i say it stunk, nintendo is goign down the drain, like SEGA did...

actually,, nintendo might just be saved by theyre gameboy.... the mini super nintendo as i like to callit. super nintendo was the best, if nintendo keeps up with the gameboy.. they just might stay in buisness.

I loved the 50-level dungeon too, great fun. The wind temple with the great puzzles using the statues was my favorite dungeon.

Wind Waker was awesome, really enjoyed it. I agree that it was quite easy, but that didn't detract from the game for me.

The gamecube overall has been an excellent purchase. Super Mario Sunshine, Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2, Pikmin, Super Metroid, Tony Hawk 4, Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, and Zelda have all been really excellent games. Of those, I think only Tony Hawk was a non-exclusive. I don't get the console wars myself. If you're a serious gamer, get every console that has good games, what's the big deal?

those titles stink.. starfox , and metroid, and mario all suck on gamecube. wth has nintendo done with them. metroid should be left as a sidescroller... mario ... was just lame.. they made him look retarded too. the ymade him GROW!!!...
star fox became an adventure game.. i find that to be lame...

look at ps2, when they released, or gonna release the new CONTRA game. they kept it completely classic, and kept it as a side scrolle, the way it should be. i think thats what many games want. oldschool titles, with the same look and gameplay, with a new graphic engine and gameplay. not a complete redo of the game. i for one, personally hate nintendo now.

sorry for off topic again, but i ahd to address and reply to him.

Sega went down the drain because of their hardware failures, Sega games have consitently done very well and been innovative and fun. The Saturn and the Dreamcast killed Sega's hardware chances, not Sega's game design. I'm just glad they got out of hardware and went purely software, becuase they make awesome games (Shenmue, Jet Grind/Set Radio, Sonic, Panzer Dragoon, etc.)

As far as "actually,, nintendo might just be saved by theyre gameboy.... the mini super nintendo as i like to callit. super nintendo was the best, if nintendo keeps up with the gameboy.. they just might stay in buisness. ["..........they have practically no competition. Anyone who tries to compete in the handheld market not only gets crushed, but incinerated and then vaporized. Nintendo makes so much money off the GBA and GBA titles like Pokemon it's ungodly. Nintendo could lose this round of the Console wars entirely, and the next few too, and it'd still be rolling in money if they keep up their handheld success. The smart don't even try to compete there, even Sony has released games for the GBA. Can't beat em, might as well join em.

Derailing aside, Windwaker was great. Yes, it was way too short, yes it was way too easy ("died" once while I was on the phone, but of course I had 3 fairies and a bottle of that soup) but it was fun. I didn't care about most of the side-quests though... there was no Big Goron Sword to get, no special items aside from the Hero Mask to acquire that made a difference in gameplay. The boss fights though, were dead on. Massive bosses that you have to think somewhat to beat, though sometimes (Earth Temple, I'm looking at you) beating the boss was more of beating the L-Targeting than anything else. Plus, the last fight was really fun. High points? Getting up to 1000 hits on Orca, the 50 level dungeon in Outset, and the final battle. Low points? Characters I didn't care about at all, sailing being kinda repetitive, and too short. All in all, please sir Miyamoto, can I have some more?

Just thought I'd toss in my two cents.

Here ya go, maybe this time you can stay on topic....

Woah! Deja vu. I was starting to wonder if something was being changed in the Matrix?

Anyway, back on topic. I honestly think Nintendo is holding strong, even if it is most likely only in 3rd place. This is, after all, a multi-billion dollar company we're talking about. They won't fade out of existence just like that.

Plus, you really can't compare the two companies, because neither are/were the same. Nintendo has never really had as many problems as Sega did, such as the upper management reorgs, buy-outs, and constant attempts at releasing new consoles every other month to refresh interest. Yes, Nintendo released several versions of the GameBoy, but only because they knew people would buy it, not because they were desperately trying to get people to regain interest in their systems.

Plus, unlike Sega, they have many strong game developers backing them, so they aren't the only ones to develop for their systems (how many games did the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast have again?). They also have more that one title holding them above the water (i.e. Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc...), so they've got games people will play.

