Nintendo, You Have Almost Lost Me

I wanted the Nintendo press event for this year's E3 to settle in my mind, give it a couple of days to sink in. Just like it's not a good idea to drive angry, I didn't want to type angry either. But I can't shake this bad taste in my mouth. Nintendo, the company that I cut my teeth on as a gamer over twenty years ago, seems to have lost sight of what it means to keep me among the faithful. By the end of their press event, I had decided that there was no reason to ever buy a Wii.

Shigeru Miyamoto is a man that I, as well as the industry, has held in the utmost esteem. He has brought us Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong, Starfox, Mario Kart... too many classic franchises to count. These are among the greatest games of all time. And there in lies the problem: these were games. With the Wii, Nintendo, and therefore Miyamoto (or maybe it's vice versa), has shifted their entire focus. This new focus does not include me.

The casual games market is huge. Success in this sector will guarantee massive financial gain. But for a company who has innovated at nearly every turn with hardware and software, elevated our past time to a level above most other forms of entertainment, has performed an about face on core gamers and will bring us, as their next big thing, WiiFit.

The Wii has been a huge disappointment for me personally. Zelda was not as great as I believed it could have been, there has been mini-game compilation after mini-game compilation and third party support has been lackluster at best. I had faith that Nintendo had it in them to not forget about us, the hardcore gamer, and announce some great things for the future. What I got was a plastic peripheral that looks more at place in a step aerobics class than in front of a game console. I am all for the social responsibility that comes from creating media that is largely immobile, but I get my exercise outdoors. I want to be entertained when I sit on the couch, not trained.

I still have high hopes for Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Galaxies. Unfortunately, my relationship with Nintendo is on the rocks and, frankly, I don't see us having much of a future.