Ahh, the Wii... Current market leader, widening the market immensely with its minimalist charm and motion controls. But, yet, for those who are deeply passionate about interactive entertainment are quite apathetic, nay,
disappointed in Nintendo's current console. No, it's not the "casual craze" that the Wii and it's portable brother, the DS, has spurred; it is much deeper than that. I know that Wii "bashing" is as popular in "hardcore" gaming circles as gender-bending is to shopping centre-lurkers, but I wish to give a reasoned argument why this is so.
A Revolution It Is Not (The Way We Intended)
Yes, we all know that the Wii was called the Revolution during its development. We also know about the actual gaming revolution such a devise would bring. For once, Nintendo seemed like they weren't talking out of their arses: They were right.
We weren't the intended audience, however.
The revolution I envisioned (and I'm sure many of you did too) was to be one of a Renaissance in gameplay, storytelling and game design. The "Revolution" was meant to be the art house cinema to the Xbox 360 and PS3's Hollywood blockbuster, where our very perceptions and ideals were to be challenged and questioned. Instead, the Wii turned out to be the Martha Stewart of video games: getting impulsive, sheepish soccer Mums to shell out $AU400 just on 5 tech demos that they would only play for 20 minutes.
Anger aside, the actual "revolution" was needed. In order for this medium to be widely accepted as a true art form, the appeal of it had to reach outside the box. In a way, it changed our perception of what is a video game, and our industry is better for it. As for the Renaissance, it's happening - the explosion of indie games on XBLA, PSN and Steam, the gradual advances in emotive storytelling, and the growing respect for IP rights.
It just would have been nice if the Renaissance included changing the way we interact with games...
Bad Infrastructure! BAD
The main offender for deterring the Game Renaissance from the Wii is its creator: Nintendo. Despite what Iwata or Reggie try to make you believe, Nintendo hasn't changed a bit. They are still arrogant, close-minded and extremely paranoid. The Wii is what it is only because the GameCube wasn't a big enough success. Sure, they made profit, but not as much as they would have liked.
Nintendo are the radicals of closed-platform ideology. They love control, and they want it to stay that way. For such a different machine like the Wii, the only way to keep it "safe" was to implement poor infrastructure. A insufficient flash drive, a storage solution that is cumbersome, an online "service" that borders on inanity. Why bother putting stuff like that when you can retain profitability? Sadly, Nintendo are right in this regard. However, this does not bode well when one wants to develop for the Wii, especially third-parties.
What if Sony or Microsoft came up with the Wii? Would their approach be radically different to Nintendo's?
LTTP: Third-Parties
Third party support for the Wii leaves a lot to be desired. With barely any solid exclusives and woeful ports, one must think "What the fuck, guys?!" Sure, Nintendo make good games, but that doesn't mean you can't make some of your own! There is a reason why third parties are so neglectful when it comes to the Wii:
It caught them with their pants down.
All the big players put their money on a bloody duel between the 360 and the PS3. No one wanted (or expected) Nintendo to bother after the mediocre life of the GameCube. Yet, Nintendo won a new market with a device leveling the playing field. Publishers don't understand it, developers are conflicted to try something new on weak hardware. Only the likes of SEGA, Capcom and EA have actually given the Wii some respect. Still, the majority of developers want to push visual, audio and online over "gimmicky waggle", and shovelware seems to keep most of the publisher's shareholders happy (which is a shame).
Leaving Them Half-Way
Nintendo's software efforts on the Wii have been solid, if a bit shallow. They have opened the eyes of millions to a new form of entertainment with the likes of Wii Sports, Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii. But, with any medium, tastes mature. Once a kid becomes a teenager, they want to pick up a skateboard instead of an action figure. Nintendo are showing people the door, not the path.
No, I'm not saying that Wii Sports is childish (Wii Bowling is fun on wheels). What I am saying is that there isn't much choice for expanding one's gaming taste and skill once the Wii Sports training wheels have been lifted. Yes, there is Metroid Prime 3, No More Heroes, Okämi and Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Nintendo (or, better still, the third party developers) have to expand the experience, or Nintendo will lose another audience, just like they did when the Playstation hit the world stage.
The Wii has so much potential, and that's its problem. Sad to say, it will never reach it, unless Nintendo start to LEGITIMATELY embrace change and quality third party developers start treating the system with the respect it deserves.
