Wii not for Mii

[Fairweather Pure]

I played this gimmic machine for about 3 hours the other night with friends. It was almost painful. Sure the games were pretty fun... for about 10 minutes tops. I felt like I was playing an endless amount of free flash games. Super Mario Galaxy is a standout, but the other 10ish games I played were "amusing" at best. I couldn't imagine actually sitting down and playing the Wii unless it was at a party or something.

I just had to create my own thread and share my dissatisfaction.

[Aslanna]

Thanks for sharing!

[Winnow]

Great review Fairweather!

I maintain that Nintendo has excellent marketing skills and the Wii remains interesting long enough (one night) so that people playing it at family get togethers, etc will buy it. I don't hear much about the great Wii Sports outings people have had lately. Super Mario is a (single) good game on the platform. I don't even hear much about Legend of Zelda.

Console rankings (for entertainment purposes, not business model for making money):

1. Xbox 360: simply crushes the competition with number and diversity of quality games and excellent Live online.
2. Wii: ranked #2 because of marketing but the PS3 will eventually pass it when they get their shit together about two years after launch with their big titles. Might be ranked higher if you have young kids that are still fascinated by shaking a rattle.
3. PS3: fancy new CPU but has an off the shelf graphics processor, some good parts but poorly designed overall in memory management and capacity. Some 100% backwards compatible with the PS2, some have zero backwards compatibility. Still forced to release patches to get new games running, their Home online has been delayed again until 2nd half of 2008. Horrible controller for trigger games.

1. Xbox 360: the real deal (hardware failures being its achilles heal)
2. Wii: Marketing gimmick with one good game and shoddy graphics
3 PS3: nightmare disaster but could still eventually put out some decent games simply due to exclusivity of the titles (similar to Mario games and the Wii)

For the majorty, if recommending a console for someone that will have a single system, the 360 is the clear choice. For someone getting multiple systems, it doesn't matter except for getting the 360 as one of them.

[Animalor]

I got to play Metroid Prime Corruption briefly over the holidays and it was pretty cool. My cousin had SMG for a while but traded it in once he hadp layed it thorugh so I didn't get to try it.

The Wii isn't for Mii either. I don't live in an area where I have friends that I can gather for an evening of gaming. The titles, except for a handful of 1st party stuffs don't appeal to me as a gmaer either. I'm on the verge of unloading my DS as well cause it suffest from the same shit game selection (gems that are too few and too far between).

[Fairweather Pure]

I've been paying Fight Night: Round 3 on the 360 lately. It's a fantastic game, and easily the best boxing game I have ever seen or heard of. So when I played Wii boxing, I really couldn't believe wtf I was looking at. I mean, it's cute I guess, but that's where my "flash game" comparison came from. Don't even get me started on the "baseball" game. Holy Christ. Total gimmic from start to finish with no lasting appeal or depth. That is not a gaming experiance to me. Games have evolved from the Atari days to have an entirely different meaning to me. The Wii is a huge step backwards IMO. The Wii has a handful of actual games, but the majority of thier catalogue is pure junk. Who would pay 40+$ for flash games?

[Truant]

The trick with the wii was that it wasn't the next step that most people were expecting. Bigger, faster, newer chips to make more realistic (but still not realistic) graphics is what everyone expects. It's what the main part of the video game community wanted.

The wii went a completely different path. They didn't bother with improving the look of the games like every single past generation has. They changed the way you played the game.

The majority of existing console gamers were either completely turned off by the lack of glossy, beautiful graphics, or by the unconventional feel of the new gameplay. It was hard for them to imagine playing FPS games like Halo or Gears with a wiimote.

It has only been sucessful so far because it has reached an entirely new audience.

But, the real crutch for the wii atm is that this new step also took developers completely by surprise (or so it seems). This is why you see a group of 'junk' party games because most of the wii games are either in house, or by no name developers. I definately feel the wii is in the position of currently being ahead of its time. A new technology is in place for playing games. One which has potential to radically alter the way we play games in the future. The catch is whether or not it's TOO ahead of its time, and developers decide to lazily ignore the wii to the point that it fails and we continue with the status quo of gaming generation development (more lens flares!).

