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The Pressures on the Next Nintendo Console
With the launch of Nintendo's next-gen offering a little more than two months away, the importance that Nintendo is placing on this console is finally becoming apparent. Dyed-in-the-wool Nintendo loyalists and haters alike have both come to the same conclusion: if Nintendo is to stay a force in the non-portable console market, this system has to succeed. Along those lines, WhatEntertainment offers an editorial entitled Failure is not an Option. It explores the reality that Nintendo's failure would have repercussions on the industry as a whole. "Most of all I'm worried what this might do to the industry if it's a failure. In a landscape already filled with the carcasses of those that dared to try something new, and publishers more afraid than ever to try something a little different, the high-profile failure of a system that tried to put innovation and fun before graphics could be the final nail in the coffin of creativity." Meanwhile, GameInformer has a piece entitled Will Wii be Dissapointed Again? Billy Berghammer says what he doesn't want to say: the Wii could be another flop for Nintendo. From that article: "The launch price is low enough (outside of the $60 for controller costs) to avoid damaging my wallet the same way the purchase of a Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 will, and the possibilities and promises from Nintendo somehow still keep me hoping for a bright future. But for now, the future is made up of many of the same promises and hopes I had when the N64 and GameCube were announced. I just hope I don't end up being disappointed once again."
As long as Nintendo continues the Mario, Zelda, (etc) franchises, their consoles will continue to sell with or without third party support. Fact is, their first party games are just THAT good.
Nov. 19 *minus* Sept. 19 *equals* TWO MONTHS. 200% is now considered a "little bit more"?
No, I didn't read TFA, not after that line
(ooooh Flamey Flamey -1!!)
"Nintendo reported that as of June 30, 2006 they have sold a total of 21.00 million Nintendo GameCube units worldwide."
"With 32.93 million Nintendo 64 units sold worldwide..."
They're not #1, but they are certainly a strong (read: profitable) second-place contender. I wonder what these flops are?
quote: Dyed-in-the-wool Nintendo loyalists and haters alike have both come to the same conclusion: if Nintendo is to stay a force in the non-portable console market, this system has to succeed.
Says who? Oh, someone on the internet. So it MUST be true.
"I am of course talking about the Wii (pronounced as we), which while perhaps being the strangest name ... [snip]"
Alert, alert! They call it "THE Wii" when the Nintendo Wii style guide explicitly says to call it just plain "Wii". Deploy the style sentinel drones of doom!
that of the big three, Microsoft seems to be in the most stable place currently. Now, I'm by no means an M$ fanboy, but it does seem that the analysts are correct in their looking at Nintendo as needing a solid hit out of the Wii, to have a future in the console market. (They will still be fine with handheld sales alone, of course). Same thing with Sony and their PS3 (excepting the haldheld market, as the PSP is still struggling to find a foothold anywhere). PS3 will no doubt sell well to loyalists and such, but will it be enough to keep the company making as much money as they did in PS2 and game sales?
Only time will tell, but it's very interesting that this all places quite a bit on Microsoft's side, as they are going to be regarded as the "established" player in the market, come Christmastime, and with a well timed and measured price cut, they could be looking at a very good situation over there...
I personally (and here's the fanboy side) hope the Wii does well. Even if it's not all we hoped, it's still someone trying to innovate in a market crowded with sequels, little improvements from generation to generation, and I hope they are rewarded for it. I think it will do much better than say, the Dreamcast. But, overall, it's going to be an interesting year from here on out to see where the consumer speaks with their wallets...
I don't think anyone expected the DS to be as big as it has become. The same could turn out to be true for the Wii.
Plus, BECUASE the DS has become so popular, I think that people will be a lot more willing to give the Wii a chance.
Obviously only time can tell, but I think the DS's success is very important to the Wii...
For calling the article Pressures on the next nintendo console instead of pressures on the Wii. Could easily be mistaken as the iron grip Nintendo has on this console war of gamers. ... Their dicks people, God.
The same arguments that were made against the DS are being used against the Wii ("gimmicky," lesser graphics power, etc.) as that Game Informer article proves. He hardly even mentioned the DS. He also neglects to mention the Sony backlash, and the fact that we're now in a time where people are a bit tired of the graphics arms race between M$ and Sony, and would like something new. At least to a further extent than has been true for consoles in the past.
That doesn't guarantee success by any means. There's just a lot of positive angles that the author was ignoring.
I think we'll know whether it's an abject failure pretty quickly, and it's probably not even worth worrying about this close to release.
Just wait for the reviews about two weeks after the Wii has been released to the reviewers, after the novelty has had time to wear off and there's a better sense of whether the games are actually fun, or if the controller is just a useless gimmick.
Right now, probably nobody really knows. The game devs and their testers are too close to the game to know whether it is any actual fun, and almost all of our reviewers have at most a few hours experience, all in the same day.
I think we'll only know it's an abject failure if the controller simply becomes tiresome, or hard to use, or to sum it up "no fun" with real use.
Otherwise, I'd expect the first Wii generation to look like the first DS generation, for the same basic reasons, and again for the same reasons, if you tried to determine the success of the DS based on that first generation you'd have been way off.
Anyhow, of all the times to be worrying about whether the Wii is going to fail, this is really the silliest, when we're this close to release. Just wait and see.
In the hardware department, Nintendo has been the king of portables for a long time. And Nintendo seems like it'll always have Japan... Microsoft is (and should be) trying hard to break into Japan, but Nintendo is still a very firm #2 there.
In the software department, Nintendo's first-party titles have routinely done very well.
Nintendo also has somewhat of a niche in coming up with interesting control schemes... maybe they'd have less flexibility with this if they ever left the hardware market. But they have so many niches to fill that it's hard to see how they'd suddenly lose at all of them.
Their style guide is boneheaded and doesn't seem to have had any input from a native English speaker. "Wii" just doesn't automatically parse, when heard verbally, as a proper noun. "I have Wii" "You mean, you have ... us?" "No, I bought a wii." "You bought away? You bought a wee ...?" "No, I bought a Nintendo Wii." "Oh, I see. Nice, short name there."
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
It seems to me that TFA is just trying to cash in on the current Wii frenzy. It's the old trick: Write something controversial, watch it get slashdotted before long, and watch the ad revenue flow in.
Personally, I'm unconvinced. IMHO, the Gamecube failed due to two points. It was underpowered compared to the XBox and the PS2, but yet didn't have enough innovative features to really differentiate itself from the competition. And, secondly, there weren't all that many games for it. The N64, too, suffered from this.
