hulk

You say such silly things sometimes, Las. Price plays a large part, yes, but the appeal of the console is due to far, far more than just dollars. It's unfortunate you think it overrated, especially as you're basing that off a tech demo given out for free, a gamecube port and the first attempt at a shooter on the console.

The system has been out for less than six months, worldwide. Great games aren't made in six months. Good and average games take longer than six months. Even most terrible games take longer than six months. With the sales this thing has seen, it's a fair bet to expect third-party support close to what the PS2 entertained.

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"'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex."
-- From an IGN game review.

jpmck03

~~

YaWhateva

Hopefully the third party developers don't completely screw up the Wii-mote controls in the future like they seem to be doing now. Like all systems, I will wait until there are more games out that I want to buy before getting one. I made that mistake when I bought a Jaguar, n64, Saturn, and Dreamcast. Not that those didn't have their great games, it's just the number of good games was very very small.

Haha, I forget, but isn't it about the same size as the original Xbox controller? The only reason the xbox controller looked smaller in comparison is because the console was a behemoth.

Penny Arcade has a comic for everything

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"This is my United States of Whateva!"

CyCo PL

Actually the Dreamcast controller is about the size of the Xbox 360 controller, and lighter... The Dreamcast console was just really small. Look at lid on the top, that's about the size of a CD.

And the worst thing about the controller was the wire coming out of the bottom instead of the top. Who does that, anyway?



Oh.

Edit: nevermind, it's actually bigger than the Xbox controller, but it's still lighter. It actually feels too light considering the size of it.

jpmck03

~~

hulk

The Classic controller is joyous. Handles NES, SNES and N64 games awesomely and I love it and want to have its babies.

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"'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex."
-- From an IGN game review.

CyCo PL

Yeah, I love the classic controller... but why make the cord come out of the bottom? When I'm playing in my boxers it tends to get all tangled up down there sometimes

Jetée

Can you actually believe we are living in are forefather's futuristic generation where flying cars and the coloniztion of distant planets was to be inevitable?
Come on, we are living in the year 2007, and we are still tethered to our joyous funboxes by way of troublesome chords.
HAL 9000 is automatronically mocking us for our inabilty to progress any further.

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stevie667

I know its not ninty, but it feels appropriate!

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Esoteric

Hahaha, that's one thing that pissed me off about GH2 on the 360. Though GH3 is going to be all wireless!

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hulk

Because it doesn't plug into the console I play with the Remote in my lap or beside it, so it's natural for the cord to go back instead of forward. Just move the remote further away if it tangles

__________________
"'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex."
-- From an IGN game review.

Lasereth

You somewhat contradicted yourself. You say that price isn't the only reason the Wii is selling so well, but then you say that we can't expect a lot out of it because it's new. So why is it selling so fast and still sold out at a lot of stores in the US? Because the poorest of folks can afford it and they simply cannot afford the PS3. I'll say it again: if the Wii was $600 and the PS3 was $250, the sales numbers would be completely reversed, fanboys would proclaim the Wii an abyssmal failure because the controls don't work in a large majority of its games, and Sony would be the hero with Resistance: Fall of Man for only $250.

The quality of the system is apparent due to games like Zelda that are out but the console simply does not deserve the amount of praise and sales it's getting. I won't say that Nintendo made a bad move and I won't say the Wii is doomed. All I'm saying is the Wii is slaughtering its competition because of its price, not because it's an amazing console.

If Sony doesn't want to alienate gamers more than it already has, it better kick its financial and operations management divisions into overdrive and figure out how to gain market share back from a console that costs less than the last generation.

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hulk

I didn't contradict myself at all, Las. It's selling so fast because people want to buy it - and take it from me, if someone can come up with $250, it's no big stretch to choke up $600.

People will buy the console they want, not the one they're limited to affording. By your logic, the margin would consist of poor folk. We're talking a sales margin in the millions here. Claiming it's due to all those buyers being poor is just ludicrous.

The Wii offers an entirely different experience than the PS3 and 360. Don't underestimate the part this difference plays in appealing to larger markets.

__________________
"'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex."
-- From an IGN game review.

ironpham

Lasereth, at some point, your statement was correct. But, after about six months of Wii and PS3 release, the Wii dominates because of the games and the experience you get from the games. Yes, the price difference drove parents to buy the Wii over the PS3, I'm sure. But at this point after release, it's not parents that are still buying it, it's everyone else. Why does everyone else buy the Wii? They buy the Wii because of how fun the games and the new experience.

