Wii Sales Concerns

[fast]

I will probably be roasted for this but Iphone gaming is still not the best phone gaming Ive seen. The Ngage offered a lot of really neat titles that were fun and are far better than the current offerings on the Iphone. Elder Scrolls Shadowkey was actually a very good multiplayer adventure game, Red Faction was a commendable port of the original, and Pocket Kingdoms is still an active MMO Strategy game (think Dragonforce in your pocket). The best I have seen from the Iphone is I Love Katamari – which, while pretty, falls flat when you have to tilt the screen away from you to play. Which is my biggest gripe with iphone gaming – titling the screen. Even though some games like Tap Tap Revenge don’t require it, titling the screen cause me to get very dizzy. But I digress.

Its true that many purchase the Wii simply for the novelty of the controller, and yes there are lots of games for the casual market. However don’t you remember Sony’s 2005 E3 presentation? They tried to grab the same market - the whole “and you move the ship without moving the controller.” But I think the reason that Nintendo succeeded so well was not just the motion controls but they already have their brand etched into most peoples minds. I mean they did release two films in the 80s/90s and most people around the world know of the Nintendo. Heck even in North Korea they have NES knockoffs. The NES is an icon of the 80s and may of the people who grew up playing it and then cast off gaming (my brothers included) came back to the one they knew. Sony is known for TVs and Sound Equipment, Microsoft for Windows, but in most of the world Nintendo is only known for video games (Hanafunda and Sex Hotels aside). The game catalog will be built on and will be continued to be built on until after the next console comes out. And while the retail releases may seem soso, the digital releases thus far have been awesome.

You mention multiplayer gaming, but I think you really mean online gaming. I say this since I would say that it is fairly obvious that the Wii has cinched the local multiplayer – mainly because most 360 titles are one or two player offline – with exceptions ofcourse. Its no secret that the Wii has piss poor online outside of Animal Crossing, however the Wii, being a social icon, is multiplayer gaming. Wii Sports probably has more hours logged in it at parties than any other game this generation. Games like Warioware, Cooking Mama, Boomblox, and Mario Tennis only drive this point home even more.

I am still failing to see where the Wii fails so badly in games. I own over twenty games on the console and have beaten fifty or so. And apart from a good JRPG and 3d fighter there really hasn’t been anything missing for me on a console. I don’t really count flight sims, TBS, 4x, RTS, or life simulation titles – PC has those down pat and nothing is going to touch them. You say “’real’ games” and how there are not enough of them, but I I am curious as to what is your classification is for a real game?

To answer your questions, no I don’t consider RE4 and Twilight Princess reasons for most people to buy the console. Nor do I consider them all that compelling to own – As I play more and more Okami my opinion of Twilight Princess lowers and the Resident Evil series never clicked with me. I tell others about Kororinpa, Blastworks, Lightgun games, and Mario Galaxy. I fully agree that the Gamecube was given the short end of the stick last gen. Windwaker was one of the finest games I have ever completed and I am disappointed that the gaming public dismissed it. Fzero GX was the best racer last gen, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicle is one of the best ARPGs out there, and the Gameboy Player gave us access to more games than any other console ever. And even though the Wii is popular, it is getting the same beating just by different people and using a slightly different set of colloquialisms.

More Wii games should use the controls like Metroid Prime did. But games like Kororinpa are the reason I bought the console. They are fun, engaging, and the experience would be difficult to duplicate on another console currently.

I know that you are not a fan of the system, that has become paper thin over the course of the past few months. But many view it as far from a crapware console. The Wii is my most played console currently, and has been for most of the past 3 years (the Saturn keeps peeking its head up). The bevy of excellent titles on the Virtual Console and Wiiware supersede the crap in the stores, and the fact that it is keeps getting lightgun games is awesome. Yes there are a lot of ports, and yes there are a lot of crappy games, so? There are good games out there.

