Talking Point: The Changing Definition Of ‘The Nintendo Difference’

No offense, but that changing definition of "The Nintendo Difference" only holds up if you take it out of context, and apply it to the examples named in the article.

What it actually is, and always was about, is the rather intangible feel that Nintendo games bring to the table, and the ways that Nintendo innovates with new ways of playing and entertainment, regardless of whether or not that's with withered tech and/or not offering the same standard services or options that the other parties do.

That, and ONLY that, is what's called "The Nintendo Difference".

I don’t say this to defend not being able to play with friends online in Super Mario Maker 2, because that is a stupid decision, but it seems pretty clear at this point that Nintendo simply doesn’t consider online a priority. I think we’d all be a lot happier if we accepted that.

@LunarFlame17
Some of their best games are multiplayer so it's hard to accept.

@Obitokamui64 That’s fair, but, like, people have been yelling at Nintendo for how they handle online multiplayer for over a decade now, and it hasn’t gotten any better, so I kinda feel like, you can keep yelling, but they ain’t gonna listen, so why bother?

The Nintedo difference is they Don't and still aren't required to have an "online" presence like Sony and MS, other then friggin publisher's day 1 updates..

This is part of the reason why some of us balked at Nintendo asking us to pay for their inferior online service. They have done little to nothing to visibly improve it since then and they simply don't "get" the way people want to play online.

Nintendo: you love it like crazy, you hate it at the same time.
They do exactly what the article points out, but they keep making great games. I think at this point it should be pretty clear that they'll never change, no matter how much we complain.
You say it, Maker 2 is going to be a blast nevertheless, you'll buy it proving they're right, basically.

I see it like this. Nintendo has their focus on the best enjoy ability of the gamer. How the games are the most fun to play.

If Nintendo would've followed MS and Sony, or worse Activision or EA, we would have lootboxes in all our console games, none of them would have a decent story (or at all), gameplay would be dark, gritty and boring. Also games would be unfinished garbage requiring the purchase of DLC that costs twice the original game to fix it.

I am HAPPY Nintendo does things different.
And sure if you do things different, you are going to bump your head. Though they usually either fix it with an update or with the next installment of the game. (MK8 had no battle mode, MK8D does, SMM1 didn't have slopes, SMM2 does, etc)

Nintendo is like the Apple of the gaming industry. Not because of the price. But because of the way they do things.

Also: MS or Sony would have NEVER dropped their home console for a handheld-hybrid. And I am happy Nintendo did, I rarely use my XBOX ONE (except for 4K movies) and I've sold my PS4. All because of my Switch.

Very well written article, good job!
We all just want Nintendo to be as good as it can be

@sanderev

Great post, well said. I'm always kinda surprised when people say they wanted the Switch to be just another PS4/XB1 type console. Like, really? I dont think that stagnation is really healthy for the industry. And yeah, people want all games to have this dark, gritty and "realistic" graphics...

For what it's worth, while Nintendo's weak area may be their online, they have by far the best couch co-op experiences. Something that has kinda fell off with the other consoles.

I never understood why Nintendo wouldn’t replace game pads or have more than one available. Imagine the possibilities with multiple gamepads

While I agree with some other comments that the use of "The Nintendo difference" is misapplied in this case, it's still a fantastically written article and a pleasure to read. Great work as always Gavin, so glad you've been so active lately!

We were told by Nintendo Wii U was going to get 2 Gamepad play. Japan was supposed to have 2nd Gamepads available day 1, Trintran, possibly Reggie also, said dual Gamepad games would be available the following year. This was just 5 or 6 years ago, it's not that hard to Google.

A couple of years later, probably after trying to get the games to work, they finally admitted the Wii U wasn't powerful enough to run 2 Gamepad screens at once.

@LunarFlame17 I’d let that skate if not for the fact that they’re charging for online now. Is 20 bucks a lot for a year? No, but if they’re going to make it a paid service then they need to do right by it.

Nintendo often make these stupid obvious design misses and it's annoying. I also think it's wrong to view it as something that comes with thinking differently and being brilliant.

Naïve about how much time westerners play online maybe?
Or they just over thought the leaderboards.

I get we all want what Xbox has, but is that what Japan wants? Look at how the Xbox fares in their weekly sales. Maybe, we are slowly trying to turn all the consoles into the same thing, until all we have left is a street full of Starbucks.

I often wonder if I'm playing real humans online with Nintendo's online games. Especially Tetris 99 and Mario run.

Great read.

I feel Nintendo will continue to play the long game when it comes to matters like this. Call it trying to be ready when the bubble burst. Call it arrogance. Maybe a bit of both. But I get the feeling they don't think much of modern gaming culture and don't believe it's here for the long haul. They'll budge a little to shut people up. But I don't forsee them changing in this respect anytime soon

I don't think anyone would knock the quality of Nintendo's game design, but their online is just tragic. Splatoon is a masterpiece, but I can't choose when I play with or against my sister in Turf War. It's infuriating.

