In my mind, a Nintendo PlayStation could have been the penultimate console that could play cartridges and CDs, while including all of Nintendo's and Sony's best games. Of course, twas' just a dream, not meant to be, at least not in its original form. Outside of a prototype that was finally discovered a few years ago, the plans to release a Nintendo PlayStation plans were scrapped. Instead, Nintendo left Sony for Phillips, which would be one of the most stupidly idiotic decisions that Nintendo ever made.
In the early 90's, Nintendo had control over the video game market. With that great (Nintendo) power comes great responsibility. In terms of responsibility and sound decision-making, Nintendo critically failed when they gave Phillips the licenses to Mario and Zelda, resulting in the horrendous atrocities that were the Mario and Zelda CD-i games. Worst decision ever. Unforgivable.
The Phillips CD-i
What. The. Fuck.
Nintendo never speaks of this travesty. They speak of this less than they do of the Virtual Boy, or the fact that they have used conflict minerals in their products (okay, they never talk about this).
What was the Phillips CD-i? A sad, pathetic excuse of a video game console. This is what we got instead of the Nintendo PlayStation.
Courtesy of Wrestling With Gaming
How could Nintendo approve the creations and sales of Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and Zelda's Adventure? These games were absolute nightmares, cruel jokes, and hot garbage. The disgusting animations, terrible gameplay mechanics, and cringe-worthy voice acting could give anyone PTSD. Maybe some people think these games weren't that bad, evidence that people can be silly and that not all opinions are equal. At least we get to play as Zelda? No, not like this, please not like this.
Nintendo pretends that these games never existed. I mentioned in part 2 that Nintendo, for the most part, treated their franchises with respect. Other than Nintendo's neglect for certain franchises, the existence of the Phillips CD-i games makes the former claim incredibly difficult to defend.
To think that, instead, we could have had a Nintendo PlayStation...
At least Sony went on to make the PlayStation line of consoles following Nintendo's abandonment of the Nintendo PlayStation project in favor of the Phillips CD-i. Although Sony may have slipped with the launch of the PS3 and PS Vita, the original PlayStation and PS2 were two of the greatest consoles ever made, having sold 102.49 and more than 155 million consoles respectively. Compare these numbers to the relatively paltry 32.93 million and 21.74 million units sold for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, and it's clear that Nintendo suffered immensely for its poor decision to forego their working relationship with Sony. Even if Nintendo's portable consoles sold extremely well (Gameboy at 118.69 million and the DS at 154.02 million units sold), part of me will forever loathe Nintendo for allowing the Zelda Phillips CD-i games to have come to existence.
Nintendo's Tone-Deafness and Close-Mindedness
For better or for worse, Nintendo has always maintained a reputation of "doing their own thing." They pushed for motion controls over graphic fidelity, carts over CD-roms, and made a habit of ignoring what their fans want. Their consoles continue to lag behind Sony's and Microsoft's in terms of graphics, hardware capabilities, and online services. But all this has been said already.
According to Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo isn't concerned about what Microsoft and Sony are doing. Really? Apparently, their competitive mindset is "bigger." Fils-Aime states that Nintendo is competing with activities like web-browsing and movie-watching for entertainment time. A Mario movie appears to be in the works. Movies based on video games; that's always a great idea, right? Remember that Super Mario Bros. movie that came out in 1993?
To me, Reggie has always sounded like a politician. Politicians talk a lot but say very little, or they are excessively deceptive, hypocritical, and untrustworthy. I don't despise Reggie, but occasionally his responses to people's questions irritate me. His body might be ready, but some of the things he says are silly. He's a nice guy, for a corporate suit. He's a good mouthpiece for Nintendo, but he's no Satoru Iwata or Shigeru Miyamoto. He's a meme, and occasionally a broken record. It's still nice to see him, working hard, except when he's getting destroyed in Smash.
Nintendo always does what Nintendo does, which is why Sega used to do what Nintendon't.
Nintendo's success comes from its ability to adapt and learn from its past failures. Nonetheless, Nintendo has often struggled with finding the right balance between tradition and innovation. At times, they have been too conservative in terms of hardware, which led to the Nintendo 64's and GameCube's defeat at the hands of the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 when it came down to sales. Other times, Nintendo was avante-garde in their approach to controls and game design, leading to the overwhelming success of the Wii and DS. Then, Nintendo would flounder, lost and confused, as they were unable to effectively capitalize on new, unique, and underwhelming technologies such as 3D or a tablet controller that could serve as a second screen. The 3DS's poor launch (though it later made a comeback) and the Wii U's obsolescence are the results of Nintendo's recent endeavors prior to the Switch.
