Andrew Smallwood

I’ve been a huge Nintendo fan for years and have grown up surrounded by your major franchises, especially Zelda and Mario.

I supported you through the dark ages of the Gamecube and relentlessly defended you against the threats of the Playstation and XBox.

But then, last year, I went and did the unthinkable. I went to the dark side and bought an XBox 360. This was a huge decision, especially as I’m not only a Nintendo fan boy, but also part of the Cult of Mac.

After the purchase, I instantly felt guilty. I had betrayed the brand that I had grown up with. My Wii still adorned my living room next to the shiny new XBox, but with no major new releases, it sat and gathered dust.

I hadn’t fallen out with my beloved Wii. Nor was I buying the XBox to get ready for Kinect, ‘the Wii killer’. I had just grown tired of Nintendo’s desire to push the envelope and I just wanted to play a good old fashioned computer game. I wanted to sit on my couch and hold a controller, not necessarily wave my Wii controller like an inexperienced Harry Potter.

Now, with news of the next major Nintendo console, I think my feelings towards ‘Project Café’ must be addressed.

The main reason I bought the XBox was so that I could play FIFA. So many times have I given the Nintendo versions of major games like this a second, third and sometimes 4th chance. But the Wii ports, similarly to the N64 and GCN ports of previous decades have all failed in comparison to their Sony and Microsoft brothers.

The new Nintendo console needs to be HD and needs to be powerful enough to deliver the same game play as it’s competitors in certain areas. The Wii cannot compete in such areas as sports sims, driving games and warfare games. If Nintendo cannot compete, then they should at least match what the others do.

I don’t want to be 3 years behind the rest if the world who are playing COD Modern Warfare and I’m stuck in WWII.

Fine, use your R&D to deliver rich experiences like Wii Sports and Wii Fit, but don’t let us down with more traditional games.

It frustrates your fans and it must also frustrate your developers.

Push the things forward with new and innovative games. The world would be a different place without you Nintendo. There wouldn’t be a Playstation if you hadn’t part designed it with Sony and there certainly wouldn’t be an XBox if you hadn’t defined a market for video games in the home.

Nintendo, you will continue to survive because your major franchises are strong enough to carry you forward.

I can’t wait for the next Nintendo console. I’ll be there on launch day, just like I have been for the last few systems but give the public what they want and you could have this market completely sewn up!

In the meantime, I’ll await any developments with bated breath and see if my rhetoric has had any effect.