History Lesson!

Once upon a time, millions of young children all across the world came to discover the wonders of video games through the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Released in 1985, The N.E.S. went on to single-handedly rescue the video game industry, on the brink of destruction due to Atari’s mishandling of the industry in 1983.

The Great Video Game Crash of 1983 was completely the fault of Atari, who ran the industry into the ground, and prevented gaming from being considered a legitimate hobby.  Some of the members of Generation X think that true retro gaming consists of the Atari and early 1980′s gaming.  This may be true, but never forget that it was Atari who single-handedly killed the video game industry in 1983.

It was Nintendo who rescued the video game industry from total destruction, and ignited the passion of gaming in countless young people.  At the time, gaming was not taken seriously as a hobby, and thanks to Atari, the very idea of selling a video game console was considered such a risky venture, that the N.E.S. was originally only release in one U.S. city, New York!  To put it simply, Nintendo was able to SAVE the video game industry by creating brand new fans of gaming.

Modern Day…

So that’s how Nintendo became the video game giant that we all remember from our childhoods.  Now fast forward to modern day, 2009.  With the Wii, Nintendo is now being accused of selling out their roots by targeting casual gamers and even non-gamers in an attempt to win dominance in the console wars again.  People who had grown up playing Nintendo feel betrayed that they would stop making video games for them, and would start making games for people who don’t even understand the gaming business.

Some gaming nerds consider this to be a form of cheating.  They think that the gaming industry should only make games for them, and that if casual gamers are going to play games, that they should get used to playing games that the nerds enjoy.

Uh huh…?

I call bullshit.  I am so tired of hearing these fanboys bash Nintendo.  I would venture that most of them were among the millions of children who discovered video games back when Nintendo released the N.E.S., and revitalized the business by marketing towards non-gamers.

Simply put, just like in the 1980′s, Nintendo has once again revitalized the gaming industry.  And just like in the 1980′s, they did so by creating a product and marketed it towards casual and non-gamers.  This is GOOD for the gaming industry, because every single one of the hardcore, nerd gamers were once casual gamers, and they were once non-gamers as well.  They all had to start somewhere.  Likewise, a lot of these new gamers that have been drawn in by the Wii and the DS will go on to become hardcore, nerd gamers as well.

My Retort…

And to the people who think that Nintendo cheated in the console wars by targeting non-gamers, I would go on to say that Sony “cheated” by adding a DVD player to their PS2, and a Blu-Ray player to their PS3.  Gaming has nothing to do with watching movies.  I’d also go on to say that Microsoft “cheated” by making the XBox and 360 into entertainment hubs, by having them play music and such, and browse the Internet.  This has nothing to do with gaming.  Yet, despite the fact that the other companies can’t seem to compete without adding bells and whistles to their machines, these people want to cry foul when Nintendo goes and creates products that attract new gamers on their GAMING merits.

Personally, I think these people are just a bunch of Sony and Microsoft fanboys, and are simply sore losers that Nintendo is once again on top of the gaming industry.  Just like in the 1980′s, when Nintendo saved the industry from extinction, they once again saved it in the 2000′s.  Only this time, they saved it from the nerd fanboys who have forgotten what video games are supposed to be about.