Looks like Nintendo is compensating for something…or absolutely nothing.
The range of color that gaming consoles have had over the years has been a consistent pattern of: black, white, or gray. There were only a few instances where we saw bursts of color and those were primarily in our portables. Has the gaming industry been subconsciously mind fucking us into thinking that a successful console has to look a certain way? Well to answer that question: yes and no. Yes the gaming industry has been mind fucking us; we just happen to like it. And no, it just could be tinkering with that idea in its head.
This is only being brought into the light because of pictures I’ve encountered of the anticipated black Nintendo Wii. Any general concern that I have over this drastic color change is Nintendo’s logic in all of this.
Nintendo consoles over the span of gaming history have been established by its trademark color: Gray. It wasn’t too dark or too light, much like the games that soon came out of the Nintendo think tank. What happened Nintendo? Why the sudden change?
There was an instance where the console had hit its puberty stage. It hated itself, cursed the world, and became slightly emo in color branching out to a darker gray- that’s right, I’m talking about you Nintendo 64. It wanted to be a wolf in the land of sheep.
Frankly I do not judge the Nintendo 64 for being a little depressed, everyone was gawking at Sega and its exotic color and shape. It didn’t matter that in terms of capabilities, the Nintendo 64 was more gaming forward, by playing in the third dimension.
After Nintendo 64 made it out of middle school and high school, it felt a sense of self-discovery. It wanted more time being an individual, and this is where the game cube was born. It was more compact, light -no emo baggage here- and it changed to pleasant purple color. Later on, the console was presented in black, however by then Sony and Microsoft weren’t really paying too much attention. Nintendo had its friends and it was happy with that. Though Nintendo secretly vowed to be seen and recognized as a powerhouse again someday. Several years later, the Wii captivated the world, with its fresh take on game involvement and its pristine white color!
Feeling superior, dare I say godly even, it shed its horizontal form for a more pronounced stature. Nintendo stands today as one of the big three along with Microsoft and Sony, I still pose the question of why release a second color?
The obvious answer is money related, frankly what isn’t these days? However, in a time where people don’t just see consoles as a status symbols -cough Sony cough- most people have opted into a period of customization. If they are dissatisfied with the initial color, they put a decal on it and move on.
Is there anything unique about this new black Nintendo Wii? Will the black Wii have two black guys promoting it? Ha. I doubt that. Will it come with cool and innovated new games? Doubt that too. So essentially, we get to choose a specialized fate for our Nintendo Wiis- Do we want black dust on our white Wiis or white dust on our black Wiis?
You decide.
Labels: Nintendo, Pandalicious, Wii
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