BaB Presents: Where'd Wii go Wrong

[BreakABone]

I guess, I should start stimulating activity in my own forum with a simple series looking at the 3 main platforms. The first being the Wii just because its the easiest I think.

While the system has been shown to be a monster in terms of sales and reputation and in my own eyes have created some truly innovative pieces of software, Nintendo really lowballed the console.

-The graphics. I am by no stretch of the imagination a graphics whore, and in my opinion it is pretty passable, but owning a 360 I can see where folks would have issue with the Wii games. On the same hand, I've mostly played the major Wii games where they try a lot harder.

-Friend codes. I don't mind ONE. A system friend code seemed to be a saving grace. One code sort of like a cell number or something and you are good to go, but no that is only good for certain things. I mean in order to do everyting online in Smash you need two friend codes. One to play and one to trade pics/ movies/ stages. It really is a pain in the ass.

-Online. I think it is passable at times, but there needs to be some uniformed system. There are leaderboards and ranks in Mario Strikers Charged but not in Smash Bros. There is the ability for a Mario Kart channel that isn't in any other Nintendo game. Don't substract. Keep adding. Make it a standard.

-Not the Wii's fault exactly, but 3rd party support can still be a little lackluster at times. It either gets ignored entirely, gets a watered down no effort port or well it gets a shoe-horned version.

Anyhow, those are the ones I know off the top of my head. Anymore? Some don't agree with?

[Aladuf]

I agree with all of it, especially the 3rd party business. They've stepped down as a... serious gaming company this gen it seems. Now, that's kind of a bad way to put it but mostly what you see in Wii advertising is quirky games centered for kids and their parents/grandparents. You never see many solid Wii games outside of 1st party really. Nintendo delivers with Zelda, Mario, Brawl, and Metroid Prime 3 and they really are hurting with 3rd party. Outside of No More Heroes, Zak and Wiki, and Super Mario Strikers what other solid options do the normal "hardcore" gamers have? I have no desire to play minigames, and all of the other lazy games that developers just throw together to rake in a couple of bucks.

But in the end, the Wii serves its purpose. I mainly just want to play the new versions of the old games I loved years ago and it does that for me just fine. The Wii's purchase for me was justified with Twilight Princess, which is still my favorite game for it. I have the other games I'll play on the PS3 and 360 that will crave my hunger for killing aliens and saving the world once again.

[Yoda9864]

Originally Posted by BreakABone

-Not the Wii's fault exactly, but 3rd party support can still be a little lackluster at times. It either gets ignored entirely, gets a watered down no effort port or well it gets a shoe-horned version.

That's one problem with a popular system. A lot of developers want to make a quick buck so they make a crappy ass port or a half put together an "original" game.

My absolute biggest gripe with the Wii: friend codes. I mean seriously, come on Nintendo, wtf? They have sucked almost all of my ambition to play online.

[manasecret]

I think it's as simple as the fact that Wii Sports 2 hasn't come out yet. Yeah, yeah, Wii Fit is almost out, and that's a good direction, but I actually mean Wii Sports 2. A game where the motion control is perfected, and a couple more sports are added.

That's what's selling the system. I don't know why they haven't talked about a new one yet. (A sequel is practically a given, considering most people are buying the system for Wii Sports.)

[KillerGremlin]

The Wii is a Gamecube with a gimmicky controller. There, I said it. Same rehashed series and characters, and at the end of the Wii's run maybe we will see a total of 10 new innovative games from the few 3rd party companies that still care about Nintendo. The Wii's target audience are little kids and the same Nintendo fans who have been buying the same Nintendo crap since Nintendo innovated 3D gaming with the N64.

The Nintendo marketing team is brilliant. A new 3D Mario or Zelda game is going to be good no matter how uninspired it is; although I maintain each new Zelda game since Ocarina and Majora's has been less inspired and has held my interest for a shorter period of time. The same can and should be said for Mario, Metroid, ect. ect.

You can't argue about the Wii's price...oh wait, you can, because it's inflated due to supply and demand. Is that Nintendo's fault that there aren't enough consoles to go around? Yes, yes it is. You could also argue that the low price is due to the low graphics, but Nintendo is about style and gameplay, not pixels.

As far as online play goes, well Nintendo sucks at it, but so does Sony and Microsoft. PC gamers get a laugh at online console gamers. We really do. //arrogance//

Anyway, the Wii is what the Wii is...a typical Nintendo console. Nintendo fans don't want innovation, they want their bi-annual Zelda and Mario game. Bless their hearts.

Nintendo has become the company that doesn't take risks with games, but they make a really polished final product. Nintendo and Blizzard are my two favorite rehash companies, although both Nintendo and Blizzard used to be innovative back in the day.

[manasecret]

I agree a bit, and I disagree a lot.

But to sum it up, I am tired of buying Nintendo consoles solely for the Nintendo rehashes. Or any console for that matter, since all the games are essentially rehashes.

That's why I bought a Wii, though. If it weren't for Wii Sports and the possibility of playing other games that are radically different than the ones I've been playing for the past 15 years, I wouldn't have bought one. All I want is another Wii Sports. I think Wii Fit is a good idea, but I don't want a balance board to deal with.

In the meantime I end up buying the Nintendo rehashes. And I like 'em. That's my problem -- I'd like a 360 and a PS3 and a new PC. But I'm afraid of all the money I'd spend.

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by manasecret

I agree a bit, and I disagree a lot.

But to sum it up, I am tired of buying Nintendo consoles solely for the Nintendo rehashes. Or any console for that matter, since all the games are essentially rehashes.

