Is This Your Opinion On The Wii Fad?

[Daphne Blake]

http://tech.uk.msn.com/gaming/articl...mentid=8115123

Quite interested to here gamers opinions.

[Psycho Fox]

No, while Nintendo is attracting a untaped casual market, they are still focusing on game play.

[Icer]

Agree somewhat, but it's still a business. Whichever way gets them the most revenue they should take

I've yet to find a game that uses the Wii controls in a way that is more than a gimmick. Even Mario Galaxy could have played just fine with a Wavebird.

[Juu-kuchi]

Well, now is a good time than any to link this into the thread. Further thoughts coming soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iYBmAVuBns

[Peter Paltridge]

Real gamers drive innovation
Why? Because these are the people that go out and buy the games, the ones that the industry understands, the ones that demand bigger and better and brighter, the ones that look at the next generation with awe.

Wrong. The hardcores are getting in a rut and buying the same stuff over and over. And publishers take less and less risks with them because their games get more and more expensive to create. "Bigger and better and brighter" isn't enough for me, I want my Okamis and Gitaroo Men.

The casual trend isn't aimed at me either, but at least it's different.

[Sketch]

LOL at that video.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the current video landscape. There's a fair amount of both casual and hardcore games available. Nintendo is doing well with most the Wii and the PS3 and 360 are pushing the graphical envelope and giving the hardcore gamers all they could ever want while also offering plenty of titles for causal audiences. What's wrong with all 3 consoles making games for families?

[Joe]

Maybe we should start boycotting the film industry to stop making movies reaching for broad demographics and start making "REAL" films!

Oh, right. Because that's how an industry makes a profit and thus is able to grow. Another thing that's necessary for growth in a medium such as video games is variety. Pigeon-holing an entire medium into a niche "hardcore" medium really does nothing but holds the industry back.

[danreyes1]

*Sigh* anyone else getting annoyed by almost two years of rants that "The Wii isn't for real gamers"? Seriously, what is a "real gamer"? According to this dimwit:

people who do want cutting edge visuals and loud noises, people who do want their heroes to be gruff angry men and not fluffy animals.

Anyone else truly offended by this statement? I'm not into gaming for the superficial pleasure of "look good and sound good". I can get that from a movie. What makes a great game always always boils down to one thing: it's gameplay. If it's fun, I'll play it. Simple as that. It doesn't matter if that fun comes from a successful bloody headshot or simply a low-poly image of myself successfully rolling a strike. There are plenty of great games on the Wii, with many more coming out. And I'm sick and tired of these twats rattling on about how these great games aren't for real gamers simply because they're not a cinematic experience with an M rating on every other title.

Oh, and no, I hate it when the hero is a gruff, angry man. That's possibly the best way to make me NOT buy a game.

[Sketch]

I wouldn't sell my Wii for a PS3 or 360 (not that I wouldn't enjoy having one of them as well) but if I'm not a "real gamer" then why do I have roughly 300 video games? There's nothing casual about my collection.

[Daphne Blake]

Ah good, I thought it might have been just me who disagreed with the article. So what if it's tapping into another market? They are not forgetting their usual gamers with releases on their other consoles. Besides not all of us like violent angry games.

[Yash]

Honestly, why are these posers concerning themselves with the fact that Wii Sports and Wii Fit sell well? It gets annoying how the Wii's success doesn't count because it's banking on its "non-games." Super Mario Galaxy? Smash Bros. Brawl? Guitar Hero III? Sure, crap like Carnival Games sells, but so do those games, yet they're consistently ignored.

[Eddy]

I'm really sick of hearing about how the Wii is a "fad". Yes, the "non-games" are selling quite well, but so are the "real games". Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the fastest selling Wii game yet. Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, and Twilight Princess have all sold well too. Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition was highly successful. Even games like No More Heroes performed better than people thought they would. The "hardcore" Wii games are selling, people just choose to overlook that.

I mean, they act like "shovelware" games didn't exist before the Wii. Take a look at the PS2. You'll find plenty of "casual games" in that library but that was before anyone really took notice.

[mookie75]

Maybe we should start boycotting the film industry to stop making movies reaching for broad demographics and start making "REAL" films!

I agree. Hollywood should only make movies that I want to see. If it's something that I'm not interested in viewing, it shouldn't exist. Period.

Also, all those movies out there with romantic plots seemed too gimmicky. I think they would have been just as entertaining with an action plot and some explosions.

[GWOtaku]

Its a fact that, whether due to tech specs or other reasons, the PS3 and 360 get a lot--a LOT--of great games that Nintendo doesn't. There's really no disputing this. However the Wii does have its share of excellent games, and I see nothing wrong with actually trying to go for general appeal. I really like "hardcore" games and I'd like my own PS2 for RPG's and such, but I also have Wii fit on preorder. As Sketch says, gamers aren't defined by the pitiful cliques Nintendo critics want to separate them into.

[Desensitized]

Am I the only one that thought last gen sucked? I mean seriously, it was a HUGE disappointment. There was hardly any variety and all the best games were few and far between (For ALL systems) the only thing that kept me in gaming was the DS and PSP.

This gen has been a huge step up. We have multiple systems with different games for them and a few of which are taking some risks.

I love being a Wii60 owner, so far I've had more enjoyment out of this gen than almost the majority of the last gen and the best is still yet to come.

[Joe]

Am I the only one that thought last gen sucked?

No. I dropped out of it sometime around 2004 and have yet to work up the courage to reenter. I agree that this new one has much more promise, however.

[Gokou Ruri]

http://tech.uk.msn.com/gaming/articl...mentid=8115123

Quite interested to here gamers opinions.

I agree somewhat with the article, moreso, I agree with the idea behind the article rather than the points he made.

