My reaction when I first saw the Nintendo Switch was something like this: “Here we go again. Nintendo trying to push innovation and continuing to abandon the standard console model.” Since the release of the Wii, Nintendo has placed more value in designing innovative systems instead of adhering to the standard box top set that Sony and Microsoft have. The Wii utilized motion sensor controllers instead of the generic double stick gamepad, the Wii U upped the ante by giving the controller a screen to second the one on the television set. Because of their desire to be the black sheep of the console family they have trouble attracting third party support and instead, rely on their own household names like Mario, Zelda and Pokemon to fill their library. Their constant efforts to push ingenuity and be different has resulted in Sony and Microsoft being the first choice of consoles for developers to build their games. Despite all of this Nintendo has remained competitive in t...

I recently wrote an article on the importance of remakes and why they are more than just a money grab. Since then then I have put more thought into the pitfalls that follow their success. Replaying the BioShock series and diving back into Call of Duty 4 is great but they do not add any new ideas. I fear that the growing amount of remakes is a sign that game publishers and studios are losing confidence in their own creativity. To explain this further I want to use Hollywood as an example. Movie studios have recently been criticized for regurgitating the same principal ideas into the movies they create. Every year a new super hero movie comes out and it is largely the same premise. Good guy with super powers fights bad guy with super powers to save the world, with some change ups in between. Super hero movies are fun and provide entertainment plus revenue for movie studios that desperately need it. But they do not add anything new and creative to the silver screen. A super hero ...