Editors Note: Another nifty blog entry from the Sarcastic Gamer User Blogs.
by Destyn
The Wii has been dubbed the retarded redheaded stepchild of the gaming world around here lately. I don’t get it, it’s by far been the most successful of the current generation consoles and beloved by 99% of its owners, so…
Like the inimitable Lono, I’m a recent Wii owner; and as such something of a convert - for the simple reason that I gave up trying to figure out why I hated it from the other side of a store window and actually played it.
It’s not until you have spent some time with the Wii that you begin to understand its charms - and the brilliance of the Nintendo corporate brain. If somebody was to tell you a few years back that a console based firmly toward the Japanese market would achieve market penetration in the west to rival any of the other superconsoles would you believe them? No, but it did. And here’s why: it’s unique. It’s pervasive. It’s intuitive. It’s completely Japanese.
From opening the box you immediately know that what you have purchased is something not made for the standard western audience: for starters, the design is way off base from what we’re used to. Where are the controller ports? Why isn’t it geometrically solid? Where are all the pretty and bright LEDs? This is the first pull - the Wii is not made to be flashy and show you what it can do. The Wii is made to show you what you can do with it. It’s about interaction, not form.
Into the menu then, and you’ll realise that the lack of an HDMI or component cable actually hasn’t hampered the visuals the way you thought it would. Where was the splash screen? Did you miss it? Did you need it? Has it really loaded that quickly? Presented with a small amount of TV screens from which to make your choices, you begin using the Wiimote, and realise it fits very securely in your hand. You point it at the screen, and receive instant visual and tactile feedback, allowing you to quickly acclimatise to the new input method - after all, it’s the same as using a TV remote. Any game you load into the slot loader appears in it’s own “channel”, always on the top left of the screen. Flicking through to the mail/memo application is also intuitive, as the screen literally “flips” into the next screen, with a feeling of continuity and flow. Each “channel” and screen is met with its own little noises and tunes.
On creating a “Mii”, the graphical representation of your character consistent throughout the games, you realise it isn’t important that you can’t identically map your face into the game using a camera. You don’t have to spend hours aligning that left eyebrow so it’s juuuuuust right, because if you were a cartoon, you’d look like what you’re seeing here anyway. The lack of options has forced you to be happy with what you have, and happy with what everyone else has - a quick look into the Mii Plaza reveals that there is still a lot of individuality to be gained, but within the overall limits of the society Wii has created. A particularly telling indicator of the social environment Wii engenders is the “Everybody Votes” channel. You’re given a simple question, and two options - you vote for the one you want. Then you get to choose which option you think will win. After the votes are in (you’ll be sent a mail), you get to see how popular your opinion is, and how far you are away from everyone else’s opinions. Compliance is encouraged in a very subtle, ‘we’re all one big family, let’s help each other’ way.
So what’s the point of all this? Being happy with what you’ve got. Function over form. Compact size over flash. Homogeny. The ability to obsessively collect things (stars, points, other people) in your game. Interaction on a very basic level - seeing real people in your games even when they’re not playing. Anthropomorphisation. The very things that are almost always guaranteed to win over the incredibly fickle Japanese market are working just as well here - with a focus on the games not the glitz, Nintendo have managed to enact a culture shift through a very insidious method, and one which will continue to grow. If we can lose our obsession with stats, frame rates, game hours… then we can get back into what gaming should be about: losing yourself for a short period of time, which was exactly what they intended when creating the Wii.
So next time you want to beat down the console for not being hi-spec enough, or for not having the guts and glory of the other megalithic consoles out there, try something new: play it first.
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24 responses so far ↓
1 NoneOfYourBusiness // May 15, 2008 at 4:47 pm
The the console war was the Olive Garden, The Wii would be the free breadsticks. Oh sure, everyone loves the breadsticks at first, but in the end they are still just breadsticks. Easily forgetten when the main entree’s of Baked 360 or 3 cheese PS3 come around.
2 Saccia // May 15, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Are you farking kidding me?
“beloved by 99% of its owners” — umm… I myself do not like it… I haven’t even turned it on at all this year except to clear out the stupid blinking blue light…. for a while I just turned it off. I have three friends who got it. Two have stopped playing it. The third went so far as to trade in GHIII on the Wii and pick it up for the 360 because he nevered touched his Wii except for that game.
“it’s by far been the most successful of the current generation consoles” — Let’s see how we should judge success? Does selling a lot of little plastic boxes that gets overhyped news coverage each day mean success? Or does selling software that without it would be the death of a console count? Did you miss the article entitled only 11% of Wii games get a 80% or better rating? Yeah, that does mean 88% suck ass. Just look at how many *good* games there are for the Wii. I don’t want to hear the “360 has been out for 1 year first” BS. At this point, everyone is on even ground for the good games that should be out. The Wii is the rat ass of gaming consoles. It has the suckiest games of all. Now, before you scream that I’m a Nintendo-hater… realize that I own a DS and I have FAR more games for the DS than the Wii. Certainly, many DS games can be a bit on the kiddie side but there actually are many more great DS games than they ever has been on the Wii.
