3:07 PM on 04.24.2007
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Feelings aside, the Wii has become something of a phenomenon. Demand is still crazy high for a machine that some hardcore gamers consider obsolete, but kids and kids at heart find the most charming thing this side of anything found on Cute Overload. Business 2.0, via CNN, put together a rather glowing piece on Nintendo and how they have come to dominate the current video game landscape. Here are some choice quotes: Today, as anybody within shouting distance of a teenager knows, Nintendo is the comeback kid of the gaming world. Instead of joining Sony and Microsoft in the arms race to pack their consoles with ever-higher-performance graphics chips (to better attract sophisticated gamers), Nintendo built the Wii--a cuddly, low-priced, motion-controlled machine that broke the market wide open by appealing to everyone from grade-schoolers to grandmas.
And my personal favorite:
While the console team worked on the shell, Miyamoto and another team perfected the controller. He was determined that its design be as simple as possible--he insisted on several revisions that enlarged the "A" button to make its importance obvious.
Check out the rest of the piece and give your non-fanboy take. |
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21 comments + 95764 views
My grandmother has yet to pick up a Wii controller. Could be her stroke. But then again I wonder how much Nintendo had to pay CNN for the article.
I hate CNN and that Maximal Wolf Blitzer. Curse him and his fake name.
My non-fanboy take? I just posted an ad in the Bradenton Herald to sell my Wii.
Why would you try and sell the greatest console ever made, Snaileb? I hope Subnet sees your idiocy.
Snaileb,
How much?
The article does expose the one weak point here. Nintendo seems to not care too much about us gamers. Which is fine for me, I can feed off the VC service for years, but some games that appeal more to everyone would be swell.
Are you kidding dvddesign? The Wii IS made for EVERYONE! Don't you pay attention to what Nintendo is telling you? What is wrong with you people?!?!?
We need a savior. We need a hero ~ We need a Mario Kart.
Keep the Wii, and abort the PS3.
I think the Wii is in the same boat as the PS3 as far as lack of software goes. Around this time last year I remember thinking the same of the 360. I think if serious gamers give it some time, eventually there will be plenty of software that will be targeted for them. Same with PS3.
Atleast, this is the thought I cry myself to sleep with.
Who cares if it's good or not?
Adamska,
We need Mario.
He's welcome to bring his cart if he wants, but Mario being over a year late to the party is a record now for Nintendo.
Summa, yeah, gotcha, but the Wii is made for everyone. What's Happy Feet made for? Cars? WiiPlay? Where's our Mario/Metroid/anything that made us (y'know, gamers?) buy any previous Nintendo console? We're nearing the halfway point of the year and this summer's release schedule on the Wii is lookin' mighty sparse.
Snaileb have you forgotten about SSBB? I've considered pawning mine off too, but then I realize I got it for Brawl, and everything else becomes extra bonuses.
Yea, we do need Mario. As for the Wii being for everyone...I'd say it could be if they put out the right games. I'm not exactly keen on going back and playing Red Steel again.
"As young consumers started careers and families, they gradually cut back on game time."
I've experienced this observation on both sides of a career. Enjoy your free time while you have it, guys.
My Grandma loves the wii, she always talks about it...then she proceeds to beat my ass at wii bowling >_>
You know what could potentially really suck? Since the Wii will sell the most consoles, its probably gonna end up getting the most games, and therefore most game sales. If this happened, the next "console war" might be between a pack of cheap "accessible" consoles that appeal to everyone, rather than the variety that we have now. It would really suck for the companies to try to go for the cheapest, trendiest console rather than the one with the best graphics and games. Just throwing that out there.
Brawl, Metroid, what the fuck else ever you were expecting, aint coming. Not till late 07, early 08, or worse. I can always get one later in the year if they decide to come out with SMASH, and just play the others on my friends.
DVD talk to me on Xbox live. I trust Nintendo to do what's right.
"As young consumers started careers and families, they gradually cut back on game time."
Unless your career is in video games. But it does become a rare endeavor to get any multi-player time with friends who have families or jobs.
And as long as people dress up cosplay for videogames, they're is always going to be an audience buying the Power Glove or Virtual Boy.
I have an opinion. Massive "damage" should be changed to massive "progress."
That is all.
Nice try Kannon, you almost had me. Let Summa speak for himself and change your damn avatar already
@ Kannon
What makes you so sure after making the "appeal to the non gamer" game, that the company will turn around and make the "hardcore" game, especially if its cheaper to make the "everyone" game, it sells more, and gives them a huge profit? What incentive do they have to make the "traditional gamer" game?
Kannon your strategy idea is perfect except for 1 thing...the people who are not into gaming that bought a Wii on impulse becasue of Wii sports are not going to be buying a large amount of games...maybe 1 or 2 per year...imo.
Where's the article about how Nintendo is destroying the industry as we know it? Oh wait, I'm writing that one.
