Blogger Kezins is either incredibly brave or made of steel plating, but even if he's a bit of both, he's drawn plenty of ire with a recent post on Kezins.com about how he feels the Wii will fall into total obscurity by 2009 unless they address the key problems with the system and how it is marketed. His bullet list includes:
- Poor game marketing.
- They rely too heavily on sequels.
- Low quantities of consoles on the shelves.
- Poor relationships with 3rd party developers.
- Limited access to quality information for the media.
Now, quantifiers like this may be up for discussion in a college classroom or board meeting, but this is the internet and none of those rules about tact or respect for your fellow man do much good around here, as any fan of the Wii (or any console, for that matter) can vouch for. As you'd imagine, the article has a good deal of comments and many of them are none too pleased.
Kezins defends himself respectfully in the comments, and the full article is interesting from both sides of the spectrum. I don't fully agree with either side presented, personally, but I'll bet some of you might like to weigh in on this: does Kezins (a previous Ziff-Davis employee, notably) have a point in his statement about the Wii, or is he completely wrong about the system's future? I've felt glum about it before, but the advent of Wiiware has me pretty optimistic. What do you think?
[Thanks Adam!]
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Contest:
10:21 AM on 04.23.2008
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Nintendo is not gonna tank. EVER. Theyve got such a huge market on hand helds, it doesnt even matter if no one buys the Wii anymore, which doesnt seem to be slowing down either way.
Nintendo always gives its consoles second string treatment, while letting their powerhouse DS make up for the slack their consoles make.
Fix online and the lack of storage = DONE.
Same thing struck me as odd. Low quantities on the shelves is indicative of it not falling into obscurity.
I don't think saying the Wii will fall into obscurity as much as enthusiasm in it will taper off. Nintendo went into this generation expecting to be the second system alongside a PS3 or a 360, and I think this will come true, if it hasn't already. The description "falling into obscurity" is better reserved for systems like the dreamcast or sega saturn.
Also, BEST.PICTURE.EVAR!
Gets attacked for it.
Sounds like someone I should get to know.
Gamers love sequels. It's not just nintendo, stop being stupid about that, please?
The world is full of opinions, and his, while having some arguments that are valid, ignore the fact that Nintendo knows how to play with his weaknesses and strengths.
For 2009, a new Nintendo machine (be it Wii 2 / DS 2 / Gamecube-like Gameboy) will be announced with God-knows-what innovation.
I wonder when this gen is done anyway.
I don't think the sequels or 3rd party support are a problem. Most of the 1st party sequels have been top quality and the 3rd party support is much better than it was on the GameCube. They definitely have some work to do, but they are getting there.
My biggest gripes about the Wii are the most obvious: the lack of storage options and a pathetic 512MB internal flash drive, along with an archaic on-line service. I have no problem with the limited capabilities of the Nintendo WiFi Connection, but they need to do away with this friend code nonsense.
Nintendo claims they want the Wii to be as friendly as possible to "non-gamers". Guess what, the need to delete files from the internal flash drive and/or copy files to an SD card is not user-friendly to someone not familiar with console gaming. Yes, I'm looking at you, Grandma.
Also, a 16-digit friend code is neither easy to remember nor very friendly. What exactly is the purpose of having a code for the console if most on-line enable games require a separate friend code, too? If it frustrates "gamers", how do you think all of these non-gamers view this clusterfuck, Nintendo? I'm not asking for anything as refined as XBox Live, but a friends list with a request system with unique user names (as opposed to a 16-digit numeric "friend" code) is sorely needed and fast.
If these things are rectified soon, I would be surprised to see the Wii begin to die off in 2009. Storage space and a user-friendly on-line service are standard on the XBox 360 and PS3 (well, Sony is making a lot of improvements to the PSN to get it there) it won't be much longer before word reaches Nintendo's non-gamer demographic.
