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The Wii - Is the Magic Gone?
Computer And Video Games asks the tough question: is the Wii's magic gone? After the flurry of excitement around the launch, lackluster ports and a persistent inability for Nintendo to keep units on the shelves has made it hard for gamers to sustain their enthusiasm for the system. It doesn't help that most of the good games slated for this year won't be out for months. In some cases, there's doubt they'll even make it out this year: Reggie Fils-Aime appears to be backpedaling on Metroid Prime 3 by Christmas, which would be a shame. GigaGamez has additional commentary. Are you still as excited about the Wii as you were when it launched?
What have you done with the real Zonk!!!!!!?
Seriously, even as I like the Wii, I can see some "cracks in the armor". It's missing out on a lot of potential. Here are some things it needs:
a) Real calibration. Actually be able to tell it where your screen boundaries are located so that where you're pointing is a lot closer to where the dot is, enabling shooters that don't show your crosshairs. Preferably in the OS.
b) The Wiisaber. That alone will double sales.
c) Games that involves holstering the wiimote to one or more limbs. E.g. a dancing game or a bounty hunter type game where you have to hit a button on your arm to launch a rope. (I know Konami has a DDR like the former coming up, but sooner would have been nice.)
d) Online play.
Also, Zelda should have required you to pull back to load an arrow, so it's more realistic.
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
I still can't get one :( I'm not paying more than retail for one, so once I can walk into Walmart and buy one, I won't be able to tell you how great it is or not. I currently have a 360 that still works... but who knows long that will last. Everybody else I know with a 360 has had it die and was either fortunate enough to still be under warranty, or just ended up getting screwed. I'm selling mine and going for a wii since the games are more kid friendly since I have 2 young boys. Also, I may end up getting another 360 or ps3 after the hardware has been through a revision or two since that should keep the 360 cooler and less prone to melting the solder right off the board or warping the board like it does now.
Hell no, I'm just patiently waiting to get my hands on one where it doesn't require me to sell my soul.
I want one as much as I always have, but there is no way in hell I'll get it through walmart.
So I wait.....
Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
I'm having fun playing games that I expected (Warioware, Excitetruck), and having fun playing games that I didn't expect to enjoy (Madden).
So for the last time, No: I'm not trading you for your PS3.
So the fact that they are selling so fast Nintendo can't keep them in stock is used as proof that excitement is diminishing for the Wii? This reminds me of the alleged Yogi Berra saying about a certain resturant - "It's so crowded nobody goes there any more."
--- There are two kinds of people, those who accept dogmas and know it, and those who accept dogmas and don't know it
I'd say the excitement is still there.
Ask again when you can walk into any Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc and find them sitting on the shelves at any given time.
Right now yes, it is. It's not so much in the so called "gimick", but just that it hasn't been utalized in a way that is deep. Many of the ways the wiimote is being used are cool on the surface, but lack any sort of real impact on the way we play the game. The wiimote did not add much to Zelda. Games like wiisports are fun initally, but they are so simple that you reach a level of mastery very easily. Even games like trauma center are the same way. It's cool at first, but once you get the hang of it there's nothing more to explore.
I was going to get a Wii but I keep reading on Slashdot that they aren't in stores so I haven't bothered. So you might say that Slashdot is responsible for the loss of interest in Wii.
Nintendo did an excellent job speeding out a few good, solid games when the Wii launched. IMO, these games weren't intended to have an incredible lifetime, indeed, they served their purpose; to create enough hype so that the Wii would still sell in the face of other systems during the holidays. Now, as with most of the other systems, we must wait for what I'm sure will be a solid game base to flourish.
You have to think about it - developers have just been exposed to a massively, paradigm-breaking gaming concept. Give them time. Just because the hype has settled down, doesn't mean the magic's gone.
Blerg.
But "... a persistent inability for Nintendo to keep units on the shelves has made it hard for gamers to sustain their enthusiasm for the system."
Sounds like they're buying them as fast as Nintendo makes them. And its lost the thrill?
I would take "a persistent inability for Nintendo to keep units on the shelves" as a sign of continued interest.
Also, some anecdotal evidence. Yesterday when I was looking through the Best Buy ad I noticed that Wii Play had been released. I called three local Best Buys and all of them had sold out of Wii Play.
I think the steady stream of classic games like Mario Kart, and Super Mario World are helping out too.
Maybe you should educate the morons of tomorrow so they'll stop believing the leaders of tomorrow. - Dogbert
Consoles probably obey different rules than handhelds. I think that a year of downtime could be fatal for a console (sega anyone?). I also think that the most important rule is that in handhelds, nintendo rules (this has been nearly the unquestioned rule since tetris shipped with the gameboy). However, in consoles, the one that gets the most games wins. Its a self feeding cycle, the console that gets the most games, gets the most devs, who then make more games. With handhelds, while people were waiting for the ds to find it stride, they were fiddling with ipods and playing a nibbles clone on their cell phones.
Instead of buying a wii, I'm going to probably take the popular route of buying the xbox360 (not a fanboy of any system, really!), because of 3 reasons. Its affordable (bye sony), it's got the library i want, and its on the shelves (bye nintendo). Keep in mind, the last system i bought besides a ds lite was a sega dreamcast in 01 because it was 50 bucks and emulators were coming out so i could retire the nes without retiring its library.
Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
FTA: The LAST thing Wii needs is lazy ports of existing games, particularly games that have been out for A YEAR or thereabouts on other consoles (Prince of Persia, Blazing Angels). They could do more harm than good.
Funny, isn't this exactly what Sony is doing with the Blu-Ray format, releasing dozens of older movies to flood the market and claim that they are releasing more titles than their competition?
In both cases, having older games/movies available is just fine if enough customers haven't played/seen the original. In both cases, the ports are probably shoddy, and it would be cheaper to play the original from its native disk.
It doesn't hurt to be nice.
I'll be waiting for the first batch with defects to go through. And I'll also wait until enough interesting games come out. And finally, I'll wait until they package a game with it (I bought the GC with the 4 Zelda games special disc).
Until then, please continue to fight for them =]
I'm seeing lots of parents thinking to themselves... "my kid watches tons of TV as it is... this way they can get exercise..." Mind you, they live in suburbia, but the thought of their kids getting any exercise using technology instead of *gasp* a basketball, frisbee, soccer ball....
My response... Send your kids outside, don't make them dependent on the TV.. even if you're claiming "waving around a game controller" is a valid substitute for running around outside.
I guess what CAVG mean by the "magic being gone" is no one has shot anyone recently over a Wii.
The Wii could quite possibly end up being the best local-multiplayer console of all time. TONS of fun has been had at my place playing Wii Sports, Rayman, and Warioware. At the same time, though, I've found single-player to be somewhat lacking, partially because when I'm playing games alone I just want to sit down and relax, not be flailing around. It's going to be hard to find Wii games that don't force you to use the motion-sensing, though, since that's the only "special" thing about the console.
That pretty much relegates the Wii to party-console for me. Not that I have a problem with that, I suppose. The PS3 looks like it will be (and has been) able to handle my single-player needs fine. Each console has its place.
The DS took a while before it showed its full potential. The PSP took the initial lead, but the DS has pulled far ahead now. IMHO, the breakthrough game was "Kirby: Canvas Curse", which showed off the real potential for the touchscreen, followed by Nintendogs.
I suspect the Wii will go the same way. It already has quite a few games that show its potential. There are also a fair number of games that were hyped, but were rushed out the door to meet a Christmas release and had a poor control scheme (like Red Steel). As more games start piling up, the Wii should get a solid position in this round of console wars.
Not a typewriter
I've said it from the beginning... nobody is going to want to spend years waving around a semi-accurate remote to play games that look like they were written 5 years ago. It just ain't gonna happen. This is the kind of thing that starts collecting dust a few weeks after Christmas. I keep playing my PS2 because it's a good platform, there are good games, and it looks and sounds better with each new game. When I sit down to play, I sometimes play for 4 hours a a time, every day, for weeks at a time (until I'm done with whatever it is I'm playing). I can't imagine doing that with the gimmick-y Wii. It just doesn't have the staying power of a more traditional gameing platform (like the PS2). Wii did real well out of the gates, but it's going to lose most of its steam before the games even begin to hit the PS3 platform.
I don't respond to AC's.
A typical put-down article. Maybe the author couldn't get his own Wii and is angry, or he's being paid by MS and/or Sony. Or maybe he's just really a bit slow.
Nintendo's "inability to keep units on the shelves" is a good one. They're sold-out is what it really means. And not thanks to artificial shortage, Nintendo has shipped a lot of these machines.
Is the excitement still there? Not as in the first few days, which is natural. But I'm still enjoying it a lot, and so does everyone I've had over to play a game or three. It isn't the cure to cancer, but it's a great living-room gaming system, and I'm still proud of owning one.
Now, someone please send the poor author of TFA one so he can stop being all stuffed up.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
I just spent my second weekend playing with friends I introduced to the Wii during New Years. None of them are "gamers" as we think of them. They play poker and that's about as close as it gets.
One actually went out and got a Wii and is very happy with the graphics. Non-gamers may see it as "good enough." You and I of course know that the other systems are far more powerful graphicly, but my friend wasn't about to go out and spend $700 to get a PS3 as his first game system. We had a new friend over as well. Another non-gamer. Even after I had gone to bed, they were up to 3am, playing Wii Sports Golf.
Nintendo has hit the nail on the head I think. We might see the hype die off, but the hype that goes on is word of mouth. You know, plain old conversation in real life. Not everyone's primary mode of contact is email or web bulletin boards. I think this kind of "hype" goes far further in expanding the video gaming population than any ad campaign could.
"Wii is trying to be the iPod of consoles but how can you really when the market when your competitors iPods are just/if not more capable and the only difference is the peripherals?"
Have you actually looked at the iPod competitors? Almost all of them pack in more features at a lower cost. I'm not saying Wii will become the iPod of the console world, but most powerful hardware is hardly a prerequisite.
I can't even buy one! they're sold out everywhere! the magic is far from gone! Away with this FUD!
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson
At the moment, though, I don't know if the supply problem is caused by demand vastly outstripping supply, or if they've just run into that much difficulty keeping supply up. (I wasn't planning to purchase one for another couple of months, though.)
Canthros
I have a Wii, and enjoy it (though I'd enjoy it more if fucking TRU would ship my Wii Play preorder already), but I am definitely feeling that slight sting associated with early adoption, but it's nowhere near full buyers remorse. The scarcity was probably part of the reason I bought one when I had the chance, had sales slowed down to the point where you could simply walk into a store and buy one without any planning, I may have held off. I'm sure this will subside however, when the game releases hit their stride, and especially when Mario Galaxies, and Smash Bros. Brawl are finally released.
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction." - Blaise Pascal
The dearth of upcoming Wii games is nothing more than symptomatic of its recent launch. Developers are still learning what to do with it. This isn't a phenomenon unique to the system - it happens to every platform for about a year after its release (recall the DS drought, or the lack of Xbox 360 development through all of last year, or that the PS3 is in the same boat right now). Not that that makes the situation any better in terms of enjoying the system, but it's far from a death knell at any rate.
Glog!
(Note: I really hate capital letters at every word)
My boss has actually offered me a bribe to not buy the Wii. Serious bribe. Like in, a carte blanche to upgrade my computer instead of buying medical-grade heroine with motion sensing.
I of course declined. Wii > new hard drives...
Although they are still selling, Wiis are everywhere now when I go to this month. The utter joke of a release schedule has to be playing a big part in why sales are slowing down so much. There really is no reason to buy a Wii until late 2007 at the earliest. Anyone who wants to get some Wii action can just stop by a friends house and play some Wii Sports and be done with it. No reason to waste 250 dollars for something where the novelty wears off very fast.
Just like Xbox 360 fanboys tried to do last year, Nintendo fanboys seem to think if they keep making up stories about desperate searches for their console that it will somehow help the console's sales.
Sorry guys, it doesn't work that way. One just look at the 360 selling worse than the first Xbox if you have any doubt.
Nintendo is targeting a more "causual" crowd with the Wii, and based on news reports and the folks I know who own one, they are succeeding.
My family and friends are still having fun playing Wii Sports, Rayman, and other games we purchased MAYBE 45 DAYS AGO at most!!!! I would worry more if I paid $50 for a game that only lasted me a week (or less).
Not everyone is a hardcore gamer who needs GameFly to feed their rabid consumption. The Wii seems to fail mostly in the eyes of that particular crowd.
