How Nintendo Saved The Geek Lifestyle [Infographic]

Did you know that during the ’80s, it looked like console gaming and the geek lifestyle were doomed? Yup, as a matter of fact, in 1983 console games raked in over $3.2 billion only to dramatically decrease to around $100 million in 1985. Everyone was saying that console gaming was no longer the way of the future, but then something happened. It was something that has come to mold and influence many of our childhoods. Nintendo released their Nintendo NES game console. Suddenly the gaming industry went from their revenue plummeting 97% in just two years to complete success. So in a way, if it wasn’t for Nintendo, the geek lifestyle could have turned out a whole lot differently.

These are interesting facts, I know. But when we start to think about how much Nintendo and their games have formed and stylized the geek lifestyle, we are suddenly humbled by the impact they have managed to accomplish. So how much has Nintendo really impacted our lives anyway? The answer is quite a bit according to all of the statistics available. Just knowing that recent games like Wii Sports have sold just south of 80 million copies should be enough to make us realize that Nintendo is still a serious player in the gaming industry. As a matter of fact, it’s the biggest one of them all.

As a company, Nintendo has been around for a very long time. It was founded in 1889, and back then, they sold playing cards. But the way they have influenced whole generations since back in the ’80s is almost unprecedented. As I said, if it wasn’t for Nintendo, the geek lifestyle would look a whole lot different. Popular games like Minecraft, Terraria and a whole lot more are very much inspired by the 8 bit graphics that the Nintendo NES console is synonymous with. Maybe these games would have never existed, but Nintendo has had more influence than just on games. A geek’s style was projected as computer and gaming freaks with big glasses and quirky clothes back in the ’80s, and much of that is thanks to the stylized ads and promotion for many of the games Nintendo released.

The culture of being a geek has a very strong connection to Nintendo, and I think through time the bond will only become stronger. Many might say that Playstation and even XBox have a part in it to, but when you start looking at the number of consoles sold, you start to realize just how much influence Nintendo really has.

Out of the 10 best selling game consoles on the market, Nintendo stands for 5 of them. If you have a gander at this infographic called Nintendo MBA: Gaming Success from MBA Online, you will quickly see just how insanely close it was that the geek lifestyle looked completely different. The fact that they dared to release a new gaming console at a time when game sales and revenue were so strained is mind boggling to say the least. That they succeeded in turning the whole gaming industry around is nothing short of a miracle.

For most of us, the mustache adorned Italian plumber changed our whole outlook on what gaming really is. Suddenly it was something that family and friends could enjoy together. Sure, multiplayer wasn’t a feature back then, but just watching someone try to dodge evil in a 2D platformer game was as much, if not even more, fun than watching the latest episode of Dallas. I think every geek owes Nintendo a huge thank you for saving the geek lifestyle the way they did. Thanks to Nintendo, we now have a flourishing gaming industry that seems to have no boundaries when it comes to expressing creativity and innovation. It’s sure good to be a geek!