How Microsoft and Sony could learn from Nintendo

Nintendo may have been slow to embrace new gaming trends in the last couple of generations, but they are undoubtedly a gaming institution. Despite this, there has been some criticism of Nintendo for being slow to learn from other gaming companies. With this in mind, I was wondering what Microsoft and Sony, on the other hand, could learn from Nintendo’s strategy.

The first idea that would undoubtedly benefit Microsoft, especially with the reputation of its online service, is the limitation of online communication. This no doubt is a controversial idea, with this being one of Nintendo’s biggest criticisms, but on the other hand it has also led to a better online community.

Engaging with the Miiverse community is much less toxic than the other multiplayer services. With the general toxicity of gaming as a whole community any attempt at controlling the way in which we engage with one another is sadly the lesser of two evils considering the vileness that can get spewed online.

Another idea that other companies could learn from Nintendo is the value of aesthetics over graphics. While Microsoft and Sony continue to expensively battle over making their boxes render more and more detail that many wouldn’t even notice, on the other hand Nintendo focuses on making its games look beautiful in design rather than through graphical clout. The sheer beauty of the likes of Breath of the Wild and Super Mario 3D World stand as testament to the power of making a game look good on what is considered weak hardware.

The use of colour seems to be the best aspect of a Nintendo game, where, despite reinforcing that annoying ‘kiddy’ image, this results in beautiful, varied locales and games that have a visual identity. On the other hand, the majority of games on Microsoft and Sony consoles seem to be generic shooters with no real visual identity other than brown and grey. In this way, the house of Mario stands ahead of the other two in terms of their visuals, despite their use of under-powered graphics hardware. Microsoft and Sony could do with more effort in making their games look colourful and full of visual charm, rather than gunning for ultra-realism.

The third thing that Microsoft and Sony could learn from Nintendo applies more to Microsoft than to Sony at the moment, with Crash N’Sane Trilogy coming out shortly and the release of WipeOut Omega Collection showing a better intent, it seems that where Microsoft is most lagging behind is in the treatment of its intellectual property.

Nintendo have been accused of focusing too squarely on Mario and Zelda in the past, but undoubtedly the company understands which of its IP have the biggest draws. With further 3DS releases of beloved IP such as Fire Emblem, it seems that Nintendo, as well as Sony, do well with the use of their franchises. Microsoft, on the other hand, seem to have a lack of those killer franchise titles that draw gamers in. Halo 5 was ultimately a disappointment on the Xbox One and other than Gears of War 4 it is difficult to come up with many ‘killer’ apps for the console.

Nintendo may come under fire for a lot of bad decisions, particularly with their being stuck in the past in the online space. However, there are a lot of decisions that are made right with the company, and if it leaves the console race altogether then gaming will be a worse place as a result. As we move forward in gaming, we need to learn lessons from even the console manufacturers we criticise, both in what they do right and in what they do wrong. Nintendo may be mocked and disliked by a lot, but there is no denying that its approach to the console race is interesting.

My Favourite Co-Op Games

I am sad that two-player split screen has been on the way out for so long, to be replaced by online communities and competitive play.  So many of my fondest memories in gaming, particularly multiplayer gaming, have come from times spent on the couch playing with my friends.

There is so much to be said for playing on a couch with your friends. The experience of being together, shouting at one another and having loud, rowdy fun is just difficult to match. I love couch gaming with my friends and some of my best social memories are with them!

I much prefer co-op to competitive gaming, because the act of working together toward a goal really builds the friendship and competitive can just get too heated sometime. It is nice to just unwind, kick back with a friend and a few snacks and play together. So without further ado, here are my favourite titles to play with friends on co-op!

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

This game is just excellent fun. I was introduced to this game by a close friend of mine who was a huge fan of Tomb Raider. The swashbuckling action is really well designed, as are the puzzles. I love the rolling-stone puzzles in particular and the way in which you can co-operate together to solve the different challenges is interesting and engaging. The top-down perspective, you wouldn’t expect to work so well with a Tomb Raider game, but here it works well, allowing interesting puzzle-solving opportunities in the context of the perspective of the game.

