NEW YORK –
The dawn of a new era
Satoru Iwata was only 42 when he took over Nintendo in 2002. The company was stagnant. Had just launched the GameCube, it was fun, but not nearly as successful as its predecessor, the N64.
There was a lot of pressure, but Iwata met from the beginning.
Game Boy Advance SP (2003)
Photo taken from amazon.com
This was the first experiment of Nintendo with hinged lid design, and it worked.
The console was smaller and more portable than the original Game Boy Advance. Its ability to bend and close the best protected in the pockets of the children. The illuminated display allowed you to play at night. Its battery was recharged. And you could play the entire library of previous Game Boy games.
All these improvements paid off. It was especially popular in America. Nintendo sold 43.5 million of them around the world.
Nintendo DS (2004)
Photo taken from nintendo.com
It was the first homer Iwata.
The Nintendo DS embodied the total redesign of a portable video game device. Had two screens and touch bottom was, wore one stylus. At that time, they were consoles … strange.
But the graphics were spectacular. In addition, the touch screen gave the game a new feel and look to the future.
It was a big hit everywhere. Nintendo sold 154 million Nintendo DS, making it the second most popular console games ever.
Game Boy Micro (2005)
Photo taken from nintendo.es
This was released when it was fashionable was small. Apple released the iPod Nano. And that trend to downsize crystallized the Game Boy Micro.
But it turned out to be the first blunder of Iwata. He made little sense.
Surprisingly, players discovered that the small size facilitated management hands. But the old Game Boy cartridges did not fit, so the library was smaller games.
In addition, the $ 100 Micro put the players in a difficult dilemma. If they spent $ 20 more they could get a Game Boy Advanced SP compatible with all your old games. And with $ 30 more and reached a much better Nintendo DS Lite.
Wii (2006)
Photo taken from nintendo.es
The Wii marks the climax of the legacy of Iwata.
It is true that the Wii games looked outdated compared to the Xbox and the PlayStation. But Nintendo fans loved his radical new approach to ‘gaming’.
Each person used two checks instead of one. The “Wiimote” also incorporated an accelerometer and an optical sensor, so the games react to physical movement, making children finally lifted the couch.
Nintendo sold 101.5 million units, thanks to which the Wii is among the most popular consoles of all time.
Nintendo 3DS (2011)
Photo taken from nintendo.es
Iwata and Nintendo won another major victory with this toy. 52 million were sold.
The 3DS came with some magic. I let you see images in three dimensions without special glasses. It also came with a camera taking pictures in 3D.
But the flaws in the business model of Nintendo began to appear. The 3DS had a camera, internet, games. In a few years, it would be seen as an expensive smartphone that could not make phone calls.
Wii U (2012)
Photo taken from nintendo.es
The last thing Nintendo launched under the management of Iwata was a fiasco.
The Wii U was intended for children, and it showed. The Nintendo Network will not allow socializing. The implementation of streaming Netflix was terrible. The operating system was slow. The battery was miserable. Moreover, neither would he could play DVDs or Blu-rays.
The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 did all these things better.
As a result, only 9.5 million of Wii U.
Nintendo goes mobile
Nintendo sold must compensate for failure Wii U, so this year is entering the world of mobile gaming.
It is the first time that Nintendo turns into something one hundred percent software. For the Japanese company is a totally new field that could mark a turn toward the heavens or fall into hell.
Iwata was supervising this important transition. Unfortunately, it will not be here to see his vision come true.
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