Nintendo is a developer lead company. They have a vision they want X mechanic in the game with Y control style and that’s what they work towards. Everything else is secondary from graphics to voice acting to online infrastructure to internet communication.

I actually wonder if this is just something about Japanese gaming culture in general? Beyond Monster Hunter and Dark Souls I can’t think of another well implemented online system in a Japanese game- and even they aren’t on the same level as US FPS’s online interactivity.

@LunarFlame17

Not if we're paying for an online subscription.

Ehhh, its all good.

@SuperCharlie78

I think perhaps they do change, albeit painfully slowly.

Loved Nintendo since I got a Game Boy, but before the Switch came out I decided that I wouldn't get another Nintendo console until they dropped the region lock, enough was enough.

And here I am.

Nintendo games have a decidedly more youthful and sometimes saccharine appeal to them. Additionally, Nintendo's in-house main-franchise games tend to have an excellent balance of fluidity and tightness to the controls and player interactions. For these, I'm probably a lifelong fan.

In exchange, you get a decidedly "local" development process from a company that should be thinking globally (they certainly want the revenue of such) where you get "Who asked for this?"-type games and multiplayer design decisions (e.g. Splatoon's restrictions and now this mess). I'd continue this post "being the most vocal critic" of Nintendo's bad business practices, but they rarely stray from what consumers do/can accept as "the norm" so it falls on deaf ears.

This is one talking point I completely agree with. It's quite baffling that they couldn't come up with a simple way to let us play with friends, what with the Switch friend codes existing and whatnot. As the article said, just exclude such play from any leaderboards.

As things currently stand, I obviously won't be able to play co-op with family members that live across the country - also the only people I know that I could've done so with. Not the end of the world, as I wasn't expecting any SMM2 multiplayer originally anyway. But the Direct certainly got my hopes up regarding it, only to inexplicably crash them back down. Classic Nintendo!

@Sakisa Oh I agree that paying for a service gives you a right to expect more from that service, but at the same time, Nintendo has been very clear from the beginning what your $20 a year is going to get you. Feel free to complain, but don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

I still think the question needs to be... “ how are the Japanese playing games?” Because the overall trend to that answer is where Nintendo is looking first. That’s how we got a hybrid system in the first place.

This article is dumb and entirely pointless. Sorry, I try to avoid resorting to ad hominem when I comment here, but I feel like it’s an accurate response to this article. It reads less like an interesting think piece based on a point of constructive criticism and more like a whiny forum post from some random nobody.

This article is cheap. No point in it. Nintendo add multiplayer in a game and complain about it? Go be stupid alone.

@ThanosReXXX Man, great comment. Couldn’t have said it better if I tried.

I love Nintendo. They aren't perfect by any means, but they still deliver better products than their competition for my tastes. I can tolerate their weirdness.

As much as I love Nintendo, at this point I think it would just be better if they made games for Sony and Microsoft systems, and let others deal with online.

Nintendo at the end of the day is a Japanese company that focuses on their home market first. Online play isn’t the same there as it is here and their consoles design reflects that.

Sony is a global company where I believe that western input is better received due to the already being involved in other media, and generally has a better balance with odd moments of tone deafness (crossplay). Generally they do whatever is the newest thing by copying.

Microsoft, being a US company focuses first on the US market and Japan sales suffer because of it.

In other words, there is a whole lot of cultural misunderstandings at the heart of these issues. But remove their culture and you don’t have Nintendo. You get Sony.

The Wii wasn't two GameCube duct taped together. It was an overclocked GameCube.

@GrailUK I'm currently studying in Japan and have been here several times, and I can tell you, you are correct. Online gaming isn't near as prominent in Japan as it is in other countries.
Most of Japan is the same, in that they just do what they do, and rarely consider or care about what other aces are doing. That is where a lot of the charm comes from, from an outsiders perspective.
In fact I would say that Sony is more rare (in Japan) with how well they've embraced foreign gaming and online play.

Personally I couldn't care less about online gaming at this point in time. I think the whole online scene isn't what it used to be and there is way too much emphasis on it these days.

Multiplayer without voice is useless.

The friends list in Switch is useless.

@ThanosReXXX perhaps "the Nintendo difference" can be updated? Now that the amazing intangible feel of a Nintendo game is consistently marred with a boggling choice or two.

@konbinilife @Ryu_Niiyama You guys get Nintendo

So the decision about SMM2’s online multiplayer (or lack of it) is a weird decision. To put it exceedingly bluntly, it’s a bad decision and a wrong decision.

But this tacked on narrative about ‘The Nintendo Difference’ being some disembodied force behind the company’s decisions that grows more sinister from year to year is an equally weird narrative.

