It looks like History is about to repeat itself in that regard, if the software line-up in this video is any indication. Go ahead, watch it... This blog will still be here when you get done.
Done watching the video? Okay, now we can continue...
So, this is what the fanboys seem to think about the current state of the industry...
I've been a gamer for a LONG time now. It started when I was a 2 year-old sitting in front of the TV playing with my mother's old Pong clone, the Magnavox Odyssey 3000. I was in awe. It continued over the next few years with seemingly magical trips to Showbiz Pizza (now known as Chuck E. Cheese) where I got to play Arcade games I still love to this day like Pole Position, SEGA Turbo and Atari's Star Wars game. Then, shit got real when I got the NES for Christmas in 1988...
I was less than 2 weeks away from my 7th birthday at that time. I'm 31 now. I have since amassed a collection of 6 computers (all capable of running at least Windows XP and/or Linux), 48 consoles & portables (including my extra copies of certain systems) and 509 titles spread across these platforms. Since many of those game titles are greatest hits collections, the actual number of games (including all the many duplicates) would be a staggering 1,750.
Of all that, at least half of the titles and systems are from Nintendo. (Another quarter of the collection is easily from Atari.)
I do have a lot of stuff from Nintendo's competitors past and present, and a number of computer games. (Some are even compatible with MacOS & Linux!) I've also gotten rid of a LOT of stuff over the years too.
Some I don't miss... (PS1, Genesis 32X)
Some I can't believe I sold... (Atari 7800, Atari Jaguar)
And some that seemed worthless back then, only to be something I need again now... (The SEGA Game Gear that was originally my younger brother's game machine...)
Various titles aside, I have NEVER sold any of my Nintendo consoles. Except for those 3 original Game Boys that my parents got for me and my 2 younger brothers, I've never sold any of the portables, either. (The 3 different GBA portables I have now will play all of the few remaining Game Boy games I still have.)
So, what's the lesson to be learned here? The cream always rises to the top.
Call them kiddie, the 'Mario Factory' or the 'Walt Disney of game companies' all you want. They are still here when sooooo many of their competitors have either...
1.) Quit making consoles to become 3rd party developers (Atari, SEGA, NEC, Mattel, Bandai)
2.) Been purchased by or merged with other toy/electronic/entertainment companies (Bandai, Atari, Tiger Electronics) or...
3.) Have just disappeared altogether. (Coleco, Epyx, Midway)
Even if they aren't always #1, they are always a strong competitor with 1st party franchises that keep people coming back for more.
That's how they constantly keep coming back like the killer in a series of slasher flicks. That's how they became the 800lb. Gorilla in my game collection. And that is how they will be around for the foreseeable future. No one else has been able to develop as many hit franchises and use them to their advantage.
Don't believe me? Well, then let's look at their major past and present competitors...
SEGA
SEGA had one great 1st party franchise with Sonic the Hedgehog and tried to form others with the Virtua series titles. Too bad that wasn't enough for them since the Nintendo/SEGA rivalry was AWESOME. That's why I dearly miss this company.
It's also too bad that for many years Sonic had some really poorly received titles in his franchise. SEGA's mascot deserved better.I'm also increasingly glad that the games he's getting now are actually worthy of the character.
Who knows? If they had not wasted money on pointless Genesis add-ons, they might have formed more hit franchises and could possibly still be a console maker today. They had a few promising prospects with the Virtua series and a fighting game called Eternal Champions but, they just didn't exploit the opportunities presented.
Atari
Atari relied on ports of their arcade titles (and a few notable 3rd party titles like Space Invaders) for the 'killer apps' on their consoles and computers. (Yes, they made computers for many years as well, including the world's first palm top, the Atari Portfolio. You may have seen it in the movie T2: Judgment Day.)
That approach to software made sense when the industry was started, largely by them. Video Games were seen as the next iteration in arcade amusements, largely supplanting redemption games (Skeeball, Claw games, anything else that might give you tickets) and Pinball. By the time Nintendo came around with the NES and Mario in 1985, that changed forever. Atari didn't change with the times and consequently became less and less relevant.
Like SEGA, I dearly miss them too... :(
Nintendo's current rivals, Sony and Microsoft, have few (if any) 1st party franchises at all.
SONY
Sony has the Ratchet & Clank series, which is an enjoyable bunch of platformers. The PlayStation consoles were also the exclusive home of many popular 3rd party franchises like Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto for many years. However, if the 3rd party companies decide to abandon Sony, they are in serious trouble. I have mixed feelings on that since they have been a good foil for Nintendo over the years. They did great in sales with the PS1 & PS2. They stumlbed with the PS3 because of bad marketing and ridiculously high prices. We'll see how it goes with the PS4. I will give it a chance, even if that doesn't necessarily lead to a purchase.
I will say this much for Sony: They were certainly much stronger competitors than Atari and SEGA ever were. Atari was easily brushed aside by the Big N and SEGA could only compete with them in the 16-Bit era with the Genesis. (And that was due mostly to Sonic, sports games that no one remembers and a version of Mortal Kombat that actually had blood.)
MICROSOFT XBOX DIVISION
The only exclusive franchise this company has is HALO. Virtually ANY other game that has ever appeared on an XBOX machine can also be found on a PC (including HALO), PS2, PS3, GameCube, Wii or WiiU. It's also going to be virtually identical to ports on the other platforms too. There's virtually nothing besides HALO to distinguish XBOX on the software front. That is really sad to me. There is a lot more potential here since Microsoft has more money than just about any corporation on Earth.
I played the first two HALO titles on the original XBOX. I have not played the other sequels since that time. Microsoft has been known to have a LOT of hardware problems with their 360 console and that turned me off. I'm not interested in the new XBOX ONE console, either. There are earlier entries over the last few months in this blog that explain why.
Without HALO, they would not have any real exclusives that could keep them profitable. That ain't good. In fact, the first console would not have existed if it hadn't been for Microsoft having billions of Dollars to throw at the product. If not for their money, I'd say Microsoft's position in gaming was the most tenuous of the current marketplace competitors. Thanks to that HUGE pocketbook though, 3rd party companies are still willing to take a chance. If all else fails, XBOX can always run home to Daddy for more cash. Draw what conclusions you will about that...
In conclusion, it's not necessarily impossible to have a successful (and even legendary) game console/portable without a good collection of 1st party franchises. Atari did that with the 2600 and (so far) no one else has pulled it off since. After all, did you see a lot of sequels to the home versions of their arcade hits? The only one I know of is Millipede, which was the sequel of Centipede. Not many people bought Millipede on the 2600, either. By the time that game made it to home consoles, the NES was available and the NES version sold better. I had it once.
However, having a strong 1st party line-up certainly does help. Thanks to Mario, Zelda, Metroid, F-Zero, the Wii series games, et al., I know what I'm getting when I buy Nintendo. I'm not always sure with everyone else. That ain't right. Why spend hundreds of Dollars on a Halo machine or the 'repository of 3rd party ventures' that is the PlayStation brand nowadays? That may very well be why the PS Vita has been a flop and why the PS3 has struggled its whole life. Oh well... Sucks to be them, I guess...
- Lord Publius
P.S. While this could very well be (mis)interpreted as me being a Nintendo fanboy in a lot of ways (which is quite true), I prefer to think of it as taking the most objective look at the market that I possibly could. Either way, Nintendo gets 1st preference in the current console/portable market. PS4 & XBOX ONE also cost too damned much, anyway...
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