Nintendo Ruined Video Games

[pacman000]

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/ ... go_on_.php

Tried searching for the thread's title, & found this via Yandex.

"Before Nintendo came around to rescue video games, the industry was well on its way to becoming just the sort of general-purpose mass medium today's developers and critics like to think they are inventing anew. Ironically, many of those creators are too young to know what came before, and thus see themselves as saviors contributing to a long-withheld maturity, not realizing that such effort is only necessary thanks to their childhood video game idol."

[scotland]

The central idea is that Nintendo sustained video gaming in the American culture by cementing it as a toy.

Its a weak argument to me

Video games always flowed into both adult and juvenile paths. Handhelds like Mattel Football and consoles like the 2600 were in the toy area in catalogs, not electronics. Arcades were mostly the domain of kids as well. Meanwhile, yoing adults in universities were using very expensive mainframes to play games, and home computers were fairly expensive, used by adults and kids.

Yes, the NES gave gaming in the US a bump, but gaming wasn't dead. From Oregon Trail in schools to the arcades (check out arcade gaming in this time, say 1988) to computer gaming, several avenues of gaming are treated as footnotes which may deserve more recognition.

By the 90s, gaming was really moving at least to being a teen and college thing - games like Doom and Mortal Kombat highlight that.

[Retro STrife]

Well there's a hot take, sure to stir up controversy. I only read page 1 of this 4 page article, but I presume that that's where the interesting part is anyway (I think the other 3 pages are all about the Wii U). While the author is vastly overgeneralizing -- and I really do not think video games were "mature" before Nintendo came along -- I do think there is some truth to the fact that Nintendo stifled the growth of gaming among mature audiences. At the same time, they also saved the industry with that approach, so we can't really complain. Either way, I like the author going out on a limb, and I found the premise interesting.

Here's another quote from the article:

"In the 25 years ending in 1985, Nintendo went from an obscure licensor to a major entertainment company with its own intellectual property. But those properties -- Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and so on -- remained yoked to toy culture. They are children's characters and children's games that have persisted long enough that the children who first bought them have become adults with their own children. Thus Nintendo's reputation: wholesome, yet juvenile. Profitable, but harmless. Pop culture, not art."

[mbd36]

Well there's a hot take, sure to stir up controversy. I only read page 1 of this 4 page article, but I presume that that's where the interesting part is anyway (I think the other 3 pages are all about the Wii U). While the author is vastly overgeneralizing -- and I really do not think video games were "mature" before Nintendo came along -- I do think there is some truth to the fact that Nintendo stifled the growth of gaming among mature audiences. At the same time, they also saved the industry with that approach, so we can't really complain. Either way, I like the author going out on a limb, and I found the premise interesting.

Here's another quote from the article:

"In the 25 years ending in 1985, Nintendo went from an obscure licensor to a major entertainment company with its own intellectual property. But those properties -- Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and so on -- remained yoked to toy culture. They are children's characters and children's games that have persisted long enough that the children who first bought them have become adults with their own children. Thus Nintendo's reputation: wholesome, yet juvenile. Profitable, but harmless. Pop culture, not art."

Who says that child friendly entertainment can't be art? Classic Disney movies aren't art? Novels such as Alice in Wonderland?

[Herschie]

By the 90s, gaming was really moving at least to being a teen and college thing - games like Doom and Mortal Kombat highlight that.

Funny how now it also includes middle-age people. Give it time and the geezers will do anything for their arthritis medication so that they can play video games. Or is that just where I see myself in 40 years?

I always said video games are a generational thing, not an age thing. We will never outgrow them. The only reason our parents never played is because they didn't grow up with video games.

And it's not like games are getting worse.

[GameOfThrones]

By the 90s, gaming was really moving at least to being a teen and college thing - games like Doom and Mortal Kombat highlight that.

Funny how now it also includes middle-age people. Give it time and the geezers will do anything for their arthritis medication so that they can play video games. Or is that just where I see myself in 40 years?

I always said video games are a generational thing, not an age thing. We will never outgrow them. The only reason our parents never played is because they didn't grow up with video games.

And it's not like games are getting worse.

This is such a fab post.