You can trust me on this, I enjoy a leaderboard more than most (I topped over a dozen) I can totally see why they did it. And I can respect it. I am sure the outcry from the West far exceeds that in the East, and hence it will get patched.

But for the love of God...don't try to turn the Switch into a portable Xbox. If I wanted achievments so I felt I was being rewarded for playing and to play in a dark room with the curtains closed, I would have bought one. It's really not that much of an issue. Get your mates round. Beers, snacks and have a party playing.

Stop taking it too seriously. Please. All that big money spent on AAA, Sony and Microsoft is turning folk into closet stock market prospectors, market forecasters and industry analysts, selling violent games with mature themes that make it all seem so...unfun...

Next they will be holding virtual Oscars, with pretentious speeches about how important video games are. How they can change our lives. We all deep down know how un-bloody-productive they are lol (which is an underlying cause of anxiety for some). Of course they want to instill how vital play is in our lives. It's a multi billion pound industry here. It's just entertainment.
So, why so serious about them.

Playstation has the best graficks. Switch has the better games (for me). If you disagree with any part of that sentiment, I fear you are playing the wrong system.

*Edit, I am much happier when I can just make stupid comments and be light hearted

Being different is good.
While Sony and Microsoft are going to the Right, Nintendo are going to the Left.
And remember, Nintendo HQ is in Kyoto, part of Japanese city that still keep the traditional Japanese cultures.

The reason why do i love Nintendo because they are like me (quirky, different, silly) and they know how to make Cute games for kids and for girls. Nintendo don't forget the female audiences, that's why we got Cooking Mama, WakuWaku Sweets, Style Savvy, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, Disney Magical World, etc. Nintendo like quirkiness and unusual things, that's why we got Miitopia, Tomodachi Life, ARMS, Pikmin, etc.

Well, sometimes their being different attitudes went too far, like when they made Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer & Amiibo Festival, Wii U concept, Still region lock for 3DS and Wii U, using a Mini DVD for Gamecube, using a 128 MB cartridge for N64, etc. But i still applause them for taking risk and trying something different. If it doesn't work, they will try other things.

@Anti-Matter Careful using the words right and left in today's climate. They might twist it into pseudo politics.

@GrailUK One of the things I love about this site is the lack of politics, it's a rare thing these days.

@GrailUK
Oh, i didn't mean like that.
I used Right and Left like people choosing their directional way, no political pseudos meaning.

Super Mario Maker 2 will be great, but like, I'm in my 20s. I'll likely be moving several times in the next decade. I like online multiplayer games largely because they're something I can do with friends who live in other states. Heck, I still play Mario Kart with my dad and little sister online sometimes. What you do is put on a skype call and talk while you play. Prioritizing local instead of multiplayer keeps me from gaming together with the people I care about at some point.

This article uses strong language, but honestly, Nintendo's online infrastructure has been garbage since the Wii/DS days, so I feel some of that frustration. The DS didn't even work with the default security settings on wireless routers. Playing some Animal Crossing or Mario Kart DS with a friend meant an hour or two of changing the wifi router settings first. Brawl was pretty much unplayable. 3DS worked tolerably well. I never got a Wii U, so I can't speak to its online. The Switch at least works unlike the DS and Wii days.

@Anti-Matter Lol, I was being tongue in cheek. Sorry.

@JayJ No one better turn a Nintendo game in to politics on my watch! You wouldn't like me when I'm serious. Ok...I'm not that bad.

There’s the traditional, self praising ‘Nintendo difference’ applied to the tactile feel of a game and art direction and whatnot, and then there’s the post-HD console ‘Nintendo difference’ that’s come to mean the technological feature sets standard in competitor consoles and software that are ignored/sidestepped by Nintendo.

@LunarFlame17 I agree with you. I have an Xbox to play online with, my Switch is for couch co-op or portable solo gaming (with the exception of Splatoon 2, which I play with random strangers). I am more than pleased with the switch in those capacities. I subscribe to Nintendo’s annual online subscription for the free retro games that I would have otherwise purchased from the virtual console.

The fact that I don't care about online play and Nintendo doesn't prioritize it is a huge reason (unintentionally so) that I adore the big N so much.

Honestly I think that Nintendo should allow online play between friends on Mario Maker. We always have to ask for things that should be obvious. "Can I play co-op with my friends online?" shouldn't be a question we need to ask Nintendo, it should be available. period. It's stupid that we need to ask for things that every other major platform have as standard.

Nintendos issues with the switch they just can't do normal:
1.) The issue with communication and party creation on the switch
2.) If you can party up, it wont necessary allow you to play against other players with friends but bots...
3.) Bluetooth locked.

I mean, the PSP Go and vita had those basics figured out.

The "Nintendo Difference"... What does it mean to me?

It is the prioritization of quality over quantity. It is the willingness to bring a given genre to the masses instead of simply the hardcore. It is a committment to brand. It is the drive to push gaming forward instead of into stagnance.

