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[Not]

Eh, I sort of agree, but they're all I ever buy anyway. Gritty, "realistic" games have no real appeal for me... I liked Portal, Red Dead, and the Arkham games, but everything else was super meh. Out of all video games, I still only really play the core Zelda and Mario and Pokemon titles, whenever they come out.

I just got a 3DS XL, my first console since 2006, to play Pokemon X&Y and Zelda: LBTW.

 

[fred]

Well I've actually been the opposite. I've always favoured Sony consoles over Nintendo consoles in the past: PS1 over the N64, the PS2 over the GameCube and the PSP over the DS. Before that I missed the NES and SNES due to gaming on computers rather than consoles.

The Wii was the first Nintendo machine I ever bought (I even missed out on Nintendo handheld gaming). So basically I've been missing out on the vast majority of Nintendo games apart from times when I've played them at a friend's place, but most of my friends have been like me and favoured Sony consoles too.

Now I'm pretty much a convert lol. Since owning the Wii I've bought myself a 3DS when the price was cut and a Wii U on launch day and I'm pretty much guaranteed to get the next Nintendo handheld and home consoles without a second thought.

The only problem I have is with Mario, he has to be one of the most annoying video game characters of all-time...there's only so many 'woo hoos' and 'whee hees' I can stand before I want to throw something at my telly lol, and I'm not such a big fan of 2D platformers so any 2D Mario game is out and I have to play the 3D ones in small doses lol.

Out of all of their IPs I personally put Wii Sports, Metroid and Zelda right up there as the best ones they have.

Apologies for the novel lol ;oP

 

[Mr. Fix]

I'm actually the opposite this past year. Aside from the Galaxies, Fire Emblem, and Smash games, I haven't played any of their other big titles before. It sounds like you should take a break though, maybe you'll find some appreciation for the titles later on in the generation.

 

[urfe]

I don't like all Nintendo games, and never have any interest in some of their biggest franchises (Pokemon, Animal Crossing), but they are still my favorite developer, and honestly besides a few other games (Dragon Quest, Ace Attorney, Layton), I think I almost exclusively play Nintendo games.

So I guess I'm the opposite. I'm actually planning on buying a Wii U soon, and so I looked up on YouTube the third party games out for it (Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, etc.), and honestly just could not care.

Moral of the story is to just play what you like, especially as you get older and time becomes more precious.

 

[Astral/H3X]

I started off primarily Nintendo, branched out, and am finding myself sinking more and more back into a Nintendo based hole. Not that it's a bad hole, it's a nice, cushy hole.
I honestly play my Wii U the most right now. Just dusting off my 360 right now in fact for some Bayonetta romping in a bit, but even my gaming PC is starting to get neglected.

 

[goldenpp72]

Don't think this will ever happen to me, unless they start pumping out generic dark emo teen trash as well, but play what appeal to you

 

[kswiston]

I feel Steam/PC + Nintendo is the best route. You get the best first-party output and the multi-platform games with the masterful Steam infrastructure.

If I had to pick two, I would pick those. However, I like a lot of Sony's first party stuff, plus JRPGs, so I am going to be going with PC/PS4/Wii U next gen (along with the two handhelds I already own). Then XB1 will release enough must have games that I will probably end up with that as well at some point...

Luckily, between Steam, bomba bins, and PS+, the actual gaming part can be pretty cheap after you swallow the initial hardware costs.

EDIT: In Canada, Shopper's Drugmart has been my secret weapon. During their 20x store points events, I shop for groceries, bathroom supplies, and games that I would buy anyhow. I then use these points to heavily subsidize new hardware. My 3DS and Vita were free other than the taxes. My wife doesn't really mind much when I come home with a $30 handheld.

 

[beast786]

i agree OP . i agree

 

[jetjevons]

Last Nintendo game that had be spellbound was SMG2.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

My love for their games is as strong as ever but as a company they piss me off more and more as time goes by.

 

[metalslimer]

It's really weird. In one sense, I really don't agree because they are still my favorite developer and make awesome games and even some of my favorites of all time. On the other hand, I feel just a lack of interest in like half of what they put out. My advice, stop buying every single big Nintendo game and focus on what really appeals to you. For me that's Fire Emblem and 3D Mario. It's okay though. Tastes can fluctuate a lot. I don't think Nintendo's quality has had any huge nosedive

Last Nintendo game that had be spellbound was SMG2.

