With the Switch
Nintendo intends to start a new chapter in their company history. You
can clearly see this when looking at the way the console is presented
and marketed. It's a new and fresh concept for young adults. Hardly
do you ever see kids in the videos for the console. The Switch seems
to be aimed at the young, urban adults, and so this begs the
question. Does Nintendo need to grow up to attract this crowd?
While, as so
often, there is no easy answer to that question I think it it's
worthwhile to take a look and discuss this topic. Because for a long
time this has been one of the most prevalent criticisms thrown at
Nintendo. They need to grow up.
But... do they?
It's an undeniable
fact that a good chunk of Nintendos audience is in their mid thirties
now. People who grew up with the NES and SNES. Even I, who grew up
during the N64 era, is now in the midst of their twenties. But it is
also a fact that Nintendo is still highly popular with todays kids.
Even the Boss of Sony, Kaz Hirai, said that Nintendo is important for
the videogame business because it often is still the first contact
children have with the medium. So Nintendo is still the company that
brings people to play videogames.
So, as always with
these posts, let us take a look at the positive and negative aspects
of Nintendo growing up.
It's time to grow up:
Nintendo has one
of the most loayal fanbases around. Even the Wii-U, which basically
appealed only to Hardcore Nintendo fans, sold 13.56 Million Units.
And you can see how dedicated these fans are on the basis of the
systems software numbers. Mario Kart 8 sold 8.26 Million Times on the
System. That is an insane attach rate of 61%. No other console
manufacturer can hope to come close to this numbers. But are those
hardcore fans truly enough? As we have seen via the Wii-Us failure
the answer is a clear no. Nintendo can't be satisfied with only
selling to ten million people, while their competition pulls on five
or even ten times these numbers.
It is a fact that
many of todays gamers grew up with either SEGA or Nintendo. And even
though they moved on they still have fond memories of those
companies. And that is the point. They moved on but Nintendo didn't.
They grew up and changed their tastes in gaming. And while they
probably still enjoy a session of Mario Kart or a round of Mario
Party this is not enough to warrant the purchase of a console, which
doesn't offer anything else to them. And even though the Switch is
clearly marketed towards those age groups, it doesn't look like it
fixes the core problem. What shall these people play after they
purchased the Switch?
It's quite simple.
As long as Nintendo won't grow up, it won't get back those customers.
Luckily there are two ways to achieve that goal. The first is the
obvious one. Nintendo needs to produce more adult oriented games. The
purchase of the Fatal Frame (Project Zero) IP and their partnership
with Platinum and Nintendo was a step in the right direction. But
it's not enough. Nintendo needs to step out of their comfort zone and
start producing more than just Jump'n'Runs. Where is the Uncharted or
Halo equivalent from them? Where are the big and adult oriented Open
World titles like Horizon? In todays environment you need to WOW
people to garner any interest in your product. And to achieve that
Nintendo needs to produce some classic AAA-Games.
Another way of
achieving that goal, and the more likely alternative, is the
strengthening of 3rd Party developers on your platform.
They tried this with the Wii-U, although rather halfhearted, and now
try it again with the Switch. Skryim Extended edition is a good
start, but hardly enough. For Nintendo to truly succeed they need
FIFA, Madden and Call of Duty. And they need the full versions of
these games. Not watered down ports without DLC.
So what speaks in
favor of growing up? Well Nintendo could extend it's userbase a lot
beyond their current Nintendo faithful. They would attract people,
who still have fond memories of their childhood with Nintendo, but
have grown out of those style of games. A mature Nintendo would be
able to to compete with Sony and Microsoft.
But...
Child at heart:
Do we truly want
that? If Nintendo were to ''grow-up'' there is no doubt that they
would become just another Sony/Microsoft. Right now Nintendo is the
only competitor left in the field that does something truly unique.
Now this is not an attack directed at Sony or Microsoft. They are
great console manufacturers, but two companies aiming in that
direction is more than enough.
Right now Nintendo
is the only company that still makes games that can be enjoyed by all
age groups. Yes they tend to be bright and colorful, but there is
nothing wrong with a little color in your life. Nintendo should keep
this attitude because right now they are the only company offering
gaming experiences for people, who aren't into gaming. Mario Kart or
Super Mario 3D World can be played with your children, younger
cousins/siblings or girl/boyfriend. They have an universal appeal.
And this appeal would be lost if they concentrated on mature games
from now on.
Also this would
mean that Nintendo has to enter the graphics race. I don't say this
to devalue these games, but graphics are the main selling point for
most adult oriented AAA-Games nowadays. It's where the focus in
marketing lies and all they talk about during e3 and similar shows.
To compete with
these games or get them on your system you need strong hardware. And
while the Switch is a clear step up from the Wii-U and pretty
powerful, she is not on the level of the PS 4 Pro or even the regular
PS 4.
So instead of
fighting a fight, which they can't win (or would be very costly)
Nintendo should instead focus on their core strength. Fun for the
whole Family.
This also doesn't
mean they can't make mature games. Take Metroid Prime as an example.
The Game got a PEGI 12 age rating. This means a lot of younger
Nintendo fans could still play this title, but I think only adult
gamers truly appreciated the genius of this game. It is the perfect
example of a mature game and atmosphere without relying on violence
and gore. Metroid Prime offers everything other ''adult'' games
offer, just without (red) blood. It has a deep and dark story, an
unparalleled atmosphere and excellent gameplay.
Nintendo doesn't
need to grow up, because it already was from the very start. Over the
course of the years they often managed to give us deep and meaningful
storys and games without sacrificing them on the altar of the brown
color palette. Games like Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door or
Majoras Mask tell deep and dark stories which only adults will fully
grasp. Metroid always has a dark and lonely atmosphere and builds
threatening worlds for you to explore.
And stop wishing
for a dark Mario Game... it already happened... several times.
So what are your
thoughts on this topic? Let me know in the comments.
And as always
thanks for reading
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