Sometimes that means that we won't get a core Metroid or Zelda game for a number of years. However, that also means that we won't get a truly bad entry. Nintendo isn't afraid to miss the crucial Christmas season if it means that end product will be that much better.

Sure. Sometimes will remove the "bite" from a genre to make it more family friendly, thus potentially alienating the hardcore gamer looking for something grimdark or gritty. However, in making said genre more family friendly, they also usually end up making it more accessible to gamers of all skill levels and infuse it with the same trademark warmth and wholesomeness that is pervasive in a Pixar film.

Maybe Mario won't ever join the ranks of Mortal Kombat fighters. Maybe Link's world won't ever get as bloody or bleak as Game of Thrones. Surely, Samus will never drop the f-bomb to shock fans. However, this willingness to stay "on message" isn't a weakness. It isn't an unwillingness to change with the times. Nintendo isn't trying to turn Mario into Mickey Mouse, effectively ensuring that he will eventually become background static. No. Nintendo's strong committment to brand is a strength. No matter what subtle (or stark) changes Nintendo makes to Mario or Zelda, every new installment says, "Welcome home." Nintendo's focus on brand ensures that each new bite tastes as fresh as the first while still feeling like Mom's warm apple pie. Nintendo games are comfort food.

Okay. So, maybe - once in a while - Nintendo takes a "think different" attitude that comes off as tone deaf. Nobody this side of a color blind masochist thought that the Virtual Boy would be a hit. Maybe they stubbornly refuse to modernize their online strategy in baffling ways. Maybe they don't always commit to the good peripherals as much as they should. Really? Should getting a second Switch dock require a back room deal with Beelzebub? However, for all that, we're still looking at the same company that innovated the d-pad. They're the same company that pioneered the portable console. They're the same company that made us believers in motion controls and stereoscopic 3D. They're the same company that renewed our faith in hybrid unconventional design as an asset.

Nintendo isn't perfect. No company is. However, for me, the "Nintendo Difference" comes down to one very simple idea. Appearances to the contrary, Nintendo is the sort of company that isn't happy with doing the same magic trick twice. For Sony, each new Playstation Next is really more or less the same as the Playstation Last. They just up the core specs and call it a day. In effect, the Sony Playstation is no different than a PC. Give the developers more power so that they can make a game prettier to look at. Nintendo, however, isn't so concerned with moving to a new weight class with each generation of hardware. They know that, to truly move gaming forward, they have to change how we play them. The invention of the d-pad. Local multi-player link or infrared communication in a pre-internet age. Touch controls. Waggle. A hybrid console/portable that throws in nearly every gimmick they have, and then some. For each miss, Nintendo has countless more hits. Nintendo doesn't simply want games that look better. They want games that PLAY better. THAT is the "Nintendo Difference" to me.

Honestly? Who cares if you can't play Mario Maker online with friends? Yeah. It's a bit of a bummer. Not much though. We all carry a game system in our pocket. It's called a cell phone. We already have ample opportunities to play with friends. A good portion of the world already owns an internet capable PC. That right there is another opportunity for multiplayer. If it seems that Nintendo stubbornly refuses to get with the times in this respect, well, I have to think that they have a good reason. Mine has been a Nintendo household for nearly 35 years. They've (almost) never steered me wrong? Why would I suddenly second guess them? Some people call this blind faith. I call it trust.

Nintendo, for a lack of a better description, is "Japan in a Box." On the one hand, they embrace all sorts of wild and wacky trends. Where Japan goes, so will the rest of the world... in 10 years. On the other hand, they are also a country that firmly embraces tradition, an adherence to rules, and even a sense of personal isolation. After all, they ARE an island nation. Nintendo is the embodiment of Japan and they are every bit the self-contradiction for it.

IMO, how you view Nintendo really depends on how you view gaming and what you, as a gamer, prioritize. The "Nintendo Difference" hasn't change. The article's author has.

I am personally not much into online play, but I understand that it must be frustrating for those who want Nintendo to embrace this.

It can be confusing to figure out which aspects of the wider industry Nintendo will embrace. For me the strangest thing about them is how they select and distribute their older content. If they opened up their back catalogue of games and made that available on Switch with either collections or through an Xbox style game pass then that would quell my criticism of them. They sorta got this right on the WiiU and 3ds via VC but have struck out so far on the Switch.

I always considered the Nintendo difference the emphasis on quality gaming experiences and providing you with a complete product you know you will get your moneys worth out of which I feel is important in this day and age as many AAA publishers have resorted to increasingly predatory monetization practices to try and counteract the increasingly expensive development costs.