With the Wii, Nintendo has already taken care of those points upfront. Not only are we going to have tons of classic games from older consoles, a lot of vendors have also already pledged support for the Wii.
And as for being underpowered, well, yes, the Wii isn't as powerful as the XBox360 and the PS3, but the sheer freshness of its gameplay and its innovative games should more than make up for it. Especially since the Wii is being marketed as the "console for everyone". If Nintendo's strategy works, a lot of people who wouldn't otherwise have bought a console will buy a Wii, and they won't care about sheer raw power. And neither will Nintendo fanboys.
So I don't see why the Wii should suffer from the same problems as the N64 and the Gamecube.
Basilisk Digital
I agree it would be a terrible thing for the industry if the console were to fail, but it would be OK with me.
I had an N64 and it was my favorite console of that generation by far. Some people say it "failed" because it didn't put The Big N back on top. I really enjoyed the thing, and I'm glad I bought it.
I have a 'Cube and many people say it failed (or is close). I've bought FAR more games for the 'cube than my XBox and PS2. It was a great little system. I don't regret buying it at all.
If the Wii fails, so what. I can afford to lose $250 on a console that that will only have a bunch of great games during it's life (Marios, Zeldas, Pikmins, Smash Brothers, etc.). That's OK with me. It will be sad, but I'll still love the games.
Let's not forget that even if Nintendo's grand experiment fails (the controller) everyone could always use the "classic" controller for the rest of the console's life-span (not unlike the NES Zapper was basically forgotten about). The Wiimote can still be used for fun with light-gun games (and is worth it for me for that fact alone).
The PS3 is $600. I'm not buying that until I'm dead sure there are tons of games I want for it. Even with the price drop that will have to happen by the time I buy it.
The 360 is $400. It's not as worrying as the PS3 but that's still a fair amount of money.
The Wii is $250, and worse case scenerio I can use it as a replacement 'Cube and have a few new fun games.
The Wii may "fail" because it doesn't take over the industry or ends up in 3rd place, but I bet I'll still love it anyway.
All that said, who do we think... objectivly... is the most likely to fail? The cheap one with the "gimmick", the expensive one that is more of the same, or the obscenely expensive one that currently seems like more of the same?
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
yeah, but you forget that microsoft subsidizes a lot of the cost of an xbox to drive nintendo down, and they can get away with it because microsoft (and sony) both have other sources of incomes. they can stay afloat with their numbers. nintendo only does games. they have to make a profit on everything they sell in order to not shrivel and die.
How can you compare specifications that you do not have?
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
"Microsoft is (and should be) trying hard to break into Japan"
Microsoft barely spent a dime on pre-360 release marketing in Japan. There were reports of gamers going to stores to buy Xbox1, seeing the 360, and thinking it was just an Xbox1 with a new look.
Microsoft only started marketing in Japan a few months ago when it was confirmed that Sony was having major pushbacks in dates. Even then it wasn't much.
Truth is Japan has some of the most brand-loyal customers in the world. They will buy a Japanese console over an American one even if it is far inferior. In America I don't think I've met a person who will buy the 360 over PS3/WII simply because it is based in the US.
FTFA:
.. but we will have them. (or in the case of FF, we probably will have them. Square-Enix is in a love fest with nintendo these days)
There are so many people out there that love to buy the new Madden release or the latest Final Fantasy sequel that it's difficult to believe that Nintendo can change their mind or be a success without them.
Ummm
Madden is coming to the Wii. And in fact, will probably be the first (American) football game I buy since like '98. After reading that developer interview over at IGN, I'm quite excited about play this game! It's a very long read, but it sounds like it'll be a lot easier to play. Running with the ball, I'll be able to straight arm a guy to my left, and at the same time, juke to the right, and it'll be as easy as flicking my wrist. Something we all probably do already when playing video games!!!
AirSpeak - http://itunes.com/apps/AirSpeak
At the risk of sounding like a Nintendo apologist, I think the WhatEntertainment editorial is a little drastic. As long as Nintendo continues to churn a profit on just about every machine they make, they're going to continue doing the things they do the way they want to do them. In the more recent history, Nintendo has generally been the one to do something different first (with the exception of Microsoft with XBox Live). Looking at the DS as an example, the first games that came out were crap and gimmicky and I'm honestly expecting the exact same thing with the Wii launch. It depends entirely on the publishers though, and that's where the risk for Nintendo comes in. You'll generally see innovation in most industries where there is competition. So, even if in the doomsday scenarios Nintendo no longer creates consoles but moves to a software only shop for the non-portable consoles, MS and Sony will still be around to provide innovation. Even if you take Nintendo out of the equation this round, Microsoft is already doing something different with the Xbox Live Arcade on the 360 then has been done before, including on the Xbox. It just looks as if Sony is the only one without any originality the past couple of cycles (I could be mistaken here, feel free to correct). Putting Nintendo back into the equation, they are already spurring innovation by prompting Sony to put some sort of motion sensing capabilities into their controllers (evidenced by the last minute inclusion into some of the E3 demos). What I love is everyone is pointing out what will happen if Nintendo fails, and according to Billy, fails again. Failure depends on who's doing the judging and from a profitability standpoint, Nintendo succeeded where the other two did not. What nobody seems to be asking is what could happen if Nintendo "succeeds." And in a way you could look at it that they already have succeeded in that they've prompted Sony to mimic an aspect of their design, or if Sony had thought of it before, then prompting them to at least include it in this generation as opposed to the next or never having included it all.
In a landscape already filled with the carcasses of those that dared to try something new, and publishers more afraid than ever to try something a little different, the high-profile failure of a system that tried to put innovation and fun before graphics could be the final nail in the coffin of creativity.
Yeah, if the Wii fails, who's going to make interesting games like Katamari Damacy and Shadow of the Colossus?
Oh, wait.
Rob
Just because Nintendo doesn't have the best history, "taste" for the hardcore gaming demographic, doesn't mean it wasn't highly successful in other markets. If you take any one that has a GameBoy or a DS (best selling handhelds) under the age of 18, I'm safely going to say, they probably have a GameCube in house.
Just because 30 year olld gamers don't flock to it (like myself) doesn't make it a failure, just in that demographic...and ultimately, get that younger market, they'll grow up - just like we did...
Consoles, like pretty much everything in life, never really live up to their potential. They always cost a little too much, never have all the games you want, and the games they do have are never quite right... Wii will be the same. Welcome to reality.