Anyways, this is just my opinion...and you all can completely discard it as propaganda because (ironically) i didn't post it on my blog devoted completely to your favorite console.

[Aardor]

I got a Wii this holiday season, and I absolutely love it. I only have Wii Sports and Mario Galaxy, but both have been tons of fun. Wii Sports basically feels like a "demo," but i've never seen a video game/video game system manage to entertain 8 guys for 8 hours, especially when most of the guy were not into video games in any manner. Sueven and I also had a few intense tennis matches. Super Mario Galaxy is superb. To this day, I still play Super Mario 64, and this is basically an upgrade to it which provides the same quality in level design/game mechanics, with slightly better graphics (ok, it's a great deal better than N64).
I also got to play a bit of Tiger Woods 08, and it was surprisingly the most fun i've ever had playing a sports game, and I absolutely hate golf IRL. With Super Mario Galaxy, and Zelda (winnow, you might not hear much about it now, but it's been out over a year, and sold exceptionally well, as well as reviewed exceptionally well, so i'm tempted to say you didn't hear about it because you chose not to), the system is a great single player system (RE4 also reviewed exceptionally well). The "party" aspect of the Wii is another plus for it... hell, I got my mother to play a video game(I seriously questioned if I was dreaming the event), and she beat me in bowling!

The problems I see for the Wii are that almost every 3rd party game for it is absolute shit. My Wii randomly came with "mini desktop racing" which my roommate tried, and said was horrendous, and so I put the game with the Wii box for storage. Looking at the reviews on Metacritic, this problem appears to be even bigger. The other problem I see (which is attached to the first problem) is people just buying the Wii, and not many games, if any more than Wii Sports. I know at least 4 people who have a Wii and only have Wii sports. All of those people are the type who don't normally play video games. I guess this is less of a problem because Nintendo makes a profit on selling the Wii hardware, whereas in the same situation Microsoft and Sony lose money when selling a console, and need games to make a profit.

Edit: throw metroid prime 3 into single player games that reviewed exceptionally well.

[Sylvus]

I'm not sure that "marketing skills" are enough to keep the Nintendo Wii at the top of the list for hardest Christmas gift to find in a store for 2 Christmases running. Sure, several people on this board - a site created in support of a game that was for a particularly hardcore niche of gamers - seem to tire easily of it, but kids, old people, and virtually everyone I know who is not a hardcore gamer seem to love the Wii. My dad was actually playing the Wii, and besides Pole Position at a bar in the late 80s or early 90s, I don't know that I've ever seen him play a video game.

I had the (dis)pleasure of having to try and find two Wii's for two different people this Christmas, and people were camping out in front of Gamestop and such the week before Christmas. Camping out. For a system that has been out for more than a year! I don't know of a marketing department in the world that is smart enough to pull the wool over people's eyes that badly and sell them a turd in a box and still have their friends and relatives lining up and waiting for more turds to be shipped.

I have fun with the Wii, definitely more fun when I'm playing with other people than when I'm playing solo, but I can see why people around these parts wouldn't like it that much. That doesn't change the fact that there are a lot more people out there who aren't like us than who are, and it appears that to them the Wii is the most appealing system available.

[Fairweather Pure]

That doesn't change the fact that there are a lot more people out there who aren't like us than who are, and it appears that to them the Wii is the most appealing system available.

To make a point, the masses have questionable taste. Take the #1 song/album, movie, ect. Food is another good example. The finest resturants have not served 100 Billion+ people.

I would like to think that many of us here are video game connoisseurs. We have the history, knowledge, and expectations of "those in the know". You are right that this system would not appeal to many here. The Wii is a system for the unwashed masses (no offense intended). They can listen to the latest boy band and eat McDonalds while they play thier copy of Geomotry Wars they paid 40$ for instead of the 5$ version I DLed.

These same types of people that "never play video games" need to get an emulator and instantly have thousands of games that are the decades old that are the same or better than almost the entire Wii line up.

