Topic: Nintendo - pros and cons, debate, etc.

[Johnny]

Name a couple of positives you can think of with Nintendo and a couple of negatives. Since 1985 there has got to be many things they have done right and many things they have done wrong. Feel free to chime in and speak your mind. Feel free to express your blunt and honest opinions about the console.

Lets keep in mind these things while doing this:

Inanimate objects are not a part of your family nor do you need to defend them as such. You also don't need to act like the console got up and gunned down your Mom.

Regarding the company, unless you know people who work at Nintendo personally or work for Nintendo themselves there's no reason to take offence if someone bashes a Nintendo staff member. Its not your job to defend them. Quite frankly because they don't care whether you defend them or not. They are still making money. Conversely if you don't like the people for whatever reason you probably shouldn't go as far to wish death on them, get some terminal illness, or whatever other misfortune.

You can choose to sound intelligent or you can choose not to. I have learned this lesson in the past myself. Saying something like "Nintendo sucks because all they make are kiddy games" or "Nintendo are awesome because well...they're Nintendo! I just love anything with that brand name on it!" are rather broad statements. Back up your sources and get things to reinforce your opinions. If you think Nintendo makes mostly games geared towards young children and preteens then show a ratio of these games as opposed to other types of games Nintendo makes and illustrate why this isn't a good thing. If you love the Nintendo brand then you can name a couple of things such as game franchises, company reputation with returns, hardware, etc which makes the brand so great. This way if someone chooses to debate whatever point you have, it doesn't seem like you are ignorant and therefore a waste of their time. You could choose to look like a blind fanboy, a bias hater, or that you're putting forth some thought into what you're saying. Its your choice.

I know this is tough but try to be somewhat fair with your opinions as well as while reading someone else's opinions. Maybe they know more than you think or maybe they just misunderstand what you're saying. Keep an open mind.

That's it. So go to it

I can start. I have a lot of love for classic Nintendo. If it wasn't for Howard Lincoln, Nintendo Power, and lots of classic games that I can still play today I wouldn't have such a foundation in gaming. I can also appreciate other consoles. As I grew older my interests kind of changed. Sure when my 4 year old nephew and I sit down and he wants to play Mario games (he is obsessed with them) I entertain myself by playing a game like Mario Galaxy with him. But its not where my own heart lies as far as having a console nor is any other console of the big 3 at the moment.

[Lelygax]

I will post something now, if I think about something else I will put it in a new post or edit this one if no one posts until then.

Pros
Fun over graphics: They know that good graphics doesnt mean good game, so they go right into the core and focus more on the fun, letting graphic quality for later. In the end, it still very good (IMO these people talking about 1080p is a must or things like that are being a little spoiled by the industry).

Good franchises: Nintendo have proven that even if third-parties abandon them, they can resist for a long time and will not fall instantly like some other companies would.

For all ages: They do games that can be played by everyone without being boring, I call it "true videogame", since thats how old games are, and IMO that how it should ever be. Im not saying that all games must be like that, but at least 50% or 70% should.

Memorable music: What could I say? They havent lose their good taste over all these years and some of the most iconic musics comes from Nintendo (I've said some, not all).

Free online service: While all other services right now (PSN was free too, but will be paid in the near future if I understood it right) make you pay to play online, they give it for free. One of my cons would be that friendcode system, but they finally fixed that in Wii U and 3DS.

Innovation: They ever come with new ideas, not focusing only in graphical update, sadly other companies copy these ideas after seeing it. Even if they say that it never would make success, when Nintendo do it and it indeed make success, companies come and do the same thing. (Vita  and Smartglass acting as a controller like Wii U Gamepad, PSMove being a Wii Remote clone).


Cons

Region Lock: This is obsolete and nothing that they say will be enough, they give excuses about rating and updates, when they can do all updates be universal. Also games need to be imported if its from another region, kids doesnt have credit card and thus they can only get it with a parent permission, so "rating fault = bullshit".

Virtual Console choices: Im not talking about which game they choose, but how they decide which system to put in 3DS and Wii U. GB, GBC and GBA makes sense to be in 3DS, but then they go and decide to put GBA in Wii U instead. So here is my idea: why they dont add Virtual Console that are compatible with Wii U AND 3DS?

