When I stated playing video games it was simpler times. Games for the most part were 2d. Story lines where as simple as see monster kill monster. Controllers only had 2 buttons. I remember playing Mario with my sisters. I remember the Konami code helping me explore the various levels of games before I was skilled enough to get there myself. Ultimately video games were a simple action packed way to explore childhood fantasies. Nintendo was the main catalyzer of these experiences for me. Throughout my life Nintendo has supplied interesting areas to explore. As I got older I've found different ways to appreciate games. The stories got more adult as I did and the gameplay more complex. Ive expanded my gaming experience to Xbox and PC but Nintendo has always provided great experiences and I think they are more relevant than ever. Where action and bleeding edge graphics are all the rage we need interesting environments.This is an attribute that will always ensure a game is quality.
Consistently making enjoyable games seems like difficult task. Making games is technically difficult but just the creative idea can be challenging. I think this is the reason why graphics and other easier to define attributes of game creation are advertised. Its easier for a production company to tell their engineers that they need to make a game 4k than to say we need to make a game interesting. How do you ensure a game is interesting? How can you objectively measure character depth? You cant so instead we get advertisements that focus on hard numbers; 16 bit, 4 players, level generation with thousands of possibilities , etc. For graphics PC is the master race and always will be. For fun, interesting and unique experiences Nintendo is master race and has always delivered.
What makes a game great is like asking what makes a movie great. Do you like Michael Bay movies? Transformers is successful movie franchise always doing well at the box office but to many it is a cheesy action flick that is only a very vain example of what movies have to offer. I feel Call of Duty and many of the popular game franchises are in the same category.They are fun and action packed but not interesting and unique. Many like those types of movies and those type of games. A film evangelist knows that cinema has more to offer and a game evangelist knows that video games have more to offer than graphics and online capability. If Nintendo was a movie studio it would be Paramount Pictures. If Steven Spielberg was a game designer he would be Miayamoto. And if Indian Jones was a gaming character he would be Super Mario. Thankfully the art of video games provides for both audiences. This is why Nintendo stays as a leader in game development and why they are poised to have successful future.
As gamers are getting older we are looking for more from our games than just graphics and shallow attributes. If you are in this camp I encourage you to get the Nintendo switch a chance. Nintendo has always make interesting experiences and I don't expect them to stop. Not giving the Nintendo Switch a chance is similar to saying that you will not watch any movie that is not in IMAX 3D and doesn't have good quality CGI. Many of us like the older style slower paced story telling of movies and many of us like the interesting environments that Nintendo has provided. Nintendo has been consistent in supporting this genre of games and I dont expect them to stop anytime soon. If you think Nintendo's last good console was the N64 I would say you are not really a game enthusiast and not really a hard core gamer. We need a word like thespian to describe the people that want the most from this art and know that it has more to offer than gore and graphics. Thankfully gaming can provide the action too and like the different movie studios there are different consoles that specialize in different genres of content. We need to embrace them all as this only makes the art stronger.
The gaming medium still has a long ways to go because its potential is so far reaching. We have yet to get the gaming version of "Scarlet Letter"or "Romeo and Juliet". There is yet to be a game that captivates our emotions like the movie "Sent of a Woman" or "Slumdog Millionaire". That day will come and I think gaming medium has the potential to express the story of humanity better than any movie or book. But even when that day comes we will still need games for the children and for the action junkies. We will still need Nintendo to make the art with the style and quality that only it can. Gaming medium and community is robust. We are past fighting for scraps. We should demand quality products weather it be the latest open world RPG from Bethesda or the one off indie studio 3DS game. They do not have the same graphics technology or the same story variety but all can be enjoyable.
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