When history repeats itself, it’s usually not fun. The phrase conjures images of failed conquests and fallen empires, victims of unlearned lessons. Sometimes, though, history repeats itself in a good way, as the lessons of the past are learned and internalized. And for the most famous video game company on the planet, history often reveals the future.
On November 21, 2004, the Nintendo DS launched into a gaming landscape awfully similar to the one Nintendo found itself in when releasing its first handheld, 1989’s Game Boy. In ‘89, common wisdom suggested it would have trouble competing against bigger, better handhelds made by Atari and Sega capable of impressive graphical displays. The Nintendo DS faced similar scrutiny as the long-awaited Sony portable, the PSP, was being developed simultaneously. In both cases, history proved Nintendo right, and the lessons learned shaped the company’s future.