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I've come to realize that the biggest issue that a lot of disgruntled gamers seem to have in regards to the Wii is that it is not the Xbox 360 or the PS3. Those two consoles provide a wealth of value and entertainment to the audience that enjoys them, but it doesn't seem to be enough. No, they want the Wii to be play the same game or at the very least act like it is playing in the immediate vicinity. There's no doubt in my mind that the output on the Wii will improve in quality and appeal to those consumers put off by it right now, but the primary focus of the Wii, that of appealing to an expanded audience while avoiding the arms race in which other companies are competing, will not change.
I'm sorry it's not the "revolution" as you had envisioned. Just don't let it get to you that it is as successful as it is by doing everything that you hoped it wouldn't.
I agree with Megastryke. The Wii is a success because it's a good system with good games. You have to wade through crap to get to them, but they're there. I have more games for the Wii than any other console.
Practically every non-gamer I know loves the Wii, and can't get enough of it. Nintendo's never been secretive that targeting that audience that was one of their major goals... the problem is they also said it would appeal just as much to the dedicated gamers, and that hasn't happened with the exception of a few gems.
I've got no brand loyalty to Nintendo, so I don't really have any problem with what Ninty are doing right now. They did some market research and determined that if they wanted to survive (and that they did) they would have to reposition themselves in the video game industry.
They did a great job from a business perspective.
I agree 100% Pedro said.
Wii is a great system with great games and at the same time it also appeals to the casual video game crowd. UbiSoft seems to put out a lot of terrible crap but it doesn't sell anyways.
I have Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Zelda, Metroid and Mario everything else is just extra at this point.
I agree with all that was said above in the comments. And I just have to say, at first I thought this blog was going to be another Wii hate fest, but I really thought you brought up interesting and valid points. YAY!
Also, the Wii is a much better system than people give it credit for. Granted, I play my 360 more now than I do my Wii, but that doesn't really detract from the Wii, just strengthens my 360.
I was kind of thinking about this topic earlier. I'm probably going to write blog over lunch on it.
I'd love for there to have been a Wii Sports "Advanced" or something, where they trick out a more complicated game overtop of the solid foundations.
@ Everyone:
There is no doubt there are some great games on the Wii ( <3 No More Heroes, Twilight Princess and MP3!). The reason why I wrote this blog entry is because most of my friends who own Wii's haven't touched them for MONTHS (myself included), and I wanted to explore why this was. The problem with the Wii is that there isn't steady flow of good games (much like the game droughts of the GameCube, now with more shovelware), and for me, it is feeling like the Wii was a poorly spent investment if it is in storage (which it is at the moment).
Don't get me wrong: I've tried most of the games that the new market has embraced (I haven't touched Wii Music, but that is probably for the best) - they just don't do it for me. For someone who loves story-driven action games that push the boundaries of interactivity, there isn't much on the Wii.
With that said, Boom Blox is fuck awesome!
I agree that the Wii has been in a slump for the past few months, but it wasn't that long ago that de Blob and World of Goo came out. I still play the Wii more than any other console, but that's mostly because I imported Tatsunoko Vs Capcom.
If that Kid Icarus Wii thing happened the way it was supposed to, you might not have needed to write this blog.
@jestarinc
"The problem with the Wii is that there isn't steady flow of good games (much like the game droughts of the GameCube, now with more shovelware)..."
That's just it, though. There IS a steady flow of "good" games. The problem is that they aren't games that align with your tastes. On top of that, huge hardware sales (especially in these past couple of months) mean that there are many new Wii owners completely unaware that there is a game drought. To them, the entire library is brand new. Mario Kart and Wii Fit may have been released in the spring, but for people who bought the Wii in the past couple of weeks those are fresh experiences. These people continue to purchase games after that initial investment, according to the Wii's stable attach rate, so it's apparent that there are other games that catch their attention.
If you want to get into a discussion about what exactly these people are buying then I just want to preface that by saying, with the exception of a small handful of titles, those games you refer to as shovelware aren't big sellers like you may assume.
Agreed! However sure Nintendo 'may' lose their hardcore audience but they have a new audience. The family and normally mom and pop have secure jobs and the money to spend on articles for there home. Nintendo has found a new audience with more money to spend. It will not surprise me that there majour franchises will become more and more 'casual' as years go on.
