PSP World

Is Nintendo Stuck in a Rut?

Our new writer Christopher Price explains why Nintendo should reevaluate some of its most beloved franchises, despite their enduring popularity.

Nintendo. That single word, when spoken to the proper individual, can conjure up nostalgia in ways so few things can. Like smelling the scent of a pine tree brings about fond memories of Christmases past, or how eating candy corn can bring a grown man back to the age of six, just hearing the strange, three syllable word "Nintendo" can make those from Generation X and Y feel all sorts of warm and fuzzy inside.

That's because Nintendo represents childhood. During its domination of the video game industry during the late eighties and through most of the nineties, Nintendo was synonymous with 'care free', 'summer vacation', and most of all, 'fun'. I remember coming home from elementary school, plopping myself in front of my SNES and playing Super Mario RPG for what seemed like endless hours. There was no sense of time back then. It was just me, my controller, and a world of Nintendo's brilliant creations. Gleefully trapped in a vortex of imagination, adventure and joy. At the time, the company Nintendo didn't know what kind of power it was wielding. Sure, they understood that they were making a product and a lot of people were digging it. But there is no way they could have known the long term impact it would have on its loyal fans.

They most definitely know now. Walk into your local gaming store and head over to the Nintendo section. You will no doubt see the same characters and titles that populated the Big N's line-up almost 20 years ago. Super Mario, Metroid, Punch-Out, Zelda, Pokémon and many others still have a significant, if not overwhelming presence in the video gaming world. That says a lot, when one considers a modern, almost futuristic industry full of Master Chiefs, Solid Snakes and Gordan Freemans.

Metroid: The Other M is a recent example of Nintendo trawling through their limited cast of characters.

This seemingly absurd scenario has been explained with many theories, but no satisfactory answer. "Loyalty" is a popular one, where the forces of nostalgia and hegemony have supposedly diluted the aging gamer's mind into upholding older-style, less-superior products, all in the name of childhood memories. This may be a sociology students' dream thesis paper, but it's clearly just an outlandish claim made by uninformed members of the gaming community (although, if anyone does decide to use this as a topic for their thesis, give me a little "Thank You" in it somewhere, ok?)

The real reason Nintendo continues to utilize their ancient game franchises is because, for the most part, they have found a way to make them evolve. As new technology was developed and the possibilities for gameplay increased exponentially, Nintendo crafted its most successful franchises accordingly. Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time stand out as shining examples of how the threat of change did not stifle Nintendo, but helped them create a stronger product, and, to be quite honest, make lots and lots of money.

Which brings us to one of the most enigmatic stories in Nintendo's history: Pokémon. In the next installment, I will talk about why Nintendo's star franchise is failing to evolve, and is therefore one of the worst offenders when it comes to cashing in on nostalgia. Read Part 2: Why Pokémon is Failing to Evolve.

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Post Author: Christopher Price