For instance, lets look at the DS, which is my favorite console right now. It's good, but it doesn't live up to it's potential. It doesn't let you play GBA games multiplayer, meaning I'll basically never get to play Zelda 4 Swords. It hardly has any online games, and MarioKart online got boring the minute people figured out snaking. It doesn't have a single RTS game. I can only play Metroid Prime Hunters in short bursts, it's not comfy enough. The games are too expensive - Tetris is somehow more expensive than Titan Quest on PC.
Basically, consoles always sit in that 6/10 to 8/10 slot, like everything else. The cube was a 7, the DS is an 8, the saturn was a 6...
Yes, we don't know the exact specs yet, Nintendo hasn't released them for good reason. As I understand it the processor on the Wii is made by IBM and is 800Mhz or less, single core. That is 2002 technology. That's not even in the same ballpark as the competition, each of which use 3.2Ghz multi-core processors.
I keep seeing these jabs on the price of the Nintendo controller (both parts). I can understand the disappointment. After the prices for x360 and ps3 people are looking to Nintendo as cheap affordable fun. Add on to that, Nintendo is well-known for making great party games and seem in a position to continue that so multiple controllers for a nintendo system seems a given. Given all that, is anybody seriously surprised by the price of the controllers? Sure, they probably could have taken a loss or a smaller profit by pricing the pair for $50 (35 and 15?) but is that typically the place to have lower profit margins? You're going to pay $50 for a wireless x360 controller and likely at least that much for a ps3 one. Why would anyone expect to see less for a two component wireless controller that probably has more state of the art technology in it? I wish they released a wii bundle with an extra controller rather than a game but I can see why they went the other way. To me, this is just further evidence that they will be successful. Financially, they'll make money. And because the wii is so much cheaper to develop for, they don't even need to have a HUGE install base for developers to continue giving support. Developers don't need to sell as many to make all their money back and then some. Finally, if the games are frequently $10 cheaper it won't take long before you've saved enough from the games to pay for the $10 more expensive controllers.
My Wii money has just been spent on a new Power Shower after my current one blew up. Add on top both the plumber and electrician fees (plus the likelihood that the latter will require that I install an up-to-date fuse box) and the cost is quite significant. A Wii + some games is what I'd rather have spent the money on.
Quite honestly I don't see Nintendo not selling their consoles now. The issue is Nintendo's long-term strategy - will they continue to drive the Wii in the marketplace, unlike what they did with the Gamecube? It's all very well selling some 10m consoles by the end of 2007, but that's no use in 2010 if you only shifted another 5 million because you neglected to keep the console price competitive and publicised, and all the third party publishers dropped away and the Premium PS3 costs $299.
I don't know how you figure that out. Unlike the Xbox versus Xbox 360 you can directly compare the performance/power of the Wii against the Game Cube. The GC was only barely less powerful than the Xbox and certainly more powerful than the PS2. The Wii is pretty much a GC with 3x the clock speed on both CPU and graphics while being fully backwards compatible so it will be able to perfectly play GC games many of which are very good so there is a large library of available games to buy and be reissued.
No-one is going to argue that the raw compute power of the Wii is pretty far behind the 360 and PS3 but it really doesn't matter if none of the games really do much new. The 360 and PS3 are nothing but the evolution of the NES, nothing new, just more power. Nintendo defined the current controller structure and the Wii redefines it.
Judging by the number of people queuing up to pre-order the Wii this last weekend I think it is going to be very successful.
"I have the attention span of a strobe lit goldfish, please get to the point quickly!"
Incorrect. The PS2 was the least powerful contender this time around (after the Dreamcast dropped out fo course) The only thing the GC didn't have hardware wise over the PS2 was disk capacity, since they went with mini DVDs, and not DVD9's. For a good comparison of capable graphics, play RE4 for each.
I don't understand the 'Graphics Arms Race' much as The PS2 was technically inferior to both the GC, and X-box yet the PS2 had the largest user base. The PS1 was inferior to the N64 (except for disk / cartrige capacity) yet the PS1 sold more. The DS is weaker than the PSP, yet is sells more. The Gameboy was weaker than all competitors, but crushed the competition.
Clearly 'power' =/= greater sales. There is more to it than that.
It's funny that Nintendo has declared a monopoly on innovation. Why? Cause you can download games and play online? Cause they have a controller that responds to motion? These things have been done before and they aren't going to change things. It will be fun for a game for most and won't have longevity. It's a gimmick.
Reply "Wii" to this thread if you have one pre-ordered or intend(o) to buy one before Xmas.
As I understand it the processor on the Wii is made by IBM and is 800Mhz or less
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Actually, all we know about the Wii's GPU (code name Hollywood) and CPU (code name broadway) is that they're custom built processors manufactured using a 90nm SOI CMOS process; the process is the same process which was used on the PowePC 970 processors (the G5) which came in single and dual core configurations and ran between 1.5GHz and 2.5GHz. We have heard from ATI that the graphics demonstrated at E3 were just "The tip of the iceburg".
Recently, in an interview with UBIsoft about RedSteel, it was reported that UBIsoft did not recieve Wii hardware until 2 months before E3 and they did not have time to complete the artistic upgrades before the demo had to be ready for testing (most developers require 4-6 weeks of testing a demo prior to E3); this meant that the E3 demo was more representative of what was running on Gamecube hardware than what the Wii can do. Now, I'm not arguing that the Wii is a technological marvel but it is not incapable of adequate graphics ( http://media.wii.ign.com/media/821/821973/img_391
The one thing I will say about your "under 800MHz remark" is that I know for a fact that EBgames was publishing the fake IGN specs and received a nice visit from Nintendo's laywer; now they publish the same specs Nintendo does. Matt from IGN was either lying or believed a lie.
Imagine a game called Beowulf for it....
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
"Nintendo defined the current controller structure and the Wii redefines it."
Yep, I can't imagine playing games without my PowerGlove.
If you want to give credit to those who don't deserve it, Sega had the brilliant idea of, "More than two buttons!" first, therefore, Sega is responsible for defining the current controller structure.
Sure, it may sound odd to say "I love Wii", or "I have a Wii", but in terms of syntax it works. Any native english speaker's brain should think "A noun refering to a third party has to go there. Therefore Wii is an object".
The failure of Nintendo has been incorrectly predicted by game magazines and other "journalists" for well over a decade... more like 15 years now that I think about it. It always is supposedly right around the corner. It started in the 90s when Nintendo was late to the North American 16-bit market and hasn't let up since.
