xSuperMario64x
hiatus 💙💜
on a different note, it's kind of interesting to think about all the times when Nintendo tried to be innovative, and failed. that's one thing I like about them, their desire to approach video game development in fun and quirky ways by taking risks. obviously in some cases it works well, as is the case with the Wii Remote. but then you have the Power Glove, the 64DD, the Wii U Gamepad, and most notably, the Virtual Boy. I really can't understand what they were thinking with the Virtual Boy; red and black LCD screens? three inches away from your eyes? really?By the way, Nintendo has been messing up since the beginning... Power Glove???
but they always try, and hit or miss they keep winning the long game.
I also like that you gave your personal perspective on the situation, it shows that context and personal experience really is a huge factor here. I guess it's inevitable that, as the decades go on, Nintendo will take on new leadership and evolve as a company. some of us change with the times, and some of us prefer to stick with the games that give us that cozy and welcoming feeling.
I wanted to mention as well that the biggest issue I have with the Switch, is that it feels so... lifeless in comparison to previous consoles. take the 3DS for example. the home menu has nice ambient music. there are also multiple base themes to choose from, and tons more that you could buy from the theme shop pretty cheaply; those themes would change the home screen music and sound effects, and I thought that was a nice touch. the 3DS home screen had one space for the inserted cartridge game, and beyond that, it had a huge variety of applications to choose from, like the photo app, Mii Maker, Streetpass Plaza, Activity Log, the eShop, and Download Play. then you have the downloaded applications, like the Badge Arcade, Virtual Console, demos, and 3DS software (like Colors 3D). speaking of the Badge Arcade, it was always one of my favourite things about the 3DS. being able to decorate the home screen with badges, and even being able to switch up the application icons with special badges (my gold 3DSXL has Super Mario icons for the standard apps), is a nice concept and makes personalization fun! I could go on and on, but the point is that the 3DS, despite being somewhat of a flop for Nintendo (compared to the DS, anyway), felt really cozy and fun and welcoming to me. add onto that the fact that the 3DS is an incredible homebrew console, and you have some of the reasons why it's one of my favourite game consoles of all time.
by comparison, the Switch feels... dull. there is no menu music. I'm not a fan of how the games are laid out in a straight row, even when they're not inserted. the application icons are small and basic. there is no photo app, no music app, no Download Play, no Activity Log (a pet peeve of mine, the "played for 35 hours or more" is too vague for me), no Streetpass; I'm not saying that these are all necessary, but it kind of ups the fun factor for me personally. the Mii Maker is hidden away in the Settings menu, and has no background music at all. there are only two themes—light and dark—and despite having an obvious opportunity to reintroduce paid themes, Nintendo didn't do that. I do like how you can customize your profile icon (it kinda sucks that it's tied to Platinum Points and NSO, but even the 3DS had a similar problem with badges), that's something at least. but these things make the Switch feel very corporate and impersonal to me, and unwelcoming.
I really hope that the Switch 2 has more options in terms of customization. better yet, I hope that they don't continue on the path of that soulless corporate vibe. it seems like so many things nowadays are following that path (going into a McDonald's nowadays makes me feel uncomfortable, it's so bland and ugly), and it's sad. it'd be nice if the Switch 2 would stand out as a fun and charismatic game console, like old Nintendo.
(I doubt it since it's a stupidly big number for a book.)