Am I looking forward to Mario Party 8, Mario Galaxy, Metroid? Sure. Am I lamenting my Wii because those games are not available today? Not at all.
We're too busy enjoying/playing our Wii to lament what we don't have.
This sig was generated randomly by one million monkeys with Speak 'n Spells. . .
I ended up getting a PS3, and I also ended up with a lot of best buy gift certificates from relatives. I really wanted a Wii, and didn't buy a single PS3 game, just the free demos and rented blu-ray discs. I still want a Wii, but if I can't find it at Best Buy I'm not going to get it, and if some good PS3 games start coming out before the Wii is available, then my gift certificates will get used up (Motorstorm!) So yes, unable to buy a Wii 3 months after launch, the "magic" is dying. As long as Nintendo is selling every unit they produce, do they really care?
Then I will be able to buy one without $300 in extra "holiday bundle" crap.
sulli
RTFJ.
The magic is there, the mass media (NOT video game specific media) simply set their expectations HIGHER than hardcore gamers. The Wii had by far one of the best video game launches in history, thats a fact. Video game consoles suffer from a "drought" of games between 3~12 months (depending on who you ask) after its initial release, thats a fact. The Wii is just over 3 months old, thats a fact. When you compare the outstanding launch (Zelda + Wii Sports pack-in = Profit!) to the current lack of games (Warioware and Elebits are fun but they aren't Metroid or Super Smash Bros), of course you'll be extremely disappointed.
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It feels like the ds all over again. Decent launch, but the wait for the AAA games is killing me. Hopefully the Sonic game is good and able to tide me over.
Denial is comforting, isn't it? While I don't doubt your area may have an abundance of Wiis, your area != everywhere. Around here (Tampa Bay area) you cannot simply drive to the store any buy one yet, period, and I'm quite sure we aren't the only one.
The Sony fanboys will keep making up stories about the Nintendo fanboys making up stories, which BTW, shouldn't you be playing PS3, after all, those you can simply drive to a store and buy.
A lot of this commentary is still focused on Nintendo's old core "hardcore" fanbase. Metroid Prime? Super Smash Bros? Even Super Mario Galaxy ... these are not games that are going to be consumed by the new casual owners of the Wii (folks like your parents and even grandparents). So what if the only game your parents play is Wii Sports, and they only turn it on to entertain their friends/family/guests? Your father is not suddenly going to be a hardcore player of Zelda, nor should that expectation be there. The next title they will pick up might be Wii Play. Critics will complain, "Wii Play is just more of the same Wii Sports type of action", and they'll be right. So yeah, it's not that great for typical hardcore gamers that want 10+ hours of content in their games ... but it's perfect for mom and pop which still consume the Wii casually. And that's the point.
All you need to do is take a look at the DS to see where Nintendo is going with the Wii. You've got a ton of light, casual content, in the form of brain training, casual sims (Nintendogs) and light puzzlers. Plus in Japan, there are all sorts of "non-games" (cookbooks, dictionaries, etc.). In the meantime, because the userbase is there and so large, there's plenty of traditional "hardcore" content as well (Castlevania, RPGs, etc.) to keep the main fanbase pleased.
I think it's a bloody smart business model to adopt. However, it's going to take a while for it to take shape on the Wii, just like it took a year to develop for the DS. Just be patient, gamers. In the meantime, there are all sorts of other games to play on "those other consoles", if you prefer the traditional hardcore games.
-- jchenx
I think the real disappointment with the Wii comes immediately after someone gets pinned down and tries to come up with what all of these amazingly innovative games are supposed to be or come from. And the Wii fan starts to go uh...
Don't forget that there is also the typical launch problem that all game consoles have ...
... I suspect that Nintendo will have some amazing properties and many third party developers will be producing things we wouldn't have expected.
Most game consoles launch in Q3 or Q4 of a given year and end up with a decent supply of games (for being new systems) because there is value in being the only game of a certain type on a system; its a great opportunity to create a new franchise because far more people will pay attention to 'Red Steel' when it launches with the system as compared to it launching at some arbitrary later date.
Q1-Q2 of the following year launch systems have a great deal of difficulty getting a decent supply of games; it is the typical slow part of a year and there are too few systems released (being that it is a new system) for most developers to release a game.
I would (personally) wait until E3 before I determined whether the Wii was having any problems
But on the other hand, the fact that I can't get one means that I've essentially given up trying. I actually gave up early January and figured that I'd check again in February, but they still aren't available, so now I've basically completely given up until the summer at the earliest.
So not being able to meet demand might, ultimately, hurt them - I just don't care about the Wii anymore. I don't really want it anymore. I did at one point, but after being unable to get it, I've basically given up - I've stopped actively trying to get one, and am no longer looking.
If the hype dies between now and when they become accessible enough that I can actually find one, I might simply wind up not buying one.
Is the hype starting to diminish? I'd say "yes" - I'm not as interested in getting one as I once was. Part of it is definitely that I simply can't, because there are none around. But another part is that the hype is starting to wear off - the Wii isn't as exciting as it once was.
(That, and FFVI Advance was released, so the only console I currently have time for is my DS...)
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Yes, but I don't think its the console's fault, but the games that are being released for it. Looking through the recent issue of Game Informer, I managed to get excited about a ton of upcoming releases, but none of them were for the Wii, the only real Wii game featured was some cooking game. Quirky? I'm sure it will be, and quirky is good, but the Wii already has a glut of perky games, but none of the staples.
Perhaps when Fire Emblem, Metroid Prime 3, and Super Smash Bros. come out. It needs real games too, established genres. I do like looking like an idiot playing Wario Ware, but I'd also like some regular gaming action, I want a decent FPS, and some decent RPGs, and a good fighter. These are the first games I generally acquire for any console, and the games that keep me playing them. I still break out the "obsolete" consoles to play these types of games, the Wii is lacking them completely except for TP. Yes its a new console, and these will come, but this leads to another worry.
One thing I didn't here many people talking about is how the Wii lack of power will cause people to stop porting to it. Looking through that Game Informer you can see many multi-platformers coming out, but they're all PS3/360, with a conspicuous lack of Wii support. I'm going to have to buy a 360 to get my hot Conan action, and my steamy Star Wars force fix. Thinking about this, I guess the GC had the same problem, but it DID have the staple genres, even if light on the RPG front.
Anyone who goes through my post-history will notice that I was pimping the Wii pretty hard, but now I'm starting to worry.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
You hear that people? The magic is over! You can stop buying them up off the shelves so I could get one!
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
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I'm still excited about the potential of the Wii, but all three systems have lost their luster in my eyes. Nothing really exciting is coming out for any of them in the next six months, and pretty much all I play these days is my DS and the occasional Virtual Console game. Not that either is a bad thing! Where are the system sellers - for any system?
Me neither, I hit all sorts of store around the Tulsa area, usually picking up software or small bits of hardware, many a time a sale at a major retailer (Best Buy, Comp USA, Circuit City, etc...) and when I am there I stroll by the console gaming section.... plenty of Wii games, not a single console in sight. Neither at Wal-Mart... or at Target... or at the game stores....
I am in no hurry for a Wii though. I think it will be a lot more fun when a more variety of games are available, which I think is inevitable. When that happens, and I can actually find one in a store in a 100 miles radius (yeah the couple of times I was in Oklahoma City... yup, nothing) without waking at the crack of dawn to get the first of a new shipment, I'll pick one up.
I'd just be happy to get my hands on one. They are never available in the stores.
Jory
Welp I find it hard to believe that the magic gone. For most of us the magic isnt there because we can't find it in stores. I hear in March it will be easier to get one. I got oodles oof bestbuy gift cards (big mistake) ready to go get a wii. When I go to Japan in late march im willing to bet apples to oranges that I could get a wii out there. Lord Vader demands that this FUD faggotry end. The wii has outsold the PS3 for the moment in such a short time. Nintendo has been always been about catering to the people (ages 5-100) and they're doing a great job in that dept. (Brain Age anyone?). Like most of NIntendo's other products this is just another stepping stone to their own next gen (gba, gba-sp,gba-micro, fatty-NintendoDS, DSlite). Magic cant be gone if people continue to buy into it (LOL'ing at PS3)
There's no Freedom like UFP-dom
Any resolution-dependents or "I must play games 12 hours a day" nerds who brought a Wii and a Wii alone, should really just save Darwin the trouble and end things now.
"Excuse me while I go masturbate to my new 1080p set that I sold my old car for."
Your car had a resell value of 1500 dollars? Actually I believe 1080p sets are down in the 1200-1300 dollar range now. And will be under a grand by mid-2007.
Every single TV at the local Frys in the main display area has been a 1080p set for months.
Welcome to reality fanboy?!
Wii is trying to be the iPod of consoles but how can you really when the market when your competitors iPods are just/if not more capable and the only difference is the peripherals?
The Wiimote is not a peripheral. The "Wii remote" is the central part of the system. It's not an iPod vs. an iPod. It's an iPod vs. a CD-player.
(And, really, the iPod of iPods, namely the iPod, sells so well partially BECAUSE of all of its peripherals.)
...the control system. Based on the reviews I have read, when it's done right, it's wonderful, but if it's done not so right, the game can be nigh unplayable. There's also some emerging quips about the last gen graphics.
Is the magic gone? Probably, if you've played it non-stop since Christmas. Is it gone for the rest of us? Probably not. In a few years we'll buy a $50 Wii-emulator remote from somewhere, download a Wii emulator and a crap-load of free "ROMs" and we'll be happily entertained for a few hours. (Sorry, I'm almost 30...a little old for the console circuit.)
I'm 10 grand in debt trying to pay for Grad school. I'm not about to spend $1500 on a TV when I have a 4 year old computer that needs upgrading, and a many other necessities that come first. The resale value is down there. An old (95) Saturn with manual everything, no right mirror, and 130,000 miles... Probably couldn't get a decent HDTV for that, and I'd put transportation a bit higher than a few more pixels.
I know it can be hard to deal with the fact that Wii is owning the other consoles, but try to live with it without making yourself look like a complete ass.
Clever signature text goes here.
Seriously, if Nintendo went and added real arcade games to their virtual console section, it could boost sales from all those oldschool gamers.
R-Type on TurboGrafx-16 was probably the best arcade port of this game. However it's still not the real thing. And most arcade ports just plain suck, why play the SEGA Genesis version of Golden Axe or Altered Beast when the arcade version was much better.
There's also the fact that some games never had ports either, or on other older consoles. Such as Raiden Project on the Playstation. Or Slapfight/A.L.C.O.N. which was only released on C64 AFAIK.
And last, how about letting us play the virtual games on our Nintendo DS? They already have the emulator for the NES (I'm guessing, with all the GBA ports), we know that even the GBA is powerful enough (emulators exist), so why not let us play at least the NES virtual games on our DS? It can already download demos from stations in game stores, so we know it's possible.
Interesting, I wrote about the very same thing when I reviewed Wii Play, but I do see how that segment (hardcore gamer, tons of free time, commits to games, etc.) will have a tough time with the Wii during this 1st wave of games. Nintendo has built up a lot of possibilities though their demos (Wii Sports, Wii Play) - all they can probably do is wonder how a full-fledged game would be like. Personally, I think it's perfect; I've found myself not playing as much so I can "extend the experience" (like not beating Warioware or getting all the Medals in Wii play) - it's just perfect to waste 15 minutes after a long day at work.
I do spend a lot of time on finetunefinetune, playing Kid Icarus, etc.
The truth is, there will be dead air for a while, but that's what the VC is all about. When the second Wave comes, there MUST be full fledged games and online play, if not, Nintendo just would have blundered.
I'm not commenting on the statement above because it contradicts itself (no units == excitement still there). Why not ask... to what point this shortage of systems and accessories will HURT Nintendo? I can see people getting frustrated if they can't find what they're looking for, especially if you couple it with how pleasant the buying experience can be.
Like anything else buy a Wii if you believe it's good, don't buy one if you think it's bad, or wait and gather information if you're not sure. Where does hype come into play?
I do have to admit that some of the novelty has worn off. Much of the initial game lineup consisted of either simplistic mini games (WarioWare, Wii Sports, Rayman's Raving Rabbits), kids games based on movies (Cars, Happy Feet, Ice Age 2, etc.), or somewhat lame ports of existing shooters (Call of Duty, Far Cry). While WarioWare and Wii Sports have definitely been fun and a hit at parties, I'm left wanting a more in-depth experience.