As a gamer, it's sad and a bit frustrating to see so many non-gamers embracing the lowest common denominator.

[Funkmasterr]

I don't think it's that bad Fairweather.. I also am surprised at the sales because I get far more playtime out of my 360. That being said, I have people over every weekend generally, and before Rock Band I got way more use out of my wii in that scenario.. The first party titles are good single player games, but other than that I look at it as a good multiplayer platform.. That and I can consolidate the consoles i need to have out.. We play some of the older mario kart games every so often and we can just play them on the wii and keep the other consoles boxed up

I think it's a good investment for the price.

[cadalano]

i was expecting games on the Wii Entertainment System to be really, really hardcore.

[Funkmasterr]

i was expecting games on the Wii Entertainment System to be really, really hardcore.

[Aslanna]

I've been paying Fight Night: Round 3 on the 360 lately. It's a fantastic game, and easily the best boxing game I have ever seen or heard of. So when I played Wii boxing, I really couldn't believe wtf I was looking at. I mean, it's cute I guess, but that's where my "flash game" comparison came from. Don't even get me started on the "baseball" game. Holy Christ. Total gimmic from start to finish with no lasting appeal or depth. That is not a gaming experiance to me. Games have evolved from the Atari days to have an entirely different meaning to me. The Wii is a huge step backwards IMO. The Wii has a handful of actual games, but the majority of thier catalogue is pure junk. Who would pay 40+$ for flash games?

You do know Wii Sports is bascailly a freebie dont you? in my opinion it's more a proof of concept demo than any sort of full-fledged game. To compare the boxing in Wii Sports to FN:R3 is pretty ridiculous.

I do however agree on there being a shitload of crappy Wii games. That's why one visits a place like Metacritic before purchasing and you know... checks out the reviews and stuff.

I'd also like you to further explain what you mean when you state 'gamers embracing the lowest common denominator'. What exactly is the LCD you are talking about? Why is the Wii for the "unwashed masses"? Some of us are quite fine with a game that doesn't have super realistic graphics. OMG hey that's what I have a high-end PC for! As someone who has played video games of one type or another since a child in the 70s I think I'd qualify as a "gamer" and I'm not really sure why my (or anyone elses) decision to get a Wii would be a demonstration of questionable taste.

For the record I don't listen to boy bands and I haven't been to a McDonalds in... shit.. At least 7 years.

And adding to that record I do quite enjoy the 'retro' genre and have many system emulators and games setup on my system and I still find (some) Wii games quite good.

You didn't like the Wii.. That's fine and there's nothing wrong with that. But to lump those that do as "unwashed masses" smacks of arrogant elitism and makes you look like a pompous ass.

[Tyek]

All I know is my kids love the damn thing. I bought it for them, they use it. Good enough for me.

[Fairweather Pure]

To compare the boxing in Wii Sports to FN:R3 is pretty ridiculous.

To compare any game on the Wii to any game on either PS3 or the 360 is ridiculous because the games on Wii suck so bad. That's my entire point. The absolute only thing the Wii has going for it is it's gimmic controller. That's it.

But to lump those that do as "unwashed masses" smacks of arrogant elitism and makes you look like a pompous ass.

I totally earned that. It's true. When it comes to the next gen systems, I am an elitist and pompous ass. Many, many people want nothing more than the atari 2600 with updated graphics and a gimmic controller, I can plainly see that. I actually played an Atari remake on the Wii. I couldn't believe it. I will stand by my belief that the Wii is inferior in every way possible and a definate step backwards for games with maybe 2-3 exceptions.

[Fairweather Pure]

All I know is my kids love the damn thing. I bought it for them, they use it. Good enough for me.

I think that makes perfect sense and am not surprised at all that children would love it.

[Aardor]

To compare the boxing in Wii Sports to FN:R3 is pretty ridiculous.

To compare any game on the Wii to any game on either PS3 or the 360 is ridiculous because the games on Wii suck so bad. That's my entire point. The absolute only thing the Wii has going for it is it's gimmic controller. That's it.