Xenoblade for me. 3D World will change that when I get a Wii U

 

[mstevens]

As backwards as this sounds, I could see this generation being better for current and future Nintendo fans than last generation.

Forgetting numbers for a second, I think casual young (read: 15-24) gamers were put off by the Wii as a console for anything besides Wii Sports and Mario Kart because they either perceived the motion controls as a gimmick and the graphics being in SD. Somehow, the Wii became "uncool" in a lot of circles. I didn't have a Wii for other reasons (money) but I'm currently going back and playing Wii games on my Wii U and trying to rave about them to my friends, who are casual gamers, and I always get the same response. "Pfff, Wii didn't have any good games".

With the Wii U being in HD and the controller being somewhat more standard, the OS, eShop everything just seems a lot more polished and less "cheap", I think gamers will give it a more of a chance. The great part about this is I think people will go back and appreciate what content there was for the Wii because of backwards compatibility.

As for the 3DS, it may not be selling as well as the DS but to me it is such a polished system compared to its predecessor and its library just oozes charisma.

Classic Nintendo is great, don't get me wrong, but (from this generation alone) so is FE: Awakening, Mario Kart 7. Super Mario 3D Land, Animal Crossing, DKCR, NSMBU (imo), Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101 and it looks like Super Mario 3D World, Pokemon X/Y, Zelda 3DS and other upcoming games will live up to the Nintendo standard.

 

[Dog Problems]

My interest in what Nintendo is doing comes and goes. For the past year or so I haven't been paying much attention to them but recently I got in the mood for their stuff again. I've been catching up with 3DS games and plan on getting a Wii U soon.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

After a whole gen of my Wii collecting dust from 06-10 I was actually burned out on the AAA games and all that on PS360. It was extremly refreshing to return in early 2010 and play all the goodness I missed for whatever reason I dont know.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

If I had to pick two, I would pick those. However, I like a lot of Sony's first party stuff, plus JRPGs, so I am going to be going with PC/PS4/Wii U next gen (along with the two handhelds I already own). Then XB1 will release enough must have games that I will probably end up with that as well at some point...

That sounds about right. I'm in that "LOL Xbox/Kinect/$500" mood right now, because Halo Reach/4 disapointed me and Gears Judgement was a bad direction for the series I felt, but if Sunset Overdrive is as interesting as I hope...if Halo 5 60fps/dedicated servers is a return to form...if they start getting another must-play games...fuck it, I'm picking that up too(at a reduced price).

And you're right about the cheaper prices after the initial investments. If there one thing this generation taught me, is if you can wait a bit, that game you want will be $40-30 bucks in a few months, or free on PS+, or practically given away on a Steam sale

except Nintendo games of course

 

[Currygan]

I've been playing Nintendo games for 27 years. There have been moments when i thought my love for Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus was going to fade away, but all I need is to play the newest game and I'm amazed to feel my love for these beautiful games still intact. They *are* gaming for me, their disappearance would make videogames a completely meaningless hobby for me. COD, AssCreed, WoW, Sony, Microsoft, EA, all this shit could disappear the very next day and I could not care less as long as Nintendo is still in the game. I still love them, and probably always will

 

[Yoday]

I feel the exact same way OP. I was a hardcore Nintendo fan for many years. I personally feel like the N64 was the height of Nintendo, and they have been going downhill ever since. Games like Mario 64, Zelda OoT, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64 ect, were all absolute masterpieces that they just haven't even come close to capturing the magic of again. They still had a few great games at the beginning of the GCN era, but even then you could start to see things slipping away.

Nintendo just feels like a lost company right now. Their systems show this, their games show this, and I feel like a lot of their fans are slipping through their fingertips. I would be thrilled to see Nintendo make games again that are at the quality level of what they put out on the N64 and SNES, but I just don't see it happening anytime soon. They have been on a decade long downward spiral, and it is going to take a dramatic change in the way their leadership approaches games for anything to change.

