Introduction
This post is motivated by all of the cancelled fan projects that Nintendo sent a cease and desist to, all of the cheap re-releases of older games, the atrocious policies on video game streamers/content creators related to Nintendo games, and honestly just how infrequent Nintendo actually COMMUNICATES to its audience.
The Importance of Fan Respect in the Gaming Industry
Your fans will make or break your game. If you create something and they don't like it, then you didn't make something that is good. Simple business 101, and if they love it... well then you'll be cherished for eras to come.
Nintendo's History and Legacy
I gotta say I love Nintendo, and I still respect it more than pretty much any gaming company. Growing up with games like Zelda, Pokemon, Harvest Moon (story of seasons), Metroid, Mario, and more. I played them all, and I got plenty of enjoyment from those experiences.
The big N wanted to create a joyful playthrough in their games, and it was always about how the gamer would feel. I don't feel like they have lost that, but they aren't adapting with the times either. We as gamers expect to be updated quite often, we expect certain things out of our game systems, or the game system OS for that matter.
Nintendo has a history of making weaker consoles for the sake of the games, and that was fine when the Wii came out, or even in the early years of the Switch. However it has become laughable how far Nintendo has gotten behind.
More than just that I think they've come complacent on being competitive. Due to their expansive and long history they have accrued plenty of income to last for decades to come.
A Brief Overview of Nintendo's Journey
Starting out as a trading card company they managed to make a name for themselves in games and toys. As the years went on they dove head first into the gaming market, and over the next two decades dominated.
They are the longest running gaming console company. If you look at Atari or Playstation they just don't compete in the history of gaming. Yes, I know Playstation spun off of a failed collab with Nintendo, but hence that bit of history. The big N came first...
Now it just seems they are purely focusing on their main money grabs. I.e. Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda, and forgetting the rest. Metroid has barely had any recognition besides the most recent release, and even their other series "Smash Bros" and "MarioKart" are essentially finalized? Supposedly there won't be another Smash bros ever again.
The Impact of Nintendo on the Gaming World
As I mentioned before they were the catalyst for Playstation to do their own thing. They ferociously competed against Sega, who eventually lost. Even nowadays they have far more exclusive games than Xbox or Playstation combined.
They left a lasting impact on innovation in technology like the Wiimote or joycons, and whether that is good or bad is left up to time to tell.
The Disconnect: Nintendo and Its Fans
Despite ALL of this, all of the wonderful things Nintendo has done, there is a sheer disconnect from the company and it's fans. It is almost as if they don't understand their fans, or don't care about their contributions. What Nintendo says is GOLD, and even if a fan makes a game that is BETTER than the original. They will not even look at it.
Examples of Nintendo's Lack of Fan Engagement
An example that was pretty notable was the fan game of "Pokemon Uranium", and now I need to lump GameFreak in this as well. As they are partly responsible, but Nintendo owns 32% of the company shares.
Point is any time a fan game gains attention from fans, or is built to a high level of competency. It starts to become popular, then the companies usher in a wave of cease and desists. Threatening legal action against small indie creators. Who LOVE their company ironically.
Yet instead of offering a job, perhaps some sort of compensation to quit, or even saying hey you did a good job but we can't allow this. They just coldly threaten them, and leave.
Fan Reactions and Fallout
Another example is that of how Nintendo operates their legalities on platforms like YouTube or Twitch. Most gaming companies WANT you to stream and play their games, while making content out of it... because well you know FREE ADVERTISING.
Alas Nintendo puts some pretty strict rules and regulations on how creators can or can't make their content. When it should be up to the creator themselves. Even the use of emulators, which mind you is sometimes the ONLY way to play certain games now. That is classified as stealing.
Yet Nintendo REPEATEDLY keeps discontinuing their servers for things like the Wii or 3ds, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch's eshop will close as well. Meaning you can't even BUY the games anymore. Let alone find some way to stream your DS to the computer anyways.
Why Nintendo Needs to Change
Look they were the first to start doing these "Direct" announcement videos, and so I know that they have the capacity to think ahead.
Eventually all 3 major gaming companies started doing their own direct to consumer product/game lineups. That eventually lead to the dissolution of E3 and the gaming expo itself. My point is that they thought ahead, and gave fans a unique way of getting information from them.
Now they BARELY ever do a direct it seems, and that is their ONLY way they communicate. I never see anything special come out of their socials. They barely hype up their own games, let alone indie games that come onto their platform.
Conclusion
I really just want the company to do right by the world of fans it has cultivated over the last four decades. I do not think they have been doing that, and they could be so much bigger and better if they did. Plus I really want an actually good console to come out of them again.
A Call to Action for Nintendo
Please take part in the community that YOU built. Support indie developers making fan games of your series. Support the creators making content around your games. Support your fans so that they might continue to BE fans throughout their lives.
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