[where did i get this pic? stole it from google image search. yeah, you heard me.]Props to Mitch Krpata, who suggested I ask Nintendo about Wii Play's life-to-date sales; it's 7.9 million in the U.S. alone.
So, right, we've got it, a surprising megaton of people buy Wii consoles and their family-friendly games. But how many people really use them?
Ben Popken at Consumerist says the Wii is the purchase he absolutely regrets most this year, and a quick glance at his commenters seems to find a consensus. Do you think the Wii's really analogous to, say, an exercise machine -- something that the average consumer (the one driving Wii sales) buys around Christmastime because it's a trend, because they feel vaguely pressured to have one, and then gets only a little bit of use out of it?
If that's the case among the mainstream audience, then it tends to contradict what analysts are saying about why game consoles are still selling so well in a recession. The common wisdom holds that games are making money because of their value proposition -- i.e, in tough times people would rather drop $200 on something they can use forever, than spend $20 on one single trip to the movies. But if people are finding the Wii to be a guilt-inducing fad purchase, it sort of deflates that argument, doesn't it?
I was just telling friends* how waggle-fatigued I am, and I've tended to have an especially hard time these days sticking with games that don't use the Classic controller or a basic pointer-and-nunchuk scheme (Super Mario Galaxy and No More Heroes are the only times I've really enjoyed it). Hell, I'm even slightly tired of scribbling on the DS, and am playing Chrono Trigger in Classic mode. So yeah. I'm a bit over it -- but I also know I don't account for the almighty "mainstream consumer," and neither do you.
Still, I've added a little poll in the right-hand sidebar -- report in on your Wii usage, please! And feel free to elaborate in the comments. Is there any merit to the idea that the Wii is a fad product, versus a high-end console that can have as much as a decade's lifespan of regular use?
[1. "telling friends" = shouting drunkenly to N'Gai and various new pals wearing supersexy Meat Bun T-shirts at Fünde Razor on Wednesday, and I do still play Virtual Console a considerable amount]
48 comments:
I think that the issue is that while these control methods have the possibility of being worthwhile, too many developers use them as gimmicks. Gamers like us prefer streamlined gameplay. We don't want to be bogged down with HOW we accomplish certain tasks in games, we just want to accomplish said tasks. Take a real-life example: making cookies. While you can mix everything in a bowl by hand, it's much easier to use an automatic mixer. You're getting the same end result with a lot less effort. The effort *can* be a fun part of the process, but every time I have to waggle my damn wii remote to do something I die a little on the inside.
Well, I've been using my Wii a bit, but for Virtual Console titles. So, yes, I'm using it, but for games that aren't even designed for the Wii specifically. So... Yeah? I guess that says something. =P
The Wii remains the #1 console for when friends and relatives are over. Gamer friends want to play Smash Bros & Mario Kart, non-gamer friends love Wii Sports & Wii Play (they wish I had Wii Fit too.) I do my best to sell the latter group on Boom Blox & WarioWare too.
The only game with similar split-screen mass appeal on my 360 is Rock Band (which is, of course, available on the Wii as well.)
After three or four months of neglect, playing Super Mario Galaxy and World of Goo the past week or so has made me love my Wii again. I'm definitely behind the times when it comes to Mario, but Goo is a recent addition to the Wii's library. Unfortunately, I think the fact that it's on WiiWare and not a retail boxed product means not very many people are going to hear about it. It's a great entry to add to the short list of Good Games On The Wii. Both games have sort of reinvigorated my interest in the Wii, and I'll hopefully picking up some of the other quality games I haven't gotten around to yet. For the people who have already been keeping up though, I can see how it's hard to be interested these days. I'm hoping Mad World and The Conduit jumpstart the creation of more good games for the Wii.
At the same time, my mom just bought a Wii, so it'll be interesting to see how much she plays and whether she buys any games in addition to Wii Sports. She has a DS that she played intensely for several months, getting several games for it too, but it seems she's gotten bored with it after 10 months or so.
