Internet is swarming with reactions to the Nintendo Switch these days. These reactions come in all shapes and sizes and levels of intensity, ranging from gamers screaming gloom and doom while frothing at the mouth to starry-eyed gamers finding no flaw whatsoever with the system, with the vast majority of us standing somewhere in the middle and professing our interest for the Switch while confessing our worries regarding its future performances.
But no matter the intensity and nature of reactions, some gamers out there seem to have a very deep and intense love for Nintendo; a love that goes way beyond your average appreciation of your favourite console manufacturer. This is the kind of love that makes people utter sentences such as "I really
want Nintendo to succeed" or "We
have to support Nintendo and make sure the Switch is a success by purchasing it en masse" or even "The gaming industry
needs a thriving Nintendo". Apart from their seemingly boundless devotion to the Big N, these vocal gamers have another thing in common: the vast majority of them hail from North-America. And while they cannot mention Nintendo's possible retirement from the console manufacturing industry without tearing up, European gamers usually just shrug at the idea and let out a wistful sigh, saying "Sure, that's sad
— but hey,
c'est la vie". These vastly different reactions confirm my long-running hunch that North-America and Europe nurture drastically different perceptions of Nintendo.
In North-America, the Big N is more than a mere console manufacturer: it's a gaming institution. In fact, the very surname "Big N" hails straight from the USA. The story is the stuff of legend: Nintendo came up with the NES in 1986 and single-handedly revived the gaming industry, which lay in shambles after the horrendous Video Game Crash of 1983. Nintendo actually did more than just revitalize the moribund North-American gaming industry: they somehow recreated it from scratch by introducing innovations that still perdure to this day, such as the D-Pad or the idea of bundling a game with brand-new consoles. (How ironic that they giving up on these concepts with the Switch; but I digress.) They took center stage right from the NES' release and became the king of the gaming hills, basking in unparalleled domination from 1985 to 1995. Sure, Sega of 16-Bit Console Wars fame rocked their boat somehow in the early '90s; but despite their legendary boldness and aggressive marketing, Kalinske's teams only ever managed to topple Nintendo temporarily
— not to mention that they were always seen as the outsider challenging the top dog rather than Nintendo's equals. Nintendo was so encompassing and ubiquitous in North-America that the brand's name basically became synonymous with gaming
— with a capital G. A whole generation of gamers grew up sitting in front of a TV with an NES controller in hand and owe their childhood gaming memories to Nintendo exclusively. No wonder, then, that these gamers do not want The Big N to retire from the gaming landscape; because if Nintendo goes down the drain, so do their cherished childhood gaming memories. I can fully understand why North-American gamers who were introduced to gaming by the NES are clinging so desperately to the hope that Nintendo will endure against all odds. Because somewhere deep in their minds, Nintendo
is gaming and always will be.
The situation in Europe couldn't be more different, and that boils down to a single factor: there was never any gaming crash in the Old Continent. Quite the contrary; gaming was thriving in Europe in the '80s, with dozens of systems to choose from
— from the ZX Spectrum to the C64, without forgetting the Amstrad GX4000 (I still remember the advertising for that machine) and virtually dozens of other pieces of kit. When Nintendo unleashed the NES upon Europe, not only were they not hailed as the saviour of gaming like in North-America, but they had to face immediate and ferocious competition from the Sega Master System, which was quite the hit in Europe. (I remember playing Alex Kidd at my cousins' house and failing to go beyond the first level because of those cursed eagles. Stupidly hard game
— but I digress.) Sales figures are quite telling: the Master System had sold 6.8 millions units in Europe as of 1993, which is a far cry from the paltry 2 millions sold in North-America; the NES, on the other hand, is said to have sold a mere 3.5 millions as of 1993
— although European sales numbers are curiously hard to find, probably due to Nintendo whitewashing their poor European sales. Nintendo were never a gaming messiah in Europe, nor were they the king of the gaming hill: they were merely one of the players in the sprawling European gaming industry, and that initial perception endured ever since. Sweet nostalgia cannot even help their case, because Europeans gamers who grabbed their first D-pad in the late '80s are just as likely to owe their first gaming memories to Sega than to Nintendo
— without even mentioning the plethora of other systems available at the time. As a matter of fact, when it comes to pure probabilities backed by sales figures, these European gamers are
more likely to owe their first gaming memories to another system than the NES. And this is why European gamers can mention Nintendo bailing out of the console manufacturing industry without batting an eyelid: for us, Nintendo was always just one console manufacturer amongst many others. We were able to bid Sega consoles farewell without too much drama back in the days, and so would we be able to bid Nintendo consoles farewell in the same quiet way. We're used to it, after all: we've seen countless console manufacturers exit the gaming scene over the years, and we came to develop a nearly fatalistic attitude towards the console manufacturing industry. Systems come and systems go, but gaming always endure
— that's our stance.
