One phrase : The use of subliminal messages in their games.
I'm joking of course
I agree with some of the above posters that have stated this "magic" isn't limited to Nintendo games. I loved the early Final Fantasy games (ok the first 9 games) to death, they, like Legend of Zelda and Metroid games are among my most favorite of all time. Part of that has to do with the fact that growing up in the 80's many of these concepts / gameplay ideas where brand new to me (and some to the rest of the world as well). That said most of those games are still fun to me today. Not everything I loved from my childhood still holds up, a lesson I learned when I tried to watch the first season of Knight Rider a couple of years back. I loved that show as a kid, as an adult I could not make myself sit through it (sorry I don't mean to piss off people that still like the series, I am just relaying my inability to stomach it these days).
In conclusion I'd say it is called Nintendo magic not because they are the only company that can deliver said magic but because they are the company that, thus far, has delivered it the most consistently and often.
