I think that it is safe to say that no console has succeeded to the degree that the Wii has while openly defying the expectations of tradition. In place of superior hardware, the Wii focuses on identifying a new way to experience games which has introduced entire new audiences to video games, especially in the area of older and female gamers.

Personally, I had already just about hit the bottom of my long slide away from the Nintendo loyalty I had back in the days of the NES and SNES. When I first got to play Zelda at a Wii prerelease party, I knew the Wii was a system I would never own and I sadly came to terms with the fact that my old childhood friend was now dead to me. Every game of Wii Sports at a get together I play only reaffirms that feeling.

For me, the Wii had been reduced to a console for kids, elderly (who couldn't actually go out and do things like bowl or play tennis) and the relatively untapped casual female gaming market. The Wii nunchucks were gimmicky, and served most games I was interested in much more poorly than traditional controllers. The games looked awful for the most part, and the characters reminded me of those little toys I had as a toddler where the people had no limbs.



I have grown to dislike the Wii more and more as it becomes more popular and I see people who, like me, grew up in the generation of difficult 8-bit and 16-bit games yet talk about the Wii in the same breath as the PS3 or the 360. But this hostility is not directly focused at the Wii itself- I found it to be a rather unimpressive system with limited novelty appeal and if the Wii had gone the way of the N64 or even the Virtual Boy I wouldn't be writing any of this.

Instead, that contempt is more accurately focused at the perceived loss of a community of gamers I used to feel united with and along with that, a lack of support for my favorite genres. As I look to buy more and more games, I notice that fewer and fewer are targetted at my demographic- the old school, "hard core" gamer who demands depth and challenge from their games.

So as much as I dislike the Wii and for as much as games like "Wii Sports" goes against everything I hold dear as a gamer over these many years, it really is hard to deny the Wii as a major milestone in the history of video games. My only hope is that the people who grew up with those games aren't forgotten in the process.

I disagree. The Wii certainly has revolutionized gaming as you can see with the whole sensor technology. Of course, Nintendo wants to make profit so that is why it appeals to the casual games such as kids and elder people. However, there are many games out there that appeal to hard core games such as myself.

I know it seems like I'm bias since I owned a super nintendo, nintendo 64, gamecube and now a wii. But, I think there is no evidence that nintendo is trying to ruin gaming. If anyone, it is the 3rd party companies that the ones that should be blame because they are not making enough games for the wii. They yet have to recognize the potential of the Wii, so that gaming could continue to evolve. That is what I like about nintendo's philosophy. If there is no change, then all there is to gaming is just graphics. This means that the market can't evolve if all there is a slight improvement of graphics in videogames. Something else needs to change so that the consumers can see a reason why they should obtain the next generation system.

If you look at sony at E3, then you will see that they are basically ripping off of nintendo. Now, sony has joined the motion sensory technology because it know that they have produce new ideas since better graphics isn't enough excuse to buy there system.

mariokirby

I disagree. The Wii certainly has revolutionized gaming as you can see with the whole sensor technology.

If there is no change, then all there is to gaming is just graphics. This means that the market can't evolve if all there is a slight improvement of graphics in videogames.

So are you saying that changing controllers is the only thing that can be done to evolve video games? I would debate that point in great detail if that were the case.

mariokirby

I know it seems like I'm bias since I owned a super nintendo, nintendo 64, gamecube and now a wii.

No NES? For shame ;) To be fair, the Wii is the first Nintendo console I did not purchase. So it would seem we both have the same number of Nintendo consoles ;)

mariokirby

If you look at sony at E3, then you will see that they are basically ripping off of nintendo. Now, sony has joined the motion sensory technology because it know that they have produce new ideas since better graphics isn't enough excuse to buy there system.

You forgot to mention the 360's new motion capture and yes, they are ripping off Nintendo. To deny that motion based gaming is a market is a huge mistake. But, to the same effect, I think each system's take on it is just as trivial and just as gimmicky.

I think that the market has yet to reach it's full scope. Most people that have been playing video games are usually under 40, sometimes pushing 50-60 range. Once the video game market has reached a full generation of human beings (from birth till death at an old age) the real market will come into it's full fruition.

When this happens there will be many niche platforms and games. This is a good thing, the industry will eventually be much more personal to your own tastes. Options is what I'm talking about, and there is nothing wrong with it.