It is also my opinion that a big problem is the fact that most games media still praises everything Nintendo does. They are easier on Nintendo now, than they were in the N64/GCN days. It's like they are afraid of getting murdered in their sleep by crazed Nintendo fans if they say anything less than glowing about Nintendo's games.

 

[Riki]

I feel the exact same way OP. I was a hardcore Nintendo fan for many years. I personally feel like the N64 was the height of Nintendo, and they have been going downhill ever since. Games like Mario 64, Zelda OoT, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64 ect, were all absolute masterpieces that they just haven't even come close to capturing the magic of again. They still had a few great games at the beginning of the GCN era, but even then you could start to see things slipping away.

Nintendo just feels like a lost company right now. Their systems show this, their games show this, and I feel like a lot of their fans are slipping through their fingertips. I would be thrilled to see Nintendo make games again that are at the quality level of what they put out on the N64 and SNES, but I just don't see it happening anytime soon. They have been on a decade long downward spiral, and it is going to take a dramatic change in the way their leadership approaches games for anything to change.

It is also my opinion that a big problem is the fact that most games media still praises everything Nintendo does. They are easier on Nintendo now, than they were in the N64/GCN days. It's like they are afraid of getting murdered in their sleep by crazed Nintendo fans if they say anything less than glowing about Nintendo's games.

You can't actually believe this...

 

[one_kill]

It is also my opinion that a big problem is the fact that most games media still praises everything Nintendo does. They are easier on Nintendo now, than they were in the N64/GCN days. It's like they are afraid of getting murdered in their sleep by crazed Nintendo fans if they say anything less than glowing about Nintendo's games.

What?!

 

[mstevens]

I feel the exact same way OP. I was a hardcore Nintendo fan for many years. I personally feel like the N64 was the height of Nintendo, and they have been going downhill ever since. Games like Mario 64, Zelda OoT, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64 ect, were all absolute masterpieces that they just haven't even come close to capturing the magic of again. They still had a few great games at the beginning of the GCN era, but even then you could start to see things slipping away.

Nintendo just feels like a lost company right now. Their systems show this, their games show this, and I feel like a lot of their fans are slipping through their fingertips. I would be thrilled to see Nintendo make games again that are at the quality level of what they put out on the N64 and SNES, but I just don't see it happening anytime soon. They have been on a decade long downward spiral, and it is going to take a dramatic change in the way their leadership approaches games for anything to change.

It is also my opinion that a big problem is the fact that most games media still praises everything Nintendo does. They are easier on Nintendo now, than they were in the N64/GCN days. It's like they are afraid of getting murdered in their sleep by crazed Nintendo fans if they say anything less than glowing about Nintendo's games.

Just curious, what first party Wii and Wii U games have you spent time with?

 

[BPoole]

That happened to me too. I grew up on Nintendo but their games just stopped appealing to me. Now it seems like it's just more of the same with the same characters

 

[Immaculate]

You can't actually believe this...

I agree to an extent tbh

 

[Rushersauce]

You grew up.

Lol.......

 

[Riki]

I agree to an extent tbh

Yeah, the gaming Media just laps up everything Nintendo does...

Come on...

 

[Village]

Mario Galaxy... inferior?

I dunno either,

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I still love them. The only bad things they've done for me is Sticker Star......... I'm still salty about that.

They also need to stop with the tutorial crap(see Skyward Sword and Dream Team)

 

[SolarPowered]

Oh yeah, while I think their games are largely fine I can easily agree their hardware nowadays is fucking abysmal. Right down to the OS-level where there still isn't proper account support and they're the only console maker still implementing region-locks.

The tablet while fun enough didn't remotely justify how weak the Wii U is, and I think the 2DS is proof enough alone Nintendo knows the 3DS's 3D functions was a flash in the pan fad they shouldn't have built a system around.

This is a better problem to have than uninteresting games at the very least. You can wait until hardware gets cheap enough for the awesome games, but the best hardware in the world is useless without the good sofware. I guess this is me looking on the bright side.

3D and expensive ventures like the gamepad still suck to me though

 

[Kai Dracon]

Given the practically universal list of Nintendo releases the OP feels is inferior to the experiences of youth, to be honest I'd have to go with: the OP is indeed having an inferior experience with games today. But it's not entirely the fault of the games.

