The most important story of the 2017 technology industry: Nintendo and the king return

Over the years, all kinds of game products filled with gimmicks have become annoying, but the re-emergence of Nintendo has made us feel the simple happiness born of the game.

Five years ago, the Nintendo crisis was heavy. As Wii's sales have not improved, Nintendo has suffered its first loss for many years.

After that, the Wii U game console was introduced to the market. This home game console is not only a successor to Will, but also a lifeline for Nintendo.

However, this well-designed game console has made the company's development situation more and more unfavorable. The name of the console is confusing (as if it were thought to be a Wii accessory), the design is not comprehensive enough (why is the controller a basic useless tablet?), and many classic game series are absent (such as the Galaxy Warrior) One of Nintendo's most famous game series).

WiiU. Image source: Nintendo

So it became the worst home console in Nintendo's history. With the company's continuous losses in 2013 and 2014, Nintendo seems to be on the verge of being eliminated by the times, and the company has only the last pulse.

However, Nintendo can always dig out the greatest success from failure. The company developed the Wii featuring motion control and shifted the focus of the video game industry from the Nintendo Entertainment System launched in 1983 in an attempt to recapture the game market in the mid-millennial era. Share.

This company, which is highly respected by the industry, has not bowed in front of the upcoming bad luck. On the contrary, it seems to usher in another rise.

Later results were not completely unexpected. Although in the transition from the Wii to the Wii U game console, Nintendo lost nearly 100 million users. But after that, the latest game console of Nintendo Switch made the company once again defeated.

This game console with integrated console design has become the best-selling game console in many parts of the world. In less than 10 months, it has gained a lot of titles that are equivalent to the "best in history" honor.

The Nintendo Switch received a strong market response, and the SNES mini version was also popular. Driven by these two best-selling game consoles, it is clear that Nintendo will be on the rise for a long time. The company's comeback has also become one of the few positive examples in the tech world in 2017.

SNES mini version. Image source: CNET

In fact, the development of Nintendo at the beginning of the new year is not optimistic. In the past year, the Wii U sold only 13 million units (compared to the Wii's 101 million units), and the insured Nintendo mini red and white machine (the NES classic) did not satisfy the player's nostalgia. Instead, Also angered them.

Under this circumstance, the company urgently needs a victory. In a media event in January this year, Nintendo Switch officially released, unfortunately, this event did not ignite the company's confidence. Nintendo does not focus on promoting software and its online services, but both are important components of modern gaming consoles.

The final official price of the Nintendo Switch is $300, but like the more powerful PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the company's share price fell more than 5% after the press conference.

All this seems to have exhausted the players' patience with Nintendo, but fortunately, Nintendo later released the "The Legend of Zelda: The Wilderness", because of this game, the company's long-term anti-consumption behavior has been Forgive me. In an age of full of entertaining and cynical IP, Nintendo adopted a formulaic nostalgic franchise to revolutionize the open game mechanics.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wilderness

The Legend of Zelda combines old and new elements, borrowing elements from The Elder Scrolls: Skyline and My World, but letting these elements recreate the strange, mysterious and fearless feelings. For the first time, many players feel the thrill of launching the Legend of Zelda or Carbon of Time. This game is the most acclaimed game of the year, and everyone's praise proves that no matter how cynical gamers, there will always be a soft place in the heart to hide the nostalgia and love of Nintendo classic games.

As soon as the game "The Legend of Zelda" was launched, the Nintendo Switch was transformed from an ordinary new product and became a must-have machine for game lovers.

It's not surprising that the Nintendo Switch was sold out at the beginning of the sale, because even the “catastrophic” Wii U can do that.

But in the summer months, Nintendo Switch has been sold out, which means that Nintendo really created a special product this time. Part of the appeal of the Nintendo Switch is its core gimmick, which can be used both as a handheld device and as a TV, making it a significant difference from other gaming products on the market.

The duality of the Nintendo Switch is actually perfecting the outstanding features of the former Wii U. Its tablet controller now allows dual-screen games and some handheld games. As the Wii U continues to introduce more touchscreen software, the portability of the Nintendo Switch has benefited every game. This feature not only replaces the Wii U, but also replaces Nintendo's previous portable game console 3DS.

