At E3 Nintendo showed a video of a new handheld console dubbed the XDS. During this 1:30 minute video we see games from the timespan of Nintendo's console library. "Thirty years of gaming" is said to be playable on this device. What I want to talk about are the reaction I saw about this device and of Nintendo. I think this idea is very exciting and would invest in it if it ever sees a release.
As I was watching E3 I was also on tumblr keeping up with the other sections of E3 I was not watching. A post about the XDS found its way onto my dashboard and the comments were applauding Nintendo for their "innovations" and "always being ahead of the curve". This is where I got confused. Now I do not own any Sony consoles as I have been raised on Nintendo and Microsoft, but I do keep up with what Sony is doing and honestly I would love to get a PS4 if I had the money.
Naturally, keeping up with the current gaming technology I knew about the Vita and what it can do. It can connect with your PS4 console with the help of the wonderful internet and allows you to play your main console games on the handheld and on the go. Now with knowing this function that the Vita can do, how is Nintendo being innovative with this technology? It looks as if Nintendo may do a better job with this than Sony but that may also be due to Nintendo having more up to date tech.
Jumping subjects to Nintendo being "always ahead of the curve". I think the opposite is true to some extent. It feels as if Nintendo is still under the thinking they had in the 90's and 2000's. The Wii did really well but the WiiU flopped with its base 8gig storage and now 32gig standard storage it really is not a powerful machine. So when people say that Nintendo is the leader of the Big 3 companies I believe they are wrong and living in the past.
Indeed it was. But wether or not it was fake doesn't have much affect on nintendo supposedly being the King of the gaming industry or being "innovative" every time.
Was just clearing things up since your post suggested that it wasn't. I feel Nintendo's success is contingent on their ability to innovate. Nintendo knows they can't keep up with Sony and Microsoft in an arms race; they need to stand out if they want to maintain any share of the market. Do you not think the Wii U was innovative albeit lacking in storage? That being said, personally, I think the main attractive aspect of Nintendo is the quality of the games offered on their consoles not the console itself. I know several people who purchased the Wii U just to play Smash and Splatoon.
I'm one of those people. I bought the WiiU because of Smash. Also got Capt. Toad (very adorable puzzle game) and Windwaker because I liked that game back when it originally came out. I have mixed feelings about the WiiU. The software I believe could have done better but when it comes to game use I feel it was a step above the original Wiimote. Nintendo does great with its IP's but I am pretty disappointed with the lack of third party support they give.
I'm not a major gamer, so take what I say with a grain of salt. If I had to say though, I think the evolution from the original X-Box, to the 360, to the One, has less to do with hardware and more to do with the gradual evolution of the Live Network and UI. The 360 now is a completely different monster than when it first came out, all thanks to the UI and Live Network. I won't be surprised if the same thing happens to the One.
Now compare those changes to the change from the GameCube to the Wii and the to the Wiiu. There was a huge risk and innovation in the introduction of the motion controls and then again with the Wiiu game pad. The latter not doing as well, but still a big change. It seems to me that Nintendo has been willing to take bigger risks and make bigger changes while the others have stuck with what they know sells. Does that make them a better company? I don't know. But I hope they keep taking risks and making big changes.
To be completely honest, and I have a Gamecube, Wii, and WiiU here, those changes all seem to be more novelty based. Yes, they're arguably innovative. Yes, they're arguably interesting. The thing is though, I don't think they actually do anything to add to the gaming experience. On some poorly executed games, I feel like they downright detract from it. When you also add in the fact that almost everyone who owns a Wii/WiiU also has a classic gaming controller, it shows that Nintendo acknowledges that there are limitations to their controller setup. Now take X-Box Live. Nothing fancy. Nothing gimmicky. Every change they make to it though adds to the user experience and adds to X-Box functionality. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes all you need is to engineer a better tire.
I think for those of us that know exactly what we want it detracts but for others it adds a new dimension. What was that Henry Ford quote? For the majority of my gaming I prefer the PC, but I do really look forward to what the future has I store when it comes to motion sensitivity and VR. But someone has to make those jumps into those areas and to my eye Nintendo is doing more to pioneer new ideas than the others.If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.
A lot of people didn't buy cars until they became demonstrably better than horses. When they were a new technology, they were finicky, slow, and even dangerous. It took about two decades of development became a serious contender and another decade for them to become the mainstay. Right now, while Nintendo's devices are new and innovative, they're not demonstrably better. We'll get there, but we still need another decade.
I'm kind of new here myself, but I've been paying a lot of attention. People here respond well to users that are polite, insightful, and open minded. The whole mechanics of following/filtering reinforce that behavior because if you contribute positively, people won't see a need to filter you out, which is pretty much an "ignore" mechanic. You seem to be doing fine. Just remember, Hubski is a lot slower than Reddit, so posting isn't a race and this place isn't an arena for opinions and egos to duke it out, so don't feel like you have to rush or show people up. Our convo now? It's perfect.