The problem with being a lifelong fan of anything - and very particularly with being a fan of Nintendo, a company that people tend to counter in their formative years - is that at a certain point you run the very real risk of nostalgia burnout. You go through phases in life, and you can never recapture the subjective experience of a prior phase.

For many people, all Nintendo (in this example) experiences will be forever inferior to when they played Ocarina of Time on christmas morning at age 12. This doesn't mean their modern experience is "wrong". It's just subjective. But it can be difficult to separate subjective feelings from an objective assessment of media that's failing to satisfy. Most people just take the easy way out and say everything new sucks, it was Better In My Day. (Not saying the OP is being this simplistic. It is a general observation.)

It's difficult to say what will happen. Maybe one will remain disappointed in all new experiences. Maybe you'll change, and come back again with fresh eyes. Everyone is different.

 

[Incitemaybe]

The only games that have let me down are the last two console Zelda's. They were ok, but for the first time I have never had the urge to return to a Zelda game...twice in a row.

It's too short of a time frame to make a judgement in terms of "is Nintendo letting the magic leave" for me however.

 

[Riki]

The only games that have let me down are the last two console Zelda's. They were ok, but for the first time I have never had the urge to return to a Zelda game...twice in a row.

It's too short of a time frame to make a judgement in terms of "is Nintendo letting the magic leave" for me however.

Especially when you consider the last 5 or so years has seen some of their best games being released.

 

[EhoaVash]

I used to just like Nintendo for super smash brothers and pokemon also sonic cause there was quite a few sonic games on the gamecube. I never was a mario fan, thought the games were lame/boring until I played Mario galaxy which blew me and my friend away. Same with the Zelda games, I played OoT and got really bored after a hour or so, and wind waker was also boring and "kiddy" for me lulz. Other than that, I really wasn't into other nintendo series. I was a big smash fan and brawl made me buy a wii, I was let down a bit because the game just didn't feel the same as melee after a month. With nothing else to play, I decided to give other nintendo series a shot and I fell in love with mario cause of galaxy and started to gain interest back in zelda after having spent playing TP all winter vacation. and now their games really pipe my interest the most but at the same time, I hardly have time to play any games anymore D:

 

[Yanikun]

Lost interest since the DS and the Wii you say?

Personally, I lost interest in gaming when I entered my teenage years. I didn't have as much time and had other hobbies. The GameCube and the PS2 didn't grab me much. The DS I thought was awful hardware. I bought a PSP and I don't think I ever truly enjoyed a game all that much on it. Again had other hobbies when the Wii came out so I must have only ever played one multiplayer race of Mario Kart with my brothers on it.

When I started college, I was living alone in a rented room and wanted a blu-ray player. The PS3 was on sale so I was like eh, why the hell not. Like the PSP, I never really had all that much fun on it apart from Sonic All Stars Racing and re-playing Crash Bandicoot on PSN. It pretty much just became my blu-ray/Netflix player.

Then halfway through my studies, I found out the 3DS had just released. I had vaguely heard about it. I try a demo unit with Pilotwings Resort on it and the 3D blew me away, and I found the graphics very appealing. I quickly went to my campus library to check out more info on it and liked what I saw, so I ordered one and it completely rekindled my love of gaming. I haven't enjoyed gaming that much since the SNES/N64/PS1/Dreamcast/GB/GBC/GBA.

The Nintendo brand is synonymous with high-quality standards and polish to me. I enjoyed every single one of their 3DS games. Even those that didn't particularly grab me enough to get me to see them through the end, I had mad respect for the Nintendo touch and quality standards.

It might also be a reaction to what gaming has become. I feel like Nintendo is the only one of the big three who kept pure gameplay at the core of everything. Some would see that as a negative, but at the core of it I think they haven't changed, when Sony, Microsoft and a lot of big third-party publishers did. I don't understand why the industry went in the direction it did, it's been increasingly bothering me for a decade, and the 3DS seems to be shielded from that. And to be clear, I'm not one of those guys who only play Nintendo games, far from it, but the great majority of the games I play are tailored for the 3DS (meaning either exclusives or timed exclusives).

