|
Gaming, In My Opinion What would you say is Nintendo’s secret? The reasons that they’ve made so much cash, and are still going strong? Is it their complete domination over the handheld market? The money they earned in the Golden Era of SNES/NES games? The millions they earned from Pokemon? Well, it’s probably all of these, particularly that last one, but I’ve recently understood another element to Nintendo’s success. Either I’m incredibly slow on the uptake, or this secret is not immediately obvious, despite it being so prominent in Nintendo’s marketing strategies. It’s been especially apparent during this current generation, since the launch of the GBA. The secret is Nostalgia. The trouble is that gamers age. Many games don’t but the gamers who play them do. This probably applies more to those who played the NES and the SNES just before they entered the teenage years, since anyone younger lacked the skill that those consoles required. Those gamers are now adults, and a few will not have continued to buy the new consoles. Some may have bought an dilapidated Super Nintendo off e-Bay (like my cousin), but others now consider themselves above buying computer games. A great deal, of course, will still be keeping up to date with Nintendo’s production. Chances are that you who are reading this may have been one of those pioneering gamers who sat tied to their NES, battling through the original The Legend of Zelda, at a youngish age. I was among you, but I was too young and too rubbish to get past World 3 of Super Mario Bros 3. Chances are that you are now reading this, trying to untangle yourself from a Gamecube, Playstation or Xbox controller – unless you have a wavebird of course. You probably look back on those days with fond memories, comparing the latest releases to those gold-filled cartridges. It’s not a bad thing. We all do it. Nintendo seemed to have realised that gamers are getting older. Rather than jumping on the bandwagon and bringing out more mature titles (if by mature, you mean gory, bloody and filled to the brim with the f-word), they’ve taken a different approach. Nintendo have delved into their back catalogue and released their greatest hits of old for those who remember them. This is actually one of the primary differences between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo; Nintendo actually has a back catalogue. Quite a large one in fact. The only companies with a back catalogue comparable to Nintendo’s is Sega, who now only make games, and Atari, who come and go more than someone with piles. That’s kind of tasteless, so I’ll move on. On paper, playing the nostalgic back catalogue card is a smart move. It fuels gamers need for a reminder of the good old days and reminds them why they’ve stuck with Nintendo for almost two decades. It entices those that haven’t played a new console yet, and want a gentle, familiar introduction to the current generation of games, promising them the same memories of games past. Or it brings back those whose e-Bay SNES doesn’t work. And, of course, it earns more money from those who have stuck with Nintendo through the years. Mega wonga then. This has been effectively implemented. The GBA was launched with the first of the infamous Super Mario Advance series, which currently consists of four previous NES/SNES Mario titles. Aside from the rather crappy Super Mario Bros. 2, these have been brilliant, and have featured the classic Mario Bros. title, for multiplayer action – no matter what title you have. Personally, I think this idea is criminally underused. The only other games to incorporate a link over several titles are the Pokemon titles. How about a system where you can transfer old weapons from previous Zelda titles into new ones? Wouldn’t it be great to use the transforming masks of Termina in The Wind Waker? Or something. The use of nostalgia is also present in the two Gamecube bonus discs, both of which feature Zelda: Ocarina of Time. While these are nice bonuses (not to mention being incredible freebies), the nostalgia effect isn’t quite the same; OOT and MM are only roughly five years old. Plus, the NES Zelda titles have been circling the world in the form of emulation for a while now (I know you shouldn’t use it but so many people do). Finally, of course, to promote the rather snazzy new NES style GBA SP, you can now buy old NES games for your Game Boy Advance – they hardly push our handheld wonder to extremes, but it’s nice in a nostalgic way. As effectively used the nostalgia is, it does show a little lack of imagination. The Super Mario Advance series could have been cut down a little by simply releasing Super Mario All-stars at the beginning. The fact that there are now two copies of Ocarina of Time for Gamecube (three if you include Master Quest) is a bit unimaginative; as I said, the game is just over five years old, and the two copies can’t even share the same save file. The NES classics series, though boasting the best titles for the original Nintendo home console, features a few titles already made available in the past few years; PacMan is available on the Cube, Donkey Kong was ‘hidden’ in the ape’s N64 outing, Super Mario Brothers was released on Game Boy Color, and the Legend of Zelda is already available on the collector’s edition disc (and through emulation). Having said that, my view is that of a gamer who has quite a few of these promotions (and, I’m sorry to say, a few emulated classics – don’t hate me!). There are bound to be thousands of people for whom this deal is a must-have, the best way to be reminded of those times past. And, of course, the more dedicated Nintendo gamers will no doubt want to buy as many of these as possible, simply to say they have them. I scoured e-Bay and stole my cousin’s account in order to get the collector’s edition. Mega wonga then. The truth is, Nintendo can afford to be unimaginative because people will buy their classics, desperate for a reminder of the times when Bigger, Better, More was not a necessary element of each game. It’s a shrewd move, marketing-wise, and though the packages are unimaginative, it’s a more imaginative strategy of bringing more gamers under Nintendo’s spell, rather than just price-dropping to keep up (or should that be down?) with the competition. Let’s face it, there is definitely a shift back to retro gaming. Age-old classics, from coin-ops to 16-bit masterpieces are looked upon fondly now, and with good reason. As you were battling through the original, blank wastelands of Hyrule, did you imagine that in a decade (give or take a few years), the series would still be going strong? I realise there wasn’t much of a point to this month’s column, but I just wanted to have a ramble about the rejuvenation of our old favourites. Right now, I’m off to play Super Mario 3. |