No, I don't think Nintendo is in as much trouble as people make it out to be. Even in third place, they can still make a hefty profit margin.

edit (Apr20): fixed some stupid spelling mistakes, and remembered the multiple Gameboys being released

After purchasing my gamecube i got a wee bit of buyers remorse. I know NOA is screwing around with their liscencies and they are charging waay higher than Sony and MS to make games for their consoles. Nintendo of America and ESPECIALLY Nintendo of Japan has always had some control issues. I think it stems from the fact that they have been in the game for 100 years, and it's some of that good old fashioned japanese pride my grandpa used to tell me about. The real reason they are hurting right now is the mindset of their consumers has changed. I've touched on this before in other threads.. but Today's gamers are very content with buying crap. Even if they don't keep the game.. those units are getting sold. Thefore have to try as hard to make a game good, they just have to hype it up. DOA BeachVolleyball?, State of Emergency?, do any of those ring a bell? Sure nintendo does have some crap games.. but at least they are trying to be innovative. The problem is their corporate office is stubborn.. and while i love them for being stern, if they dont learn to roll with the punches they are going to get left behind or become a 3rd party software vendor because this isn 1985 and they arent the biggest dog in the yard anymore. That is a VERY embarassing position to have to take because you almost ran yourself into the ground by not changing with the times. I hope they make it through this.. and I hope Sony and Microsoft show me something like a sense of compassion for their products in the future.. Games should never be a graphics/ hardware race like it is now.

To sum nintendo up in one word "Childish"

I know that nintendo s got some good adult (not childish) games, but public openion is not gonna change.
One the other side u have xbox and ps2
U see the compition

I agree on the topic.

People are not buying third-party games for the Gamecube, so companies are stopping making games for the the Cube. The best games on the Gamecube are the ones released by Nintendo. If I buy today a Gamecube, is to play Nintendo titles.

XBox and PS2 have a very good "strategy" when it comes to online gaming, so people that want to play online on consoles, they will use one of the two.

But still, I think Nintendo is still strong. I think if they release another console, they might go the same way as Sega did.

The GBA completely dominates the handheld world and sells more units than any console on the market, so I would have to say no on this one. The GBA is basically a handheld SNES, and that was a classic.

We have a winner!!

Yes, public perception is that anything Nintendo = Childish, and no self respecing teen wants to have a childs toy. They want gore and boobies.

Here is the deal:

Nintendo took over the markey toward the end of the 80s because people got hooked up Mario and Zelda. A lot of other games, also, but the exclusive Zelda and mario franchise went strong...

the SMS was great but it had poor, poor, POOR advertisement and it was 'cool' to have a "Nintendo".

the problem is..... We who bought the Nintendo to bounce Mario around are adults now. and thee Playstation started going more adult..... now look, the ps2 is like _ths system). (and the xbox) the gamecube is great but they have got to start some new games and SOON.

i almost gaurantee if they'd make grittier games they'd pick up sales some..

and never forget the n64........ face it, the system is nice but it was horrible in it's on right:

1) the controller reeked

2) cartridge games are too fucking expensive

3) kiddy games only (besides, what 10 titles?)

Sega fell cuz instead of pushing games they pushed medicore systems until they finally got it right (DC) when they had lost so much dough.

think: they had
SMS, Sega-Genises, 293929 ad on systems, then the Sega Saturn which i love but d a m n it's bugier than Micrsoft. i don't know how many times i've lost data on the SS just because it got bored or something. the dreamcast was great but they slit their throat years ago and by the time they got to the DC they ran out of blood.

Nintendo can hold on if they stick with Quality and quit doing stupid shit, like making the GBA almost impossible to see.............

PS: all apologies if some of the post looks yucky. i am very very tired.

PPS: Metroid Prime is possible the best 3d action game ever.

Nintendo's going nowhere. They're still pulling in way, way, way too much money to die anytime soon. Pokemon's latest iterations sold over 2 million units in just the first day... I don't even want to know what it's up to total. And this is what, Silver and Ruby? There was Red and Blue, Gold and Silver, plus yellow... stamp Pokemon on anything and it's a lisence to print money. GameBoy Advance is the Nintendo Cashcow, and will keep them afloat for a long time coming.