Of course I enjoy other things, like Wipeout or Need for Speed, but those series actually date back to the PS1 era which I thought was fantastic. The only thing completely unrelated to Nintendo systems, the PS1 or the Dreamcast that I really thought was brilliant was Gravity Rush.

So I don't know, OP. There's a world outside Nintendo and it depends how attracted you are to it. I'm maybe an anomaly because I like Nintendo for their hardware. I thought the GameCube was a boring system that only improved on what the N64 could do graphically. The 3DS is different, and I'm very interested in the Wii U because it's also different. The Vita, PS4 and Xbox One are clearly trying to go in the direction of PC's, and I never cared for PC gaming. 3DS and Wii U are going in the direction of Nintendoland, where the farthest thing from your mind when you're playing it is PC gaming. It's a bubble, and maybe you can make the argument they're not as good as they used to be (I personally don't think so, I think they got better), but maybe one of the reasons it's getting increasingly harder to love Nintendo for you is because they're so far removed from what all the other major companies are doing. That's a double-edged sword for Nintendo.

Or it could just be Iwata. If so, please understand.

 

[MackAttack]

I haven't owned a Nintendo console since NES. I'm thinking about grabbing a Wii U to catch up through the Virtual Console.

 

[KingSnake]

I don't know, I feel rather the opposite now. I almost abandoned gaming for a long period (between 2004 and 2011) and playing only occasionally on my PC. I got a Wii cheap and very late just to catch up with what Nintendo put in while I was missing. I wasn't that impressed, but there were some nice games. I got a Wii U at launch, because I liked the idea behind it. Now I am thinking that their output for Wii U until now is among their best. Nintendo Land brought back the fun of gaming party, even with my non-gaming friends. NSMBU (and even more NSLU) is really a great platformer. It has its flaws (like the limited co-op) but the level design is wonderful from my point of view. Pikmin 3 is a masterpiece, combining excellent story, graphics and gameplay. It is a culmination of the franchise. Maybe the story is a little short, but it has well designed missions and an ingenious bingo battle mode to compensate for that. Mario 3d World it seems that it could become a culmination of the Mario 3d series, but it has to fight with all the nostalgia and pink tinted glass memories. We will see how that works.

W101 as a new IP proposal from Nintendo is like a travel back in time, to the era when playing a game meant learning, overcome the challenge, be happy to succeed. Where you didn't need a fake achievement to measure your abilities, but rather feel happy for what you achieved by overcoming all the obstacles and beating the levels one by one.

I could say that I am reborn as a gamer now because of Nintendo.

 

[Elfforkusu]

The 2 best games Nintendo has ever made were for the Wii, so I'm not sure I agree with the premise that they're getting worse...

 

[frizby]

I'm in this boat as well.

Disclosure: Probably 5 of my top 10 games of all time are Nintendo titles, and Super Mario Galaxy was my favorite series of last generation. I even think the Wii was a pretty decent console.

But I simply don't don't know what Nintendo is doing any more, and I have almost zero interest in the WiiU or anything on it. It saddens me to say this, but I would be much happier if Nintendo went 3rd party.

 

[CMSC]

The same here. I have been a Nintendo fan since the NES but now the Nintendo games don't attract me too much as before. Not the same situation with the machines tough, but now on my DS and 3DS probably i have 2 or 3 Nintendo games and the rest are third party titles...

 

[maverick40]

I'm in my third year of university and generally have no time at all for games, I'm therefore only purchasing games which fit the elite category, what are those games? For me Nintendo games and GTAV.

What are you studying in university that you can't play any other game besides Nintendo and gta v?

 

[braves01]

Nintendo is one of the few things that still gets me excited about gaming. The Wii and DS era was truly a great time to be a Nintendo fan, imo. So many creative new franchises, not to mention all-time Nintendo franchise classics (e.g, SMG1/2, NSMB Wii, DKCR).

 

[SykoTech]

Does anyone feel similar?

I do. Almost exactly the same.

-Grew up loving Nintendo and Sega above all else.
-Was extremely hyped for the Wii.
-Was then let down by thee majority of their output during the Wii era (especially Brawl).
-Went back to old games like Melee and had my mind blown all over again.
-Wii U stuff fails to excite me as much as Nintendo games used to.

