As seen on All Age Gaming
Nintendo have
had to battle against many companies over the years to remain one of the
powerhouses in the gaming industry. In this article, we look at Nintendo's
history and look at their various consoles. Couple that with opinions from
everyday gamers, and we get an interesting insight into how Nintendo has
affected the games industry.
Technology is
forever changing and Nintendo seems to be continuously grabbing these advances
Mario style and spinning them off into space. A world of multicolour characters,
technical story lines and intricate terrains are just some of the features
Nintendo consoles are renowned for. The introduction of the Nintendo
Entertainment System (NES) in 1985 sold sixty million units in two years and
almost single-handedly revitalised the video game industry. This is why it is
not hard to believe that Nintendo has been a long standing competitor in the
gaming world. Many believe that this is due to Nintendo’s ability to build upon
their original unique designs and tap into unforeseen niche markets. With
internationally known and loved staple characters including Mario, Link and
Samus, Nintendo continues to set the bar for consoles, hand held portables and
the overall gaming experience. In the twenty four years since its first gaming
machine hit the market Nintendo has revamped the ‘save the princess’ plotline
and given life back to the platformer genre. Four consoles have been released
which have each been evolved to suit Nintendo’s ever changing demographic.
The Super
Nintendo Entertainment System (1991) saw the birth of phenomena like Mario
Kart, Super Probotector: Alien Rebels and Super Metroid. It also saw the return
of heroes such as Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Mario. The SNES ran faster than its
predecessor and the picture quality was greatly improved which made it one of
the most advanced consoles at the time selling forty nine million systems.
Super Mario World, although over seventeen years old, is ranked as one of the
best games of all time and acted as spokesmen for the SNES. It was the highest
selling game on the console and the world’s love for an Italian plumber playing
super hero lives on to this day.
David, a full
time digital arts student at university, recalls playing his Super Nintendo
Entertainment System when he was five:
“Looking
back the graphics were horrible but at the time I didn’t know any better. The
giant pixels and grainy picture was the most elite quality at the time. My
favourite game was Zelda: Link to the Past, because, like all the other Zelda
games, you stumble across secret side quests without even meaning to. Like I
said the graphics were shocking but so much effort was put into the story line
that it made up for it. ”
Still in
operation David played his SNES as early as last year and enjoys playing it as
a solo player rather than as part of a group:
“This was
my third console and although I’ve played all the Nintendo consoles I would
have to say the Nintendo 64 was the best, purely because it was like the Super
Nintendo Entertainment System, but 3D.”
The console war
between Nintendo’s SNES and Sega’s Megadrive (Genesis) resulted in what Steven
Kent, author of ‘Ultimate History Video Games’ claims to be: “one of the
fiercest console wars in video game history.” The Super Nintendo
Entertainment System eventually prevailed in the 16-bit console market and
would remain popular well into the 32-bit market.
At the heart of
a lot of gamers is a Nintendo 64 which in 1996 set new standards for gaming
with its realistic 3D gaming. Super Mario 64 and Zelda Ocarina of Time, to this
day rightfully continue to place in the top ten best games of all time for
their hours of enjoyment and cliff hanger storylines. Thirty three million
units were sold worldwide. All with lifetime warranties.
Jake is twenty
two and works fulltime as a DVD sales assistant. Although only eleven when he
first played his N64 he still remembers his favourite games:
“Golden eye 007
and Perfect dark showed that first person shooters were possible on a home
console, though it was still flawed compared to a P.C, it was the first step in
the right direction. GoldenEye looks dated now and the characters face's look
like they were cut from a magazine and pasted on to the polygonal models by a
fingerless child. But at the time it was the peak of a full 3d environment on
home consoles. Also, the multiplayer functions on these games were just
amazing.”
In a new
direction for Nintendo, Conkers Bad Fur Day was a new kind of game on the N64
and was aimed more so at adults than at kids with its funny yet crude humoured
characters, smartass one liner comebacks, blatant sexual references and a
mountain made of poo. This was only the beginning for adult aimed games and
other consoles were quick to follow suit. This game pushed the typical ‘collect
as much stuff as possible’ scenario and made it a little bit more mature.