Nintendo's "kiddie" reputation is something I've brought up before in other places, but it's not really a "kiddie" company so much so as Family-Friendly. Nintendo themselves doesn't like to really offend people, but, they've proven good gameplay doesn't need to be (Metriod Prime, Ocarina of Time, the much underappreciated Majora's Mask, Mario 64 - the king of any 3d platform game ever made, just to name the post N-64 titles). Sometimes, Nintendo lets someone come out with something that's very not kiddie style (Conker's Bad Fur Day anyone?). Sega had poor marketing and hardware decisions plaguing them. The Sega CD, 32x, CD-X (Sega CD + 32x games), Nomad, Game Gear (Woulda been great... had it not eaten through batteries like the apocalypse was tomorrow), and to a limited degree, the Saturn, were poorly thought out. I personally love my Saturn, but the design wasn't very developer friendly. Plus, it didn't help that when Sony came in, they came in with the mindset of taking over and went absolutely nuts. Buying every exclusive right, and exclusives sales deals with retail chains hurt Sega bad. Sega's marketing plan wasn't too effective either, and the company only really had one in-house lisence to rely on (Sonic) compared to Nintendo's myriad lines (Mario, Wario, Yoshi, Zelda, Metriod). The Saturn had awesome games in the new Shining games, NiGHTS into Dreams, and Panzer Dragoon, but they were all new and didn't have the pure pulling power of the Cube's biggest sellers.

The Gamecube could die tomorrow, and it'd only be a minor setback for Nintendo. They'd sit back, rely on the GBA to pull them through (Which it could) till the next round of systems, and then they'd jump right back in. They haven't even begun to fall yet, let alone being out for the count. And even if they do drop out of the hardware market, hey, long as I get my Zelda and Mario fix somewhere, I'll be happy.

(And for those wondering, I'm not a Nintendo fanboy. I've always bought Nintendo products for each generation last. With the exception of the Gameboys... cause those pwn. And yes, I am the kind of loser who owns every major system since the Genesis/SNES days... some people are into cars, some into stereos, I'm into videogames)

I hape you remedied this :D

good ive always hated nintendo

I wholeheartedly agree with Zorgan's views and would like to have his baby :)

I need to hire you as my PR person to say what I mean but in a legible manner :D

I don't suppose you care to elaborate?

Zorgan, goodgoodgood post.

I personally really like Nintendo. However, I recently went to a talk on the recent sales figures in the games industry, (by a woman from Sega, in fact!) and it's looking pretty bleak in the console wars, at least.

I don't think Nintendo is going anywhere, they're too big and they're smart enough that they didn't stake everything on their console. But Sony is seriously winning the console wars, they have the majority of the market share and MS and Nintendo are splitting the difference. Many people believe Sony will continue their dominance in the next round, too, with the PS3, which could really do serious damage to Nintendo. Also, GTAIII was a huge boost to Sony, of course. a single hit like that would certainly turn Nintendo's fortunes around.

As a Nintendo fan, I hope they pull out, soon. I really like the bouncy, colorful "childish" feel of lots of Nintendo games... I have a PC to play dark gritty stuff on, but for colorful platformers, I want a console. Plus, Miyamoto is a genius, and a lot of Nintendo's game designs are original and innovative.

To do so, I think they need two things: First, the Sega data revealed that most people think a GameCube costs the same as the other consoles... So while Nintendo is trying to fight a price war, they're not getting the message out that their console is a lot cheaper than anyone else's. I think this would do a lot for sales.

The other has been mentioned a lot on here, which is getting rid of the "childish" image they've got. Personally, I'm not sure about this one, Nintendo's reputation was built on their code for video games, which ensured that they were family-friendly. Changing that image might do more harm than good if videogame-violence debates kick up once more. It would be like Disney shedding their image and producing gore-fests. They might sell well with a particular market, but ultimately they would do Disney's fluffy image more harm than the revenue could fix. However, Nintendo has already broken that barrier, since they have things like Resident Evil and Soul Calibur 2, but they obviously haven't gotten that message out. Really, they're in the worst position possible: They can't claim to be fluffy and free of sharp edges, but no one knows their dark and bloody side.

As a funny side note, the number-one difference GameCube owners gave to Sega that their platform was different from the other consoles, was the cute little discs that the games came on.

Bingle

Ah i forgot that is another reason why the gamecube is designed like it is.. Look at where it was designed, developed and released from. JAPAN! The japanese dont like the Xbox because it is big and bulky (well that ans the whole "Project :Midway" thing) The ps2 is only doing good over there because it has a dominance of market, supurb marketing (i have 700mb's of commericals for ps2 games that we got her that will NEVER come out on a stateside broadcast), and the previously exclusive final fantasy series..(perhaps DDR too) The gamecube in all it's small cuteness, was designed by a japanese mind for the japanese and overall appeal to the world. It's software is designed that way too. plus.. as of this date.. it's uncrackable. That's crazy when you think about how easy it is to crack almost anything these days. A major console system has been out for over a year and hasn't been cracked yet? They must be doing something right.

