so much recently i've been hearing crap on messageboards about how Nintendo have sold out and forgotten their 'core' userbase.

That's utter bull.

Nintendo are doing the same thing they've always done: making accessible games that anyone can enjoy.

I remember a Ninty press conference a few years back when i had the 'penny drop' moment. the speaker was saying how people don't want complicated, people want fun. they don't want 12 buttons and 2 sticks to twiddle, they want simple and achievable. and that's what they've always done, it's just that some people have simply moved on.

Any of the older members on here will remember the old days of NES, SNES, original Gameboy (although some of us remember further...). They weren't complicated machines, and that's why we all loved 'em. You could pick it up and be masters in a couple of hours, then bug your parents for one, knowing full well they wouldn't object to a little plumber bouncing through drainpipes and avoiding snappng plantlife. new people to the computer game world could do it and enjoy it. Now gaming has come mass market, Ninty are just hitting their stride, and it's not just kids who want it. People are the same now as they were then, the games have just become even more accessible and acceptable!

I now class myself as a hardcore gamer, MS and Sony are by bag, i want games where i have to use all the buttons and sticks at once; where i have to use every bit of concentration to simply make it through to the next checkpoint or blast my enemy on an online deathmatch. that's the skill i'm after. i won't knock people for enjoyoing a waggle, or a two button control, because thats what they want. because that's what i wanted a few years ago. Good, simple, quality, fun.

So if you're complaining that Ninty have forgotten all about you and the 'core' gamers, and aren't providing what you want: slow down. take a look at yourself. maybe its not Ninty who has changed... maybe it's you.

don't blindly pledge your allegiance to one company, pledge your allegiance to Gaming. Be thankful to Ninty for showing you the way into the gaming world, find the direction you want to go in and enjoy it.

you've got a point there

Very good post. Maybe it is just me. I have owned and loved every single Nintendo system, but I really don't like my Wii anymore. After beating Mario, Zelda and Metroid, it became extremely boring for me.

I recommend to you the following Wii games, trying to stay within the bounds of 'competitive, difficult and complex'

Smash Bros Brawl is one of the hardest games to master this generation

Mario Kart has one of the most competitive online experiences

RE:4 is one of the most difficult shooters this gen (especially on the hardest difficulty setting)

Metroid Prime also sounds like the kind of thing you want, the controls are very well done, take some effort to master and the 'waggle' is tastefully done. The boss battles are very hard

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is very challenging, but I'm not sure this is the kind of game you like. It is very slow paced, cold and calculating.

No More Heroes is also worth a look. Most of the game is easy, but the boss fights can be punishing

Coming up the Wii has many titles that I think you would enjoy

Conduit, Madworld (initial press reactions were extremely positive), Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 2 just to name a few.

Whilst I agree that Nintendo endeavours to make the majority of their games accesible to all, it is also true that they produce some of the finest core games known to nerd kind, and even many of their accesible games are difficult to get 100% on - Mario galaxy for example has some very difficult stars. The Wii is also starting to get some great 3rd party core games.

Maybe its not the people who have "moved on" but the people who still have to move on?

@ scottie

WTF since when is RE4 a shooter XD

Well its more of a shooter than survival horror, more action than anything really..

Great game btw :P

no seriously its just a action/adventure not a shooter maybe it feels like that on the Wii but it isn't

Well I have it on GameCube and it felt like a shooter to me.. Especially when there are a lot of zombies around or in places where you have to be precise such as shooting zombies away from ashley in that scene where they try to carry her away.. You know the one I mean lol

Yes its classified as an action/adventure but it feels like a shooter in a lot of ways too

You weren't around during the 8 and 16 bit era were you? Man were those games truly "hardcore".

I do agree with most of what you said in your post though.