What Place Does The Nintendo Wii Have In History?
By William on Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 9:29 AM PST In Editorials, Nintendo, Nintendo
I’ve been a bit of a Nintendo Wii critic in the past and am still not a true believer. Give me my PS3, 360 and a 50†HDTV, surround sound system and I’m one happy camper. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for the Nintendo Wii. Lately, I have been trying to figure out exactly where Wii’s place will be in history and it’s still a little hard to predict. As far as the “next generation†battle goes, I am convinced that the Microsoft Xbox 360 or Sony PS3 will end up as the champion.
Don’t think I am trying to take away from the Wii’s place in history. The Wii is really the first system in history that got non-gamers out of their closets and into video games. Yesterday, for the first time in American history, a video game competition was televised on CBS as a sports event. The Nintendo Wii certainly had something to do with this event happening in the first place. No Wii games were played in the event, but I believe that video games have become mainstream in a big way because of the system.
Every movement requires a catalyst for change. Only time will tell, but I am willing to bet that the Nintendo Wii is the catalyst for the current peaked interest in video games as a whole. It will never be considered a hard core system by the video game purists and it’s not even that great of a system. However, Nintendo has done a wonderful marketing job and they back the system up with some really innovative peripherals.
Although I am not a big fan of the system, I do believe that the Wii will go down in history honorably. There’s still a lot of time left to see how things go, but I certainly think that this unique system has changed gaming as a whole. The stigma that we are all “basement dwelling, dungeon crawling nerds” is starting to wear off, and we can thank Nintendo for that.
The Wii can be just as hard-core as any other system.
“It will never be considered a hard core system by the video game purists and it’s not even that great of a system.”
Gotta disagree with you there. It has proven it can sustain quality graphics AND quality gaming with Zelda and whilst that is admittedly one game, it means they can and hopefully will do it again.
As for a ‘great’ system, what makes one? Hard drive? Cell processor? Being able to turn it on and off from the controller?
I think that whilst the parts aren’t the best they could be, the sum of them is really something quite special and that is how it will go down in history. I think it will be known as the console that revolutionised gaming to the masses (along with the DS) whilst keeping it interesting for the standard gamers.
As for champion of this generation, I’m gonna go with a tied Wii and PS3 (say there was only a few hundred thousand or few million consoles difference) with the 360 coming up third. I say this, because people are likely to buy the PS3 or 360 and the Wii because of its cheapness and the fact that it’s actually fun.
What I’ve also noticed is that more and more games are becoming stream-lined to single player, more so then there ever used to be. Granted, you can play them on the internet (I’m looking at YOU FPS’) it’s not quite the same as all sharing a sofa in the living room, trying to knock the controller out of your mate’s hand.
I agree that either the 360 or the ps3 will be champ but i have never played a system thats specs really arent that great but has been so much fun with the Wii.
Wii and Wii Sports will go down in history like the NES. People of this generation will remember the first time they played Wii Sports like people in their late 20s and 30s remember the first time they played Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt / Metroid / Zelda.
The PS3 and 360 are PCs at their roots, minus the mouse. The Wii on the other hand is a gaming gadget for every one. You don’t need a $5,000 TV and wire less surround sound to get the “full experience”. Also the games are band wagon games composing of manic violence and buff gay men and the games are played by 12 year olds with loaded dads.
Video game purists, eh? How can you write something like that with a straight face?
November, December… it’s been what, 10 months since the console has been out and you want to talk about the console’s historical legacy? Good gravy, man! Come back and ask this question in another 10 years.
What’s the point of all this hand-wringing, anyway? It doesn’t matter who “wins” the “console wars”. It’s ok to not care for the Wii (or the 360 or the PS3). As long as a given platform is healthy enough to attract quality games, that’s really all that matters.
The Wii has brought something “else” to the table, and they’ve succeeded in marketing it. That’s great for those (like myself) that enjoy what they’ve brought. But it’s perfectly ok to not care much for it. There’s no need to justify either inclination.
Let time tell the Wii’s place in history. It will no matter what we say today.
