"It’s ironic because it is precisely the hardcore Nintendo fan who is most influenced by the company’s changed practices. With the rare exception — a morsel of food for the starving — we are not getting the titles we want because Nintendo has hit upon a winning formula, which is to make quicker, cost-efficient software, sit back and then reap the rewards. The expanded audience doesn’t read every word about the next title in the Legend of Zelda franchise. It doesn’t care if New Super Mario Bros. isn’t as beautiful as it could and should be. We do. And yet many of us defend Nintendo even when its motives benefit the business, not the players. We celebrate its monthly sales victories and then we re-play Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, and Smash Bros. while we sift through Nintendo’s cash-ins on the way to its next big thing."

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Column: Nintendo is Lazy and You Don’t Care - Wii feature - at IGN : I couldn’t help but agree with Matt Casamassina’s article about Nintendo’s apparent disregard for making all their games truly exemplary. I caught my first whiff of “why-not?” suspicion when I couldn’t take Yoshi to other levels in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Think about it: in Super Mario World, once you got Yoshi, you had him as long as you could keep him. And not only could you take Yoshi to every level (except the castles, I know), but every level had something in mind for him.

Why couldn’t they do this with Mario Bros. Wii? Why couldn’t Nintendo make Animal Crossing look and play something like an actual new game? Why couldn’t Nintendo make a new version of Pikmin or Donkey Kong Jungle Beat rather than rehashing old GameCube titles with Wii controls (that sometimes don’t quite work)? Matt’s conclusion is they’re more worried about the bottom line than about gamers’ experiences. He sums it up nicely with this line, emphasis his:

And so what if New Super Mario Bros. Wii plays and looks like the DS title before it? Who cares if the game’s graphics aren’t dazzling? It’s fun, isn’t it? That’s what matters.

If the Wii is proof of anything, it’s that taking risks and making bold strides in a new direction are rewarded handsomely when executed right. Nintendo deserves respect for the gumption it took to make that move. But, as Matt’s article points out, what matters is that Nintendo shouldn’t just be making fun games, because lots of companies do that. What Matt wants, and what I want, is Nintendo to always make Nintendo games. And that means the very best that anyone can make.

Tags: nintendo ign gaming