Is it time for a big change at Nintendo?
In the weeks since, its obvious that what Iwata really meant was lost in translation.
Iwata was most likely talking about expanding character licenses, not a major merger with another video game company.
Still, the idea of Nintendo hooking up with another company is intriguing.
Nintensega
Just as I was putting the finishing touches on this article, theSonic/Zeldacrossover DLC forSonic Lost Worldwas released.
Yes, that is Sonic inside of a world themed after Hyrule.
Theyve finally done it, everyone.
But damn if that new DLC forSonic Lost Worlddoesnt get the imagination going, amirite?
One of the biggest criticisms of Nintendo over the years is that they recycle their characters game after game.
Conversely, Sega has a large backlog of properties that they havent touched in years.Toejam and Earlanyone?
One of the Wii Us problems is that truly awesome first-party games have been few and far between.
Such a marriage might also makeSonicgames exclusive to Nintendo platforms, where theyve always sold best anyway.
Nintendo needs as many new reasons as it can get for people to consider picking up its hardware.
Nintendo has said it will always be a hardware company.
I have no problem with that.
The market and industry have changed.
And yet, given the companys past, the following scenario might be the most far-fetched of the three.
Sony and Microsoft scrambled to copy Nintendos idea with the Kinect and PlayStation Move respectively.
It had changed the game world.
Now, look at the Wii U.
The only new addition is the tablet controller.
It comes off feeling like Nintendo was trying to be Apple.
Without anything truly revolutionary about the Wii U, the market moved on.
Im not saying get rid of the thing.
Nintendo has a pro controller for certain games.
Start bundling it with every system.
They have to make their system welcoming to third parties again.
Last generation, it paid off.
This generation, its killing them.
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