Everyone knows it: Nintendo has that special something that inspires people of all walks to pick up a game controller and just have fun. My mom's playing video games for the first time since The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. My mother and father-in-law compete in Mario Kart nightly. I know more people with multiple Nintendo DSes than I do people that own none. This makes the release of Osamu Inoue's Nintendo Magic, translated and distributed by Vertical, Inc. seem especially well timed.
Nintendo Magic starts with Nintendo's resurgence at the top of the charts, detailing the origins and successes of the DS and Wii, along with in-depth profiles of the Nintendo executives that made it possible. Too bad the book reads more like an amalgam of edited-together company brochures instead of a disciplined, thoughtful overview of one of Japan's most secretive and transformative companies.
Leave a comment