Curse you Nintendo
by Crom
Coming on the heels of the great Xbox 360 / PS 3 madness, wherein both companies feverishly smashed out ideas and leaks for their new systems, one would hope that the long standing giant known as Nintendo would have tried to play the field a little bit and get some exposure for any of their new systems. Of course, this would require them to have anything at all to deliver, which I doubt they do.
If you're stupid enough to check their site for news, you will be greeted with a few tidbits regarding E3 (which everyone is currently splooging about) and Pac Man fever....
Pac Man fever? What the fuck are you talking about? Somebody get Satoru Iwata on the phone and tell him he's an idiot.
When the console war began in the late 80's and early 90's it was easy to tell the players. Nintendo and Sega were the cold war microcosm playing itself out in the hearts of fans world wide, and the followers were as ragged and disliked as the cast of "The Warriors". Playing video games was instant nerd status, which some of us endured gratefully, as we mashed the necessary button combinations to make Shinobi do his thing. We watched as the two great kings squared off time and time again, throwing out consoles and handhelds, and peripheral crap, all the while cheering our respective side on. And then the Usurpers showed up.
Microsoft and Sony. It's worth noting however that at this point in the game, what brought the force out of balance, allowing the Sith game console developers to sneak in, was the near death of Sega. The dreamcast for all its brilliance, came out far too late in the game, and Sega fell.
And now, Nintendo is following their foot steps. After the 64 they lagged behind, and the 64 itself was a mediocre response to the threat created by MS and Sony, "cartridges" became a profanity in the gaming community, and they never recovered. The cube was a disappointment not in its hardware, but in its titles. Nintendo let some of the greatest game developers of all time slip through their fingers, because they wanted to maintain a brand image of innovation, while never truly innovating. And, they wanted to maintain their market aim at children, which anyone with the brains god gave a mop would have equated to financial suicide. Yeah, I was 6 once, but guess what, time is linear and funny enough, i'm 26 now, so how's about making some games I want to actually play?
You broke my fucking heart Satoru, I counted on you.