You will have seen a lot of Reggie Fils-Aime news lately. The man has a book out, telling stories about the notoriously secretive video game industry, so that’s to be expected. Much of it is insightful, some of it emotional, some of it even a little puzzling. One section, though, simply has me upset.
Hollow Knight: Silksong’s New Gameplay Trailer Is Living Rent-Free In Our Brains
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It’s a short passage, shared earlier today by VGC, that covers the release of the Game Boy Micro, a tiny console that holds a very special place in my heart, but of which Reggie was clearly not a fan.
My man, allow me to counter with: no. The Game Boy Micro was a little freak. Running “counter to current consumer electronics trends” was exactly the point, and any concerns over its tiny screen and difficult controls were more than outweighed by the fact it was a functional Game Boy Advance as big as a business card.
We’ve spoken previously, at length, of our love for this little machine. How its batteries last for 1,000 years. How it had some of the best limited edition releases of all time. How it was actually a technical improvement on the GBA, since it had adjustable backlighting. The Game Boy Micro ruled.
Was it a distraction for certain profit-conscious elements of the company, and a “nonstarter” (in business/sales terms at least) like Reggie says? Sure, maybe. But here’s the thing with Nintendo: that doesn’t always matter. Firstly, the GBA had sold about a billion units by the this came out,so the company’s handheld profits were not exactly imperilled by this fun little experiment.
Secondly, this is a company that, for all the criticisms of its conservative nature and ruthless sales tactics, has also constantly swung for the fences and released some truly strange and wonderful shit. Sure, maybe some of it never sells, but they all contribute to Nintendo’s reputation for being a company that is willing to think, and act, outside the box. It’s the very essence of their success.
