Three and a half years ago the gaming community was changed completely with the unveiling of the little white box known as the Nintendo Wii. Everyone was talking about it during E3 and it was apparent from Nintendo’s standpoint that the Wii might actually be able to carry them out of the mudslide they found themselves in with every new generation of home gaming consoles. Part 1 of this 3 part series will talk about the things that Nintendo has done wrong and / or right during this generation of gaming, and even where they might need to go next. (In Part 2 I will talk about Third Party Developers, and in Part 3 I will talk about the gaming community as a whole.) So without further a-due I give to you: Exploring the Nintendo Wii (Part1 of 3) -

Ever since I was 6 years old I was trained, just like so many other gamer my age, to look forward to the next Mario game, or to save up for the Nintendo console first, and then worry about the other consoles as you either 1) get more money or 2) they come down in price. At least that was what I always thought, and it wasn’t until I got into college that I learned the shocking truth; the number of Nintendo console buyers was decreasing exponentially over the period of Nintendo’s life and 3rd party developers were running away from Nintendo like they where the black plague after the whole N64 vs Ps1 fiasco. (Yes the Gamecube came out right as I was starting college) With the success of the Nintendo DS it was only a matter of time before Nintendo used what they had learned from their hand-held systems and translated these ideas to their home console market. The biggest problem that Nintendo faces today is that they aren’t evolving from the success of the wii, and with it they might just find themselves in Sony’s shoes 5 years from now. Let me explain:

1) Nintendo: Why does it seem that you could care less about anybody but yourself?

As a Public Relations Professional I am utterly appalled by the way your present yourself to everyone else in the world. Over the last 3 years you have gone from best in show to laughable at E3, you have shown a lack of support for 3rd party software, and you have even become reclusive in the information you present to the public.

Let’s start with E3, the pinnacle of all things Video Games in the world, and most importantly one of the only mediums Nintendo announces new games at. 3 years ago Nintendo came away with almost every “best in show” award and wowed everyone with a constant stream of reveals and insights into their new console that would ultimately become the most sought after gaming console of this generation. Every year since then Nintendo has failed in the presentation department of E3, between a lackluster and completely laughable 2008 showing to the slow paced and “more sales figures than video games” approach of 2009. It’s because of these presentations that little by little Nintendo is becoming what I would consider the little black sheep of the gaming industry, and gamers everywhere are even starting to feel embarrassed that they actually own a Nintendo Wii! 3 Years ago when I was standing in front of the Video Game store waiting for the shipment of the Wiis to arrive; and I was proud of the hardware I was about to buy! Nowadays I’m still very proud of my Wii and the games that I own for it, but there is a slight bit of dread that comes with the Nintendo Wii every time I see “party” games outselling great Third Party games or Nintendo themselves marketing one of their mini game, games, to the general public and completely forgetting about other titles such as the “Metroid Prime Trilogy”.

Dear Nintendo:   We all know you have made a lot of money this generation and all we ask is that you help out your Third Party developers a bit more, and start paying attention to the core gamers who have stuck with you since the NES days. I know it might seem like we left you years ago, but the Gamecube still sold over 20 million units, and we were still here holding your hand as you made it back to the top. We don’t want the Third Party Developers to leave you again, we like having games like “The Crystal Bearers” and “Epic Mickey” on the wii and we want these games to stay.

So I guess what we the gamer are trying to say is – help your Third Party Developers a bit more, so that we (your core fans) don’t find ourselves stuck in another Gamecube Generation once the Wii has run it’s course. I want to see franchises like Mass Effect or Metal Gear Solid to find a home in a Nintendo Console, and I want to see you succeed, but if you keep up your current approach to the Nintendo Wii, you might just find yourself in Sega’s shoes after your next Generation.

2) Transparency

Ok Reggie I’m calling you out! Every year you say you read what the players want from forums and other mediums, and year after year it seems as if you fall farther and farther away from reality. Every word out of your mouth has to go through my “Spin Filter” because it seems as if everything you say isn’t completely the truth, or you seriously don’t care about anything but the money anymore. I believe it was Iwata who said recently that he feels that Nintendo failed when it comes to First Party games and getting them out in order to sell more Wiis. I believe the problem Nintendo is facing right now is a Marketing Division in the United States that doesn’t understand what the Gamers want, and any time they do open their mouth it almost seems as if they aren’t listening at all! Here’s an excellent idea that might just blow your mind: Step aside Reggie and Cammie, and let the younger generation present your vision and goals from now on. The gaming industry as a whole seems to be forgetting what we enjoy seeing at things like E3 or Nintendo Press Conferences, Energetic individuals who truly care about the gamer and the community they are presenting too!

Every year I watch the Nintendo presence at Media Conferences, and year after year I think about how so many of my friends could do so much better than the Reggie / Cammie duo. Somewhere along the line it feels like you lost your gamer mentality Reggie, and we as gamers can feel it every time a camera is placed in front of you, or whenever you have one on one interviews with others. I want the old Nintendo back where you walked out on stage and everyone cheered because “Our Hero the Regginator” has returned to us and is going to prove once again why Nintendo is the stuff of dreams! Nowadays it seems as if  Miyamoto is the only one with that power anymore and we must wait on him to ever hear something that isn’t chalk full of “media spin”.

Stop acting defensive and tell us what you know – Work with the gamers to create a Nintendo that can rival the SNES days – Listen to what we have to say because this might surprise you, but we actually know what we are talking about sometimes. Show us more transparency in the decisions of Nintendo of America, and listen to us when we might just say something that you don’t like because farther down the line it might come in handy to know how we feel!

3) In Conclusion

With success comes a lot of criticism, and for the most part it seems that a lot of people dislike the name Nintendo this generation. The truth is, the wii is successful because Nintendo has done more things right than wrong this generation; but just because you are successful does not mean you can’t learn from your mistakes and get better. The Wii has really brought a lot of niche developers to it’s doorstep, and with it a lot of great games that I couldn’t have enjoyed had you gone a different route this generation. The Wii is a great console, and with the Christmas Holidays and 2010 looking like the best years for the Nintendo Wii, I am excited about the future of this console!

One day we will all look back at how the wii changed gaming as we know it, but how much is Nintendo willing work towards a  change in their own egotistical mentality?

Part 2 is up at: http://anothertomorrow.net/?p=106