I had jokingly mentioned Zelda Wii U being the last game I would play several times previously, but after last night's news, and several realizations about this hobby and fan base in general, I have decided to post an airing of grievances, as well as my final stance on Wii U and NX.
For the longest time, I thought being a fan of Nintendo was something special- I loved their games, the whimsical aesthetics and absurd concepts they enforced. I enjoyed the variety in their software lineup, even if it wasn't all suited to my tastes. I loved their controllers, the pace at which they introduced new features, all of it. I used to think being a fan of Nintendo was worthwhile.
Now, I firmly believe being a Nintendo fan is suffering.
Either you staunchly defend their decisions or accept them as reality, or you hate the sluggish, irrelevant business they have become. No matter what, you are suffering through mediocrity. I have seen my favorite franchises decay, the third party support dry up, and worst of all, I have seen the Wii U. Now, I have also gone on the record saying that I love the Wii U- and I do. It has given me my favorite Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, and Smash Bros. It has expanded my love of independent games as well as third party titles. But it is the ultimate representation of irrelevance among my friends and within the industry. I can't make a room with my friends in Splatoon because not enough of them own the system. I can't compete in the Smash 4 scene because no one owns the system. I can barely get a decent discussion going on Miiverse because no one takes the service seriously.
But that's beside the point. I'm tired of coming to these forums and seeing the ridiculous state of the company and its dwindling fan base. And now, seeing that Nintendo couldn't even pull the Wii U together, instead jumping ship to NX and holding the game I have been waiting for back because they have to ready it for NX launch- I'll admit, I'm disheartened. I'm tired of giving so much of a **** about video games and my favorite developer/publisher. I think it's time to take a step away from the medium.
I will not purchase whatever the NX is until the next Nintendo console us announced- and even then, I might not do so unless the library is damn good. I don't care if I miss out on the Monster Hunter community, or the initial feedback on the next Monolith Soft title, or the hype of Intelligent Systems suddenly becoming a good developer again. I have come to care too much about how Nibtendo sucks, and about supporting them in whatever way I can. Because they don't really seem to care about my preferences- and that's understandable. They're a business, and they probably want to make money on a larger audience. But I have decided to detach myself from this unhealthy obsession with a medium that I used to actually ENJOY. Maybe, in doing so, I can learn to love it again.
So yes, Zelda Wii U will be the last game I buy for a long time, maybe ever. I'm kinda tired of video games. I'm definitely tired of Nintendo.
The transformation is complete. I am now Ian Sane.