And then there
was Mario 64. Jake described Mario 64 as:
“An awesome
game and one of the first successfully open world 3D platformers which has been
remade and out on the Nintendo DS” Jakes says. “
The Mario 64
game changed typical game play and turned it in a new direction with an
abundance of collectables and secrets to stumble across and unlock. Zelda:
Ocarina of time was a masterpiece and solidified what an adventure game should
be. Even though the texture is somewhat bland the fact that it’s set in a
massive open 3D world is what’s impressive. With solid combat and amazing story
telling it is the most memorable game from the N64 library. Although Jakes
Nintendo 64 no longer works he says he was more of a solo gamer but there were
many times where he would get together with his friends to play
multiplayer.
The Nintendo
GameCube, released in 2001, one-upped the graphics and game play of the N64. It
was also the first Nintendo gaming unit to use discs instead of cartridges for
its games which unfortunately eliminated the fun of blowing into the cartridges
before playing a game. The GameCube had a strong line up of games such as
Luigi’s Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine and Pikmin which stayed true to their
previous games roots. Although it was not as well received by the public as
previous Nintendo consoles, 21.74 million units were sold worldwide. It was at
this point that it seemed Nintendo’s days were numbered as a giant in the gaming
industry. But this view was quickly reversed when it produced its DS range,
Nintendo’s first handheld console since the Gameboy Advance in 2001.
Richard,
seventeen and just graduated from high school, says he used his Gamecube the
most when he was thirteen:
“My favourite
games were The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, potentially one of the best
games I played on the system. Starfox Adventure because of the length and
vastness of the plot which challenged me throughout the game. Super Smash
Brother Melee was a great multiplayer game which had many things to unlock in
the solo adventure setting. And Super Mario Sunshine was an adorable typical
Mario game which was enjoyable overall."
Although the
graphics were not as advanced as they could have been Richard says he enjoyed
playing on his GameCube:
“It was a
different experience in regards to the graphics and controls I had become
accustomed to with the Playstation One.”
Although still
operational, Richard’s GameCube is left at their holiday apartment for the
family to play with when they are on vacation.
The Wii was
introduced in 2006 and with it a whole new way to view gaming. With its motion
censor wireless controllers, built-in Wi-Fi capability and downloadable content
the Wii has become one the best selling console system of this generation.
Stephanie, a twenty year old TAFE student, has had her Wii since she was
eighteen years old and says that she was drawn to the Wii’s interactive motion
controls and the imagination that this gave its games. The traditional analogue
stick used for movement is replaced by swift movements of the controller. It is
clear that the Sony PS3 and XBOX 360 dominate over the Wii when it comes to
graphics but the smoothness of the game play is what Stephanie says makes the
Wii a perfect console for group or solo gamers. Her favourite games are Super
Smash Brother’s Brawl and Wii Sports Resort which she loves to play with
friends and the Guitar Hero series which she prefers to play individually:
“They're so
addictive. I enjoy unlocking new levels, characters, guitars, outfits and
whatever else the game has to offer. And playing an instrument virtually,
although not as fulfilling as playing one in real life (she plays both guitar
and the flute), is still really fun! Because the Wii games mostly fall under
the ‘party’ genre it’s great to be able to show my skills off with my friends.”
The Wii is
Stephanie’s first Nintendo owned console but she has played the others claiming
the N64 to be her favourite of the entire Nintendo range. The Wii caters more
so to casual party gamers but also excited lovers of classic Nintendo with the
capability to download games from the NES, NSES and N64. But the Nintendo Wii
has tapped into a niche which has never been attempted by the gaming industry.
The release of Wii Fit in 2008 was built off the foundation Wii Sports had
paved out for Nintendo’s range of fitness games. It records the gamers current
BMI and then monitors their weight loss as they play the games. With a rating
of 7/10 from Gamespot and 8/10 from IGN it is clear why Game Rankings
aggregated from various online reviews gave the Nintendo Wii an average rating
of 81/100.
Nintendo may
have taken a step in a different, more multiplayer direction but it is still
producing great games which can match up to the classics. Whether you are a
Nintendo veteran or consider yourself a noob to gaming, Nintendo has something
which will challenge the gamer inside of you. And there is a gamer in you;
there is one in all of us. Forever wanting to master that last side quest,
conquer that last boss or even just pull off the perfect headshot, Nintendo’s
skill in being able to give every gamer what they expect from a game is why it
is still in the console wars and why it still puts up one hell of a fight.
