Nintendo has seen similar uproars in the past, and also have a strong record of providing their fans with exactly what they want, even if those fans don’t immediately realize it. Case in point: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was absolutely torn to pieces when it was announced, but is now remembered fondly and held with great regard.
The 3DS handheld, as well, started off rocky, with many claiming it to be a gimmick not worthy of the upgrade from a Nintendo DS, and it suffered in its infancy. With constant unwavering support in the form of price cuts and quality content being consistently pushed out, the 3DS now thrives on the market.
Some of Nintendo’s best products are initially met with raised eyebrows and high skepticism, and Federation Force may be no different. As Reggie said, fans just need to try trusting them.
Another example of Nintendo pursuing a venture that everyone’s uncertain about at first is Super Mario Maker. When unveiled at E3 2014 the gaming world let out a collective “ehhhh” as the old-school Mario world builder seemed like mild fun, but ultimately nothing that would keep your average player entertained for long.
Fast forward to E3 2015 when Super Mario Maker took center stage at the Nintendo World Championships, showing off insane, ridiculous, seemingly impossible (but totally doable!) custom worlds made from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, and more, and the fans couldn’t get enough. Now Nintendo has revealed that not only will the game feature customization from a slew Mario games throughout the last 30 years, but it will also come with over 100 pre-designed levels and challenges for you to tackle. That means you can still have plenty of fun with the game without being a world-class architect or level designer.
Just like that, Super Mario Maker became one of 2015’s must-have titles. Nintendo, despite an initial tepid response, stuck to their guns, knowing that players would enjoy what they had to offer and now they have a quality product that plenty of people are keeping their eyes on.
Another point of contention are Nintendo’s amiibo figures. With all the time taken up by new amiibo during the Digital Event, they could have fit in a couple more trailers for other gamers. It’s no secret, however, that Nintendo is no fan of showing off games that aren’t ready to be shown off, hence the absence of new Wii U Legend of Zelda game. In the wise words of Shigeru Miyamoto, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” You can bet they’ve got more in the works than what we saw, and they’ll show us when they are confident in the material.
And so, Nintendo continues to press forward with their toys-to-life venture, even with the shortage issues. There has been no lack of frustration from collectors looking to grab each new figure on the market, and Nintendo has been doing their best to deal with that backlash. It may not be perfect yet, but an effort is being made to appease everyone, slowly but surely.
Reprints have been produced for nearly every amiibo released so far, from every wave released since the toys-to-life figures debuted last November. New figures are coming out all the time, and more reprints will be made for them as well if need be, so long as there is want for them. It’s unfortunate that some retailers are still having trouble keeping stock – especially when it comes to store exclusives and your favorite character was sold-out months before it arrived at your local shop. However, Nintendo is aware of the issue and if nothing else, they have a fierce loyalty to their brand and their fans. Nintendo is dedicated to the amiibo platform and amiibo fans, and based on how well they have always treated their own property in the past, we should expect and believe that eventually when it’s all said and done, the amiibo problems will be figured out satisfactorily.
The point here is that Nintendo knows what they’re doing. Zelda for Wii U was pushed to a 2016 release, but we all know that it is probably for the best. There is a severe amiibo shortage, and they are actively remedying that. The Star Fox series hasn’t seen a new entry since 2006, and now we’ve got Star Fox Zero coming to the Wii U this holiday season. We also saw some exciting new titles in Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam, The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes, and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, the latter two of which will be arriving later this year. Finally, Metroid Prime: Federation Force may not look like much right now, but let’s wait for the final product. Rest assured, we’ll see more of it in upcoming Nintendo Directs and if Nintendo’s past history taught us anything, we’ll more than likely have a blast(ball) with it when it releases next year.
Nintendo has earned enough good will over the years to deserve your faith. Give them some time, and they’ll only prove themselves again.