So there you have the full picture as far as perception of Nintendo goes on Western shores. North-American gamers cling to Nintendo as the symbol of their happy gaming childhood and the very reason why they are able to play games today, while European gamers go with the flow and lose little time musing over the many console manufacturers that graced Europe with their offerings since the dawn of gaming. It's no coincidence that Nintendo never released the Power Glove and the Virtual Boy in Europe: European gamers were never as devoted to the Nintendo brand as their North-American counterparts, even after the number of gaming systems available in the Old Continent shrunk dramatically in the early '90s. Would we be sad if Nintendo went third-party in the years to come? Sure. Would it be a blow to our gaming morale? Certainly not. There are other console manufacturers out there, and someone could certainly fill the void left by Nintendo if they bailed out. As long as there will be a dedicated console market, there will be companies to occupy it. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
Everything you've said rings true, I cannot understand why Americans hold on so strongly to their childhood memories. Sure, I hold the memories of my Sega Genesis very close to my heart (since I can't remember playing the original gameboy and SNES despite them technically being my first consoles) but I was able to let go of them easily. Heck, I wasn't even very loyal to them before they left the console market. When my Sega Saturn broke when we moved house, I didn't demand my mom to get me another Sega System. She just appeared with a PS1 about a week later with some games and I went with it, and she probably bought it because it was the cheapest console at the time. Same with the PS2, and later on I stuck with Sony in general and Nintendo handhelds due to their footing in the Japanese market. If a new maker comes along that gives me that same market I won't let my "loyalties" stop me from getting it.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't mean I'm immune to nostalgia, I still buy Sonic collections over and over because of how attached I am to the classic Sonic games. But my nostalgia tends to stick to the games, not the systems themselves. Which is why Sega leaving the market didn't destroy me, we got ports of the Sonic games to other consoles a year later and other franchises like Phantasy Star also kept going. If they weren't truly contributing to the console market (which I believe Nintendo isn't nowadays either), then who cares if they leave it? As long as the games keep coming, no harm no foul.
I think Americans in general tend to hold on to their nostalgia in a more passionate way than other cultures do, which is why they keep on lavishing Nintendo with praise even when the things they used to love about it are long gone. Which I can understand, but I also think being so loyal to a company is...detrimental to say the least. I'm pretty sure that loyalty is one of the reasons Nintendo feels so comfortable doing the things they do nowadays, they know they'll always have people to defend them. But they tend to forget that we live in a global market nowadays, and with the Switch being such an awful handheld, not even their Japanese market is safe. The Japanese love mobile and handheld gaming, and the switch is proving itself to be awful in that regard. I don't see those gamers being enthusiastic with the switch being so huge, the use of the joy cons in some games (try using THAT on a train), losing battery so quickly and starting to snap off after two days of use anymore than we are.
Even if North-American gamers are incredibly more faithful to Ninty than us Europeans, nostalgia and faithfulness can only last for so long. Nintendo die-hard aficionados are a dwindling lot, and that is proved by their home console sales numbers since the NES days. If we assume that only hardcore Nintendo fans purchased their home consoles from the SNES era, then said hardcore Nintendo fans are indeed evaporating by the console generation.