I think the dearth of quality software for Wii is a major factor in the hardcore set feeling disappointed with the Wii. Where are the titles that use the Wiimote's functionality well? Zack and Wiki proved it's possible, and games like Elebits and Boom Blox bring a lot to the table. In all fairness, it took a couple years for DS devs to really come to grips with ways to use both screens and touch in ways that don't feel shoddy, and the Wii's an order of magnitude more complex. I, for one, am frustrated that devs on Wii don't seem able (or willing?) to use its potential, and I think that's where a lot of the dissatisfaction is coming from. Wii could be so much more than minigame collections.
I can't really speak to the way an average consumer might interact with the Wii, so I won't bother speculating.
I know people who play Wii games almost every day, and most of them aren't what you'd consider gaming enthusiasts or hobbyists - it's mostly families who picked them up to play games with their kids. (We're talking about the Wii Play demographic here.)
Personally, the last Wii game I played was Boom Blox, and I don't think I've even powered it up since.
I'm a Wii addict, but I think that the people like me bought their Wiis long ago. You know, the people who actually wanted it because they had and loved the Gamecube, not because of any buzz about motion controls or Wii sports or anything.
The majority of people here are in the "eh" category, but we tend to be fall into the internet-reading games-knowledgeable segment of the population.
The general atmosphere around the office, though, is one that these games DO get played a whole lot, and everyone who has non-gamer friends has more than a few anecdotes of someone who plays Wii Fit everyday, or still loves that damned Cow Game, or whatever.
So, I'm pretty sure people are still playing with their Wiis. For me, I just starting diving back into My Life As King, and have probably burned away an hour a night on that for the past few weeks.
Its a "safe" console, marketed to different audiences; casual gamers, returning gamers, new gamers, Christian groups, Latinos. Nintendo Wii is the Obama of gaming. In all seriousness, I play "gamer" games on my PC and the Wii is touched when I have my friends and their children over. It has become the family console, kinda like the NES of yesteryear.
I haven't used my *own* Wii in awhile, but I know I will once I get a bit of money to go nuts in the Virtual Console.
I guess it shouldn't be surprising considering that Wii Play is essentially a pack-in game for a second Wiimote, but still, 7.9 million for any game is staggering, let alone that one. Nintendo is just playing a different game here.
I fall in the 'rarely played' category.
While I definitely don't think the Wii is a fad (it's still an excellent gathering/social machine), I agree with Mitch that Nintendo is running with a completely different game plan here - one that doesn't include me at the moment.
There's a chance I may come back to the system if that new Zelda game does wind up on the Wii after all. But at this point, Nintendo doesn't have to make Zelda to make money and they know that.
Strikers and Kart keep me hooked on the machine. But those games were released long ago. I blame the third parties for bastardizing the software. I mean, "Castlevania Judgment?" You gotta be kidding me.
Wait, you're in NYC? So I might've even seen you at Funde Razor and not even known...
de Blob is another fun recent game for the Wii---I'm actually sort of surprised it isn't getting more notice, as it's creative, delightful, original, and on the Wii---just what we're supposed to be looking for.
It does have one flaw, though, which is... waggle. That is---it's really not very precise. Like every waggle control.
I'd say the biggest problem with the Wii isn't so much developer cowardice (though there's plenty of that) as the grimmer fact that the Wii's motion sensing just doesn't work very well. WiiMotion Plus might solve that, but for now, the disappointment with the console is a direct result of disappointment with the controls (which are the whole point of this particular console). Movements get misread, or even ignored, and while it's fun to swing the Wiimote like a bat, it's hard not to notice how much more control you have when just pressing a button.
Much of its mainstream success, I think, is attributable to the fact that lots of people who buy the Wii have only seen it on TV, or played Wii Sports (a game cunningly designed to conceal the loose motion sensing), while people who spend more time in the enthusiast press are more aware that the thing's never lived up to its promise on the most basic level.