Because, obviously, he’s one of the people that predicted that the Wii would fail miserably, and now that he’s been proven flat out wrong, he doesn’t have the stuff to admit to his mistake. So, he’s taking the route that the rest of them are. “Oh, the Wii isn’t really in the same league, so we shouldn’t really judge it as a real competitor…”
Bull.
This is basically sour grapes from somebody that can’t admit they were wrong.
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again… 5 years… That is the average life time of a gaming console. If Sony is not lying about having the PS3 in the market for 10 years then they might sell a lot of PS3s (maybe even more then the Wii and 360 combined), but that does not mean that Nintendo and Microsoft wont be already selling their new consoles 5 years from now. WiiHD and Xbox 720 or what ever they decide to name them.
Just to give you a perspective of how long 10 years is in the gaming industry, FF7 came out in 1997 on the PS1. Also think on how much cheaper and faster technology that will dwarf the “mighty” cell processor will be by then. We will have integrated multi core CPU/GPU chips that will make the PS3 look like the PS1 looks to us now…
Not to mention that in five years when the Nintendo and MS release their new consoles they will also update their control schemes, Nintendo perfecting further their magic wand, and MS lunching their own version of the Wiimote, while the PS3 still has the same old boring controller that does not even rumble… and graphics that look as bad as the ps1 looks to us now…
Kris, who says I wrote it with a straight face? lol
Edymnion, I never predicted the Wii to fail. I am surprised how well it has done, but from the beginning I thought it would do well in sales….just had no idea like everyone else that it would do this well.
Tony, things do move fast. It’s hard to believe that FF VII is 10 years old… but I also have to wonder if we are going to hit a point where things do slow down a bit. We’re already seeing a slow down in computers. I think the 5 year life span of systems may no longer be the case. I could be wrong, but I think with the cost involved on the current systems, Sony and Microsoft will not be rushing their next systems out the door for some time.
I could be wrong on that.. you never truly know, but I have a feeling that this generation will last a little longer than the one before it.
Your wrong the wii will the war, the wii is about to tie with the xbow 360, the 360 has been more than a uea, when the wii, has been less than a year.
Again, why is it that every fanboy of the 360 or PS3 says the Wii is only for casual gamers??? I’m as hardcore as they come. I’ve always been dead set against console systems ever since I played Doom on the PC. But I LOVE the Wii.
What will the Wii’s place be in history? Every game system developed from now on will have some kind of motion sensing control scheme, and any that doesn’t will be left behind in a trail of dust. People want to experience games, not just play them. The Wii is giving people truly something NEW, not just the same old games packaged in prettier boxes with better graphics. It’s the first time since the home game console came into our homes that we get something truly new. And its price is right to boot!
Mark my words, within the next year or two, TV’s will start to be manufactured with infrared LED’s on each side of the screen and the remote controls will become much more simple and will use motion controls with an on-screen pointer instead of pressing buttons for every action. Those same LED’s can be used for the Wii and any future system built with the same kind of control scheme, without requiring you to have the sensor bar sit on top of, or below the TV.
Games of the future will be thought of differently. Instead of just taking your mind on a journey, people will imagine new ways to take their body on that journey as well. For the first time in history, games can be incorporated into your workout, and will become part of a healthy lifestyle.
I don’t know if I can really count the number of ways Wii has made history. The 360 and PS3’s place in history? Same old systems with better graphics. The first systems to cost over $500. The first systems to show exactly why graphics aren’t everything.
Video game purists? I have Resident Evil 4 Wii edition and its proven to be the best out of the other ports. Then theres Zelda which has gotten incredibly high ratings. And then there is The Wi-Fi, SSBB is coming out with Online, so is Mario Kart Wii, and Metroid Prime 3. And for going down in history, theres the Motion Sensing controller, its basicly the first controller to do that (minus the powerglove). Sure I think the PS3 is cool, but look at its price! and the 360, I think is the champ, its sold more, and is actually Better, than the PS3.But enough about that, the Wii changed the concept of gaming, while the others are sticking to what they’ve been competing about, its been enhancing graphics and gameplay. Gameplay in my oppinion, is the real key to a game.
