Year End Review: Nintendo Continues to Climb

We all know about Nintendo’s struggles in 2013. At least, that’s what too many people seem to want to focus on. However, if you look at what Nintendo put out on their systems this year, you realize that of the big three, they hands down had the best, most consistent line up of quality, problem free, AAA titles. When you examine November releases, the Playstation 4 and Xbox One titles were plagued with problems not present in Nintendo offerings this year.

 Nintendo (of Canada specifically) marketed this year like I’ve never seen them market before. Their games and consoles were available to fans on a monthly  basis, sometimes via events in some of the biggest cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Best Buy events were more frequent this year compared to other years as Nintendo worked hard to get Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, and other games into the hands of fans way ahead of launch.

Nintendo, over the years, have put a smaller emphasis on E3 than the other two console makers. E3 is an amazing event for those that can attend, but it leaves a lot of fans in the dark when it comes to Nintendo latest releases. Unlike Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo tried to get these experiences across both the United States and Canada, giving early access to some of their biggest titles in multiple, post-E3 media and fan events.

Nintendo announced and release lots of stuff this year. Amiibos were marketed very poorly, but a Nintendo was quick with explaining it all in the last month leading up to launch and it appears as if these little toys sold very nicely. Nintendo took another risk and it seems to be paying off. Nintendo also released its first Smash Bros game on handheld. Another big risk, another giant payout. There were lots of firsts for Nintendo this year, and more often than not, they worked out well.

As 2014 winds down, I can look back on the year and confidently say, Nintendo cared. They cared about their product when everyone said to give up. They cared about their fans when everyone said there wouldn’t be any. They put in the effort, the released some the best games this year, they sold consoles, they won back fans, and they were successful. Whether you want to believe it or not, Nintendo has had a successful 2014.

Our 2014 Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Game of the Year articles should be going up in the next month, so look forward to that. Hit me up on twitter (@adamroffel) with your favorites for each system!