The video game industry crashed in 1983. News stories had declared the “fad” over. Fortunately for gamers, the industry was not only reborn but it grew to the multi-billion-dollar industry it is today thanks to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo is one of the top gaming developers of all time, but when you take today’s gaming standards into consideration they continue to lack in the online play field, consistently behind in hardware and after the release of the Wii, third-party game developers basically stopped making games for their consoles. With the latest release of the NES Classic Edition, Nintendo is yet again on the chopping block, gamers are putting them on blast for intentionally generating false scarcity. Giving the mobile platform a go, Nintendo has finally released Super Mario Run. Within 24 hours the game was downloaded more than 5 million times, yet is getting poor reviews. However, since they saved the gaming industry all those years ago, we let it slide, time and time again. Those of us who fell in love with Nintendo as kids, remain loyal and are ignoring the more powerful modern consoles in favor of those familiar characters. With a new console on the horizon, the next six months could define the future of Nintendo. The Nintendo Switch – a tablet that slides into a dock to display games on tv – will be a big moment for the company. Despite everything, I look forward to what is in store from Nintendo and grasp at the possibility they will once again be on top and delivering the fun content we all fell in love with.
Amanda Havlovick