I know that no matter what I say you will continue with your tirade about how awful the console is that’s fine. But please find some new material. The whole, full of ports and no good games is getting old.

[Curlypaul]

well said.

I have 20 or so great games at the moment and the are plenty more already on my wish list and a fantastic line up of games this year. I was considering saving my pennies and getting a PS3 but when I thought about how many Wii games I still have to buy and complete, I decided to just stick with that.

I get tired of endless wii bashing with no good reason. Sure it doesnt have 500 fps games or whatever but is doesnt have all the bases covered and the games that it does have mainly offer something you cant get elsewhere.

So what if they could have made MK with JUST standard controls? then what would it offer over the previous versions? Nintendo have never been about graphical updates, MK has never had a version that isnt significantly different to its predecessor. Far better to offer something that couldnt be done on another console - btw the wii wheel is not the same as a normal steering wheel, the lack of a central pivot makes it all the more challenging and rewarding.

[molotovwars]

Whats Kororinpa? I looked on amazon.com and saw there were two titles released by Konami with that name, one in 2007 and one in 2009. Your thoughts on them? Which one were you referring to?

As I mentioned a few pages back, I just got my Wii and am always looking for good titles.

[the7k]

I get tired of endless wii bashing with no good reason. Sure it doesnt have 500 fps games or whatever but is doesnt have all the bases covered and the games that it does have mainly offer something you cant get elsewhere.

Here's the reason I fell out of love with the Wii. None of the games really clicked with me, and I had quite a few of the good ones too. Twilight Princess, Galaxy, Kart, Paper, No More Heroes, MadWorld, Zack and Wiki, RE4, RE:Umbrella, Trauma Center, MP3... the only games I ever really played a lot of were Metal Slug Anthology, Smash Bros Brawl and Wario Ware, though. All of the rest of those games didn't click with me at all and I never even finished - hell, I lost interest in MadWorld and Mario Kart Wii less than an hour into both of them.

I can understand being bitter about the amount of shooters on PS3/360, but to write off Bioshock or The Darkness as just another shooter would be about the same as writing off Metroid Prime 3 as being the same thing. It's also pretty hard to argue with a FPS when it can be as fun as Call of Duty 4 or Unreal Tournament III.

The Wii may have many bases covered, but not all of them, and many of them aren't covered well enough. I don't know of any Western-style RPGs. The only JRPGs I know of are Baroque and Tales of Symphonia 2, which is about the same as covering that base with two inept guards. The only Tactical RPG I know of is Radiant Dawn, which is about the same as expecting one really good guard to secure an entire base. With the exception of MP3, all the FPSs have been average at best, which is a real shame considering the controller would be great for it. If you want a racer and don't care for Mario Kart, you'll be SOL - there are no good substitutes to Burnout, Forza, Gran Turismo, Pure, Grid or WipeOutHD. (And seriously, why hasn't there been an F-Zero on the Wii yet?)

My point here is that there is plenty of reason for someone to have buyers remorse over the Wii, and not just because 'Wii ain't gotz no Hola 3, lolz.' If the Wii could offer a truly immersive experience with its controls (like that vid I linked a few posts back), I wouldn't have sold it. Instead, all it did for the most part was make wiggling the controller take the place of hitting a button during Quick Time Events.

Edit: Oh yeah, and iPhone games sucks. It's not even an opinion - if you think the iPhone is a serious gaming platform, I have a CD-I I'd like to sell you.

[MrPopo]

I can understand being bitter about the amount of shooters on PS3/360, but to write off Bioshock or The Darkness as just another shooter would be about the same as writing off Metroid Prime 3 as being the same thing. It's also pretty hard to argue with a FPS when it can be as fun as Call of Duty 4 or Unreal Tournament III.

To be fair, most of the good FPS's on the PS3/360 are also on the PC, in their superior form. But I agree to the main point you're making, that the Wii doesn't have all the bases covered. But at the same time, you cannot write off the Wii as only having a couple good games. It has a great library, and it's starting to look like developers are finally starting to take the platform seriously.

