The Unnecessary Departure of Sony (From the Handheld Market)

So Sony is the latest company to drop out of the handheld race, leaving Nintendo once again in the lead and by an absolute longshot. Joining the ranks of Neo-Geo, Sega Game Gear, Lynx, Gamate, WonderSwan, N-Gage, and many more, the PSP series is going by the wayside after years of slowly disappearing from obscurity. There are dozens of reasons why the other handhelds didn’t work, but Sony’s departure is a bit of an enigma considering if anyone can take on Nintendo, it would be Sony. Sony has the history, the resources, and the fanbase to pull it off.

Sony was in the first for a decade. The PSP despite its less-than-stellar reputation in the United States, still managed to sell a superb 80+ million copies. Japan, that fun little country, accounted for a quarter of the sales. Even though the software sales weren’t a fraction of what the Nintendo DS pulled off (Nintendo DS Games with 7+ million sold: 13. Playstation Portable Games with 7+ million sold: 1), the hardware sales were definitely higher than all the previous non-Nintendo handhelds.

So what happened you ask? Sony claims it’s because the smartphone industry damaged its sales. But that is extremely far from the truth.

The Vita got delayed when it could have really punched the 3DS during the dismal launch. The Vita lacked any major IPs when it could have transferred some of its successful console franchises (Final Fantasy, Little Big Planet, Ratchet and Clank, etc.). The Vita could have had some price cuts as opposed to being twice as expensive as the 3DS after you throw in the insane $100 memory cards (A price cut is what SAVED the 3DS). The Vita could have transferred all the PSX/PS2 classics to the handheld to keep the quantity high as opposed to ho-humming its backwards-compatibility. Lastly, Sony could have made adjustments during its extremely tough first year and instead abandoned the handheld into obscurity.



It was left to die.



There is room for success in the handheld industry, as long as you appeal to the correct crowd. The Nintendo 3DS will never reach the astronomical numbers of the original DS because of the meteoric rise of smartphones and tablets, yet has managed 53 million copies. It may not be as big a deal in America, but in Japan there’s nowhere else to go but up. It took the only franchise that made the PSP relevant (Monster Hunter), revved up the amount of software, and made it far more affordable than the PS Vita and also created products that would appeal to both coasts. Argue what you will about all the asinine decisions related to the WiiU, Nintendo figured out how to beat the odds and made the 3DS a device that has earned them more than 10 billion. Sony threw in the towel far too early.

Nintendo’s success and failures has been directly tied to the amount of software it releases for its consoles---not memory power. The Nintendo Game Boy survived nearly a decade against far better-looking options because of games like Tetris, Link’s Awakening, and especially Pokemon. The Nintendo Wii and Super Nintendo were its last two console victories because it had the most games, and most of the best games. The WiiU and Gamecube have been its biggest failures (Virtual Boy isn’t even going to be brought up…ever) because of the lack of software. This is what doomed the Vita: not the competition, not the cheaper options, but because of the sheer lack of reason to spend the money on it.





The Vita is dead. But it didn’t have to die.

The Scary Success of Super Mario Maker

Super Mario Maker is a fantastic product, and a sure-fire example of a gift that keeps on giving. You can make levels, upload levels, and play random levels made by random people all over the world. As long as it sells its cool few million (the Mario/Nintendo Console attach rate is always extremely strong), there will be an endless supply of new content rolling around in the internet long after you’ve exhausted your creativity. You will find your fun levels, your challenging levels, your confusing levels, and levels that will make you scream bloody mary. Essentially, it’s your typical Super Mario Bros. game on an endless supply of Bane steroids.

Four art styles and gameplay styles to choose from (Each game will indeed play differently depending on which version you have chosen), you can construct any crazy level your heart desires to make. You can have Bowser riding on a wiggler in the very beginning of a level. You can have 7 koopas piled high while lakitus toss flying piranha plants at you. You can have a level in which you have to avoid getting bigger in order to advance to the end. Whatever your mind makes up, there’s a good chance it’s feasible on the WiiU.

