The used methodology is a single case study regarding Nintendo and their different launches of games consoles (GameCube, Wii and Wii U) to the world market. The purpose with this article is to analyze the ‘Blue Ocean’ phenomenon in depth. Combining case studies of Nintendo’s four most significant game series, an examination of Nintendo’s historical development, and an investigation into fan-created nostalgic works, this thesis uses a design history based analysis to illustrate how video games can exist as a reaction to their cultural surroundings and how this nature has an enduring impact on the people who play them. Through this examination it becomes clear that these Japanese cultural ideas have been internalised and then subsequently utilised by individuals in the West to fulfill their own desires. As the culture of video game nostalgia has been formed around the practice of crafting artefacts that borrow from the past but reconfigure it as part of a creative design process, through analysing the form and character of the objects which result, it is possible to see the way that they have been informed by the sentiments of Japanese longing central to the games. With the development of this sentimental retrospective view, a link has been created to the games’ inherent Japanese cultural qualities, causing these aspects to shape individuals’ nostalgic interactions. The impact of these embedded Japanese needs on the people who play them cross-culturally can be recognised by looking at the nostalgic culture which surrounds these games in the West. Finally, the Metroid games satisfy a longing to connect with a stable and understandable future, in response to a number of fears uniquely pertinent to modern Japan. Thirdly, the MOTHER/Earthbound games respond to a desire for authenticity, creating an unconventional reality to stimulate a genuine emotional connection that is more fulfilling than those typically experienced in contemporary Japan, where mediated and artificial relationships abound. Secondly, the Legend of Zelda games build upon a longing to connect to a pre-modern environment, using a tactile connection with nature and a sense of community to enable a feeling of closeness to a past world separate from stressful contemporary urban Japanese lifestyles. Firstly, the Super Mario games respond to a desire to engage with the childlike, providing a means to satisfy a yearning for a playful and light-hearted encounter, made largely unavailable in Japan due to the pressures of education and adulthood.
From this perspective, a number of Nintendo’s games can be seen as responding to their cultural surroundings as they are informed by, and provide a means to compensate for, several different forms of Japanese longing. Responding to this absence of scholarship, the following thesis uses a design history based analysis of Japanese video game producer Nintendo to illustrate the depth and degree to which games can embody and communicate cultural ideas. This lack of attention means that the impacts of these games, as embodiments of particular cultural ideas on the people who play them outside their country of origin, have not been investigated. Unlike other designed artefacts, video games are not commonly considered in relation to the cultural context of their creation.
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