I don't use mine much, but that's mainly because most of Nintendo's marquee gamer titles like Smash Brother and such aren't games I would pay 50 for, and the 3rd party selection is god awful. (Something every Nintendo machine since the Game Boy Color has had to deal with. 3rd parties just don't take the Nintendo audience seriously and just release a bunch of garbage most of the time.)
There are plenty VC and a couple Wii Ware games I want, but I have so many full disk games on other systems to play, the Wii has gotten passed over. (Not to mention in many cases buying a VC game is a ripoff as its on a collection with 20 other games for 20 dollars most of the time.)
The big problem is the developers. They just don't want to spend any time and effort on the machine and insist the PS3 or 360 is the system to develop for in spite of the insanely large potential userbase.
Well, it is unless Nintendo is forcing waggle on them anyhow. That could make anyone ignore the system and go develop elsewhere.
Not to mention they can develop for the iPhone/iPod Touch base cheaper and have a better chance at profitability and notoriety if they can make a good product at a fair price and get it noticed..
Woo for being one of the "various new pals"!
I don't own a Wii, and I have very little interest in it aside from Virtual Console (oh, how I'd love to play the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games again). But I'm with Mr. Furniss -- call me lazy, but wildly waving my arms about (or even moving my wrist a bit) isn't my idea of fun when I'm playing video games (I'm sitting on the couch/bed/chair to relax, damn it!). Developers can scream "immersion" all they want, but all I can muster is a "meh."
OMG Samit, I almost mentioned you, but I couldn't remember specifically who was else standing with me at that time and I didn't want to leave anyone out :(
I'm not sure if I should be eligible to participate in your poll, since I'm one of the 2 million people who bought a Wii in the month of November. As of right now, I use it almost every day. I've been having an absolute blast with No More Heroes (about to complete the "real" ending), Super Mario Galaxy, and World of Goo. But who's to say how much I'll be using it six months from now.
I couldn't really give you a sensible answer as to why I decided, after all this time -- and with money being tight this holiday season -- to purchase a Wii. The truth is, I had pretty much made up my mind a while ago, to not get one. After my initial eagerness to play games like Super Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes, and Super Smash Brothers, wore off, I just didn't see the point in owning a system that was barely pushing better than last-generation graphics, and that only had a very small library of hardcore games.
But, I do have a soft spot for Nintendo. While my earliest console experience was with the Atari 2600, it was the NES that stayed with me from junior high school, up through my sophomore year of college.
Fast forward to several weeks ago, when I was hanging out at my friend's place, and he was showing me World of Goo on his Wii. I must have been just that perfect combination of high and nostalgic, because after about an hour of playing, I stood up and declared that I was at that very moment going to Best Buy to get a Wii. And that's just what I did.
I certainly don't think it's just the "new toy syndrome" that is making me play the Wii more than my PS3 right now. No More Heroes is a seriously fun game, and using the Wiimote to finish off foes is a viscerally satisfying experience. I feel that game really nailed the right way to take advantage of the Wii's unique controller. Super Mario Galaxy also makes good use of the Wiimote, and is also just an excellent game in its own right. But I've also played a few hours of Twilight Princess on both the Wii and the Gamecube, and I can't say that I'm convinced that game benefits from the Wii control setup. Most of the time, I just find myself getting annoyed when my aiming cursor disappears from the screen, or shaking the nunchuck doesn't result in a spin attack.
So, yeah, I'm not sure what the point of this comment was. I am glad that Nintendo is back on top, after spending the last two console generations on the bottom, thanks to Sony. I know them doing so well has a lot to do with appealing to families and casual gamers, but I hope that in the coming years they are willing to take some risks, and get back to making more games for those of us who grew up in the generation when Nintendo was synonymous with videogames.
Now I'm going to play some Mario Galaxy because I'm home sick with the flu.