The only game so far that's really had any lasting appeal for me has been Zelda. Ironically, Mario Cart Double Dash for the Gamecube has probably seen more game time on my Wii than any other.
I'm sure once games like Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 come out, my interest in the Wii will pick up again. Unfortunately, that seems like it may be a ways off...
It needs a good port of Rocket Jockey.
This sort of happened to me with the Game Boy Advance. I was going on a trip a few days after it came out and thought it would be a fun way to kill time on a plane. In that case, supply was plentiful, but the stores that carried stock wouldn't sell them unless you bought their package deal with some accessories and a handful of games. That pissed me off, so I refused to buy it.
Then, a few weeks later when the newness had worn off, I realized I really had no interest in the thing and I never got one. Don't regret it, either.
Moms listen to Dr. Phil, and spend their money accordingly.
Off-topic, but I certainly hope this isn't true.
If you're using the Discussion2 beta to view comments, the top-level reply button is at the bottom of the slider box.
Your brain is not a computer.
Well, maybe. They claim that they've ramped manufacturing up to a million a month. They've left the PS3 in the dust and they're shipping units faster than Microsoft was at the same point. They are also experiencing shortages with DS's. These are selling at three times the rate as the Wii. The company's last quarterly earnings announcement could be summarized as "We're printing money". Game makers are changing their plans to include Wii releases.
I am not sure anyone really expected the Wii to be selling at the rate it is, especially when its described as "a minor upgrade over the PS2 and a reinvented light pen". I wouldn't be surprised if most games companies banked on the high graphic consoles taking the market and therefore never really included the Wii in their plans. With the way its selling, I am sure there are many companies that are revaluating their plans.
What we learn from the Wii, IMHO, is that if you get the price point right and the right kind of innovation, then people will buy. While Sony will continue to sell consoles, their price point is wrong and they have the wrong kind of innovation. What I mean by the wrong sort of innovation, is that high quality graphics is already being catered for by the Xbox 360 and BluRay is a passable extra. Sony gets more points deducted for a difficult to develop for games platform, where Nintendo makes it easy by keeping it simple. Sony will probably be seeing the great games that really take advantage of the console eventually, but the graphics engines need to get there first, since few programmers truely master highly multithread develpment.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
you do know that you can play tennis without a video game, right?
Irina Romanov
True, the Wii has lost a bit of its luster, simply because it's hitting the first year drought. This is common among just about ever system, or at least every system that's been released in the last few years. Nintendo did the same thing with the DS, which took like a year to really catch on. Now it's the most popular handheld and, dare I say, system as well that's on the market. Besides, I feel that Nintendo's inability to keep Wiis on the shelves is more representative of the system's popularity than any loss of "magic". I think it's a step or two up from Sony's inability to even sell the PS3's that are on the shelves of our electronics stores. If any system has "lost magic", it would be the PS3, if you call an ability to make a profit off of the system on ebay magic. But who knows, Sony may come around and I could be eating my words in due time.
Wii: Hello, I'm a Wii.
... Review ... Journal. :/
PS3: And I'm a PS3.
PS3: What are you reading?
Wii: Just The Wall Street Journal, it's not --
PS3: Lemme see that link. Oh, it's a review of us.
Wii: Oh, no no no, PS3, you know what --
PS3: Oh, it's by Walt Mossberg, one of the most respected technology experts on the planet. Apparently the Wii is "the more exciting, fun and satisfying" of the consoles and "won their heart". Very nice.
Wii: Just one man's opinion.
PS3: I actually read a different review this morning. They said Wii's exciting launch was just "a temporary phase". So, we're the same.
Wii: Yeah -- what was that in?
PS3: The, uh, Computer And Video Games
apologies
Nintendo has a rabid fanbase, but it gets very shallow beyond that. The Wii is selling on hype & PS3 sticker shock. A price drop on the XBOX 360, bringing it to parity with the Wii, and things are going to change fast.
It'll never have the types of games that sell systems, and even $250 is too expensive for the people they are going after (try $99...which the Wii should probably sell for given the internals).
The big problem for the Wii is getting REAL developer support. It's being looked at as a place to dump ports, a few new levels on a (XBOX/PS2) franchise and quickie games. That's not system selling support.
We also know (based on the Gamecube) that Nintendo dev studios can't make a hit console on their own (the rabid fanbase speaks to their quality....don't get me wrong....they just can't make PS2 style success from scratch). Nintendo's games have niched themselves - if you are buying a Wii to play Zelda, there is a 95% chance you already own a Wii.
My father-in-law (who had never touched a console in his life) asked about the Wiimote on my coffee table. I showed him how to play Wii Tennis. When we got home from dinner that evening, he asked me if I'd like to play again. We played for tennis an hour, then bowled for 2 more hours.
But what is really remarkable is that when I tell this story to friends, many of them say that something very similar happened to them. No other console system has been able to reach outside of the traditional "console market" the way the Wii has done since its release and that is why stores can't keep them in stock.
My father-in-law looks for a Wii every time he goes into Walmart, and there are a lot more people like him in the world than the ones counting down days until the next "GTA" release. The magic of the Wii isn't that it is selling more units than the PS3, it's that the PS3 wasn't even a competitor for the market that Nintendo has found.
Sword games wouldn't work well on Wii due to the fact that when you swing your Remote and your sword strikes and object, your hand and arm keep moving in real life while the in game sword has stopped. There is no feedback, no force stopping your hand and arm, and immediately disconnecting you from the game. Not to mention 1 to 1 movement would not lend to realistic sword handling. Swords are heavy, the Wii Remote is not. You could swing that sword around like a madman in ways that you could never do with a real sword, essentially spamming sword attacks that couldn't realistically be stopped by an opposing virtual sword.
Perhaps Nintendo is keeping the supply low on purpose. If you think about it, there will be no blockbuster games for the next 6 to 9 months, and the developers are still getting used to the control scheme.
When you look at it from the traditional gaming perspective, you would want to sell as many consoles as you can because the average gamer will have fun with the games that are there and wait out the 6 to 9 months for the real meat and potatoes games to be released. However the Wii is not marketed to the average gamer, it's marketed to the average Joe.
Average Joe will get bored with a console that has no games, and once the 'Magic' has worn off for them their Wii will become a forgotten dust collector. Nintendo doesn't want this, and the longer they can keep the average Joe from getting a Wii the better the chances that right as the magic is wearing off for them another big title will get released and rekindle their interest.
The sad fact is that Nintendo is caught in a narrow market gamble. The PS3 and 360 will float on based on the dedicated hardcore gaming crowd, however the average Joe crowd that Nintendo is banking on is much more fickle. Nintendo has to do everything in their power from now till December to keep their new fickle audience playing games. If they can't then every day that passes will dry up more and more of their audience as the magic leaves them. If the Wii doesn't have a beefy arsenal of games out by November they will have to face loosing this round of the console battle to the 360.
Nintendo has a great start for their console, but they need to play a delicate balancing act, regulating their supply and pushing for faster release dates. If they fail they face loosing the interest of average Joe, and delivering a last gen console with a fancy controller to the hardcore community. This will put them clearly behind the 360 in the console wars (even if they completely fail on both counts I can't see the PS3 beating them out.)
Yojimbo.
The think is selling the moment it arrives at the store, and someone is claiming that the excitement id dying??? WTF???
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
My 9 year old nephew, upon discovering my copy of Wii Play, scares everyone in the house by screaming at the top of his lungs, "It's Duck Hunt!" for 30 minutes.
My 55 year old uncle, who has been berating my gaming hobby since I purchased a Dreamcast on 9-9-99, came over to my house with a copy of World Series of Poker and his own Wiimote to play. "Couldn't find one of them boxes (the Wii itself, I assume)," he tells me, "So I'll just use yours."
My 19 year old brother asks me, "Can I invite some friends over and have a Wii party at your house and play Monkey Ball and Warioware?"
All I want to do is finish Zelda.
So is the Wii finished? At my home, it hasn't even started.
For me, the magic is far from gone. Though I've been trying since early December, I hadn't been able to get a Wii until about 4 weeks ago. It's still very new and very exciting. I play Wii Sports most days, though not for very long. I'll usually just take my fitness test and then play a couple of games. I just don't have hours each day to devote to this.
I have to ask the "hard-core gamers" who quickly tired of Wii Sports, are you able to consistently get a fitness age below 25? Are you a pro in all 5 sports? Have you got gold medals in all 15 training games? I keep playing because the games are fun and there's definitely lots of room to improve.
And then, there's the social aspect. I've enjoyed introducing many friends to the Wii, and laughing at each other as we play together. But even on my own, I've found lots of fun to be had within Wii Sports, a game that's often dismissed as a shallow demo.
I ordered Wii Play last week, largely because it seemed the easiest way to get my hands on a fourth and final controller. I also ordered WarioWare at the same time. I had intended to hold off until I got bored of the first couple games, but I went for it because it was discounted by 10%.
I expect to be entertained for quite some time to come.
Dearth of games? I'm still enjoying Wii Sports. I'm still enjoying Rayman. I have barely scratched the surface of some of the games I have now.
Meanwhile, the PS3 I got for Cell Linux is sitting around collecting dust because the only "great" game for it is yet another shooter just like all the other shooters.
Everyone I know plans to get a Wii, pretty much. They're awesome.
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
If you could just update this site (or any of the others that come up when you Google for Wii Tracker, with the names and locations of all these stores with piles of unsold Wiis, that'd be great. You'd be helping the rest of us out tremendously.
I don't mind you doing the anonymous trolling for Sony, but it would be tremendously useful to us all if you backed up your claims with facts. I don't mean from a taking-you-seriously point of view, I just mean I, for one, would like to buy a ($250) Wii, and I'd love to know where to get one. And I think a lot of people on Slashdot would too.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
I have a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.
But, that is just me.
Angleyne: You can't bend that girder - it's unbendable! Bender: Well I don't know anything about lifting, so that ju
"Red Steel is twitchy and occassionaly clumsy, Need For Speed: Most Wanted is near unplayable, Far Cry got it all wrong, and the motion control in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance just feels tacked on."
If there had ever been a release of "Need For Speed: Most Wanted", this would not be a particularly obvious gaffe. The game that came out for the Wii is Need For Speed: Carbon. (I don't find it unplayable, FWIW.)
I agree that some of the controls in the Marvel game are tacked on, but the camera control is awesome, and shows real potential.
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
Yeah, this is one of those annoying question-based articles, where the author takes something that's highly popular and asks a controversial, irrational question ("Is the magic gone for the game console that's so popular it's still flying off shelves?"). Framing it as a question allows them to ambiguously avoid taking a position that they would have to back with clear evidence. That makes it easier to stir up reader reaction for ad revenues.
"Sufferin' succotash."
For anything that gets people off the couch - totally.
-P
Why does nobody ever mention Monkey Ball for the Wii? If you look past the kiddie/cutesy storyline and appearance, it's really a modern-day 3d Marble Madness. They took a great game and made it even better with the Wiimote controls. Playing the previous ones with the analog thumbstick was fun, but actually tilting the controller in the way you want to "tilt" the level to get your ball to roll in a certain direction is intuitive and challenging. I'm still trying to master it to unlock the later levels. Seeing and playing this game is really what sold me on finding and getting a Wii. If the games are already finding fun and intuitive uses for the Wiimote only 3 months after the console's release, and given the trend that games get better for a console the longer it has been out (as developers/designers are better able to code for the system, think of new uses for the controller, etc.), it makes me wonder what uses they'll think of for the Wiimote in games that come out 1 or 2 years from now. MHz-Man
... And end the games they are playing with supply and demand.
I know want to keep up the hype factor to get people searching in stores weekly or daily with the hopes of getting one, and have them be in a buyer frenzy mood when the actually get their hands on one, but does this junk really help them out in the long run?
Looks like sales for the Xbox 360 slowed down, and Microsoft had to downgrade their sales forecast by 2 million unit. And it also probably doesn't help that Microsoft is doing stuff like shoving consoles onto retailers floors just so they can make some claim about how many units they "sold"(does the FTC know and allow this?).
So more then a year after that launch you can just go in and grab one 360 out of the dozens sitting in stores, and they are not flying off the shelves like they did when they were having "supply issues" for months after launch.
Well, at least Nintendo isn't forcing retailers to do bundles....
