Nintendo: What we were promised

Before I saw the actual Nintendo E3 Press Conference on G4, I read the reactions online. Many words were passed around in those hours afterward, but the ones that kept recurring were "sellouts", "embarrassment", "shallow", and "failure". When I finally saw clips of the conference, I said to myself "might as well add 'Banal' to that list."

Whatever the case, it appears that no one likes Nintendo and their "little console that could" as of late. Many would say that Nintendo was too reliant on their "Casual" fan base and has abandoned the hardcore faithful entirely. If you were only judging this years E3, you would say that Nintendo simply got too cocky "this time", but you would be short sighted. You see I have seen this tragedy coming for months now, and have already shed my tears.

Let me take you back. All the way back to an ancient time and place called "Fourth Quarter 2006". At the time, the Wii seemed like something that I absolutely needed to have. It was something that was interesting and revolutionary, a true vision of gaming creativity. It was A gaming console that not only had online capabilities, but an intuitive motion based control system. Furthermore, it would have all of the Iconic Nintendo Characters I've come to know and love, starting with, arguably, the most beloved Nintendo Character; Link in "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess". Furthermore, if I didn't feel like buying "Twilight Princess" right away, it didn't matter. Nintendo gave me a free game, and possibly the best sports game of 2006, called "Wii sports". And if I didn't feel like going to the store at all, there was an online shop called "Shop Channel" where I could buy not only classic games for the NES, Super NES, and Nintendo 64, but even Sega Genesis titles as well.

And the best part: Nintendo promised that key members of the Nintendo "Pantheon" would be making an appearance on the Wii, from "Metroid Prime 3" to "Super Mario Galaxy", and even (my favorite) a new "Super Smash Brothers".

Yes, everything was right with the world.

What went wrong?

My first indicator of problems was the graphics. Despite being ahead of the curve in both controls and gameplay, the Wii's graphical power seemed no better than a cleaner and shinier version of the Nintendo Gamecube. And yet, I forgave it. As an adamant PC gamer who values performance rather than beauty, I realize that sometimes sacrifices must be made in order to make sure the game runs in a timely manner. So I was content with the graphics.

The next sign of trouble was a little game called "Red Steel", a first-person-action title in which you battle the Yakuza in order to save your girlfriend. As the first FPS on the console, Red Steel had a lot of promise. Gamers anticipated a game play style in which players could aim and fight in a way that emulated real combat. Furthermore, Red Steel promised a sword fighting mechanic in which players could wield the Wii-mote like a real sword, using it to block and parry your opponent.

Yet sadly, Red Steel turned out to be slightly more than mediocre. The Combat was repetitive. The story was banal. And what’s worse, the controls for the Sword were frustrating. It was too often that players would parry when they meant to thrust and visa-versa.

Red Steel's mediocrity alone was not damning for the Wii. Many release titles for any console are not excellent. The problem was that Red Steel and games like it made third party developers realize that making quality games for the Wii was going to be difficult. We cannot really blame them for feeling like this. The Wii was a new concept, after all, and many were just not ready to buy the ticket and take the ride. This, along with the graphical weakness of the console, led to the Wii missing out on many Multi-Platform games, such as "Devil May Cry 4", "Grand theft auto 4" and "Assassin's Creed". The Wii was just too weak to handle them.

What's more, what big third party titles that did come out for the Wii seemed of a lesser quality than their Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 counterparts. The Wii version of "Guitar Hero 3", for example, promised the option to download tracks online. And yet, the actual product featured no downloadable tracks whatsoever. We waited for months and months for either Nintendo or Red Octane to deliver while 360 and PS3 gamers relished in celebratory downloadable content. Meanwhile, Wii gamers got nothing.

Now it was getting serious. The gamers had not just been disappointed: they had been outright lied to.

Even though third party developers were hesitant to get on the Wii bandwagon, the die-hard Nintendo faithful did not care. The crux of Nintendo's existence has always been its first party support, and Nintendo promised it well enough. Games like "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption" and "WarioWare: Smooth Moves" promised to bring our most loved Nintendo characters to the next generation.

Even so, there was a problem.

"Metroid Prime 3" was no more than a Gamecube Metroid Game with the Wii-mote controls tacked on. Meanwhile, "WarioWare: Smooth Moves" was too short and played more like a tech demo one might see at E3. Whats more, it soon began to seem like Nintendo was moving away from its flagship franchises when it announced games like "WiiPlay" and "WiiFit", along with peripherals like a balance board and a Wii Zapper. As we moved into the 2007 holiday season, Nintendo's hardcore faithful looked at each other with a sense of unease.

The one ray of hope in 2007 was "Super Mario Galaxy", which was the first "true" Mario game since "Super Mario Sunshine". It contained a unique world and truly fascinating game play. Likewise, the graphics were actually amazing for a Wii game: beautiful and stylish. With this, we knew that with the right art style, even a Wii game could put a PS3 game to shame. For once, the Nintendo hardcore had received the feast they were promised: a first party title that lived up to the hype.

Even so, we still wanted a decent online multi-player experience. At this point, the Wii had a few attempts at Online play in its library, but nothing exceptional. It was not until April of 2008 that the first truly anticipated multi-player game would come out.

"Super Smash Brothers: Brawl" was by no means a bad game. It was not even a mediocre game. It was a phenomenal game. It was not as mature or intuitive as other games maybe, but it was still incredibly fun to play. "Super Smash Bros." has always been about letting gamers pit all of their favorite Nintendo characters against each other and "Brawl" was no exception. The joy felt when unlocking a new character was the greatest since the days of the Super Nintendo. Yet, it was also the joy of learning the subtle secrets of each character, learning to use their Final Smashes at the right time to dominate the opponent. Yes, it was random and nonsensical at times, but it did not matter. Nintendo had delivered another solid first party title.

But what about online?

As you logged in, you were greeted by two options: Play with friends or play anonymous player. Anonymous was usually the first choice, since it was quicker. You were usually mobbed with five-ten minute waits if they were lucky. When they finally did get to play, they were limited to a two-minute brawl that usually had horrible lag and especially in a fighting game, lag is not your friend.

Brawling with friends was usually smoother, but what did you have to do to get that? You had to look online, usually on a gaming forum, for another player and write down his or her "Brawl Code", which was twelve digits, and manual enter it into your friends list. Then, you go back onto the forum and message the player your brawl code and "hope" they decide to add you. Assuming they do, you might be lucky enough to catch them online before they end up in a game with any of their friends.

After this, it dawned on us: "Super Smash Brothers: Brawl" had a horrible online multi-player. It was a multi-player experience unacceptable for a game released in 2008. It would have been a bad multi-player experience for the PC in 1998. On retrospect, there was no reason for this game to have as bad of an online mode as it did. Mario Kart Wii, which came out only a month later, had a near flawless online experience. This leaves many to wonder: why?

I am not saying that the Nintendo Wii is beyond hope. "WiiWare" offers indie game makers the chance to make original content for the little white console. Plus, High Voltage's first person shooter "The Conduit" promises graphics never before seen on a Wii. Hell, we're still getting a first party game in the form of "Animal Crossing: City Folk".

Nintendo's problem, however, is that it cut too many corners. It forced gamers to make too many concessions. They relied on last generation graphics. They failed to secure third party support. They have become too dependent on casual games, almost abandoning the beloved characters that made them a powerhouse in the industry. And worst of all, they appear to be refusing to put any real thought into their online support. These four things together have created a very dangerous world for the Wii.

Some may say, "Well, it cost you 250 dollars, so you get what you paid for". Does that mean that Nintendo will not even try? At what point does something become so cheap, it proponents no longer care?