Funny, I was talking about this your previous post. I don't want to call it a fad because, I can few guys over and we can go all night drunkenly trash talking each other during a marathon session of Smash Brothers Brawl.
But, then that's only when people come over to play (everyone is too broke to go to a bar), and they usually want to get into Rockband, Halo 3, [insert random multiplayer game on the market]. I'm not a gimmick guy and that's what Wii games come off as at times. I want to invest a few virtual console games, but I don't have the funds to split between my 360 and my Wii.
Can't...lift....Wii remote....must....eat....twinky for....sustenance...
I'm not over the waggle, but I'm pretty tired of the weak software lineup. There's a lot of similarity in the usage drop-off on the Wii with the N64 and GameCube lifespans. Players are attracted to new experiences, and if they're not delivered then there's a good chance they'll stop using. With even Nintendo unable to keep a regular & frequent stream of great titles coming out, the emphasis falls on third parties and we all still trapped in the self fulfilling prophesy of investment in Nintendo platforms not paying off. So instead, we give it shovelware and then complain when it doesn't sell.
Former Wii owner here. Picked one up on launch day and demolished every quality 1st party title for the 20 months I owned it.
I think Mario Kart was the last straw. I don't know if my tastes have simply moved beyond what Nintendo was offering, but I just couldn't get into it.
If VC games were a little more reasonably priced, I'd probably still own it, but that's a discussion for another day.
Post-script: Absolutely jealous of all the Funde Razors out there. We need an awesome charity party on the west coast!
I'm a Wii addict. I can't get enough. Every time I turn off a game, I just hit up a WiiWare or VC title and then realize I've had it on for 3 hours. If you don't have Tetris Party, you don't love life. Its fantastic. Especially after Wii Fit since it has a balance board mode. Also, am I the only one who loves the Wii Shop music? Either way, the Wii reminded my why I liked games in the first place and its good to be back.
It's funny that you post this today, as I was just reflecting upon my recent wii usage. I really don't play it all that often, but I still like the thing a lot. Even if the software is largely disappointing. It's nice that gaming has a somewhat accessible, respectable public face again, and I still think that, in theory, motion control makes for some really neat possibilities... Particularly with the motion plus add-on. Too bad we haven't really seen any of them yet.
I'd love to see what a company like Valve could do with something like Metroid Prime 3, for instance. That day may never come, but... Well, Dragon Quest X is apparently coming to the Wii, so I guess I can look forward to that.
:(
I haven't played the Wii much lately, but that's more because of my game buying habits. I typically buy only one game a month and last month was Call of Duty: World at War for the 360 and before that was Disgaea DS.
Sometimes I get system droughts where I can't find a single game that I want to get for that system and wind up not playing it for a long time. That happened this summer with the DS and now it's happening with the Wii. I expect this to all change after Christmas though.
It's totally cool -- I was drifting in and out of the conversation, since I had to keep an eye on the Rock Band competition!
Last Wii title I played much of was Chocobo's Dungeon, and what I really enjoyed about it was that I could play one handed (yes, I'm THAT lazy). Aside from that, every Wii game I've purchased has been a 2 evening title at best. Wii Sports I played a lot, but that was a freebie.
Wiggle/waggling to me is awful. I have enough issues with RSI issues with my wrists without have to constantly jiggle a Wiimote in thin air.
I'd *love* to see the Wiimote used more as a pointer in strategy or RPG games. It isn't terribly accurate but it gets by when there's no time pressure.
My girlfriend, the non-gamer, was really hooked on Endless Ocean for a few weeks; for her to play a console title is very rare.
In the past week, 2 people at the office bought Wiis this past week or two. One bought it for his kids. The other is a 20-something non-gamer girl who bought one. Quote from her "The only other game console I've owned is a Gamecube and I never played it." so I still don't get *why* she bought the Wii. She took it home last night and today I asked her if it was fun and she sorta shrugged and said her arm her from Wii Sports Tennis.
3 of us in my work-group have Wiis, none of us use them very much.