I think it’s a fairly safe argument that Nintendo has gotten the masses at least interested in video games; however, I personally just don’t believe the Wii will be able to compete with the other systems.
The Wii controls are gimmicky at best, though it does add variety to the traditional layout of other systems. Once this novelty wears off, i.e. the Wii loses it trendiness (with happens to everything that seeks a mainstream audience), the gaming industry will be left with what it had to begin with – the hardcore gaming audience.
I mean, sure the Wii may be able to rope in your parents/grandparents/casual gamers, but is this audience going to wait 2-3 years in between Final Fantasy releases like Sony’s audience; 2-3 years for Halo releases like Microsoft’s fan base? I tend to believe the Wii will ultimately lose the console war in the long run. I could be wrong, but I’m probably not.
How long are you guys going to keep deluding yourselves?
The Wii is selling one million units per month. As it passes the 360, more and more developers are going to deliver more and more exclusives for the Wii. With the PS3 and 360 battling it out for the “hardcore gamer” (adolescents with a bizarre attachment to heavily muscled men and hyperbolic violence and sex), almost everyone is going to buy a Wii.
The 360 sells nothing in Japan, got it? Do we all understand that now? Nothing…no hardware, no software. You cannot “win” the next gen wars if you sell practically nothing in the world’s second largest market.
That leaves the PS3. Does anyone *really* think the PS3 is going to catch fire (this late into its release especially) and pass the Wii? This would require that the PS3 go on a unprecedented sales spree AND *at the same time*, Wii sales would have to plummet on an unprecedented scale.
Seriously…do you guys honestly see this happening?
The Wii is going to win, and every month that passes makes any other outcome closer and closer to mathematically impossible.
WII ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!!!!
i know that the ps3 and the xb 360 are extreamly advanced as i own both of them, however i also own the wii. i say that the wii can have its moments like when playing the godfather blackhand edition or having a party with your drunk asshole party friends. unfortuantaely the 360 abouslty pwns the wii!
WOOT! and for the ps3… well its not doing so well but i imagine it hitting the big time soon!
The Wii is not a trend. It’s still selling like hotcakes after 8 months it was released. I can’t find it available at any store where I live.
There isn’t enough hardcore gamers in the world for 360 and ps3 to sell a lot of consoles. I am willing to bet that the install base of 360 and ps3 won’t pass that of the regular xbox. Why? Because it is mostly hardcore gamers who bought the xbox, just as it is for the 360 and ps3. The Wii on the otherhand will have an install base as large, or even larger, than the PS2.
I would like to comment that it is very admirable of you to point out even though you are not a fan of the system, you acknowledged the worthiness. A lot of imaginary lines are drawn between all three systems.
There is one thing I would like you to take notice William. In my opinion, a video game purist is willing to witness the video game industry push the envelope to new directions. Whether that is heavily scripted game, like Half-Life, a new type of media to play video games on, like CD-Rom and Playstation, or online competitive gameplay on a console, like xBox. Again, in my opinion, the Playstation 3 and xbox 360 do not add any significant new improvements over their predecessors. They are suffering in my opinion Nintendo’s blunder with the Gamecube because that wasn’t nearly as innovative over the Nintendo 64 in my opinion.
well i have the 3 consoles and i think that at last every player is going to have a Wii and one PS3 or Xbox 360
PS3 and 360 have brought nothing more then upgraded graphics , great of course but in my 15 years of gaming I have never seen this feat make games more enjoyable. Changing the way you play a game to me is next gen. Nintendo now offers fun gameplay with lesser gfx and still outsells MS and sony , what would you buy if they had added some more horse power to the Wii and replaced some minigames and mario with more action oriented games ?
I agree with Peter.
I feel ‘Next Gen’ consoles and games should be innovative, and bring something completley new to the gaming world. Out of the games I’ve played, the Wii has been the most interesting and amazing experience I’ve had since I first picked up a Nintendo 64 and played Super Mario 64.
The PS3 and Xbox 360 are great systems, but their just basicaly great looking games with the same old idea behind them. The PS3 comes close with their six-axis controller, but that’s a gimmick that seems to barely get used. I mean, hell.. The first night I had my Wii, I spent six hours playing Wii Sports.