Kiddie?
 

I love it when people say Nintendo is to kiddie cause then you get a big glimpse of their personality.

First of all, they're closed minded, because they judge a game on presesntation before looking at anything else.
They want to present themselves as a tough grown up guy by being obsessed with gore and tits, and dont care about just fun nice stuff every once and a while.
They dont use good labeling, because other people like these games than kids.
They're dumb, because Metroid isn't kiddie (or all the Resident Evil games, or Eternal Darkness.)
They're opinion Nazis, because they think Nintendo sucks because of their own opinions (usually, but not always. some people use sales #s etc.) and everyone else has to think that.

Thank you guys for opneing yourselves up so readily to all of us; its so great to know who you're dealing with.

BTW im not a fanboy i dont even own a gamecube i just am trying to open up some people's minds

Better Technologies are coming out, its just like everything else, as new things are invented, old things are left behind.

by always i mean since after i started disliking them btw

I played the SNES and it was good, real good. Then the n64 came out and i thought hey this could be good like the snes, so i got one. I waited for any games from the SNES to be updated but that never happened. they bring out games like turok and other crap games targetting younger audiences and pass over the older demographic. They bring out a new hand held system every year and lately for the fullness of a game, force you to have both systems to connect them together.

So basically i dont like them cause they try to screw people out of their money and most of the games are shite

Nintendo always seem to have been for true gamers. Although they are to make money they seem less concerned about the buying public maybe like sega were. I have a Gamecube and wouldnt want other hardware just yet nin have many great titles just wish they looked after there supporters a bit more here in Europe is worse than you get it.

'


Thank you pazza, I will never go with a Nintendo over anything SEGA. SEGA Genesis was the first system I ever had and I will always be faithful!

Yeah, I really agree that the N64 was a flop, and thankfully, I was able to see that before I actually bought one. However, I find that Nintendo has really made another about face with the GameCube. They decided to go with a media that wasn't expensive, and did limit the developer (at least too badly), and they're starting to come out with all their big name titles. Something they generally neglected to do for the N64.

Nintendo lost it when they refused to make more adult-oriented gaming and they lost their whole audience that made them successful in the mid eighties. Those of us who grew up on Nintendo wanted to see games that appealed to our now grown up tastes and they wanted to stick with Mario and Link. Had Nintendo done minute things like keep the blood in the first MK games and tried to get some actual licensing for first-rate games, they may have prevented Sony and Microsoft from ever entering the console gaming field.

Who carres about this old crap

apparently you do since you dug up a 4 year old thread

Hah, this guy (thread creator) is definitely not going to be doing any palm reading/crystal ball gazing in the near future.

It's interesting to note how swiftly a single console generation can change perceptions.

Haha I was just going to say: who would make a thread like this with the success of the Wii?

I think that Nintendo has successfully carved out an interesting niche market for themselves. Rather than building business around hyper-intense realistic game play, FPS and the like, they have stuck with games that are just fun to play. Games you can pick up and play for 30 minutes more casually and then move on.

It's less of a niche market than the one Microsoft and Sony are aiming for, hence the runaway success.

The Wii is doing well because it's $250, not because it's so much fun. Is it fun? Yes, but not any funner than past consoles. For example: if the PS3 and XBox 360 were $250, and the Wii was $600, would it still be doing as well as it did? Hell no, people would be claiming PS3 and 360 as the console winners and the Wii as an abyssmal failure.

I give props to Nintendo for seeing this in advance. Sony deserves flak for screwing up the PS3 price but the Wii is simply freaking overrated by a large margin, and this is after playing Wii sports, Zelda, and Red Steel.

I agree, after 6 months I could only name two games that I would buy if I had a Wii, Zelda and Paper Mario.

Trauma Center is awesome though... probably the most playtime I've put into a Wii game so far (and I have Zelda).

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.

~~

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 :)
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2002/20020325h.gif

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?

http://www.wiisworld.com/images/hard...controller.jpg

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.

~~

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

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 :(

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.

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comics/20070404.jpg

I know its not ninty, but it feels appropriate!

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

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 :)

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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. :(

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.

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?

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%).

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".

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.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

nothing to say

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

Profit in the game industry: 1998-2007

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

Those figures in dollars? Ouch!

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

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