I'm not aiming to troll, so hear me out. One of my friends really wants one, and I know a couple others that have one. Both of those that have it rave about Zelda. The one that wants one wants it for the multiplayer games. They piqued my interest, so I went to IGN to see what games are out, etc., and to read up on it some more.
What are the "must have" games for the Wii? Seriously. I'm aware of Zelda, but ehh, I don't have much time to actually *play* a lot, so I'd probably get bored of it. My game playing time during the week is limited, and even on the weekends I might not have much time. On IGN half or mor of the reviews were for VC games - reviews of Mario 3 and the like. While that's cool and all, I don't want to spend $250 so I can download my old collection of Nintendo games, and I already know what those old games are like - I played the originals. There are the party games, but I'd only have a use for them maybe once a month or so - whenever we have a bunch of people over. The woman isn't interested in watching me play through a single player game, and she's not much into gaming anyway. Maybe if there were something she'd be interested in....
I could always go with the sports games, but that only lasts awhile, and why get a Wii if I'm just going to get Madden or some NCAA game? I'm interested in the potential of a Wii, but when I got right down to it, I had to ask myself - what would I get it for? Is it just the novelty and then it'd wear off? What are the must-have games everyone is talking about?
Ahhhh, it doesn't matter anyway. In my medium sized city, not one of the area stores has any in stock, let alone knows when more might come in. Bah. Maybe I've outgrown video games - that's depressing...
Today, I started playing some old Gamecube games I hadn't yet finished, on my Wii. What the Wii needs, more than anything, is good, new games, RIGHT NOW. And I'm not even talking about Mario or Metroid.
My biggest disappointment is being unable to (find to) buy two additional controllers for my Wii so that I have enough for four player games. That suggests to me that they're selling faster than they can make them (the controllers are going to the consoles themselves). After that, it would be nice to have some more (not necessarily party) multiplayer games for it.
I think for many of us who grew up with Nintendo and now, you know, have jobs and partners and all, the apparent game drought is mostly meaningless. I've barely had time to scrape the surface of Zelda and have played maybe 20% of Wario Ware and Raving Rabbids - all great games that make great use of the Wiimote. The magic is still very much there for me - and that's before I even get started on the VC...
http://www.miitube.co.uk/
The fact that they can't keep the Wii on the shelves seems to say exactly the opposite: the Wii is VERY popular. Sheesh, next someone will say that the PS3 is uber-popular cause nobody's buying them and they're still found on the shelves.
0x09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
So true. The danger of being inside a community of like-minded masters of the universe is that you can't see beyond the bubble you're in. Enterprise IT pundits didn't see Linux until it had already infiltrated the enterprise. They'd all been too busy talking about "soup to nuts solutions" to read the writing on the wall. The same thing is happening with games.
Hardcore gamers don't realize that their pastime is mainstream now. Just look at the term "games." When I was a teenager, "gamer" meant someone who carried the DMG, the Players Handbook, and the Monster Manual in his backpack at school. Now pencil and paper games have gone mainstream in the form of console and PC games. Adults play these games. Females play these games. It is madness! The inner sanctum has been breached!
Wii is doing great, and it will continue to rack up impressive sales, until eventually even gamer media will adapt their thinking and broaden the appeal of their own offerings.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
There is no feedback, no force stopping your hand and arm, and immediately disconnecting you from the game.
Yeah, this is the biggest obstacle to it (though it will be better than any previous version of sword swinging). Maybe it would be adequate to use rumble to indicate that you are pushing against a solid object -- it wouldn't prevent the motion, but it would give feedback that you have moved too far. We'll see.
Not to mention 1 to 1 movement would not lend to realistic sword handling. Swords are heavy, the Wii Remote is not. You could swing that sword around like a madman in ways that you could never do with a real sword, essentially spamming sword attacks that couldn't realistically be stopped by an opposing virtual sword.
Which is why I think the wiimote was made to be a wiisaber. Light sabers are also light and ammendable to crazy swinging and twirling, because they too are just a handle.
The enemies of Democracy are
> but everyone wants a Wii.
Most certainly not. I, along with dozens of gamers (hardcore or not) that I know IRL, have ZERO interest in getting a Wii. The common concensus amung most of us is that the Wii as a poorly named, sub-par gaming system (processor, graphics, etc), with an admittedly novel gimmick (controller). But no matter how novel that controller is, that doesn't overcome it's other weaknesses.
So the magic isn't suddenly "gone". For many of us, it was simply never there to begin with.
P.S. This is not intended as flamebait. It's just an honest opinion that many gamers I know have regarding the Wii.
Online or in the store, it takes hours of searching to find a Wii, a Wiimote (sans Wii Play), a Nunchuck, a 2000 Wii Point Card, or a Wiimote Glove and someone's writing an article about the magic being gone from the Wii? I had to buy Wiimotes and Nunchucks from 3 different stores just to get two extra sets. That's 4 items from 3 stores! I searched at least 6 stores for a 2000 Wii Point Card for a birthday gift! And the magic's gone? Are you friggin kidding me?!
If the magic is gone for any game console, it's the PS3. I saw at least 4 of them on the shelf at my local Best Buy the other day. Think Jack Tretton will still give me $1200 for each one? I seriously doubt it. The funny thing was that I saw two kids looking them over, but none of them was rushing to their parent about the awesome find they had in their hands. Why? Because it's not an awesome find anymore. It's yet another boring, stale game system with better graphics. Big whoop-de-do. How about some actual fun, Sony?
It's chic for the gamers to be goo-goo over the PS3. The Wii has been, and probably will be for a long time, considered an also-ran by the "experts." The problem with that viewpoint is that the Wii is actually fun to play. It doesn't require countless hours of mastering a certain button combo just to get started. I, and my far-from-a-gamer fiancee, started playing Wii Sports in a matter of 5 minutes. Why? Because it makes sense. We all know how to swing at a tennis ball, swing at a baseball, throw a bowling ball, swing a golf club, and punch. Try that with a PS3 game.
Granted, games like Madden football on the Wii are just as complicated as the other system versions, but that's only if you want to be All-Madden level. If you're fine being a rookie, just swing your arm and throw a pass. Raise your arms up to catch the pass. Swing your arm to kick the ball. Again, it all makes sense and you can start basic game play in a matter of minutes, not hours.
The fact is that the Wii will remain successful because there are a lot of people out there looking for a game system that's just fun, much like Nintendo's original game system. There are a large number of people who are tired of WoW-type games that require a life investment. They want to be able to turn on the system, play for 10-15 minutes, have fun, and be done with it and that's what the Wii offers and will continue to offer.
The magic is far from over. It's just beginning.
I had the same problem finding controllers.
I suggest ordering them OEM direct from nintendo on their website. Thats what I finally did. Now I 'm just waiting for the Wii-play/remote bundle to get my fourth Wii-mote.
Just because you can, does not mean you should.
What's the point of such a deconstructive post? The "all for nothing" tone is quite different from the article's optimistic "just wait and see" attitude. I agree that Nintendo's supply problems have been disappointing, but its competitors are 3x the cost (PS3) or not exactly revolutionary (xbox360). They're forcing the gaming industry to rethink itself, and that's worth waiting for.
The unit has been out for 3 months and many people that wanted to play with one have had their hands on one at some time now.
I have been lucky to have one for about a month now, and damn I have to say the unit still has that slick feel to me. I enjoy it greatly. The controls are great for the most part and Nintendo's desire to bring people together to play together has worked well. Goodness sake, my mother can play Wii Sports without much issue and that is an amazement.
But I do see issues with the slickness. One is online play: it isn't there yet. Two is software titles: not enough there yet.
But you know what, I think they are going to have to be solved together. Many of the games that are on the Wii at the moment at just minigame collections or other simple games designed to use the wiimote. With more developers now seeing what the Wii really can do, I think we will see an explosion for the Wii but probably not until Christmas 07. Developers need to break some of the old ideas and work with the new ideas of the Wii.
So I hope that the Wii stay steady and strong for the next 6 months and that means nintendo is going to need to drop a great game a month or so to keep us earlier adopters happy. Once though the rest of the market is working for the Wii, it could be unstoppable even with its limited graphics and horsepower. As I really don't think the pretty graphics are really needed, as much as good game play is.
CaptAngryPants aka Eric
http://rustmedia.tv
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
I'm in the UK at the moment, aiming to get back to my apartment in Texas. When I see a store has one I want to get one.. but what's the point out here? I would just have to get another.
The problem when I get back is despite the dearth of new games for the system since launch, there are enough that'll make it a painful choice of first purchases. As time goes on more are released and.. argh.. maybe I will have to pass up Zelda, or some other game, so I can get a good selection.
So, not excited since I can't have one, and when I do get one I won't be playing ALL the games I wanted to or could have bought up until now. It's like.. being 6 months behind, for a geek, that's bad..
Wii Sports is only really fun with friends. If you don't have any friends or family to play with, you probably shouldn't buy a Wii and should have stuck with online gaming through a PC or 360.
My wife recently found out the local Target had some Wiis, so I sat in the parking lot at 5 AM on a Sunday waiting for them to open. A few other showed up a bit before 8 looking for Wiis, but they actually had a few left on the shelves that Sunday.
It is freaking awesome.
And it may be able to replace my need for a MythBox. With the available web browser and orb.com, you can stream pics, photos, mp3, and movies to the wii from your PC (but the browser bar is still there, not optimal but good).
We took it on a multi-family vacation and it was a total hit with all the kids, from 4 up to 14. The hard-core gamer kid even thought it was fun. Bowling, tennis, golf, baseball are all great social games.
I have not ever been into consoles, but this thing is awesome and I think I made a few converts this weekend.
I do wish they had a 1080P version with 8xAA, but it is fine for now. I wonder if version 2 (Wii Wii?) could upgrade the graphics and add pvr capabilities? I love the interface, the pointing remote is awesome, especially the vibration for feedback on when you are on a button.
The Wii is dead, long live the Wii.
You can get a PS3 without even trying.
Not in Toronto. Sigh. I keep hearing about 'piles' of unsold PS3's. But there are none available around here, none available online and none show up on ps3seeker.com anywhere within driving range. So where the heck are they? Send them up here!
JON
They targeted getting casual gamers, they got casual gamers. They aren't going to be the people running around buying this and that just because its new. We are going to play 1-2 different games until we beat them or get tired of them. THEN, we will either take a break for a while (days, weeks, maybe months) or buy another game and take our time beating it.
Its a different demographic, so they aren't going to behave the same as your normal console buyers.
The Wii is awesome,
A casual gamer
When I have a kid, I want to put him in one of those strollers for twins and then run around the mall looking frantic.
Word-of-mouth is a powerful thing. For the Wii, it still has a long ways to go. For various reasons, I still don't have one yet, but when we get one at my house you can bet that my circle of friends and those of my siblings will be exposed and interest can spread further from them. I'm sure there are plenty of other gamers in similar situations, who have yet to play the Wii with their non-hardcore friends simply because they can't get their hands on a system.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
i think this is completely incorrect. i can bring the wii to a small "party" and that is all that anyone does all night. i walked into a guitar hero 2 party and happened to be carrying the wii and the guitars went flying in the frenzy to plug it in. i couldn't disagree more that the wii magic is gone or will soon be and i think that it is only getting started. the "magic" will be boosted by games that will be coming out soon and virtual console games such as Donkey Kong Country--- oh yea! i think it is funny that the "related stories" for this include nintendo's projected sales. how many ps3s have been sold? :)
in short, nintendo owns the sony competitor and any loss of excitement can be attributed to the attention deficit disorder of the world. wherein, people actually have more important things to do now that the holidays are over and they are back to work.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
virtual console display problems on many tvs with component input, and no fix from Nintendo for now: http://www.wiichat.com/nintendo-wii-virtual-consol e/6464-video-turns-off-when-playing-virtual-consol e-games-4.html#post243020
not quite what we are used from Nintendos customer service :-(
Is the magic gone?
No.
Seriously, every "platform" is going to endure some sort of post-launch slump sooner or later. There's a push to get the thing out the door and to start developing market share. There's a bunch of developers who are successfully encouraged to create "launch" titles because new buyers will want to buy *something*. Then at some point the pace is going to die down to fit the "natural" progression of titles related to the sum total of the game writing industry as well as the the overall installed base of the platform.
This is a normal phenomenon, and for me at least is non-news.
-josh
This is how I got mine...
http://crayz.org/target_wii.php?zip=YOUR-ZIPCODE
anouther nintendo console flop wouldn't be suprizing to me
I drop by the stores convenient to my work and house and I'm greeted with empty shelves.
