Console wars have been a thing for a long time now but lately Nintendo seems to have fallen behind the pack as far as creating a normal console. Making a normal console has been an accomplishment that seems to have evaded them for years now….or at least that’s what some would have you believe.
Ok, Ill admit that Nintendo is behind the pack when it comes to graphical power in their current gen console, the Wii U. I’ll even admit that the touchpad isn’t the most revolutionary thing in gaming but I’m also going to add that I would rather them have made the Wii U than have gone for a straight up graphics power console. The Ps4 and Xbox one can produce some spectacular images on my television but what have they brought to the table as far as bringing something new or changing the way we play video games? Sure, they keep making things prettier and prettier but at what cost? Gamers have never been so discontent with AAA game releases as they are now and perhaps that is due to a lack of innovation on the part of the companies in charge of this. No, that is not quite the fault of Xbox or Playstation but it could be argued that those consoles have not given developers anything interesting to work with. One of the biggest complaints about games like Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield and sometimes even games like Dark Souls is that its literally the same game as before just prettier and either in the future or with different skins. Perhaps this is due to a lack of innovation on the consoles part. Gamers are continually given the same base controller with a better looking image and no real changes to the way you play the game. Heck these games could even try taking the Super Mario Galaxy approach and start dealing with changing rules to gravity if they wanted to but the developers don’t really seem to want to deal with innovation. (Unless they are Square Enix apparently.) People are far more excited for games that take you back in time rather than forward and that may very well be due to the fact that those games are bringing something to the table that hasn’t been done in quite a while.
That isn’t something I want from Nintendo. I want more from them. I want a game company who isn’t afraid to take risks. Sure the Wii U is a financial bomb but the games on it as of late are incredible. Super Mario Maker is one of the most incredible things to ever happen to platformer games, (although I’d still argue that Super Mario Galaxy is better,) and Xenoblade Chronicles X is the best dang thing that is on the system and one of the best JRPG’s I have ever played. (Coincidentally it also manages to be the rare case of the gamepad making the game better by helping you feel truly immersed in it’s world.) Star Fox Zero, while not the most stellar example of a gaming success, is a fantastic example of how to take an old dog, or fox, and teach it new tricks. Pokken Tournament takes an old franchise and tries to listen to its players (WHAT?!?!) and give them a real time Pokemon fighting game and fails mostly because it didn’t go all in with it’s risk. That word right there is probably the biggest reason that not only is Nintendo is in the boat it’s in but also the reason that they will continue beyond this failure and the reason that the Xbox and Playstation will find themselves with a smaller player base in the future. Gamers are already starting to grow bored with receiving the same console as before but with better graphics because they are starting to see that they aren’t being given anything new. This realization is fairly new so clearly you wont see it by looking at the sales of the Xbox One Or Ps4 overall but start talking with some of your other gamer friends and you will see that it is definitely on the rise. Its also the reason the PC will continually have an advantage over the Xbox One and Ps4 because you can essentially have the same exact gaming experience, play with WHOEVER you want AND have continual innovation in that style of gaming. This is also not something I want from Nintendo
If Xbox and Playstation are what “normal” is going to be than I would much rather get a gaming PC for that type of gaming experience (because then I don’t have to buy new consoles everytime they want to basically just make things prettier,) and I can purchase Nintendo products to have an entirely different type of gaming experience. I don’t want Nintendo to fall prey to trying to do the exact same thing that everyone else is doing solely so they can make more money. They have the capital to try to do something different so stop demanding they be like everyone else and let them innovate! We wouldn’t be where we are with gaming today if they hadn’t been the innovators that they are! All Xbox and Playstation have ever done is copy what Nintendo was already doing, make it look prettier and then try to sell it. Look at the Kinect and Playstation Move if you think I’m lying. Those are simply just Nintendo Wii rip offs, not original ideas or innovations! Could Nintendo stand to increase the power of their console to make their games look better? Absolutely but don’t demand they make a “normal console!” That would be just…well..dull and uninteresting. I and other gamers look forward to the new things they do and yeah, that means we will get a few Bob-ombs at times but it also means that we will have a company who always is trying to make a better experience for us and not just take our money. If we don’t have failures then we don’t ever actually grow as people and perhaps for Nintendo and their gaming strategies, this also applies and if the failure of the Wii U means that one bad idea is now out of the way and the path is paved for a fantastic console that is unlike anything we have been given before, then I would gladly have them do it all over again because without innovation then we would still be sitting here playing Pong. (No offense Pong. You are the OG of gaming.) So before you say Nintendo needs to make a “Normal console” ask yourself. Do you want Nintendo to make prettier games or do you want to see what comes after prettier games and play a console that gives you more than just great graphics?
(Let the reader know, I own both a Ps4 and a Wii U and do still enjoy both systems.)
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