Tiger Woods 08 is much, much more fun on the Wii than on the 360 (and i'm sure the PS3). The "gimmick" controller is a big part of it, but I suppose you don't see a new control style as innovation, which is pretty stupid. That's it.

But to lump those that do as "unwashed masses" smacks of arrogant elitism and makes you look like a pompous ass.

I totally earned that. It's true. When it comes to the next gen systems, I am an elitist and pompous ass. Many, many people want nothing more than the atari 2600 with updated graphics and a gimmic controller, I can plainly see that. I actually played an Atari remake on the Wii. I couldn't believe it. I will stand by my belief that the Wii is inferior in every way possible and a definate step backwards for games with maybe 2-3 exceptions.

I don't understand what you're complaining about. Are you complaining that the Wii has classic games/systems on it, and it uses it's hardware to make the graphics better? If so, that's ridiculously stupid. The xbox360 does the same thing, and classic games are very popular on both systems. You may not have any interest, but that doesn't mean a large portion of gamers feel the same way.

It seems like your complaint is totally about graphics. I can feel that, I'm pretty much as elitist as they come, in regards to video quality. I pretty much won't play a game unless it can do 1920x1080 at 30fps. So the Wii is basically a "gimmick" and/or "revolutionary" control style for video games, with last gen hardware. However, with regards to the quality games, and groups, I can overlook the sub-par graphics (480p is OK), since the experience is so excellent.

Also, a "definate step backwards" ? That comment is completely off base. You're saying that a system which is reaching many more people and types of people than any system before it is a step backwards? A new control style (that another company tried to copy) is a step backwards? Sounds to me like a fucking monumental step forward. Yeah, the graphics aren't a step forward, but seriously, most people can't even afford the audio/video technology needed to take advantage of the 360/ps3. So the majority of people see all 3 system in 480i, and at that point, it's hard to tell the difference.

[Fairweather Pure]

Also, a "definate step backwards" ?

My original Nintendo baseball had more depth and gameplay than the Wii Sports Baseball. I could play that for a whopping 10 minutes tops. Graphics really are not my complaint. Nintendo hasn't been cutting edge on that front since the SNES. It's seeing the majority of the Wii games as kickbacks to 20+years ago. That is backwards in the truest sense of the word.

[Aslanna]

To compare the boxing in Wii Sports to FN:R3 is pretty ridiculous.

To compare any game on the Wii to any game on either PS3 or the 360 is ridiculous because the games on Wii suck so bad. That's my entire point. The absolute only thing the Wii has going for it is it's gimmic controller. That's it.

Who says the games need to be compared? I don't have a 360 or PS3 so why the fuck would I care what games those systems are running? The Wii isn't a PS3 or 360 I think everyone in the whole world already knew that. Except for you it sounds like.

I totally earned that. It's true. When it comes to the next gen systems, I am an elitist and pompous ass. Many, many people want nothing more than the atari 2600 with updated graphics and a gimmic controller, I can plainly see that. I actually played an Atari remake on the Wii. I couldn't believe it. I will stand by my belief that the Wii is inferior in every way possible and a definate step backwards for games with maybe 2-3 exceptions.

What makes the Wii an 'Atari 2600 with updated graphics and a gimmic controller'? You can basically say that of any console."omg the PS3 is nothing but an Atari 2600 with updated graphics and a gimmic controller (sixxaxis)!". I don't see what makes it a step backwards other than it not really improving all that much on grahics over the Gamecube. Please explain further what you mean.

And again.. Stop bringing up Wii Sports as it's not really representive of the majority of Wii games (although sadly it's better than some crappy 3rd party offerings). It's a free fucking game bundled with the system what do you expect!

[Aardor]

Also, a "definate step backwards" ?

My original Nintendo baseball had more depth and gameplay than the Wii Sports Baseball. I could play that for a whopping 10 minutes tops. Graphics really are not my complaint. Nintendo hasn't been cutting edge on that front since the SNES. It's seeing the majority of the Wii games as kickbacks to 20+years ago. That is backwards in the truest sense of the word.