I find the ironic thing about the Wii is that no one plays it. There are two main groups of people who buy the Wii (there are others, but these compose the majority.)
There are casual gamers who honestly don't play games. They buy Wii Play and Wii Fit, but don't really stick with it. They don't buy games that really last so they end up ignoring the Wii.
Then there are people like us who beat Zelda ages ago and go for months at a time without touching our Wii because there are no games for it. Thus we too end up ignoring the Wii.
I would expect Nintendo to be concerned with a product that no one uses. They may be making money hand over fist, but if they don't have a software library then they are losing tons of money on software.
I know why the Wii is popular. In my office our bosses boss bought a Wii for his kids, but he plays it the most late at night apparently. It was a big day when he got a 300 in Wii Sports bowling. At a meeting we had, 3 people joined him to discuss...at lenght...how they can swear up and down the game changes the oil on the lanes! I think that's absurd, but that shows how the Wii is always discussed.
Technically speaking, I haven't used my Wii for several months, though that's only because I apparently decided to go to school in England (at very nearly the worst possible time, given this fall's slew of PS3 and 360 releases). Before I left it saw comparatively regular use, if for Game Cube and Virtual Console games as well, and I do rather wish that I still had access to it.
For my part, I wanted one largely because of Metroid Prime 3, with the backwards compatibility and Virtual Console winning me over as well. I share somewhat in Matthew Wiggins' disappointment with its library, however, and would very much like to see Nintendo land the sorts of big-name, third-party titles that Sony and Microsoft enjoy. Some months back I read an article in which someone (precisely who eludes me for the moment) brought them to task for failing to secure as much, and while I noted at the time that their phenomenal success this generation rendered his observation little more than academic, I'd nevertheless be inclined to agree with him. I can't deny that they've done a remarkable job of sustaining themselves on the strength of little more than their own franchises, but it seems to me that their first-party IP's are an eminently finite resource.
Moreover, I'd be quite curious to look at their ratio of hardware sales to software sales, and to compare the figures to Sony's and Microsoft's. It's no doubt been done somewhere already, though all I can remember off the top of my head is someone from one of its competitors making a comment to the effect that Nintendo was being carried by its hardware more than anything else. I'm not sure that I'd go so far as to relegate the Wii to the realm of the gimcrack, but nor am I convinced that Nintendo has managed to absolve the console of such charges as fully as it might.
And yet, somewhat paradoxically, of my small group of friends who maintain a serious interest in such things, I seem to be the most interested in the Wii. I suppose it's rather akin to loving a game not for what it is, but what it could be.
I still use my Wii quite a bit. But, excluding VC, it definitley sees large gaps in use, much moreso than it's more hightech brethren.
Before Animal Crossing hit, I think Okami was the last game that got major play.
However I do love the shit out of the console for some reason.
I find it most telling that the Wii is outselling everything so fiercly still even with the entry level 360 at the supposed magic $199 price point. It's crazy!
I did score HotD 2&3 plus two lightgun shells today, and have made quite a night out of it with my roommate.
So there's that.
Anecdote:
My sister's boyfriend bought her a Wii around launch, and I believe the only game she bought for it was Twilight Princess. Earlier this year my dad bought it from her for my youngest sister (age 13) and we all had some fun playing Wii bowling. The better part of a year later, it's Christmas time and she's asking for a Wii game which will be the first they own for the system.
Anecdote #2:
Last Christmas I gave my mom and youngest sister my old DS phat along with Nintendogs for the kid and Brain Age for Mom. My Dad also picked up for them New Super Mario Bros. (at my suggestion) and Shrek (not at my suggestion). In the following year Mario got by far the most playtime with Nintendogs and Brain Age being second for their respective recipients and Shrek not seeing enough playtime to justify it's manufacture. My little sister has been quite insistent on Mario Kart DS for Christmas this year, but in the year they've owned a DS they have bought no games.
