Feature: Nintendo under fire: A history of adversity Subscribe to this RSS feed

Two Screens:

Two screens and a stylus?! What was this? A kiddie PDA? A throwback to Game & Watch? Nope. It was Nintendo's next handheld. Early reports panned the DS as two screens was a horrible idea and a niche product that would keep fanboys busy until the next GBA materialized. Little did anyone know how well the DS would take off. With a lackluster library in the beginning, it was slow going, but when the games started to roll in, the DS really hit its stride. The touch screen allowed new creative, intuitive, and innovating games for handheld, and attracted a whole new set of gamers.

The Name:

Before the Wii, Nintendo's newest console was known as the Revolution. Everyone liked the name, as it encapsulated what Nintendo's next console was all about. Weeks before it's unveiling last year, Nintendo released a statement changing the name to Wii. Everyone made their puns, jokes, and pitiful attempts at potty humor directed and the change, but wii've now realized, a little over a year later, that it's all about the game, not the name.

Motion Sensing:

Officially unveiled at TGS 05, Nintendo presented a remote, a single analog attachment and announced it could detect movements. The gaming industry was in shock again. Traditional gamers complained that they didn't want to move around and calling it more Nintendo gimmickry. After a quick and red hot start, the Wii is selling and still the demand has not gone down over 6 months. It's still to early to determine the staying power of motion sensing, but we'd be surprised if Nintendo couldn't keep this amazing run going.

The Hardware:

Nintendo was harshly scrutinized as gamers bemoaned the Wii's hardware compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3. Most claimed that the Wii was nothing more than "two Gamecubes duct taped together," drawing comparisons that it was not as powerful as the original Xbox. Reggie Fils-Aime stated that the Wii was not next generation, but a new generation on focusing on a new way to play. Criticism towards the Wii was that games will look old and dated compare to the Xbox 360 and PS3 once developers start to utilize both of the consoles abilities. It's been only under a year since the Wii came out, and only time will tell how well the system ages amongst graphically superior competition.

Poorly Made Ports:

Nintendo's finally getting quantitative third party support. Now the company just needs some good games from its third parties. It's not really Nintendo's fault as third party developers jumped aboard the Wii bandwagon as they did with the DS and produced poorly made ports. Capcom put time and effort in Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, why not other developers? Ubisoft admitted that they were poorly porting games onto the Wii which is nice to see they are admitting to the fact. Still early to analyze anything, but more than likely it seems that developers will develop better games as they become familiar with the Wii's controller.

Friend Codes:

Oh gawd, the dreaded codes. Wii and DS owners have long voiced their dislike about Nintendo's ubiquitous online ID's. Wouldn't it be easier to be identified by a name or screen name instead of being known as 2749-1217-8236-5462? Currently that's what Nintendo has in place but with the company's recent track record of righting wrongs, we'd be surprised if some significant improvements weren't made. This is becoming a bizarre reoccurance, but EA's doing the right thing with Madden 08 and getting rid of friend codes for the game.

Wiitis:

Apparently people become sore from playing the Wii. Traditional gamepad gamers are citing the pain as their reason for avoiding motion controls Are people that out of shape? It's not really Nintendo's fault Wiitis exists as much as it is the lazy gamers who aren't used to physical exertion.

Nintendo has taken harsh criticism over the years and we don't expect it to stop since everyone seems to be a critic now. Nintendo has proved themselves time and time again. We all criticized them, doubted them, but yet they proved us wrong. It's as almost as if they thrive on it. Analog, force feedback, wireless, touch screen, motion sensing... over 20 years in the business, the company has been credited for saving the industry, seen the rise and fall of companies, and been through its own ups and downs. Think any criticism is gonna keep them down?