Every effing system these days is relying on sequels.....just look at MGS4, Gears 2, Resistance 2 and a bunch of other games I can't think of.
For those that do not know, most of the same franchises that were on the GameCube are selling better and faster on the Wii.
Nintendo currently has Mario Kart, Wii Fit and Wiiware lined up with new stuff planned to be announced at E3. Plus, there's still some known games from third-parties like The Conduit, Sadness (we'll have to wait and see what happens with it), Oboro Muramasa Youtouden, King Story, Sonic Unleashed, Star wars:Force Unleashed, Grasshopper Manufacture's next project, Boom Blox, Final Fantasy:CC and a few others that escape my memory.
As far as first-party titles go, there's still Disaster and Wii Music and the obvious franchises left to choose from like Kirby, Starfox, Pikmin, and Animal Crossing.In addition, Miyamoto recently hinted at a Mario Galaxy sequel and a possible new Zelda game in the works. There's also Retro Studio's next project to look forward to. Who knows, Nintendo may also surpise us with some other original IPs.
I don't expect that Nintendo will release any big first-party that can rival the excitement and brilliance of Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros, but I'd at least expect Disaster and one other game planned for the holidays. Also, Wiiware should fit in nicely to provide plenty of worthy games to play while we wait for the next big first-party game to be announced and released.The service appears to already have an impressive amount of launch games.
Man shares opinion based on pointless conjecture, gets attacked for it.
At least you back up what you say. You aren't full of shit (at least IMO) when you make an outrageous statement or two.
Christ, the 360 was made on sequels like Halo3, yet he doesn't mention hardware reliability a plus. And which next gen console owner hasn't been creaming themselves over GTA4 or GT5? According to IGN, there was only 4 original IPs out of 18 for 360 at launch.
The biggest problem I see with the Wii is it's retarded release dates outside of the the US. Though the lack of non-casual marketing is a concern also.
I think Wiiware will turn out to be more succcessful than XBLA by the amount of quality games and developers supporting it.
Also, if Nintendo keep rolling out stuff like Wii Fit then they're set for life. People obviously lap that shit up and I doubt Miyamato is sort of a few more ideas.
You know what my son wants to play when he gets home from school ? Its gears of war, its uncharted its my old copy of resident evil 4 on the game cube. I've tried to get him on SSMB and my other wii games, and he just wont go for it. Him and all his friends have been spoiled on what the 360 and the ps3 can do and how it looks they dont want to go back to games that "Look dumb". Despite, how it plays.
I don't think Wii is going to die out 2009. Sales may decrease by then, but Wii will still be around.
As for that guy's death: I say we rip his head off with the spine attached, and then shove the spine up his has. Then we bury him in the pet cemetery and we he comes back as a zombie we shoot him in the face.
"We are humans, and our job is to entertain humans and to do that we must always remember the human touch...After all if we can convert my wife, we can convert anyone." -'Shiggy' Miyamoto
Currently I own 2 games for it, Zelda, and Mario Galaxy. I never got into Brawl, and I don't have friends over that much anymore to warrant a purchase of Mario Kart Wii. I've been meaning to get No More Heroes but with GTA4 and MGS4 coming out soon I'm not plunking down money on a Wii game anytime soon. Its not that I don't like the system anymore, I just enjoy playing my PS3 more. As I said earlier I'm not as enthused about it as I was before. At this point if I had a friend offer to buy it from me I'd consider it, 6 months ago I would have told him to f off.
My co-workers nephew is similar to nerull's son. He tries to get him interested in the Wii with Brawl and Galaxy but all the kid wants to do is play WOW.
Its a horrible machine, the drive sucks and has optical errors. The online is HORRID, friend codes are stupid. The controller does not go over well with all games... the storage blows, and the shit out weighs the good with their games. If SSMB is their driving force, they seriously need some help. I totally back what that guy is saying.
