Honestly, I can only take so much E3 coverage. Firstly, I always find it irritating to hear hype about games I won't actually know anything substantial about until next year. Hell, it's irritating to hear hype, period, and there's a lot of it. Second, there's just too much info, and I get frustrated when I can't remember it all. Everybody, it seems, feels frantic and behind, trying to keep up.
Then there's the pointless post-game wrapups on the blogs (the fact that I write for one such blog notwithstanding) and in the newspaper: who gave the best show? Most of us webfolk seem to have tentatively placed the crown on Sony (highlight: Phil Harrison three times using the word "exclusive" while glancing nervously at Hideo Kojima, who conveniently chooses the moment to pretend he doesn't speak perfectly full English), whereas the mainstream media has squarely proclaimed Nintendo the victor.
They would. Nintendo has fucking sold out.
Dude, come on. They totally rolled on us. They're grandma's game company now; they belong to our little sister, to our nimrod trophy girlfriend who we're just screwing 'cause she's hot and she said she likes Tetris. They showed a lot of stuff that says they're lovingly aligned with the average man, and very little that says they give a damn about gamers at all. Mario, Metroid, Zelda; lather, rinse, repeat.
Don't get me wrong. I'm buying Metroid Prime 3. When my phone rings, it rings the Hyrule Light World theme. And I can't wait for Phantom Hourglass. But what else is there, if you've got no interest in Mario Kart, minimal interest in Smash Bros., and you actively dislike Mario Party?
Perhaps this is my fault-- am I a total flake for buying a Wii thinking it might have some awesome games, and not the kind of crap I gotta pass around my living room with my fictional family of four people wearing turtlenecks and grins? Wii Fit? WTF.
But then I look at my little white box and feel sad; I hug my Wii despondently, like the developmentally disabled child I so painfully regret, yet cannot help but love. Come on, Nintendo, how can you do this to us now? We made you.
31 comments:
Fuck Wii Fit Nintendo had nothing intresting to say. The only thin I was happy about was Getting to play Mario Galaxy this year other than that I could care less. They better have something good to show at Tokyo Game Show.
Eh heh... not directed at you, David. Nothing personal, I just don't have time to really read blogs to that extent, so I didn't even know you had E3 coverage there. :P
Le sigh... it's time for the gamer community to come to grips with the reality of the Wii franchise (gods it took everything in me not to simply write 'waiiality').
No matter what carrots Nintendo drop in front of our nostalgic little noggins, the truth of the matter is that the Wii is entirely designed to pique the interest of the general populace. And what better way to do so than with a gimmick? Because when you get down to it, that's all the Wii is: a machine without any significant technological advancement, that relies almost exclusively on its unique user interface as a selling point. This is not a problem in and of itself (and obviously not a bad business model), but what I hope we all soon admit to ourselves is the fact that its UI is terribly simplistic and relatively unsuccessful. The wiimote is a blunt tool that is barely capable of control. Its a bone saw in an era of laser scalpels. Behind the facade of realistic movement and action lies a paltry combination of angle and force that is incapable of differentiation between a flick of the wrist from a angry chuck across the living room. I'm sure we've all seen gamers playing Wii Sports, lying on their couches, flicking their wrists and bowling a 300 game, after "cracking" the movements of the wiimote. Its a one-trick Shetland pony at a children's petting zoo, but Nintendo fans are still trying to hop on its back and weigh in for a derby.
What I find so amusing is that Nintendo is totally aware of its circumstance; they've made their bed and are happily lying in it. The Wii has staked its claim over an untapped hoard of potential pseudo-gamers who are perfectly content to swing themselves about in oblivious pantomime. They are not capable of complexity above the blunt linearity of Zelda or the use of more than two buttons, and Nintendo has benevolently (and intelligently) obliged them.
Let's face it chums: Nintendo is akin to that childhood friend who never left your hometown; they were a part of so many fond memories, but hanging out with them nowadays is somewhat awkward, and patently dull.
Good call, Noahsam.
Hey this makes perfect sense! Now people can buy the Wii Fit and then when they stop playing the Wii they can just treat like all the other expensive excercise equipment they don't use!
Rob-- you mean it sits in a corner, gathering dust?