People love to give Nintendo crap for their online and they have no understanding of it but I think its important to consider priorities as well as resource and time constraints are also a likely factor as well. Mario Maker on 3DS probably didn't have online cause it's fairly understandable that Nintendo woudln't want to sink too many resources into a 3DS port especially considering that at the time planning and development for Mario Maker 2 was probably well under way. That statement quoted in the article at the beginning was not even Nintendo's official statement either that was mainly from a Treehouse rep. Nintendo's official statement was "That is true, As the game is now you cannot play with friends online. You can only play with randoms." The "As the the game is now" part I think should be noted as it might imply Nintendo intends to add friend support in post launch.

The fact they mentioned conflicts of interest with the leaderboards probably tells me they may have discovered a bug in the lobby system that could adversely efffect leaderboards or perhaps allow players to easily cheat the system but by the time the bug was discovered it was too late to go back and fix it without risking a potential delay.

I would not be surprised in the slightest if Nintendo's reluctance towards interaction with friends as well as greater communication features on Switch may stem from getting burned from the Swapnote incident as well as what happened with Miiverse after seeing some of the final posts made before the service shutdown its probably explains why Nintendo hasn't been big on greater social media functionality with the Switch.

I don't believe in the notion that Nintendo knows nothing about online really since they have been experimenting with online services since the 90s. Heck they even had a broadband adapter released for the Gamecube if anyone remembers that. Now here is something interesting apparantly with Phantasy Star Online for the Gamecube it was possible to actually load and run homebrew code using the adapter as a backdoor which is probably why so few games used it.

So that quote in the beginning of the article: its fake, right? It sounds so sarcastic, so there's no way its real, there's no way they called the online friend play question an "odd question." If its fake, then please don't present it like its real, Gavin Lane. If its real, please feel free to correct me with the source.

Nintendo is like a primitive man living a mile away from London.

(I can't imagine anyone will read this train of thought lol)

I'm not even going to try to describe what 'the Nintendo difference' is in terms of games because I think that is misplaced. Their creativity is industry leading, but that's not a difference.

The difference I think is more cultural. Referring to Xbox sales in Japan. I read many almost taking offense at the fact that Japanese people obviously hate the West. I really don't know why everything has to be so political these days. Underlying panic at resources dwindling maybe. Dunno. But it is nonsense. There have been plenty of western games hitting the top spot recently. So it must be something else. All we can say from this is, the hook that Microsoft bring to gaming is not compelling to Japanese folk.

Imagine for a moment Nintendo makes an Xbox console. (Sorry Xbox, I don't want to sound like I am picking on you!). Sales might see a small rise because there are more people playing games today, however, that rise would only be compared to their similar attempts at powerful consoles. Which were showing a decline. Compared to Switch and Wii, I dare say it would be nowhere near.

Now, this is my forcing myself to be narrow minded and just thinking about the West. Imagine what would happen in Japan! The console would be last place down with the Xbox. Not because of any alienation, but because it's simply not interesting to them. Then, the 'Nintendoomed' comments wouldn't be so tongue in cheek. It would be quite serious losing their strongest fanbase.

So it is clear, Nintendo have a definite philosophy with how gaming should be. One that shares an affinity with how Japan play games. One that is markedly different to Microsoft and Sony's (the latter of course being a Japanese company embracing Western ideals). Does this mean we think of Japan as not being advanced as us? Or more worryingly, do Japan have a much better handle on integrating technology into our lives so that it doesn't take it over?

I mean, if western tech devs have their way, we will all be wearing VR headsets, headphones, microphones, holding 2 controllers, , some feeling superior they are playing the Ferrari model, others the celebrity endorsed version, sat alone in a room, subscribing to stay connected to our friends, making purchases that appeal to our vanity, all the while pretending to be Norman Reedus. So we all feel like we can relate to celebrities. Some will take comfort in racking up 100s of achievement points so their lives feel like they have worth and avoid getting an anxiety attack because of how unproductive it all is. How they are just fast forwarding their lives.

Next they will be holding virtual Oscars, with pretentious speeches about how important video games are. How they can change our lives. Reassuring us that playing games is what makes us human. Of course they want to instil how vital play is in our lives. It's a multi billion pound industry here.

Next step after this is reality gaming. (I can already see how it works and I promise you it will be bloody huge!; Ready player One is a bit off the mark I reckon.) It's all rather depressing for someone who just enjoys a video game.

Their voice chat using a phone on loud speaker is quite responsible. Putting it in a room full of people, it allows someone who can't make it to a party join in. Not a chat room. A literal room. Full of actual people. One could almost say, Nintendo is 'keeping it real'. lol. (Ahem) It's there as an aid instead of forcing us to use it. A Microphone and headset almost encourages being alone (Again different to playing alone.) Streamers and Youtubers sit alone in dark rooms, alone. Ok, some don't but it's ironic that the people watching probably are! When one of Nintendo's products fits with Western ideals, then it's genius. When it doesn't, no one understands where they are coming from. But all the time, I think the ethics / culture and thought processes going in to them are consistent with Eastern society, and it is us that isn't appreciating the differences with that.