“It will never be considered a hard core system by the video game purists and it’s not even that great of a system.”
That is purerly your opinion, I consider my self a hard core gamer and I am quite satisfied with my wii and it is deffinetly a good system. I am going to buy a 360 soon but not because of the wii but because of halo 3. The wii is a great system especially for the amount of money you pay you get just as much fun or even more than you would from a 360 or ps3.
The wii is going through what the ps3 is going through at this time, and that is a lack of decent games hitting the shelves. But eventually (like the ps3) this dry spell will pass and it will get great games like super smash bros, battalion wars, super mario galaxy, Guitar hero 3 and my sims. The fact that I mentioned “Guitar Hero 3″ and “My Sims” proves that Nintendo’s line up of games from different publishers is getting better and it is getting the games that you regulary see coming to Sony’s and Microsofts consoles like Pro evolution soccer. (That may not appeal to you Americans much but it deffinetly does to people from england, and well I suppose it has got madden. But any way I think the wii is deffinetely a great system and it will have quite a big place in gaming history as a real turn around for Nintendo just as the DS is.
Brian: Not true, about the first-time-revolutionized-since-the-home-console bit. Game Boy.
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It really was the greatest “In your FACE” of all time. It was at least 10:1 that the odds were with people thinking that the Wii would fail. For example, a kid on my street was a big MicroSony guy. He used to say that Nintendo sucked. After I proved him wrong on multiple accounts, he then said “Oh, they’re all equal.”. He was one of the people that thought the PSP would obliterate the DS (anyone that thinks the PSP is a worthwhile system needs a brain biopsy), when the DS was beating the PSP 2:1 by six months later.
Even now, The X-Box 360, with over 365 days’ lead, has only sold 2 million consoles more than the Wii. The Wii has sold 5 million more consoles than the PS3.
So what makes you think that the PS3 will win? What inkling could you possibly have that follows any logical reasoning? The Wii holds its born supremacy (
).
The Wii’s awesomeness is not due to my being a fanboy. My being a fanboy is due to the Wii’s awesomeness. If the PS3 or 360 was better, don’t you think it would make sense if I began to follow them?
And also, a side note: I find it rather sad that the 360 puts so much power into making the physics for breasts in the Dead or Alive series. It’s not even realistic! I mean, if they are standing still and shift their weight, suddenly their mammifera are flying all over the place! What the CRAP?
Ah, now I understand. Microsoft is looking to take over the online dating scene, making it so that gamers have outrageous ‘better-than-real-life’ girlfriends (sort of like that one Futurama episode), that warp the laws of physics so that Dead or Alive isn’t far from the truth ¬_¬.
Anyway, that’s quite a ramble, so I’ll leave you to that.
Brian, I’m not sure I believe that about all remote controls being motion oriented. Sony tried that during the mid-90’s with some of their digital receivers, and the motion-sensing worked just as well as it does on the Wii. Yet it still tanked, because people didn’t want to be forced into using the motion controls.
I’m tired of all the “Wii is a gimmick” arguments. They said that about the DS — with its inferior graphics and gimmicky touchscreen and dual screens — and look at how it’s getting an ass-kicking from the PSP. Oh wait, it’s NOT. LOLZ. Longest running gimmick ever. Didn’t they say that videogames were just a fad, a trend, a gimmick, when the Atari 2600 came out? It sought a mainstream audience, which the NES later found to some extent, singlehandedly reviving the industry from the brink of death. And guess what… videogames are still around. If you refer to the Wii controls as a “gimmick,” I think it just highlights your own narrow-mindedness, or at the very least, a fear of anything new and different. It’s a matter of perspective.
Realize this… all Nintendo did was make a game cube smaller and give it a new controller. Thats ALL! Graphics similar to game cube.. The wii is just about the same thing. So if Sony or Microsoft would have came out with a wii-type controller for the original xbox or ps2 it would be the same crap. Thank you Sony and Microsoft for not being cheap, and sticking a new controller on a smaller version of your last gen system. Why is this selling good? Cause its so cheap and mostly children want the thing. I remember the line for wii… 90% of it was parents that had no interest in it and it was a gift for the little ones. And the other 10% of young people were getting it to sell at high prices it to those parents that didn’t want to wait in line! Once those kids are older they are gonna want a ps3 or xbox anyways. As far as Marketing.. Nintendo should be up for an award. Game cube with a controller I have to jerk off to play should win no award. Just like jerking off.. the wii is about fun for 10 mins.
