The Nintendo Way

Hey. My name is Holly, and I really like video games. Actually, I really like Nintendo. Get that straight right now, because I’ve essentially never been exposed to Xbox or PlayStation.

It’s great to be a Nintendo fan. Nintendo’s got Shigeru Miyamoto, for one. What’s that? Never heard of Shigeru Miyamoto?! He’s only a legend in the video game world! Here’s a clue: he designed both the Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda series. He developed the games that set the golden standard for all video games to come. Seriously, he’s like, my idol.

But back to Nintendo in general. Nintendo is bold! Nintendo bravely leapt into the world of 3-D graphics back in the nineties with Super Mario 64. Nintendo reigns over the handheld gaming market with the mega-popular Nintendo DS system. Nintendo proved to the world that the idea of motion-based gaming could be more than just a gimmick. More than that, Nintendo has captured the heart (not to mention the time and money) of this young gamer. So here are my top ten reasons to love Nintendo:

10.       This is a minor point, but it’s important to the average gamer (that would be me)…Nintendo hardware is built tough. It gets crazy around my house sometimes, with a nine-year-old, a thirteen-year-old, a seventeen-year-old, and me living there. So it’s pretty obvious our Wii has gone through some rough moments. It’s been knocked over aplenty. Even when a game disc is in the system and running, knocking the console over doesn’t affect it at all. Our neighbor, on the other hand, knocked over an Xbox 360 while playing—irreversible damage to the disc made it completely worthless.

9.         Nintendo keeps its franchises close to its heart. When was the last time anyone saw a movie based on The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros.? A TV show? There have been attempts—attempts that were so disastrous, every Nintendo fan on the planet just pretends they never happened. Nintendo is very protective of its property. Some may question why this is a good thing. Well, for one, a movie/TV show would detract from the experience of simply playing the games. Secondly, who knows how badly filmmakers would demolish the core principles that make these games so special? No, Nintendo is better off maintaining boundaries and keeping movie studios and TV networks away.

8.         Any product Nintendo puts out there is just saturated by the care and effort that was put into it. The developers involved love what they do and that comes through. I don’t believe the company would release any product, game, or system that they didn’t think was a quality, polished final product. Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii experienced two setbacks in release before finally making it into the hands of eager fans.

7.         Nintendo music dominates number 7 on this list! In fact, as I sit at my desk writing at this moment, I’m listening to the song Dark World from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. My love of music combines with my love of Nintendo to create…a love of Nintendo music! Music in video games can be truly beautiful and truly terrifying, truly funky or truly traditional. The reason I emphasize the word ‘truly’ is that people, even gamers, tend to overlook the role music plays in video games. It adds to the experience like movie soundtracks add to their respective films, possibly even more so in games.

6.         Club Nintendo and the general way in which the company treats its consumers is really genuine. I’m not well-known, by any means, but I feel like I belong to this enormous community of gamers (possibly in part due to the fact that I comment and leave feedback on game trailers and such on YouTube). I’ve gotten at least five free items from Club Nintendo, all of which I have put to use spectacularly. The sense of unity among Nintendo and all its fans is something special.

Up next on “Nintendo Lifeline”…hey, this list isn’t finished yet! Check back soon to find out the final five best reasons to love Nintendo!