I have absolutely no interest in the other systems (too expensive).
Apparently, every time a shipment arrives it is sucked up immediately ("We got in 30 last saturday but they were all gone in an hour".)
Hmmm. I'd say the magic is still there.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
I paid $250 for my 27" SDTV, and it's still working fine. Until I can replace it with an equivalently-sized HDTV for about the same price (remember, a widescreen set has to be about 32" to be as tall), I'm not getting rid of it, so I'm not going to care about 1080p or BluRay support in any piece of electronic equipment - and 90% of American consumers are in the same boat as me.
Visual IRC: Fast. Powerful. Free.
Until you can find them on shelves and online, any thought of the 'magic' being gone just makes you sound stupid.
I'm posting from my Wii right now. I just bought Wii Play and am looking forward to Metroid Prime 3. I think the Wii has lived up to its hype.
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.
Here is what I like and don't like about the Wii.
Likes:
Already has a better line up of games than 360 and PS3, but not as good as PS2 or GC.
Zelda is great, althuogh the controller doesn't add much, you have to think of Zelda as a GC game, because it is.
-We sports is very fun alone or party, it is nice that it comes with the system.
-Excite truck is by far the best driving game out of the 3 new systems. Even if it didn't have the Wiimote it is still more fun to play than the others out there.
-Every Monday you get more and more VC games on the cheap.
-The controller is much more versitle than dance pad and other interactive controllers of the past.
-Price
Dislikes:
-Internet multiplayer isn't ready yet, I have no doubt that it will be, the DS wifi is great.
-I wish the VC games were the GBA or DS versions, not the original. The new versions have some nice added features.
-You need to be able to chat with your Mii's
By the way if you want a Wii just call up in the morning trucks come at night. If you stop by after school or work in the after noon they will be gone. It only took me 3 days of calling to get one. I told my friends and they had similar luck, call the stores at 10 or 11 am.
How the hell does that make sense? If gamers aren't enthusiastic then why are they selling like hot cakes? Every store I know gets a periodic shipment of Wiis which then sell out immediately. How is that not enthusiastic support?
Sigs are awesome huh?
A golf game that play like the one in Wii sport. A bowling game that play like the one in Wii sport. A target practice game that doesn't play like the one in Wii Play.
...)
In the golf game, I want a little bit more complexity; able to survey the entire course; allows different strength/accuracy in player characters; allows different equipments (buy powerful driver with wii points)
In bowling, I want to be able to design my own bowling ball (color, pattern
The target practice game in Wii Play is just silly, you can keep shooting without pause like a machine gun, the UFO stage is silly. For $50, I feel like being robbed even with the Wii Mote. But I have to say the Mii Pose and Find Mii surprised me how much it could be in such a simple game. I think Bomberman could model after Wii Play's Tank (which currently is just not much fun)
Oh, last but not least, a fishing game please.
"The motion of the remote is sensed by a 3-axis linear accelerometer located slightly left of the large A button. The integrated circuit is the ADXL330, manufactured by Analog Devices. This device is physically rated to measure accelerations over a range of at least +/- 3g with 10% sensitivity.
Inside the chip is a small micromechanical structure which is supported by springs built out of silicon. Differential capacitance measurements allow the net displacement of the tiny mass to be converted to a voltage, which is then digitized. It is important to note that the sensor does not measure the acceleration of the Wiimote, but rather the force exerted by the test mass on its supporting springs. Due to the sign convention used, this quantity is proportional to the net force exerted by the player's hand on the Wiimote when holding it. Thus, at rest on a flat table, the accelerometer reports vertical force of +g (the mass can be normalized away into the aribitrary units), and when dropped reports a force of nearly zero."
All the geeky details at WiiLi http://www.wiili.org/index.php/Wiimote
...every time a new console has been available for four months? It's just annoying.
The Wii is doing spectacularly. Still difficult to get hold of, and it's not because they only made a handful of them. It's because people are buying them far quicker than anyone had anticipated. Of course there's a shortage of games right now, but give it some time. I'm happy playing GameCube games and Virtual Console titles on it until something new is available. The hype certainly isn't dying down, and nobody is claiming now that it's really just a gimmick.
Slashdot has a tendency to post articles that have no bearing in reality, and think that it's fine so long as they add a question mark at the end.
"Wii - Is the Magic Gone?"
"Is PC gaming dead?"
"Are we still fooling anyone with controversial but senseless headlines?"
Owned my Wii for a month and still enjoying the hell out of it. Turned a couple more friends onto it this past weekend. True, the media seems to have lost interest (don't they eventually lose interest in everything?) but the simple fact that they are still flying off the shelves speaks volumes. I am a bit disappointed that there are few must-have titles available now, but I am more than happy to content myself with with sports, play, Zelda, Wario and Elebits until the new titles start flowing. This system still rocks.
Insert witty comment *here*. I'm fresh out of wit...
>You don't run stories criticizing a system many gamers have completely written off.
N-Gage?
Phantom?
Among (spelled correctly this time - accidentally fat-fingered that on the earlier post) my gaming friends, HDTVs are rapidly becoming the norm, although I think most of us are still in 720p/1080i range and not all the way up to the coveted 1080p level just yet. However, even at 720p or 1080i, the images on the 360 simply blow away the Wii. Thus, from a graphics perspective, it's pretty clear (to most of us) that the Wii appears to be a generation behind in the graphics dept.
As for the processing power, I'll point to the guts of the machine (single sub-GHz core Wii vs. multi-GHz multicore 360 vs. multi-GHz multicore cell-based PS3). Whether or not the games make maximal use of that processing horsepower is another matter, but the point is that Nintendo opted to use a less state-of-the art design in their computing core. That doesn't mean it won't work, but it does mean that it will likely hit the wall sooner than it's 360 and PS3 competition. For a gamer that hopes to get several years out of a system, that's a very real concern, and the reason why many of us deem the Wii's design to be sub-par.
As for the name, I point to the countless jokes that the Wii name has spawned. Funny or not/juvenile or not, they persist. I know a few Wii-owners that are continually ridiculed over the name of the product (not by me, but I have to admit I do laugh at some of the jokes). The people cracking the jokes aren't jealous, they simply think the name is very poorly chosen and one that invites such ridicule. Said Wii-owners grow very tired of these jokes, and they even agree that Wii is a terrible name. With a cooler name, it's entirely possible that the Wii might be even more popular than it is now, drawing in some of those people on-the-fence or ones put-off by the current name.
As for the controller, the wand still seems like a gimmick, in the sense that it is really the only novel & innovative aspect of the system. It may turn out to be more than just a gimmick, and I expect the competition will explore their own versions of it. However, it's not clear that many games are going to embrace the wand controller. There are several popular & established gaming genres that do not lend themselves well to a wand controller: racing/driving games, shooters, flight sims, and fighting games to name a few. Games where a handled-object are used seem to be the best & most obvious fit. However, outside of the obvious sports games (featuring tennis rackets, golf clubs, baseball bats, etc) and certain fantasy games (featuring weapon swinging, etc), the wand controller doesn't seem very applicable.
Gaming is all about fun, but what is deemed fun obviously varies from gamer to gamer. For most of the gamers I know, the Wii's line-up simply isn't what we are looking for. If the Wii featured a truly awesome game (in our eyes - such as a truly fun racing game, space flight sim, fighting game, shooter, whatever) several of us might be more willing to consider the Wii. As of yet, such a title does not exist, and even if it did, it's doubtful that it graphics would compare to a similar title developed for the 360 or PS3.
Go and seek a Wii in any store. Hardly you'll find one. That's enough proof tha the Wii is still making magic. This has just began. Fanboyism is still there.
Minti: What's that huge shuriken in your back?! Kin: It's the instrument of my victory.
I am really enjoying Wii Zelda TP so far. Targeting objects on screen is a great addition, and the wiimote speaker definitely makes for better immersion in the game. However I do have to say that I miss the free camera control from Windwaker (and apparently Z:TP for Gamecube). There are times when I'm running around and I want to be able to see what's behind me or to the side. I don't understand why they couldn't have added a control setting for this in which the wiimote was used for camera control while moving.
That said, it's still a fantastic game. And I think the Wii itself has a ton of potential not only for fun little party games, but also for more hardcore FPS games and yet nonexistant genres of creative interaction (that might not even really be games in the traditional sense).
Hands down, I love the Wii. My kids love it. My wife (!) loves it. Everyone who comes over loves it, and wants one. And the Wiimote has proven itself to be a huge hit for all. However...
As much as I love the Wiimote, I'm not so sure EVERY game should utilize it -- for the same reason I don't want EVERY movie I see to be 3D. This first wave of Wii games have felt almost obligitory in their use of the Wiimote, and I can't help but think that developers are sometimes shoehorning in the Wiimote controller schema -- even when traditional game interface techniques would have served it better (Tony Hawk comes to mind). I know that, during this first generation of Wii games, to exclude the Wiimote would seem lazy on the developers part, but I'm hoping that I won't have to wave my controller around the air in EVERY game for the Wii.
Sometimes, you just want Vanilla.
--
Franklin Brauner
now that I bought a Wii I'm not too excited to buy another one.
"To be is to do." --Socrates
"To do is to be." -- Aristotle
"Do-Be-Do-Be-Do..." --Sinatra
Dammit, they tricked me with two contradictory questions!
Let me try my answers again:
Is the Magic Gone? - Oui
Are you still as excited about the Wii as you were when it launched? - Non
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
The 'magic' of the Wii was pretty much destroyed for me the instant that the details of the launch were revealed. Specifically the price (the Australian Wii is $400 AUD - $315 USD), the lack of games (originally it looked like Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Galaxies would be close to the launch, and there's not much else in the pipeline at this point) and most importantly the bitter disappointment at Nintendo backtracking on their regioning policy, with the Virtual Console and the Wii and Gamecube games all being locked down to PAL so that they can more effectively rip us off (Wii games have a retail pricetag of $110 - $85 USD). I cancelled my preorder in the end, and I'm not upset that I did. Having played with one, I can tell the system is really not for me.
World of Warcraft and Gears of War shifted some serious units to hardcore gamers... but everyone wants a Wii. No matter what "$up4 1337 haxx0rz" say about 1080p and pzwning n00bs and how gimmicky the controller is, Moms don't listen to haxx0rz. Moms listen to Dr. Phil, and spend their money accordingly. This article is proof that the "magic" isn't gone even if the initial launch hype is finally settling down. Why doesn't the article ask if the PS3 magic is gone? Everyone's played the one or two games that made it worth buying. You can get a PS3 without even trying. The Wii, games and accessories occupy top spots on Amazon.com.
The PS3 availability is regional. I have yet to see a ps3. I've been looking for one. They always promise a mid week shipment. Gone by 4:00 pm that day. I'm in Edmonton, AB canada. The Wii is doing insanely well the PS3 is doing better then the 360 at a similiar point after its launch. It's hard to tell who will win now.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
although I don't have as much time as I'd hoped to play, I still love my Wii. The control scheme has kind of faded away as the major draw for the system and I'm left with a bunch of really great games.
I don't really want an X-box, and with all I've spent on the Wii, games, accessories, and Virtual console titles I could've gotten a PS3, but I still think that what Nintendo is offering is the best out there for the time being.
I'd really love if a strong homebrew community broke out, especially if the Wii devkits are released publicly, but as of now I don't regret my purchase at all and feel that nintendo is working every day to add value to he system.
Those who know, do not speak. Those who speak, do not know. ~Lao Tzu
Not that I disagree with most your points...but to say the Wii looks the same as the PS3 and 360 on normal TVs is just false. The difference is large and very easy to see. Graphics aren't everything..of course, but don't make stuff up.
Personally, I think the Wii is fine and will get one eventually. A co-worker though tried playing it and hated it because there was too much delay between the controller and the game he was playing. Clearly it isn't a problem for most people...but it is one of the more legitimate complaints I have heard about the system.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
The magic isn't gone... it's just been frustrated. After months of dwindling hope, I finally found one for sale last Saturday at my local Costco.
I bought it, brought it home, and... well, I LOVE it. It really is an experience-changer for gaming. Out of all the game systems I've had (and I've had many), this is truly the best experience I've had gaming. It's really the closest to VR you can get in a mass gaming system.
Not only that, my kids (5 and 8) can both enjoy it along with me - instead of asking to *watch* me play, they can play! That's a different experience in itself.