Nintendo is still around making consoles after all this time. Maybe because they know how to make a profit without having to necessarily be the top-seller.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
There was video from last week's announcement of a guy demonstrating bowling in Wii Sports. He was making the point that it's so great because "hey look, I'm standing in front of the TV and actually making bowling movements to bowl, just like real bowling!" That certainly has a cool factor, but having to jump up from my seat and flail about to play a game is going to get old fast. It seemed to me that the demo/ad for Red Steel also had a guy jumping off his couch to play. I really hope I can sit in a chair and play games. If I can't make all the necessary controller movements sitting in a chair without bobbing and weaving side to side, I'll be more inclined to go with an XBOX 360 over the Wii.
If you let the fear of failure stop you from making the purchase, you're contributing to the potential failure.
If you want something to succeed, you need to be a part of it. It's a little bit of the chicken-and-the-egg, but if you really think about it, 3rd party support isn't going to happen unless there's a market. The market will come if people believe in this console, and believe me, I haven't been so excited about a gaming system since I got my TurboGrafx 16... I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Step out in faith that good things will come, and they will. Many developers have already confirmed things that we had thought, cheap development, great controls, etc. Everything points to success. I think Nintendo is doing everything right, despite the things that might make some people complain. Really, the only thing I can do is buy the Wii and hope that everyone else does too. If we all do, then it will be a success. But if nobody buys it because they're afraid they'll drop off the map, then it's our own undoing.
I just can't see it failing, and if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But I have faith in it.
You can't guarantee that any new product will succeed. It's a risk that you as a consumer have to take.
I think there is some confusion as to what a success would entail for Nintindo. People cry that the the Gamecube and N64 were not the most popular console, and thus a failure. What their missing is that success in the game business is not a popularity contest, it's a question of profitability and games.
Both consoles made loads of money and sported top of the line games. The only way Nintindo has failed is with their relitivly smaller library of games , due to the lack of third-party devs. But even this is being rectified, what with the two largest publishers (EA and Ubi) heavily on-board the Wii.
I predict success.
The Gamecube had a 485Mhz PowerPC processor and the Wii will supposedly have one about 800Mhz or less. How is that tripling the power?
So the 1.5 GHz Pentium 4 MP that was (said to be) about as powerful as the Pentum 4 3GHz was only 1.5 times as powerful as my Pentium 3 1GHz? What about the Pentium 4 Duo, since it runs at the same speeds that Pentium 4s ran at in 2002 it is no more powerful than that?
The fact is that modern CPU cores are getting 4 or 5 times the performance per cycle that they got on older cores; the 2.5 GHz G3 cores (the same core that was in the Gamecube) that are in the XBox 360 and PS3 are probably not as powerful as a PowerPC 970MP running at 2.5GHz.
Also, do you have a source of that less than 800MHz remark (one that goes to either a developer with a Wii dev kit or to Nintendo themselves)? No, all you have is a rumor that was posted on IGN by an editor who openly says he "Hates Nintendo" and has spent the past 5 years bitching about how he wants to be the editor for the XBox channel; a nice "unbiased" source.
It's funny that Nintendo has declared a monopoly on innovation. Why? Cause you can download games and play online? Cause they have a controller that responds to motion? These things have been done before and they aren't going to change things. It will be fun for a game for most and won't have longevity. It's a gimmick.
Do you know what the #1 selling videogame systems were in holiday season 2004 and 2005 were? If you said PS2, PSP or Nintendo DS you'd be very wrong. The best selling game systems were the atari-classic 25 in one game systems that were sold at toy stores. Do you know why they sold so well? Because gamers who grew up with the Atari and NES are having children and wish to share these games with their children, and at the same time children under the age of 12 can not play modern games very well. The virtual console will be huge to tons of people simply because they know the games and want to play them again.
The Wiimote may be similar to motion controllers, light guns and other input devices that have been tried in the past; but none of these previous attempts had been made by one of the largest game publishers in the world, who is currently riding the success of another platform that was dismissed as a gimick, who has billions of dollars to ensure that it won't flop.
The mhz myth is really pervasive isn't it.
Everything I say is a lie. Except that... and that... and that, and that, and that, and that... and that.
Nintendo's profit levels are higher than the games divisions of both Sony and MS combined. Nintendo claims it has never sold a console at a loss (though I dont see how the DSLite can be cheap enough to manufacture to do that). There are already several time more 3rd party companies for the Wii than it did for the Gamecube, the unique controller also assures that many of the 3rd party titles will be exclusives or at least have exclusive features. Nintendo is not at threat, but nice job on the fud. Even if the console flopped completely (which I dont see concidering that I see more posts about people buying it than any other console) their handheld division still generates enough to warrant another go at the console market.
Will be be able to use the controller on any USB ready device..like, say, my PC?
...is give Wii a chance...
The original Sega Genesis controller had the same number of buttons as the NES controller, where C, B, A, Start on the Genesis corresponded roughly to A, B, Select, Start on the NES. It was Nintendo who brought the +Control Pad, comfortable shoulder buttons, and analog thumb sticks to video game consoles.
What is interesting is the lateral thinking that Nintendo is doing on all levels. It's not just the fun factor and the targeting of women, older gamers and families. It's the recognition that Moore's Law doesn't dictate that more power is the only option. Nintendo is focusing on making smaller cheaper consoles to exploit advances in technology, just as they have with the DS Lite. The DS is compact, elegant, and innovative. Sony on the other hand is focusing on more power at the cost of everything else, resulting in big shiny behemoths like the PSP and the PS3, brutally powerful but musclebound.
IMHO, one of Nintendo's biggest pressures (and arguably their largest problem too), will be the hype generated by all the Nintendo fanbois. They are hyping the Wii as if it's the biggest thing EVER for gaming. All you need to do is read the buzz being generated here and on all sorts of gaming forums. There's a lot of "Nintendo can do no wrong" sentiment, which is very, very dangerous.
I want the Wii to succeed, but I don't like to be told by fanbois that it will (or "wii-ll") succeed, without them or myself even having tried out the console ourselves. I still have a lot of doubts, such as how sensitive the control will be, whether or not I'll get tired after a period of time, how long it takes me to adjust to, and more importantly, just how much "more fun" Wii games are, versus titles on other platforms.
I think it's healthy to be skeptical, but it seems like everyone brings up these valid points, a Nintendo fanboi shoots them down, saying that it's not going to be a problem, bashing all the other consoles, and claiming that Nintendo games have a monopoly on fun games. Puh-lease! This is starting a very dangerous precedent.