The Wii doesn’t work. It’s just going to take time for people to realize that many people bought the hype but are now bored by the lack of compelling games. Software companies are not going to waste their time on Wii development. And don’t try to pull some BS about 360/PS3 games *can’t* be ported to the Wii. The PS2 has ports of games and the freaking DS has a COD4 port. It probably sucks, but it’s ported. Meaning that companies truly believe that they’ll make more money porting a game to the DS or PS2 than bothering with the overhyped Wii where only Nintendo is making money. Do yourself a favor and open your eyes…. do you see hardly any 3rd party games? Nintendo can’t support the Wii by itself for long. It needs 3rd parties and it needs GOOD third party games.
3 Saccia // May 15, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Yeah, I said the same as NoYB but in a slightly longer form
4 Xgamr // May 15, 2008 at 5:22 pm
i disagree its all kids who get it and only get the crap games while the hardcorers are only buying the games that suit them the wii is severly underdevelope tech wise, its just a fad
@none of your business, to wuote mitch hedberg: “As a comedian, you have to start the show strong and you have to end the show strong. Those are the two key elements. You can’t be like pancakes. You’re all happy at first, but then by the end, you’re sick of ‘em. ” still your anagly is too but Thats waht i compare wii to.
5 Adam Harley // May 15, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I like the article, and appreciate some pro-wii stuff on the site. A very refreshing change to the front page.
You guys above me are unbelievable. Did you read the article?
6 VitoXman // May 15, 2008 at 6:14 pm
At last, a non elitist post…
Games are for fun! Remember that!
7 Grantly // May 15, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Seriously, the Wii has a lot of great games.
Twilight Princess
Elebits
Super Paper Mario
Mario Strikers
Metroid Prime 3
Super Mario Galaxy
Batallion Wars
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Trauma Center: New Blood
Medal of Honor Heroes 2
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
No More Heroes
Brawl
Mario Kart Wii
Boom Blox
There are some upcoming games that look very good too, like Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Mushroom Men, and De Blob. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a new Star Fox, F-Zero, Pikmin, Kid Icarus, and Animal Crossing confirmed soon. There are some excellent looking, and innovative WiiWare titles coming out. World of Goo especially looks good.
The Wii’s only issues are really the atrocious online service (excluding the VC and Nintendo Channel services) and the lack of a hard drive.
The VC has a great library, it just needs bigger updates.
8 Logan // May 15, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I personally like my Wii, and i am a 360 owner and a soon to be PS3 owner
I mean, it does what it needs to do, be fun. It does have good games and i enjoy it. I enjoy it equally with my 360 and it gives me all the games the 360 cant have (ie mario, metroid, zelda, etc.)
9 lwelyk // May 15, 2008 at 6:48 pm
It’s not great if you only have a Wii. I am a Wii/PC guy and I’m very happy with my purchase. It allowed me to collect the other GCN games I wanted, and now I have what I consider the best games for the GCN and all the best for the Wii. It may not have a solid release schedule for good games right now, but when it’s good it’s GOOD. Trauma Center, Zelda, Fire Emblem, Zack and Wiki. I was incredibly addicted to Fire Emblem. It’s just on what you’re looking for. If you like shooters, you’re not going to like the Wii, and I’ve noticed a lot of SGers are shooter fans, and the only shooter game for the wii that isn’t crap is Metroid Prime 3, and that’s not really a standard shooter.
It’s a fun console with some great games, but developers aren’t taking advantage of it. They haven’t made many good games for it, and the good 3rd party games like Zack and Wiki and Trauma Center are incredibly niche. They need to realize there are a lot of owners of the system and a very good amount of hardcore gamers. They complain they don’t sell as well as first-party games, well that may have something to do with the fact that so far they’re either niche or crap.
10 Tictoon // May 15, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Long live the wii!!
11 Keith K // May 15, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Contrary to popular belief, my Wii in fact doesn’t work. It’s only a few months old, but the graphics card is pretty well shot. It may be related to the component cables I bought.. no idea.
Nintendo will replace it, but I keep speed dialing Microsoft by mistake.. strangest thing.
Of course I didn’t realize it until I put $20 on the thing for WiiWare titles. After spending 20 minutes adding $20 to the thing that is.. Christ almight.. streamline Nintendo! Believe it or not, my credit card info doesn’t change as often as I’d like to purchase something from you.
12 mipon // May 15, 2008 at 8:16 pm
See, I personally like the Wii, and this is from someone that hasn’t played theirs in like 6 months at least, hell, it’s not even hooked up to a TV.
