Why I have renewed faith in Nintendo

 

With the advent of the original Nintendo system, Nintendo became the de facto king of the console market place. Yet they couldn't stave away the onslaught of competitors. Sega then Sony and now Microsoft. Their market share began to wane and eventually fell from grace – formerly ranking 1st in sales (and in our hearts) to 3rd (Sony 1st, Microsoft 2nd). But now, Nintendo has staged a bit of a coup. 

They have changed their gaming paradigm to fundamentally control a whole different segment of the market. Which, you may ask... well consider the following titles: Big Brain Academy, Brain Age, Wii Fit. I think it is a genius move and shows to me that Nintendo is not only an intelligent company but also has a clear vision for where they and the rest of the industry is heading. They chose to elevate their users. Nintendo, rather astutely, evaluated the marketplace and realized that there will always been competitors to handle the new cutting edge in graphics, 1st person shooters, racers and sports games – yet not a single competitor sought to make games which could increase the physical or brain activity of a user.  They chose to make products that could help them improve their lives. 

Its no wonder I own a Wii and a Nintendo DS but no PS3 or XBOX. They get my nod as a great company whom is trying to build a future in not just providing entertainment but also helping their users to build a better life.