How Nintendo stays alive in the current market
The Nintendo GameCube.
Ahh, that solid little box that could be easily picked up and used to bash a robbers head in, yet won't strain your wrist in picking it up.
Joking aside, as far as Next Gen consoles are concerned * Even though the Next Gens are nowon their way, ala PS3*, the GC came in last. It was even beat by it's handheld buddy, the GameBoy Advance. Regardless of somehow winning the rights for exclusive Capcom's mega-trillion selling Resident Evil franchise, what had the GC going for it? A new Final fantasy game that left fanboys groaning? A new game from a old title, Like StarFox GX, or whatever?
Nintendo has had the ability to keep us interested by virtue of giving us what we want: Retro gaming. That goes for the GB and the GC. Allow me to explain.
The GameCube brought us back a glut of classical good game in new formats. Zelda: the Wind Waker, Metriod Prime, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Party 4 and 5... these are games that draw interest, due to earlier games of this ilk that we love. Every system should have a long running franchise. Or nine of them. Playstation has it's Final Fantasy *stolen from Nintendo* and Xbox has its...well, anyway...
So, the GameCube hangs in there...but then it gets better...the add ons!
First, the Card Reader. Buy a couple of packs of cards, hook up the card reader, and get extra features..if you have the game. Much like the Power Glove, the Running Pad, The Virtual gamboy...the Card Reader is another thing to get piled on top of the Genesis 32x you have been meaning to burn.
Second - the GameBoy Reader. When I bought my GameCube, I got a chance to either pick a game reader or a free game. Being a Metroid fan, I picked the game. A friend of mine got the GBR for christmas. It's ok I suppose. I remember a simular device for the Super NES, and it was ok. It added color and allowed you to play GB games on the SNES. This is pretty much the same.
Third: The Gamboy. It gets it's own area in a bit. I'm mainly talking about the Connectivity between the GC and the GB. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is a good game. Not as good solo, but good. With mulitple people, you ALL need a gameboy advance. If you have a lot of friends that are gamers and have them, cool.
Nintendo appears to like that tidbit, and is adding it into future games. Sales of the GBA are high anyway, why not conquere the rest of the market.
THE GAMEBOY: here is a legacy. The only system that has progressively gotten better, requiring you to buy it again and again. Now, there is a old school one that looks like a NES gamepad. The EB Games in Vancouver sold out of it within a day. Now, Nintendo is releasing all the classic NES games that we all knew and loved onto the GBA format. SPEND! It is through our hearts and wallets that Nintendo stay competitive. They bring back our childhood memories, a time when gaming was good and simple, not like some of todays games.
As long as Nintendo keeps that up, they will be find...plus, the Gameboy DS is almost here. 