After much speculation as to what Nintendo might announce for its most recent Nintendo Direct press conference, it has been confirmed that the video game company will release a series of arcade games from its back catalog along with the company’s versus series of arcade titles beginning on September 27th.
The first title to be released onto the Switch’s virtual console is the arcade port of Super Mario Brothers, which according to series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, has “subtle differences” from the original home console port back in 1985. This announcement by Nintendo comes on the heel of a monumental month for the company, as both Metroid and Mario have found new life on the once fledgling video game developer.
Mario and Rabbids Kingdom, along with Metroid 2 Samus Returns, have been hailed by critics and gaming enthusiasts alike as “masterpieces” in their own right and with Nintendo seeking to unearth gems from the library, it seems that the Switch will once again return the Japanese company to its former glory days.
It seems as if the company who gave us such blunders as the Virtual Boy and the much maligned Wii U can do no wrong now. With the original Wii proving that retro gaming is not just a relic from the past but a proper zeitgeist of modern culture, a virtual arcade machine sporting the original Super Mario Bros and VS Balloon Fight is a welcomed addition to the meager offerings of Nintendo’s current eshop.
But above all else, what this announcement shows is that Nintendo has not yet given up on its arcade past. Many Nintendo fan boys seem to forget that when the company first began it was a software company that focused mostly on arcade titles rather than an at-home console like it eventually became in the mid-1980s.
Gems like Super Mario Bros, Balloon Fight, and even Punch Out all started life as quarter arcade machines, rather than the 8-bit classics they eventually became. By breathing new life into these long lost versions, Nintendo is hoping to reestablish a relationship between its original fan boys and newcomers alike. From a business standpoint is a great marketing strategy.
For years now Nintendo has been deemed a child-friendly console. A system where franchises like Splatoon managed to sweep aside series originals like Castlevania and Final Fantasy that made their home debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1985. Nintendo really has not been able to reclaim its stake in the home console market for over two decades, with the Nintendo 64 proving its downfall. But the Switch has a shot of trumping both the PS4 and Xbox One when it comes to depth of library.
The future of Nintendo seems bright even with the Japanese company seeming to return to its past. The previous console generations have not been kind to the house that Mario built. Nintendo used to be a breeding ground for JRPG gems and colorful platformers during its hay day of the 16-bit era. Now, the Switch is here and at least trying righting everything that Nintendo did wrong in the past.
It’s the Phoenix rising from the ashes of years of console shovel wear and mediocrity that weakened its dominance on the video game market. Miyamoto has given us so much to love about his parent company over the decades, but that doesn’t mean consumers have to follow the much-beloved developer blindly. The Wii U was the perfect example of Nintendo’s reliance on shovel wear to fill in the gaps of its skimpy first party titles. But the Switch seems to be the ace in Nintendo’s final deck of cards in this generation’s console war. It proves without a doubt that the developer isn’t ready to throw in the towel. Sega proved to the world how easy it is for the mighty to fall. Nintendo’s boat was shaky for a while, but now it’s as if they weathered the storm and is ready to dock itself on every fan boys shore.
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