DeleteThe question is, how long can Nintendo afford to lose customers? In my opinion, the Switch will be the final nail in the coffin. Nintendo had not only the opportunity to make things right after the WiiU debacle, but they had the near-obligation to do so, from a moral and business standpoint. And instead of trying their hardest to make the Switch the most perfect and desirable console ever created, they used their usual stingy, half-assed, can't-be-bothered approach and managed to screw up things even MORE than with the WiiU. Witnessing such a lack of involvement, pride and dedication is a HUGE turn-off for me as a consumer, and that's without even mentioning the cheap, unpractical hardware and the sheer absence of games. I feel like Nintendo really don't want me to give them my money this console generation, and I'll be more than happy to oblige.
> I cannot understand why Americans hold on so strongly to their childhood memories
DeleteBecause nostalgia feels good? It releases endorphins? I can't think of a better reason that someone does something aside from it feeling good. Childhood memories are comforting and people like what they're used to.
It's the same reason that people prefer movies and TV shows from their childhood - they always ring a bell that reminds them of simpler times. Being "immune to nostalgia" as you put it might save you some money, especially in this industry where it's a lucrative cash-cow, but overall people like things that make them happy...
Like I said, I understand that on some level, I also have nostalgia for some games. But I don't understand why people allow their nostalgia, you know, something they enjoyed in that past, to colour their perceptions of something that is still operating in the present. I get why something like the NES classic is appealing, just like a Sega games collection is appealing to me. But I don't for one minute let me enjoyment of most Sonic games to blind me and make me defend games like Sonic'06 and Sonic Boom on the Wii U. But a lot of Nintendo defenders will defend Nintendo just because it was the console of their childhood and they can't bear to see it gone, and I can't understand that.
DeleteYou can still hold on to the happy feelings of your past, and thanks to emulation, game collections, ports and things like the NES Classic, those feelings never truly go away. But the past should never blind you to the issues of the present. I like Sony and I'm not blind to the fact that they stupidly messed up with the Vita by ignoring it. I'm not blind to the fact that the PS3's launch and following couple of years were horrendous. Heck, I'm not even blind enough to the things they do today, like paid online on PS4 when the on the PS3 it was free. And when they do something right, I can enjoy it too. Blind defense of something is ridiculous, no matter one's history with the thing and that's why I can't understand.
I would add that nostalgia is often akin to a pair of rose-coloured glasses. I found myself all mushy lately when stumbling upon the opening of one of my favourite '90s TV shows, and I started thinking right away: "Gosh, fashion and hairstyles were so much better back then and life as a whole was much more wholesome!" Then I remembered that during that supposedly better time, I was riddled with angst regarding my future, I had trouble blending in at school and my face was covered with enough acnea to make me fear I would remain a virgin forever--all things that are pretty much taken care of nowadays. If anything, my life is considerably simpler now, and it's certainly ten times more fulfilling.
DeleteEven video games are not as wholesome as we remember them. I have the fondest memories of my Game Boy, but that was also the system that taught me all about ragequitting; and the term "Nintendo Hard" certainly doesn't stem from stellar game design. I've been replaying a slew of retro games lately and gosh, am I happy that gaming is where it is nowadays after all. Sure, modern gaming has its fair share of flaws, but so did 8 and 16-bit gaming, although selective memory conveniently glossed over them.
My childhood was alright so I don't feel the guilt to enjoying the things of that period. On the other hand the opposite happened when it comes to the stuff that was around me during my teenage years (which were honestly traumatizing). Barring TS2, everything from those years makes me cringe. Even hearing songs from that time period entices that reaction. Thankfully (as sad as it sounds), I was so horribly depressed during those years that I didn't do much of anything, lest of all play games, so I don't have an aversion to most of the games from that era. I either never played them or only played the intro.
DeleteI totally see your point about the rose-colored glasses thing tough. As much as I love the original pokemon, I find it hard enough as it is to play any gen IV game due to the amazing improvements gen V made, so going back to previous gens in even more painful. Item limit? No physical/special attack split? What is this treachery?
Even Sonic games are hard for me to play nowadays, and I don't think it's all due to decline of our twitch reflexes, otherwise how could we even play Soul games? Thankfully most Sega collections have savestates, otherwise I'd never see super sonic again. Turn based RPGs have aged a little better IMO, especially with my tolerance for grinding, but old 2D platformers can make me figuratively cry in frustration. Ice levels make the hairs on my neck stand more than any Souls game. Thankfully I grew up during the switch from 2D to 3D, so I have just as much nostalgia for 3D platformers like Spyro, Crash and Ape Escape, which are much more forgiving and I can complete them to this day.
