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As
we enter the fifth generation of videogame consoles, Nintendo
remains the first and foremost choice for parents weary of their
children playing violent or otherwise controversial  games. Ever
since the NES, for better or worse, Nintendo has maintained a family
friendly image, which was a great selling-point when videogames were
considered as strictly toys, but has since become a hurdle for the
company as the main game-players have become older. Consoles from
SONY and Microsoft have become home to the majority of mature titles
and Nintendo’s home console sales have suffered as a result.
That’s not to say that Nintendo’s consoles don’t have any
mature titles, Goldeneye 007, Eternal
Darkness and Resident Evil 4 immediately spring to
mind, but Nintendo’s staple franchises; Mario, The
Legend Of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pokemon and even Metroid
are hardly mature when compared to SONY’s God of War’s or
Microsoft’s Halo: Combat Evolved.
On
the other end of the spectrum is Take2, and specifically their
premium game division; Rockstar Games. Grand Theft Auto,
The Warriors, Manhunt and the soon to be released Canis
Canem Edit (previously known as Bully) are all synonymous
with good-to-astronomical sales, controversy and angry mothers. Some
might argue that Take2 court controversy for the sake of sales, but
in most cases, the titles in question are of a good standard and are
genuinely fun to play - although whether this is due to tight
gameplay or the decline of morals is still up for debate.
Regardless, Grand Theft Auto is a phenomenon. Popular with
the hardcore gamer for it’s Free-Roaming gameplay, popular with
the casual gamers for it’s often comical approach to crime and
it’s inherent “cool” factor, and popular with children because
their mothers wouldn’t like them playing it. Car-jacking, the
killing of innocents, prostitutes, gratuitous violence and copious
amounts of swearing; hardly something you would expect to see on
Nintendo’s child-friendly consoles, but Nintendo is not the same
company it used to be.
Speaking
shortly after the big Wii day announcements, Nintendo of America’s
head-honcho, the ever popular Reggie Fils-Aime, had this to say
“We're reaching out to every publisher, frankly every day. I'll be
spending some time later today with the folks over at Take2 to see
what type  of support they can give our console. The fact is there
will be M-Rated content on the Wii console. EA has already announced
that they're bringing The Godfather to our console. And we
want every single best-selling game to be available on Wii. Whatever
that content is.” So does this mean we will see the ultra
fashionable Grand Theft Auto on Wii? Well, nothing is even
close to being confirmed yet, but if those last two sentences are to
be believed, this could be a new dawn for Nintendo. But is this new
direction the best way forward? The two biggest issues for Nintendo
could be their brand recognition and more importantly, that controller.
If
parents were concerned that Force Feedback features and the BBFC 18
Certificated content made the Grand Theft Auto series too
immersive and inappropriate for their children, how are they going
to feel when little Johnny is beating a police officer to death with
a crowbar using the Wii Remote? Let’s not even start on the
possibilities of a Hot Coffee-esque Mini-Game. Mary Whitehouse
won’t be turning in her grave; she’ll be bursting out of the
ground, locking herself in a murderous rage and getting the next
flight to Tokyo. This kind of controversy, combined with the notoriously over the
top views of Hilary Clinton and her band of morality crusaders, and
the dubious linking of videogames to every violent crime committed
within fifty miles of a console, could destroy the family orientated
image of Nintendo. However, for many years now, sales to children
have not made the money in this industry, it’s the Grand Theft
Auto players, the 18-30 demographic, that buy games, and it’s
almost certain that a lot of those would love the thought of holding
the Wii Remote sideways to emulate the traditional “Gangsta”
style of shooting.
However,
it’s likely to be a while till we see Mario sitting in a chair
offering to “make us an offer we can’t refuse.” Nintendo is
already attempting to improve its adult image with more mature
titles such as Red
Steel, Project H.A.M.M.E.R. and Day Of Disaster
on the way for Wii alongside the wealth of child, female and brain
training titles. Wii is clearly a console for everybody, but if that
includes homicidal, car-stealing wannabe gangstaz remains to be
seen.
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