Now, just because you don't like the games doesn't make them bad games. I found Wii sports to be a great game, and the same goes for Zelda. I've never tried Red Steel, though I hear it wasn't great. Still, as hulk said, it was the first attempt at an FPS on this new platform. You can't expect a fantastic game.

And, the reason why Sony is getting screwed is because they released a console that's suppose to have the highest quality of graphics, but has yet to deliver. From what I've seen, the XBox 360 games have similar graphic qualities. That and some of the games that were exclusive to Sony are becoming multi-platform games (e.g. DMC4).

YaWhateva

I am not trying to be a basher of the Wii here, but everyone keeps saying that the Wii games are so fun, can anyone name me 4 Wii games that are worth getting that are out now, besides Zelda and Paper Mario? I haven't really seen any.

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“If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again.” - Bill O'Reilly

"This is my United States of Whateva!"

skier

Excite Truck
Wario Ware: smooth moves
Elebits
Trauma centre ( which i guess is arguable but i had a blast playing it)
Sonic secret rings
wii sports?

8 great games on a console 6 months old? It's a good lineup and more games are coming out- mario party in particular is right around the corner.

Compared to the game lineup of the PS3 or the Xbox 360 6 months from launch and you'd get a much different picture.

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YaWhateva

Thanks! I will look them up, I hadn't really been keeping track of the Wii games very much. I will definitely be getting a Wii at some point and I will keep those games in mind. I honestly had only heard about Excite Truck before this.

And I agree about the ps3 xbox360 thing. At 6 months in, I couldn't think of 2 games for either of those consoles that I want. The 360 is pumping tons of good games out now though but it did take some time. Poor PS3.

__________________
“If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again.” - Bill O'Reilly

"This is my United States of Whateva!"

gar1976

I think the little bump in the middle sends out the signals - I play mine with the wiimote next to me pointed away from the TV, which usually gives me the nasty "aim remote at screen" error.

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Blistex, in regards to crappy games -

They made pong look like a story driven RPG with a dynamic campaign.

Lasereth

MotorStorm on the PS3 is better than Excite Truck. Elebits got horrible reviews. Sonic has been deemed the game that put the nail in the coffin for the Sonic series it's so horribly bad with controls that just don't work. Wii Sports I'll give you. Haven't heard anything about Wario Ware besides it getting bad reviews in my EGM. The Wii doesn't have any blockbusters yet besides Zelda and possibly Paper Mario. The PS3 certainly doesn't have any besides Resistance but damn the Wii just isn't that fun.

I mean don't get me wrong. I like seeing Nintendo on top. They deserve a much-needed break. But what grates my nerves is people overhyping the Wii because they wanted the damn thing to be good, even if most of its games are miserable failures with controls that ruin the whole experience they're so bad. The Wii is by no means a golden chariot. It has some decent games, maybe 2 TRULY great games, and a whole lot of trash, just like every other system. Swinging the controller around in front of your family and friends may make the games seem like they're extremely fun but that's the social atmosphere swaying the experience.

BTW I'm not implying that poor people buy the Wii or that the system is catered towards poor people. I'm just saying that the price makes it affordable to everyone, and even those who CAN afford the PS3 or 360 are gonna choose the Wii because it's so much damn cheaper. Then they're gonna swing the remote around while drunk with their friends and proclaim a game with 30% on metacritic as the best game ever made that's worth buying the system for.

So you'd buy the Wii for $600, an extra controller for $40, the HD cables for $50, Zelda for $50, plux tax for $800?

You'd buy an $800 Wii over a PS3 that costs $250? A PS3 that had a rocky start but will undoubtedly have system-sellers? A PS3 that DOES have two or three good games on it, just like the Wii? You don't think that $800 to $250 difference makes any impact on the sales figures at all?

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hulk

The PS3 didn't see a release here for four months after the Wii; so yeah, I would buy the Wii. It doesn't make a difference to me - I've just bought my third 360 (one was stolen, one microsoft fucked up with their update) and I'm below minimum wage, supporting myself, paying bills etc.

Motorstorm fits a different niche than Excite Truck - and he asked for good games on the Wii, not good games on the PS3. Wario Ware is games night fuel for those that buy it, and it's a fantastically polished piece of software. Sonic is averaging a 71% on GameRankings, which is far from a nail in any coffin. Elebits is at 75%.

