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Nintendo's Next-Gen Arsenal

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the zelda's-got-a-gun dept.

Much of the coverage of the next-gen skirmish so far has focused on Sony and Microsoft. The already-impressive Xbox Live vs. the PS3. Just the same, for the first time in many years Nintendo is definitely in the running for top spot. About.com has a piece looking at what the big N is bringing to the next-gen party this November. From the article: "While Nintendo is trend setting with controllers like the Wiimote and, to a lesser extent, the nunchaku dongle, other companies will be following along. Nintendo's game plan from the genesis of the Wii has been touch and gamer-friendly games. They see the future of gaming in the Wiimote. Everyone else, at this point, seems to be just catching up."

2 of 321 comments (clear)

  1. Wii vs PS3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    "The already-impressive Xbox Live "

    Tell us you were joking. Microsoft's online service is doing so poorly that they didn't even mention the number of people willing to pay the 50 dollar a year charge for it in their big press release last month. Instead they tried to give the impression that they had huge numbers of subscribers when in fact the numbers they quoted were for everyone who even just hooked up their 360 to download something just once.

    Sony has free online gaming for all non-MMORPG games.
    Nintendo has free online gaming for the Wii.

    Microsoft needs to wake up and catch up to Sony and Nintendo and find a way to offer free online play. Right now Microsoft's online service adds 200 to 250 dollars extra to the price of the 360. No one but the most hardcore Xbox fans are willing to spend so much money on a 360.

    The future of gaming most certainly is not the Wii mote I can say after having used it for a little bit at E3. It is kind of awkward to hold and it didn't take long for the novelty to wear off. Now that people are seeing real Wii games the system is being seen more as a souped up GameCube with a pointing device bolted on instead of anything remotely like the 'industry changing' hype Nintendo has been throwing around. Nintendo has really made their lives difficult with all the grandiose talk of innovation. Almost every Wii game is just like any other game with some swinging or pointing added.

    Yes, it is fun. But it is more like fun when I play my friends and less so fun that I must have it.

    After seeing the latest Motorstorm footage for the PS3, that is what people I know want in a next gen system. And MetalGear Solid 4, Final Fantasy, GT, the new Naughty Dog game, and so on. I'd rather pay 500 bucks for games I want than 250 bucks for a gimmick.

  2. Re:Lets get this over with by DrXym · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    Don't I know it. Mention any potential issues with the controller such as the potential for injury or its unsuitability for certain game genres and you'll feel the heat of outraged fanboys. It's not like Microsoft or Sony consoles don't have their own fanboys but have thus far they've stayed away from Slashdot. Nintendo fanboys are like fleas on a dog on this site.

    The psychology of the fanboy is interesting. My guess is that it requires someone to invest totally in a platform. Not just financially but emotionally too. It also helps that the platform is the underdog, either because it is inferior or because it has a small fraction of the market. Once that happens, any competition to that platform is perceived as a personal threat to the fanboy. Rationality flies out the window and you get all kinds of silly rants that platform X is better than platform Y. I've seen it all before with the ZX Spectrum, Commodore Amiga, OS/2, Linux and now Nintendo. It is almost worth provoking the ire of fanboys to hear the little squeaks they make.

    Personally I reckon the Wii will be a fine console, but I don't think it will hold a candle to either the 360 or PS3.