Topic: Nintendo as "The Fun Company"

I'm an 80s kid who grew up on Colecovision and NES. While I enjoyed side scrollers like Super Mario Bros. and Double Dragon, simple games like Punch Out! and Duck Hunt could keep me entertained for hours.

The SNES was the last console I owned, spending 2 decades of no gaming after that. Mario Kart was the gem that came out of that generation but going forward, the move to a focus on realism and violence never really appealed to me. I saw video games as a "toy" that were meant to have fun playing and PlayStation and XBox games felt like a race to better graphics and shock value rather than having fun.

Nintendo regrouped with the Wii and went back to their core values of innovation and having fun. MarioKart and Wii Sports could gather a group of people around a TV for hours, laughing and having the best fun ever. I considered buying one after playing with my family and my girlfriend (both non gamers who owned one) but I thought I'd wait for the next generation since I got into it late in the cycle.

So I purchased my first console in decades when the WiiU came out, thinking it'd be like the fun of the Wii but better equipped for an HD TV. While I had my reservations since it didn't come with Wiimotes, Nintendoland reassured me. I still think that Mario Run is an under appreciated game that could have developed into something as big as Mario Kart had the Wii U survived and its asynchronous gameplay given a chance. Hide and Seek and Tag are two of the oldest and enduring games kids still play. But it turned out that the gamepad was a bad bet and with Nintendo abandoning the platform early, I was almost put off gaming forever.

The Switch course corrected and went back to the Wii formula (Joycons are mini Wiimotes) and introducing versatility to be used at home and as a portable and allowing both casual gamers and hardcore gamers to coexist on the same platform. Innovative gameplay and fun were right out of the gate with 1,2 Switch. LABO later demonstrated Nintendo's commitment to fun and innovative experiences. I'm hooked. I finally purchased a Switch and I'm hoping for more of this from Nintendo.

I'd love to see the Wii Balance Board make a return, this time adding Switch's 2 joycons for innovative gameplay. Switch Sports would be great too. While I'm getting Mario Tennis Aces, I'd love a return of the simple games that you can play as a family using Joycons: Bowling, Golf, Baseball, Tennis, etc. I think Switch is ready for its generation of Punch Out! The 2 joycons are ready and waiting.

As a "new" gamer, what kind of games would you suggest I pick up that use innovative gameplay and that are good old fashioned fun?

I suspect you would like Arms, since you mentioned Punch Out!. You might be interested in Golf story as well. Of course if you liked the old Mario Kart, I am not alone in considering Mario Kart 8 DX as the best Mario Kart to date. And I have played them all. Splatoon 2 is also relatively innovative using motion control based aiming. Not to mention the overwhelming creativity in the game.

I would encourage you to re-approach your opinion on "violent" or "mature" games. Sure, those games exist, violence for the sake of it or for the shock value. But many games tell intricate narratives, create wonderful fantasy worlds, make you laugh or cry as good as any book or movie. Games these day can be, "just toys" or they can be a fantasy epic or a moving narrative. There is much to enjoy and I hope you don't limit yourself because some games are excessively violent or dark. There is much more than that out there.

@iPedro
Yo !
We are in the same boat .
I love Nintendo machines for more Kid friendly games than Sony / Microsoft.
I never like rated 18+ Mature games ( i hate all of them) so i just ONLY play Appropriate games for Kids and General audiences (rated Everyone & Everyone 10+ by mostly with a few of Teen games).

Anyway, Recomended games for Casuals & Family :
1. 1-2-Switch
2. Go Vacation (27 July 2018)
3. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
4. ARMS
5. Puyo Puyo Tetris
6. Super Mario Odyssey
7. Portal Knights
8. Overcooked Special Edition
9. Sushi Strikers
10. Just Dance series

Happy playing.

@iPedro Hi, welcome to the forums. Nice post, but please be aware that, to prevent this sort of 'recommend me some games' thread cropping up left, right and centre, we use specific game recommendation threads.

The Switch recommendations thread is here: https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/nintendo-switch/the_switch...

You can find similar for other systems using the search function.

Thanks.