[fast]

Kororinpa - both are great titles, but I have far more experience with the first title (Marble Mania). If you like puzzle race games it is one of the best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jrhlTvW1uU

You tilt the remote (or nunchuck in multiplayer - or balance board in the sequel) to navigate the ball through the course as fast as possible. Not incredibly complicated but alot of fun.

[RCBH928]

I am not a Wii basher.
I'll tell you my story.
I got a 360 for over a year and then went out of my way to get a Wii(when it was hard to find) and I was forced to buy Brawl(although good game doesn't appeal to me, since I play alone) bundled just to get it. I actually used to fantasize it and couldn't wait to play it. I am NOT a Wii basher, I am just saying the truth.

I agree with most of what the7k says. As for iPhone gaming I didn't say its the greatest gaming platform, lets remember this is a cell phone, unlike the n-gage that is made for gaming. What I pointed out in the iPhone is the CREATIVITY of using the controls and inputs of the system to create games. I wish developers would be as creative using the Wii mote, just like the other guy posted a video how it can be used for 3D viewing. No one is, most games is stupid like jiggle your wii-mote to get cross over.

As the most selling console by far this generation, the Wii should have a ton more games than what they have. This is the first generation where the #1 selling console is the one most lacking in software titles. Note most LACKING , it doesn't mean it has zero. It got good games. I think the wii is decent consle, but NOT great. You know how to judge a good console?

Close your eyes, and move into the future. Tell me, WHAT games you want to get the last generation Wii to play? I really see no games other than Mario Galaxy and Zelda. If we do the same for the 360 we get all kind of games like Gears, Assassin Creed, Bioshock, all unique and new games.

I had high hopes for the Wii, and that good games are coming. I am 100% sure that if the Wii got any "real" games it would be the best thing out there. I don't care for HD graphics, last generation graphics are super cool. Now where is the fun with all the motion?

Some games are really good, but the choice is really really limited. I have to say it is very sad when you tell some one to play a game that is great on a console, when it is really a port of last generation like Okami or RE4 . Its good to have these games, but are these really the jewels of this console!?

You bring out the point of a game like Kororinpa, while it looks fun and this is why you bought the system, can you really put it head to head with something like GTA4, Fallout 3, Fable 2? In a way , the Wii seems like a console that no body really cares about. Its just a quick money making scheme for them. Just release anything and it will sell. All the crapware proves it.

If the 360 was a Wii, then we will have a 360 that has bad online gameplay only 10 games over 8/10 , most graphics would be mediocre . There are still good games, and it still can play online but its upsetting because it can do so much more. The Wii could be so much more, but I am tired of waiting for the real stuff. I guess I was supposed to wait for the Wii 2. While good games do exist(and I enjoyed Red Steel and thought WarioWare is absolutely amazing and creative) there could have been a lot more to it.

You say that WiiWare titles are good, yes they are but don't you think 360's library of originals and arcade are much better?

On the positive side, I do think that the Wii is the ultimate retro console. It has Wii games+GC games and everything in VC+WiiWare games. I guess no system out there can play that amount of games. I think the 1 real positive thing in Wii is VC, it is a huge library and a ton of fun and it is there.

I respect your opinion of how you think current games are good enough and that they are fun, and that is the point, its supposed to be fun. But for me , it is really upsetting that this is all there is to it when it has much more potential.

[fast]

I am in the middle of writing a response, but I wont get to post it until some time tomorrow - My Grandfather was just rushed to the hospital and I am heading there as soon as I can and will probably be there all night. I dont have a clear enough mind to respond.

[RCBH928]

sure, hope he is ok

[fast]

He is back up and moving around. I do not know the extent of the damage but apparently his aorta was separating from his heart. Its not bad enough for surgery though. Then I wake up this morning to a great call that my father was just rushed to the hospital with what they believe is acute pneumonia. For a family not known to have medical issues we are sure having alot of them recently.