Something to consider - if you are planning on buying stock, I would put a percent of that into gaming because the market has yet to reach a full generation (as above from birth - till old age and death) , and it's true ceiling.

It's doing a bit of both I think.. It's revolutionized gaming in the sense that it has allowed other people besides just us gamers to get into it. Yet on the other side it ruined gaming for the ones that have been gamers for years and years. Because we aren't new to gaming, we want the stuff that challenges our skills and mentality. The wii more or less focuses on the casual gamers being able to enjoy themselves whereas experienced gamers find that to be uninteresting because we can't experience that feeling of fulfillment when we get when we beat a truly challenging game.

Well... It hasn't exactly ruined gaming for us yet.. basically just ruined our sense of hope for more classic Nintendo awesomeness.. I guess we have to stick to the classic consoles... or emulators. lolz

past owner of - NES *first console ^_^*, SNES, multiple N64's, gameboy color advanced and DS, The original PlayStation, PS1, PS2 and PS2 slim and X-box.

and P.S. we still have great computer games untouched by the gaming console industry yay

The Wii sucks really bad, no? then why N64 even have better games? why Gamecube also better? and the top console for Nintendo is Super Nintendo.

Ok first Id like to say thanks for posting this thread its been bugging me for a long time and i have a lot of built up anger towards Nintendo for leaving the original community behind, secondly the name Wii spelling and sound of it makes me puke, without the DS sales too Nintendo would of gone bankrupt, its true the wii was designed for these in mind family members, girls, women that love to go out and elderly people its a fact, the wii controller vibrates need i say more girls that like to go out, all the others are cool people they play using old school pads either Xbox360 or Sony products or the old Nintendo ones ie/ Not the wii.

as for has Wii revolutionized gaming? for few games yeah but for 90% of the others no in Zelda you can no longer charge up your weapon and have that shine effect with your sword thanks to the wii controller, good job Nintendo!! not.. also the game is a graphical port from gamecube and seeing how wii hardware plain sucks it wouldn't make a difference if it were done for the wii itself.

ok on to the reason why I think the wii is a waste of time and has not revolutionized gaming.

1: like i mentioned above some games get the unique effect but without decent hardware you cannot do crap to revolutionize it, Sony prolly will be the first to show next gen revolution gaming since they started to develop the controller too and showed us how much precision it has over the wii, so yea wii hardware and controller now will be nothing compared to sony's new toy.

2: Xbox360 has some great games even 1 game or 2 enough to put wii in its place, which makes you think what the hell is wii really there for? I get bored holding the wii controller its too basic so it goes to show the controller for the wii is made for amateur gamers, personally i prefer the advanced 200 button w/e pads, i always play to the edge, only new consoles that did this for me is xbox360 and ps3. to me revolution isn't always new hardware, but new things in games that you could not do before is a revolution in itself, Microsoft and Sony have the power to bring true resolve to gaming world, wait for them to splash out more money only hardcore gamers can truly grasp what revolution is.

3: Nintendo = weak next gen revolutionized gaming. the Nintendo sensor doesn't even work properly, good one Nintendo you did another bang up job for that, redeem yourself by becoming a hardcore console once more, its simple math
ok check this out-
Top hardware + top software X by next gen gaming and revolutionizing gameplay = give you more fun satisfaction guaranteed. You see its the hardware and the software which is required to give you revolutionized gaming not just a new controller, this is why Nintendo fail.

I honestly don't like the Wii as much as the Gamecube or N64. A lot of the games I find are using too much of the movement censor on the Wiimote and are hardly playable. But then again I'm getting pretty picky with my games and only like a select few series now.

To be honest I think it kind of depends on the preference of the player to like the Wii or hate it but personally I dislike the play style of the Wii until they bring out a more teenage adult oriented games that I may like maybe? But yea for the most part I can see it becoming really good but so far I think the games are what to blame about the Wii cause most of the games really make it unattractive for older generation gamers because of childlike game styles in like most of the games that I have seen on the Wii.

I dunno if I agree with you... you say the Wii has limited its audience, but I think the opposite, it has expanded to include those other areas that were uninterested in gaming before. As someone in my 20's myself, I find Wii highly entertaining in a group environment, more so than something like the Xbox or PS3. Its easy for everyone to participate and have fun. On the other hand if I were by myself, yes I would probably prefer something along the lines of Xbox or PS3, but for purely entertainment purposes, I don't think either of those can come close. Just my opinion though... and maybe just my group of friends too...

