Is Nintendo heading down the same path as Sega?

Many people are speculating that Nintendo is heading down the same path as the Sega and will stop producing consoles and start to licenses their big name titles to other companies. Why are all these people suddenly saying that Nintendo is on the decline? Because the 3DS sells aren't what Nintendo was projecting. We all know that the 3DS hasn't sold as well as the DS family and the Wii right out of the gate but I will give you three reasons why I believe this has happened.

#1. Release date: Releasing a next-gen handheld console at the end of March wasn't the greatest of idea that Nintendo has had. A March release isn't going to attract a casual gamer as much as a holiday release would have and we all know that the casual gamer played a HUGE role in Nintendo's Wii/DS success. I would expect sells of the 3DS to increase significantly around Christmas.

#2. Lack of games: The 3DS is a great handheld, but to be perfectly honest, I haven't been playing it that much. When I first got the 3DS, all I got was Street Fighter IV 3D, I played Street Fighter for about a week and didn't really play with the 3DS again until Ocarina of Time 3D came out. Now don't get me wrong, I love the 3DS, I think it is a great addition to Nintendo's system lineup, but I just don't have any games to play on it. The lack of games really hurt Nintendo's appeal to their core gamer market and I think once we get a few Nintendo and GOOD third party titles, we will see sales increase.

#3. First generation: There are a lot of gamers out there who will not buy the first generation of a console and for good reason, every second generation of any console has been far superior to it's predecessor.

I think that it's a little too early to be saying that Nintendo is heading down the Sega path, but I do agree that Nintendo needs to step it up to keep their core fans interested because ultimately we are their bread and butter, the casual gamer is going to go to whichever console has the next great gimmick. Nintendo needs to improve on releasing more core games, DLC needs to be something that Nintendo further expands upon and online play with Nintendo needs to move past the Friend Code era. Nintendo is a video game Juggernaut and I don't think it will be going anywhere, any time soon.

30 Day Zelda Challenge: Day 2 - My favorite character

Well I am sure that anybody who knows me could answer this question, Link is my favorite character BY FAR! I have been a fan of Link from even way back in the SNES and NES days, but it goes way beyond fandom for me, I have had the biggest crush on Link ever since Ocarina of Time. So for this blog entry I shall be writing not only about Link but my top 5 Links.

#5. LttP Link: a Link to the Past was the very first Zelda game that I ever played so it is understandable that LttP Link would be among my favorites. I was 7 year old when the SNES came out and pretty much the only games I had played up to that point were some Mario games and a bunch of other 3rd party games that I don't even recall at this point, but all that changed when I received a box with a shield and sword on it with the words "The Legend of Zelda" printed on it. From the second I put that cartridge into my SNES, I was hooked! The graphics (back then) were awesome, the weapons inventive and the story was UH-maze-ing! At the age of seven I was wisked to the land of Hyrule where an evil wizard was kidnapping fair maidens and had imprisoned the beautiful Princess Zelda and I, as Link, was the only hope left for this land in peril. God I love that game and how can I not love LttP Link when he turns into a bunny? :3

#4. Wind Waker Link: I wasn't on the Wind Waker band wagon when it first came out, but once I really gave it a chance I was in awe of the true beauty of this game and grew to really adore and respect WW Link. We all know the story, WW Link must rescue his little sister from the Helmrock King and sets off with a band of pirates to do so. That in itself earned my respect of WW Link, he was only a child (I believe him to be about 12) and he risked his life to save his sister. After rescuing his sister, WW Link could have just walked away but he instead committted himself to defeating Ganondorf and became the Hero of Winds. Not to mention, I found WW Link to be hilarious!

#3/#2: Oni Link/Shadow Link: I lumped these two together because I love them for the same reason....they are the sexy, bad boy version of Link! >:] It's no secret that I have a huge crush on Link and it is also no secret that girls have a soft-spot for bad boys. That's it really

#1. OoT Link: I love adult OoT Link....I have for half my life. OoT Link is what I picture when I think of a hero, a selfless man who sacrifices his all to save a land in peril. OoT Link is the bearer of the Triforce of Courge, the hero chosen by the Master Sword and the Hero of Time and he deserves these titles. Why is Link deserving of these titles, he was the man who pretty much single handedly obtained the 3 Sacred jewels, awakened the Sages and defeated the King of Evil and he did all these good deeds because it was his destiny. When a lesser man would have walked away or even served Ganondorf, OoT Link stood up and "said" no! That strength and unwavering determination to not only say no to evil but to also stand up to it and try to make the world a better place is the biggest reason I have been attracted to OoT Link....well, that and he is pretty easy on the eyes. ;) OoT Link was loyal to his friends, defended the weak and stood up for what was right in the land of Hyrule and that is why he was, is and will forever be MY perfect definition of a hero.