Also, I would like to mention the "not in stock" comment he made... guess what he is right, and its not due to them being sold like crazy.. its how weak the american dollar is - http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-gamer_0329gl.ART.State.Edition1.464cd43.html?npc
I've also heard that the Wii's success is just a "fad" ever since the time of its release, and that PC gaming has been "dying", or is "dead", for about as long as I can remember gaming on the PC.
I honestly think people are wasting their time making predictions about the games industry. About the only certain thing I can think of, is that there will always be people who have a pathological need to shit on others choice of console.
Honestly, waggle doesn't do anything for me. In my opinion I'd rather use a controller for most of the games anyway. They need to use that thing for more than just masturbation gestures.
Also, No More Heroes was lame.
And name me one console that doesn't rely on sequels
also expecting the launch of a huge game like mario kart wii you wouldve thought to keep the stock flowing of the game everywhere now over a week on theres still no stock in sight here for another week yet. pathetic!
i dont think the wii will evolve from anything more than a "lets get gran involved in gaming" system
To loosely quote family guy "I'll be out on the veranda, since you're already up on the cross".
As for this guy, while the Wii very could very well die next year, I don't think he's the one who's opinion we should be relying on to offer us an accurate forecast of the future. Or am I missing something and sequels are a rarity in the industry, with Nintendo the only company that makes them? His ignorance of the industry at large leads me to doubt whether or not he's in a position to be analyzing Nintendo's place in it.
That said, he does bring up some good points, the matter of whether or not they'll end up killing the Wii aside. Nintendo needs to get more systems out there, they need to more agressively market their games, and they need to let the media in on what's going on with their shit.
@ vexed alex
WTF? You agree with this guy on the basis that you...hate Nintendo fans? What does the existence of Wii fanboys have to do with anything this guy said? That makes like....no fucking sense dude. @_@
You know, I really don't see this. Granted you have the occasional outbreak of ridiculousness (aka reactions to low Zelda scores) but every time there is ANY thread about Nintendo basically two things happen: 50 people post about "oh noez the fanboyz is coming" then someone says something quietly reasonable in support of a nintendo game/hardware-- usually after dozens of other hyper negative comments-- and everyone screams "FANBOY!!! OMG!!!" Its the most bizarre shit I've ever seen. And I don't just mean around here, its a general thing. For every one actual nintendo 'fanboy' there must be 50 other people with an uncontrollable irrational hatred of all things nintendo just waiting to drink the blood of some poor kid who actually liked the wii wheel or smash's online. Its funny as shit I guess.
You really think Nintendo doesn't have anything big planned for the second half of 2008 and beyond? You really think they are that short-sighted? They have already stated that they are going to stop hyping games that are still months away from release. Just because they haven't announced anything doesn't mean there's nothing in the works. Toning down hype is welcome by me.
Yes, "hardcore" gamers who frequent all the websites and post in forums have been bashing Wii for 2 years. But they are the vocal minority. Many Wii owners exist outside the gamersphere, so saying you and your friends don't play the Wii is not really an accurate sampling of total Wii owners.
The Balance Board is going to be huge. It's not a scale for Wii Fit. It is a "foot controller"; another option to eliminate the barrier that a standard, dual-analog controller poses to non-gamers. They will sell enough of them to make supporting it profitable. 1080 Snowboarding with the Balance Board is going to rock.
Predicting Wii's imminent death is a played tactic to generate pageviews.
Do you remember when Gamespot gave one of the Halo games like a 9.3 or some shit? The GameFAQS forums went nuts, just like Nintendo fanboys did when Zelda got "a bad score" back in the day. It just goes to show that idiots exist on any side of the equally idiotic console war.
I don't know why Nintendo fans are supposed to be worse than those of any other console, but then there are douche-bags who think that you can't own the Wii and actually be interested in games too, so maybe that sort of intelligent thinking has something to do with it.
I'm not saying that it's out of the realm of possibility, I just don't think it's something you can make a call on given the unpredictability of the industry.