But until you actually play the games (at least the ones that take advantage of the wii's 3D controller abilities), you probably won't understand what a difference it can make.
I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this statement.
You clearly haven't played Excite Truck on the Wii. To me, holding the wii remote sideways and tilting to steer feels much more natural than trying to steer with an analog thumbstick. I don't even like racing games and I find it to be very fun. To address the flight sims, I see two options: one is to use the thumbstick on the nunchuck to steer (which is the route it seems Blazing Angels is going to take), or go with the sideways configuration and use a combination of tilt/roll of the remote to handle roll and pitch (seeing as yaw on a real airplane is mostly a combination of these two I don't see a need for a true 'yaw' in the style of space flight sims). The cow racing game in Wii Play even has a good example of using the latter control style (except roll controls speed instead).
How is the application not obvious to shooters? Analog thumbstick for movement, wii remote for aiming, plus there are ten easily accessible buttons (6 normal + 4 with the d-pad). After seeing the potential I can't imagine going back to trying to aim with an analog stick, it's just sucky.
Fighting games I concur could be tricky. We'll see how well the port of MK: Armaggeddon goes this summer before I pass judgment on that genre. Plus, I can see a lot of genres opening up that traditionally sucked on consoles, like any kind of RTS or turn-based strategy game, since the wii remote is a perfectly functional pointer. I know some people disagree because its pointing isn't perfect, but as long as there is an on-screen cursor it's really not any more difficult to adjust to than a mouse.
Considering that is what the Wii basically is(remember E3?), I find hard to believe they are having trouble producing them along with DSs. This whole situation reminds me of Microsoft and the Xbox 360...
Funny how you guys ranted about and flamed Microsoft for having Xbox 360 supply issues, and to some extent with Sony & the PS3, but having it happen with Nintendo you have no problems at all...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Let's get this straight - Zonk is a Microsoft fanboy, not a Nintendo fanboy.
All you are seeing is a shift in Microsoft's marketing strategy. At first Microsoft thought their primary competitor as the PS3, so they attacked the PS3 relentlessly, even going so far as to promote the Wii console in their "Wii60" campaign. They've bribed bloggers, indoctrinated many fanboys to do their marketing unwittingly, and tainted biased news sources.
Now that they've bred a culture of FUD around the PS3, they're going on to phase two of their FUD campaign - targeting the Wii.
Microsoft is great at these sort of tactics. The Iowa case documents, the Halloween documents, all have shown Microsoft as capable of these type of antics.
Although I personally find DBZ beyond lame, I've heard of more than one person, and a few reviewers, that say the DBZ game on the Wii is by far more fun than its analog-controlled counterparts. However, I paid no attention to their descriptions, as DBZ is so very, very lame.
If you want one so badly, suck it up and buy one on eBay. I did that in January, and I've never regretted paying $350 for it. They're going for around $305 now, and that price will only go down as more units flood the market (basic supply/demand)...
Let me know where you live so I can buy one for myself- they can't seem to keep the damn things on the
shelves anywhere I've seen.
I call bullshit.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Let's see, hardware shortage, lack of software, franchise titles being delayed, 3rd parties cranking out shitty launch games, then getting non-comittal toward future development. Is this the Gamecube or the Nintendo 64 all over again?
Check out my foes list to see who is so retarded that they can't use the signature line!!!
-- jchenx
Yes, my enthusiasm has dipped. The Xmas enthusiasm has waned, and also there's no "Really Cool" game I feel I HAVE to play. I can play Zelda on my GameCube. What's left? Wii Sports? I need more than that to spring for one right now. I have to tell you, the line up on shelves is NOT impressive. Looks like it's mostly kids games (Cars, Barnyard, etc). It's like GameCube all over again.
Don't get me wrong, I still want one, but I don't feel that urgency about it I once did.
I also feel sorry that Nintendo could stock enough. I want them to succeed. I can only imagine how close to #1 they would be if they had made more of em...
Even if the magic is gone, at least it isn't gone to the tune of $800+ like it would be with a PS3.
Of course they're still leaping off store shelves, it's well known that shortages of demand help maintain the "grass is greener" fiction that the object of desire is more desirable than ever. It's not until after the Wii is purchased and the initial desire is satisfied that the excitement starts to fade, and the shortcomings start to niggle. Nintendo still have a first class seat on the Public Opinion train (whereas Sony got crushed underneath it).
I bought my Wii last year, and the whole family had fun with it - at first. But Wii Sports doesn't stay much fun unless you have a crowd to play it with, Zelda started getting a little tedious halfway through - and the Viva Piñata addiction really took hold (even my agèd, non-gaming mother put aside the wiimote and raised buzzlegums and sparrowmints for hours at a stretch).
I still think there's very much a time and place for the unique brand of gaming the Wii allows, but the games aren't there yet to carry you much past the novelty stage. The 360 gets more usage than the Wii does, these days.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
I feel the exact same way about my DS Lite. It sits all alone collecting dust. I played it for 2 or 3 weeks, once the gimmick of the touchscreen wore off, I turned it off and sat it down. I don't know why these continue to sell out unless they just don't build enough of them.
OTOH my GBA got played for a solid 2 years. Ahh the great Castlevania games, FFTactics, etc. etc.
As prejudiced or narrow-minded as the HD graphics-angle may seem, it should not be easily discounted. IMHO, the difference in graphics moving from SD to HD is on par with the move from 56K to Broadband. Once you've got it, you'll never (want to) go back. Once you've seen HD signals on your HDTV, you want all your media sources to be in HD. Call it eye-candy, but once you've experienced it, you'll want that visual sucrose 24/7.
The magic is not gone for the Nintendo Wii. I just picked up Wii Play and Wario Ware Smooth Moves just recently. I've been playing both of these games, and I just preordered SSX Blur. I also just downloaded a new Everybody Votes channel which has been alot of fun. Hell Im still working through levels of Excite Truck and Zelda. In fact, I cannot remember a time where gaming has been this good. The list of games due out this year concern me only from the standpoint of myself being able to afford and play all of these great titles. I really think this is just the beginning.
Yes. For one, the only newish title I've played that I have enjoyed is Warioware, but I can see from renting it that its replay value is pretty limited. Wii Play is a disappointing followup to Wii Sports, in my opinion. The biggest frustration, however, has to be the INABILITY TO PURCHASE AN ADDITIONAL NUNCHUCK. I have Madden and Wii Sports, yet I can't play multiplayer nunchuck games on either, because the controllers are simply unavailable. This is REALLY REALLY annoying considering Nintendo's marketing of the Wii as a console for "everyone," and I thought everyone would include at least one other person in my living room.
"Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies." -Thomas Jefferson
A bit off topic, but I've always wondered. How well do hotcakes actually sell? Why is this particular breakfast food the standard for product popularity? Why not croissants or bagels? Just needed to get that off my chest. And now please continue with your browsing.
People who really want a Wii won't buy an Xbox 360 or a PS3. That's like saying "Leopard isn't available but Vista is. I'm buying a Vista PC instead of waiting for a Leopard Mac".
There's no Zelda or Metroid on the Microsoft and Sony consoles, real Nintendo fans just can't buy another console. It's pointless.
On the other hand, who knows how many Nintendo fans went to buy a Wii but couldn't and ended up buying a Nintendo DS instead?
Joel (spoken): Well, guys, looks like its time to pack it all in again.
Crow: Yeah! We are the stuff dreams are made of.
Tom: Oh, that's beautiful, Crow. Shakespeare?
Crow: No. Burma Shave.
Joel: You know guys It always hurts to close it all up, strike the set, wipe off the grease paint, napkin up the blood and entrails and move on to another town
Crow: I smell a song. (Music swells)
Joel (singing):
Tell me where does all the magic go
When the curtain falls to end the show
Do the clowns always cry
When they pack up the paper sky?
When the champagne is being poured
And the lock is on the old stage door
Will there still be a clown in the sky for me?
Tom (sobbing): Oh Joel!
Joel (speaking): Don't, worry buddy. There'll be other experiments.
Tom (sobbing): You really think so, mister ?
Joel: Yeah! Take a verse. It'll cheer you up (Music swells, again)
Tom (through his tears): Okay! (as Anthony Newley)
When the harlequin is on the bed
And the whisky haze surrouds your head
William Holden's coming over and he's got a fifth of...
Joel (speaking, annoyed): Tom! If you don't stop doing your Anthony Newley, I'll throw you against the wall!
Crow: He'll do it, too!
Joel (singing): Will there still be a clown in the sky?
Tom: Help us out, Crow!
All (singing): Still be a clown in the sky?
Tom (speaking): Take it home, Joel
Joel (singing): Tell me where is that clown in the sky, for... me? (Tom starts to sob again) I love you Tom Servo!
Tom (sobbing): I love you Joel!
Joel (to Crow): I love you Crow!
Crow (angrily): You're not my real father!
Crow (to Cambot): What do you think?
Dr. F (Making an O.K. sing like singer in movie): It stinks!
In addition, since playing the Wii at my house, my other age 40+ friends that "don't play video games" are actively in the market for a Wii.
So, yeah, the magic must be dead.
It's pretty obvious you don't speak Japanese. There is no possible way to write "wii" in Japanese characters. A few hundred years ago, there was a letter for "wi" to which you could add "i". It no longer exists. The closest you'll get is "uii". If you know anything about any Latin-ish language, think of the letter "i" in that. It's sounds like a long e. Heck, short i's always sound like long e's. It's just a matter of how "finished" it sounds. Say "ee" and stop halfway through. It sounds like a short i. Just like the beginning of "idiot" or even better, the second i in "idiot" really sounds like that. Do you speak English?
look! it's a bird, it's a plane, it's....a girl? yes, a girl browsing Slashdot on Linux
What you, and many others who write posts like this, seem to forget is that there's a reason behind what otherwise appears to be bias among the Slashdot crowd. Remember that, and these kinds of things become much less surprising.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
I just bought a PS3 today. I'm so happy I decided to post on slashdot for the first time :)
In my opinion the only good part of the Wii is the Wii remote, which I plan on coupling with the PS3 in every way that I can. It can also be used on a PC. Why buy the Wii?
Instead of "Wee" it should be called "Why".
If you are that dumb and poor, here is what you can do to eliminate your status.
Go find a cliff or a bridge somewhere, then take your entire fucktarded family.
Have all of them jump off to their deaths, and after that jump to yours.
GO AHEAD, FUCKING FLAME AWAY
OR WASTE YOUR GODDAMNED MOD
POINTS FUCKTARDED SHITDOT-
SHEEPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your signature is very appropriate there.
I was once ganked by Dr. Phil when I was 90% done with an elite mob. All that stuff he does on tv is a thin veil designed to disguise his predatory inner griefer. Do not be fooled, watch your back troubled spouses.
TFA is absolutely correct, the magic is lost, all hope surrendered, eagle is not landing, link is down, kernel has panicked, Jack Bauer died in hour 23.
So now all you jobless miscreants and eBay "Powersellers" can stop swarming EB Games at 10:30 in the morning and let me get my mfing Wii!
I was just at the Future Shop on Calgary Trail in Edmonton today, and I could swear I saw a few PS3's. I could be mistaken though, I was more excited by finally getting my DS Lite. I know I've seen them at the the many EB Games around the city though.
I bought a Wii to play Zelda... and now I've sold it for the full retail price I paid for it. There's just no other compelling content - and unlike the situation with the PS3, there's also nothing on the horizon that's interesting. At least with the PS3 I'll have Motorstorm, Lair, Heavenly Sword, Mercenaries 2 and others to look forward to when I finish up Resistance.
And tomorrow I get to pickup Crackdown for the 360.
I've had about 100 hours of entertainment from Zelda and Wii Sports since December.
:)
But...well, for now there's nothing left to do. Most of the current UK titles have little appeal. The next games big are SMG and Metroid but they aren't out for months. So the system is currently collecting dust.
I wish there were more retro Zelda titles available (OOT, MM, WW).
Oh well, C&C3 is out next month
"The number of Unix installations has grown to ten, with more expected." (Unix Programmer's Manual, 2nd ed.; june 1972)
But of course then I didn't care either....
-- jchenx
Am I the only one who finds it ironic that this article is posted on the eve of the launch of the biggest Wii game to hit since launch, Sonic and the Secret Rings? Who knows whether it'll be any good, but it's going to draw a lot of attention.
