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Quick! Name a new Nintendo IP (Intellectual Property) released this year! Can’t think of one? That’s probably because there wasn’t one. Instead, we’ve had a year of rehashed tried and true IPs. Mario this, Wii Sports Resort, Bionic Commando… The games based on these IPs are not bad, mind you. That’s not the concern. The issue is a general lack of either a) innovation, b) faith in new branding, or more likely c) both.

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Are you old-school? I know I am.


Lets take a trip down memory lane. Back when I was a kid, there was a Christmas when my parents asked me which gaming console I would want if I had the choice. Nintendo Entertainment System or the new Sega Genesis. It was the year right after Sega had released it’s new shiny console in North America. I remember the marketing was insane. There hadn’t been a comic book I had bought that year that didn’t have a Sega ad on the back page. The big news was that it sported fancy 16-bit (oh yeah!) graphics while the Nintendo Entertainment System only 8-bit graphics. It would be another 2 years before Nintendo came out with a system with comparable graphics, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Despite that, though, when my parents asked which I wanted, I said I wanted the NES. Apparently, my mother had done some research and asked if I was sure that is what I wanted since the Sega was apparently the new “hip” thing with better capabilities. Still, I remained adamant. That Christmas morning I found an NES under my tree. Seems I wasn’t the only one, either. The year Sega released the Genesis, it only barely out sold the older NES. By the next year, NES was outselling the Sega nearly 2:1.

So, why did I and so many other kids around the world ask for an NES? Because of the IPs. Thinking back to that time, it was like the golden age of games and Nintendo was up in front creating some of the most loved characters of all time. Sega did it’s part, too, with Sonic and Golden Axe but they didn’t get much further than that. Nintendo had Mario, Luigi, Zelda, Tetris (Gameboy), Kid Icarus, Ice Brothers, Metroid, and Metal Gear, just to name a few. Back on that Christmas, I didn’t care about technical specs. The games were better and that’s all that mattered.

Now it’s 2009 and Nintendo is just one more developer playing it safe. Why this change? What has happened over the years to kill the spirit of Nintendo? I’ll tell you, it’s the same thing that has stopped so many AAA devs from creating new and innovative ideas. We, the gaming community, have forsaken them…

Every time you swipe your credit card at EB Games or on Steam, you are shaping the course of gaming. If you want innovation, you have to speak with your wallet. Top grossing new IP this year was Borderlands yet Borderlands still isn’t considered a real success. It surely hasn’t broken any records. Instead we have MW2 on top of the charts along with the Sims 3, Wii Sports Resort, and alike. I’m not saying these are bad games but gamers need to be willing to explore new territory. Just because a game isn’t branded with a name you’ve known for the last 10 years, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. If we start buying innovation, the big name developers might actually start creating again. I guess what I’m saying is…

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Go buy Borderlands…

- Squiddy D.