Good or Bad for gaming; Wii

[Lee]

19th November2006, the gaming world is turned upside down as the revolutionary console from Nintendo is released. No longer the Revolutionary name of revolution but the three letters W i i...Wii. A small white box that 44.96 million of us worldwide now own. The Wii mote and Nunchuck have since been symbols of family gaming.

So I ask you fine ladies and gentleman, is the Wii good for gaming, or is it bad for gaming? I'm interested to seehow this goes,because for the most part the Wii is not really catered for the 'hardcore gamer' (smark) and doesn't have the flashy graphics (flippys) of the other consoles. It does have a few hidden gems and some not so hidden gems. It has opened up a whole demographic of young kids and old people and once again families are getting together to play games.

I think it's good for gaming as a whole, but it's not good for me. As a Nintendo boy through and through, I can safely say there is so much crap on this console it's unbelievable, and the need to do stupid controls for no reason pisses me off. A few great games for it, which I honestly think is worth it. But as a whole for the hardcore gamers, it's shit, for gaming as a whole....very good.

 

[klunderbunker]

I think it's good. My great aunt and great uncle have one and they're in their 70s. Both are addicted to it now. Think about that. They've never played a game in their lives and they get hooked on it now? THat has to say something. It has a bit of physical activity involved in it so that is better than nothing. It's a fun console with some decent stuff on it, but you're right on a lot of the games being bad. That's Nintendo's thing though: a lot of the games are ridiculously random but still have their good qualities. With Mario, Zelda and Kart all having great additions to the gaming library, this is a good thing for gamers because it brings gaming to a whole new level that will be copied soon enough.

 

[Kasey]

I think the Wii is exactly the kind of change that video gaming required to stay afloat. Gaming, from a comprehensive vantage point, is doing amazing business worldwide. Whether it's PC, Sony, or Microsoft that is offering up the platform, the industry is thriving. However, in the last decade the trend continued to move towards more complex games that lost way too many novice gamers in the shuffle.

Reggie (Nintendo of America head honcho guy) made this the cornerstone of his keynote speech at E3 a couple of years back and he was so right it hurt. Even in my own family, I can't convince my wife to sit down and play anything on the Playstation or Xbox...but when the Wii is mentioned, even her parents play (and they're fucking old). Wii is doing phenomenal business because Nintendo stopped catering to the diehard gamer who needed a 27-button controller just to function. They stripped it down and focused on making new inroads to new customers, rather than trying to bleed market share out of the same demographic.

 

[justinsayne]

The Wii is good just for the fact that it made gaming fun again, not to mention opened gaming up to a wider audiance, Wii fans that range in ages from like 5-65, for me I had pretty much stop playing games for the most part, with the execption of a few games here and there I found gaming to be rather boring, and was tired of having to play games the required me to sit down a give them a bunch of attention for hours at a time, I have to much other shit going on in my life, I really don't have the time to be sitting around for hours on end playing video games, I'm the type of gamer that likes to just pick something up and play for an hour or so before I go onto do something else, and the Wii provides me with fun games that do that, hell so far Mario Kart and Mario Galaxy alone are well worth the money I spent for both games and the Wii console itself, so basically to sum up my point, the Wii has been good for gaming because it has made gaming fun for a wider audience

 

[Blade]

It's good and bad I guess... Ninteendo have made gaming even popular-er...
But at the same time they're alienating alot of "hardcore" gamers who, crazily enough, don't wanna play Horsez or whatever...

But you gotta admit, genius advertising by nintendo

E3:
"Yes, this is an innovative new controller, which will help us and the 3rd parties create new and innovative games for our core audience. Buy one!"

day after launch:
"Ok, the core gamers have fell for it, they saw Zelda with the console and were convinced they needed one and that they were gonna get their fave games in new ways...mwahaha....... Now for the casual gamers. Fuuucking Shovelware time!!"

Or something to that effect...

 

[Dragonslayer]

Definitely a good thing. I must say, I don't even have one yet (though I usually try to get as many consoles from each generation as possible), but right now all my money goes into my band basically... but still I'm definitely getting one.

But as has been pointed out - WII is just the thing for all the non-hardcore gamers out there. It's ideal for party games, but because of its deficiencies in the technical department, it can't keep up with the flashy games you have on PS3 and X360. But to be honest, that's perfect the way it is - I mean, PS3 and X360 basically have 90% of the same games at very equal performances (with some games, the PS is better and with others the 360) and only very few exclusive titles that would really warrant a purchase of the console only because of THAT particular game... what the hell would we be doing with YET another console that would have essentially the same games as the other two?!

So it was really a smart move on Nintendo to target a different audience, and it paid off big time - bot the DS and the WII are by far two of the best selling systems in video game history (I believe the DS is actually the best selling as of now?), and it just goes to show just why Nintendo was the leading company in this business in the first place when they introduced the NES, SNES and Gameboy back in the day... To be honest, with the way the Gamecube kind of lost a lot of ground against the first XBOX and the PS2, I was already fearing Nintendo could get into troubles... but they really unleashed a big Chuck Norris roundhouse kick into the faces of the competition by doing their own thing, and thus introducing gaming to a whole new audience. The PSOne was revolutionary back in the 90ies as it made gaming "cool" for teenage audiences, when before that, it had been more or less something for "freaks". And now, Nintendo has made Videogames much more accepted by any generation (especially older ones) than they have ever been - and that is truly a great accomplishment.