So maybe there lies the 'Nintendo difference'. It's like a marriage. A relationship with western tech is like being married but we are all sleeping in separate beds. Interaction only when it suits and removing physical connectivity. Nintendo's relationship with tech endorses playfulness. Together. Actually together. With family and friends.

TL;DR The Nintendo difference is Gaming is NOT the be all and end all. (Look how humble they are!)

What if Nintendo aren't so much naïve about how much time us westerners spend online...maybe they just don't condone it.

(What an amazing talking point this week!)

@Nicolai Technically, that's not a quote, but paraphrasing. What makes that clear is the use of italics and context given in the content of the article and, as you point out, the sarcasm.

The quotation marks only define that first question, and although used mostly as indicative of a direct quote, in this case are acceptable, as the question is hypothetical, as if the reader is asking it - "you ask". As that is hypothetical, it follows that the rest of that paragraph is a summary of the response to that question. It's not an official response, but it is Nintendo's response as understood in discussions on social media, so there is no misrepresentation.

Could it be clearer? Yes, but that would be to diminish the potency of the paraphrasing as a literary device that sets the tone. It's a stylistic choice and as such, difficult to argue against in an opinion piece.

@BAN Thanks, much appreciated.
On a side note: I can't even believe how many people agree with this article's views, since like you said, it's entirely missing the point of what "The Nintendo Difference" actually is. Oh, well... it's just a talking point, after all, the proverbial soap box, so to speak.

@LavaTwilight Thank you as well. Completely agreed. What I would add is the simple truth that you can't make efforts, especially when trying to come up with new things, without making mistakes, so ultimately, they WILL fail at some point.

But the more important point is, that they will also get back up again. They always do, and then some...

@konbinilife That was just my point: you can't just "update" what the meaning of "the Nintendo Difference" is, to fit some personal or alternate point of view.

Heck, Nintendo themselves came up with it, so they and only they decide what the Nintendo Difference is. It's a selling point, a whole campaign to tell people that you can only get that experience with Nintendo games and Nintendo hardware.

I do agree with you that they make some weird decisions at times, and speaking of times, they should probably get with it some time soon, but what I'm saying is that these things are not part of the definition that is "The Nintendo Difference".

That is only about the games and the hardware and the specific, Nintendo-only experience they offer. Other companies could make similar hardware or similar games (some even tried), but somehow they never manage to capture that specific feeling. That is also why I called it intangible.

@GrailUK Well, I've read your "TL;DR train of thought", and I found it to be an interesting and thoughtful point of view, even if I do still adhere to the literal meaning of the label "The Nintendo Difference", so there.

You don't always have to agree, to still see the good in others comments, and there was plenty of sense in yours.

@ThanosReXXX Thanks man I think we can both agree we are playing on the right console lol.

@cookepuss You and others have invented this "different way to play" mythology that didnt really exist until the Wii/DS era when Nintendo reimagined themselves. NES-GC wasn't like that. Minus the Virtual Boy, Nintendo played it pretty safe. The NES and SNES were the Playstations of the day.

@Wolfgabe Nintendo has been opposed to internet for a very long time. https://web.archive.org/web/20190522133134/http://www.dromble.com/2014/01/07/dolphin-tale-story-of-gamecube/

@Trajan Man, I promise you, you are re-writing history saying Nintendo played it safe with the NES.

@GrailUK they sold it initially as a toy so perhaps, but once it took off they dropped that.

And they made it look like a VCR to its detriment.

@Trajan You are really under playing it lol. Weird. Once it took off. You said it yourself. It was a huge gamble at the time. The VCR aesthetic was to make it relatable to consumers. (Funny, they did the same thing with the Wii remote lol).

@LunarFlame17
Probably true

@GrailUK You're welcome. Just giving credit where credit's due. An anonymous "like" just felt insufficient to me...

And it's always nice to see at least a couple of commenters offering a nice, well-thought out and sensible point of view, to counter-balance the steadily growing pile of negative and/or clueless comments.

@Trajan No offense, but I literally have no idea where you got that idea from, but the phrase "The Nintendo Difference" has actually been an official label ever since the launch of the GameCube, so you might wanna brush up a bit, on your Nintendo history...

It was a part of the console's marketing campaign, and was officially adopted as kind of a catchphrase by Nintendo themselves:
https://www.gamebits.net/e3/e301/nintendo/
http://scf.usc.edu/~jeffcui/itp104/final/gamecube.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameCube

But besides that, I've already heard that exact same slogan being said during the N64 days, and several Nintendo-related magazines that I read back then, also already used it.

I never had a Nintendo console before that, but it wouldn't even surprise me if the slogan/label was already used by gamers and game magazines in the SNES days. Maybe not officially, but when Nintendo themselves officially adopted it in 2001, it most certainly did become an official label.

@ThanosReXXX They can use whatever label they want, I'm just saying that Nintendo wasn't really any different during the NES-GC. They just made video games and systems like everyone else.

