From years of watching E3 and knowing deep down that every cool game being demoed from Nintendo won’t be released for at least another year (or two), the company was a refreshing surprise this year. By capitalizing on nostalgia, Nintendo made 2016 the year it truly got our inner kids excited again — even if the thrill was temporary.
‘Pokémon Go’ turned augmented reality something that finally felt accessible
The Pokémon Go craze was cultural phenomenon despite the whole thing lasting about two months. Rarely do we see games that manage to get people outside and exploring the physical world with a sense of childlike discovery. With Niantic’s help, Pokémon Go turned augmented reality something that finally felt accessible to the masses, applying technology in a way that made sense to just about everyone. Still, there were some frustrations with the game: the battle system is lackluster, you can’t trade pokémon with another player, and you can only catch so many Zubats in a day before fully quitting the journey to becoming a Pokémon Master.
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These gripes aren’t necessarily Nintendo’s fault, though. Keeping its own actual products in stock, however, was.
Right around the time Pokémon Go launched, we were introduced to the NES Classic, the $60 console that contained all classic Nintendo titles in one miniature device with an HDMI port. Proving that sometimes simpler is better, the Classic made it possible to relive your ‘80s childhood without hours of finding emulators and ROMs that won’t break your laptop. But despite its release at the start of the holiday season, Nintendo couldn’t save Christmas. The price tag and limited stock made it nearly impossible to get ahold of one. Those who looked to other Nintendo products for the holidays, like a 3DS system, also had little luck.