@Pascuz - I disagree though because hardcore gamers can't sustain a whole industry. The type of gamers that sustain the industry is mainstream gamers which are these so called casual gamers. Just think about it for a second the PS1 and PS2 were popular because it was popular with the mainstream same goes for the Ataris, Playstation 1 and 2, NES,SNES, Genesis, Wii, DS, PSP, 360. Sure there are mainstream gamers on every platform and that's why I hate this casual gamer moniker because it's just another word for mainstream gamer.
And guess what guys there are a bunch of mainstream gamers on 360 and PS3 as well which gobble up Madden, Halo, Gears of War, Call of Duty, Sports games, Shooters, Music games. Just because they are the cool thing these days. If you really analyze the sales trends you would absolutely agree.
Good points...
I believe people tend to forget that the video game industry is a business.
Nintendo knows what they are doing. They are clearly doing what they need to do to survive and flourish, as a video game company.
Is Nintendo catering to casual and new gamers? You bet... They need to. It's one of the ways a company can ensure a healthy future.
"Hardcore" players are complaining Nintendo is focused too much on casual games. Ridiculous. Did they not play Twilight Princess, Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 or Smash Bros. Brawl? My god... Damn amazing list right there!
Yes, I will agree... Nintendo needs more games and third party support. But there are still great games to enjoy now. The Wii has plenty of quality titles and there are more on the way.
Nintendo is here and they are ensuring they are here to stay.
*Hey... Did you get every star in Galaxy? No?! You haven't? And you call yourself a hardcore gamer... Get out.
@ John:
Well, I wouldn't have my Wii in storage if I had Tatsunoko vs Capcom (being summer here in Australia, my funds have been directed at the various music festivals and concerts that are abundant this time of year) And, yes, I have deBlob, and I'm very proud that one of the quality "casual" games on the Wii is Australian-developed
@ MegaStryke:
Then, how do you explain last Christmas?! Yes, there was the "new" Animal Crossing and Wii Music, but it was a weak offering no matter how you look at it. But, many Wii owners were too busy buying Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii, so in a way, Nintendo didn't have to try.
God, I hate it when devs and publishers think they can be complacent when they're on a roll....
Wait. Why is de blob casual?
This is what I do not understand, if it was released on any other platform it would be regarded as a charming and unique platformer. People need abandon this 'CASUAL' tag. I agree with everything Flamesofchaos said- mostly because she disagreed with the ever ignorant Pascuz.
I'll agree that the flash memory on the Wii is insignificant, but there are quite a few incredible games on the system that can't be emulated on any other.
The Wii is a revolution, if you saw a remote shaped controller and thought 'Ohh, the advancement of story telling and blah blah' thats sort of you setting yourself up for disappointment. In my opinion Nintendo have come through and lived up to the revolution moniker. I'll tell you why.
1. Control; Wii Sports provides enough proof for this but I'll go on. Metroid Prime 3 is one of the best shooters ever made, it combines the accuracy of a mouse and the comfort of a controller.
2. Market; Nintendo has expanded the industry in ways nobody knew was possible, mothers are buying games for themselves and their kids can play with them. They also provide just as many games for the 'core' as they always had.
I could go on but this is a cblog comment...
I really can't understand how people can say 'Nintendo doesn't care about the hardcore gamer' Just because they release three 'Wii____' titles in 2 years while their big titles are being refined for the next year. As Jonathan said, Icarus was supposed to be around, stuff happens.
I'm so sick of this stigma. There is plenty to play on the Wii.
@jestarinc
"Then, how do you explain last Christmas?! Yes, there was the "new" Animal Crossing and Wii Music, but it was a weak offering no matter how you look at it. But, many Wii owners were too busy buying Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii, so in a way, Nintendo didn't have to try."
You answered your own question. People are still buying the old games. I addressed that right here:
"[H]uge hardware sales (especially in these past couple of months) mean that there are many new Wii owners completely unaware that there is a game drought. To them, the entire library is brand new. Mario Kart and Wii Fit may have been released in the spring, but for people who bought the Wii in the past couple of weeks those are fresh experiences."
You can't say the lineup is week when games that were released more than half a year ago are still some of the biggest draws to the machine.