I didn't grow up with 8 bit at all though, so I find that aesthetic to be ugly, even in modern games I enjoy like Half-Minute Hero. So while I can appreciate modern retro 16 bit games, I don't see the appeal of 8 bit graphics at all. Unless it's a original gameboy game, I just don't bother.
Also, I know tutorials that last 15 hours and hold your hand are annoying, but it's so much better than the games of old that threw you into a game and said "screw you". Even if it lead to the awful death of physical manuals, I'd still take today's tutorials over the reliance on manuals of the old games (if you were lucky and the manual actually helped you at all).
"I didn't grow up with 8 bit at all though, so I find that aesthetic to be ugly": That's actually a really interesting phenomenon you're hinting at there. Usually, even the most hardcore retro gamer has a boundary of sorts when it comes to how much graphical bareness they can enjoy, and that boundary usually precisely coincides with the time they started gaming in earnest. As far as I'm concerned, I have a certain amount of tolerance and even fondness for 8-bit graphics as seen in NES and Master System games; Atari 2600 graphics, on the other hand, are an absolute no-go. Although I'm interested in early 80s games from a purely historical point of view, I don't think I could ever bring myself to play them because they look so unbearably simplistic and bare; but had I started gaming on an Atari 2600, I'm pretty sure the vision of these games would make me all mushy with sweet nostalgia.
DeleteOh man, Atari, I had forgotten all about its graphics. Man I can't ever see myself playing any of those games, thank goodness there were no RPGs on it. Thank you for revolutionizing the game industry Atari, but let's just keep our relationship from afar.
DeleteOddly enough, this can also apply to the first 3D graphics you were exposed to, but in a much smaller case. I was introduced to 3D graphics with Nights on the Saturn, so that's my low bar. Anything that looks worse than that even a little bit, like say, the original Alone in the Dark, looks horrifying to me. Legitimately horrifying in some cases, not just "bad" like 8 bit graphics look to me.
Going back to 8-bit, while I can barely stand to play old NES games, I am more accepting of them on the gameboy, even tough a lot of its games don't even have colour. Hypocrite much? Perhaps, until I realized that the gameboy was technically my first console, so there's some subconscious nostalgia for it too.
The transition between 2D and 3D was a real trauma for me, so much so that it made me give up on gaming. I still remember that feeling of absolute dread I experienced when I first played 3D games on the Saturn and was bored stiff after barely a few minutes of play, something that had never happened to me before that. I remember watching my sister playing the original Tomb Raider on PC and enjoying it to some extent; but I always shied away from playing the game myself. I'm glad these early stages of 3D are done and over with, and I'm not planning to touch an early 3D game ever again.
DeleteVery interesting read. Now that you mention it, most Americans that I've contacted with online either are crazy Nintendo fanatics or Nintendo haters while Europeans and people I know in real life don't have strong feelings either way. Sure, people love their Mario, because of the icon it is or Pokémon, for the nostalgia of the Pokémon craze (and because the games are actually pretty good more often than not, something that can't be said of recent Mario games), but it's not like it's a life or death situation like some Americans try to make it out to be.
ReplyDeleteAs an European though, after seeing my beloved Sega go third party only, I really don't like the idea of Nintendo going caput but it's not like it will affect me that much. Actually, that could possibly prompt Sony into making a new portable console in partnership with Nintendo.
Thank you! ^___^ True, the most vehement Nintendo haters are also more often than not North-Americans; and more often than not, they also used to love Nintendo back in the days before growing to hate the company. Hell hath no fury like a Nintendo fan scorned, I guess!
DeleteI have to admit that after witnessing Nintendo's shenanigans during the last console generation and their current laidback and sloppy attitude towards the Switch, my love for them has grown quite frosty. I would certainly be a bit sorry if they bailed out of hardware manufacturing, but that wouldn't be a game-changer for me, especially in light of their recent accomplishments--or lack thereof. I don't like the 3DS much despite having played great games on it, and I'm not too sure I'll like the Switch, which so far is a rather underwhelming console. But as usual, let's wait and see!
