It’s bad enough we saw the god awful 3DS attachment that increased the size of the handheld by a significant amount only to add on an extra analog stick (which as far as I can tell doesn’t seem to have a purpose.)



And now the Wii-U seems to be having trouble getting off the ground because of rushed development.

Wii U 'does not work properly' says insider | Metro.co.uk

This is of course following the launch of three versions of DS more useless than an old iPhone and a replacement that makes some people nauseous and introduces very little in terms of actual change or innovation to the handheld console. That is following the release of a non-HD console in an increasingly HD-adopting market that could not handle today’s most graphically demanding games in exchange for a more family friendly approach to gaming.

What happened to the days of the Gameboy and the Gamecube? Sure the Gameboy had different versions just like the DS but each version added negligible features like a backlight or a different format such as the clam shape of the Gameboy SP. Better yet, what happened to the days of the N64 when Nintendo was a console titan? I owned an original Gameboy Advance and I played the crap out of it. Before that I had an N64 which is still my favorite console to date.

Nintendo used to not only rule the console industry with it’s products but it used to innovate and change the industry along with them. They created the analog stick, the d-pad, the bumper trigger and with the Wii they tried to pioneer motion control. While motion control gaming has become novelty at best (no surprise there) they still took a risk just as they did with the N64 and the Gamecube in terms of control style. Unfortunately this recent risk has landed them in a bad spot, not a good one.

All I can say is that the failure of Sega as a separate console manufacturer was capitalized on by Microsoft in the best way possible- for them. Microsoft aimed to attract the real hardcore console gamers previously owned by Nintendo and Sega to the Xbox and that’s exactly what they did. Sony fans have always been a very niche demographic in a niche market and seem to remain loyal to Sony no matter what alternatives come out. I’m not sure what happened during this time but Nintendo seems to have turned away from many of their old fans in order to pay more attention to families and a younger audience in general.

Nintendo used to have so much foresight. They would add in features to their hardware that we didn’t even realize we would like or end up using. Nowadays they seem to not realize that the Wii would be around for the next 6 years or so and should probably have supported HD for the inevitable switch to HD as a standard resolution for television. They also could have seen that the 3DS should probably have a right analog stick as well if they could justify making an attachment later on.

This is forgivable of course. Sony and Microsoft have made similar mistakes even more times than Nintendo. Companies take risks and sometimes they end up being mistakes; that’s normal. What I can’t stand is how Nintendo has turned their backs on more dedicated gamers in order to try and appeal to families.

Nintendo, what you are trying to do is take people who would normally not game and turn them into gamers during a recession.

This is a horrible plan. It’s no wonder the 3DS wasn’t selling very much in America before the price drop. Nobody can afford 300 dollars for a handheld console and some games for it during times like these. Maybe if our economy wasn’t in the state it’s in things would be different and you would be making a ton of money off of an otherwise untapped market, but this clearly isn’t doing you any good. There are dedicated fans out there who want to give you you their money not just for your consoles but for your games, many of which you seem unwilling to bring to the US.



Not to mention, where is the original content? It’s all good and fine that you publish many third party titles for your console (some good, some not so good) but you have been relying loyally on your Mario and Zelda franchises for so long now. These kinds of things should by no means go away any time soon, but something new would be nice other than the next Super Mario Galaxy or Mario Party 87.

Nintendo, I will always be your loyal fan. You were my supplier of entertainment back in the day and I would still like you to be. You may not have done anything to piss me off over the years, but you really don’t bring your A game much anymore do you?

-Jesse Leigh aka OmarFW via Gamer MC