Sega did. I began to see MS & Sony as strictly for the dollars. I don't mind someone making a dollar but put some heart into it. I saw companies get rich off of others' innovations and get all the glory because of it. It didn't use to be that way.
I didn't hate Sony and MS but I disapproved of their philosophies toward the gaming business. And this is a business I loved since 4 years old when I used to marvel at all the glowing machines with funny music and dancing figures on the screen. I saw only one left who still remembered what this was all about and then I saw them chastised and marginalized for not abandoning those principles. The world of gaming had changed on me. This audience here is not the one I recognized even from 1997. No appreciation. No love. No respect. No honor. But I was never a "console warriur". I was a warriur for this valuable pastime called videogaming. This fragile business that has enrichened so many lives and allowed people to destress from the pressures of daily living.
And I recognized Nintendo was the last of those who remember how this once was done. I learned about the ramifications of the Crash of 1983 which I never realized at the time being a little boy. This generation is making all my dreams come true because it's getting back to what it should be about.
I never was a 'console warriur' but I'll fight to my dying day for this pastime and those who will have the heart to maintain it.
Thanks for reading my long rambles.
John Lucas
Words from the Official VGChartz Idiot
WE ARE THE NATION...OF DOMINATION!