A Nintendo-Sony portable console would be the most awesome thing ever! Let's hope that Sony has recovered from Nintendo's infamous treason and that such a magnificent machine will indeed see the light of day.
I, for one, am tired of seeing a "port it to the Switch" comment in every single onlineboard/forum/site/youtubevideo/whatever. I know it was the same thing back when the Wii U launched, but with the Switch, fans are getting out of hand with their begging.
DeleteThe thing is that the 3DS has a great and diverse game library but the hardware itself is bad, weak and uncomfortable, at least I found it painful to play action games on it for long periods of time. Not to mention the "brilliant" 3D gimmick that no one asked for. I just tossed that Sony-Nintendo portable idea in the air because it seems like the most valuable idea on the table for both parties, assuming, of course, that Nintendo ends up third-party only.
Oh gosh, I am tired of these constant demands for ports as well. Since when did bloody ports become the pinnacle of gaming, anyway? If something exists on an older system, then purchase that system and play the damn game on it. I mean, it's easier than ever to purchase old systems on the internet, so that really shouldn't be an issue. What I want on new systems are new games, not stale and lazy ports.
Delete"I found it painful to play action games on it for long periods of time": so did I. The DS is definitely more comfortable to play, and let's not even talk about the PSP and Vita.
I'm curious: what's your current stance regarding the Switch? Are you planning to purchase it day one or to wait for games first?
Honestly, I'm more tempted at buying a Wii U for Xenoblade Chronicles and to play some other Wii games rather than buying a Switch. Actually, I think I'm even more interested in buying a new PS2 since my current one broke last year. So yeah, I have near 0 interest in the Switch. And even if I was thinking on buying one, due to my experience with home consoles, it's not worth it to buy the first model when a new, improved one will come out maybe one or two years later. My gaming (and anime) backlog is already big enough for years to come, so I have no hurry.
DeleteBut hey, the ball is on Nintendo's side. Announce some interesting (non open-world) games and maybe I'll end up buying a Switch.
"I, for one, am tired of seeing a "port it to the Switch" comment in every single onlineboard/forum/site/youtubevideo/whatever."
DeleteOh sweet baby jeebus, yes, add me to this club. This is especially ironic when you consider when the Xbone and PS4 came, people complained a lot (and rightfully so) about how all the games on them were "remasters", "definitive editions" and ports. But now with the Switch there's no shame in asking for everything under the sun to be ported to it, and not only that, but people use the amount of ports announced for the system to say it has a great gaming library already. Sorry, but no. If it was bad when the Xbone and PS4 did it, then it's bad when the Switch does it. Especially when you consider that at least most of the remasters bothered to tinker with the graphics to update the games, whereas Switch ports so far have mostly been just that; straight up ports. Okay, what if I have most of those games in other platforms already? Why should I buy them again on the switch?
I think the fact that the Switch gets a pass when it comes to ports boils down to one simple factor: people who stuck with Nintendo consoles during the last console generation didn't get to play these games at all. Sure, I am Setsuna and Disgaea 5 have been out for one year, but not on a Nintendo system. Sure, Skyrim has been out there for five years; but then again, not on a Nintendo system. And the list goes on and on.
DeleteOn the other hands, people who purchased the PS4 and Xbox One were probably PS3 and Xbox 360 owners before that and were rightfully pissed off to be fed games they had already purchased and played a couple of years ago. So it's really all a matter of circumstances; but that also means that people who didn't stick with Nintendo and wurrently own other platforms may have very little incentive to purchase a Switch. But hey, Nintendo have made their bed and they'll have to lie in it.
This was a really interesting read. The past couple weeks of reading Switch commentary nearly every day would make me think there aren't even people in the middleground: just fanatical day-one buyers, and skeptics who want nothing of it. At least that's what the polar opposites feel like.
ReplyDeleteWhat was interesting to me was, looking across my Wordpress feed, everyone who is buying it day one is from North America, and the inverse rings true as well! Didn't realize you folks in Europe had a solid thriving video game atmosphere in the late 80s. I also didn't grow up through this (well I did, but was a baby) so maybe that's why!
