Originally posted by CS2x
Nintendo\'s past ethics and monopolization of videogames are the sole reason videogames on consoles have taken so long to evolve in their content. Compare console game themes to PC game themes and you\'ll see what I\'m speaking of. It wasnt until the N64 that Nintendo realized it had to change in order to compete, and it was Sega that first started pushing the envelope for adult content in videogames back in the Genesis days. If Nintendo had their way, no gamer over 18 would play videogames. Or in Myamoto\'s words, "TRUE gamers are around 15." Thank God Myamoto doesnt run the company, because his newest efforts would cause Nintendo to fall on their arse, IMO. It looks like 2nd and 3rd parties are gonna carry Nintendo this go around.
If you think I\'m flaming Nintendo, its because I am. 
Nintendo is changing because it has to, not because it wants to.
Thankyou.....
First of all, I would like to go on record and say that Nintendo is
not changing, at least not internally. Their priorities and even their methods are consistent with their past dealings. The only way they have changed is by embracing others who will do the change for them. The internal Nintendo teams, EAD, Intelligent Systems, NCL, etc are all working on the same kinds of games that they have historically worked on.
Yes, their past ethics and monopolization of the industry in the 8 and 16 bit eras were definitely issues that needed to be dealt with. Unfortunately, they failed to do so for the 32/64 bit era, but they seem to have wisened up significantly. No more "dream team" exclusivity demands, 3rd party friendly licensing policies and storage media, a more thorough yet also more open approach to 3rd parties, etc.
Furthermore, by surrounding themselves with talented 2nd parties, like RareWare, NST, Retro Studios, Silicon Nights, Left Field Studios, NDCube, etc, they are pretty much guaranteeing that we will see quality titles of those kinds of games that Nintendo
has not historically dealt with (Conker, Eternal Darkness, etc.), all the while leaving their own internal 1st party teams free to develop more of the classics. Also, recently it has been reported that Nintendo will proceed with an aggressive new plan to support and fund many smaller Japanese development studios, in hopes of unlocking more talent and potentially explosive ideas, like Pokemon. Even if they do not uncover another phenomenon like Pokemon, who\'s to say what unique gems may come out of these quiet and small developers once Nintendo brings them under its wings?
Now, if you look back in the good old days of the SNES (best. system. ever.) and Genesis, you could notice that their 3rd party support was almost equally varied and numerous. Why then did Nintendo "win" that generation? Because their 1st party titles were, historically, more successful than Sega\'s. Now, I love my Phantasy Stars, and Shining Forces, Sonics, and whatnot, but they really could not compare with titles like Mario World, Yoshi\'s Island, Zelda - A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and others. To say that Nintendo "held" the industry back by not providing more "mature" content is simply foolish. There were other companies out there who were pushing more mature content and they did so quite successfully.
In fact, one of those others companies was Nintendo themselves. Super Metroid, Super Famicom Wars, Mother, Fire Emblem, these are all extremely "non kiddy" (to use the popular but oh so inaccurate terms). You may not be familiar with some of these franchises, mainly due to the fact that most of them were never localized, but they represent a side of Nintendo that has always been around since the beginning, and is still alive and kicking today!
I truly hate the terms "mature" and "kiddy" simply due to the fact that they are so misleading. Zelda has always kinda been in between these two "labels" but most Nintendo bashers would equate the franchise as kiddy on sheer principle alone. While there is no doubt that games like Mario are orientated towards youthful audiences, it is not exclusively geared towards them. Such titles are uniquely designed to appeal to both children and adults. Mario and Zelda are franchises that cater to all audiences, but none exclusively. Children can pick up any Mario and Zelda title and have a ball, and adults can do likewise (and frequently do) and still be amazed and challenged. That is the "Nintendo" element, that you may read, hear, or even scoff about.
As far as innovation goes, just look at the history of the industry. Nintendo was solely responsible for resurrecting the industry after the early 80\'s crash and near demise of gaming. They have pioneered the majority of significant gaming genres we take for granted today, and reinvented many of those same genres more recently, in the third dimension. You could say that in many respects, Nintendo has consistenly pioneered the way we play games in general!
And frankly, as a gamer, I do not see this changing at all. I would not recommend anyone trust Nintendo to fulfill
all of their gaming needs, or even most. That would depend on the gamer in question. However, to alienate yourself from
all of their titles on sheer misinformation or misguied ideals, that would be sad. Many of you may gripe about the next
Celda game in development, but no one (media, majority of gamers, etc) truly doubts that Nintendo will fail to provide what they have consistently given us in the past... simply fun gameplay.