Neither my mom or sister are gamers, and this perhaps supports the idea of a Wii (or maybe any counsel to a non-gamer) could be a Christmas-only why-did-I-buy-that kind of thing, but I think there are a couple other things to be taken from it.
1) Even people who don't play games regularly will appreciate a well crafted game over licensed junk, hence Shrek's dog-toy status.
2) People who enjoy games but don't consider them one of their primary pastimes might simply not think about buying games between holidays.
3) They only really need one or two games to carry them through a year, so looking for a known-quantity, such as Mario Kart, or for your gamer friend/relative to pick something out at the holidays is really all they need.
I'm sure there's more (and this post could be more eloquent) but it's late and been a long day. Short version: the way gamers tend to look at games through the lens of the current big thing with a quick turn to what's next, the mainstream audience can probably subsist on year-end gifts and be perfectly satisfied with their purchase. After all, my sister called me just last week to excitedly announce her completion of New Super Mario Bros.
I've had the Wii since around this time last year. I own Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Twilight Princess, but I have yet to finish either. They're excellent games. It's just that I find more interest in what teh Xbox 360 and my PC have to offer (and I'm sure the PS3 if I could afford one). Hell, my parents played Wii more than I have--they love Wii Sports, or at least loved since they haven't touched the thing in months either. They're casual gamers, if even that.
At our house the Wii is constantly on. In the morning, in the evening, at night.
I really don't want to be reading into things to much, but it just seems like you have this visceral dislike of the Wii and you are always coming up with some new justification for it.
Hellz naw! I love my Wii. I'm just interested in how different its audience is.
My family (myself, the wife, our almost 6yr old daughter) have a PS2, a Wii, a GBA, and an assortment of laptops. Of those, the Wii is used the most for gaming these days, followed closely by the laptops for various online Flash games. We'll probably add a DS at some point, but we're unlikely to add another console until the next "next gen" arrives.
We have neither the $$ nor the time to play a wide variety of games, so we need to pick and choose those with lots of replay. Also, we need some games interesting and suitable for a 6yr old, and most of those are on the Nintendo platforms. I'd love to get a 360 or PS3, but can't justify spending that much money on a system and games that only I would use.
We've gotten a lot of play time out of Lego Star Wars (56+ days according to the in-game clock) and Lego Indiana Jones, both of which my daughter loves though she has never seen the movies. Super Mario Galaxy is also a hit. She has a Disney Princess game that comes out occasionally, but she's more likely to want to outrun me in WiiFit.
We're likely to pick up a copy of Boom Blox and Lego Batman in the next 6mo (perhaps one for Xmas), and that'll probably last us for most of the year.
I use the Wii daily, but not always for games. Believe it or not my girlfriend and I are addicted to the Everybody Votes Channel.
I don't think how much you play the system shows your enjoyment for it. I haven't used my DVD player in months, but I still like movies. When I do get around to putting in Wii Sports, that usually puts the Wii back in the top of mind and I play some games for a couple of days.
No, I'm not over the Wii, but I'm certainly over the "waggle."
I bought my Wii for a few reasons: it was going to have the latest Nintendo franchises; it could play all my old and unplayed/unfinished GameCube games; the Virtual Console would let me pick up games I missed as a kid; WiiWare was going to, hopefully, have a solid line-up; it was going to have a new control setup; and it was the cheapest of the three next-gen consoles.
I'm not at all disappointed in the Wii. I bought it over the summer and was pretty aware of its issues. I have a few games for it and I think its a strong library: Okami, No More Heroes, Fire Emblem, Metroid 3, and a handful of VC and WiiWare titles.
The only thing that bothers me about the Wii is the unnecessary waggle in games. The only Wii-specific controls I need in Okami, for example, are the brush-strokes. Wiggling the remote for attacks? Thanks but no.
Still, I don't play my Wii all that much. However, that's more a symptom of my lifestyle than commentary on the system. I was busy up to Nov. 4th...guess what industry I work in.
