Death of Nintendo?

I find it funny when I read an article or discussion board on videogames to hear people talk of Nintendo as already one foot in the grave? As if the buzzards & vultures are circling overhead already? To hear people actually say that Nintendo should become 3rd party & get out of the hardware business boggles the mind.

Nintendo fuels most of the innovation that's been going on in games (hardware & applications) SINCE the 1980's. If it weren't for them we may not have HAD a gaming industry, seeing as the NES is what revived it after the 1982 crash.

It's a pride thing. You will never see a Mario or a Zelda or any other Nintendo trademark on another system besides a Nintendo one ever again.

Why?

Because Nintendo's designs its hardware to match the software it develops. Always has from day one. And if they don't have the freedom to develop an interface & control setup the way they want then they simply won't do it.

Not just that. It's more of company mindset. Their uniqueness has set them apart for all of these years. It's like any artist who creates something and wants his creation to receive the proper respect and admiration. Protective of his works trusting them only who are deemed worthy.

Nintendo isn't going anywhere ANYTIME soon. You can bet on that. The one who innovates, sustentates.

The only reason Sega is no longer a hardware company is because of the mistakes they made in the 16-bit/32-bit era (Sega CD/32X/Saturn). The Dreamcast was a damned fine system. Full of, that true game maker, innovation in the titles and the presentation. If it were not for the mistakes of the past we would still be talking about Dreamcast right now.

Nintendo & Sega always had 1st party power. The company name on the system also made the games.

Sony & X-Box just don't have that. Never did. Sony survives off of the mass-market appeal due to the plethora of available titles. The glut if you will. You can find Playstation games in Dollar General stores & pharmacies now along with 2-liter bottles of RC cola. Franchises who've left Nintendo went to Playstation and largely keep that ship floating. That may not be forever and if it ever goes what will Sony have to fall back on?

X-Box captures the disaffected market (many ex-Sega loyalists) that won't join Nintendo, some computer gamers, those who like room to customize (only reason I bought an Xbox) due to the hard drive and online gaming fans.

Both of those capture the deluded contingent of people who think of themselves as "adult gamers."

Yet innovation always has resided on Nintendo's side. They keep the industry moving forward even if they don't dominate it like they did in the 1980's. Nintendo has never been out of the fight. And over the past 10 years they've been fortifying a loyal customer base that will give them bedrock they need when they recapture their 3rd party power.

This was the same company that censored the blood out of Mortal Kombat I on the SNES. They will always keep the young market, which is quite smart.

To think that the concerned parent market is a trifle is just foolish thinking. Also over the years they've also become the most economical gaming system. Double whammy. Which system will a concerned parent in this economy buy more readily?

•Sony & Dead or Alive: the Bouncing Chronicles/Grand Theft Auto: Jacker's Revenge for $350?
•X-Box 360 & Halo: Grunts for Heaven/Half-Life: DIE!!! for $400
•Nintendo & Super Mario: Where's My Princess?/Animal Crossing: Look Both Ways for $200

Sure you have to think of all markets/consumers but Nintendo has fortified the family position better than any company. The only reason they've lost market dominance is purely volume issues. Those franchises that filled in the gaps between Nintendo 1st party/2nd party releases largely have jumped ship to the other two systems. Their 3rd party power isn't what it used to be. That's all. And that's not a permanent condition. All it takes is one thing to reverse that.

I would bet that most who think that Nintendo doesn't have a dog in this fight have only come along as a game player during the last 5 or 10 years. I suggest to those individuals who think that way that Nintendo is the oak that will see many comers & goers but will still be that tree standing when it's all said & done.

They're not an electronics company. They're not a computer company. They're a gaming company. Sega was a gaming company. And it is BECAUSE of that why you will NEVER have to worry about a day that games aren't associated with that iconic Japanese name any time soon.

Call it a day for Nintendo when they get rid of the likes of Shigeru Miyamoto & company.Until that happens enough of the premature Nintendo eulogies