Nintendo Is Still Being Wildly Underestimated

Nintendo has always enjoyed the respect of critics. The games, at their best, are just too good for things to be otherwise. It is total critical orthodoxy that Shigeru Miyamoto is one of the greatest and most influential game designers of all time, and that Mario and Zelda games are foundational texts of the video game medium that have successfully rewritten themselves and stayed relevant over time. Yet there have been times throughout the company's history when Nintendo's image, and the audiences it has chosen to cultivate, have deflated this reputation.