Don't get me wrong, I like what Nintendo is doing with the Wii, and I will get one this year. But you Nintendo fanbois need to back down a bit and let people have their doubts. Like or not, we're all going to get the real story once the dang thing ships.
-- jchenx
I am pretty sure that Nintendo has made more money off the GC than Microsoft has off the XBox. I have a GC and a PS2. Over all I enjoy the GC games more than the PS2 games. I am going to get a Wii but have no real interest in the PS3 or the 360. Maybe when they come down to $199 I will pick one up.
I thought that making money was how you win? In that case Nintendo has a winner with the GC.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
They include gimicky sports games which nobody would ever want to play except to try out the new controller, but only include one controller so you can't even do that decently. For $250, you get a bill for $60, which you can either use to buy a decent single-player game (meaning the bundled game was an interesting waste of plastic), or buy a second controller.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
**TODO** Steal someone elses sig.
$100 - Gamecube
$35 - Wavebird (Even though it is lacking many of the Wiimote's features, a closer comparison would be $50 for the 360 wireless controller since it is both wireless and has rumble)
$35 - Broadband Adapter (Wii has free Wifi built in)
$35 - 1024 Memory card (Don't need to buy it as a Wii has 512 megs of internal flash RAM, which is = to a 8192 block memory card).
$50 - Game
Already there is your value for the $250. Now start adding the Value added with the extra Hardware, the Channels, the Free online play, Backwords compatibility, the Virtual Console, and the usefullness/ uniqueness of the controller...
...or some BS like that.
Whether or not the Wii succeeds is not the point in the long run; the Wii is going to have a massive impact on Gen 8 and beyond, regardless.
Because of this new interface and these "gimmicky" controls, people are going to realize that we've been using basically the same pad we have been since the NES, only with more buttons and joysticks. The Wiimote is an almost radical redesign of what gaming input is, and it's going to create one hell of a wave. We can already see the tide rising as Sony hauled ass to offer some sort of tilt technology within its "DualShake" mere months, if not weeks, before E3.
Because of the Wii, as well as the DS, consumers will be less and less content with your basic "sit on a couch and press buttons" formula. Even if the motion technology isn't used in the future, something else will replace it- a built in camera, a light sensor, a frikken' laser beam, or something else.
The Wii, as with the DS, is also going to extend gaming into the homes of non-gamers. As the DS got female gamers and parents interested with games like Nintendogs and Brain Age, the Wii will become inticing as an "alternative" workout, with games like Wii Sports. (We will see some sort of work-out "game" before the end of 2007, mark my words.) At the very least, it will chip away at the gamer stereotype as lazy blobs that sit on the couch while playing.
So, even if the Wii fails, its footprint will stay for a long time.
Let me begin by saying I used to be a Sony playtester and a reviewer, I also was running a Revolution/Wii website until a week ago. I went from excitement and enthusiasm in the Wii, not fanatical fanboi stuff - just happy that at least one company "got it," to pretty much not caring at all. A normally priced console that offered a fun experience accessible to everyone and doesn't engulf my entertainment system with its presence. Or so I thought.
As more and more details appeared, my excitement level dropped rapidly. I'm a jaded reviewer so my excitement level generally peaks at a 3 or 4, and the Wii had me at a 5 or a 6 which is pretty rare. Then to find the console will be $249 (and Nintendo then has the nerve to hype the fact that they are making profit on each Wii) and come with just one controller. Wi + $60 = Wii. Bringing the total to $310. Then for families and those who bought into the four player experience hype, we have $430.
The launch lineup isn't spectacular, and the control of Zelda and Red Steel have both been constant issues and received multiple redesigns *after* the games were well on their way to completion... not a good thing, especially when a 1st-party title can't get it right. In addition the sensor bar is small but still a drag.
Nintendo is resting way too much on the success of the DS and I think they may be in for a surprise. There haven't been any great DS releases in some time, with many of the top rated games being launch titles or pretty close to it. I think the Wii will sell out of its stock for Christmas and the next couple shipments but I think it will then taper off. Mario Galaxy doesn't do it for me personally and while it will help pick up sales down the road there isn't a whole lot on the radar still.
I still hope it does well because I think Sony and MS need to learn a bit of a lesson and bring gaming back around from a pure money-making venture into a *fun* and diverse money-making venture, instead of the next gangsta-simulator, racing, FPS now with 20% more polygons!!!!
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
So why don't you snake back? Otherwise, you're a scrub. If you're worried about disconnecting losers, snake only during one lap so that the race appears close.
I don't see what was so dissapointing about N64 and Gamecube. they wer teh awsome.
Yeah, I thought exactly the same thing when I was reading the guide. I paused, used sample sentences (as you did) and concluded that the style guide would be universally ignored (as they did).
here. Nintendo's tech is new and patented. You won't see third party controllers, or if you do they'll be priced the same as the offical Nintendo one (or more). So yeah, Sony and Microsoft gamepads aren't cheap, but if you just need a cheap pad for a few hours of Multiplayer, you can get one (eventually).
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
If all you do is sit around and play Nada 3 on the Nintendo all day, then you have a boring life... But there's hope! Instead of playing Nintendo this winter, have an adventure in Israel, free. Taglit-birthright israel with Sachlav Educational Experience. Registration is right NOW, and will close in less than a week. If you're eligible (click the link to find out), you can have an amazing and uplifting experience in Israel this winter, instead of playing Super Mario Brothers or Nada 3 or whatever the newest Nintendo game is. Hey, this post ain't offtopic: I used the words "Nintendo" and discussed the finer points of Super Mario Brothers, and that's definitely on topic. Astute readers will notice my reference to "Nada 3", an allusion to a television commercial. Do you know which commercial it was? Heh heh heh...
Interesting game, professor. The only way to win is not to play.
Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
SD cards for extra memory is also a big deal. For the $40 dollars I could go out and buy a 64MB memory card for my 360, I can get a 2GB SD card from Newegg for my Wii. I like to see that as a very nice trade-off. I may pay a little more for controllers for a Wii, but I'll pay a heck of a lot less for memory cards.
The Wii, as with the DS, is also going to extend gaming into the homes of non-gamers.
Will it? How do you know?
As the DS got female gamers and parents interested with games like Nintendogs and Brain Age, the Wii will become inticing as an "alternative" workout, with games like Wii Sports. (We will see some sort of work-out "game" before the end of 2007, mark my words.) At the very least, it will chip away at the gamer stereotype as lazy blobs that sit on the couch while playing.
