The Cancelled, Controversial, Nightmareish, Yet Successful Summer of Nintendo

This is part analysis, and part apology. So be ready for a cocktail of observations and personal self-reflection.

Nintendo is having what might be the wildest year in their entire existence, and easily their most disappointing summer since the Virtual Boy release in August 1995.

This statement from a certain standpoint doesn’t appear too controversial, doesn’t appear to be that much of a hot take considering that we are engaged in one of the most ridiculous years in the last century. After all, 2020 started with a shocking death of a globally known athlete, and Trump’s survival of impeachment (whose after-effects led to what we’re seeing today, a severely understated consequence from early 2020)——-and it only got exponentially worse from there.

Now there’s a pandemic engulfing the entire world, and leadership in the larger countries have really contributed to its mass spread from China’s initial denial and secret shutdowns to the United States’ government downplaying the disease and not itself fully shutting down despite being the economic and traveling center of the entire world. We are suffering, millions are dying or have become sick, and in turn the global economy has been caught in a devastating whirlwind. But, in large part because of that same pandemic and their unusual prepared ways, Nintendo unexpectedly became the economically strongest company in all of Japan.

Nintendo has come out on top because they have the perfect console at the perfect price with the perfect lineup of video games to help pass the time during quarantine, and to help ease the rapidly escalating tensions happening in most parts of the world. The inviting and extremely creative Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold an astronomical amount and in turn their better games like Mario Odyssey, Smash Ultimate, and Breath of the Wild keep selling. Even the mildly controversial Pokemon Sword/Shield is selling well……unfortunately. Also, Nintendo is known for their intelligent storage of profits to hold them over when things go south, like during the rough Gamecube days, the horrendous WiiU days, and the current coronavirus days.

But this year also cost Nintendo a massive celebration of their biggest IP and their main mustached mascot, and in turn really put them on the hot seat with their fanbase for several months. And I’m not going to lie to you, I was among the fanbase that was rather worried and frustrated with how everything was turning out. 2020 was already a dismally terrible year with everything going on in politics, the battle for social justice, and the health of the planet being compromised thank to the egos of multiple governments. So on any other year, the decisions of Nintendo would not have been met with such hostility. But in the Year of the Pandemic, we were gasping for good news, and a Japanese company notorious for tight-knit secrecy suddenly find themselves helpless against a pandemic that prevents this style of production. Nintendo was struggling, wouldn’t admit it, and kept us in the dark about the hidden chaos coming out of their offices.

Nintendo practically saved the beginning doldrums of the quarantine with Animal Crossing and its expanded lineup of quality games while the competitors were notably dwindling their software output while preparing for the upcoming holiday season and the ninth generation of gaming. So we saw not only digital sales explode in Nintendo’s eShop, but we saw new and old games receive new life in the springtime. But come summertime as more and more cancellations were revving up and the pandemic clearly displaying its refusal to calm down (and, worthy of repeating, certain governments’ refusal to actually battle this damn thing), we find ourselves facing major uncertainties now and in the near future. But at least Nintendo is prepared to give us a Direct to get us exci---oh wait, where is it?

Where is it?!!?

Nintendo’s eventual E3 presentation was practically missing, even after Sony and Microsoft started delivering their grandiose plans. And as more details from the “competitors” grew, Nintendo’s calm was becoming unnerving. So on the gamer’s standpoint, as the world is on fire figuratively and literally, the company that was bringing us the most refuge from the chaos was just not updating us with anything. We saw Microsoft and Sony in full swing with their output from them and their several partners---although the wait was going to feel astronomical. Both showcases over the summer were actually promising, with even Microsoft appearing to learn from their mistakes (some, because Halo looked awful).

Then came Paper Mario: The Origami King, the first major reveal since the world started ending—with nothing more. Then came its highly controversial battle system created by a controversial team trying to transform the franchise into a full adventure one, which is wildly different from what the franchise used to be at its peak, and the already-upset fans just went wild. Let’s not forget that AlphaDream shockingly went bankrupt in 2019 after dismal sales of their last game, the remake to Bowser’s Inside Story, now the worst-selling Mario game since the Virtual Boy---which means (for now) the disappearance of the last Mario RPG series. Compound THAT with the controversial interviews concerning production of the game and the creative decisions, and an audience of people mad at the world are now mad at a game that wasn’t really meant to be the main title in Nintendo’s summertime lineup. We demanded more, without seeing the large picture of the ugly realities.

So now let’s reverse course back to early 2020 and picture what Nintendo was probably planning in its future:

Animal Crossing March.

E3 2020.

Summer Olympics coming up.

Super Nintendo World is about to come out in Japan.

On E3, Nintendo unveils the 35th anniversary celebration: Mario 3D World with extra content, Mario Maker 2 with extra content, Mario All-Stars in Super Nintendo Online, Paper Mario featuring Bobby and that damn battle system, Mario 3D All-Stars (probably WITH Mario Galaxy 2), the extra merchandise, the upcoming attractions in Universal Studios Japan, the Mario Bros. Battle Royale, and then we got Pikmin 3 with extra content, the Hyrule Warriors game where everybody is going to die (more on that later), and probably first looks at games currently in development like No More Heroes 3, Breath of the Wild 2 or the eerily silent Metroid Prime 4. They had a killer E3 planned, but of course, the pandemic hit.

They probably had a surprise up their sleeve, but of course the pandemic hit.