I guess my Wii-- aka the book-end for my PS2 games-- is already at that point. Poor dear.
I'm with eclecticgamer on this one, and I'm not old yet! :-P (Well, 27.)
So far, all of my purchases for the Wii have been ones I've enjoyed. Trauma Center, Excite Truck, Marvel: UA, Godfather: Blackhand, Super Paper Mario, SSX Blur, Zelda: TP, Red Steel (yes, it's a decent game once you fix the Wiimote volume bug that makes the aiming jittery)... none of those are "kiddie" games, they're all solid titles. There are plenty of games out that I hear are good but haven't bought - Call of Duty 3, WarioWare, Rayman, Order of the Phoenix, Tiger Woods, RE 4, Sonic...
Future games I'm interested in include Metroid 3, Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros, Mario Strikers (yes, the cliche titles), Soul Caliber: Legends, The Bigs, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, NiGHTS (come on people, a new NiGHTS, and you complain?), Ghost Squad, Geometry Wars, Lego Star Wars, Battalion Wars 2, Brothers in Arms...
Now maybe I'm just not "hardcore" enough (and I'm not, I've got a wife and a job and not nearly enough gaming time), but that's 8 good games I own and 13 more I know I'm looking forward to, many of them coming out before 2008, and the system's not quite 8 months old yet. How much money do you people have anyway? ;-)
I think Nintendo's doing fine, and I think Wii owners on the net are an impatient, whiny bunch.
As for noahsam's comment, I find it impossible to believe that anyone who's tried Trauma Center can say with a straight face that the Wiimote is a "blunt tool barely capable of control" (ironic that he used the scalpel reference though given the game I'm talking about). Having a pointing device makes games that *are not possible* on other consoles possible on the Wii. Trauma Center's a great game, and it wouldn't work anywhere else. More will come - I'm very surprised Battalion Wars 2 will be the first strategy game to market, since a console finally has what is basically a mouse.
As for the motion controls, I can generally take them or leave them. I enjoyed Twilight Princess more with the Wiimote than I would have with a standard controller because the aiming parts were several TIMES better than they would have been with an analog stick, and the minimal gestures requires for sword swings were a (yes, gimmicky) nice change from button mashing. The aiming, though - a fairly big part of a Zelda game - there's no comparison.
Ditto for Godfather: Blackhand Edition. That game was in no way dumbed down (well, it's a GTA clone to begin with, but I mean in terms of control complexity) from its console brothers, but the infinitely better aiming made it much more pleasurable to play, and the motion controls were functional and fun. Having played it on the PC, I'd rather play it on the Wii, and reviews indicated across the board that between it and the other console versions, there was no comparison.
So yeah, I don't get the complaints. The graphics issue is a legitimate knock against the system, but the controls are not less sophisticated in the right developer's hands than the standard analog gamepad we've all been using since Nintendo came up with THAT a decade ago.
Nintendo is clearly gunning for mainstream money, and it's right to do so, but hell if I can see where all this abandonment talk is coming from. The Wii's lineup over the next year is a goddamn orgasm of hardcore Ninty goodness: Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros., Metroid, and Mario Kart titles - almost every classic Nintendo franchise covered. And that's only a year-and-a-bit after launch. How long did it take until the N64 and GCN had comparable libraries? At least two years. (Hell, the N64 didn't even have a Metroid title.)
We can't expect Nintendo to cater exclusively, or even predominantly, to its hardcore fans any more. Not after what happened with the GCN. And anyway, Wii Fit looks kinda fun, doncha think? If anything, it'll at least improve gaming's public image a bit. That's gotta be a good thing, right?
been checking in on your blog since you joined destructoid. first time commenting here...
Nintendo has lost me for a few reasons.
1) i'm completely turned off - no, rather i'm completely unaffected - by any and all of the main Nintendo franchises now (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Smash Bros., Mario Kart, etc.) because i've grown out of them. just sick of the same games i've been playing for most of my life.
2) i hate how inaccurate the Wii controls actually are. i have fun with most of Wii Sports and Play, but anything else? too imprecise.