Mobile games? Absolutely not, was Nintendo's initial response, before they could no longer avoid the temptations or opportunities to make of millions of dollars from micro-transactions. Pokemon Go, Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp... perhaps Nintendo has eased back their obstinance and opened up their mind... to embracing more avarice. They're building amusement parks too!
Now the Switch seems to have recaptured Nintendo's former glory. Life is certainly full of ups and downs. However, their online service still leaves much to be desired, and they still depend on their first-party IPs too much to move console units. Most people only buy Nintendo consoles so they are able to play Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, and Pokemon. This has always been the case since the Nintendo 64, when the PlayStation had all the other cool games like Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil. Yet, Nintendo wants us to continue buying their products, while closing their ears to our complaints about the poor decisions they have made or their close-mindedness.
Nintendo fanboys, blinded by their love and devotion, fail to see Nintendo's flaws and foolishness. Critics of Nintendo, who constantly claim that Nintendo is doomed for one reason or another, that their games are just for kids, that the Wii U was a failure, and that prior decision to not enter mobile gaming was a death knell, don't faze Nintendo at all. As far as loyal fans go, those who clamor for new games, begging Nintendo to simply do better and give us what we want, and treat us right, for being such loyal fans for all these years...
Nintendo doesn't care. They won't listen. Or, more accurately, they'll pretend not to listen, or pretend to listen, sometimes, but not actually do anything based on feedback or constructive criticism until years later, if ever. Things take time, I suppose, and Nintendo will keep on "nintendoing" whatever the heck they want, in spite of what people desire or think.
Who cares about what the people— fans, critics, or otherwise— think so long as people keep buying Nintendo's products? Nintendo doesn't have to listen to us or pay attention to what other companies are doing. They can remain apathetic, pretending to care occasionally or lying about how much they actually care, and there isn't much reason for them to cease being ignorant or negligent. They make all the money; we give it to them. As such, they'll continue doing things however they want.
Final Comments
Do I feel more love or hate for Nintendo? One and the same? Passion without a doubt. Love and hate can drive one mad. You may fancy me mad, and I'll not deny it.
I'm mad. I'm mad that Nintendo didn't provide a better Virtual Console service or bother to maintain it after all these years, forcing people to re-buy games they already own. I'm mad that they delayed the GameCube release of Twilight Princess because of the Wii. I'm mad about motion controls being gratuitously forced into my games even when they don't work very well. I'm mad that the Nintendo PlayStation isn't a thing. I'm mad that the Switch only has like 3 hours of battery life. I'm mad that Nintendo preys on my nostalgia and desire to collect their products, siphoning my bank account of much-needed funds. I'm mad that Smash Bros. Brawl is such a bad game. I'm incredibly mad that the three Phillips CD-i Zelda games ever existed.
I'm also madly in love with Nintendo. It's like I'm trapped in an abusive relationship with a gold digger. Nintendo takes advantage of me, but I cannot help but love (and hate) Nintendo.
I love Zelda. I love Pokemon. Mario is fun. I love Metroid games. I love Smash Bros. I love Earthbound. Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger came out on the Super Nintendo. I love them. I love the Super Nintendo. I love the NES. I love 8-bit and 16-bit pixel art. I love Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64, even if the camera in these games suck. Despite their flaws, I hold fond memories of playing my Nintendo 64, Gamecube, and even the Wii and Wii U. Then there are the Gameboy and DS consoles— GBC, GBA, and 3DS included. Fun times. Good times. There are so many titles across all of Nintendo's consoles that I have sunk countless hours into. Many of my most joyful video gaming experiences and memories are thanks to Nintendo.
Here is a "short" list of some of my favorite games released on Nintendo consoles: Super Mario World/Bros. 3/RPG/64/Galaxy 1 + 2/Odyssey, Super Smash Bros., Super Mash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, Smash Ultimate, Super Metroid/Metroid Zero Mission/Metroid Fusion/Metroid Prime Trilogy, Xenoblade Chronicles, Donkey Kong Country 1+2, WarioWare, Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword/Awakening/Fates, Kirby Superstar, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Mega Man 2, Mega Man X, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Link's Awakening/Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask/Wind Waker/Twilight Princess/Link Between Worlds/Breath of the Wild, Pokemon Red/Blue/Gold/Silver/Crystal/Sun/Moon...
Whenever I recall how I felt while playing these games, my hate for Nintendo subsides.
Nintendo has the power to make people feel like children all over again. I can't hate Nintendo forever, but maybe I can love Nintendo forever, so long as they keep making great games and functional consoles.
I've dedicated so many hours and years of my life to playing Nintendo's games. I've given them so much money. I foresee myself continuing to buy and play Nintendo games, likely until the day I die.
Nintendo made Zelda, so that in itself makes them worth tolerating. Let's forget that the CD-i games ever existed.
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