Welcome back to another look through the Nintendo Life Mailbox. Well done, you made it.
It’s been a fairly quiet time for Nintendo in recent weeks, as the Northern Hemisphere gets the summer started. Sony and Microsoft are keeping headlines coming, but given the horrors within, we’re happy for a little respite here at NL Towers.
Anyhoo, it’s time for our monthly letters page feature. Got something you want to get off your chest? We’re ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings.
Each month we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.
Let’s sit back with a frosty beverage and go through our dispatch box…
Nintendo Life Mailbox – July 2026
“I have to ask” (***STAR LETTER***)
Dear Nintendo Life,
Later this year, the Wii will turn twenty years old (!), which means that it will be almost as old as the NES was when the Wii first launched (!!). I still remember the insane hype building up to its release—the way that Nintendo kept the Wii Remote a secret for so long and the way that Iwata boldly proclaimed that this new system would begin a revolution for the entire video game industry. Looking back, I have to ask—was the Wii truly a revolution? I can see both sides of the argument.
1. Yes, the Wii was a revolution. It popularized motion controls, which are still a part of gaming to this very day.
2. No, the Wii was not a revolution. Motion controls only work for specific genres, such as mini-game compilations and casual sports games. Button controls are still the default. The Wii Remote should simply be seen on the same terms as the NES Zapper or the Power Pad—an accessory designed for a very specific kind of game.
What do you think? Was the Wii truly a revolution?
Mii & Miiself
Motion controls were a neat way to open up gaming to a broader audience. The real revolution, though, was Nintendo stepping out of the tech race with Sony and Microsoft. On the first try, they proved that the ol’ ‘withered tech’ adage from the Game Boy days could apply equally to home consoles. And this was before smartphones arrived and scalability across multiple platforms became a necessity.
I enjoyed how the Wiimote gave devs options for novel control schemes – that quirkiness has been lost as gamepads homogenised across platforms into essentially the same thing. But really, it was the reduced footprint and power of the Wii (‘two-duct-taped GameCubes’, remember?) that really changed the game. – Ed.
“long-time partners”
Hello, HotGoomba from NintendoLife.com here.
Just wanted to ask you all if you could choose any company, preferably a gaming company, to be bought by Nintendo, what would you choose?
I’d personally say Good-Feel. They’ve been long-time partners with Nintendo, and they’ve made one of the best Yoshi games of all time (Woolly World), one of the most unique (Mysterious Book), and whatever the hell Crafted World is, and they also worked on Wario Land: Shake It, and Kirby’s Epic Yarn. But they’ve also made some well-regarded titles of their own, like Bakeru and Monkey Barrels, and their games have consistently ended up on Nintendo platforms. I think Good-Feel would fit very well with Nintendo’s other studios, since they’ve proven to make great games, but also have the potential to make new IPs as well for the company.
Though not in the spirit of the question, I’d say we’ve had more than enough big companies swallowing little companies in the gaming space of late, and it’s been going very poorly. So let’s not roll the acquisition dice for funsies.
Good-Feel and Nintendo’s business partnership seems to be working out fine for both parties as is. Nintendo should absolutely greenlight Kirby’s Epic Yarn HD, though. – Ed.
“phased out”
This will be an unpopular opinion, but…
I actually prefer the 3rd party segments of Nintendo Directs and I prefer Indie Worlds and Partner Showcases more than general Nintendo Directs. Nintendo gonna launch the games they gonna launch, other devs… aren’t.
This is because although there were Nintendo-developed games I wanted, I bought my Switch 2 (mainly) for the ability to play games like Blue Prince handheld. The main game I wanted, and therefore I think the main reason I wanted a (new) Nintendo handheld was to play Mini Motorways (and Mini Metro) because I watched lots of gameplay and I am an Android diehard. And also, Mini Motorways launched in 2019 and is still getting (quarterly) free updates.
I would be perfectly happy if Nintendo phased out general Nintendo Directs and just announced on socials, Nintendo Today and overview trailers.
Ben
Other devs “gonna launch the games they’re gonna launch” too, I’d argue. The Switches are hella indie machines, definitely (and thankfully), and there have been some cracking Indie Worlds that blur the lines between arbitrary labels.
Still, nothing gets the pulse racing quite like a full-fat Direct. That’s where you’re going to find out about the new Zelda, the next Mario. The variety on Switch is its #1 selling point for me, but it’s the Nintendo difference that puts it above a Steam Deck. – Ed.