Thanks a lot! ^___^ To get an idea of the milling mass of systems operating in Europe in the 80s, one has to look no further than British magazine Retro Gamer. When they cover an iconic 80s game developed for one particular system, they often enumerate all the conversions of said game on other systems; and these lists usually comprise 10 to 15 different pieces of kit, most of them utterly arcane and obscure even to European gamers themselves. Every country had its system(s) of choice and multiple systems were operating at the same time, which made game conversions a truly mammoth task; and yet the fanbases for each system were so tiny that game publishers had virtually no choice but to port their stuff on every machine available if they wanted to recoup their investment.
DeleteMy own first gaming steps were not taken on a NES with Super Mario Bros, an Atari 2600 with Pitfall or any other combination of legendary console and cult-classic game; instead, they were taken on the Macintosh 128 K with a nameless clone of Space Invaders. Totally random and utterly representative of the staggering variety of gaming systems available in Europe at the time.
It's so fun to see all our predictions come true before the damn thing is even out. Guess what? Our fears of games not being able to support both modes of the console are already confirmed as true. Voez can't be playing on TV mode and 1-2 switch can't be played on handheld mode.
ReplyDeleteI expect many more games to follow the "no handheld" route since this is a "home console first" and the damn motion controls, but Voez now also assures me that even those who want this thing as the home console it's supposed to be will also be screwed. Oh Nintendo...
Well, that could also turn out nicely for us, if developers choose to focus on the tablet and ignore the TV mode entirely. We could get cheaper games tailored for portable playing and the whole handheld gaming scene would be preserved in the process, hooray!
DeleteNow of course, this could also lead to developers writing off the Switch as an over-complicated piece of kit that's not worth the hassle... But hey, only time will tell. The Vita underwent the most unlikely evolution ever when it went from being the perfect AAA portable console to being the go-to handheld for budget niche games, so surely anything can happen as far as the Switch is concerned.
Let's be fair here, seems like it's a port of some sort of indie mobile game so it is kinda understandable that they don't have the resources to adapt to a TV mode.
DeleteAnd, oh, god. The comments in that article represent everything that it's wrong with the current gaming industry.
Oh sure, that's but a single, inocuous mobile indie game... But it could open a whole Pandora box of developers cherry-picking playing modes and thus defeating the encompassing all-in-one purpose of the Switch.
DeleteNot that this is a problem for me, mind you: selfish little me would love nothing more than to see 90% of developers focus solely on the Switch's portable mode and make it de facto Nintendo's newest dedicated handheld. ^___^
...huh, sorry to rain on your hopes Isleif, but if anything, it's the handheld side I see being the most ignored side. Most game creators prefer consoles already as you already know by the number of games that should be on handhelds but are PS4 exclusives. And like I said, motion control games will be TV exclusive, and we both know Nintendo is going to invest in that.
DeletePlus, given the reports of the even-more-terrible-than-we-thought battery and the the tablet's flimsiness, would the switch really be a good handheld? The 3DS was already uncomfortable enough as it was...I don't know if even a SMT game would lure me over to play on a fragile enormous tablet with disconnecting joy-cons.
Sieg: On the surface, I agree with you. It makes sense for Voez to be a handheld only game, because the game is a port of an android rhythm game that uses the touchscreen. Just like it makes sense for the waggle fest that is 1-2 switch to be TV only.
But this sets a precedent that Nintendo is not going to enforce game developers to use both modes, which makes the future of the switch as a hybrid console dubious to say the least, and it was already dubious to begin with. Most game developers tend to shun handhelds, so I can't help but have a bad feeling. And if the opposite happens, console fans are gonna be pissed, and they would have the right to since the switch was advertised as a "home console first" (I am never letting that quote die). It just seems like a bad move for Nintendo all around.
Ah, don't worry, Elisa. At that point, I have virtually no hopes at all regarding the Switch. I pretty much accepted that it might be a failure and that portable gaming might soon become a thing of the past. But hey, you never know! I'll sure follow the Switch soap opera and hope for the best, while obviously bracing myself for the worst. That's going to be highly entertaining, I'm sure.
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