Your posts have implied you want anything but to see Nintendo on top, Las. You've been predicting doom and gloom for the Wii since it was announced, which is fair enough, but there comes a time when predictions go unfulfilled :P

Edit: Just checked, and EGM gave Elebits 51.7% (lowest out of all reviews) and WarioWare an 80% (average 82%).

__________________
"'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex."
-- From an IGN game review.

skier

Motorstorm got mixed reviews as well, and everyone complains about it's monstrous waiting times. And the "nail in the coffin" you're talking about was Sonic the hedgehog 2006, which came out for the 360 and the PS3. Really turned a lot of people off the series. Sonic secret rings is actually a lot of fun though of course not perfect as it has some problems like no spinning when you roll.

I've played all the games i've recommended, and wario ware is right up there with zelda and paper mario. It's even better in multiplayer. I don't know where you got all your information but i stand by all my recommendations.


I don't know why you have it out for the wii. Most of the games i mentioned are single player, and I played them as such. The controls are fine, although in some games or just certain instances of a game not polished to the degree I would like. Which is not surprising for early games on a system that uses a radically different control style from previous generations.

I didn't even mention ssx blur, which has excellent and accurate motion sensing. And great to play to boot. My orginal post just mentioned 6 games I had fun playing on the wii. I don't see how that's overhyping the system, or even hyping it. I didn't cast aspersions on other consoles, only did a direct comparison of their game lineups 6 months after their launch.

If I wanted to glorify nintendo, i would have mentioned how it's NPD numbers show hardware sales for nintendo products are more than all other systems, combined, for at least 3 months running. Or maybe that if the sales are maintained at this level for another 9 months the wii will surpass the xbox 360 in it's userbase. Not to mention they are increasing production so it may be even less time, considering there are still lineups on shipment/store release days 6 months after it's launch even with over 6 million (about) sold.

I wasn't being a fanboy, i was just providing a list of games I thought were great to someone who asked and was not "in the know".

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CyCo PL

I honestly do see the Wii as a novelty console, and a lot of people want it because it's something new and can just be picked up and played. It's half the price of the other consoles so people feel safer buying it over a 400 or 600 dollar console. The Wii is the only new console I own, and every day I'm realizing more and more that it's really not the console for me, the hardcore gamer.

As of right now, there are really only two games on the Wii that I could sit down and play for five hours at a time and not be tired of-- Zelda, and Super Paper Mario. All of the FPS's on Wii are so annoyingly awkward for me to play, I've just decided to stay away from them completely. Trauma Center is a great game, but can be beaten really fast if you skip through all of the dialogue (which, might I add, makes the game feel like a japanese dating sim).

The Wii is a casual/minigamer's dream come true, but for people who pull the occasional twelve hour gaming marathons, there are very few games for the Wii that will accomodate you. It's more of a toy that you show off to your friends and family, play for an hour or two and laugh at how dumb you look playing it, then sit down and watch a movie. On that note, it's really a shame that the Wii doesn't play DVD's.

It's more of an accessory to the PS3 or Xbox360, depending on which one you want to get. I still haven't decided yet.

Lasereth

Couldn't have said it better myself.

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stevie667

True, but a-when there are some better games it will change that perspective on novelty and b-most people already have a DVD player, which was the logic in the argument already.

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CyCo PL

That's what worries me about the Wii. I don't think we're going to see much better than what's already out, just more of the same. Maybe sequels, maybe new franchises of minigame compilation discs, but the Wii doesn't really have the capacity to bring something truly new and mindblowing to the table. Once you've owned a Wii for six months, the control scheme isn't really that special. It comes down to the games' originality and innovation. The Wii got off to a great start, but how many variations of "point the controller at the screen, tilt it around, and shake the nunchuck" can you come up with?

What I'm saying is, the console just feels like a Gamecube with a new controller. The graphics are nothing new, the overall look and feel of the games is nothing new in retrospect to the last generation of games. I'm not saying it's a bad console, but it's technically what the Gamecube should have been. Wii owners who don't own any other next-gen console (like myself) will eventually see games come out on the PS3 and 360 that the Wii just won't be able to do. With the PS3's Blu-ray disc with a capacity of 50 gigs, and the 360's HD-DVD holding 30 gigs, they'll eventually be able to produce enormous, epic games that the Wii's 5 gig disc won't even be able to touch. Both of the big consoles are still technically in baby steps regarding the high capacity storage media, so it may be a little while before people notice how dated the Wii truly is, but I think games like GTA4 will show that the Wii is not really competition for the PS3 and 360. It's an accessory.

stevie667

I wouldn't say that. Is a PDA an accessory if one has a high spec super-duper top of the line PC? No, if it was pink, possibly.