Joe, you are a retard.. no really… just dumb. Whats have you checked the DS best two games? Both are Pokemon. ARE YOU SERIOUS. Great.. 7 year old play these games… look at the damn software it sells. Good.. sell out… no real gamer gives a rats ass about it. Just because something is new or innovative doesn’t mean its good. i’m up for new stuff all the time. Sticking a wand on a gamecube is by far the weakest think ever! Nintendo just paints a good picture. Well someone has to handle the games that are rated G or PG for the kiddies. Can’t wait for this years 9 mario games to come out. Mario Paper, Mario Party, Mario Kart, Mario Sunshine 12, Mario Glaxy 23, Mario Tennis, Mario please die.
Hey Joe, your retarded, the Wii that is a game cube with a wand is anything but innovative and new. New you say… yeah .. like the software – Mario Party, Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Paper Mario, Mario Sunshine, Mario Galaxy, Mario Please die
Hey Joe, your retarded, the Wii that is a game cube with a wand is anything but innovative and new. New you say… yeah .. like the software – Mario Party, Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Paper Mario, Mario Sunshine, Mario Galaxy, Mario get a life
Hey, Wii is horrible, you’re the stupid one. You’re just bringing up the same biased arguements. “Wii is for kids, graphics suck, gamecube with remote.” Just accept the fact that Wii is on top and is appealing to new and hardcore gamers. Also don’t try to bring bring the DS down either. It’s way too late for that.
I think William just got told by practically every user who posted a comment here.
It’s funny how some seem to think that if you own expensive stuff, like HDTV’s that become yesterday’s diapers by the end of the year, and own expensive multimedia systems (a.k.a. xbox360 & ps3) you’re automatically a “purist” or a “hardcore gamer”. To be hardcore these days, is to spend a small fortune on gaming. I guess that would qualify Paris Hilton as a hardcore gamer then. She owns a PS3 and Xbox360 and owns several HDTV’s and attends every Sony and MS party that promote said consoles.
Fact is, the word “hardcore gamer”, it’s original meaning has been diminished and totally transformed.
Back in the days, a hardcore gamer could be somebody that was good at playing games, even if he played on a friggin’ second hand black & white t.v. set. Some of the old games demanded almost super human abilities from a gamer and such gamers DID exist. They were called hardcore gamers. Not because on how much expensive trash they owned but because on how many hours they dedicated to games and how well they learned from them to play’em better. Those were the type of gamers that would beat Ninja Gaiden (NES) without losing any of the lives they started out with. It was important back then to try to avoid dying in a game. Because if you were on level 6 and you died, you didn’t start again on level 6. No, you started from the very beginning. You had to do things all over again. So you had to be good.
These days, I see many call themselves hardcore or purists even if they go to Best Buy or Target, buy a game, a game guide for that game and a Gameshark. As long as they own an HDTV, they’re off the hook and can be called hardcore. Pffft! Yeah right.
Oh, and another thing… anybody that puts the Wii down saying that it’s basically a GameCube 2.0, is actually putting to shame their own expensive consoles of choice. Because if a GameCube 2.0 with a Wiimote is capable of outselling the PS3 and Lunchbox360 for the past 8-9 months, that alone should make them bite a pillow and cry all night in shame.
That’s basically like spitting up in the air and having the spit fall in your face.
Hey Joe, your retarded, the Wii that is a game cube with a wand is anything but innovative and new. New you say… yeah .. like the software – Mario Party, Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Paper Mario, Mario Sunshine, Mario Galaxy, Mario Please die
i agree with the aforementioned post in that i think the wiimote is more of a peripheral then a controller to be used on all games. take away the wiimote and u have the gamecube. I wouldnt dislike the wii so much had they put a little more into the system. Just the pure fact that they are making profits off of the wii while the ps3 and xbox are taking a loss to give us quality consoles tells me that they didnt update any technology or even try to make it betterthen just the one trick pony of motionsensing. It seems like nintendo isnt in it for the long haul cause all i see is last gen with power glove
I’ve probably spent more money on games, then I have a TV.. I use the same one I’ve had since I first bought a Nintendo 64, and I’m fine with that.
