Unplugging the Power
By:Kotsopoulos
 
 
     Nintendo: the name that started it all. The video game craze began with this magical company that decided to bring a little interactive software to our homes and turned it into a national empire. With all the hype, five systems and the seal of quality, Nintendo branched out to our homes and made dreams come true. Weather it be bouncing on goombas or defeating lords of the underworld, Nintendo pleased all. It cut through north America with an ease and founded an profitable enterprise in a few years. The Super Nintendo raised the bar to another steep with better graphics and a larger memory load for better and more fun games. Mario scored his own world, Link went back in time and Sagat attempted to settle the score. The new system counterparts were excellent, but they were enough. Soon arcade games were converted like the NES before it to home splendor for only about 70-80 dollars a pop. The Virtual boy struck the market and failed, but it never slowed Nintendo's momentum. They had plans for a new system to battle with their new found competitors: The Nintendo 64. Just a small drawing in the back of someone's office, it sprung to life, bringing with it the cream of the crop. Now Mario had a voice, the Zelda saga was complete and a new breed of fighters took the field. Now, with the upcoming release date of the "Dolphin", Nintendo should be on top of the world right?

     Sorry to say, but thats not the case. On one sad day in the epic of Nintendo, they were branded by some internet moguls "Childish" and it stuck. The once monolithic company that ruled home entertainment was a shell of it's former self. Sony was the hardcore system thus it took a different route from Nintendo and used more teen aimed games to bring in the cash. The childish system was spreading through the net like wild fire, spouting rumors that it had nothing left ad had it's foot in the grave... They were right. The fun station was now just fun for ages 12 and under. the older players needed something to go along with the tides of time: blood, gore, first person shooters, RPGs... to sum it up, they needed a Playstation. With it's Disney-like graphics, Nintendo suffered a strong blow to their egos. They needed to move along, so they got on their boat and sailed towards Jet Force Gemini and Perfect Dark. The only salvation they had from complete destruction was two games, and they sure did the job. JFG and PD contained that hardcore feel without losing what Nintendo had stood for their whole careers, fun. The games kicked their pacemaker back in gear and they were on their way for another few months.

     But those few months won't last long. Soon enough, Nintendo will be heading to the graveyard and it won't be pretty. The sheer thought that Nintendo is on it's way out will shock some, thrill others and not even affect the rest. In this situation there are only three kinds of people. Those who will flip at the fact that Nintendo is out of business and that they won't have to look at the Nintendo side of the rental section ever again. There are others that don't really care what happens. Which ever outcome occurs will be just a poke on the shoulder and then the feeling will pass. Then there are the people who will flip out that Nintendo is going out to pasture. They wont believe it and support Nintendo with what they can when they want.

     You do have to give Nintendo credit though. They are trying a lot to save their company from being unplugged. >From the new games with the hardcore style, to the new system colours and models. But come on, that can't change nothing. You can see the end is near, the price dropping of the system, the new models that won't sell anything. I mean, come one! Who is gonna buy a pokemon Nintendo 64? Believe what you want, you know I'm right.

     What ever happens, it's all down to one thing: Time. Time will tell if Nintendo will stick around for another 10 years or slowly fade out of our memories forever. Newer, better models come in, and the old get replaced. Nintendo is on the brink of elimination and Sony is right by the outlet, ready to pull the plug.