Oh, and Zonk, if you're going to troll, at least learn from the masters and do it well, okay? Sorry, I love ya man, but there's a point where it just becomes too obvious.
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
Totally agree. I too have small children, and I would never buy them any current console. The games are just too violent, and not intuitive for their little fingers. Can you imagine a 3 or 4 year old with an xbox type controller? They would loose interest quickly. Nintento have just hit a hot-button on a market which others have ignored for years - young families of parents who were once gamers and would like their children to re-live that magic they experienced in their own youth - but without the blood-and-guts violence that seems to be prevalent in current games.
Wiimote and Nunchuks aren't region-coded, are they? So why don't all you US gamers orders yours at amazon.de or amazon.co.uk for example, where there's still plenty available. It's only a couple of days of delivery, if you order stuff from amazon.com as a European, so I guess it's the same the other way around.
As for sustaining enthusiasm for the Wii: Obviously, I don't play 2+ hours per day every day anymore. I might even not use it all for a week occasionally. But I sure as heck still turn it on whenever friends come over. And I still play Red Steel every now and then, being one of the two people worldwide who actually like the game. Just the same, as with prior consoles, actually.
Jesus. Is that the same C&VG I used to read in the mid-eighties...?
What I love about the Wii is that I can play on equal terms with my 12 year old son and 6 year old daughter. My son often beats me at bowling, and while I normally win against my daughter in tennis, she's no pushover, and gives me a very good game.
My son has a disability affecting his coordination, and finds gamepads hard to use, but he has no problem playing the sports games using the Wiimote.
I own a DS. I bought it when it came out. I still play it regularly - when great games come out, daily. So, my question: Which games do you own?
Fighting games are going to be interesting, and already now, we see them diverging. Mortal Kombat uses the Nunchuck and the Remote and is controlled by "traditional" means as well as by gestures. Super Smash Bros seems to require the classic or cube controller - which is always an option, too. Games aren't forced to use the Remote.
I own an HD beamer. I watch some HD content, but frankly, the novelty has worn off. It was exciting to see all the details, but after watching the first five minutes of an episode of 24, you just forget about it. HD doeesn't actually add anything to your enjoyment of media.
Not once have I played Wii Tennis and thought, "wow, that game would be so much more fun with better graphics."
Additionally, for all those people who don't own HDTVs, buying media targeted at their lower resolutions makes more sense. They know that games will work and look good on their TV. They don't have to worry about things like unreadably small text.
You're right. Since the Wii is actually targeted at normal TVs, it looks much better on these than the PS3 :-)
No, of course not, but at least you're guaranteed to be able to read the text in your games :-)
The delay, by the way, is hugely different between different games. Some have big delays (Red Stell), others dont' seem to have any noticeable delay at all (the "Duck Hunt" in Wii Play is very responsive, in my opinion). I don't think it's an inherent issue with the controller.
from the article: "persistent inability for Nintendo to keep units on the shelves"
:(
so a product has lost the magic because it sells as soon as it hits the shelves... I'm pretty sure that Sony and Microsoft would love their consoles to lose the magic this way!
having a wii, I must say that the wii needs new titles, but also I have to say that the life of an adult gamer is hard, I have a wii, I have games, and I don't have the time to play them
DON'T PANIC
You misunderstood.
What I meant was American Style Headline Capital Letters At Every Spaghettidamned Word!
"But I'm surprised to hear a self-professed gamer claim that what makes a system good or bad is the graphics. Graphics definitely play a part, but I'm not sure the difference between the PS3 and the Wii justifies a label of "sub-par.""
GP never said that it was graphics that make a system good. Only that the Wii, as compared to the 360 and PS3 is sub-par in graphics and processor power, meaning underpowered. However, judging from what I've seen, the difference between the wii and ps3 graphically, is unmistakable. Maybe they look the same on a 30-year old wood-cased TV, but no, just no.
"Finally, you talk about a "novel gimmick" in the controller--kudos on managing to spell "gimmick" right, by the way. Can you explain why this "gimmick" was copied by Sony?"
You'll note that what makes the wii-approach gimmicky and the Sony approach not, is Nintendo banked everything on the controller gimmick, the marketting is based around the controller, everytime anyone brings up "Wii" its the controller. That's a gimmick. The PS3 controllers simply have motion-sensing capabilities as something extra, and addition to the already proven, comfortable design. Its no more or less hyped that analog sticks. And coppied? It really isn't as if motion-sensing hasn't been around before the wii. Its just not the (seemingly) sole emphasis of the whole concept. And why is it necessarily a case of copying when an old idea is (ginally) implimented in two different ways? Yes, one is admitedly more novel than the other, but its still gimmicky.
My biggest gripe with the Wii, personallym is all this "OMG PS3 = GRAPHICS, WII = FUN. FUN > GRAPHICS LOLOL" talk, making it up to be as though people who prefer the ps3 are only concrned with the graphical capabilities, and blah, it isn't the case. My idea of "fun" isn't flailing my arms around in front of a screen, if I want to play sports, I'll go outside and play sports, rather than buy a wii. If I feel like dancing, I'll go out to a club, not turn to my console. If however I'm in the mood to *sit* in front of my telly and imerse myself in, lets say an RPG, I'll turn to my console. (and that's where horsepower comes in, visuals, sound, voiceovers, ai, _on top_ of a captivating plot, really do score allot of points in that regard. I lie a game who's characters I get attached to, having them appear realistic, hearing them, etc, it helps). Not to say swinging at the screen isn't immersive, it is; just not the kind I'm looking for. I want to be pulled into the story, not the game itself, per say. And I'd prefer a less all-encompassing type of motion-sensing, which I think would kick up the immersion (of the kind I'm looking for) up a notch. If the Wii could offer that, I'd be sold, but as I see it, the ps3 is better suited to cater to those needs.
Not to say that there's anything wrong with getting kicks out of flainig your limbs around in front of your TV, if that's what floats your boat, by all means, get a Wii, you'll enjoy it. I'm just tired of people trying to convince me that all of a sudden "Fun" has been redefined as that, and anything else falls short, simply because different technology is availible.
And I'm tired of the "exercise" argument, too. I get plenty of exercise with the dancing, and the lugging my 10lbs combat boots around everywhere I go. (walking = primary mode of transport). Not to mention about double that weight in schoolbooks. I don't need a video game console to exercise, and I surely don't care to physically exert myself while trying to relax via gaming.
I don'r think that I'm alone in this thinking either. And yes, the affordability of the Wii is attractive. But its not what I'm looking for in a console. The ps3 is expensive, yes, but that's no reason for me to buy a wii instead, in my books. I could just as happily go without a current-gen console, providing one that fits my wants becomes affordable.
I'm not bashing the Wii, nor am I a PS3 fanboy, in fact, I'm happy for Nintendo that the wii is going well forthem. Its just not my cup o' tea.
You need to keep in mind that once a console is released, there's instand demand for 2-5 million units. Now there are several ways console manufacturers could solve this issue. One, they could ramp up production so they can produce, say, 3 million consoles in a month. The only problem here is that even if they manage to sell 10 million consoles, after three months, demand will go down and they will have wasted huge amounts of money on production capacity they don't really need. So they can't do that.
Option two, they could simply produce with their normal capacity, but don't sell any units. So now they are wasting storage space for consoles they aren't yet selling, and if it turns out that there's some kind of manufacturing issue, they'll only find out after having produced tons of consoles.
Finally, Nintendo clearly didn't expect the Wii to do as well as it does. They are ramping up production right now, or so it seems, but that is probably not such an easy thing to do. They can be faulted for mispredicting demand, but let's be frank: Even the people who thought the Wii would do well didn't expect that kind of reaction from the public. The Wii isn't just doing well, it's a freaking cultural phenomenon with mainstream media singing its praise, doctors telling parents to go with the Wii, Wii parties being held by normal, non-gaming adults... I mean, the Wii even managed to start a whole counter-movement in just a few months - even now, few people care about the 360 enough to start hate sites.
I disagree. I prefer Super Monkey Ball to Rayman. Several reasons. First, it has a great single-player mode. Second, all party games are unlocked right from the start. Third, most have simultaneous four-player multiplayer.
Rayman is great, but why in the world am I forced to unlock those }"ø#f} games? I don't buy this game for single player, I buy it to have fun with pals! This really, really sucks. Now I could download a finished savegame, but I have the Euro version, and I haven't found a site who has Euro savegames!
Also, most Rayman multiplayer games seem to either only be for two players or force the players to play one after the other. What's up with that?
The quality of the new games isn't what it should be. I have followed the available titles and now I am disappointed. There are few titles which I am interested in and the most promising shooters Red Steel and Far Cry are a complete disaster. Both games should be redrawn and reissued next year. If no good single player games come soon it will be stuck again as a console for children and perhaps for parties.
Dude, nobody "flails" with their Wiimote, unless they are six years old. In most any game the small wrist motions are a matter of timing and precision.
Picking on other people works because it's fun to annoy them. If they pick on themselves first (and continuously) and if they laugh and join in on the joke when you try to make it, it's obviously not annoying them, and thats when it loses it's fun.
I'll grant you fighting game might seem a bit unintuitive, but we'll have to wait for games like Super Smash Bros and Mortal Kombat to see just how well it works. For all we know, it could end up blowing away the standard controller. If you've seen any of those videos of Ed Boon demoing MK for the Wii, you might agree that it at least looks promising.
However, the other three...driving, shooting, and flight sims? Are you kidding me? Other than maybe sports games, those games have to be the BEST fit for a controller like the Wii. Saying what you did is kind of like saying a Hummer doesn't really lend itself well to rough terrain (and before anyone else says it....yes, there's probably a Wii joke in there, too)
One of the reasons that it's obvious that the "magic" is gone from the Wii is that they are perpetually sold out?
I wonder if Sony is wishing the magic of the PS3 was gone too...
I'm a fiscal conservative, it's a pity we don't have a political party anymore
Or atleast with recent releases, because it wasn't always like this for nintendo, but bet anyone who has also owned a nintendo ds or a gamecube from their releases will know excatly what I'm talking about. Because with those recent releases nintendo has always been down for a breather, a breather that sometimes lasts more than a year before they get back in the ring with the big punches. This might seem odd if you look at how big the wii hit right from the start, but that alone is pretty unusual for nintendo and thus not something any gamedeveloper but ubisoft took a "gamble" on. Which is all the same really, because most of ubi's wii launch line is at best worthy of being rentals. Of course the big launch might pave the way for the next nintendo console, much like the ps2 did for the ps3, but who knows.
I've always liked nintendo games and I don't particulary mind waiting a for smashbros and so on, but I gotta admit the controllers can't get me hyped enough to overlook the techspecs and lack of online support anymore. It's mostly the lack of online support that gets to me though, and more so after I got an x360 a few weeks back, something I never thought I'd do but I've really taken a liking too it.
The wii's are still spinning some great fun up around our dorm, but when I sit alone relaxing after a though day I'd rather get into some online PES6 or a little co-oping in gears with long lost friends on xbox live.
"persistent inability for Nintendo to keep units on the shelves"
That right there should tell you something. This tells me that the units are selling, as Nintendo is having no problems making them.
Also, according to latest Japanese sales figures the Wii is outselling the PS3 by over 2:1 margin, and the XBOX360 by about 20:1.
Out of all the consoles, if I do end up buying, it is still very much most likely to be the Wii. I'm just waiting for a few more decent games, and more of a selection of old console title on the online store.
I'm going to be having a kid soon, so this is a great news. I'll be getting a Wii once I finish up some contract work and get paid, and being able to enjoy it with my young child, or even giving it to them when a newer version comes out, sounds great.
And, really, this is the strength of the Wii and why it's so hard to keep on the shelves. My parents, who've never played a computer game in their lives, are talking about getting a Wii. While Microsoft and Sony were focusing on the hardcore gamers, Nintendo developed a system that casual gamers and new gamers can get into because the system is intuitive and fun to play. No memorizing button combinations, more non-violent games with intriguing gameplay.
Don't get me wrong, there's definitely a market for systems like the Xbox 360 and PS3 and games like Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto. But there are only so many teenage and college boys out there. Going after an underserved market with a compelling product has reinvigorated Nintendo.
I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.
Try it sometime. It IS an eye opener. Gears of War looks better than anything out there right now running in 720p, and it's not like Gears becomes 'WiiSports' simple if you play it on a regular TV, but the gap seriously narrows.