3) i really worry about how the Wii is becoming a casual gaming machine... the implications that has for the market as a whole... and so morally i don't want to support them by buying a Wii.
don't get me wrong, there's still a small part of me that is tickled when i see Nintendo franchise games, and i probably will still get a Wii with some of the games - including the casual games - but based on what happened to me with my Gamecube, i doubt i'll play much of any of them.
it all just worries me, this casual system for "everyone." and it's leaving me unimpressed.
it's not a gaming console anymore, it's an entertainment device.
Eric, you're right on certain points: I didn't really bring up the wiimote-as-mouse characteristic of gameplay, which I would agree works well overall (although in reference to Trauma Center, I don't think anyone else would claim that it works better on the Wii than the DS {I love all that double-stylus action}).
But if the only thing going for the Wii is its mouse capabilities, you might as well pull out your old Power Glove, cuz that sh*t made you look a helluva lot cooler...
... you just keep your Power Gloves off her, okay pal?
Hahahaha ^_^. This is the most intelligent, sane console "discussion" going on on the entire interwebs right now. I love my readers SO much.
I don't really get what you are complaining about. Nintendo are just doing what Sony did, only two generations later. The massmarket is where the money is now, the 'hardcore' market is not really expandable that much, but there is a huge untapped resource of total non-gamers.
N are just exploiting that resource after seeing the potential with the DS.
noahsam - I didn't say the mouse pointer ability was all the Wii's got going for it, I just said that's what the Wii has (functionally speaking) that no other major console does. The motion control can be gimmicky or can be brilliant depending on how it's used. (Marvel: UA, functional but gimmicky. Godfather, brilliant.)
But the bulk of my response was meant to counter your statement that the Wii somehow can't handle the same control complexity that the standard analog controller on the other systems can - I think that's bunk. Marvel: UA plays just as well on the Wii as it does on any other system. Call of Duty 3 plays just as well on the Wii as it does on any other system. Madden (judging by reviews) plays just as well as it does on any other system. Godfather plays *better* on the Wii than it does on any other system.
Aside from the graphics gap, I just don't see where the Wii is hindered at all handling the games that other consoles play; combining the nunchuk and Wiimote with a little creativity gives you all the control options of a standard analog joypad, plus more. SSX Blur is not a dumbed down game compared to SSX 3, and I personally enjoy playing it more because carving with the nunchuk is a blast to do.
Yes, Nintendo IS appealing to a wider audience (not a bad thing IMO) - obviously, Wii Sports Golf is not Tiger Woods. But it's not meant to be. Tiger Woods games are Tiger Woods games, and the Wii has that for those who want it. I just can't see myself, given the long list of not-at-all-dumbed-down games I rattled off (both currently available and coming soon), agreeing with the argument that somehow "real" gamers are getting left out in the cold here.
As for the Power Glove, I can't help the effect is has on people, man. ;)
It feels like Nintendo's goal in this generation is to put forward a bunch of mostly-casual games to increase their install base as much as possible. As it is, it's about to overtake the 360 with a year head-start given. I'd imagine that it follows naturally that where the largest install base is, the third party developers will line up. After all, if Capcom feels like they can create a sort of game that a couple of the casual gamer types will buy (the same people likely to take a chance on Mario Galaxy), I'd imagine we'll see some sort of bridging of tastes again.
Jon-- that makes a lot of sense, actually. Still, they'd do well to remember us once they have that big base. After all, we are a population composed of people some of whom would seriously consider spending the almighty $599 just for one game we really want.
Dave-- Yes. But do not talk like that on my blog, ever. Shudder.
Wow... Davey's got a lot of rage...
Tough day disposing of bodies and making skinsuits, Dave? We commiserate, truly.
Now, play nice, kids! And bring Mommy her Xanax.
Psh. You're only telling us to play nice because Dave might throw out his back or turn to dust or some shit.
After all, "Maybe it's because I skew older that I can't share your outrage."
According to my calculations, Dave is roughly seven hundred years old, and is typing out his responses on repurposed Colecovision consoles.
"My body is younger, hence why I get carded for everything. "
Dave, at your age what the shit are you still getting carded for? Coffins?
...What the hell? Why did eclecticgamer remove all his posts from this thread? He made some good points, in a good discussion.
I'm confused.
He's having some dramatic times these days, I think.
Great.
Now I look like a twat.
Post a Comment