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A look at Nintendo's change in gear between two generations of consoles
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A Sign of Change
Considering the amount of years Nintendo has been around, it's inevitable that its business practices change from time to time. From their spectacularly successful eras of two-dimensional console gaming to the three-dimensional ones in which Nintendo could not find such success, their business practices have changed, whether or not the alteration depicts that of an evolution. Where at one point Nintendo could be described as a stubborn leader of a company could now be considered a more mellow one that focuses on making friends out of developers such as Capcom and Electronic Arts. The reason for such a change of action is an obvious case of decreasing sales numbers.
But let us take a break from all this talk of fluctuation in sales numbers, shall we? As gamers, our main concern should be directly relevant to the games themselves, and not the financial well-being of the company responsible. For its console support, Nintendo has also changed in that regard, especially when comparing the current generation to the last. The Nintendo of the last generation seemed to have done fine, but the new GCN Nintendo has patched up quite a few holes in the sailboat that was the N64.
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Franchise Power
No other gaming company has created as many popular franchises as Nintendo. The Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, Kirby...the list goes on. With even over 15 years in existence, these franchises are still a hit among gamers all over the world. Making use of these franchises seems to be Nintendo's specialty, and it truly is a key to their success.
With the N64, Nintendo was challenged to successfully transfer their franchises from the 2D perspective to a fully 3D one. This transition saw the release of many games using Nintendo characters, including those from the Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda series. However, considering the fact that N64 games took very long to produce, Nintendo's offerings were limited.
On the GameCube, we saw and continue to see Nintendo focus on its franchises a lot more than it had on the N64. Mario starred in his own game along with a myriad of worthy spin-offs, Samus was finally back in action... even Luigi and Wario got their very own games. More new franchises/characters are appearing on the GCN, too. Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Eternal Darkness, and more, made their console debut in North America on the GameCube. Nintendo's focus on its characters in its games has never been stronger. That's not to say that the characters were all used in similar games, however. Although familiar characters were used, certain games were completely new in their gameplay.
In addition to Nintendo's franchises, other popular ones from third-parties even made an appearance on the system. Where the N64 could never dream of seeing software featuring names such as Final Fantasy, the GCN garnished proper attention from key third-parties. Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Resident Evil, and even Crash Bandicoot made an appearance on GameCube. In the end, it's clear that the GCN's library featured a lot more games of big-time franchises than the N64 one did.
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Third-Party Relations
It's a good thing Nintendo has created such franchises. Had it not been for Nintendo and its direct, second-party partners, the N64's library could've been void of much of any groundbreaking software. Most third-parties in the gaming industry flocked to support the ever-popular Playstation, leaving the N64 with nothing but dust. A number of third-parties were kind enough to give N64 gamers titles that couldn't be found on other systems, such as installments within the Turok (Acclaim) and Rush (Midway) series. Despite such efforts, third-party software support was definitely scarce, and Nintendo wasn't doing much about it. Not by enticing developers did Nintendo solve the problem, but by supporting their N64 system themselves, with the help of their second-parties.
With the release of the GameCube, Nintendo started to do what it had never done before: reach out for third-party developers with which to try and become friends. Top Nintendo designers met with other big company representatives such as Shinji Mikami of Capcom, Hideo Kojima of Konami, and Yuji Naka of Sonic Team at Sega.
Not only did a number of these befriended companies develop exclusive titles for Nintendo's console, they were no less given Nintendo franchises to work with. What better way to show that you trust someone than to give them one of your very own creations, asking them to make something with it? Trust is a key element in any relationship, and Nintendo has clearly shown its trust in big software companies. Among them, Sega's Amusement Vision was given the F-Zero license and created a tremendous installment to the series, while Namco received the Star Fox and Donkey Kong licenses. Capcom was also given the Zelda franchise, possibly one of the most important ones in the industry, for producing games on the Game Boy Advance.
In all, Nintendo's stance on third-parties has changed dramatically over the years. This generation, Nintendo did not just stand back and allow for third-parties to leave their console in the dust as they did last generation. The veteran company insisted on starting relationships in the present if only to make for a better future.
PAGE 1 - PAGE 2
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// A mysterious character within the Banjo-Kazooie series was meant to star in his own N64 spin-off...
Click for more . . .
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// Delve into the philosophical world of gaming in this Pikmin 2 special, Buried Treasures
Check it out . . .
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