Jubenhimer
Member
I know you're reading the title and asking what this could possibly mean. In which case, let me explain.
The Nintendo Switch takes a piece of DNA from each video game platform Nintendo has released. From the 2 Controllers of the Famicom, to the portability of the Game Boy, to the motion and touch controls of the Wii and DS, and everything in between. But one system in that long line of inspiration seems to be the pony Nintendo's betting the Switch on being the most, the Famicom. Both it and the Switch seem to have a few things in common. They come with 2 controllers built-in, and were built using commonly used, off-the-shelf chipsets (and thus were made easy for developers to program for).
But the main thing they both have in common, is that they seem to mark a new starting point for Nintendo's software development. At the time of the Famicom, Nintendo was still relatively new to the gaming industry, and were trying to find a cohesive identity as a developer. Mario had just barely become the company mascot, and many of the creators and artists we know today like Shigeru Miyamoto and Yoshio Sakamoto were still fairly new to the company. As such, Nintendo did a lot of throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. We saw a lot of games from Nintendo's in-house studios that you wouldn't normally associate with Nintendo. A lot of Sports games, Mach Rider, The Famicom Detective series, Wild Gunman, StarTropics, Urban Champion, Clu Clu Land, Joy-Mech Fight, hell, it was the starting point for Nintendo's lesser known properties like Kid Icarus, and was where Metroid, Fire Emblem, and Nintendo Wars (Advance Wars essentially) were born. Fire Emblem and Advance Wars were largely developed by Nintendo R&D 1, since Intelligent Systems at the time was nothing more than just a guy hired by Nintendo to assist programming.
This brings us to the Switch. Nintendo has restructured it's in-house development, and much of the old guard from the Famicom and Super Famicom era are taking a back seat, leaving the N64 and onward era stars like Yoshiaki Koizumi, along young and upcoming developers and directors to call the shots. With new ideas like 1-2 Switch and ARMS, as well as bold new directions for long standing properties like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario. Nintendo probably sees the Switch as an opportunity to start fresh with their first party games.
Now, I know what some of you are going to say, and yes, Nintendo has always dabbled in New IPs and concepts, even during their more creatively weak consoles like the Wii U. But the Switch is possibly the first time since the 80s that Nintendo has decided to hit really hit the reset button, and drastically re-invent itself as a game developer, while still adhering to their core values. So I'm excited to see where they go next.
The Nintendo Switch takes a piece of DNA from each video game platform Nintendo has released. From the 2 Controllers of the Famicom, to the portability of the Game Boy, to the motion and touch controls of the Wii and DS, and everything in between. But one system in that long line of inspiration seems to be the pony Nintendo's betting the Switch on being the most, the Famicom. Both it and the Switch seem to have a few things in common. They come with 2 controllers built-in, and were built using commonly used, off-the-shelf chipsets (and thus were made easy for developers to program for).
But the main thing they both have in common, is that they seem to mark a new starting point for Nintendo's software development. At the time of the Famicom, Nintendo was still relatively new to the gaming industry, and were trying to find a cohesive identity as a developer. Mario had just barely become the company mascot, and many of the creators and artists we know today like Shigeru Miyamoto and Yoshio Sakamoto were still fairly new to the company. As such, Nintendo did a lot of throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. We saw a lot of games from Nintendo's in-house studios that you wouldn't normally associate with Nintendo. A lot of Sports games, Mach Rider, The Famicom Detective series, Wild Gunman, StarTropics, Urban Champion, Clu Clu Land, Joy-Mech Fight, hell, it was the starting point for Nintendo's lesser known properties like Kid Icarus, and was where Metroid, Fire Emblem, and Nintendo Wars (Advance Wars essentially) were born. Fire Emblem and Advance Wars were largely developed by Nintendo R&D 1, since Intelligent Systems at the time was nothing more than just a guy hired by Nintendo to assist programming.
This brings us to the Switch. Nintendo has restructured it's in-house development, and much of the old guard from the Famicom and Super Famicom era are taking a back seat, leaving the N64 and onward era stars like Yoshiaki Koizumi, along young and upcoming developers and directors to call the shots. With new ideas like 1-2 Switch and ARMS, as well as bold new directions for long standing properties like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario. Nintendo probably sees the Switch as an opportunity to start fresh with their first party games.
Now, I know what some of you are going to say, and yes, Nintendo has always dabbled in New IPs and concepts, even during their more creatively weak consoles like the Wii U. But the Switch is possibly the first time since the 80s that Nintendo has decided to hit really hit the reset button, and drastically re-invent itself as a game developer, while still adhering to their core values. So I'm excited to see where they go next.