Finally, I'd like to comment on the people who say that Wii games aren't being played. You should check out what MTV Multiplayer has been doing. They check out the time played on a number of games, info that is available on the Nintendo Channel. Games like Guitar Hero are racking up 50-60 hours worth of play.
Some of the big games are being played more than Wii Sports even. So, while we might not be playing the Wii all that much, it isn't hard to find empirical evidence that a lot of people are playing it quite a bit.
I play the Wii whenever I get the chance, and if I had a healthy income I would buy half of the VC and Wiiware games.
I'm a big fan of the system and eagerly await the day when the Wii finally gets the games and innovative functionality it deserves. But I still look on my Xbox 360 friends with envy.
As others have mentioned, the accessibility is one of the best features. My parents play Wii. They haven't played video games since Super Mario Brothers debuted on the NES!
I sold that thing. The only reason I bought it was for Brawl, and when I sold it, I forgot about Brawl. The only thing I miss about it is Brawl. A system with one attractive game is not a good system.
I've been playing Tales of Symphonia 2 on my Wii. To be certain, I'm not sure if Big N's enforcing the waggle onto developers when you see something like Madworld coming out (hi 5, Platinum Games).
I agree that it's the developer's fault most of the time. Then again, when a stellar game like Okami or No More Heroes come out with absolutely terrible sales numbers, it's hard for the developers to justify taking the Wii seriously either.
I found one a year ago miraculously at a Target in Los Angeles, and I drove out to get it right before they closed. I literally got the last one. The had three left and the guy in front of me bought two of them. So anyway, I got it, was extremely excited to play, and then I brought it home hooked it up and played it for the first month or so and ended up selling it to buy an xbox 360 which I absolutely love. I don't regret selling my Wii (at cost mind you) and getting Microsoft's big white box. I Haven't looked back since. I agree completely that the Wii is a fad (a ridiculously successful one) but a fad nonetheless. The controls are a gimmick, and until they are used in a more nuanced way, I don't think it's going to last in the long run.
I don't use my Wii as much as I used to (mainly because I'm still working my way through Persona 3).
However, I think there's a couple important points that need mentioning:
1. Not all of us need 3 games a month. I have a fulltime job, and I'd be happy with one good, new game every two or three months, and that's what I've been getting from the Wii. So yea, I still love it.
2. Like someone else in here said, it took developers two years to come to terms with the DS hardware. And even after all that time, most Western developers still suck at innovating on it. 2009 in general looks GREAT for the Wii, so I'm very excited about what I'll be getting on the system.
Would I like to see more innovation? Yes, I'd love that. But until then Shaun White and de Blob have got me covered.
When the Wii was released I kept thinking that it just had to jump the same hurdles the DS did. I expected a year of weak titles until developers clicked with the tech. It hasn't seemed to happen. I think the DS's library is still getting stronger and innovation can be found, whereas the Wii still has to rely on 1st party games tos how what it can do.
I would play my Wii way more if there were like, you know, some actually cool games released for it SOMETIME during 2008.
What a fool I was - bought it at the peak of its awesomeness (Zelda, SMGalaxy, Metroid) only to be utterly disappointed ever since.
p.s. I guess I forgot about Mario Kart. It's pretty fun, but not enough tracks.
The Wii has a one-two-punch that convinces parents to break out their wallets: Wii is incredibly fun when you first try it, and it's cheap.
Nintendo have managed to ride the Wii's 15 minutes of fame by word-of-mouth. Even though I was once foaming at the mouth trying to find my Wii, now it sits gathering dust...until we have a lot of company over, that is. So then once people try it for the first time, it markets itself, since they only have that short fun experience to remember it by.
People who are buying the Wii aren't lamenting the lack of a hard drive or HD graphics, because they remember how much fun they had with the Wiimote the first time. While most people's first experience with an Xbox or Playstation controller in their hands usually involves them getting killed repeatedly.
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