They had a damn section of a theme park ready to go…but then the pandemic hit.

Nintendo was prepared for an even bigger 2020 than the one they’ve achieved so far…but of course the ‘rona hit.

Nintendo’s phenomenal financial success from the pandemic definitely offsets all the controversies they’ve had to endure, but the uncertainty remains and their potential for an even bigger year was pretty much shattered. Clearly their 3D collection was a little rushed (Where is Mario Galaxy 2 you cowards! Mario 64 not being widescreen has a feeling of lack of time) in order to be released this year, their Mario 3D World was supposed to be a holiday release, instead Hyrule Warriors having to carry the burden of being Nintendo’s main AAA game for the holiday season against the upcoming XBox and PS5. Imagine that, your holiday game being a prequel to events of Breath of the Wild that has a guaranteed Rogue One-esque ending of everyone’s death…oh boy. Of course, adding to this chaos is the fact that the pandemic is STILL going on---even though on the Japanese front their numbers have (fortunately) been decreasing.

In other words, sectors of the Nintendo fandom (like myself) have been a bit impatient with the company for seeing the information trickle very slowly. We may have overreacted to no Nintendo Direct for a year, judging by the YouTube numbers related to their indie and smaller gaming showcases (even though their Indie showcase was actually pretty good). We definitely overreacted to Origami King because the interviews left a sour taste in a summer already full of bad news----even with the critical reviews of the game being quite good (Origami King’s soundtrack is spectacular, and also Bobby deserves all the praise). We probably should have trusted Intelligent Systems and their historically excellent track record. But in everyone’s slight defense, it has been a rough year, and Nintendo’s extremely secretive ways really added to the mystery behind the silence. And all we want in life is another Mario RPG with the flavor of the 1996-2004 era (Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, Superstar Saga, Thousand-Year Door).

Is Nintendo completely innocent of all charges? Not necessarily, but old habits die hard, and Nintendo is not a gloom-and-doom company and they will never deliver bad news unless its absolutely necessary. That’s why release dates are always impossible to receive from them, but at the same time getting no information from the company was a bit of a misfire because simply knowing that Nintendo had to severely limit their production would have calmed the flames from a worried fandom. Also, Nintendo has an arsenal of unreleased games ranging multiple consoles and generations that they could have easily tossed into their Online component to help ease the pain. Would have been hilarious to toss the N64 Paper Mario and Thousand-Year Door online after Origami King’s controversies. Let’s also be honest—Nintendo 64 Online really would have helped as well.

Now, after a questionable summer full of sales and uncertainty, we’ve seen a September full of gaming news and a far better outlook of where Nintendo is headed for the next couple of months, even if 2021 remains a wild toss-up. Super Mario’s 35th is scatterbrained and their “limited run” shenanigans is clearly created to sell millions up front before the fiscal year is officially over, but at least we’re getting something. We have anticipated remakes coming out in the next few months, a pretty strong indie lineup (Untitled Goose Game FOREVER!!!), and I’m sure a few extra Animal Crossing updates in time for the holidays which may be spent at home if the pandemic ever surges once again.

I know Nintendo doesn’t want to get involved in the Console Wars with Sony and Microsoft, but its hard to deny that Nintendo wants to present its strongest possible lineup against two consoles that will be about two generations ahead of the Switch in terms of performance. Of course, among all the rumors, there’s a Switch Pro in the horizon. Could that have been announced in E3? We’ll never really know.

Basically, the fans freaked out all summer because their secretive company that has provided so many good memories and so much good content lately suddenly stopped output of software AND news and updates. Even with Nintendo making money hand over fist, their public relations was getting killed because a pandemic that produced death, anger, and hostility was triggering an impatient and weary fanbase that was losing patience at Nintendo’s unwillingness to admit the realities: Nintendo had excellent plans completely sidetracked by the pandemic, and in the midst of the pandemic their production and output suffered severely. But as September rolls on and Nintendo has tossed out update after update, the screams and yells have diminished, and the sales of Origami King even after everything remains pretty good. Bobby would be proud.

I personally apologize for contributing to the noise, and I’m sure Nintendo apologized in their sneaky way by giving us a September full of news and surprises, including a completely unexpected prequel to the events of Breath of the Wild. Let me put this in greater detail: the coolest storyline in an already-excellent game that was discussed and not shown will now be playable in its ENTIRETY in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT GAME, and that’s with the sequel to one of the greatest Zelda and overall gaming experiences of all-time hiding around the corner. How can I stay mad at a company willing to reward me for purchasing the Switch (…and the WiiU) with what’s quickly becoming (and this is no exaggeration) the greatest first-party lineup in the history of video games?

Just like the rest of the world (that isn’t receiving wild tax cuts and benefits from a corrupt American government (looking at you, Kodak and Amazon)), Nintendo is having a hell of a year, full of good news undercut by bad news and frustrations. But it appears that even though the pandemic is far from over, they are finally having a proper grip on what their future holds----even if they won’t tell us. But at the very least, a former hostile corner of Nintendo fandom is quieting down as the fears are diminished and what looked like defeat is simply a delayed unveiling of information----and a controversial game that was unable to hide behind a plethora of good news.

Forgive me Nintendo, for I sinned by being mad at you.

Now please give us Breath of the Wild 2 and a Switch Pro next year……and if you’re being very generous, an F-Zero sequel.