That’s all gamers are ever intrested in now, is hi-tech equipment. They want their games to look realistic, while it isnt bad, their forgetting one very important part. The gameplay.
The Wii has excellent gameplay, even if the majority of the games out right now are geared towards more casual gamers. And saying the Wii is a Gamecube 2.0 is basicaly true, because it’s the next console after the Gamecube. I can say that the PS3 is just an upgraded PS2, and that the Xbox 360 is just an upgraded Xbox, because thats all they really are.
The Wii however, may be the next console after the Wii, but it’s very different from it in terms of controls and the type of games it has. Next Gen is about innovation and new things, not flashy graphics and $600 Consoles.
Bah, ‘The Wii however, may be the next console after the Gamecube’.. Oops.
“You’re just bringing up the same biased arguements. “Wii is for kids, graphics suck, gamecube with remote” THATS THE FACT! END OF ARGUMENT, PERIOD! There isn’t anything else. It really is a gamecube 2.0 … end of discussion. The wii is like diapers. It sells tons and tons every week. But its for children and I don’t care about it. Its for kids who don’t want there kids to play mean bad bad games with killing in it. Gaming has reached a new platue and it costs more to get there. You pay for what you get. I don’t care about the hard core gamer definition. My point is Nintendo repackaged a game cube and they are making a killing off of children. thats whats happening. end of argument. you lose
“It will never be considered a hard core system by the video game purists and it’s not even that great of a system.”
While I’m not sure if video games are old enough to have “purists,” if there are any, I think I rank among them. The NES was released the year I was born. Mario was the first game I beat, and one of my first memories! I grew up on video games.
The Wii has brought the purist back to video games. Last gen, all I had was a Gamecube, and only a few games for it. I wasn’t interested in yet another cookie cutter RPG/racing/FPS, which was what the industry was comming to.
The PS3 and 360 are still going that direction. Wii is all I’ll own this gen, until PS4 comes out and I can get a PS3 at a garage sale for $10.
Be careful who you call the purists. Graphics whores are not purists, and, in fact, are probably the exact opposite. Those who like their games with “adult content” are rarely adults, and probably don’t remember a time when the old back and white gameboy thrashed the game gear.
The Wii is for the purist. The Wii will likely come to be for the hardcore gamer (not the same as a purist, mind you) over the other systems, as more games are developed for it.
The Wii will make history no matter what, but it seems it will be crowned champion this round (after this holiday season, I doubt Wii will let go of its hold on this gen if it’s on top, but same for the 360), and it has certainly shaken up the industry, which was something it really needed.
Here’s to the death of the FPS that is just like the last but in a different place with better graphics and the RPG that relies more on the flash than the substance. Here’s to the Wii, because who knew the “Revolution” would lead to one?
hollabaloo you a smart man. Crimson the gameplay is not good. First off. Rented Marvel alliance with my friend when he got his wii. 20 mins later we returned it for Marvel alliance for PS2. Jerking my hand up was a punch??? Jerking my hand down let me fly???? are you serious? swinging my arms around to swing like spiderman was cool for about 5 mins. I go to the gym everyday… I don’t want my video game time mixed it with my relaxing gameing time. I bet you like eating and shitting at the same time. So gameplay reason number one: A game not specifically developed for wii will suck. Ports are gonna be crap. Reason number 2 why the gameplay/wiicube sucks to play. It levels the playing feeling way too much! you don’t have to be good to play it. My dad who never played a video game in his life beat everyone in bowling. Anyone can play a game for a day and be an expert. Even tennis… this crap is too easy to master. No “real gamer” wants to pick up a controller and be just as good as the 5 year old next to him cause the game is so freakin easy. my sister gets a strike in bowling everytime. and she barely plays it. its freaking rediculas. The only game other than zelda to sell over a million copys was packaged with the extra remote. ?? Thats horrible considering how many people are buying it!!! Plain proof that it’s a novelty and a machine to have a little fun with when having a party. Wii Sells… but not in the same league with Microsoft or Sony
About the debate over innovation over lacking or not lacking. In my opinion, I say that all three consoles have their own separate form of innovation. This is my reasoning.