And what about the Dance Dance Revolution pads that are available for current gen consoles? Or the workout program-on-DVD for Xbox? (Yourself Fitness.) Did those chip away at anything?
Lot of speculation going on in this post.
Comment of the year
i bought a copy once, game informer is one of the shittiest gaming rags i have ever read. so take anything they publish with a grain of salt
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
Look at it this way, Finacially it can't be a failure, it makes money out of the box on day 1. Critically it's already a success in most ways. The only thing that might happen is less third party support but it already looks to have strong third party support.
The Nintendo won't fail, and if they can make money on day 1 then this is the best for them because they can continue working on the system rather worrying about how to make money off of the consumers. Retro gamers are returning to the table for the system, old school gamers are hyped about even newer nintendo innovation like in the old days, and the new school gamers are suprised and wondering how it will work.
It's a win win win situation for Nintendo. Even more interesting is Sony's response (the "motion sensative ps3 controller") shows that even if the system fails a lot of the best ideas will live on. Wavebird led the way to this generations "all wireless". N64 helped create the 3d that we take for granted today. The DS will probably make the PSP2 have touch screen. They might not be number 1 but their innovations remain. Even look back to the Death of Atari, no one thought console games even had a life, it was all arcade still and now we have almost no arcades left. Nintendo doesn't do everything in the industry but they are a standard and everything they do will waterfall down to all consoles at some point.
and that'll be my first home console since the days of the NES that I'll buy.
Now I've had my share of handhelds (Sega Gamegear, GBA, and now the DS (phat)), but I've never had a home console since the NES. And I will be buying myself a Wii.
80 CC D8 AF AE D3 AB 54 B7 2E CE 67 C7
IBM. IBM won this generation hands down. They managed to convince not one, but three major companies to bankroll their R&D for brand new top of the line chipsets. So, here is the story as I've managed to put together so far:
IBM: Alright, we seem to be falling a little behind on our high end chipsets, and we need to develop something new and spazzy. Hm... phone rings
Sony: Hey IBM! Were starting to develop a new console and were interested in developing a new chipset for it.
IBM: I know JUST what you need. You want the biggest baddest most powerful chip ever created. You want more power, speed, and flexibility than anything seen before. I'm telling you, 8 cores! Eight!
Sony: Power hm.... I don't..
IBM: cutting in This will be the fastest chip in the world! Your box will be more powerful than a supercomputer! How can you say no to that!
Sony: Hm... Ok were sold. We'll send our guys over to work out the details hangs up
IBM: Alright! That problem solved (idiots). Hm... Maybe Microsoft will be interested in something similar. Calls MicrosoftYo Bill!
Microsoft: Hey wazzup!
IBM: Well... I'm not supposed to tell you this but... let me let you in on a little secret about what Sony is up to...
A minute later
Microsoft: Hm... it sounds a little expensive, but we've gotta match them in power. Hm... maybe if we got our system out waay ahead of them.... How about we help develop an earlier version of your super processor, and we'll say that you really don't need a supercomputer to run games. That works. Alright deal.
IBM: Alright! I'll talk to ya later! Hangs up
IBM: I wonder what my pool would look like full of Benjamins. Man I can't believe those dupes agreed to bankroll our superchip. Now... it seems like our high end embedded processor could use a boost. Now what idiot will pay for the fastest and most energy efficient chip ever created.... Well now those guys at Nintendo might actually do it. Yea... They'll jump right on it, just as soon as they see the cost estimate for Sony and Microsoft... hehe.
IBM dials the phone
IBM: Yo Shiggy! Have I got a deal for you! I'm not really supposed to tell you this but... Sony and Microsoft are in the works to develop the most powerful chip ever created. Why don't you take a look at the materials here... emails Nintendo a set of documents. The cost estimates is very prominantly displayed throughout the documents
Nintendo: Hm... That's pretty impressive. But I don't think we can do that. It is awefully expensive....
IBM: That's no problem! In fact, I had something else in mind for you! Here let me send it over. This set of emails contains documentation on a chipset based on previous technology, but still very advanced. The word 'savings' can be seen repeatedly throughout the documentation
Nintendo: Wow! This is just what we wanted! Its perfect! Those fools at Sony will never know what hit them (hehe what a waste of money). Hangs up
IBM: Hehe... heh... dials on the phone Hey Bob and Sons construction? Yea hey! Yea the pool is awesome. In fact, that's why I called... No no, nothing's wrong with it, in fact... I want to expand it. Yea... Olimpic sized doable? Great.
Most likely he was reading this article in Wikipedia at the time.
----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
I think I will get one to put in my RV and let my son play his Gamecube games and a few Wii games on the road with us. I'm not as thrilled about it as I once was. Hype is starting to wear off I guess. That and thinking a Wii with a second controller and a decent game will be around $360 it's not that great of a deal financially. I bought a 50" HDTV a month ago and decided to pick up a 360 to take advantage of it. Now after playing a ton of Test Drive Unlimited with it's smooth Live integration, great graphics, etc. and Live Arcade games like Geometry Wars and Marble Blast I'm pretty much satisified with my gaming system now.
Where has this guy been? Nintendo isn't in any serious financial crisis. If any game company is in serious trouble its Sony. The Gamecube wasn't a failure nor was it a money looser for Nintendo. They had their niche market and it made them money, and the DS is outselling the PSP by the truckloads. Also, the Wii was cheaper to manufacture than both the XBox 360 and PS3.
No, Nintendo is nowhere near being in dire straits. What planet are you from!?
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
thezorch@gmail.com
http://thezorch.googlepages.com/home
"And what about the Dance Dance Revolution pads that are available for current gen consoles? Or the workout program-on-DVD for Xbox? (Yourself Fitness.) Did those chip away at anything?"
No, because those were optional controllers; people have been historically reluctant to buy optional add-ons for their game systems, and developers have been reluctant to create games that use those add-ons as a result.
The wiimote and the Nintendo DS touchscreen are standard. That removes the biggest obstacle for owners and developers to try the new schemes, which increases their impact.
--R.J.
Electric-Escape.net
I didn't read the first article. Not interesting. I love to complain, though, so I read the second one, and found out that it was pure bullshit.
From the article, and the summary: "But for now, the future is made up of many of the same promises and hopes I had when the N64 and GameCube were announced. I just hope I don't end up being disappointed once again." Well, let's talk about what disappointed him.
