When talking to a certain DSRevolution user, he mentioned that he thinks that when Nintendo does release their new console, codenamed “Revolution, it will usher them back into the limelight they once had during the early nineties”.  The reason for his optimism is something that many gamers have said why they like Nintendo games to begin with:  because the company “thinks outside the box”.  While this may be true, to some regards, I feel that although they are taking a different road than the other competitors, they aren’t doing anything different.  The plan of attack is something they’ve been doing since they first entered the market back in the eighties that led to this so called “innovation” with the Nintendo DS and the Revolution [name speculated to change].

When the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) first released it was a technical masterpiece.  Not only did it bring new innovations to the gaming market with the advent of its “ergonomic” design and the introduction of the directional pad (that was first used and is patented by Nintendo), they even went a step further.  When the NES was still in the early years of its ten year life, Nintendo thought they would add more function to their system by releasing two game peripherals that are still widely used today, some just recently.  The Nintendo Power Pad was released with a bundle that included the console, a three-in-one game (Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and Track and Field).  The Power Pad though is the precursor to what Konami has made popular with Dance Dance Revolution and the dance pad.  The same goes for the Power Glove which, by the advertisements, was a controller that translated hand movements into a 3-D virtual environment.  Sadly that controller didn’t make it since the technology just simply wasn’t advanced enough to equate it into the right games.  This technology now is the basic premise of the Nintendo Revolution and its wonky controller.

I bring these two inventions up because it shows that even when Nintendo was the only kid on the block with everything to lose; they were still being the lunatics they are today.  The reason why Nintendo may be considered to be “thinking crazy” is because of what the competitors have brought to offer since they entered the gaming market.  The only competitor that gave Nintendo a run for its crazy money was Sega.  From the Master System to the Dreamcast, all of their systems were testing grounds for their experimentation.  3-D goggles (MS), maracas (DC), fishing poles (DC) and others proved that Nintendo wasn’t the only one hitting the pipe.  Sony played it safe during its PlayStation days and never really changed anything up.  From the controller mimicking the Super Nintendo’s almost exactly to allowing Konami to make their first DDR game; it has always been about tactics that always work.  With the PlaySation 2 we saw some crazy innovations, but there was only one that changed the tide of everything:  the eyeTOY.  This advent is something that even Nintendo still hasn’t done and has been a great evolution in the dance, exercise and free movement control.  Sadly it’s still not perfect, but all that can change with the PlayStation 3.  Microsoft, on the other hand, hasn’t changed anything yet.  Their Xbox controllers are rip-offs (somewhat) of the Sega Dreamcast while their 360’s controllers take the PlayStation and inbreed it with their past design.  This type of stagnation causes the younger kids (prior to the crazy times of the Sega/Nintendo rivalry) to think that the “mainstream” way is the only way. 

With the coming Nintendo Revolution, we’re seeing Nintendo revert back to its old tactics that might have made it king in its heyday.  This has been prevalent in the portable sector with the Nintendo DS demolishing records and outselling the Sony PlayStation Portable in every territory.  The Revolution might mimic this situation with the two competitors offering extravagant home entertainment devices while Nintendo is still sticking to what it knows best, the games.  The games are also giving Nintendo the freedom to make things their own ways.  Could we see the return of light-gun games, considering the “Revmote” is an extremely precise pointing device?  Can a new form of Gyromite make its comeback with the player becoming R.O.B.?  This type of speculation may be fueling what Nintendo has wanted to do since it first started producing the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Immersing the player in the game is something that few systems have done effectively.  The one that comes to mind is the Virtual Boy, but that just put the screen in your face.  Arcades have been doing this since games were first invented but Nintendo seems to be the only one to merge the two markets together.  Creating a new controller and using it as the basis for your entire business model may be considered crazy by most analysts, this type of wackiness gave them the attention from the media the same way it did back in the eighties.  Although their strategy might be flawed, Nintendo is now the only one kid on the block in the market they are trying to create.