Well.. its the same guys that gave the "Game of the century" award to freakin "Wii sports"
Even as a "Wii Fanboy" you only have to check the comments and articles in gaming sites (and digg) to realize the Wii star is already dimming out. Just 3 months ago it was IMPOSSIBLE to post any remotely bad press for the Wii on digg (my personal favorite was a comment reading only "Wii FTW!" that got 220 diggs). Right now you can actually post some bad press on the Wii and it will actually appear on the front page. Same goes for ps3 news. (which is apparently the Wii nemesis or something) The Wii (insane) popularity is declining slowly but steadily.
Here in Mexico the Wii price was cut down (in certain stores) to $280 (instead of the initial $500) in general, nobody cares.
The Wii will reach its 10 million sold status and get mano a mano with the 360 (probably when Mario Brawl hits) but after that( unless Mario Galaxy is beyond good or the Star wars game hits around xmas) sales will slowly go down, and people will FINALLY realize the Wii isnt targetted at them and move to another console (which one? I dont care)
@Adamska
It's a fair trade, IMO. Those who dedicate themselves to game careers may not necessarily have the best family lives. (EA what?)
The only reason I turn mine on is to vote on the voting channel. Other than that, I'm just waiting for Smash Bros.
i'm not picking one up until a) brawl hits or b) the price drops. there is zero incentive to pick one up right now if you enjoy quality games. i haven't seen anything on it that appeals to me whatsoever. nicktoons racing 38 and happy feet just don't appeal to me as a 21 year old college male, sorry nintendo. even zelda doesn't do it for me. one game does not a good console make. and seriously... what is the appeal of the tech demo that is wii sports? it's simply not that impressive. neither is getting a couple crappy old ports from generations ago.
This doesn't matter. There's always going to be a market for us "hardcore" gamers. There is always going to be enough graphics whores to keep the good hard/software coming. The Wii is cheaper, and gramma's lack of motor skills wont stop her from bowling a strike. That's all they got. I say let them carve out a niche. Good, and when some of those consumers get bored, they'll come to the darkside. I also understand that hardcore gamers can want a Wii.
Ok, I'm getting an error when I try to post. But no matter. Just assume a typical fanboy rant against Summa and his Wii-bashing. It was a nice one too. *sigh*
My dad tried 1080 snowboarding on the N64 and laughed his ass off as he crashed everywhere. He's an avid golfer with a near-pro handicap and I can't get him to try Wii Sports golf or bowling (another of his favorite pastimes).
Yeah, real solid strategy there Nintendo. 1080 snowboarding got my dad to try out N64, yet your attempts to woo him with 'simplified controls' failed miserably. Thank god for console shortages or I would actually own a Wii.
And fuck the VC. I want new games.
Warning: Header may not contain more than a single header, new line detected. in /home/destructoid/public_html/elephant/site.phtml on line 116
@ Im OK
You should copy your posts before you post them, that way if there is an error you can just go back and paste.
@The Rob91
If the games for the common man become complex, common people will demand more from their games until the games for the average consumer become more and more hardcore until there is no difference. As an example in this trend, note that the Honda Civic of today is LARGER than the Honda Accord of the 1980s... and I wouldn't be surprised if it had more HP too.
Another bit of car comparison would be that everyone should be driving a Honda Accord, but the Mazda Miata (same price, just hardcore) still sells. It's because there will always be a market for hardcore games, so there will always be someone making hardcore games. Maybe it won't be the top seller ever or an industry leader, but they will always exist.
Hey! Remember the Nintendo DS? Remember how people thought it was going to fail and that the games would only appeal to people who are usually non-gamers?
Yeah! What happened to that? It got popular and beat the shit out of the PSP?! No way!
Well, screw that. The Wii is definitely going to fail! History would NEVER repeat itself!
Oh, I've got it copied. It's just that every time I try to post that particular set of text, for some reason, I get the error above. All my other posts seem to be working, however, which is weird.
Hopefully, it won't just show up later out of the blue a dozen times or something.
One guy thinks digg or gaming sites are indicative of the populus, another thinks going for the widest group of people is carving out a niche, and another thinks nintendo's strategy has backfired because his dad hasn't played it. We're surrounded by idiots.
lol @ mandlebaum123
Hey guys, I can give you 38 reasons why I don't participate in these discussions anymore. Counting's much more fun than arguing, so get to it!
Frankly, I don't see why people are still bitchin' and moaning about this. I especially don't understand why summa keeps writing these articles. Yes, we get you hate nintendo, how many times must you remind us? I don't hate the wii, but i'm not in love with it either. I'ts good that they are aiming for a bigger audience and bringing more people into videogames but it's also bad because more rushed and terrible games are going to come out for it. I also applaud them for not making a big deal on graphics because people these days focus way to much on them. Good graphics don't equal good games people! I mean most games on the ps3 now range from mediocre to terrible.
And yes, the wii needs ssmb and mario galaxies.
Hmm. Not a perfect solution, but still... screw you, fucking error.
So, aren't you guys glad I went to all that trouble now?
>_>
<_<
...right.
