Happy 125th Birthday Nintendo!

yourbeliefs · Sep 23, 2014

That's right, Nintendo is 125 years old today.. quite a track record.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137596-Nintendo-Turns-125-Today

Here's their old logo:

Ramy · Sep 23, 2014

Dang! I didn't realize they were that old.

Rey · Sep 23, 2014

Too bad they have not been able to repeat the success they had with the NES and SNES.

yourbeliefs · Sep 23, 2014

Rey said:
Too bad they have not been able to repeat the success they had with the NES and SNES.

Ummm...

Nintendo DSNintendo2004153.99 million[18]
Game Boy (includes color model)Nintendo1989118.69 million[note 2]
WiiNintendo2006101.15 million[18]
Game Boy AdvanceNintendo200181.51 million[18]
Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo 198361.91 million[18]
Super Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo 199049.10 million[18]
Nintendo 3DS †Nintendo 201144.14 million[18]
Nintendo 64 Nintendo 199632.93 million[18]
GameCube Nintendo 200121.74 million[18]
Wii U †Nintendo 20126.68 million[18]
Color TV Game *[70]Nintendo 19773 million[71]

Rey · Sep 23, 2014

Ummmm.... I'm not talking about console sales. Nevermind, I forget this isn't the place for that discussion.

yourbeliefs · Sep 23, 2014

Rey said:
Ummmm.... I'm not talking about console sales. Nevermind, I forget this isn't the place for that discussion.

But then what are you referring to by not being able to replicate the success of the NES and SNES? Do you mean their impact on the video game market? In that regard I suppose yes you're correct, but that's a unique situation. The market was DECIMATED after the crash, and the main way they were even able to get a foot in the US market was by basically LYING to stores and saying "Oh no, this isn't a video game console, but it's a toy that has a component that you can hook up to the television!" They basically used R.O.B. to get the console into stores, and VERY shortly afterwards completely abandoned it. They only made 2 games for it, and as you can see, they absolutely sucked (Hilarious and NSFW). And yes it is hard to imagine what today's console world would be like without that success (or what would have happened if Nintendo ended up using Atari as their distributor before the deal fell apart at the last moment, but that's a whole other discussion.)

Nintendo has made other big impacts in the game world as well. They've basically OWNED the portable gaming market going back to the Gameboy and today with the 3DS. Granted, smartphones and tablets have eaten heavily into that share, but they're definitely doing far better than Sony. And hell, the Wii was so successful that it forced Sony and Microsoft to crowbar motion controls into their existing systems.

Obviously the house of Mario has been reeling quite a bit as of late with stiffer competition in portable games and the huge misstep of the Wii U, but I don't think it's fair to compare every impact Nintendo has made to what they did with the NES.

Rey · Sep 23, 2014

Excellent, for the most part you pretty much understood where I was coming from. :thumbup

king3pj · Sep 23, 2014

Regardless of sales numbers, I don't think anyone would argue that Nintendo is as important to the gaming industry as they were in the NES/SNES days. I do have a 3DS XL and I did like the few games I've played on it but I don't think most gamers today would really feel a substantial impact if Nintendo stopped making consoles or went out of business. It would be a much larger impact in the hand held market but the Wii U sales numbers show that most people aren't playing Nintendo home consoles anymore.

This is all hypothetical. Nintendo isn't going to go out of business and I don't want them too. They just clearly aren't making the same impact anymore. Most people have turned elsewhere for their gaming.

They are still the king of the market for kid friendly games. I'm not trying to belittle there games by saying that either. Many Nintendo games have ton of depth even though they are also designed to be accessible for kids. What I mean is that it would be tough as a parent to find games suitable for your kids on PS4 or Xbox One. I know a lot of parents don't care about this but if you actually look at the game ratings and only let your kids play games that are E or maybe T there just isn't much there. The only E rated games on PS4/Xbox One coming to mind for me are Rayman Legends, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, Peggle 2, and Knack. I'm sure there are a few more games but if I had young kids the Wii U would be the clear choice.

yourbeliefs · Sep 23, 2014

I found a good website that really gets into some of the stuff Nintendo made before creating the NES.

http://blog.beforemario.com/p/list-of-toys-and-games.html

Edit: This site is addicting to look into all the stuff Nintendo used to make. Hell at one point they sold a home copy machine! And look at the precursor to Duck Hunt:

Zookster · Sep 23, 2014

king3pj said:
Regardless of sales numbers, I don't think anyone would argue that Nintendo is as important to the gaming industry as they were in the NES/SNES days. I do have a 3DS XL and I did like the few games I've played on it but I don't think most gamers today would really feel a substantial impact if Nintendo stopped making consoles or went out of business. It would be a much larger impact in the hand held market but the Wii U sales numbers show that most people aren't playing Nintendo home consoles anymore.

This is all hypothetical. Nintendo isn't going to go out of business and I don't want them too. They just clearly aren't making the same impact anymore. Most people have turned elsewhere for their gaming.

They are still the king of the market for kid friendly games. I'm not trying to belittle there games by saying that either. Many Nintendo games have ton of depth even though they are also designed to be accessible for kids. What I mean is that it would be tough as a parent to find games suitable for your kids on PS4 or Xbox One. I know a lot of parents don't care about this but if you actually look at the game ratings and only let your kids play games that are E or maybe T there just isn't much there. The only E rated games on PS4/Xbox One coming to mind for me are Rayman Legends, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, Peggle 2, and Knack. I'm sure there are a few more games but if I had young kids the Wii U would be the clear choice.