Dude, Wii Sports cost $10, and is basically a demo to show the system off. Try playing MLB Power Pros if you want a more complete baseball game.

Ok, list these Wii games that you see as kickbacks to 20+ years ago (as well as what game they are kicking back to), because I almost feel like you haven't played anything other than Wii Baseball. I also feel that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies to that. Super Mario Galaxy is very similar to Mario 64, but they added a ton of new gameplay features/better graphics, and managed to keep the Mario style true, which I would rather it have done that reinvent the wheel (look at the past 4 years of "sonic" games).

[Aslanna]

Dude, Wii Sports cost $10, and is basically a demo to show the system off. Try playing MLB Power Pros if you want a more complete baseball game.

I think you're thinking of Wii Play which comes with a controller for $10 more than the standard controller cost. Wii Sports comes with the console.

[Aardor]

Dude, Wii Sports cost $10, and is basically a demo to show the system off. Try playing MLB Power Pros if you want a more complete baseball game.

I think you're thinking of Wii Play which comes with a controller for $10 more than the standard controller cost. Wii Sports comes with the console.

Er..yes, I am. Wii Sports comes with the console. Wii Play sucks dick though.

[Winnow]

I'd like the Wii more if they came bundled with a PicoP projector!

[Jice Virago]

Well, as one of the few here with all three consoles in their household (1 Wii, 2 PS3s, and 2 360s), I feel I have to chip in my 2 cents worth on this. The Wii has mostly a group "party game" appeal, with very few descent appealing single player games. Personally, SM Galaxy bored the shit out of me (where are you Okami 2?), but a lot of people like it, so thats obviously a viable single player title. The only other really engrossing single player title I can think of that my wife and I fucked around with was Twilight Princess and that was another retread of an old Nintendo franchise. The multiplayer games, especially the coopertative ones, are a blast, however. Alien Syndrome, Mario Party, and Wii Play all kept my family greatly entertained over the holidays. Really, outside of the Rock Band/GH titles, there is nothing for good cooperative play on the other consoles, outside of Super Stardust. And, frankly, a lot of my boredom with the Wii has to do with my experience as a video gamer. After playing Mass Effect on my 360 or Heavenly Sword on the PS3, its hard to get any interest in anything the Wii has to offer. My wife is the same way, ditching Galaxy after about 2 hours and playing Ratchet and Clank a second time through instead. Put that underpowered piece of shit in a room with some kids or old people (who have not developed jaded expectations for games), and they go nuts.

So far, in terms of single player games, the $3 downloads have seen more play from us than anything that has come out for the god damn thing (not unlike the 360 and PS3 for us, but at least those are generally new games). I blame the very fucking thing that people are praising it for: the controller. I am a lazy gamer. I want to put my fat paws around a two analog stick style controller and sit and drool while my brain does all the work. I do not want to wave around a piece of plastic like an epileptic lesbian with a vibrator. And really, waving a stick around constantly is not any different than mashing buttons constantly, except that with the Wii mote your whole fucking arm gets tired instead of just your finger (and there is no possibility of rapid fire buttons). There is also the fact that motion sensing controls are just not yet precise enough to provide a descent alternative to proven joystick controllers, so its a lot of extra bullshit just for the sake of being different (something the developers of Lair could have learned before ruining an entertaining game with an abysmal control setup). And finally, its not even the best new control gimmick out there. Honestly, the Eyetoy for the PS3 (which I thought was incredibly gay until we tried the games) is much better implemented in the games that use it, especially that silly card game.

[Aardor]

Jice, I'm not sure if the games are any interest to you, but both Resident Evil 4 and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption are excellent single player games worth playing on the Wii Imo. Otherwise, I agree with most of the things you said.

[Winnow]

Wii doesn't interest me for the same reason why I set my mouse to ludicrous speed in order to move my fingers as little as possible. The only motion detection I'd be interested in is one that can track my eye movements so I can get rid of the small hand movements that are still burning precious calories.

[Winnow]

The Wii blows but this is a great picture:



Full size image here:

http://stuff.thathappened.com/albums/up ... olosus.jpg