Sure, Nintendo may be clearly losing the battle in this video game generation, but they have already won the war. Nintendo is victorious and they will be for a generation to come.
Why?
Because when your grow up and want to look back at the nostalgia of playing the games of your youth, you will have no trouble firing up a Nintendo console. But try to turn on an Xbox of PlayStation and you may just be out of luck.
Recently I updated my Xbox 360. I turned it on and was greeted with an “update or else” message, stating that if I didn’t update my system I couldn’t connect to Xbox Live or use any online features. So I allowed the system to update and upon reboot it stopped funtioning. I was greeted with an error seek service message in about every known language and the familiar green glow of the power button instead showed red. Furious red.
I was understandably upset and was told that since my console was (way) passed any sort of warranty period from Microsoft that any repairs would be out of pocket. Shipping, fixing and the rest. That would be on me. It made no difference that my system had been bricked by an update from Microsoft and I had zero issues with the console before that.
My PlayStation 2 also ceased to function a few years ago. I can turn it on but it doesn’t recognize discs any more. My only other non-Nintendo system was the SEGA Master System, but that hasn’t worked in decades. As a kid I would take it out of the box every six months and hook it up in hopes that it would work, but despite the green power indicator nothing would appear on my television.
Now contrast this with Nintendo and you will see a stark contrast. They work. Every Nintendo system I have ever purchased, including my original NES, still work. Sure I have to blow on the cartridges a bit in the case of the Nintendo classic, but it works. My Game Boy Color works. My Game Boy Advance works. My e-Reader, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube and Wii all work. Press the power button and I’m off to game for countless hours.
I watched a test once on Attack of the show where they put then current-gen consoles through the paces and submitted them to physical damage. They were rough on the Xbox, PS2 and GameCube systems. The Xbox and PS2 broke after the first two tests. The GameCube passed all of the tests, including dropping it from a great height.
I’ve also seen a photo of a Nintendo Game Boy that was hit by a bomb in Iraq, had the casing destroyed and melted, and yet the system still functions and you can play Tetris on the device. I believe it’s in the Smithsonian now.
So to those who have shunned or dismissed the Nintendo Wii U, consider this. If you’re feeling nostalgic when the PS5 or XboxTwo are in your living rooms and you’re enjoying some truly next gen gaming, will you be able to fire up your older Sony or Microsoft systems? Who knows.
One thing is for sure, while Nintendo may not be winning the battle with the Wii U, you can be darn sure that the Nintendo console will outlive its competitors.