Neglecting some older franchises: Sometime ago they were focusing too much in some franchises and forgetting other franchises, but recently they brought Star Fox and Kid Icarus back. Now Im waiting for a new F-Zero, Ice Climber, Balloon Fight, a real new Excite Bike and maybe they could add Duck Hunt in a new Wii U Play.

Third-parties: I dont know whats the problem, but they really arent receiving the same attention as before from thirds, this is the core problem for Wii U right now, since I cant see any other.

[Abnormal Freak]

I'm not really sure I see the point of this or the reason for singling out Nintendo. Every major company has its fair share of right things they do and other things which boggle the mind.

I love Nintendo and I'll admit there are a lot of things they do that frustrate the hell out of me, but I guess I don't feel like posting a whole big, long thread about it.

[Johnny]

I'm not really sure I see the point of this or the reason for singling out Nintendo. Every major company has its fair share of right things they do and other things which boggle the mind.

I love Nintendo and I'll admit there are a lot of things they do that frustrate the hell out of me, but I guess I don't feel like posting a whole big, long thread about it.

Because to list every single company that makes games in this thread would take all day. So I took one of the most notable ones that most people in this forum seem to recognize. I could also make threads for games Capcom, Konami, Sony, Microsoft, EA etc makes but lets see how this goes first. Listing pros and cons for Nintendo is a good start. If people show interest in this we could think about threads for other companies for people to express opinions about.

[Abnormal Freak]

[...] we could think about threads for other companies for people to express opinions about.

Please don't. :|

[Lelygax]

We really are going to talk about Microsoft and EA? Please dont².

[Johnny]

We really are going to talk about Microsoft and EA? Please dont².

Well that's kind of why I went with Nintendo. Universally, it seemed like a safe bet. I don't think I could do Microsoft without having more negative to say than positive (and I'm sure others would feel the same). I won't even use Windows on my PC let alone buy ANY pieces of hardware they make. As for EA don't even get me started with their stupid used game BS they are trying to pull.

So yeah back to the topic at hand. I do like the fact that Nintendo always tries new things whether it works out for them or it doesn't. It seems like they like to take risks and for the most part it shows that they do have a desire to try and be creative. Its a good thing they don't just carry over into their own consoles what they see has worked in other consoles from other companies in past gens.

[X]

I'm not really sure I see the point of this or the reason for singling out Nintendo. Every major company has its fair share of right things they do and other things which boggle the mind.

Except that Nintendo has been around for over a century while the other companies are all still new kids on the block. And it's true that Nintendo only got into the video game scene recently, however they are a force to be reckoned with. For being around as long as they have and being careful about some of the choices they've made throughout the years, I'm pretty sure they will last for quiet a while with the amount of funds saved up, even if they have their version of the recession on their hands.

[Ratty]

Nintendo resurrected console gaming. They did so by ruthless tactics which forced out competition. (Like the poor Master System.) But also by enforcing then much-needed quality control to avoid the deluge of substandard games that had choked off the Atari 2600 and indeed most of the American video game industry. I think their policy of focusing on the actual game experience rather than technology is the personification of what used to be the entire argument for and advantage of consoles before they just became overpriced proprietary PCs. As the end of the traditional console seems to loom larger and larger I think Nintendo is a company that has a good chance to exist on the strength of their IPs. Even when consoles are finally consumed by the all-encompassing central PC-media center that seems to be increasingly inevitable for the future.

[Beaumont_Belmont]

Nintendo revived the video game console, and is now dancing on the edge of a knife with the second in a series of gimmick consoles. Their games themselves haven't evolved since the Gamecube. Their handheld is still the one to beat- but that's largely on the strength of the original DS, not on the 3DS.

[Pfil]

Pros:
Nintendo saved videogames, literally.
They gave us Zelda, Metroid, Mario and a lot of other great franchises and games.
NES, SNES, Wii, NDS...
They care about gaming, they care about their franchises, they care about real players who've been playing all their life.

Contras:
If there have to be any, they didn't make the Wii with HD support, but today that can be fixed thanks to the magic of emulation.

[Lelygax]

Their games themselves haven't evolved since the Gamecube.

Mario Galaxy is very different from Mario Sunshine.