But what Nintendo have done is the same as they did with the NES, take gaming into the public eye, more so than PlayStation ever did. I have people at work who have called me a geek for many years going to each others houses to play Wii Sports, and that in itself is a major achievement. They have offered to the consumer something entirely new and unique, which is more than can be said for Sony or Microsoft.
And as for there being no good games, they may not be as many, but it really is NOT as simple as porting over titles from the 360 and PS3. For the games to succeed, they need to be made from the ground up on Wii, and take full advantage of what the console has to offer. It’s a unique position in a console race where one console is actually offerring something completely unlike its competitors, and for developers to make money from the Wii, they actually need to develop FOR the Wii.
Great post by the way, good to see something a little different on the front page.
13 NoneOfYourBusiness // May 15, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I own a Wii and PS3. The Wii is fun if you are either
A: new to gaming, and dont want to spend the hours needed to enter one of the advanced or competitive games like CoD4 or H3.
B: Can’t afford a PS3 or 360.
C: Drunk
The Wii does indeed emphasize funcationality over glitz, but what will happen when Nintendo lands a new gamer. Will the continue to play Warioware for days on end or will they want to play short bursts of more competitive games like the ones mentioned above.
The Wii is a “light” gaming machine. Targeted at a very specific audience. The games reflect that. The mentality “deal with want you got” as seen in the Mii section shouldnt be there in gaming. it should be “look at all I got” With the other big boys being only 100-150 over the Wii, I don’t know how long this Wii fad will keep pushing. And I’m curious as to how Nintendo will do next-gen.
14 Dableo // May 15, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I have to disagree a bit. First, I think the Wii’s physical design is beautiful, I personally prefer it’s design to that of the others. And while I agree that it appears stupid until you play it, it’s when you play it a little more that it becomes boring. Sure there’s a few gems (and Twilight Princess is NOT one of them, and this is coming from a Zelda fan) but they get dull after a while.
I used to be a Nintendo fan and anticipated the Wii for years up till it’s release and then enjoyed it thoroughly for a time and went as far as to get Brawl (which I had been anticipating as long as the Wii).
This would have continued if not for the fact that I got a gaming PC at the same time as Brawl. I couldn’t believe how much better it was! Now my Wii is only used when friends come over for LANs and they’re waiting around for installs.
You are completely entitled to your opinion Destyn and your article was very well-written and professional. I just think you’re gonna get bored with it when the novelty wears off.
15 Cody // May 16, 2008 at 3:11 am
@NoneOfyourbusiness
Well…I think you forgot “D” : Can afford ALL of the New Systems
16 DarkEnigma91 // May 16, 2008 at 10:35 am
You guys bring up a good point. I myself was at first anticipating the wii, loved it when i got it, but eventually became bored of it. However i eventually went back to playing on the wii and it was like i rediscovered it. I fell in love all over again and with all its great games, i couldn’t believe how people could bash it so much. But i also believe that the Wii has but a part to all the great games that are coming out. Hell i would love to get a 360 or a PS3 because it also has great games. The point of the matter is that just cause u own a specific system, u shouldn’t go all fanboy and try to destroy the other ones. Video games are meant to be fun and entertaining. Leave this whole war and constant bashing for when ur in an online game. : P
17 mykie // May 16, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Most of you bashers really need a video game history lesson. I’m sure you’ve heard the axiom that the most powerful console has never been the top seller in any console generation.
This basically means throughout the history of gaming it has ALWAYS been about function over form.
Now what I don’t understand is the vitriol towards the Wii.
Who here has that friend who still keeps his TurboDuo hooked up so they can play Y’s IV? I think a lot of 360 or PS3 owners own at least one game for that system they’ll enjoy for decades to come.
The fact that Wii is getting all the shovelware is GREAT NEWS for PS3 and 360 fans, because that simply means devs will take more time and create better games for your platform of choice. If you’re a Nintendo fan, this means you still have LOTS of options.
The PS2 had a lot of shovelware, and coincidentally sold more systems than any console in HISTORY, even if some people had to buy it twice due to hardware issues, at least they were buying it because they WANTED to play it.
I totally cop to being a Nintendo fanboy, but taking an objective look at the history of videogaming, I can appreciate all players in the game, and acknowledge that there’s room for everyone in the market.
Except for Tiger Electronics…give it up already!
18 Dean // May 16, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I have one problem with the wii. No scene of accomplishment. What i mean is that most of the games are so basic and they hold your hand so much that after playing for 5 min you’ve got it down pat. Sure a lot of the games can be fun but there is nothing better then rolling into the enemy base in a tank, grabbing the flag, hoping in a jeep and barley making it back while getting bombarded by enemy Warhawks. I feel like since i have put time into Warhawk i have gotten better, which makes me feel like i can accomplish more when i play. . On the wii, you are about as good as you’ll be within the first 5 min.since i have put time into Warhawk i have gotten better, which makes me feel like i can accomplish more when i play. . On the wii, you are about as good as you’ll be within the first 5 min.