Also I don't remember that slogan at all during the GC days. If they used it prior, then they did a horrible job of propagating it.

OF COURSE I REMEMBER THE WII SPEAK I LOVE ANIMAL CROSSING!! This just sucks though how we were trolled by Nintendo in 2015 with a Wii U game that shall remain namelss, only to be silent for the next 4 years, then the little blurb, oh hey, remember how Isabelle was the new main character that everyone loves in New Leaf? Well, she's coming to Smash! Oh, and by the way, yeah, we're working on another Animal Crossing to be released in 2019, but we're not going to show you any footage of it! GOD DANG IT NINTENDO!!! OHHHHH. I LOVE AND HATE YOU AT THE SAME TIME!!!

Thank god for discord!

@ThanosReXXX I honestly think that the internet just makes people say and believe things that would never have occurred to them in a million years to say or believe. I think it’s just your basic mob mentality. “Is someone expressing a strong opinion on something online? Are some people stating they agree with it? Well hey, turns out I also strongly believe in that thing I never even thought about! I just never knew it until everyone else said so.”

Because monkey see monkey do. Everyone knows this one tiny nitpick is extremely distant from the point of a game like Mario Maker, it’s just that people live to jump on bandwagons and wield pitchforks.

I just want the amiibo support back!

If online co-op with friends ever gets patched in, I wonder if the people who are raising such a stink will care/buy the game. Probably not, because even something like this gets patched in/an issue gets fixed, people don't seem to care. "Nah bro, patch is too late" etc. I don't know, that seems that's how a lot of gamers roll.

@ThanosReXXX You have a point that the implication that "the Nintendo Difference" slogan was used with regard to software experience more than hardware gimmicks. Trying to speak neutrally here, I think the author is saying that Nintendo often handles hardware and software features differently than their competition and while that has led to many uniquely good experiences, over the last 10 years, it has increasingly become Nintendo deliberately not providing features that a reasonable customer would expect. That, it sounds like, is what a lot of people are agreeing with. So you're right that the rhetorical tool that the author uses of framing their argument by playing with the meaning of "The Nintendo Difference" slogan is somewhat sophistic because Nintendo never used the slogan in the positive sense that the author suggests. The author is perhaps putting words into Nintendo's mouth. However, that's a device used to frame the author's argument, not the argument or conclusion. The rest of the argument can stand without it, I think.

I'm not someone who is a hater on Nintendo. Their games are consistently top-quality single player experiences, and I've owned Nintendo hardware for 11 years now. I did skip the Wii U - I was traveling overseas, and there was some stuff to dislike about the Wii U. I am looking forward to SMM2, and I've liked the Switch a lot, minus joycons. Speaking personally though, I think it's reasonable to say that a publisher as massive and global as Nintendo should be able to work market research into the design process, which should include what online features and gameplay options are so common as to be expected. At some point during the design of a multiplayer game, that market research ought to be turned into a list of features and modes that the consumer is likely to want. I doubt Nintendo is doing this, because every multiplayer game they release is missing obvious modes. This article isn't a masterpiece, but inasmuch as it says that Nintendo ought to provide basic online features, I agree.

What will I do about that? Probably not much, so it clearly isn't a big enough problem to ruin "The Nintendo Difference" for me. I bought Smash and Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon 2 and I'll buy Mario Maker 2. Might not buy a Splatoon 3 though unless some of that game's online quirks are ironed out. All in all, Nintendo is a good publisher that doesn't care about making good decisions sometimes.

All of this complaining over online multiplayer, with friends? ... seems a bit excessive. How can they keep even keep people from playing with their friends in the first place? I mean, It stands to reason that if you all put in the same code, for the same level, at the same time then you would eventually end up playing together anyway. I think it's actually a stroke of genius on Nintendo's part because now the Best way to play with your friends is for one of you to make the level yourself.

I think the author has a point, even if I don’t personally think that it’s all that big a deal or necessary, since you can still interact with online friends by sharing levels for each other to play. It’s not the same thing though, and the exclusion is strange, but I don’t think this is the worst decision they’ve made recently (not letting you backup save files except with the online service takes the cake for me).

Also, while sometimes a huge backlash is completely warranted (e.g. Battlefront 2), I think some people (not the author) are treating this like a bigger deal than it is. This article still acknowledges that the game itself looks extremely promising and fun, but I’ve seen people saying how their excitement for the game has dropped hugely after this debacle. That’s fair if that’s true for them personally, but far as I know, online multiplayer wasn’t something anyone was expecting until that direct, and compared to the huge number of inclusions and improvements to the rest of the game over the first, this is a relatively minor slip-up in the grand scheme of things. To treat it like it will sour the whole game is a bit much in my opinion, this is still something they could add in an update later ala stage builder in Smash, not a flaw in the core design or anything, that seems nigh on perfect. I think at the most, this is a huge missed opportunity, not a giant blunder in design, but that’s just my opinion. Not sure what the point of that was, but it was just what I was thinking after reading everyone else’s input.

