Nintendo 2015 Review

This was a long and difficult year for Nintendo. The notorious video game company lost its president this year but also demonstrated that Nintendo is looking into the long-term future, even if it stumbles sometimes. 

Let’s look back at all things Nintendo for the year of 2015.

The Legend of Zelda and Star Fox Delayed

Many were looking forward to these two titles, enough to purchase a Wii U. While it’s encouraged that developers take as much time as needed to craft a polished game this didn’t prevent many people from looking back in vexation. We can only hope both Link and Fox’s upcoming debut on new hardware are worth the wait.

Splatoon is Victorious

Surprising Splatoon took the gaming world by storm. Despite all the mockery targeted towards the Wii U Splatoon offered players a fun and unique take on what was geared towards family-friendly fun. The lack of player communication, traditional multiplayer features and modes did leave players yearning for more. Nintendo as attempted to resolve this issue by providing free DLC, which has greatly extended the longevity. In a world where new IPs are rare Splatoon showcased that a demand for creative games still exist.

Super Mario Maker is Impressive

To celebrate their most popular character Nintendo released Super Mario Maker, giving players the chance to create their own Mario levels and play other creations from around the world. Nintendo went above and beyond to ensure that this game wasn’t a simply tool set. It gave players from the classic and modern generations ways to enjoy the game on multiple fronts. Everything from horribly difficult stages to creative masterpieces littered the digital marketplace, and Nintendo has developed ways to categorized these levels; something that was shockingly missing when it released.

Nintendo NX

Earlier in the year Nintendo revealed that they were working on a new hardware called the “NX”. While most this system is still a mystery it has been speculated that this console is intended to focus on the hardcore gamer and compete with the Xbox One and PS4 due to the Wii U’s inability to do so.

Amiibos Dominate

While Nintendo is still set on making quality games that cater to both casual and hardcore gamers Amiibos remain on of the most profitable additions to the companies lineup of products. Nintendo has even solved their distribution system, allowing US consumers more accessibility to more models, and Amazon providing cheaper alternatives. While many on still on the fence about these tiny pieces of palpable DLC you cannot deny the sale numbers, people love collecting them.

Nintendo Going Mobile

Something that many have been demanding and encouraging Nintendo to do has finally become a reality. In one of Satoru Iwata’s great achievements the former president pushed the company towards the mobile market. In May the company announced that they were teaming up with DeNA to create and publish five free-to-play games for mobile devices by March 2017. Nintendo hasn’t revealed and future plans past these, not even details regarding the projects in development, but perhaps it won’t be long before gamers can legally download copies of Nintendo’s vast library of games.

The Death of Satoru Iwata

One of the saddest moments of 2015 came in July, when an announcement was made that Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata died. Iwata was a creative and brilliant man who aided in the development of Super Smash Brothers and Pokemon, with recent stories revealing that Iwata was responsible for bringing the original Pokemon games to the west. An accomplishment that would have generations of gamers spending vast amounts of hours collecting these creatures.

The lost of Iwata continues to hurt the gaming industry but his accomplishes will be remembered for decades to come.

Club Nintendo Ends

Club Nintendo, the reward program that gave gamers special gifts for registering Nintendo games and consoles, was shut down this year to make room for My Nintendo. Each year those who registered enough items to gain the most prestigious ranks were given one free gift as a token of Nintendo’s appreciation. Now this new system seeks to bring Nintendo into the modern age of rewarding loyal customers.

Nintendo’s Insane DLC

Perhaps the most surprising pieces of DLC to come out all this year was for Super Smash Bros. Wii U and 3DS. Nintendo classics like Mewtwo, Lucas and massive amount of Fire Emblems characters were nice addition unlock Nintendo decided to blow everyone’s mind. Characters thought impossible like Ryu, Cloud Strife and Bayonetta were revealed as playable character. This combined with a large assortment of free DLC for Splatoon and multiple releases for Monster Hunter 4 made many fans cheer in excitement.

The Future of Nintendo

Current Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima has gone on record to reveal that Nintendo plans to increase awareness of their products and image. To ensure that everyone, from gamers to non-gamers, are aware of Nintendo’s products and IPs. Coupled with a promising new titles such as Star Fox Zero and The Legend of Zelda, along with a new set of Amiibos and mobile games, and Nintendo’s future looks brighter than ever.

What were your favorite moments of Nintendo this past year? Tell us in the comments below!

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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