19 dougb455 // May 16, 2008 at 2:02 pm
99% percent of all wrong statistics are made up on the spot
20 questworld // May 16, 2008 at 11:04 pm
If there is anything disappointing about the Wii to the typical 360/PS3 lover, it’s the third-party support, or rather the kind of third-party support that those systems have. Heck, it’s not even getting the kind of support the PS2 had. If anything it’s one sided deal full of afterthoughts and quick ported cash-ins. Personally, as far as Nintendo software goes, they’ve done a good job catering to the “hardcore” crowd with as much as you’d expect from the library they have without sacrificing the “newbie” “casual” gamer. And this is all after naysayers insisted that after Wii Sports, Nintendo would simply have tricked the masses to buy the system for one “non-game.” Of course now the tune is “casual gaming is destroying videogames.” Whatever. Sounds like typical fanboy tripe - using whatever is in their arsenal to tarnish what they don’t agree with.
Unfortunately, there’s a big fanboyish quality with third-party developers in most part. I mean how many deemed “kiddie” games out there that actually doesn’t seem like some cheap put together without much thought, or at least not as much thought as some of the “mature” games, put into them? What’s the kid’s game equivalent in depth and richness (of story, character, gameplay, etc.) of games like Bioshock, GTAIV, Zelda, etc.? Even as child there were shows like G.I. Joe, Duck Tales, etc. with pretty interesting depth in them, but it seems, as far as Wii software support, it’s like we’re getting the equivalent of older cartoons of slapstick comedy like Roadrunner/Wyle E. Coyote and Tom & Jerry. All I hear are developers who’d rather deem the Wii as not hardcore or incapable of deep stories. I mean what a load of tripe.
Weak hearted intent begets weak hearted intent. Outside of Capcom efforts, I personally have a hard time finding even one game from various companies that excite me. That’s the real problem here. Everyone knows it. In the whole scheme of things, I’d bet that lacking such things as high def is the least of people’s concerns if confronted with the question of what they want for the Wii at its core.
21 Rod // May 17, 2008 at 6:20 am
I have both PS3 and Wii and I love both for very different reasons. They are complete opposites and that’s nice.
I’m hardcore gamer and play many hours a day, still play both consoles and I notice how games for both consoles are improving all the time. The truth is that both are not even close to their potential.
For all Wii-haters… you can cry as much as you want… the war is over and Wii won. The only question now is who will be the second place: Xbox or PS3? Regular PS3/XBox games can be played together with other PS3/Xbox gamers, but regulars Wii games can be played with anyone (my parents, sisters, girlfriend, grandma… whatever)
22 YeahRight // May 17, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I just love how the fanboys keep referring to the Wii as a fad when it is still difficult for some people to find them, and it has been outselling both others for over 18 months?!?! Didn’t it also outsell the 360 and PS3 COMBINED in April, almost by double?!
Never mind, you guys are right, probably just a fad. I bet in a week, it’ll all be over.
23 dougb455 // May 18, 2008 at 5:41 pm
i know it sells and it can be fun but it gets boring fast, One week long vacation and i was bored with wii and didn’t touch it 4 ever so i sold it
24 TriChronos // May 21, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I have a problem with people looking just at the kid oriented and shovel ware titles for the Wii and claiming it’s failure for it. Don’t get me wrong, these titles do tend to annoy me, but the fact that I can look past them is enough for me.
Now, I think people are missing the fact that Nintendo only has games to support itself. It can sell the console and the games and that’s about it for income. They have to cater to that naive child market who is willing, or make their parents willing, to plunk down that 50 or so dollars on a craptastic game. That’s why people call Nintendo the money grubber of the console companies, because they have to be. That is what keeps them in the market and still going (which makes me wonder why they haven’t released a totally new and expensive hard drive to plung into that extra USB port)
Both Microsoft (with it’s computer workings and such) and SONY (can you say electronics monolith?) have other ways of keeping themselves in the game. This way they can market to the very specialized eyes of the more hardcore of gamers. I’m sure most of you take reviews and other sorts of media into account to make your game purchasing decisions?
Since kids (and kids parents) don’t usually take time to look at theses forms of information usually they are a potentially limitless source of cash for which Nintendo can procure the money to make top notch titles like it’s Zelda’s, Mario’s and Metroid’s.
Now, dosen’t that shovel ware and crapper ware make a little more sense? In a way, it’s like Microsoft’s OS’s and SONY’s digital Camera’s, just more boring, terrible and made for kids.
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