That's why I bought a Wii, though. If it weren't for Wii Sports and the possibility of playing other games that are radically different than the ones I've been playing for the past 15 years, I wouldn't have bought one. All I want is another Wii Sports. I think Wii Fit is a good idea, but I don't want a balance board to deal with.

In the meantime I end up buying the Nintendo rehashes. And I like 'em. That's my problem -- I'd like a 360 and a PS3 and a new PC. But I'm afraid of all the money I'd spend.

I'm a jaded, cheap gamer. I haven't picked up a PS3 because it's too much money and not many of the titles are appealing to me, and I don't want a 360 because most of the games I want to play wind up being available for the PC. I like a few of the titles on the Wii, but I want to wait till the price of the Wii drops and a few more unique titles are out. I'm a Nintendo fan so I'd happily play my way through all the rehashes, but I know I won't enjoy Mario Galaxy like I enjoyed Super Mario 64. I don't think anything at this point will bring back those amazing memories, or inspire me to beat the game over 10+ times. The same goes for all the Nintendo franchise titles, but what can you do. I just wish more Nintendo fans would be honest and admit that they're just suckers for more of the same old. I'd pay for Ocarina of Time 2. In fact, I did, I bought Wind Waker.

The Wii has the mutliplayer down for sure. If I get a Wii I'll definitely be getting it for the 4-player awesomeness that it rocks at. Nintendo may have dropped the online ball, but they know how to make mutliplayer in person fun. I still take out the Gamecube and N64 just to do 4-player in Mario Kart, Goldeneye, Mario Party, and Super Smash Bros.

[Dyne]

I seriously prefer the Gamecube so far, even though we've had fantastic, A+ games like Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, and Smash Brothers come out on the Wii. Maybe I'll just always love the Gamecube.

[Angrist]

Recently somebody mentioned that the GameCube had much better 3rd party support at this point in it's lifespans.

[Bube]

Because of the graphics issue, developers can't port games for the 360 or PS3 to Wii, so it gets games that have similar graphical features - GC or PS2 games. And they don't sell. So nobody tries anymore, because Nintendo are already developing the next big hit. If you had just tried harder in the first place, 3rd parties..

And there's the controller - it makes it impossible to play some kinds of games - instead of pushing a button, they make you shake the controller like an..ahem..crazed teenager.. Really original guys! Even though they add GC or classic controller support sometimes, I think it should be made a standard.

But the biggest problem is, most companies don't have the imagination like Nintendo. But on the other hand, gamers seem like they don't want different kinds of gameplay, they want the same games with new stories and better graphics. Honestly, what have we played since the PSX/N64 days that's different now? And I say the PSX/N64 days, because the graphics got a major overhaul then - otherwise, we've been playing the same things ever since we started playing games. And we still want more of the same.

[Dyne]

Well, aren't PS2 sales still really good? I guess Wii's trying to steal that.

[Perfect Stu]

I'm still under the impression that if the system wasn't selling so well, hardcore gamers would be very disappointed with it. I could be wrong, because there is some quality gaming on the system like Mario Galaxy, but it seems like a lot of the satisfaction people have with the system is the sales numbers.

[Fox 6]

To me the only appealing game for the Wii is Brawl. I wii is more directed to pick up and play, which im not really into.

[DeathsHand]

Originally Posted by Angrist

Recently somebody mentioned that the GameCube had much better 3rd party support at this point in it's lifespans.

That was me...
Wii has been out for about a year and a half...

There are... 8 titles with an 80% or above that are not credited to Nintendo, 2 of which are ports of games from last generation.

Resident Evil 4
Guitar Hero 3
Zack & Wiki
No More Heroes
Bully
Madden '07
Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Geometry Wars

At this point in Gamecube's life cycle, it had... 27 of them.

Tony Hawk 3
Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2
Madden '02
Super Monkey Ball
SSX Tricky
Resident Evil
Tiger Woods PGA Tour '03
Madden '03
NFL2K3
Timesplitters 2
Tony Hawk 4
Aggressive Inline
Super Monkey Ball 2
NBA Street
Resident Evil 0
All-Star Baseball '03
Sega Soccer Slam
Phantasy Star Online 1 & 2
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
FIFA Soccer '03
James Bond: Nightfire
Burnout 2
Splinter Cell
Ikaruga
Skies of Arcadia Legends
The Sims
Def Jam Vendetta

Even when it comes to games credited to Nintendo, Wii has 6 with a score of 80% or higher, Gamecube had 9...
Although Wii Sports, which many people like and, let's the honest, is the only reason the console is selling like it is, only scored ~75% positive reviews...

I sold my Wii to some DC yuppie who knew nothing about video games, but "Played Wii Sports at a friend's house while drunk and just had to get one."...

I mean, Wii has already surpassed GameCube's worldwide sales...
Of course, GameCube didn't get a constant stream of media attention about it's "innovative proprietary disc format" and "A controller so amazingly ergonomic that even the elderly are getting in on the fun!"...

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Perfect Stu

I'm still under the impression that if the system wasn't selling so well, hardcore gamers would be very disappointed with it. I could be wrong, because there is some quality gaming on the system like Mario Galaxy, but it seems like a lot of the satisfaction people have with the system is the sales numbers.

Well, I don't know I think the system is doing fine, its like most Nintendo's systems with the games too far and few between but its a solid system in my eyes.

Metroid Prime 3
Twilight Princess
Galaxy
Brawl
Mario Strikers

No More Heroes
Zack and Wiki
Godfather: Blackhand Edition
PES 2008
Sonic and the Secret Rings (For the most part, and seems to be the one that is most influencing Sonic Unleashed)

And I'm sure there are middle of the road games, but I honestly think the Wii has a much stronger earlier line-up than either of Nintendo's last two consoles thats just me.