Has Nintendo Lost It’s Touch?
Nintendo is a massive gaming company that has been around for over a century. They were the ones responsible for reviving the video game scene after the downfall of the Atari System. Since then, they’ve been a giant and a major stepping stone when regarding other gaming industries like Sega or Capcom.
Recently, however, it has come to the attention of many that Nintendo has fallen from grace. Nintendo has lost its touch, with heightened game prices, unnecessary downloadable content (DLC), expensive Amiibo being released, and—to add insult to injury— their strict policies against fan-made works. They also have general dislike of the competitive scene, specifically regarding the Smash community.
From their distancing from Melee to the infamous Project M incident, Nintendo has been ruthless against their own community. It’s not just that; ever since Reggie Fils-Aimé retired from the company, it has been a slow downhill spiral. Games come out either with bugs or overall low quality that is unsatisfying given the price point. It’s just a matter of time before people realize that Nintendo has practically become their own enemy.
It seems that the fanbase is not far behind, as those who were ganging up on people that had unpopular opinions about Nintendo find themselves now alienated from who they once adored. Sure, cool games have been released like the Super Mario Galaxy duology, but that costs roughly 70 dollars—with no updated graphics. Want to play the new Donkey Kong Bananza DLC? It costs twenty dollars. Want to get a Kirby or a Waddle Dee Amiibo to go with the upcoming Kirby Air Riders? Better pay up, because they cost fifty bucks each.
Heck, even Mario Kart World got put in the dirt after Nintendo forced online players to play the intermission tracks causing many players to have switched over to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds which not only costs less, but the company doesn’t force players to play the main gimmick of the game.
In order for Nintendo to pull themselves out of this mess, they will need some serious restructuring on how they price the games, among other merchandise. Otherwise, history will repeat itself.