Le yawn. I challenge any person here to name a console that had a significantly better lineup of software after 6 months than the wii. This is early adoption. Suck it up foos. A good reference for the wii is the DS. As stated in the article, it sucked for a whole year, now it's one of the best bits of gaming kit of all time, largely thanks to the popularity gleaned from appealing to the non-gamer market. It also baffles me how everyone insistent on the wii's suckage and game/mario drought is completely ignoring super paper mario. A hardcore, decent length game appealing mainly to the hardcore and featuring mario. In what way is this inadequate?
I'm also of the opinion that anyone who thinks there are no good games imminent for the wii are delusional. Apart from the oft bandied SSBB, mario galaxy and metroid, there's project hammer, disaster: day of crisis, batallion wars 2, fire emblem, umbrella chronicles, sadness, project S, no more heroes, treasure island z, dewy's adventure, opoona, dragon quest swords, mario strikers, nights... and that's just the ones I can think of off the top of my head which are exclusive to the wii. Most of them should be good, and most should be released this year.
The article really had nothing most of us didn't know 6 months ago, if a well written account of it. Didn't read anything about the wii hitting the industry's weak points, though.
@vinnchan
Yes, thats a much more plausible outcome, and really one that I would agree with, good point. Though I still like thinking about crazy possibilities too though.
@im Ok
Thank you ok, your much better at voicing your opinion than me. I like the wii more or less and im tired of summa writing these dumb articles while sucking a sony CEO's cock. Summa do everyone a favor, take the penis out of your mouth and write a good article for once. And this time do it without contradicting yourself you sony fanboy prick!
Then again, I just found a subversive way to be able to edit my comments after the fact, which is something Destructoid sorely lacks at the moment. It's too much of a pain in the ass to do on a regular basis, and I prefer normal posting, but it was somewhat useful in this case at least.
If anything, Summa is an X-box fanboy. He writes PLENTY of bad press against Sony, trust me.
Good job all you flamers! You have successfully fed Summa's ego!
Can't you see it? His head just grew 3 times it's normal size..
*rolls eyes*
Summa is upset that the Wii will probably break 10million units by the end of the year. Christmas will probably put them over the top. At least at their current pace. We all know the only reason that the 360 has hit 10mil in sales is because so many have been hit with the red ring of death (the reason I no longer have one). You have to buy a new one (which I didn't). It's 2007, the 360 has been out roughly a year and a half. The wii has been out 5 months, and close the gap by over half.
Oh wait though, the wii sucks, and will fail, and nobody will buy it. yeah thats right.
/propaganda
See if you are going to throw around fanboy propaganda at least do it correctly.
At this point, who gives a flying fuck anymore, All the systems are churning out pure shit now. I don't see ANY decent titles that aren't rehashed concepts with 'eye candy' or improved controls. I want something new ith a nice origional story line.
But when he does post bad press against Sony, he tends to be a text-book Sony apologist and puts a spin on it in such a way that attempts to make it not look as bad for Sony. Or if it's good Sony news, he fluffs it up to be a much bigger deal than it really is. Exactly the opposite of how he treats pretty much all Nintendo news, good or bad.
The only exceptions are perhaps those instances that occur directly after he has posted one of his Wii-rants, during which he got called out once again for being a Sony fanboy, and in which he's trying to "prove" he's not sucking Sony's dick by being ever so slightly more critical of them than he usually is.
But you're right. The Xbox certainly seems to get a relatively free pass here as well, though nobody is as blatantly pro-Microsoft (or anti-Microsoft) as Summa is pro-Sony (and anti-Nintendo).
"Why would you try and sell the greatest console ever made, Snaileb? I hope Subnet sees your idiocy."
If it doesn't have games he likes and none are on the horizon for the next year, selling it makes sense. But even if that's the case, notice how he doesn't say it's selling only on hopes and dreams? I've never said the Wii is the best system ever, I've just always said that there are a lot of games that many people are enjoying, even though not everyone is. I would say that the Wii, more than any system so far, is the most subjective system out there. I totally respect people who love AND hate it, depending on each persons reasoning for doing so.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Jokes on me. I thought Summa might actually have found a good article here in which CNN stated that the Wii (which really is sub-standard by most media outlets gaming wise) was destroying the actual gaming market by drawing attention away and dumbing down the industry.
Instead what do I see? An article stating that the Wii was laying waste to the gaming industry sales wise.
Booo you cock-tease.
Im Ok:
"Arent you guys Happy I pasted that?"
No.
MandleBaum123:
Sigh.. Look the Wii is popular NOW theres no denying there, will it still be popular in 2 years?. No way. You can use any metric you want, sales, advertising, comments, whatever it pleases you. Sales and popularity is steadily dropping since xmas launch. Why? because most people just want to try the Wiimote since is a new way to play games but once the novelty is over, The Wii wears steadily thin. Deal with it.
Most people are only holding to their Wii's just because they are waiting for either Mario Brawl or Mario Galaxy, Nintendo knows thats and is stretching their top games to kingdom come. Project hammer is probably a 2008 xmas game by now.
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