Playing with Power is a docu mini-series that talks about the rise (arcades/NES/Game Boy/SNES), fall (N64/Gamecube), rise (DS/Wii), fall (Wii U) and rise (Switch) of Nintendo, if you will. If you have read books on video games or if you have even the slightest knowledge of the history of Nintendo, you likely know most of these stories and nothing new will be uncovered for you.
One of the things this series does that's different is it focuses a lot on video game leaders who are NOT affiliated with Nintendo. Microsoft's Phil Spencer, in particular, comes off like a likable guy. Thanks to him, we've seen some Xbox exclusive gems like Ori and Cuphead come to the Switch. Compared to Nolan Bushnell (who still seems bitter about Atari), Trip Hawkins (never was a fan of Nintendo the company) and Tom Kalinske (You made the Genesis relevant for two years, whoopie!), he comes off the best in the documentary for non-Nintendo figureheads.
I also liked the Gears of War creator (Cliff Bleszinski) say that Zanac on the NES, of all games, was one of the best video games of all time. A pretty off the wall choice and not one of the usual NES standards, but it speaks to the high quality of the NES library.
Some other thoughts:
The first two episodes were well done, the last three were rushed through.
While it does point out some of the negative things about Nintendo, it was all things we already pretty much knew about.
Howard Phillips with an earring? Quite jarring after remembering him for being a bow-tied geek. And why nothing about why he departed the company? His story was dropped with no resolution. It would have been cool to hear about how he almost joined Sega.
Very little about any of the games themselves.
No, mobile games didn't kill the Wii U. Horrible marketing and alienating an entire fanbase of dedicated gamers did. The Switch fixed both of those problems.
Sean Astin said the Wii appealed to all gamers. No, it appealed to casual gamers. The Switch I think is the first console by Nintendo to appeal to all gamers.
Tommy Tallarico is right that quality control has disappeared, which has flooded the Nintendo eShop with garbage, burying many great games underneath.
I'd give the series as a whole a 7 out of 10. Better than Netflix's High Score, but still pretty basic.
One of the things this series does that's different is it focuses a lot on video game leaders who are NOT affiliated with Nintendo. Microsoft's Phil Spencer, in particular, comes off like a likable guy. Thanks to him, we've seen some Xbox exclusive gems like Ori and Cuphead come to the Switch. Compared to Nolan Bushnell (who still seems bitter about Atari), Trip Hawkins (never was a fan of Nintendo the company) and Tom Kalinske (You made the Genesis relevant for two years, whoopie!), he comes off the best in the documentary for non-Nintendo figureheads.
I also liked the Gears of War creator (Cliff Bleszinski) say that Zanac on the NES, of all games, was one of the best video games of all time. A pretty off the wall choice and not one of the usual NES standards, but it speaks to the high quality of the NES library.
Some other thoughts:
The first two episodes were well done, the last three were rushed through.
While it does point out some of the negative things about Nintendo, it was all things we already pretty much knew about.
Howard Phillips with an earring? Quite jarring after remembering him for being a bow-tied geek. And why nothing about why he departed the company? His story was dropped with no resolution. It would have been cool to hear about how he almost joined Sega.
Very little about any of the games themselves.
No, mobile games didn't kill the Wii U. Horrible marketing and alienating an entire fanbase of dedicated gamers did. The Switch fixed both of those problems.
Sean Astin said the Wii appealed to all gamers. No, it appealed to casual gamers. The Switch I think is the first console by Nintendo to appeal to all gamers.
Tommy Tallarico is right that quality control has disappeared, which has flooded the Nintendo eShop with garbage, burying many great games underneath.
I'd give the series as a whole a 7 out of 10. Better than Netflix's High Score, but still pretty basic.