And this is awesome for the gamers and the Nintendo fans---this is potentially tough news for the actual company. Nintendo may have created a monster, they may have created a scenario in which the students are about to excel and trample over the teacher. Halfway through the production, Nintendo must have noticed that handing the keys of the franchise to a rabid, dedicated, and quite clever fanbase may yield some consequences down the road. What happens when the aspiring chef starts making better recipes than the head chef? You wouldn’t see Major League Baseball allowing the fans to make major decisions, right? (It would explain all the unanswered letters)

I am deathly serious when I mention that some of the levels I have experienced online contain some of the best level design since Super Mario Galaxy 2 back in the Wii days. I am also serious when mentioning that this is the most excited the gaming community is towards a game since Super Mario Galaxy provided Mario with a fresh new look and feel back in 2007.

What is making the gaming world giddy about Super Mario Maker is that with the ability to randomly play other people’s levels there is no consistency, no rhyme or reason, no formula that has been done to death by Nintendo in recent years with their decent-yet-limited New Super Mario Bros. series. We are seeing creativity that we had been desperately craving in the past decade from Mario games---being truly satisfied in the Super Mario Galaxy franchise but not much noise since. Even the highly rated Super Mario 3D World lacked the hype pop that we used to experience in other platforming games.

Nintendo is about to lose control of the Mario franchise, and it has already noticed the dramatic shift as they have been banning YouTube videos left and right concerning speedruns and the notoriously cruel and clever modded levels in recent days (stupid decision I must add). It has even reached a point in which Miyamoto recently talked about having to move the Mario franchise in another direction. He knows just as well as anybody that the nostalgia and the appeal of Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World is far bigger and more extensive than all the recent Mario platformers. The 2-D Mario games for the WiiU have combined for 10 million copies---which is only half of what Super Mario World sold, and still can’t match the numbers of Super Mario Bros. 3 (17 million)---and both games came out during a time in which the gaming industry was much much smaller.

It’s strange for this article to transform from praise towards a revolutionary and ballsy (especially by Nintendo standards) game to become a cautionary piece about the potential upcoming gloom in a franchise that consistently sells millions, I understand your current confusion. However Super Mario Bros. doesn’t move consoles like it used to. Mario Bros., Mario Bros. 3, Mario World, and ultimately Super Mario 64 looked and played well enough that it convinced you to purchase the console. These were hardware movers. And then there’s the big transitions: Mario Bros. Lost Levels to Mario Bros. 3, Mario Bros. 3 to Mario World, and then Mario World to Yoshi’s Island. Nowadays your rookies into the gaming industry know of Mario, might play Mario, but aren’t really purchasing Mario. A change is indeed needed, and Super Mario Maker’s resounding initial success is evidence of that.

Success is sometimes dangerous. Seeing the cash flow sometimes shields the fact that a change is needed. Major League Baseball needed a few changes, and it took years before finally applying some improvements, even though it was already a multi-billion dollar industry that’s always a few yards away from becoming the most lucrative sports league in the planet. The Super Mario franchise has seen over 200 million copies sold, but it does need a refresher, or better yet, a break. Look at what’s happened to Zelda---running on nostalgia fumes.

Perhaps it’s time for Super Mario to take a slight break, with Super Mario Maker providing the platforming thrills until the next installment rolls in. With its easy accessibility, DLC potential, and (hopefully, DON’T MESS THIS UP) easy transition to the next franchise via remake or spiritual sequel, Super Mario Maker can bring in new gamers, new creators, and tons of ideas for years to come. As long as Nintendo doesn’t pull the plug on this potentially budding spin-off, Super Mario Bros. can live off of Mario Maker while it seeks its next renaissance moment.

Whether it’s a change in lineup, gameplay additions, new power-ups, new storylines, new visuals, new spin-offs (Super Mario RPG 2 would be greatly appreciated by the way) or just absolutely revving up the quantity on the next Mario game (aim for the gold Nintendo, gun for 100 levels), we have reached a point in which the only excitement we truly felt about an upcoming Mario game was one that WE were allowed to design. That’s not exactly a good sign of confidence to the company that usually dishes out the experiences. Hopefully Super Mario Maker will serve as a wake-up call as well to Nintendo about the fanbase, about our commitment to the craft, and about the fact that they might need to step its game up. Until then, we have our official Mario level editor, and it’s definitely a dream come true---and probably Nintendo’s worst nightmare.

Nintendo Should Become Marvel (Phase II)

Nintendo should become more like Marvel.