At the end of the day ninty have decided they can't play with the big guns (that was changed from big boys, but ninty has the clout to put out a good console, just not the stupidity) this round, and are taking a different route. I've always thought of the Wii as a tech demonstrator, showing what can and can't be done, making a few fun games then seeing what happens next.

Where would we be now if they hadn't decided to go with the joypad on the N64 controllers? The ones on the PS sucked. I will point out that sony dumped their banana controller in favour of one with motion sensors...

Yes, huge ginormicus games won't fit onto the wii disks, but big games cost lots of money to make, and time. I personally am salivating over what i will be able to do with the wiimote and mario galaxy. Mario 64 was such a depature, i have no doubt that will be too.

Ninty havn't really made the best calls in the past couple of consoles, but it's not as if they have to really bother from a financial standpoint, they rake in enough money to cover any losses. Microsoft and Sony can't, they're both throwing in wadges of cash to outdo each other because the one that fails is likely to be the endsake. If ninty can bide their time, wait until the HD tech matures and becomes cheaper (i say it was a good move to skip a dvd function, you can pick them up for absoloute pitance these days) then put forward some super duper console. Competition exists on many levels, most households will only own one console, the wii is a major part of that. Pure economics gives the wii has an f'ing huge threat.

I try not to be a fanboy, i recognise the competition is formidable, and both field excellent consoles, both of which i enjoy playing loads. If you don't want a wii atm, i can't blame you, there isn't exactly a plethora of games out there for it, but don't write it off because of that just yet, stuff takes time, which there is plenty of.


One question is this, if the wii didn't have the wiimote system, where would console controllers be heading?

The sony and MS ones are essentially wavebirds, the only difference from previous is a few tweaks and wireless, which was done first sucessfully on the gamecube. That type of control system has matured, and needs to be progressed if games want to progress beyond formats we already know.

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guthmund

I think the Wii has already brought something new and mind blowing to the table and I think the numbers more than prove it. I'm not a fanboy, but I will give credit where it's due and Nintendo more than deserves it for the Wii-mote. Where the other two were obsessively concerned with horsepower and how pretty they could make things--and don't get me wrong, that certainly has it's place--Nintendo was trying to shake things up a bit.

Sequels abound on the horizon, sure, but Nintendo has always been about established franchises. So, while we can surely lament the fact that Nintendo probably won't have a whole lot of great original content, it's really not fair to dismiss them entirely because of it.

As for graphics--and I've said this before--games that are pretty are nice, but if the gameplay sucks then who cares? If the Wii can deliver great gameplay, then I don't really care what it looks like, pretty is just icing on the cake. And who knows? The vast majority of gamers all shit on the Gamecube until RE4 came along....


Microsoft has already said that HD-DVD gaming on the 360 is out of the question. And if I recall correctly, Sony may be using Blu-Ray, they aren't using it to capacity. That is to say--and again, if I remember right--that Resistance is a 16 GB game on a 25 GB disc and a lot of that is redundancy and duplicate information to compensate for the slow read speeds.

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Dr Mario Kart

What did you think about the DS vs PSP before they were both out?

I play mostly traditional games, and I continue to do so on the DS. The touch screen and dual screen are just OPTIONS for developers.

You cant fail with high marketshare. You just cant. Marketshare attracts developers and you get more games. The popularity of the Wii caught many devs off guard which is why there is a lot of quick and dirty cash-ins.

Yes, the novelty will wear off. It does by definition. Thats not relevant. What it becomes after a novelty, is STANDARD.

Has Nintendo changed gaming? Every time you pickup a PS3 controller that doesnt rumble, and tilt it, you know the answer.

pocon1

nothing to say

Dr Mario Kart

There is absolutely no credibility to the idea that Nintendo would leave the hardware business:

Profit in the game industry: 1998-2007

snowy

I love my new Wii. It is awesome, fun, and entertaining!

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stevie667

Those figures in dollars? Ouch!

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hulk

What's the source on that, Dr Mario Kart? It looks accurate, but I'm curious

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"'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex."
-- From an IGN game review.

Dr Mario Kart

It was compiled by someone at the Neogaf forums, probably just from the various financial/earnings statements.