Nintendo Duped Fans with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Wii

Nintendo has generally been a company that treats its loyal fans well. They never release a new product unless it raises the bar for gaming, and even their failures do something right (the Virtual Boy was a flop, but it laid the foundation for dual analog control). While Microsoft and Sony are more concerned with appealing to the mainstream crowd with home theater systems that just happen to offer game-playing capabilities, Nintendo is focused on making games and finding new ways for gamers to interact with on-screen characters and environments. And their integrity has paid off; Nintendo fans are the Mac addicts of the gaming console world. They've kept the Big N going strong since 1986.

So why did Nintendo dupe their loyal fans with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess?

No doubt you've heard that Twilight Princess is the game that made the Wii. It was the only must-play game available at launch, it showed off the applications of the Wiimote and Nunchuk most impressively, and proved that not every title for the cute-as-a-button console had to be a gimmick, that fancy motion-sensing controllers or not, the Wii could still deliver good, old-fashioned, solid game play. And as if that wasn't enough, it moved the Legend of Zelda series-considered by many gamers to be the greatest franchise in the history of video gaming-in a bold new direction, with a darker storyline, more realistic character designs, and more intense combat that necessitated an ESRB rating of Teen.

What you may not realize is that Twilight Princess began life as a Gamecube game, having been announced when the Wii was still in development. You may not realize that it wasn't even supposed to be a a game for the Wii, much less a launch title, making the next-generation version little more than an enhanced port. And you may not realize that even though the Gamecube version wasn't scrapped when the title was announced for the new console, Nintendo did everything they could to keep it out of the hands of their consumers, forcing them to either buy a Wii or pay eBay and Amazon Marketplace price gougers upwards of eighty dollars to have it in their possession.

The strategy was simple: Nintendo heralded the next-gen release o f the game with much fanfare, hooking gamers with hands-on in-store demos. A month after the Wii's launch and Twilight Princess' initial release, the Big N quietly shipped the Gamecube version of the game in nearly non-existent quantities. Not only is this quite possibly the first time a port shipped before the original version of a game, but it was a way for Nintendo to keep their promise on a technicality while still pushing new hardware on consumers.

And Nintendo's dirty trick worked. According to a recent poll by Game Informer magazine, 75% of consumers who purchased a Wii in the eight days following its launch picked up a copy of Twilight Princess as well.

Nintendo certainly did nothing illegal; in fact, from a strictly business perspective it was a logical step to make. On the one hand, they had a console that had plenty of bells and whistles but no killer app; on the other, they had a great piece of software that could potentially prove that new hardware to be a worthy investment. Of course they ported Twilight Princess to the Wii; they would've been foolish not to. Sure the new Metroid title looks great but it's a long ways off. Gamers buying a new console want a great game now!

But no matter how much sense the decision to steer paying customers to the next big thing makes, the fact remains is that Nintendo had gotten many gamers' hopes up and then failed to adequately deliver. While those of us who had kept the Gamecube afloat long after the rest of the gaming community had pronounced it dead in the water were fighting tooth and nail for a copy of a long-awaited A-list title, gaming newbies were swinging around their Wiimotes with childish glee, watching Link perform all of his awesome combat moves by way of a revolutionary, intuitive control system.

But in all fairness to Nintendo, they did what they had to do. And it was the first truly underhanded marketing tactic that they've employed. And no matter how you look at it-as a port or an original title-the Wii version of Twilight Princess is a great game. I can forgive the Big N this transgression, even if I didn't have one of the few copies of the current-gen rendition of the game on my shelf.

There's still a sour taste left in my mouth from the whole affair though, and it's not coming from Nintendo but the video game media. Not a single gaming magazine or website called Nintendo on the carpet over this one. Instead, they waxed poetic about the glory and splendor that was the Wii Twilight Princess, naming it hands-down last year's best game. The Gamecube version received afterthoughts coverage and nothing was said of its vapor-like availability. It was up to the gamers themselves to call Nintendo out, on their message boards, blogs, and in their Amazon reviews.

Gaming journalist had a chance to turn Nintendo's dirty trick into Nintendo's great apology, but they let the opportunity pass by. Some widespread negative media coverage might have been what it took for Nintendo to fire up the presses and stamp out a few thousand more copies of the original Twilight Princess. That coverage was nowhere to be found. But there's bigger reason why the inactivity of the gaming media is distressing.

While gaming journalism may be something of a niche, it's a growing niche, with the video games industry currently bigger than the movie industry here in America. Gamers rely on magazines and websites to be informed, and the authors of that media are often the voice of the entire gaming community.

It's a scary thing when a major hardware and software developer can pull off such a sly move and nobody seems to notice. It's a clear message that the big boys can exploit their customers anyway they wish to, that they don't expect moral treatment so long as they have something shiny to play with.

Well, I've been a gamer for a long time. And I like shiny things to play with. But I like having choices as a consumer, and I like to not be deceived or manipulated by a corporate entity.

So Nintendo, I've got my eye on you. This is your only warning.

And as for the gaming media out there, congratulations. You're well on your way to being little more than amusing advertising outlets.