Nintendo's Past & Future
When it comes to games, I think Sony and PlayStation have given me the most memories from a storyline standpoint. Uncharted, The Last of Us, God of War, Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima, Grand Theft Auto—I could keep going. The PlayStation has provided so many incredible stories over the past two and a half decades, going all the way back to Metal Gear Solid, released in 1998.
But when I look back through the years, I remember Nintendo differently. My memories aren't related to specific games. Their games are fun. I would even say many are timeless. However, Nintendo evokes memories outside of the games themselves. One such memory for me is traveling with my parents to Toys R' Us weekly, a 30-minute drive, to look around because Toys R' Us had the largest selection. It was a mundane activity that my parents and I still discuss today.
With PlayStation, I can't wait for the next game. I want Uncharted 5, The Last of Us 3, and the next God of War. But I have little desire to go back and play any of the previous games. With Nintendo, I can play the original Game Boy's Super Mario Land in 2024 and feel the game holds up incredibly well after 35 years. In fact, I recently purchased an Analogue Pocket and bought Super Mario Land for $20, as I had never completed the game in 1989. Nintendo makes games that are fun at launch but also fun to revisit decades in the future.
Only Nintendo has so many games from the past that are still playable today. The company falters when it fails to consider both the past and its future. They have managed this perfectly with their release schedule during the Switch era, remastering games many of us missed on previous consoles. Their online subscription service allows me to rekindle my love for the systems I grew up with.
Nintendo has the most success when it blends a celebration of its past while moving forward technologically. As we learn more about the next console, I hope Nintendo leans more into its past as it pushes more technologically. Nintendo is at its best when it balances both.