Nintendo was once one of the best gaming companies on the market. They dominated console and game sales, and this makes their fall from hierarchy that much more surprising. We all remember gathering with neighbors and friends to play the beloved games of Nintendo 64, from "Super Mario" to "Donkey Kong." Little did we know, the descent of Nintendo had already begun. The popular predecessors of the 64, the NES and SNES, were the glory days for Nintendo. The following consoles garnered less sales, and far less attention. The release of the Wii temporarily recovered Nintendo's popularity, but was short lived. The company's inability to keep up with competitors may have sealed their fate.
Many of us weren't around when the NES and the SNES were in their heyday, but they gained so much popularity that they revitalized the video game industry. Nintendo was at the top of its game, until the Nintendo 64 was released. The console was not a failure, but it under-sold its predecessors, and was not nearly as popular as Sony's new product, the first PlayStation.
The GameCube, personally my favorite console, fared even worse. It only sold around 21 million units, while the PlayStation 2 sold over 155 million. Nintendo guaranteed their own fate by failing to keep up with competitors. The small discs used in GameCubes could not hold enough data for compelling games, like the ones being released by PlayStation and Xbox. Game publishers fled to Sony and Microsoft knowing that they would be better off at the companies with the best selling consoles.
After years of declines in sales and popularity, Nintendo made a huge comeback with the Wii. The Wii appealed to everyone, even people who had not previously been gamers. It topped competitors in innovation. Sadly for Nintendo, they soon caught up and were releasing consoles that were just as creative. The novelty of the Wii wore off, and quickly faded out. Now they are sitting in a closet with VHS players and floppy disks collecting dust. Nintendo's follow up console was underwhelming in comparison to the Wii. The WiiU, a game pad that allows for better game play, only sold around 9 million copies. It was a cool idea, but a letdown to say the least. Nintendo failed to release new titles to draw in players.
Nintendo just released its plans for the future at this year's E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), and was met with disappointment from fans. While competitors discussed huge upcoming games and next generation consoles that sparked excitement among gamers, Nintendo announced new WiiU games, a console that will soon be outdated. Their limited online play and lack of intense games may cause them to never be on the same level as Microsoft and Sony. The only thing that may save Nintendo for the time being is their reluctant agreement to embrace mobile gaming. They are planning to release five games by 2017, which may not be as soon as some would hope, but at least they have finally welcomed the idea of smart phone gaming. Hopefully this is a start to Nintendo climbing their way back up to the height of their glory days.
