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what innovations has nintendo really brought the industry?


xg4bx

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personally i'm getting tired of arguing with people who try to give nintendo credit for pretty much everything under the sun.

 

you guys know more about gaming history than i do so i'd just like a list of actual innovations they've brought to gaming. most people i end up debating with on other boards really don't want to hear the inconvenient facts about the joy board, le stick, the joy sensor or tigers's game.com.they'd rather stick their fingers in their ears.

 

note-by innovate i don't mean popularize, i mean actual innovations.

Edited by xg4bx
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I always viewed them kind of like Apple. Other companies focus on cool technologies, Nintendo and Apple focus on making cool technologies accessible to the masses.

 

From a hardware perspective, not sure there is really tons that they've done that they were "the first with".

  • Even the NES joypad always reminded me a bit of the Intellivision disc controller.
  • Analog sticks in the N64 were previously done on the 5200, as were four port controllers.
  • Scaling on the SNES was previously done on the Lynx (mode 7 might be an original to them though).
  • the motion controller on the Wii was previously on the Dreamcast in the fighting controller

I think that people remember Nintendo for innovation speaks (similar to Apple) how well they've taken niche tech and adapted it for the masses.

Edited by DracIsBack
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As I said, the Intellivision disc is kind of a crude gamepad, but Nintendo nailed the idea. The Intellivision controller is extended vertically with directional controls on the bottom and other controls above and on the sides. The Nintendo pad is extended horizontally with directional keys on the left and the other inputs on the middle and right. Much more ergonomic controller scheme, IMO. Subsequent controllers on other systems might be bigger, have more buttons, have additional analog sticks, etc. but most still take after the basic design of the NES. I would call it a true influential innovation.

 

As someone else suggested, the N64's GPU may have been quite innovative for 1996. It is hard to believe that "Tomb Raider" and "Mario 64" are both from the same year.

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I always viewed them kind of like Apple. Other companies focus on cool technologies, Nintendo and Apple focus on making cool technologies accessible to the masses.

 

 

 

Huh? :?

Having a way more expensive product than your competitor is bringing it to the masses?

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Innovation is subjective. Everything builds on something else that was done before.

Putting an idea into a package that really works, and investing the big money to popularize it is worthy of credit.

 

Yes, I think that's the thing Nintendo did most of the time. They propably also had some innovations going on, but I wouldn't say they're particularly innovative.

 

The really innovative guys often aren't too commercially successful, because they have a harder time getting acceptance by the public.

Edited by Herbarius
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Probably the track and field pad, U-Force and Power Glove were innovations. Also Game & Watch?

I think they;'ve mainly been innovative in software, with all the titles they've developed and interesting gameplay (I know, Pitfall and other games came before Mario, but Mario's world and the play mechanics were highly original!)

3DS is also an innovation (no glasses)

 

[Edit]: Just occurred to me that U-Force was made by a third party, I think.

Edited by stalepie
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They came out with the rumble idea. The Rumble Pack was included with Starfox 64 for the Nintendo 64, that you attached to the controller. I like how Sony perfected it with the built in Dual Shock controller, but they were first.

 

They also didn't come out with the first touch screen in a handheld, but got it better with the DS.

 

Nintendo has always been the master also of releasing things at cheap prices. Not always the first to come out with something, but to perfect it and to come out with it at a lower price. The Game Boy is a good example of this.

Edited by SoulBlazer
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Much of Nintendo's technical development has been incremental improvements on older designs or concepts. The true innovation of Nintendo has always been their marketing. They took video game marketing to a whole other level.

 

In the 80's, they were innovative with the licensing model for the NES. Without it, the NES might have suffered the fate of other game systems. The licensing and lockout concept is still used today (albeit, not as draconian as it once was). For the NES, it allowed them to avoid having their console glutted with boatloads of crappy titles and have some amount of quality control.

 

In other marketing aspects, the Wii is a great case. I think the Wii was a brilliant bit of marketing. They created an extremely accessible console, one that was underpowered and lacked HD graphics, but had an innovative and fun control scheme.

 

Then they focused on a target market that everyone else ignored. In essence, they created a whole new market that practically didn't exist. How many 60 year olds do you see buying Xboxes or PS3s? Plenty buy the Wii. Non-traditional games buy the Wii. What other game system has had that kind of response?

 

The lack of HD graphics makes sense if you look at it. Less than 35% of the market had HD TVs when it came out, and the HD buyers were not who they were targeting. Likewise with graphics. On standard TVs, 480p looks great. It allowed them to undercut their competition in price and achieve a market penetration that their competitors wish they had.

 

This is where Nintendo has been innovative. They look for markets or concepts others have ignored and take it to the bank. I think this is how Nintendo will continue to survive as well.

Edited by Lendorien
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[*]the motion controller on the Wii was previously on the Dreamcast in the fighting controller

 

I haven't used this one. A quick search isn't turning up motion sensitivity on the Dreamcast fighting controller..

 

Is there some other name I should be searching for?

 

desiv

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[*]the motion controller on the Wii was previously on the Dreamcast in the fighting controller

 

I haven't used this one. A quick search isn't turning up motion sensitivity on the Dreamcast fighting controller..

 

Is there some other name I should be searching for?

 

desiv

 

He's probably thinking of the fishing controller.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POLP7mkSCAs&feature=related

Edited by mbd30
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Probably the track and field pad, U-Force and Power Glove were innovations. Also Game & Watch?

I think they;'ve mainly been innovative in software, with all the titles they've developed and interesting gameplay (I know, Pitfall and other games came before Mario, but Mario's world and the play mechanics were highly original!)

3DS is also an innovation (no glasses)

 

[Edit]: Just occurred to me that U-Force was made by a third party, I think.

 

Track and Field pad (Power Pad) was invented by Bandai for use as something called "Family Fun Fitness". Nintendo realized the possibilities and bought the idea to package with World Class Track Meet.

 

U-Force was made by Broderbund.

 

Power Glove was developed by Abrams Gentile Entertainment and manufactured by none other than Mattel in the US and a company called PAX in Japan.

 

Nintendo was innovative in bringing back the analog joystick for use with the N64, but realize that they also copied much from the Colecovision in designing the NES. Look at the profile shape of the cartridges (identical to Colecovision) and the layout and look of the vent slots in the consoles (again, highly similar to Colecovision).

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Probably the track and field pad, U-Force and Power Glove were innovations. Also Game & Watch?

I think they;'ve mainly been innovative in software, with all the titles they've developed and interesting gameplay (I know, Pitfall and other games came before Mario, but Mario's world and the play mechanics were highly original!)

3DS is also an innovation (no glasses)

 

[Edit]: Just occurred to me that U-Force was made by a third party, I think.

 

Track and Field pad (Power Pad) was invented by Bandai for use as something called "Family Fun Fitness". Nintendo realized the possibilities and bought the idea to package with World Class Track Meet.

 

U-Force was made by Broderbund.

 

Power Glove was developed by Abrams Gentile Entertainment and manufactured by none other than Mattel in the US and a company called PAX in Japan.

OK, thanks for the corrections.

 

This is an interesting thread because I'm used to thinking of Nintendo as big on innovation, but I guess it's mainly in software where they brought out new ideas.

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