Smash Bros Brawl adds a lot of things that Melee didnt have (even if people prefer Melee that doesnt mean that it not added nothing)

Metroid Prime 3 is the first game in a console that I saw where you can use a pointer to aim without still being able to freely walk and explore the world, before Wii I have seen it only in PCs using a mouse or in consoles using a controller, but a controller isnt so good to aim like a mouse or pointer.
So it adds a lot from Metroid Prime 2.

Wii Remote & Wii Balance Board.

Now if you meant graphically, Wii have better graphics too, not like a PS3 but it is better than GC.

Or you meant core mechanics? If its it, they didnt change it because its not broken.

[Johnny]

Nintendo resurrected console gaming. They did so by ruthless tactics which forced out competition. (Like the poor Master System.) But also by enforcing then much-needed quality control to avoid the deluge of substandard games that had choked off the Atari 2600 and indeed most of the American video game industry. I think their policy of focusing on the actual game experience rather than technology is the personification of what used to be the entire argument for and advantage of consoles before they just became overpriced proprietary PCs. As the end of the traditional console seems to loom larger and larger I think Nintendo is a company that has a good chance to exist on the strength of their IPs. Even when consoles are finally consumed by the all-encompassing central PC-media center that seems to be increasingly inevitable for the future.

I mean the thing about the Atari 2600 was that you not only had big developers making games for it. You had other companies such as Playaround making games which you'd never in a million years see on the NES. Basically whatever didn't or couldn't exist on the NES was driven onto the PC due to Nintendo's seal of quality. So really you had these A List companies making games but at the same token even though most were good you still had a few stinkers as with any console. I would say the Atari 2600 was more or less a different type of console. Not necessarily bad but different. Still the irony is the same thing that occurred with a console like Atari 2600 and the flood of crapware is kind of the same that's going on in the mobile market. At the same token it gives people options. Granted it sucks having to sift through the crap to get to the good stuff but I think anyone should have the rights to make and publish a game out of principle. NES was an awesome product but it was marketed to a completely different more targeted audience than Atari 2600 was. That's what made it so successful. It wasn't all over the place trying to port all sorts of poorly made PC games and Arcade games to the console as well as having Person A from Bumbleville trying to throw out some random crappy game he created in 3 seconds (though it did have some ports it wasn't flooded with terrible ports like what the 2600 tried to do with Pacman and did have more original games). Nintendo marketed to mostly 6 - 15 year old audiences and there was no need for them to market to tons of different audiences like the Atari 2600 tried to do. Kids played the NES and the games, Adults used PCs. (I speak from experience as my parents never once touched the NES or any other console I had to play games nor did any other parent I knew of friends. Though they loved their PCs.) Granted maybe a couple of Adults played the games on the NES but it was mostly marketed to Adolescents and in some cases younger children too. It was never a worry like now a days to try to market to everyone under the sun. The only reason that's happening is because of people who are my age (or older) who grew up playing video games and still want to play games that they feel suit them.

Later on Nintendo did try to combine family friendly gaming while still trying to market to teens and adults. Mortal Kombat 1 and Wolfenstein were allowed to be released for the SNES and approved by Nintendo just as long as they were way way toned down in violence from their original counterparts which they were. So I guess to some degree they did make an effort to make everyone happy in a way. Kids could play the games they loved while parents rested easy knowing that the games weren't too inappropriate for their kids to be playing. At one point I criticized Nintendo for this but now I commend them on this. Mostly because kids who didn't get a chance to play Mortal Kombat or Wolfenstein due to the violence level in the games were allowed to enjoy the more toned down version of the games. It was better for the kids to actually have the fun experience of playing the games than not at all. Also, the SNES version of Mortal Kombat was closer to the original than the Sega Genesis version was. The SNES featured better and more accurate music, colors, graphics and sound effects even more spot on than the Sega CD version. The closest home port to the arcade of the original MK was the PC version around that time.

[Munchy]

Pros - They have some great IPs and their recent hardware has caused some developers to think outside the box (ugh, fuck that phrase but you know what I mean). Also, they rescued Bayonetta 2.

Cons - They refuse to localize some games and then claim that NOT making their consoles region free is somehow conducive to a global market. And other interface things that they could make convenient, but choose not to (friend codes, anyone?).

[Pfil]

If its it, they didnt change it because its not broken.

That's Nintendo. If that's fine, don't change it.