Nintendo: A walk down gaming lane

It’s the moment that every reasonably serious gamer has been waiting for. Nintendo Switch has just come out with a trailer, and it’s the first bit of information they’ve released about their seventh ever gaming console.

So, maybe now would be a good time to walk down Nintendo’s memory lane. For those of you who love Nintendo, thank you for joining us on this wonderful journey

For those of you who don’t, your loss.

Believe it or not, Nintendo started out in 1889 as a card company with nothing to do in the gaming industry. Between 1956 and 1963, Nintendo tried all sorts of new ventures, including a taxi company, a TV network and a chain of love hotels. Unfortunately (or fortunately) all of these ventures had to be closed down.

In 1966, they moved towards the Japanese toy industry. Less than a decade later, Nintendo’s first venture into the gaming industry began with securing rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey video game console.

Then came the North American video game crash of 1983, hitting game consoles like Sega Atari, Commodore 64, in a devastating way. Then Nintendo came up with its first video game console, like a phoenix rising from the ashes: the Nintendo Entertaining System (NES) was born.

The NES was hugely successful and led the North American video game console to recovery.

And this is where our story starts. 

Besides, you know, revitalizing the entire gaming industry and single-handedly saving it, the NES helped Nintendo to establish a business with third-party game developers. This established Nintendo monopoly on the gaming industry.

In 2009, the Nintendo Entertainment System was named the single greatest video game console in history by IGN.

You already know this console’s popular games: Super Mario Bros. (1-3), The Legend of Zelda, Tetris and Duck Hunt.

The Super Nintendo (or SNES) introduced advanced graphics and sound capabilities. They surpassed Sega at the time.

The war between the Genesis and the SNES is said to be one of the most notable console wars in video game history. SNES came out on top as the best-selling console of the 16-bit era. This in spite of its relatively late start.

Capcom’s Street Fighter II and Donkey Kong Country without a doubt helped it win the war.

Other notable game titles are: Super Mario Kart, Starfox and Super Metroid.

*This era is responsible for why games are rated, because of the distinct gory differences in a game called Mortal Kombat. Sega’s version included dismembering of characters, while Nintendo’s did not.

The N64 was the last system to use cartridge games, and was now competing against Sony’s PlayStation.

Allow me to become a little biased now, because I can actually remember this console (being born in 1994). As a Nintendo fan through and through, I still have this console in my family’s household. 20 years later, and it still (for the most part) works.

The N64 was largely successful because of the innovative controller, and because it made/distributed some of the most iconic games. Most people will relate that this console was part of their childhood, as it was partly mine (I was 2 when it came out, come on). I still remember playing Mario Kart 64, especially battle balloon mode.

The iconic games I mentioned earlier are: Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Smash Bros.

Other notable games (only distributed by Nintendo) would be Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Banjo Kazooie.

The GameCube was the forefront of my childhood. It is behind almost every happy memory I have. The controller is still the most comfortable, the games the most memorable, and continues to be my favorite Nintendo console ever.

Unfortunately, many others did not see it this way and forwent the GCN in favor of the PS2 or the Xbox. It’s suggested that the GCN’s low sales were due to “lack of games” or lack of technical innovations.

Well, if that was your opinion you missed out on these amazing games: Super Mario Sunshine, Super Smash Bros. Melee (which is arguably the best Super Smash Bros. out of the entire series), Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (yours truly’s favorite game) and Luigi’s Mansion.

It also included games from Sega, such as Sonic Adventure 2 and Crazy Taxi.

Let me start this section by saying the Wii revolutionized the gaming world with motion control and was the platform that the PS Move and Xbox Kinect were based on.

With that being said, the Wii outsold the PS3 and Xbox 360, selling 101 million units, around 20 million units more than the Xbox and PS3 (separately).

Motion control was ground-breaking at this time, and this is why the Wii controlled sales. Wii Sports was the bestselling Wii game because it showed off the motion controls and was family-friendly. “Wii” sounds like “we” and it’s meant for everyone.

Other great games on the Wii were: Super Mario Galaxy (1 and 2), Wii Sports Resort (this came out when motion controllers were upgraded), New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (which also came out on the GameCube).

The Wii U is usually described as a poor system with great games.

The PS4 and Xbox One surpassed Wii U in sales. Some chalk this up to its unclear advertising, others to its poor lineup launch.

Even though sales eventually improved, saved once again by Nintendo’s games, the Wii U was not a success, because it was released at the wrong time, and neither the gamepad nor the console itself were properly explained.

Enjoyable games on this console are: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (originally made for the GameCube, and remastered for the Wii U), Super Mario 3D World, Splatoon and Super Mario Maker.

And now we have come full circle. I have high hopes for this console, the trailer has mostly everyone impressed and I’m just a fan, waiting for the result.

But have you seen that trailer?