Also, I don’t want this to sound rude, I think the article is very well-written, if biased (though it doesn’t really pretend not to be) but I found the callouts in the article to read a little strange. Twice, the callout quote immediately precedes the actual sentence being quoted, which just feels kind of weird, like I’m reading the same thing two times. Not sure if that’s just me though.

I hope Nintendo can soon make THIS one stand out again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeVQTgnluaM

@Trajan Of course they all made video games, but Nintendo's games have always had that typical feel, that only Nintendo games have, which none of the others has really been able to capture. Doesn't mean that the other systems don't offer any entertaining or highly enjoyable games, but in the eyes of many, including myself, they still don't have that same, almost timeless feeling, that can make almost any face pull up into a big, satisfied grin. Like any other company, they definitely make mistakes here and there, but when they do nail it, they REALLY hit the right spot, and are able to bring out the inner child in even the oldest of us.

And no, Nintendo didn't use the "Nintendo Difference" slogan prior to the GameCube, but independent media did already talk about it in similar terms, and that was what I was talking about.

It is strange though, that you've not heard of it, back in those days. It was said by the people on stage, during E3 2001, and it came back several times since, in ad campaigns and such. Maybe not in your area, then, although I personally don't think that ads would be THAT different in the various regions, especially in the case of a slogan such as that, which Nintendo came up with, to specifically set themselves apart from the other two.

Although come to think of it, maybe that particular campaign was overrun by the other GameCube ad campaign, the one with those weird commercials with games being played in transparent cubes...

@BAN Unfortunately, I do think you have a point there. Guess we gotta take the good with the bad, then. Seeing as the internet surely is never going to change...

@Dodger I get what the author is trying to say, but my point was that he was taking the indeed positively meant "The Nintendo Difference" label, which was meant as a marketing slogan for the GameCube, to frame his point of view and turn it into a negative of Nintendo not following trends, not getting with the times, and so on.

Which, by the way, we've always known them to do, so we could write an article like this every year, or for every new console or handheld generation that's still to come.

Nintendo doesn't care, and they will always follow their own course, but that is not what "The Nintendo Difference" is about.

@ThanosReXXX Yeah it was just those weird transparent cubes that I saw. I also only got my info from Nintendo Power, so the official propaganda didn't mention it.

For me honestly that timeless feel stops after the N64. Maybe its just nostalgia. I don't know. Add to it other games have it for me, like the original Halo, and yeah it's ptobably just nostalgia.

@ThanosReXXX True, I don’t expect it to change. But I’m comforted by the belief that the way certain people behave online and in virtual worlds is not the way they behave in real life, and I’m optimistic that internet toxicity rarely informs the real world.

@BAN #77 - bang on the money...a lot of these people are just parroting things they heard, I see it all the time when people throw around terms like "p2p" without even knowing what it means, they just heard it's bad so therefore it's bad.

@Trajan Fair enough, seeing as it's a personal thing, then.
I'm with the big crowd that still believes/wants to believe in Nintendo-magic sauce, though. Gotta have some positive outlook left where gaming is concerned, seeing as we're on a not so slow boat going digital-only, a future that I'm not particularly interested in...

@BAN Nice thought, on the one hand, and luckily, internet toxicity (AND idiocy) doesn't reach the real world all that much, but on the other hand, we all know that these online whiners truly are just as bad in real life, they only look less bad because in real life, they don't dare to speak out or they simply aren't as forward with speaking their minds.

Being an anonymous keyboard warrior gives even the most introverted, basement-dwelling idiots a voice. But regardless of how annoying I find them, I've managed to ignore most of them so far, seeing as focusing on them is a waste of my own precious energy and time.

@WiltonRoots Ah... p2p...
That's pay to play, right? RIGHT?

@ThanosReXXX Haha yeah good points all around. Pretty much have to agree with all of that.

@ThanosReXXX Yep close enough! You do very well to ignore these people.

@BAN Thank you, anonymous but kind internet person...

@WiltonRoots Oh, not to worry, I already do. And I already have my "disappointed E3 whiners" bingo card ready and waiting as well.

@ThanosReXXX Oh it's going to be a bloodbath in here...I don't know what I'm looking forward to more, the presentation or the fallout from people who take it all way too seriously.

@WiltonRoots Indeed. Confession time, though: I've also put myself on the card, seeing as I'll be sure to wipe away a couple of tears if we aren't going to see anything from Metroid Prime 4, and I still want a Pikmin 4 reveal as well...

@ThanosReXXX You’re welcome, mister! But I’m not TOTALLY anonymous. That’s my actual picture I’m using for my profile pic.

@BAN So... you're a cat with a helmet on?

@ThanosReXXX Bingo 😀

@BAN Duly noted...