Nintendo’s Next-Generation Gamble

Those who have read the slowly-developing news about the Nintendo Revolution know that the system is not what most would expect from a gaming system, but it is what many would expect from Nintendo. Building off the success of the Nintendo DS, whose popularity took many by surprise, the Revolution has features that have never been used in a common gaming device. The controller is more reminiscent of a television remote than a standard game pad and includes motion sensing technology. By interacting with a small sensor placed near any television, the Revolution can sense any movement the player makes with the controller.

Many developers see the new controller as a fresh way for players to interact with their games. In a video released by Nintendo, players are shown swinging the controller as if it were a sword or baseball bat. In other scenes, players are shown using the controller to chop ingredients for cooking or use a dentist’s drill. The possibilities of the new remote-style controller are limited only to the developers’ imaginations.

Despite the imaginative game play methods, many people fear Nintendo’s direction. The “non-gamers”, people who do not currently play video games, are becoming increasingly important to the company. Games such as Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, and Brain Training seek to expand Nintendo’s consumer base. Many of these “non-games” have seen great success in attracting new players outside of the standard young male gamer. Nintendogs alone sold over 250,000 copies within one week of its release.

If the games are innovative and more people are playing them, you may ask why some fans are concerned in Nintendo’s strategy. The fear is not from expanding into new markets, but the possibly of alienating the original fans. If Nintendo diverts its attention to making Nintendogs, will the production of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess suffer as a result? After all, the company does not have unlimited resources.

Aside from Nintendo’s own first-party titles, some question the possibility of playing traditional titles on Nintendo Revolution. How is one to play a complex fighting game on a controller that is held vertically and has a limited number of buttons? How can the player execute an intricate skating move on a controller unlike any of its predecessors?

In general, I feel that these fears are not well-founded. Nintendo has given developers the option to take advantage of the new interface or instead develop for a “shell” which has the layout of a standard controller. Either way, the controller allows the precise motion sensing abilities. In this sense, Nintendo offers more control options than its competitors.

Nintendo has always been a gaming company. The original Game Boy brought us portable gaming, yet consoles are still being made. The Nintendo 64 brought us three-dimensional gaming ten years ago, yet the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS are host to hundreds of two-dimensional games. As Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Reggie Fils-Aime stated, Nintendo is an “and” company, not an “or” company.

When the world first saw the graphical stylings of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, many people, myself included, scoffed at its cartoon-like look. We knew what we wanted and Nintendo did not deliver. Near the game’s release, the reviewers were giving their opinion on the game and to my surprise, the graphical style was mentioned as one of the best aspects of the game. Soon after I bought my own copy of the game and I was sold. The art style was magnificent. The point of my story is that Nintendo sometimes knows gaming better than its customers. I am not saying that their views need to shape your own, but they do what they are doing. Give them a chance and you might be surprised.

Nintendo built the now-standard paradigm of gaming. It has been over 20 years since Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States and introduced to us the first modern gaming controller. Two decades later, the industry needs another revolution.

Alex is the program director of Apex Radio Broadcast, a weekly comedic Internet radio show.