I think that the two "streams" of gaming will continue to prosper side by side... one for the hardcore gamers with high-end-performances and graphics, and complicated control schemes and what not... and on the other hand the intuitive, funny-looking party games for WII (and of course a few Nintendo exclusives that will also appeal to the old schoolers like Zelda, Metroid and Mario just to name Nintendo's top franchises) for all those who don't spend hours each day just go beat a 60+ hour RPG, but who just want to have some fun for an hour or two at a party.

My hat definitely goes off to Nintendo for making the "Revolution" really THAT revolutionary. A lot of other companies probably would have buckled under the weight of the opposition in Microsoft and Sony, two of the overall most powerful and fincancially capable companies in the world - but the "underdog" (judging by the devlopments in the N64/GC era) turned the tides around this time. That was just a real Hulk Hogan comeback, and Nintendo sure as hell hit the legdrop on the competition in this round

 

[Mr. TM]

I think the Wii is a great thing for gamers.

1.) It has created an interactive gaming system. Kids will be able to get up and play their hearts out. It is even a way to stay active, and help child obesity. Even children with disabilities get to take advantage of the system. I work with disabled children and our company owns a Wii, and as long as I set it up, they are able to play and are quite good at it.

2.) Nintendo is no longer in the major running besides for classics. Playstation 3 and X-box 360 are the target audience now adays for the big games. This has left Wii by itself while the other two fight it out. The classic games for Nintendo will still be nintendo games for a long time to come however.

3.) The Wii has become a party system. Friends now get together and have a blast playing the Wii together. It is fun for everyone, from childrens birthdays to College parties.

4.) Games in general are becoming interactive. It may have started with something like Duck Hunt has turned into games such as Guitar Hero and Rock band. Wii gives you a much larger aray of games to play interactively. It is the closes things to interactive gaming I have ever seen.

5.) Family Game- Like I have said, children love the Wii. But in reality, everyone loves it. Teens love the games, College students, young adults, parents of children, even people above the age of forty have taken an interest in the gaming world because of the Wii.

 

[Tastycles]

Definitely a good thing. First and foremost it brought computer games into the hands of people who were previously not interested in it. My girlfriend has never played a computer game in her life, but she enjoyed the Wii from the first minute she played it. Also, it's a good starting point for kids.

Games are generally more complicated now than they were 10 or 15 years ago, so some of the child like games of the past don't really have a similar game on the 360 or PS3. My four year old nephew plays on Mario Kart, and he thinks it is the best thing in the world. He's not even that shit at it. The Wii is far and away the best introductory console on the market now.

Finally, I think it has saved Nintendo. Nintendo outlived Sega because of Pokemon, and the success that brought. But it was never going to last forever. Both the Xbox and PS2 were more popular than the Gamecube, and Nintendo were never going to appeal more to the hardcore gamer in the next generation of consoles. So, Nintendo could be more attractive to gamers, it had to attract non gamers and the Wii has done that, and judging by the fact that they are still often sold out it has probably exceeded expections.

The Wii is nothing but good for gaming.

 

[hotwater10]

Helped less then it hurt. Ok if someone still plays there wii more then once a week your rare. No one and I mean no one still plays there wii what leads to kids not playing the whole video games. There just to boring. And you get tired. Mario Kart wii is the only good game that you will play more then twice. I don't get it. There so fun when you play them at friends house before you get one. (were all guilty.)

 

[The Redcrosse Knight]

Anything that grows your industry and reaches untapped demographics is good for business, therefore, the Wii is great for gaming. They've managed to put a controller in the hands of undersexed housebound women, seniors and toddlers. Getting these people to do anything is impressive enough. Getting them to drop about $250 on a gaming console is more impressive.
All of those systems in all of those homes gets people into gaming stores/gaming sections and shows great support for the industry. The Wii is great for gaming.

 

[Lowez]

I agree with a few of the posters here. Obviously, it's good for the business (well, Nintendo at least). Just look at the sales. Absolutely insane, considering the pretty much flopped N64 and the even worse (in terms of sales) GameCube. I loved those consoles to bits. Always had a thing for Nintendo. When I heard about the Wii, I was excited. I genuinely was. OMG NEW CONSOLE. OMG MOTION CONTROLS. OMG ZELDA. It was all looking pretty fanfuckingtastic. I got it a few months after release, and I was impressed.

It all went downhill from there. Wii Sports just kept getting more boring. The other games I had, I had either given up on due to the awkward motion sensing, or completed them. Brawl came out, and I loved it. I thought Nintendo had given my Wii a lifeline. I played it to death. Then it just got slowly boring, as fighting games do for me. That was 6-7 months ago. I've not even dusted my Wii since. And boy, does it need it.

Nintendo are catering for the casual audience now. I won't say they've fully abandoned their hardcore fans (the ones who kept them through the N64 and GameCube days). There's still a few possible gems to come. But it's nowhere near the console I thought it was going to be.

 

[OIL]

The Wii is fantastic for gaming, because it made gaming fun again. I mean, for the first time at home you actually had to move more than your fingers to play a game, and it's great multiplayer fun. The Wii was made for multiplayer gaming, and it provides hours of fun.

However, the Wii is seriously lacking some key elements.

1. Graphics - The Wii's graphics are the same as the GameCube. It's seriously lacking. The PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 have set the standards for graphics, and it's a must. Without good graphics, what's the point? Sure, the Wii's graphics are fine, but you want the amazing picture on the HD TV with the amazing sound.

2. Good games - The Wii's games are quite standard, and most Wii releases are nothing like the PlayStation ones or the 360. They are missing the depth of the other games, probably due to the processor in the Wii ect.

If they fix them, then it'll be up to scratch next time around.