It’s been said that the Xbox 360 and ps3 have only been riding the wave of last gen’s tactics. Other than finding a new way to play videogames they boost the sound and graphical capabilities. Nothing new, right? Their innovation lies with the hardware itself. Imagine 20 years from now when we’ll all have the easy cash flow for a inexpensive, top of the line technology for a small fee. That’s what happened with cellphones.
The Wii. The heightened game play it offers. Not a big deal. It doesn’t compete, it doesn’t even play dvds. Plus, all their games are sequels and mario. Hardly innovation. I bought the Wii first day. I looked at the thing and thought, ‘Not much room for good technology.’ Then, I turned on the small machine and picked up the Wiimote. It felt like I was Reed Richards from the fantastic four. I turned on Wii sports and tried Tennis. I thought, ‘After almost twenty years of Nintendo keeping us motionless except for your fingers, the finally give us hands. Not only that, but they’re also offering legs. In twenty years, what else will they give us? Eyes, ears, smell? Pheripherals are their innovation.
Then again, I might be completely wrong.
Wii is horrible/shit you totaly miss the point of the Wii , its not meant to have insane uber l337 graphics and kewl sounding game titles who are indeed exact copies of previous games just like mario games are. Nintendo never made the Wii to be the next best thing for high school kids to boast about. It was made to give an other demention to gaming and offer a device that would actualy bring l337 , casual and non gamers together and have a great experience without having to become obese and unsocial introverts. Maybe Nintendo made a product that has been tried before and failed ,but it does not seem to fail this time and opened up doors to a new living room gaming era in which we may see more interactive peripherals and top notch graphics combine.
Wii is Horrible/Shite, you must be what.. Thirteen?
That’s ONE game that you dont like, but you probably havent played that much on the Wii either. And Ports to the Wii have actualy turned out to be rather well, a rather excellet example would be the Resident Evil 4 version for the Wii. I have the one for the PS2, and I enjoy the one on the Wii ALOT better, because it gives a more indepth feel of play.
So, because your family can finally beat you in games, you think the Wii sucks too.. You sure are a smart one, kid. A REAL Gamer wants to sit down and have fun, no matter the skill level involved in the game. You need to go back to cussing and throwing racial slurs out over Xbox Live.
hey
the wii is selling MUCH more than the other two systems currently, it is quite possibly the best system ever made, and youre an idiot.
Wii is shite, you say I lost the arguement and yet Wii is still the top system right now. No real gamers want to play with a “wand”, and yet many true gamers, including myself seem to be pretty content. People want innovation over graphics. So for now, you lose.
Seriously my children get a life….. or at least a girlfriend. Thats why I made them… to be more entertaining than a discussion about a game console’s place in history. Please, give me a reason to be happy that I created humans. Go enjoy the sun, dinner with friends, call your mom and tell her you love her…. something!
I agree with you on one point. The so called gamer purist will not view the Wii as a hardcore system. I remember when the same purist thought the XBox would over take the PS2. Well they were outnumbered about five to one. My real question is why are we even listening to the so called hardcore gamers. They are almost always wrong. Very vocal but wrong. The stood by the XBox and it was a failure. We heard this arguement with the Sega Saturn and yet the PS1 one that battle.
I think it is a big mistake for software developers to listen to the Hardcore purist. We have seen poorly designed “hardcore” games after another. The PC is your platform. Embrace it. The console system was designed for the non purist. It is our system not yours. Hardcore gamers laughed when we were playing on the NES and the SNES. Even when the PS1 and Dreamcast arrived it was still a joke to you. Don’t try to hijack our platform as your own.