He complains first about the high cost of games for the N64. Then he complains about the fact that the 64DD never made it out. Then, he complains about the gamecube:
That's interesting. The only one of those things that didn't come true was the SD card support. Sure, the online and GBA link functionality weren't widely used, but you can't blame Nintendo for the lack of enthusiasm on the part of third-party publishers. The GBA hadn't proven itself to the same degree it has today, and you're going to see a lot more handheld-console linking with the DS-Wii.
Here's the real kicker, though:
Failure? A FAILURE? The only console in years to be sold at a profit from day one. The console that spawned some of the best-loved games of all time. A failure?
Now he pisses and moans about, of all things, system specifications. "The system is under powered in comparison to both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Technically it's a beefed up GameCube." Who gives a shit? This guy's sole gaming console at one time was the N64; if he bought that, obviously he wasn't concerned about having a system that could do everything. Who cares if the Wii is the fastest thing around? When I had my Amiga 500, back when they were still on the market, I could do things with my little 7.whatever MHz processor that people with 33MHz 486DX systems could only dream of. It's not about the power, it's how you handle it. I'd rather drive a 200HP Lotus than a 500HP american muscle car, thanks. It's got a better power to weight ratio. (Actually, I wouldn't FIT in one, but the point stands.)
Anyway, Billy Berghammer is a raving moron, or he's being paid to talk shit about the Wii. There is no third way. Well, I guess there is "C: All of the above".
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
... to fill the creativity gap if the Wii tanks.
Oh wait...
You're right. This all or nothing idea is stupid. The Japanese market for the next gen consoles is practically handed to Nintendo, the only concern for them is how they do in the states. As I've said before, Nintendo is still making money off their console no matter how they do; whether they dominate the entire market isn't an issue.
Nintendo is shooting for a market beyond what Sony and MS are shooting for. A market of causual game players not interested in spending alot of money for the latest and greatest in technology. Hardcore gamers will probably buy one or two consoles anyway. Most likely one of them will be a Wii, even if it is for novelty, as it will be some thing different.
-Shawn "If the Name Don't Rhyme It Ain't Mine" Conn
People are clamoring all over this already. We're all talking about it, aren't we?
The SD card support was true also: there is the Gekko SD adapter.
Hey there. It's me, the guy that fixes stuff at your local technology store here, to talk to you about why you shouldn't buy a Sony anything any time soon.
From the designs of their products, you can see that Sony has no interest whatsoever in making products that last beyond the warranty period. Their laptops have no latch securing the screen to the lapboard of the computer. When you put a Vaio in its sales floor box, with the hinge down, it literally falls open and cannot be closed. (I've even seen the new Blu-Ray equipped Vaios do this.) All the holding power that's supposed to keep the screen and the computer together when closed is in the hinge. Bad design.
Even better, Vaio laptops have the thinnest screen enclosures on the market. The enclosure has no ridge on the outer edge (like the ones you see on most other laptops, Apples and HPs to start) that redirects pressure to the outside of the enclosure and protects the screen. Instead, all the pressure goes directly on the screen. Maybe this is why all Vaios come back from repair with a note saying, "Your Vaio is designed for maximum durability. However, please refrain from putting pressure on the screen enclosure."
Sony cameras are probably worse. From their Handycams, that look and operate like relics from the late 90s but retail at futuristic prices, to their CyberShot cameras with touch screens on the back. One model has nothing but a power button and shutter on top and a touch screen covering the entire back of the camera, which controls everything else. It makes me wonder if Sony has an entire department dedicated to Putting Large LCDS on Things That Go In Pockets. Oh yes, and the batteries are proprietary, too.
Sony isn't doing too badly in audio equipment--their stuff seems to be on par with everyone elses. And their optical drives are decent but you wont see one in any non-Sony OEM machines. Not to mention their drives are more expensive.
For almost every technology thing you can name, Sony makes a souped-up, talked-up, marked-up version of their own. 99% of the time, it's just not worth the extra money.
Yep, I specifically bought Soul Calibur 2 on the Game Cube because I wanted Link. I was disappointed that I had to buy SC 3 for the PS2. While I do have the Game Cube (waited for the price to drop), PS2 (I actually bought it right when it came out) and the XBox (waited for the price to drop), I've yet to buy the XBox 360 because of a lack of interest in any of the games. I'm interested marginally in the PS3, but it is the Wii that I will be buying first. I've had the new Legend of Zelda game on Pre-Order at my local EB since June of 2005 (when it was supposed to be coming out that year but got post-poned), and that's the first game that caught my interest with the Wii. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption looks interesting, as well.
I'm just forced to call BS on this one. N64 had some great games on it. I still play Super Mario 64 on my DS, and would play it on the N64 if it weren't packed away somewhere. It was revolutionary, and it's still darn fun to play. Super Smash Bros may be the best game on the system. Playing it with 3 friends is some of the most fun I've ever had, and if there weren't a sequal on the GC, I'd still be playing it. You've obviously never played Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, or Paper Mario, and heck, even Yoshi's Story was fun.
The system had some pretty great games on it. Still does, and I think the only reason more people don't still play the thing is that most of all of them have been ported to the GC or other game systems.
No, Mr. Green. Communism is just a red herring.
Don't forget children. Nintendo's gotta be top among parents who pay attention to their kids. Sony and Microsoft have pretty much nothing kid oriented, except maybe sports. Nintendo is *the* company to look to for kids games. Toss in the nostalgia from older gamers who grew up on Mario and Link, and Nintendo could easily come in first this generation. A solid second console for people who get one of the others, and the most likely of the bunch to be an only console.
Again with the "Nintendo is family friendly" reputation. Which system has more family friendly games, PS2 or GC.....I'm waiting.........the PS2 does.
Overall the GC is more powerful than the PS2 but the PS2 does have the advantage in certain categories, particle effects for example. That's one thing the PS2 is VERY good at.
But why the PS2 "won"? Games, lots of games, lots of diverse games, lots of high quality games, games for final fantasy fans, games for RPG fans who don't like final fantasy, FPS, TPS, online games, MMORPGS, action RPG's, diablo clones up the wazoo, niche games, board games, games that you can make games with. more character based platformers than the GC by far., sports games, wrestling games, racing games, you name it the PS2 has it.
"This is a console with about the same horsepower as the original XBOX"
... with 20 years of technological advancements and plenty of people who have tried it and given it a thumbs up.
More like double.
"with a new age powerglove for a controller,"
"all selling at a premium price."
$250 (+ pack-in game) is a premium price? What do you call $599?
"This thing will be a museum piece long before it reaches the traditional console end-of-life cycle. It's just not worth it."