One of my issues with Guardian of Light is that it is a little bit on the repetitive side, however, especially as one works toward the endgame, and the difficulty can spike sometimes in an odd way, particularly when you are trying to work toward getting all of the collectibles, but overall it is a very fun experience when playing with friends and I would definitely recommend it.

Halo: Combat Evolved

I first was introduced to Halo by a friend of mine, just before the Xbox 360 came out. We stayed up all night with pizza and played co-operatively through the campaign, and then we binged Halo 2 the night after. If that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about how enjoyable it is to co-op Halo then I don’t know what will, but I will certainly try!

The game is just fun, and the way you can approach the missions basically makes it a playground. The variety of weapons both Covenant and human enable you to have a lot of fun playing around and finding a playstyle that works. The driving sections are also a great demonstration of how the co-op works in Halo, where one person can be on the gun and the other driving. I have had many fun nights shouting at my friend’s driving while he was sending us careening off of cliffs.

Halo isn’t without its issues, and sometimes with how dated the combat is, it can feel a little clunky to aim at times, and some weapons are just overpowered to the point of breaking the game, and oftentimes the game can be too difficult in places, particularly with the Flood. There are certain levels around the mid-point of the game that can extend overlong, and the drab colour on show in these levels when compared to the vibrant designs of earlier stages just makes it that bit more of a slog, but overall as an experience the first Halo is an adventure through-and-through, especially when played together with a friend.

Diablo III:

Many dislike Diablo III because of how it simplified and streamlined the series’ gameplay, and a few of the business decisions around the game. Putting that aside for a second, I love playing Diablo III with my partner and her brother. We always love to play an action-RPG game together, and I found that this game had a really fun style.

I often played a tank style as the Crusader, and my partner would play as a Witch Doctor, while her brother used to play as a Demon Hunter. We had a lot of fun playing through the campaign together, and it was one of my favourite gaming memories.

I can’t say I would recommend Diablo III for everyone. There are some gamers that are annoyed by a lot of its design decisions and I think that they are valid complaints. However, I love how the combat is so fluid and rewarding, and the nature of being so instantly gratified by ever-increasing levels of loot is addictive and intoxicating. If you put aside Diablo’s shortcomings for the series, I think underneath is a genuinely enjoyable co-op experience.

Super Mario 3D World

Taking the insanity of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and applying it to a 3D formula on the Wii U was a stroke of genius. The platforming and controls are as tight as we have come to expect from Mario games and the aesthetic and graphic style looks phenomenal.

Super Mario 3D World is not just an excellent co-op game, but it is also an excellent all-around game, possibly one of the best in the current generation. Each level is full of wonderful secrets and Easter eggs, and it is impossible to play without smiling at the many cute and exciting references that there are on offer.

Some of the best times in the game are spent racing to get the green stars before other players, and frantically fighting for the best score and the right to wear a crown on one’s head during the levels. The love put into all aspects of Super Mario 3D World, the sound, the graphics, and the gameplay is wonderful, and if you can pick up a Wii U, I would recommend this game for anyone who is looking to play co-operatively with a friend. There may be elements of competitiveness, but overall the experience of 3D World will just leave you with a smile.  

Honourable mentions to Left 4 Dead, an enjoyable shooter but marred by some poor spikes in difficulty as a result of the AI director. An extremely fun game, especially as things get frantic. I also would recommend Gauntlet, a fun dungeon-crawler with easy-to-grasp, difficult-to-master gameplay, and Gears of War, which, while extremely violent and sometimes a little too tied into modern FPS tropes, is just a well-polished, well-made game that is very fun to play, especially the Horde mode. Portal 2 is one of the best examples of co-op in gaming, but I haven’t played it enough to justify putting it in the list for myself.

It is a shame that co-op isn’t as emphasised these days in game design, and more games are trying to become competitive online experiences. Competitive gaming is inherently confrontational and sometimes is a little less fun to play as it can become quite frustrating, so to have games out there that make people play together is always a good thing. I find that co-operative games, as a result, have a better online community and are nicer to play with others. I hope we never forget that familiar image of two or more people sat on a sofa together being loud and rowdy and just having fun playing games that they love.