I know, this article has happened before, but it was a wildly different direction I was discussing. Before, I had mentioned how Nintendo needs to embrace the IPs and allow them to expand into more merchandise, television shows, movies, and more exposure altogether. Pokemon Company (only partially owned by Nintendo) generated 2 BILLION in 2014 alone. That is just one franchise. Nintendo owns over 30 franchises. If just half of them could come even close to matching the sales from the Pokemon brand we are looking at an extra 15-20 billion that would go straight to Nintendo’s pocket—combined with the sheer happiness from the rabid, picky, yet excruciatingly loyal fanbase.

So how should Nintendo Marvel it up? By combining the universes together, and bringing a more intimate presentation to the fanbase that is notorious for their creativity, Apple-like consumer habits, and respectful attention to detail. The Legend of Zelda franchise is the best example of this: it started out as a simple series of games and transformed into one of the golden meccas of gaming---and it’s been nearly 2 years since its latest major title, and nearly 4 years since its latest console title. Don’t disrespect Zelda in front of Nintendo fans though; it’s the equivalent to insulting Selena in front of Hispanics. The love runs deep, through the good times (1998-2002 epic run) and the dark times (Skyward Sword, despite still managing to sell a cool couple million). So what if we run the Zelda universe within the same universe as other Nintendo franchises? How awesome would that be?

Part of the appeal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all the connections between each of the films—through storyline, cameos, details, and moments that cause a ripple effect to future installments. The events of Captain America: Winter Soldier directly influenced not only Avengers: Age of Ultron, but also Ant-Man and the ABC television show Agents of Shield. How wonderful would it be that in the next Nintendo console/handheld, we see the popular Nintendo franchises blending together to create new and potentially innovative experiences? How awesome would it be for certain characters like Link and Kirby enter new genres of gaming?

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars became a subtle hit that resonated with gamers for generations because it took a familiar face and put him on a very different platform. Super Mario up until then was known for being in platform games and a few spin-offs here and there (Nowhere near as much as today, but Super Mario Kart was still selling like hotcakes back in the 90s), but in Mario RPG he was in a role-playing game complete with a unique cast of characters and unfamiliar circumstances (Bowser as an ally? Really?!!?). It sold over 2 million copies despite not having a European release and the Nintendo 64 appearing in the same year. Nowadays, it’s worth the price of modern games on Amazon. This type of success can be duplicated if you are willing to open the borders a little.

Now, imagine Link joining the Golden Sun universe. Imagine the Fire Emblem cast entering Hyrule to help Link in his fight to restore peace. Can you imagine seeing Link potentially in strategy games, turn-based RPGs, maybe even some medieval warfare games? Heck, imagine Link going up to the skies to help Kid Icarus take on some demons. Can you imagine the Wario universe and the Super Mario universe colliding together for the first time in a platformer since 1992 (Mentioned this idea before: Super Mario World 3)? Imagine Yoshi entering Donkey Kong Country to help out Donkey Kong and his pals? Imagine the kids from Earthbound/Mother joining forces with Professor Layton to solve a major crime? You can take the best of both worlds and blend them in to not only allow the universes and their storylines to connect, but to also allow for unique gaming experiences that we had not seen from our familiar cast.

This could also increase value to certain games you would otherwise not by on normal circumstances. Despite Fox’s popularity in the Nintendo universe, he hasn’t had a hit game since Star Fox 64---and the upcoming one really isn’t ruffling any feathers. To be honest it looks terrible. But if you were to point out that it’s in the same environment as F-Zero and Metroid, and all three are linked in different ways, then interest will grow. Imagine Nintendo creating a way so that if you own all three games different achievements you unlock in one game creates a new adventure or a new side quest in another. In this case, it would also help F-Zero, another franchise well-known amongst the Nintendo crowd but not exactly consisting of celebratory sales.

I had previously stated that the Nintendo NX, or whatever the next major console will be, should become extremely personal and extremely interactive with its hardcore audience. Look at the fanfare associated with Super Mario Maker because of the sheer ability to craft your own Mario game. This type of gaming opens new windows and allows for Nintendo fans to connect with each other and show off their skills and their love for the brand. Adding a dash of Marvel interactivity amongst the franchises we all know and love could create new gameplay/storyline/online possibilities that would breathe life into brands that aren’t as strong, and would create new layers to popular IPs already in successful existence.

Bottom Line: If there is gaming company that can create this type of connection between art, artist, and consumer, it’s Nintendo. And with a little imitating of the biggest cinematic name in the business currently, we can see another rebound from the Japanese giant when the ninth generation rolls around.