Look I am 40 years old and most of my friends have Wiis. They gave there children and teenagers the 360 and the PS3. This system average income base is over $100,000. It’s not the price dummy, it’s not the graphics, it’s not the wand. It’s the software stupid. It reminds us of the fun we had with consoles. I play hardcore games. I play them on my PC. The console is for fun with friends. So if your idea of hardcore is being online with a thirteen year old bragging about fragging him, go ahead. I will play Wii sports with a bear by myside with real friends enjoying my Wii.
The term “hardcore” gamer also needs to be redefined. I’ve been playing games for 20+ years now, and I love the Wii. If anything, shouldn’t hardcore gamers be the ones embracing the Wii, because it offers something fresh and original? If you love your 80+ hour RPGs, action adventure games with cut-scenes, racers, Madden 2009, and FPS du jour about some muscular dudes blowing shit up trying to save the universe from aliens or the axis of evil, great. I do too, sometimes. But hardcore gamers are the ones who will play anything, anywhere, especially if it offers a new experience. Hardcore gamers were the ones playing stuff like Jet Grind Radio, Seaman, Space Channel 5, Shenmue, etc. a lot of stuff that most people wouldn’t touch. Hardcore gamers were the ones who didn’t think the NES directional pad was a gimmick, coming after the joystick in previous generations’ controllers. Hardcore gamers were the ones who didn’t think the analog stick was a gimmick, coming after the D-pad. Let’s face it — fanboy or not, most people have to admit that Nintendo is the most innovative and influential company in so far as immersion technology is concerned.
I think what gets tossed around these days as “hardcore” really means to say it’s TRADITIONAL. i.e. “I grew up with a PS1 and anything that doesn’t play like the games I played on first console and or PC is therefore a gimmick and I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.” But what this line of thinking fails to consider is that we all started off as “casual” and/or traditional gamers and then branched off from there. A lot of these new “casual” players for the Wii will evolve into “hardcore” gamers themselves — and I’m sure a fresh batch of people will flame the next generation of systems and peripherals as gimmicky. The industry evolves and changes, and some get left in the dust because they refuse to let go of archaic elements.
The Wii makes sense. It’s intuitive, and fun. Swinging your remote like a tennis racket to play a tennis game makes more logical sense, and is much less abstract then say, pressing directional pad sequences and X + Y then A, B, A, B to do some combo in Tony Hawk. Is it the only way to play? NO. But it’s a cool and fresh alternative. We need innovations like the Wii to keep videogames moving forward as they inevitably approach virtual reality.
What Nintendo has done is thrown down the gauntlet and subtlely said, “Look, graphics are great… and they are part of the videogame experience. But what happens when they reach a plateau? You can have photorealistic graphics in 20 years when the PS6/XBOX 3600 comes out, but still have a shit game. That’s where gameplay comes in. And what happens to the development cycle of these “hardcore” games? You’ll need to spend 5 years and $100 million on a game that may or may not be successful — so you’ll probably want to make a sequel or some cookie-cutter safe IP.” In a way, the videogame industry mirrors the movie industry on some level. Sure, we all love our 300, Transformers, and Comic Book Movie 2/3/4/5 but if any of these flop, it’s a huge risk for the studios involved because they spent a lot of time and money on these CGI productions. Things like the Wii represent the indie scene, or smaller, quieter movies that don’t cost as much to make but don’t necessarily suck. But most recoup their costs easily and turn a tidy profit. So casual games on the Wii are like the 9 remaining movies on the box office list, whose combined box office totals are equal to or greater than the latest summer box office smash.
Nobody knows how long the Wii sensation will last and to predict were it will be 1yr, 2yrs from now is impossible it has only been out for 8 1/2 months. Just as fast as it has risen to such popularity, I can see it falling just as fast. It is a drastically underpowered machine totally relying on the hype surrounding its relatively cheap motion sensing control system. The vast majority of those who have bought last gen machines (including the millions still buying the PS2),most have yet to upgrade to the new generation. As the price of the PS3 and 360 comes down and the gaming public starts to upgrade to the new generation on mass we will see if the Wii is the gaming publics choice. One can’t forget that there were over 150 million consoles sold last generation btw the 3 systems and the 20-25 million that have sold so far represent only a fraction of the total possible gaming market.