For me, the PS3 or 360 would be the clear choice. Both consoles are still supported with new games coming out, plus there's a back catalog of 100s if not 1000s of E-rated games at bargain bin prices for parents to choose from. It's like the PS2 was five to six years ago, when you could get the console and the games cheap, while new kid-friendly titles were still being released.

I'm not too familiar with everything the Wii U offers game wise, but what I have heard, it seems to be a console on life support, not unlike the PS Vita.

yourbeliefs · Sep 23, 2014

Zookster said:
For me, the PS3 or 360 would be the clear choice. Both consoles are still supported with new games coming out, plus there's a back catalog of 100s if not 1000s of E-rated games at bargain bin prices for parents to choose from. It's like the PS2 was five to six years ago, when you could get the console and the games cheap, while new kid-friendly titles were still being released.

I'm not too familiar with everything the Wii U offers game wise, but what I have heard, it seems to be a console on life support, not unlike the PS Vita.

If you REALLY want the king of kids games, the original Wii wins hands down, and according to at least 1 Gamestop employee I talked to they're (the Wii Systems) still big sellers around the holidays because they're easiest for kids to get accustomed to and the existing library is staggering. The 360 and PS3 are decent choices as well, the Wii was always marketed as a family system and its library is evidence of that.

Zookster · Sep 23, 2014

yourbeliefs said:
If you REALLY want the king of kids games, the original Wii wins hands down, and according to at least 1 Gamestop employee I talked to they're (the Wii Systems) still big sellers around the holidays because they're easiest for kids to get accustomed to and the existing library is staggering. The 360 and PS3 are decent choices as well, the Wii was always marketed as a family system and its library is evidence of that.

Though I personally wouldn't purchase and play games on a Wii (I've even turned down a free console), I agree and have heard parents say that the Wii is still the only console they would ever get for their kids. As much of a PS fanboy I am, I'd take a 360 with Kinect over a Wiii, because at least the games would be in HD and I could play some exclusives I've missed on it when the kids aren't using it.

Zookster · Sep 23, 2014

If you have a decent budget for electronic baby sitters, this might keep the little ones busy for awhile on the PS4/Xbone until more games are released:

Scherrman · Sep 23, 2014

I still think the SNES was the best console. The library of games that had along with graphics at that time. I have one from my buddy that passed away and still play it. A couple years ago I bought Ken Griffey Jr: Winning Run on Ebay for it. My next favorite was the N64. The hours my friends and I put on that console when we were in high school was crazy. That was another system that had a great library of games. Goldeneye changed video games forever.

yourbeliefs · Sep 24, 2014

I NEVER got used to that N64 controller and I still don't understand how they thought that was a good design. Maybe it was because I got so used to the Playstation controller (I had PSX, not N64 that generation) but it just seemed so awkward. Also, sticking with cartridges wasn't the best idea either. Even though the N64 had more impressive hardware and better loading speeds, oftentimes the PSX versions of games were superior to the N64 simply because of the extra storage space.

Scherrman · Sep 24, 2014

yourbeliefs said:
I NEVER got used to that N64 controller and I still don't understand how they thought that was a good design. Maybe it was because I got so used to the Playstation controller (I had PSX, not N64 that generation) but it just seemed so awkward. Also, sticking with cartridges wasn't the best idea either. Even though the N64 had more impressive hardware and better loading speeds, oftentimes the PSX versions of games were superior to the N64 simply because of the extra storage space.

I thought the controller was ridiculous as well but I never had any issues with it. It's the games they had that make it stand out though. Games like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Starcraft, Zelda and Mario 64 were games I put thousands of hours in playing.

Teehar · Sep 24, 2014

Snes was awesome, and yea the controller sucked on the 64, but gameplay was really fun.The wrestling games that were on the console were some of the best ever.If you have kids they deserve the chance to jump into the Mario universe, some of the greatest games of all time.

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yourbeliefs · Sep 24, 2014

Well I'm not saying the N64 didn't have quality games, but to me, being forced to experience them all on that awful controller really hurt things. For example, I could never really get into Goldeneye because the controls were so awkward and hard to get used to that it was a constant uphill battle. And I didn't truly enjoy Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 until I got it for the Virtual Console and was able to use the Wii VC Controller.

Scherrman · Sep 24, 2014

yourbeliefs said:
Well I'm not saying the N64 didn't have quality games, but to me, being forced to experience them all on that awful controller really hurt things. For example, I could never really get into Goldeneye because the controls were so awkward and hard to get used to that it was a constant uphill battle. And I didn't truly enjoy Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 until I got it for the Virtual Console and was able to use the Wii VC Controller.

I think the reason why Goldeneye worked so well WAS because of the controller. You were not going to be able to play that game using any other console's controller. I think those were some of the first controllers to have a D-pad and Joystick. I don't think that the PS had joysticks yet at that time.

I remember during the summer months when my friends and I were out of school we would go to my family's business and play Goldeneye in the TV display room. We would hook it up to the largest TV, which was like 50" back then, and play all night. I don't remember any of my friends complaining about the controller with that game.

yourbeliefs · Sep 29, 2014

On a related topic, the Nintendo 64 turns 18 today.

Happy 125th Birthday Nintendo!

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