Jill Odom, 24-year-old, currently lives in Northport, Alabama, USA. She also ignores the Wii U and is considering starting a Nintendo for the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Switch, because she can also take the game console when she goes out.

"It's a portable advantage. It's awesome." Odom said, "When I go home to see my family during the Thanksgiving holiday, I can play the Legend of Zelda there instead of going all day long. The family recited 'I want to go home and play games.'"

After the success of Nintendo Switch, Nintendo once again proved that its games can be sold big, both old and new. The Mario Kart 8 released in April has now become the second best-selling game for Nintendo Switch. "Splatoon" is a successful original game on the Wii U. After launching the sequel on the Switch, it has sold more than 3 million.

Even the "Arms" and "1–2-Switch" games, which were not optimistic at the company's January meeting, sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.

But let the core of the system really go to the "post-Zelda" stage, it must be "Super Mario: Odyssey" this open world action adventure game. Like the Legend of Zelda, the game managed to maintain the core elements of Super Mario for 30 years, while also bringing a new experience to gamers.

Super Mario: Odyssey

The success of Nintendo Switch not only surprised industry observers, but also Nintendo's own expectations. In the few years since the launch of the Wii U, it has been researching how to diversify its business across platforms, including smartphone games (which is well done) and creating a so-called “health-oriented platform” (still Not implemented).

Today, Nintendo has increased its expected sales for Switch this year from 10 million to 14 million. It is said that the company will also produce 30 million Switch consoles next year. In just a few months, Switch has become the backbone of Nintendo's future.

Of course, regardless of the success of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo will not give up the diversification of business models. For those who are not keen on the latest Mario or Zelda games, Nintendo has also launched the SNES classic game console as a holiday gift.

The company has promised that the SNES mini version will produce even more than the NES mini version, which was hard to find last year. And in recent months, the machine has successfully sold more than the PS4 and Xbox One. At the same time, some projects outside the console will also be unveiled, such as the "Super Mario" movie and the Nintendo theme park, which shows that Nintendo will find an effective way to go through other products in addition to the traditional game console release cycle. Shape your own brand.

Nintendo Theme Park. Image source: Nintendo

However, no one can guarantee that Nintendo's current development momentum will continue. Over the years, Nintendo has been releasing game consoles and bundled game software, which has become notorious for the game industry.

Therefore, it is hard to believe that both the Zelda and Mario games will be well received. Although Nintendo's sales have exceeded expectations, it needs some additional assistance to achieve universality like the Wii.

Matthew Hudak, senior toy and game analyst at Euromonitor, said: "It has a long way to go. The long-term success of this console depends in part on whether it can introduce some other Features to attract casual players... In fact, in terms of nostalgia, this game console really does more work than the previous Wii."

It is unclear whether the Nintendo Switch will have a profound impact on the game. Sony has said that after PSV, they have no plans to introduce other handheld devices. Microsoft is currently trying to integrate its Xbox and Windows platforms, but it is not designed to be portable.

Although many third-party vendors are willing to port games for the Nintendo Switch, Switch still has no way to provide the possibility of porting the most popular masterpieces. Previously, when the Wii was launched, the sense of body was almost considered to be the future of the game industry. Today, the similar heat of the Nintendo Switch has also caused many concerns in the industry.

But maybe this is the best result. If Nintendo doesn't want to reshape the way you play games, but humbly showcases its gameplay, including home or portable games, the Nintendo Switch may reduce its expectations. For fans who have long supported the company, it's really encouraging to see Nintendo still have the ability to combine modern game design ideas with great game acceptance.

In these decades, Nintendo has launched many gimmick products, and some have indeed brought success to it, but some are almost fatal to this company. This time, Nintendo returned the game product to simplicity. In this year, this simple happiness is worth cherishing. Kyle Stapleton, who lives in Atlanta, is 30 years old and started a SNES mini-game console. He said: "The brand of Nintendo has always represented whimsy and imagery for me. A childlike miracle. Compared to all the madness of 2017, this game console appears to make us breathe comfortably."