I was even 16 when the Wii came out too.

My suggestion: branch out a bit and try out some games a little outside of your comfort zone, perhaps on other platforms. That's what I've mainly been doing and have had a great time discovering new stuff (Valkyria Chronicles, Mirror's Edge, etc.).

 

[shouamabane]

Play something else then?

 

[Rezae]

I'm the opposite. Grew up hardcore NES and SNES, but Nintendo systems have mostly been my 2nd or even my 3rd tier systems ever since (have still bought everyone).

Recently I've really gotten back into them. Having the most fun in my gaming life playing Nintendo games together with my 4 year old daughter.

They're not perfect. I feel Zelda has really gone downhill lately, and I just want to scream at someone for the lack of F-Zero and Metroid news. And while I knew my daughter would love 3D World, it seemed like a cash-in and not that ambitious (recent trailers have me much more hopeful now though). Their approach to online and account systems is archaic at best. If I buy SMB1 I want it on all my systems..

Anyway, I still find most of their recent games to be quite good and even underrated. Great games for families. As busy as life gets as I get older and as burnt out as I am on dudebro 18-29 targeted big budget games, Nintendo games seem like a great escape to me these days.

 

[Raw64life]

Mine isn't as strong as it once was but it's still there. This generation was the first generation where a Nintendo console wasn't my primary means of playing video games but I still owned and loved the Wii. I've yet to get a Wii U but after that 3D World trailer the absolutely latest I'll be getting one is November 22.

 

[plainr_]

Expanding on my first post in this thread...

It also seems like I may be losing interest in Mario games as well. I still haven't finished both the Super Mario Galaxy games. I initially played them on the Wii but for some reason something wasn't clicking or something did not feel right. I figure, I should build a beastly computer to play these on PC instead with high IQ and everything. Nope, I still don't have the desire to complete the game. SMG1/2 are very good games but I can't exactly pin point the reason why I lose interest mid way.

FAKE EDIT: Now looking back and thinking more about it, the reason could be me feeling nauseated from the spherical level designs.

 

[NotSelf]

 

[dcx4610]

Join the club. If you've played 25+ years of Nintendo, it's definitely wearing thin now. I bought a Wii U just like every other Nintendo and realize I don't care at all about Mario or even Zelda these days.

They are the same formula, nothing risky or ground breaking and just don't get me excited. Wind Waker HD? Ok, I played that 10 years ago and you are packing it in with your new system? Give me a break.

I want new ideas, new franchises and new blood in Nintendo or this is likely my last console from them.

 

[Yasumi]

I agree, since I grew up with Nintendo as well. You can only bombastically innovate so much before you kind of hit a plateau. Stuff like Mario is Nintendo's main mascot, so they need to keep the series going. They can't make an "ultimate Mario game." Sure, something with 64's moves, Sunshine's hub world, and Galaxy's variety would be awesome, but where would they go from there?

We've grown up through it, seen the innovations of a world map, inventory, secrets, Yoshi's introduction, a 3D world, parkour, the water nozzle, and planets. How do you top that? You don't. You crank things back, which I noticed with the linearity in Galaxy, and you innovate to a new audience. At least, that's what I imagine is happening.

In my case, I just don't give a shit about Nintendo in general anymore because I grew up with them, so the staticness of the main Nintendo series are very apparent to me. The IPs are stale, the characters are unchanging, the gameplay is overly familiar and often simplified now, and the story is downplayed consistently. They just don't innovate in ways that really appeal to me, having experienced all that previous innovation, and nostalgia holds no bearing on me. We're just not their target audience anymore.

You shouldn't feel bad for disliking anything. Don't force yourself just because of reputation. Taste is subjective. If you don't enjoy Nintendo's games, that's perfectly fine.

 

[Grinchy]

I've felt the same way as the OP since the Gamecube. I enjoyed a few Gamecube games for sure, but that was the last time I felt compelled to buy a Nintendo device.

 

[Tutomos]

You also stop enjoying going to amusement parks at some point of your life.

 

[Tuck]

If you were disappointed in Galaxy, the issue lies with you - not Nintendo.