As a company who create video games Nintendo has many laudable qualities and one could argue that it's most admirable trait throughout it's existence has been it's willingness to put the entertainment of the player above all else.
Regardless of whether or not it's true, there is a perception amongst many gamers (longstanding Nintendo fans in particular) that Nintendo is more benign and less callous that it's competitors. Indeed, it's easy to see how Nintendo may have come to engender such opinions. Nintendo's insistence on not releasing a game until it's been polished to a gleaming shine stands in stark contrast to many AAA games released this past year, Nintendo games tend to offer wholesome fun that entertain all ages rather than M-rated 'splatterfests', and even the public faces of the company are likeable, jovial people who really seem to love video games. Indeed, Nintendo themselves seem to appreciate that their personalities are well liked, which is why Nintendo Directs were introduced to add an extra dollop of delightful to the already adorable ice cream sundae that is Satoru Iwata. My only worry is that Nintendo may have at some point along the line began drinking their own kool-aid.
From an outsider's perspective it can often seem like Nintendo react to events in quite a lackadaisical manner, almost as if those in management have bought into the idea that they are somehow uniquely equipped to brave any storm. This is, in fact, a narrative which has been put forth by journalists who cite Nintendo's unparalleled stable of recognizable characters, it's expansive 'war chest' which was bolstered significantly by the success of the Wii and DS, and it's historically uncanny ability to see an opportunity to zig when the rest of the market is zagging.
Some of which is up for debate, but what cannot be disputed is that Nintendo is now facing a bigger challenge than ever before. As the video game market has expanded it has also fragmented. Not only has the Wii U failed to lure in those casual gamers that purchased a Wii, it seems increasingly clear that the Wii U is also failing to draw back a significant segment of Nintendo's usually stable fan base. Reams have been written about what Nintendo could or should do to course correct, some of it informed, much of it not (you can lump this post in the with the latter category), but most pundits agree that Nintendo's current approach is not working and that the company ought to be taking reasonable but decisive steps to change their current business model. Which is where we come back to Nintendo's self-perception. Will Nintendo's own values allow them to take the steps needed to turn the situation around? Or is the company too in love with the idea of 'Nintendo' to take a surgical knife to itself.
After all, Nintendo has always tried to present itself as conjurers rather than business men, a dedicated troupe of expert entertainers seeking to dazzle you with tricks that cannot be replicated by other performers, competitors who, of course, lack Nintendo's magic powder, it's secret sauce...the 11 herbs and spices. This fanciful image of Nintendo, one which many fans seem to identify with and which Nintendo in no small part helped to promote, seems so incongruous with modern developments in how video games are built and sold. Which, I guess, is part of the appeal. Nintendo doesn't really seem to co-exist alongside terms like 'micro-transaction' or 'Always Online'; the downside, however, is that neither has Nintendo exactly become synonymous with terms like 'online multiplayer' or 'cross-platform play'.
At this stage I feel like something substantial if not drastic needs to be proposed for Nintendo to turn around their fortunes, which might mean changing their business model and embracing other avenues for revenue. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Nintendo would then need to muster the desire to implement such a change, and it's on that second front that I feel Nintendo are likely to falter. Nintendo in it's current form just doesn't possess the desire or tenacity to make the kinds of swift and significant change needed. As a company it's simply too in love with itself and it's perceived place within the industry.
*The above was intended as a polemical argument designed to instigate debate. Try not to take it to heart.
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