Nintendo, as a company, is a stinking genius. Think of it this way, when you were a young kid, how many of you really saved all your pennies and bought a gaming console yourself? I sure as hell didn\'t. My SNES, NES, and Coleco Vision were all bought by my parents. I know that when they went to the store to get them, they went with the most family oriented titles as well. However, they did cave in when I asked for specific games over lengthy periods of time with the biggest example being Street Fighter which retailed for a good 65 dollars when it came out.
When someone asks me what system they should buy for their kids, the first thing I ask them is how old they are. For example, my uncle has two daughters with a third child (sex has yet to be determined) on the way. Their ages are 5 and 7. My response to his question as soon as he asked, although he is most familiar with the Sony brand name when it comes to consoles, was to buy a GameCube for them. I told them that a Sony and Microsoft system was not for them and that a Dreamcast would be nice as a super-cheap way to start them in on videogames.
The following question he asked was "why?" Simple.
Price. With a house payment, 3 kids, and car payments, my uncle needs a cheap solution for his kids. With a 199 price point, it\'s tough to beat.
Complexity. We all remember how much trouble some people had with just operating the PS2. I can only imagine how they will react to the X-Box. The GameCube has one medium of software that it supports with four simple controller ports. 3 kids plus my uncle himself being an avid gamer, it\'ll be fun to watch him get beaten by his own kids.
Games. When it comes to quality, and family entertainment, who better than Nintendo? To demonstrate my uncle\'s version of family ethics, Jurassic Park III, although very low key in the violence department, is "much too scary for my kids." From that, you can guess just how easy it was to choose a console for them.
Now after all that, what would I choose for my budding young children when they are old enough to understand games? Nintendo. I would put a Nintendo console in my kid\'s room over any other console that will be avialable in the next 12 years. That is to say, if consoles are fundamentally the same in that time.
So, after all that spiel, what\'s my point?
I\'m but a single person, among millions, who think the same way and want the same things. That\'s why Nintendo will continue to do well so long as they keep doing what we all love. I felt the N64 was a very poor system, but that didn\'t stop it from selling about 30 million units now did it? 30 million units, high game sales, despite few games being made, great console manufacturing with little to no hardware defects, and very very small issues with pirating. I\'d say that about 29 million of those units were legit sales and the people went on to buy quite a few games in those 4 years. Obviously, people were happy with what they bought and the company itself will continue to do well.
Nintendo. The last console manufacturer and game designer that remains a sure bet with the casual, hardcore, and young gamers alike.