Enjoy playing your FPS and racing sequels with the 10 year old controller in High Definition.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
At first I was extremely excited at the Wii. Having played video games since the mid 80s, It was basically on the PC, occasional rented console or at a friends place. I never owned a console. This was going to be my first, but now I'm not so sure. I've noticed that prices seem to be on par with the xbox 360 on a per game basis, $60, that'll be $70-$75 CAD likely. Not to mention its being marketed and seen as this revolutionary, social gaming console thats really pushing the fun....
imagine all the fun you'll have with Wii sports with only one controller.
If you're going to market a console like that, you have to include 2 controllers..
backwards compatability, yay. Using old controllers..yay.
not including 2 of the new controllers. boo.
This is another potential advantage of the Wii. The ability to publish more games due to their lower development cost. The president of THQ stated that the average Wii game would cost anywhere from 25%-(on the high end) 50% the cost of a PS3 or 360 title. THAT is a big deal! Sony was wise to wrap up certain exclusives like Final Fantasy, and GTA at the time, and those games sell systems. However with the increasing cost of 'Next Gen' development there are already fewer 'true exclusives' (not timed exclusives) for any platform. Sony will always have God of War 3, just like Nintendo will have Zelda or Mario, but some of these big 3rd party games are going multiplatform. If they lose MGS4 of FFXIII as a true exclusive to the 360 or Wii (like they have with Assasin's Creed, among others) then they are dead in the water.
... and how was the N64 or GameCube a flop? They were great systems. They had great games.
The Wii has a lot of promise. I'm sure I won't be "disappointed once again", since I've never need disappointed with any Nintendo system.
But Nintendo, as stated, will make a profit on each unit
This is a misconception. Just because the console isn't sold at a loss doesn't mean that Nintendo will "make a profit" on each unit.
Sure, each unit sold makes a positive contribution to the financials of the Wii project, but in order to determine whether Nintendo makes a profit on the console, you must factor in R&D, marketing, and a number of other support expenses. The amount of money that Nintendo brings in on each console (and accessories and licenses, etc.) must offset a certain fixed cost of overhead in order for the operation to be profitable. You can calculate this as an additional cost added to each console that scales with the number of consoles sold.
Consider this situation: Nintendo sells a total of 10 Wiis. Assuming the unit costs $249 and the unit costs $189 to manufacture (I just made that number up), they bring in $60. $60 x 10 = $600. But R&D + other costs were somewhere in the millions. If R&D, etc. total $10 million (again, just making numbers up), and only 10 are sold, the true cost of each unit is $1,000,189. Nintendo would make profit on no consoles, even though they weren't selling them at a loss.
Of course, it's a lot easier to cover those initial expenses and start making a profit when you're actually bringing in money with each sale...
Granted, I had the same concerns about the last Nintendo home console. I also had the same concerns about the DS. I mean, come on, a touch screen? How can *that* be fun?
Well, it IS fun. It's also a smashing success. How do I explain the difference between DS and GameCube? Simple: Iwata Satoru. The man is exactly what the company needed. Under his influence, company is becoming technology- and developer-driven, and that makes for all kinds of innovation. He is understated and quiet, but seems to have his finger on the pulse of what gamers want... and (more importantly) what they never knew they wanted.
The pre-announcement hype affected nearly nobody who will ultimately own the Wii. It's a new ball game from here. It will all come down to Nintendo's PR campaign, which is something Iwata-san has expressed definite concern about. He acknowledges that it will be difficult to convey what the Wii offers to casual gamers and older adults. When a man like him is concerned about a problem, it will be overcome.
Bottom line: I have no reason not to trust Iwata-san, despite the untruths offered by other Nintendo representatives. He's the man in charge, and has proven to me that he knows how to use timing, talent, passion, and craftsmanship to deliver a superior experience. DS is amazing; I can't wait for Wii.
It's Ridge Racer!
Riiiiiiiiiiidge Racerrr!
Aren't Wii developer kits like $2000? Didn't Nintendo even give away many for free? They're encouraging developers to make sweet new independent games for the console, which ultimately makes or breaks the system.
Sure, it may sound odd to say "I love Wii"
Yeah, watersports never really caught on in America.
The really key thing for Nintendo is how they handle their third party publishers. Nintendo are the evilest of them all when it comes to the business side of things. They'll crunch everybody's margin (except their own) as hard as they can and play hard politics with release schedules, distribution deals and manufacturing lead times. In terms of support, they'll do the barest minimum - even if they're distributing your product. These are the main reasons why they lost a lot of key third party support on the N64 and GC. With Wii, Nintendo have already begun to project a strong, third-party-friendly image - much fuss has been made of Ubisoft's Red Steel, for example. However, the back-end stuff is *probably* as brutal for Wii as it was for the GC and N64. As an example, my client are producing a DS title that needs a bigger save chip than normal. This has pushed the production lead time from a fortnight to nine weeks, because the carts now have to be manufactured in Asia instead of Europe. This also adds additional shipping costs which, of course, my client pays for rather than Nintendo. These days, the GBA is even worth touching unless you can guarantee a top 10 place. The margins in place are so tight that it's really not worth the investment. Because of this, there's hundreds of great Japanese titles that'll never get localised for a larger, appreciative audience. It's a real crime against gaming - especially for a format that should be dirt cheap to publish on by now! Nintendo are so rich that they don't care who can or cannot afford their practices and demands and, more crucially, honestly believe that they don't need anyone who isn't prepared to play by their dictatorial rules. This might well be their undoing and the Wii will end up like the DS - home to a small collection of great first-party titles, but very few third party notables. Not to mention the RSI and injury claims, but that's another matter!
I've never bought a game console. For the first time I think I'm going to. I like the sound of this machine. I suspect there might be a few other out there like me.
I can't believe any sane person would still believe Sony's marketing crap. You obviously have either never played with a PS2 or never played with a Gamecube. Hence, you're not qualified to comment on the Cube's games.
Wanna know what's really unimpressive? Spending millions on developing the fastest gaming hardware, being a year late and still looking like shit compared to moderately recent PCs. Yeah, I'm talking about the PS3. Most unimpressive console release ever.
Wanna know what's not unimpressive? Creating a new, amazing controller that has never been done before and excites gamers all over the world.
Yeah, totally changing the main input interface for the first time in 20 years of console history is backwards, but selling the same basic console with better graphics is innovation. And war is peace.
Except that it costs half as much as a PS3.
Big boys, yeah, I can agree with that. The PS3 really is monstrous.