The motion sensing thing is kinda cool... but for someone who plays twitch based games a lot it is just not accurate enough. Also I have not seen a single game on the wii that I actually wanted to play besides SSB. They all seem to be very low quality gameplay wise and just have some gimmicks with the motion sensing to sell it. They are exploring a new area though which is necessary to make the gaming market advance... now whether they have succeeded in their explorations is another story heh.

For me just a casual player and not really into hardcore gaming I think the Wii is the best console from Nintendo and is the best next gen console. In my opinion the Wii is the most advanced out of the three consoles because Nintendo was brave and introduced a new playing style this is the main reason insted of just improving the graphics it improves everything.

The Wii may be a big step forward in the aspect of gaming with the motion sensors, but there is a limit as to how far one can go with that. For example, games like Avatar and others for the Wii are, as shippothekit says, "hardly playable." However, games like Bleach, Naruto, Fire Emblem, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, The Legend of Zelda and others for the Wii have a good way to prevent such a falure in game design. The thing is, it's a bit awkward to get used to the controls when we've been playing with controllers for the Xbox, Game Cube, Playstation, and so on.

a few of you have points about the wii, but you must remember that even though its most powerful Nintendo machine its still not as worthy as the SNES was and the fact that these days most people own an LCD or plasma which means 420p isn't going to cut it anymore nowadays we need a minimum of 720p or above but for my screen 52" i need 1080p for games to look good while you play them, so developers can make a great game that looks great plays great sounds great etc..


the wii failed in this, resident evil 5 can never work right on the wii because its graphics are limited, its perfect on the 360 and ps3 because power gives developers to imagine outside the box to create the best and greatest games. I cant see myself playing old consoles anymore anything older than a gamecube, ps2 is outdated I have them all mind you and so i can judge which I think in my opinion why wii fails and you have to admit when you play a really HD game like Resident evil 5, ninja gaiden 2, saints row 2 you just get so much gameplay and fun out of them because graphics enhance that part of the brain that wants to see more.

I hate how something who promised to revolutionize the gaming world (even the working title was nintendo revolution...) with all that totally awesome motion sensor technology turned out to be a total FAIL.
Don't get me wrong, I love my Wii and would never switch to PS3 or Xbox...
But as a totally nintendo-maniac from the very beginning I'm really dissapointed about how the whole "Wii-thing" has turned out the last years after the launch.

Not only aren't there any games for hardcore gamers like me (I'm especially referring to europe where I live, because thanks to region sh** I can't play games from japan or US versions and I'm not a supporter of modcrap), but casual games were you learn cooking or that are supposed to replace a sport studio or whatsoever seem to grew out of the earth like molds in a wet basement recently. And on top of that, those who aren't developed by famous developers (Wii Fit etc) usually have crappy FLASH GAME graphics and aren't entertaining at all, they are just exploiting the new market of people who are unexperienced with videogames.
Well it's easy money making without much effort... You just need to integrate motion sensor stuff in your game and *poop* it's apparently a great game >_>

And to nintendo themselves, it's odd how they neglect the community that made them into what they are now. Only the usual series like zelda, mario or metroid had their usual games released, but that's the least they could do to satisfy us.

Another thing I'd like to referr are RPGs. Being a HUGE RPG fan for years also affects me concerning my attitude abt a console for sure.
It's a shame that I have to say that, but if think abt RPGs there are only 2 on my mind right now for Wii and those aren't even out where I live yet (MH3 and TOS2)
>_____>
While XBOX360 has like 64782309 awesome RPGs, which is odd since in the last generation PS2 was THE RPG console and GC still had more than microsofts xbox, but now it appears that they are dominating this part now (Hell like FINAL FANTASY is released on 360 aswell wtf?!)

Ok I'm done with complaining^^
As I said I love my Wii, but I think especially the GAMES being released have to be improved more RPGS plz :3
I'm fine with the console itself, wiimote stuff is nice and I never cared about graphics.

I think it has done neither, as the Wii hasn't seriously accomplished anything; even technology wise. The technology implemented in Wii is kinda old and so those who argue that the Wii introduced sensor technology are wrong.

But, they have allowed casual gamers more easier access into the gaming world at the risk of turning the Wii's game base into a dumping ground for shovelware.

In the end, us experienced gamers see the Wii as a casual gaming console that isn't in the same league as the X360, PS3 or PC, but does allow casual gamers or normal gamers a introductory platform to play on.