I applaud Nintendo for their success. They've managed to hook old people and casual adults into playing a video game console, even if they're not playing video games on it, but that's about the only thing I applaud them for. The player in me that likes online games, deep games, and the like does not applaud them.

For better or for worse, Nintendo has found a way to be successful again after two generations of mediocre sales. More power to them, but I haven't been interested in them for two generations, and if things keep up, this will be the third generation I don't care for them.

This generation is quite interesting, to say the least.

Well, now is a good time than any to link this into the thread. Further thoughts coming soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iYBmAVuBns

If there's something more accurate than that, I'd like to see it.

[Jave]

I applaud Nintendo for their success. They've managed to hook old people and casual adults into playing a video game console, even if they're not playing video games on it

I don't know what your definition of video game is, but last time I checked, a video game is a game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device.

I'll never understand those who complain that Nintendo is not making "real" video games. God forbid there's people out there who like to play mini-games collections over M-rated first person shooters. They're just a different genre of video games, but that doesn't make them any less of a video game.

Seriously, you can dislike Nintendo all you want, but don't insult those who prefer them with the "Nintendo doesn't make real games" comments. It shows nothing but jealousy on your part.

[BlackCat]

I think comparing the success of the DS versus the Wii fits well with this argument. Nobody is taking anything from Nintendo away for providing some real innovation into the gaming industry with touch and motion controls. You could say that it's inspiring rival systems to be better, too. While Nintendo has been stereotyped these last couple generations with their hardcore first-party fans and less of the typical Playstation/Xbox gamer, their new wider audience with the DS and the Wii is bringing about this argument of fads, casual gamers, and the like.

While you could say that the DS met similar fanfare and criticisms early on in its life cycle, it avoided the trap by not forcing gimmicky touch controls and letting it come naturally. While the handheld still had its dual screens to avoid the comparisons to the GBA, the Wii doesn't have a similar crutch. I'm a gameplay-over-graphics person myself, but people can see that developers are still trying to use motion controls in a useful way. If they don't implement something well, then the whole gimmick of the Wii and the reason for the new console is put into question. The DS used the added screen, boosted hardware capability, and additional buttons and controls to make games that stood out from its GBA predecessors. If your average gamer sees a GameCube/PS2 port with shoddy motion controls, then they're going to have questions about the Wii's durability as well.

You can point to Brawl's sales to show that there are plenty of hardcore gamers playing the Wii. But you can't deny that they're outnumbered by the casual gamer who picked it up for the "non-games" as they're called. The issue here isn't with the Wii being a "fad" or only appealing to the casual gamer, but its with the developers who are still trying to figure out which target market to develop for. The stereotypical Wii gamer will most likely pick up some of the more casual games and first-party fare like Wii Fit or Mario Galaxy, but this presents a problem for third-party developers. And since Nintendo has historically had a poor relationship with them, they either put out shovelware or try to make "hardcore" games that will get largely overlooked.

This list shows the top selling third-party games, mostly filled with no real surprises. Games like Rayman and Red Steel got boosts for being launch titles, with Mario & Sonic and GHIII getting top honors as good party games. The RE titles and LEGO Star Wars has done well, with MySims rounding out the list and Carnival Games right in the middle. You could argue that Resident Evil and LEGO Star Wars are the only "hardcore" third-party games that are selling well. Although No More Heroes just came out recently, Zack & Wiki has been out in the US since October 2007.

The main criticism you can make with the Wii is that it's not as well-rounded as some of the other consoles. While this point is debatable, the Wii arguably doesn't adequately cover as many genres as other consoles. Due to the need to implement thoughtful motion controls and the different development cycles of the Wii versus PS3/360, you see a large disparity between third-party games. Nobody is worried about quality first-party titles like Mario Kart or Wii Fit, but third-party is a different matter. And this has been the same issue that has always plagued Nintendo.

[Gokou Ruri]

This list shows the top selling third-party games, mostly filled with no real surprises. Games like Rayman and Red Steel got boosts for being launch titles, with Mario & Sonic and GHIII getting top honors as good party games. The RE titles and LEGO Star Wars has done well, with MySims rounding out the list and Carnival Games right in the middle. You could argue that Resident Evil and LEGO Star Wars are the only "hardcore" third-party games that are selling well. Although No More Heroes just came out recently, Zack & Wiki has been out in the US since October 2007.

You can only really look at console-exclusives to judge a system, in my mind, because thats what truly defines a system. Not games that every console has access too.

The main criticism you can make with the Wii is that it's not as well-rounded as some of the other consoles. While this point is debatable, the Wii arguably doesn't adequately cover as many genres as other consoles. Due to the need to implement thoughtful motion controls and the different development cycles of the Wii versus PS3/360, you see a large disparity between third-party games. Nobody is worried about quality first-party titles like Mario Kart or Wii Fit, but third-party is a different matter. And this has been the same issue that has always plagued Nintendo.

Indeed, the incredible difference between the PS3/360 and Wii is a lot greater than last generation where all three consoles were a lot similar in terms of processing power. Now, the line between the systems is even greater (mainly the Wii) so it splits developers, but also opens up the ideas of new games. Sadly, a lot of developers seem to only make games for the Wii so they can sell their game rather than use the hardware for anything really special. That, and all of Nintendo's franchises have to go there by default, which leads to gimmicky controls for games that don't really need them, like Galaxy and Brawl (though at least Brawl can be used with a regular controller)

Ideally, the Wii should only have games that capitalize on the motion control, like how the Virtual Boy should have only had games that capitalize on the virtual reality aspect. Of course, that only happens in a perfect world and we get companies shoveling games there for profit. Even Nintendo is guilty of it, sadly.