If you put Gears of War in 480i (as in a standard Def TV) It doesn't look significantly better than RE-Make, or RE4 on the GameCube or Ninja Gaiden on the Original X-box. Yes, it looks hella pretty still, but it still isn't the 'Step up' you see in store displays (running in HD). I think that's what the parent post was getting at.
No kidding! I still remember the time I shield bashed my drink right off the table. That friends is immersion, but having to pause the game and clean up that waste of gin kind of took me out of it. Still good fun though.
Not sure about the UK, but Zelda:LttP made the US virtual Console. Also the 'Zelda Collection' disk for the Gamecube had both NES games, and Both 64 titles. If you got the Zelda Collection and WindWaker (since it IS backwords compatible) that should keep you busy for quite a long time... :)
I wholeheartedly agree, my 2 year old loves playing tennis, she can't manage the button driven games yet (bowling for example) but I wonder what this will do for her co-ordination skills as she continues to use the Wii as she gets older.
To err is human, to arr is pirate.
I stopped caring some time ago - I've never seen a Wii in a store, or even been to a store where they could say when they're getting some. Until it's available for purchase, it's as good as vaporware to me. Of course, I'd imagine this means Nintendo is making a killing - good for them, I didn't want to see them drop out of the console market which I figured they'd do if Wii failed.
Also, none of the games really interest me yet. For the last few generations I've been a Sony fan and I LOVE my PSP. I figure the people who get bored with theirs must not have a PC... but anyway, I'm not really seeing much on the PS3 either which is a moot point since they're so expensive. The 360? Don't make me laugh... I know a lot of people with 360s, and about 60% of them are on at least their second units (or third...) and from reading internet forums it seems to be about par. That crap WILL break, it's just a matter of (very short) time. On top of that, no games. On top of that, the XBox "power cord" recall and its solution puts users' homes and safety directly at risk, so I don't trust any MS console hardware after such a sleazy cheap coverup (look it up, the real problem was the power supply... easily fixed, but very dangerous.)
So ultimately this new generation leaves me exactly where I was before - I feel like I should explore more GameCube games, but ultimately I happily do most of my gaming on my PS2 - which is well adequate to house a fun game, and has hundreds of great titles I haven't even started to play yet. The Wii? I'll get around to it in a year or two... if there are any games... and if it's in stores by then.
Did no one else catch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 reference? (do-the-clowns-always-cry-when-you-pack-up-the-pap er-sky)
I'd disagree about Gears of War. Just about any recent release on the PC will beat it. Your point is still valid though.
Just because they can't be found in stock doesn't necessarily imply that there is a huge demand for them, it just shows that the demand is at least as high as what they can supply.
That being said, checking average eBay selling prices may give a good indication of how much demand there really is. A search of the last 30 days of listings show that 54% of listings sold with an average price of $298.97.
Compare that with the 20GB PS3 (63% sold with an average price of $433.86) and the 60GB PS3 (54% sold with an average price of $561.88).
Perhaps there is still magic there after all if people are still willing to pay %20 over retail price this far past launch.
And for those who say they can't find them, I saw at least three consoles at the GameStop a block east of Northgate Mall, and one at the EBX/Gamestop in Westlake Mall, here in Seattle.
Now, if you want to complain about a shortage of Wii LAN adapters, I agree, I've been on a fruitless chase for those, but they just released them.
The magic isn't gone, it's just that people are using them and having fun. Lots of new game releases coming out - too many games, not enough time.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Ask Sony. The first week the PS3 sold out of stores, then were resold on ebay.
First off, this is impossible to gague because the Wii are so understocked that demand could actually be relatively low, yet there would still be none on shelves.
I do think that there are two factors to consider. One, the casual (i.e. non-rabid) gamer, which seems to be Nintendo's target audience of late, is going to be increasingly discouraged when they continue to discover they can't find any in stores and have to get up early on the day of the week their local retailer gets a load (i.e. 3) of them in order to get their hands on one. Two, the more serious gamer is not the target market, so probably has less interest in the system (barring those who Absolutely Must Have Every Console). And Nintendo's games, while innovative, also often tend not the kind of games serious gamers are looking for. And Nintendo's not only not the only one innovating (Guitar Hero, DDR, KR, Katamari); but they are also ignoring this (none of those games, sans a rare Mario-themed DDR, are on Nintendo platforms).
Personally, I'm dissatisfied with Nintendo games. The majority of offerings with each new Nintendo console seem to be getting tired: A new way to jump on top of Koopas. A new Mario Tennis. A new Mariokart. A new Mario Party. A new Starfox, with little more than better graphics, but the same old tired lines and uber-strong bosses that can only be defeated after figuring out their routines after a dozen deaths (well, this sums up a lot of Nintendo games, doesn't it). The more anthropomorphic animals or inanimate objects you can get into a Nintendo game, the better.
When I was a kid, I wanted a Nintendo. What Nintendo failed to realize is that kids like me grew up, yet they continue to push out cute games for kids (English-translated sexploitation games for the DS notwithstanding).
The games that cause real buzz don't come out on Nintendo these days. That's where it's losing.
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
I think when I looked at the lineup this past weekend before going on a fruitless search for Wii Play or a Wii LAN adaptor, that I found that most of the role-playing games aren't scheduled for release before May, June, or July for the most part.
Nothing like using your vorpal sword on a dungeon crawl to rev up the blood!
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I am still enjoying my Wii quite a bit, but then I don't think that I could say I've ever gotten tired of any game system I've had (perhaps the Atari 2600...though Adventure was always fun). I think the question is how much are you playing your Wii? If you aren't playing it as much, why aren't you? For me I'm 'playing' the Wii less. I'm still slowly working my way through Zelda, but have played quite a bit less Wii Sports due to the holidays being over. I've only bought 1 VC game since Christmas, but I dont' belive VC games really count...do they? While I may be playing less, I'm turning the Wii on quite a bit more. Since the launch of the Voting channel, the Wii has been on every day. My wife, kids and I have been voting, predicting and comparing our results. I'm really impressed by the interface and simple fun. Plus, it only takes a few minutes to play. The reason I don't get more Zelda in is because I need to sit for at least an hour to get much out of it. I love it...and play a few hours a month, but it's easier to find 15 minutes to play than 60. Additionally, I've bought 5 GCN games in the last 2 months, which has given me plenty more to play, and since the GCN isn't connected, I end up playing them on the Wii...perhaps that counts as playing the Wii? So end result - I'm playing Wii games less (which is where the 'lost magic' comments come from I believe) - I'm turning the Wii on more - I'm playing games on the Wii more - The voting channel is a lot of fun
I think you have hit the only advantage the PS3 has over Wii and one of the two advantages the 360 has over Wii. HD. However, that advantage does not really count right now, as HDTV's are not commonplace. And Wii is making so much money that by the time HDTVs are commonplace in US homes there could be an HD Wii ready to go. As for the other advantage the 360 has, I'm not sure Wii will ever catch up: games. Some pretty damn good ones too. I love my DS on the road but the reason I play console/PC games is for immersion and experiences. Will Wii catch up before HDTVs take over? Not sure. As for the other poster, Please stop telling us what WE ALL want. Sure Harry Potter is written in simple language with simple themes we all can enjoy, but sometimes I want to read something like Game of Thrones. As in other forms of media variety is key for me. I will wait and see which console has the largest variety of games and continue playing my DS till then.
Interesting. In my case, it wasn't that I had anything against the GBA or its games so much as I just realized my lifestyle was better off without a little handheld game system. I spent enough time on computer/console games that I didn't need to infect my time away from those things with more games...
What? Check the manual: holding down Z (or is it C?) let's you control the camera.
everything in moderation
Oh yes, the questionmark, made infamous at Fox news and other, Highly truthful organisations?
Not only does it absolve you from any accusation, but can it also make your stupid point for you?
that why you should be aware that biased, bloody stupid statements get wrapped as questions so you can always say "hey, I was just asking"... isn't that ok?
so whenever you see a question which blatantly points to bias one way or the other, ask yourself this: "Is your mother a whore?"
- Hey I was just asking! No one was accusing your mother to being a whore, it's just an innocent, blatantly biased question which questions whether your mother sucks cock for cash?
Is the Wii failing? If it is, is it because the authors' mom doesn't suck his 'wii' anymore?
K.
I was rabid about getting a Wii. I still haven't been able to get my hands on one, but the need is much weaker. This is mostly due to being able to play at a friends' place.
I still intend to get a Wii soon. I eagerly await the next Killer Game on the Wii, and suspect I will grow impatient and cranky while I wait. But I won't ditch out for the 360 and PS3 out of impatience.
Misleading titles? Inflammatory blurbs? Keep in mind that Slashdot is a tabloid.
Persistent Inability to Keep Units On the Shelf... Could also mean that Nintendo are having production problems... Perhaps they have run out of GameCube circuit boards rescued from the trash... LOL...
Really? Play Burnout on the 360 and then on the PS2 on a 480i TV... they look about the same. Put Excite Truck on Wii next to that and it looks like it fits in as well. On HDTV it's another thing altogether though, but on 480i they all look the same, the extra detail is not discernable.
Just fYI, The sensor bar has Zero effect on the motion sencing abilities. I have actually played a few frames of Wii Sports Bowling from a different (adacent) room. It worked perfectly fine. The Sensor bar is there as a guide post for the pointer (Think Lighthouse). In theory you don't even need it so long as you have 2 IR sources near the TV (Even candles have been proven to work).
I agree that I simply can't go back to dialup, but I disagree that the HD vs. SD switch is so profound. I have a Wii running 480p and a 360 running in 720p (Looks better than 1080i IMHO) both over component. Last night I was playing Fight Night Round 3 (on the 360). Very, Very Pretty game. I like it a bit, but I found myself looking at my coffee table and thinking 'If only I could use the Nunchuck and play this like Wii Sports Boxing'... That would improve this alot.
What's Ironic about that is I never had the thought while playing WiiSports boxing 'I wish this was more realistic looking'. The Mii's are cartoony, but the charactures of some of my friends are a very good likeness. So when we box as cartoony as they are I am totally sold that I am fighting them .
Granted I do buy, and enjoy HD content (I even got an HD DVD player), and I don't want to run anything over composite video, but for me it isn't an all or nothing thing, and as such I will gladdy buy the Wii versions of Tiger Woods Golf, or Fight Night over the 'prettier' 360 version since the control offers much greater immersion.
I'm aware of all of that, intimately. I wasn't claiming that Wii bowling, or any of the Wii Sports games *currently* uses the sensor bar (except for the pointer when selecting). I was simply saying that to implement a Wiisaber, you could do what Wii baseball currently does, and *supplement* it with IR light data to get horizontal orientation.
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
All I can say is that a 10-year-old girl asked me if she could play with my Wii.
No, I will not work for your startup
Obviously my sentiments do not really reflect those of the public in general. I'm a cost concious gamer, and my owning a Wii is more down to chance happenstance than any actual pursuit of owning one. I can content myself with Wii Sports and Zelda without any real longing for other new games (Although the shooting stages in Rayman may cause me to make another purchase). My primary excitement with the Wii was the Virtual Console, and even that only held my interest for a few games in particular. Games which have not been released yet.
Several months after launch, the games I want (Super Mario RPG [SNES], Paper Mario [N64], and the two N64 Zelda's) are nowhere to be seen. That's fine. I don't mind waiting. I'm patient.
Catch is, Nintendo doesn't bother to let us know anything about the upcoming VC titles. Insofar as I can tell, the titles aren't announced until the moment that they're available. Every Monday morning, bright and early, I switch on the Wii just before work to check the latest releases. Every Monday morning, I'm disappointed to find games which won't provide me with nearly the amount of gameplay. I see the VC roster with a few A-list games and a -lot- of padding. I can understand Nintendo taking the stance of "Only a few games at a time" in order to increase sales, but it frustrates me to see no news of upcoming VC release dates, and I suspect I'm not alone in this frustration.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
Oh, yes, LOL.
Because everyone knows the Wii is just a Gamecube, right?
Man, I thought this shit was made clear way before this thing launched.
I'll run through it again: The Wii is based on the Gamecube's architecture, which is the same as saying your new PC is based on the same as your old one. This means that developers who already know how to make games for the Cube can easily apply their knowledge to the Wii.
Again, like a new PC compared to an old one, it runs the same sort of code, but it's faster and more powerful.
LOL
Exactly how much more powerful? 10% is the numbers I have seen.. Small overclock of a 486...
i love my wii http://www.wiiyou.com/